You slowly stand up. You can feel the dizziness wearing away and Jongup’s smile looks clearer than ever. Maybe it was alright to tell him. He did save you. ‘I have,’ you whisper quietly. You see Jongup’s eyes twinkle a bit as he says: ‘I have too.’ Is he deceiving you? As you try to spot any signs of lying, you realise something.

Jongup, he’s got the same eyes as your best friend, the same smile, almost the same everything. For some reason, you feel angry. You can feel colour rising in your face. ‘Revenge!’ you scream out. You can’t think anymore. Why? Why did your best friend have to die?

‘You know,’ says Jongup suddenly. ‘I know who killed your friend.’ You look up at him, tears building up behind your eyelashes. You start walking towards him. But as you walk you think… How did he know that your friend was killed? You trust him, but you can’t bring yourself to tell him anymore about yourself. You just met him!

You hear a rustle somewhere behind you. But when you turn back, there’s nothing there. Maybe someone was there to save you! ‘Tell me!’ you try to say as loud as you can without screaming. ‘You killed my best friend that you supposedly think you know?’ Jongup looks slightly taken aback but regains his posture quickly.

As Jongup strides forwards to you, you can hear the rustling again. The rustling sounds slightly urgent and quick but you try to keep your mind off it. Jongup opens his mouth and considers something for a second. ‘It’s…’ Bang! But you don’t hear anything after that. Everything seems to be in slow motion. You see Jongup’s surprised face falling back, the smile fading away.

Blood splatters everywhere. It soaks into Jongup’s jacket and stains the dry leaves around him. You turn around and see a tall, dark figure run back into the bushes. Why? Why do you feel so sad when you hardly know this guy? You feel as though you have some connection with Jongup, something binding the both of you as friends. You kneel next to him, dipping your fingers in his blood.

As you silently cry next to him, you draw a cross on the leaves. If you had heard the rustles, why didn’t you think of the possibility of someone being there to kill you rather than save you? You simply sit next to Jongup until the sun rises over the horizon, crying.