A small shiver runs down your spine as you turn around. It really was Jongup. His normal gentle smiling face was replaced by a malicious, cold smirk. ‘What were you going to do, old friend?’ he whispers. Old friend; simply his appearance and personality at the moment makes you want to jump on him, rip his organs out and yell to the world you don’t know such a person.

‘Who are you old friends with?’ you reply in disgust, not taking your eyes off him. ‘It’s been a while, hasn’t it, old friend?’ he keeps talking in his calm, relaxed tone. Seeing him so at ease, for some reason, makes you angrier. ‘Stop calling me your old friend!’ you shout, your voice echoing in the silence.

‘It seems that I’ve touched a nerve,’ sneers Jongup softly. He walks right past you, up to your phoenix. Without hesitation, he lifts his arm and pets it. To your surprise, your phoenix makes an odd noise, as if it were satisfied. ‘I see you don’t reward your phoenix much don’t you? It seems you have angered it so much, it ran away.’

You look straight into your phoenix’s eyes, hoping it would show signs that it recognises you. But, as soon as it sees your desperation, the phoenix turns away. ‘Fine!’ you yell, with mixed emotions of sadness and anger. ‘Fine! I don’t need such a creature to be with me. Even a rat would make a better pet than a phoenix like that.’

You are about to stride away, before you suddenly remember the reason you went down the path alone. You spin around, and stare at Jongup. ‘Jongup!’ you spit. ‘Why did you kill Lee Seung Hoon that night? And why did you try to kill me?’ Jongup’s wide sneer simply grew wider as he listens to your words.

‘Come closer and you might hear the reason,’ he said, beckoning you with his finger. Without any sense of fear, you walk forward, stopping next to him. You hold in your shock as you see Jongup up close. There are dark circles under his eyes and there were lines of tiredness etched on his face.

‘What are you staring at?’ snaps Jongup. You shake your head quickly, flustered. ‘Just tell me the reason,’ you tell him quickly, scratching your head. ‘Now!’ yells Jongup. Before you know it, a powerful, constricting feeling grabs your neck. Your phoenix is unleashing some kind of power against you. You see its small beady eyes glinting in the light of its own power.

‘Did you really think I’d tell you so willingly?’ Jongup sneers, laughing maliciously at your pain. ‘Ever heard of no pain, no gain? I go by that. But I cause so much pain that the only thing you’ll ever gain is a ticket to death.’

The power is tightening your windpipe and all you can do is gasp for air. ‘Stop!’ you yell, thrashing at the unknown power but it only becomes stronger against your struggles. Finally you give up, letting pain take over. The last thing you catch a glimpse of is Jongup’s malicious face, roaring with laughter.

The End. 

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