I looked at him, speechless. I couldn't believe my ears. He kept on staring at me, waiting for me to react. I stared at him back. I wanted to hold him; right now... but I knew that wouldn't be right. I knew that Ji yong's feeling was confused by Clara's death. I am his closest friend here, of course he is afraid of losing me. But using the word "love" is a bit too much. I sighed. Ji yong bit his lips. He knew that I was going to reject him. I looked away not to see his hurt face. He said that he understood and  walked out of the room. He tried to be as calm as possible but it was obvious that he wanted to cry.

I laid on my bed. What's wrong with me? Why do I always hurt him? I'm all mess up with this crazy trip. I am fed up with all the death and strange things. I rubbed my face. Anyway, now that I am here, I have to keep my promise. I sat on my bed and stood up as Yong Long called us. As I was reaching the door, I heard a little moan. I turned around and saw angel on the bed. It had its arms crossed on his chest and was pouting. I chuckled a bit. I almost had forgotten about it. I brought it up and put it on my head.

Everyone was already in the living room. Ji yong gave me a warm smile. I raised an eyebrow. I was really surprised by his reaction. I chose not to think about it too much and sat down. We were sitting on chairs in a U form. Yong Long and Psy were in the middle. They explained that we were followed by dangerous people who wanted that key for an unknown reason. I sighed, as if we hadn't realized it yet... Then they told us that thanks to our training with Psy, we would be able to fight those guys but the danger still remained high. At that time, I think that nobody really realized what was awaiting us.

-"The key is somewhere in the mountains around here. The exact place had been kept secret for thousands years. What will happen from now on won't be easy. You will see things that you will never forget, horrible things."

Everyone exchanged a worried look. Although we knew about the danger, hearing these things still frighten us. I suddenly felt something weird in my body.  Something that couldn't be described. I immediately took out my gun. Taeyang and Seungri took their weapons out as well. I guess that we had felt the same thing. Nobody talked. The three of us kept still, listening carefully to every sound. I was extremely tensed. I didn't want everything to happen again. I closed my eyes and the weird feeling eventually went away. That was really strange. I glanced around at everyone and I realized, by the look on their face, that everyone had felt the same thing. My eyes stopped on Ji yong. He was frightened to death. He was shaking a bit. Minzy, who was next to him rubbed his back and gave me a worried look.

Yong Long and Psu glanced at each other. Psy jumped on his feet and told us to get prepared as fast as possible. It was obvious that Ji yong, Psy and Yong Long knew what that feeling was all about, but for some reason they refused to tell us what was going on. When I thought that I could have a little moment of peace and rest, a sort of emergency appeared. Each of us took their weapons. I picked Angel from the top of my hair and placed it in my hands. It immediately went to my thumb and hugged it tight. Angel must have felt that too and it was frightening it. I sighed and put it on my shoulders before heading toward the van.

Once everyone made sure to have their weapons, Yong Long drove away. At first I was against the fact that Daesung was coming with us. With only one leg, he wouldn't be able to protect himself if anything happens. But leaving him alone in the house was a risk we couldn't afford. As we were driving toward the mountains, I placed angel on my knees and played with it. I was tickling its tummy with the tip of my finger. Hearing its clear and cute laugh relaxed everyone a bit. Small smiles started to appear on faces; even if we knew that these smiles wouldn't last long. I turned my head toward Ji yong. He was sitting on my left, next to the window. He was looking through it. I bet that he was still disturbed by the feeling. I pinched his arm softy. I glared at me with a smile and pinched me back. Then started a silent pinches war. It felt good to be close again to him like that.

After two hours of driving, Yong Long finally parked the car deep in the forest. We got down of the van. Psy explained that we would be in teams. Taeyang, Minzy and Seungri would search toward North. Ji yong and me would take the East and finally Yong Long, Daesung and Psy would go toward the West. I asked why we hadn't to search in the south. Psy explained that there was nothing in the South. I found the answer a bit vague and easy but I didn't want to ask more and everyone headed to the direction they were given.

I felt awkward to be alone with Ji yong. I would have preferred if Seungri would have come with us. But, although Taeyang was really competent, we couldn't leave Minzy with just a man to protect her. I glanced around. This forest was very normal except the fact that it was a bit too calm. I sighed. I didn't even know what to look for. Even Ji yong had forgotten how the key looked like. But he said that when we would see it, we would recognize it. What an explanation...  Ji yong was quite funny with his wooden stick. He really looked like Gandalf or a kind of shaman.

The Key researched was very tough. We had to look at every millimeter of the forest. We had to be very meticulous not to miss any evidence or clue that could lead us to the Key. I was looking for them in the leaves on the ground when I felt something with another texture under my fingers. I picked it up and examined it. It was cylindrical and gray.  It had the shape of a bullet casing. It had something written on it but I didn't know how to read it. It was another alphabet which I was sure didn't exist in the world. I stood up and walked toward Ji yong who was a bit further.

I called his name to get his attention. He lifted his head toward me. I smiled to him while showing him what I found. I was about to reach him when I felt the ground moving under my feet. I saw Ji yong disappearing in a second. I heard him screaming my name before my body touched the ground. I felt an awful pain. Then, the dark.

I opened my eyes. I was really dark and I could barely see a thing. Am I dead? I stayed a few minutes laying on the ground until my eyes got used to the place. I tried to sit up but my broken ribs forced me to stay a bit more on the ground. The pain was high but it was still bearable. I moved each of my arms and my legs to see if they were broken. Apparently, my right arm was. I rolled on the side and kneeled. I was holding my ribs, trying to ease the pain a bit. Of course it didn't really work. In order to get up, I had to help myself with the wall.

Once I was on my feet, I looked around. It looked like an underground tunnel or something like that. I looked up and saw a hole at four or five meters above me. I really fell from high. I am lucky to be alive. For now, I had to look for an exit. I didn't know how long I had been unconscious. I started to walk right in front of me. I never thought that broken ribs could be that painful... I suddenly remembered about my guns. I patted my waist and sighed in relief as I felt the familiar shape of my guns. I continued walking. It was really oppressing. I was hardly walking in a dark tunnel. It looked like the walls were closing themselves on me.

I walked for a while before arriving at the end of the tunnel. I thought that I was going to burst in tears. It was a cul-de-sac. There were no exit. All this pain for nothing. I tried to stay on my feet. I couldn't stop. I mustn't stop. If I stopped, it was the end. I winced in pain and turned back to where I arrived. The tunnel was long... Very long. Each step was a torture. I felt like my ribs were stabbing my lungs at each move. The pain was nearly unbearable but I couldn't give up now. Not after everything that happened to me.

I suddenly realized that I had something in my hand. I looked at it. It was a bullet casing-like object. I then remembered that I found it just before falling there. After a while, I reached the starting point. I frowned. It seemed darker than earlier. I looked up to notice that there weren't any hole anymore. I tilted my head. I was sure that there was something that was lighting the tunnel. But what was it? Well, that wasn't the time to think about it. I stared before me. If this way didn't lead me to the exist, I guess that I was going to die here.

I was about to move when I heard sounds. I took out my guns and pointed toward the sound. I couldn't see it clear. The sounds seemed to come from behind a rock. I breathed slowly and waiting for the right moment. My fingers were on the triggers. Out of nowhere, Angel's body popped out. I sighed and pulled down my guns. It scared me. I walked toward it and asked it if it was injured. It shook its head and grabbed my finger. Angel pulled me toward a direction. Had it find an exit? I picked it up and put it on my shoulder.

Following its says, I walked again. The pain was higher than before. Now my lungs were on fire. It burnt me so much that I thought I was burning up from the inside. Like someone had cursed me with a magic spell or something. Angel was really worried about me. I wanted to take a break. A long break. But I was feeling the fresh air of the winds. There was indeed an exit. Finally, I could see light just in front of me. My body wanted to speed up. I couldn't let it do that or else I would lost conscious again right after being outside. Slowly but surely I kept walking toward the exit.

I eventually crossed the exit and got outside. The light of the sun dazzled me. I couldn't see anything. I lifter my left arm up to hide the sun and see better. I blinked many times. Once my eyes got used of the light, I finally realized that I was surrounded. Looking at their face, I knew that they weren't on our side. I quietly told Angel to go and find the others. Angel obeyed and ran away. I looked at all of them. They looked like normal people, except for all of the scars they had on their face. I lifted my hands up as they were pointed all sort of weapons on me. There were a total of eight person. Five men and three women, if they were really women. I sighed. Why does it always happen to me?

One of the men asked me something in a language I didn't know. I tried to explain them that I couldn't talk their language. They exchanged a look and one of the women stepped ahead and looked at me

-"Send who you?"

It took me a few seconds to understand what she wanted to know. I explained her that I was just looking for mushrooms and that I fell in a hole.

-"Mushrooms with guns?"

She replied while pointing at my guns. I knew at that time that I was finished. I wanted to fight but in my state that would be totally stupid to even try. Three men came to me and handcuffed my hands behind my back. One of the told me something I didn't get the meaning. I understood what he wanted when he kicked my knees to make me kneel down. another pulled my hair backward. I winced but kept on looking at him. He muttered something and split on my face. Hadn't I broke my ribs, I would have shot him. they lifted me up on my feet. They blindfolded me before forcing me to walk.

I calmly obeyed. Trying to resist is useless. I couldn't see anything so I concentrated on sound. I heard the sound of the cars. It meant that we weren't far from the main road. We the right, walked for twenty seconds then turned left. We then stopped. I didn't know where we were. I discreetly patted the ground with my feet. I noticed that the ground changed. Maybe from the forest to the road. I then felt something approaching. It was a motorized machine. Maybe a car? No, it was heavier than that. I guess it was a truck. It stopped in front of us. I was lifted up and thrown inside. My body touched the cold metallic ground of the truck.

My ribs were hurting me like hell. I could hardly breathe. I couldn't see a thing. How much I hoped that Angel found the rest of my friends. And Ji yong... How much he must have been scared. I'm really a bastard. When will I , at last, tell him about my feelings? I guess I would never be able to do that. He said that he loved me because he was confused, and he realized that. His actions toward me completely changed . We are now close like we were when we first met. I really miss these times, when we weren't risking our lives. I closed my eyes a bit and opened them again. I was tired. Really tired. I wanted to sleep. Psy had taught us that when we were injured, we mustn't sleep. So I fought as much as I could against sleepiness but I lost at the end. I eventually closed my eyes and fell asleep.

An extreme pain woke me up. I looked around. I was in a sort of warehouse? I realized that I was hanged by my fists at a few meters above the ground. I was sweating. I was really frightened. What was happening to me? What was going on? As an only answer, I felt electricity coming  from my fists and headed toward every of my muscle. I arced my body and screamed in pain. I never had felt such an intense pain. I really thought that I was going to die. I head a husky laugh.

-"So the sleepy beauty finally woke up."

I was still breathing hardly. My body hadn't forgotten the pain yet. Anyway I could have recognize the voice between thousands. I frowned. Old man? What was he doing here? I tried to look toward the voice. Indeed, he was sitting on a chair on a platform just before me. He smirked while looking at me. He tilted his head on the side. I don't know what he thought about at this moment but he burst out in a laugh. His laugh was horrible. It sounded like a hyena's laugh.  I started to struggle in order to free me. That made him laugh more. He lifted his arm and I was given another electricity shot. This one was more intense that the first one. I felt blood coming in my mouth. I coughed some and glared at him. He faked being afraid.

-"Like father like son"

I froze. What did he say? Did he know about my father? Who the hell is he? Without saying anything, I kept on looking at him right in the eyes. We stared at each other for a long while like that. Anyway, I had nowhere to go. Finally, the old man looked away. I smirked a little. I won this game. The third electricity shot, more intense than the previous one, made me regret my thoughts. I was half conscious. I couldn't see or hear anything anymore. It was a really strange feeling. I couldn't feel any pain. It was like my body was flying. Does it feel like that to die? I heard the same hyena's laugh again before falling unconscious again.

When I woke up, I quickly sat up on my bed and looked around. I immediately regretted this decision. The pain was so intense that I couldn't know which part of my body was actually injured. Well, I guess that my whole body was in pain. I laid back. This time I was in a bed. Uncomfortable, sure, but it's still better than to be hanged by your fists. I unconsciously rubbed them. The rope was tied so tight that I still could feel it around my fists. Somehow it's a good thing. It meant that I wasn't unconscious for too long. 

The door opened slowly. I turned my head on the side in order to see who it was. I could only distinguish a body shape. I blinked. The shape stepped forward and I realized it was the old man. Ignoring the pain, I jumped on my feet and stepped toward him in order to fight with him. But I was blocked before I could reach him. I looked down on my feet. I had chains attached on my ankles. I glared at the old man. I knew that they had taken my guns away, calling them would be useless as well. The old man laughed again. I winced in disgust. How could I be that stupid to trust him? I really should have listened to my friends when they warned me about him.

Two men appeared behind his back and moved toward me. I may have chains on my ankles but my arms were free. I punched one of the men in his tummy, hoping to have touched his liver. He fell on the floor while holding his tummy. He tried to get up but failed. I bet that I really had touched his liver. The other guy was stunned by my action. He jumped on me. I just had the time to avoid him and I tried to hit him too but he was faster than the first one. He stood in front of me, ready to attack. I noticed that his left leg was closed to mine. I kicked his tibia with all the strength I had. I heard a sound. This was a sound of a broken bone.

The guy was holding his broken leg while screaming. The old man sighed and stepped toward me. I was hardly breathing. Each time I was inhaling, my ribs were stabbing my burning lungs. I started to get used to the pain. He took out his gun. I tensed. Is he going to kill me? I kept on looking at him in the eyes. He looked at me back. Without stopping looking at me, he pointed the gun at the first guy and shot him. In the following second, he shot the other one. I startled. How could he killed them like that? I gave him a disgusted look. The old man laughed again.

-"Like father like son" He said

That was annoying me. What does he knows about my father? He tilted his head and smirked. At that moment, he really looked like a psycho. He came closer. I didn't stepped back. If I did, he would have won. He approached his head toward mine and whispered in my ears.

-"Must I kill you like I kill your father?"

I froze. What does he mean by that? Four men rushed in. Two of them held my arms, preventing me from moving. The two other waited the orders. I kept on looking at him. He was always smiling. I wanted to erase his smile but I couldn't touch him. He reached out his hand to me and patted my cheek. I spilt on his face. I succeeded in erasing his disgusting smile and succeeded in making him furious. He muttered something to the two men and walked away. I smirked .I didn't know what will happen next but I wouldn't see his face anymore.

One of the two men in front of be took a baseball bat. The first hit cut my breathe. I cough some blood. The one who was holding my left arm pulled my hair back. I saw his face and noticed that he was one of the men who were at the tunnel exit. He pulled my hair harder. I winced a bit. They all laughed seeing how weak I was. He finally let my hair go. I coughed again and received a kick in my face. I heard my jaw's bone breaking. I let out a scream of pain. I never have thought that broken jaw could be that painful.

For a long while they hit me with everything they hat. Bats, truncheons, chains, guns. My body eventually became used to all of this. I stopped feeling the pain. My sight was blurred. The only thing I could hear was my bones breaking under their hit. I was really in a bad state. Suddenly, the hits stopped. I didn't know what was going on. I lifted my head up but my swollen eyes prevented me from seeing anything. I was lifted up and was roamed in corridors. I tried to look around to see where I was but couldn't.

I was thrown in a room. I rolled on the side and tried to get on my knees. All of the bones that composed my body was broken. I don't know how I was still alive. The light suddenly appeared. It dazzled me. I blinked many times so as to get used to it. I eventually got used to the light. There was a chair next to me. There was nothing else. I heard a voice coming from nowhere, telling me to sit on the chair. I obeyed and tried to get on the chair. I helped myself with the back of the chair. I forced on my legs to stand up. The pain was so awful that I thought I was going to faint. I eventually sat on the chair. I coughed some blood and the voice carried on.

I knew it was the Old man's voice. I was fed up with hearing this voice. I really wanted to get away from this hell. The old man told me that he once met my father. I frowned. My father? He was bringing it on again. I listened to him carefully. He explained that my father was a scientist who worked on the humanity's origins. His researches led him in those mountains. The old man really hoped that he found the Key but my father didn't. Anyway he knew too much about it. When my father came back to Korea, the Old man followed him and discovered and he had already made contact with Psy. This was going to be dangerous. He was going to find Ji yong. The old man just couldn't let this happen. He had to make sure that he would stop his researches. One day he broke in the house and killed my mother before taking my father with him.

It took me a few seconds to understand everything. So my father was a researcher who knew Psy. I frowned, why Psy never talked to me about it? The old man continued. He brought my father here and tortured him to make him say everything he knew. But my father never talked and died in agony.

I wanted to do a massacre. I wanted to kill that old man. My father.. My mother... they did nothing worth to die ! They just wanted to know the truth about humanity ! what's wrong about that? As I was yelling, I received an electricity shot. I arced my body and yelled. The pain was unbearable. I wanted to die. Really. So I couldn't feel the pain anymore. I tried to move but my whole body was chained at the chair. W...When? what ? who?... I was so confused. How come I didn't notice it? I started to struggle on my chair. I didn't care if I received any other electricity shot. I just wanted to get out of this.

I made the chair fall on the side and the chain went away. As if they were alive. I got on my knees and looked around while breathing. The bloody taste in my mouth was awful. I tried to stand up once but failed and fell down. I hit the floor with my fist. I had to stand up. I had to get out. Or else I'll die, for sure. I tried a second time but failed again. I was exhausted. My body wouldn't answer me anymore .I draggled to the wall and sat, resting my back against it. My whole body started to hurt again. I winced and clenched my teeth. I didn't want to cry. If I did, he would be too much delighted.

The light got more intense. The light was so intense that although I closed my eyes, I could see the light clear like my eyes were opened. He had already destroyed me physically, now he wanted to destroy me mentally. I kept my eyes closed and thought hard about something. The first that appeared in my mind was the memory of my first cliff. It was a Korean one. Everyone was there. Daesung, Taeyang and Seungri. I was about fifteen. The cliff wasn't too high but it seemed giant for a teenager. This is one of my best memories. After that day, I kept on wanted to climb cliff that were higher and higher. Until I climbed Ji yong's cliff.

Ji yong... Ji yong... Will I die without having told him about my feelings? I felt my mind going away. The light was too intense. It burnt my eyes even if my they were closed. How am I going to get out of here? I guess that it's impossible. I can't move a inch, I can't run. A miracle. A miracle would save me. But what miracle? Ji yong.. Every time that I gave up on my life he was there and saved me. Please, do it once again. I need you...

Suddenly, the light stopped. I opened my eyes. The place was sunk in darkness. Fear started to get control of me. What now? What was going to happen now? I tried to get up but my broken legs refused to obey. I really must have looked awfully weak right now... Not that I really care. I heard the door being opened. I closed my eyes. What kind of other torture they will do to me now? A small light lighten the room. There was a woman. She was quite old with long black hair. She was Asian. She was wearing a long white dirty shirt. She kneeled next to me. She had food with her.

She took out a fork, put some food on it and presented in front of my mouth. At first I refused to eat. Who knows what kind of poison was in there. She kept on silently insisting and I finally gave up and ate. The taste seemed familiar. As If I had already tasted it before. I frowned a bit and tried to talk. She placed her finger on my lips to prevent me from talking and nervously looked toward the door. She sighed in relief as nobody rushed in. She smiled at me warmly and kept on feeding me. This was strange. I felt calm. At ease. My body didn't hurt anymore. I don't know how to put it. I felt...good? When the food was finished, She smiled warmly again and caressed my cheek. At her touch I knew who she was.

-"Mom...."

When I opened my eyes, The light was even more intense than before. I thought it would have burnt my eyes but it didn't. I stood up. The pain went away. I looked up around to see where the voice had come from and yelled.

-"You will never take me away. I am not going to die here. NEVER! At this time, my friend must have found the Key and they must have already went away and sent Ji yong back to Erganova. You lose !"

At the end of my sentence, the light went off. I kept on standing here while breathing hard. I heard a laugh that I could recognize between millions. I clenched my fists. Can't he show up instead of always hiding? Is he afraid? He laughed more and told me to listen carefully. I frowned a bit. What was going on? I frowned as I heard a shrill. It was a woman's voice. No..please... not that. More shrills from different voices appeared. I recognized all of them. They were my friend's voice. The shrilling were louder and louder. They were begging to stop the toture and that they couldn't take it anymore.

Hearing my friends being tortured was awful. I felt useless. I couldn't do a thing about it. I couldn't save them. I yelled. I yelled all the pain, all the disgust I had in me. The old man laughed at my reaction. He knew how powerless I was and was delighted about it. Killing him. That's the only thing that appeared in my mind. He told me that I had some loyal friends. They rushed in, in order to  save you but they weren't well prepared. It was really easy to take them. Especially the girl. When he would kill her boyfriend, he would play with her. Rage replaced all the feelings that I had.

-"Don't dare to touch her." I muttered  "Don't dare to touch any of my friend !"

-" hahaha and if I do so? what will happen?"

I clenched my teeth. He was right. I couldn't do anything. Once again, he let me hear my friends' shrill and screams. I fell on my knees and covered my ears. I tried not to hear them but I couldn't. The shrill were so loud. They were in pain. In awful pain. And me, I just can't do a damn thing about it ! I was really mad at myself. I wanted to be stronger to be able to help my friends. That was why I trained so hard. All of the blood, all of the sweat, all of the effort for nothing. I am not even able to save myself. How can I save them?

If only I had my guns with me. If I had them I could get out of here and save everyone. I heard Minzy screaming louder than before then nothing. I tried to listen carefully but I couldn't hear her voice anymore. I yelled her name. Somehow I hoped that he would answer me but I knew she wouldn't. I kept on yelling her name. Did he kill her really? She had nothing to do with all that ! Let her go! The old man didn't answer me. Just his hyena's laugh...

Hearing Taeyang screaming Minzy's name in tears was unbearable. He was devastated. She couldn't be dead .That just couldn't be. Not our Minzy.. everything but that. It was my fault. I trusted a man that I didn't know at all. He had planned everything from the very start. I was blind. I wished I had never seen this article about the cursed cliff. Everyone would have lived a normal life. But ji yong...

Now that I think of it, I couldn't hear his voice. There were everyone's voice but Ji yong's voice. I started to be afraid. Where were him? The old man seemed to have read in my mind.

-"You're looking for your dear boy right?"

I didn't answered and just waited for the answer. The light got a bit more intense and the shrills stopped. Right in front of me, there was a wall. But it was different from the others. Another light appeared. It lighten behind the wall. It was in fact a huge glass that enabled me to see the room behind it. In this room, there was someone bare chested sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. There was a lot of blood on the floor around the chair. Suddenly, the boy arced his body and opened his mouth to scream. I froze. His whole body was cut and bloody. He still had a knife stuck in his tummy. Although I couldn't hear a thing, I knew that he was yelling from pain. Tears started to get down on my cheeks. That was too much.

-"Ji yong..." I whispered.