We jumped into my car and sat watching the water. This could be the moment of truth, but it could also be the end for us, if we got out of the car. Sungjong and I stared at the area of the water that the creature had stirred at a few moments ago. If we were lucky, we might catch a glimpse of this thing. Locking my door, I motioned for Sungjong to do the same. If the attacker was humanoid, it would understand what a car was and would likely see us inside. I wasn’t about to let something happen to Sungjong. He was my reason for living. 

As we watched, a dark, long form emerged from the water, slithering onto the bank like a very fat snake. I noticed my camera on the floorboard and came up with an idea. 

“Hey, can you hand my camera to me, babe? This could be the only proof we’ll get from this monster.” I wanted to smack myself when I realized that I had just called Sungjong ‘babe.’ It was an automatic nickname, but he may not like it anymore. It had just slipped out. 

Sungjong stared at me for a moment and I noticed that he seemed uncomfortable now. The nickname had gotten to him. He reached onto the floorboard and picked up my camera slowly, trying not to disturb the monster. 

I smiled at him, mumbling a ‘thank you’ before turning the camera on and putting it into the night vision mode. From the infer-red light, we could see what the creature was doing, but it didn’t offer enough light to alert it to out presence. I felt my stomach begin to turn as it continued to slither further onto the bank. I could still picture the attack, when it had grabbed our friend and taken off with him at lightning speed. If this was the same creature, it was a lot slower on the land. 

As we watched, it rolled around in the mud like a reptile. However, I had to clasp my hand over Sungjong’s mouth to keep him from screaming when it turned to us. Its eyes were bright orange, and slit like a reptile, but they were glowing. Staring at it, I knew in my heart that this was our culprit. It was definitely not human, and I hated it with every fiber of my being. The creature was still watching us and it began to slither in our direction. A chill ran down my spine as it moved faster, and I handed the camera back to Sungjong and the car. This monster was after us, and we needed to get away. I wanted to drive straight for it and run over the bastard, but my instinct was warning me against that action. I didn’t know what it was, and it might me able to flip the truck over. I wasn’t about to put Sungjong in that kind of danger. Being here and filming it was enough. I didn’t bother backing the car up, but drove straight forward in a circle and sped off. If it was going into the trap, we would find it later. If not, I would bring an ax and hack it to death myself. Right now, we needed to wait until daylight, and I needed to review the video from my camera to see what I could conclude about this monster. 

I drove Sungjong back to his apartment, smiling at him. “Are you okay?” I spoke softly, my mind still on the mysterious monster. 

Sungjong stared at me, nodding. He frowned, and I knew the look that was on his face now. He was thinking about something. “What happened to us?” He caught me by surprise with the question. 

I froze, contemplating my answer. I decided to go with the safe one. “Distance.” I knew that was the wrong answer as soon as it left my mouth. Sungjong pursed his lips and he nodded slowly. I could feel the anger building inside of him and it was scary. “We could have stayed in touch and things wouldn’t be this way, but…” 

Sungjong glared at me. “No , Myungsoo! You didn’t even think about keeping this going, did you? We didn’t have to fall apart, but apparently you don’t care to fix things. You just act like the last two years didn’t fly by without much to say to each other. You’re so ing selfish!” His eyes were glistening with tears now as he glared at me. I could tell from his reaction that his anger wasn't actually directed at me, but at the situation we had all gone through. 

I shook my head. “Sungjong, fixing things would take effort on both side, wouldn’t it? I wanted to talk to you, but you wouldn’t answer anything that was beyond anything that I would have said to anyone else. Don’t even pretend that you’re the one trying to keep this alive. I didn’t know what to say, damn it. I…I’m just sorry, okay?” 

Sungjong nodded, opening the door and getting out. “I don’t want to talk about it. Be careful going home, okay?” 

I ignored the fact that he had been the one to ask what had happened, and yet, he was also the one who was avoiding the subject. Sighing, I nodded back. “Okay. Goodnight.” He shut the door in my face, and I drove home. This was a terrible end to a nice day. 

When Sungjong got home, he noticed that Hoya was in the kitchen looking for something to make for dinner. Sitting down on a chair with a heavy sigh, he began picking at the frayed wood on the table. Hoya didn't notice for a while, but