"What did I think..." Jonghyun mumbled as he started to walk towards an escalator. For a moment he wanted to turn back and give up because the silence was so oppressing. When he reached the second floor there was a sudden loud noise coming from speakers. It scared Jonghyun almost to his death.

"The Guard has started his shift. All intruders will be eliminated mercilessly."

"Holy sh*t!" Jonghyun shrieked and hid behind the nearest trash bin. He hold his breath and hearkened but there was no noise other than the humming of the air conditioning. Keeping an eye on his surroundings Jonghyun stood up and with the quietest steps he could take he entered the nearest shop.

"C'mon you can do this Jjong... Just keep your head down and you'll be just fine", he said, trying to encourage himself as he searched for the key. There was nothing in the first two shops, but in the third he found the first key. When he grabbed it from a table, there was another announcement that didn't fail to scare him again. He crouched as fast as a taekwondo fighter dodging a spinning hook kick.

"The key of the second floor has been found."

"What?!" Jonghyun cried out making sure his voice was nothing but a whisper. "You're not supposed to tell him that! That's not fair!"

But he didn't have time to complain about the commentator because he had to get out of the second floor before the Guard got there.

Aw man, he's probably keeping an eye on the escalators. This is so nerve-wracking! Ottoke...

Jonghyun peeked out of the shop, still crousching.

I can't stay here, he'll find me. Should I hide somewhere else and wait for a while? He might think I made it to the other floors if I'm lucky.

But Jonghyun decided it was a stupid idea because there was no clothing stores on the second floor. A fitting room would have been a great place to hide since he could lock himself inside if the Guard was to find him. Carefully and slowly Jonghyun managed to climb on the third floor without a glimpse of the Guard. He tried to calm himself by rolling the key in his shaking hands even though it was no use.

Where is he? I should have seen him by now, everybody else was eliminated in 10 minutes! What's the matter... Has he been following me all the time?

But there was no-one around even though Jonghyun made sure to look behind every corner before walking past them, check if anyone was following him, and keep his pace quiet yet fast. He found the second key from a bakery's shop window.

"The key of the third floor has been found."

"Oh shut up already", Jonghyun whined and hid behind the counter for safety's sake. He sat there for a moment, trying to calm down and hearkening but still hearing nothing.

This is running too smoothly...

It was not like it was a bad sign, but the more time passed without a sight of the Guard, the more jumpy Jonghyun felt. And even if he wanted to just stay there hiding, the game had to go on. He stood up again carefully peeking to secure his surroundings before making a move and then tiptoeing out of the shop.

Alright, two keys and floors left. Why didn't I start from the bottom floor? I'm a complete idiot.

Since it was no use going to the first floor first, he headed for the fourth floor. Two keys in his hand he started to climb up an escalator when a red figure on the other side of the floor caught his eyes. The sight made him miss a few breaths before he inhaled so sharply that a whiz could be heard. The second thing he knew was that he was sprinting up the escalator on all fours.

O' shít, o' shít he was there. He was freaking there!

Hitting his knee on a step, Jonghyun fell on his stomach. He his back, hissing from the pain, to see if anyone was coming his way, but saw nobody. Jonghyun's leg was still aching but there was no time to let the it ease or else he would be dead meat in minutes. Making it alive to the fourth floor, Jonghyun crawled behind the first pillar he came across. As he was trying to catch his breath while holding his hand over his mouth to mute his gasps, Jonghyun noticed that there was goose bumps on his skin and his hands were shaking like those of 100-year-old's. A sound of someone running echoed on the walls of the mall.

I'm so dead, I'm so dead.

It took him minutes to calm down. Jonghyun let out sharp but deep breaths and buried his face in his hands. The mall was now dead silent. Even all the air conditioners were so far away Jonghyun couldn't hear them humming.

What was I thinking? This was the stupidest idea I've ever had. What was I thinking...

He let his hands fall on his lap and then he realized it. He had dropped the keys.