Cursed | Yang Hongseok

•10

I followed the guy called Woseok trough the corridor where I originally came from. We went all the way back to the dark hall where the exit was. If I wanted to run away, now would be the perfect time. And truth to be told, I did want to leave this place as soon as possible, but after what I just saw down there, leaving without answers was no longer an option.

"This way." Wooseok mumbled, pointing at the upper staircase that I didn't have a chance to examine until now. While we were going up, I couldn't help but wonder where he was taking me. Yuto did mention some guy named Hoetaek, but of course, that name didn't ring any bells.

After we arrived at the first floor, we found ourselves standing in yet another corridor. Unlike the one at the basement level, this one was in a way better condition, but it still didn't look as if it was inhabited.

I guess I'm just about to find out if it is, I thought, following Wooseok further trough the building, until he stopped in front of one of the doors and knocked.

"Who is it?" An unknown voice that was a bit higher than Wooseok's said.

"It's Wooseok. I've got something for you." He said, which sent chills down my spine.

"Come in." The voice said, although its owner sounded a bit confused.

Wooseok opened the door, exposing the medium-sized office with a huge table and five people sitting at it. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't help but notice all five pairs of eyes sticking to me as soon as they saw me enter the room.

"... How the hell did you even manage to bring her here?" One brown-haired guy asked.

"Shut up, Changgu." The other man said and stood up from his seat. "Wooseok, explain this."

"Me? I think you should let her speak, Hoetaek. After all, she came here by herself."

After Wooseok said that, all the other guys looked at me in disbelief. The guy called Hoeataek moved closer to us, and I couldn't help but notice how intimidating he was. His hair was really dark, but under this poor lighting I wasn't able to tell if it was actually black or maybe even dark blue. He had a mullet hairstyle that suited him pretty well, and his eyes looked like he was able to kill a person by simply looking at them.

And then, he looked at me.

I didn't die, but I didn't want to wait and see what would happen if I disobeyed his silent order, so I spoke.

"That's true." I said. "I did come here by myself, hoping that I would be able to find Yang Hongseok here. I'm pretty sure you know him. Also, since I saw the wall you have in your basement, I would like to get some answers."

"Brave." One of the dark-haired guys said, raising a brow.

"I didn't ask for your opinion either, Hyunggu." Hoetaek sighed, and then looked back at me. "And why would you have a reason to believe that Yang Hongseok was here in the first place?"

I put a hand in my pocket, searching for the piece of paper that brought me here. After I found it, I handed it to Hoetaek.

He examined it for only a second, and then smirked.

"That's a message that we left him."

"And I have a reason to believe that he left it for me to find." I said, trying to sound confident, but not being sure if I succeeded. That gesture of mine only made Hoetaek smirk once again.

"You're a smart girl, Xia." He said. "You always have been."

"Can somebody please explain to me how you know my name already?" I whined, but still trying to not be annoying. After all, these men looked quite dangerous. I didn't want to mess with them.

"Trust me, darling, I would love to tell you all of it more than anything. We all want to get this over with already, and I'm sure that deep inside, you want that too." Hoetaek said. "But I believe it wouldn't be fair towards Hongseok. It's up to him how the explanation will sound like, anyway. He knows the story better than all of us."

"What do you mean?" I asked, but just at that moment, I heard a knock on the door behind me, which made me freeze.

"Who is it?" Hoetaek asked, but I felt as if I already knew the response he was going to get.

"It's Hongseok. I'm back." The familiar voice said trough the other side of the door.

"Come in." Hoetaek said, and I could once again read some uncertainity from his face.

Just a second later, a familiar person entered the room, and as soon as our eyes meet, his mouth went wide open.

"Xia? What are you doing here?" He said, but truth to be told, he wasn't as surprised as I thought he would be.

"I went to your house yesterday because I wanted to apologize for you know what." I said. "And then I found the meassge with the adress. Pretty ingenious how you used the Anna Karenina book, I must admit. And I also must admit that I initially though coming here was a mistake. But then I saw whatever it is that you keep in the room down there."

I looked him directly in the eyes.

"You owe me an explanation, Hongseok."

If Hongseok was even a little surprised when he saw me a few seconds ago, that expression was now completely gone from his face. Instead, it was replaced by a subtle smirk.

"You're right." He said, taking a deep breath. "You deserve to know what's going on, and it's about time I finally tell you."

He opened the door, suggesting me to follow him. Just as I was about to do so, I heard another slightly high-pitched voice behind me.

"Wait! Are you really going to let them leave alone? That way, we'll just lose her again!"

"Jinho's right." Hoetaek said, turning towards the fifth guy, whose hair was wavy and just a bit longer. "Shinwon, you should go with them."

"Understood." The guy named Shinwon said, standing up and escorting us out of the room.

*

After we exited the office, we went up all the way to the roof of the building.

"Okay, you can start explaining, Hongseok. I'll be standing a bit further because I do respect your privacy." Shinwon said. "But I'm warning you – as difficult as it is, do not try anything. Otherwise, I might have to push you over the edge of this building and poor girl will be forced to watch you fall down."

"Good luck with that." Hongseok rolled his eyes.

After a few moments, Shinwon moved a bit further, leaving Hongseok and me partially alone.

"So?" I asked, impatient for my answers.

Hongseok took a deep breath.

"I guess I'll just get straight to it, then." He said, looking me in the eyes. "Remember when I told you about the woman I was in love with during my military service?"

"... Yes." I said, feeling that strange feeling in my chest yet again.

"Good." Hongseok nodded. "Well, I know this will be incredibly hard to believe, but... That woman was you."