Incarnadine | Prequel to "Viridescence"

2

"That reminds me, tell me more about friends and what they do!" Hongjoong leans forward eagerly, not a hint of sarcasm or malice in his tone.

Still highly confused, the older decides to cooperate. "I-I don't know what kinds of things you want to hear," he stutters uncertainly. "Would friends do what we're doing right now?" Hongjoong wonders.

"Talking to each other? Yeah, friends do that all the time," he slowly answers.

"No, I mean, would a friend leave everything behind for their friend?" Hongjoong's eyes widen in anticipation. Seonghwa feels tears stinging his eyes. He quickly blinks them away and furrows his eyebrows.

"No. It's too harsh. The friend should be more considerate to the friend that's leaving everything behind, maybe they're not good friends after all," he spits while suddenly standing up. He knows he was told not to, but he starts storming off in the direction of the town. He's wasted enough time, he should be trying to run away right now. This whole situation isn't fair at all.

"Who gave you permission to leave?" Seonghwa freezes when he hears Hongjoong's voice growl from behind. He was hoping Hongjoong would just leave him be, but it seems like nothing has fazed the other.

He turns back around slowly in fear. Hongjoong gets up while brushing any grass or dirt on his trousers. He takes a few steps closer to Seonghwa, who's frozen in his spot. He leans closer into the older's face. "Don't get too comfortable. We're friends now, you're not going anywhere," Hongjoong whispers with a manic glint in his eyes.

This is enough to scare Seonghwa into following the other again. He lets out a shaky sigh as he jogs beside the younger. The frown on his face grows when he sees Hongjoong's lips set into a straight line with his eyebrows furrowed down. He had such an innocent glow to his face only moments ago, but it's magically gone without a trace.

"Where exactly are we going?" Seonghwa squeaks. He clenches his fists tighter when he gets ignored. He must have really annoyed Hongjoong by storming off like that. This is the quietest he's been since they met.

Seonghwa still finds it difficult to adjust to Hongjoong's mood swings. It terrifies him enough to make him shake before him. This unpredictability is what makes the child so dangerous. Seonghwa gets the feeling that he'll be killed in a matter of days.

Maybe even in a few minutes if he's not careful.

They finally reach the edge of the field and hop over the shabby wooden fence. They now walk side by side on the secluded street. Hongjoong finally stops when they near a local clothes shop. Seonghwa recognises the shop- it's run by one old man and the sales have never been too high there, even though the clothes are cheap. The bigger shops on the main market street of the town steal away all his customers.

Seonghwa's eyes travel to the younger boy nervously and his heart plummets when he notices that Hongjoong's gaze has not left the closed store.

"Don't steal from him! He's a really sweet old man, he's already struggling with his business," Seonghwa whines. With a huff, Hongjoong walks forward. "Don't tell me what to do."

Panicked, Seonghwa chases after him. He wants to continue begging him but he's also afraid he might provoke him too much. He tries to think of words that could stop Hongjoong, but nothing comes to his mind.

At last, Hongjoong bends down to pick up a large rock. He takes a few steps back before violently flinging the rock into the glass window of the store as hard as he can. One throw is enough to cause a large hole to shatter in the window.

Seonghwa gasps. He wants to run away so bad. The fact that he's standing beside a robbery and the fact that his clothes are covered in a dead woman's blood makes his heart race, but the thought of Hongjoong tracking him down to kill him keeps his feet glued in place.

Hongjoong takes another rock and smashes some more glass in to make the hole big enough for him to enter. He hops into the dark shop, leaving Seonghwa to nervously flick his head around the deserted street. He knows that no one lives on this street, but he still feels paranoid that someone would hear.

A few moments later, Hongjoong emerges with a two paper bags full of clothes. "Let's go," he whispers. "Wait!" Seonghwa urgently calls out. Hongjoong turns around with an annoyed expression. "At least leave some money behind for him. I saw you take your mother's wallet," he tries to confidently demand. He tries his best to control his rapid breathing and quivering lips.

Hongjoong rolls his eyes and aggressively pulls out his mother's wallet from his pocket. He sighs when his eyes land on the abundance of high valued notes. His mother really walked around with this much cash? She must have been intending to do something with this cash today.

He pulls a few notes to the side and flings the rest through the hole of the glass. He doesn't know if he gave away too much or too little, but he knows he doesn't have the time to count. "Stop wasting time, come on!" he ushers while grabbing Seonghwa's wrist and dashing away.

Feeling at least a bit satisfied that the old man still got the money for the clothes, he follows. Once they're back in the field, Hongjoong plops onto the ground again and pants uncontrollably. This time Seonghwa voluntarily joins him too, feeling too tired to stand.

"Rest for a little while you can. We're going to escape to a different town in a few minutes," Hongjoong explains in a stern tone between breaths. "But no buses will be going right now," Seonghwa challenges.

A smirk grows on Hongjoong's lips. "We can walk," he calmly announces. Seonghwa's eyes nearly bulge out of his skull. "The nearest town is way too far away by foot! Can't we just stay here?" Seonghwa desperately begs.

Hongjoong raises an eyebrow. "My father and your uncle and aunt...they're all going to be out looking for us right now. We need to leave as soon as we can."

Seonghwa picks at his fingernails. He knows better than to say it out loud but he really hopes someone will find them before it's too late, whether that be his own remaining family or Hongjoong's.

He snaps out of his thoughts when a ball of clothes fly into his face. "Change into these quickly and dump your bloody clothes to the side somewhere," Hongjoong orders in a hard tone. Seonghwa stares at the clothes in disbelief.

"I can't just change out in the open..." he begins loudly, but drifts off when he notices Hongjoong's glare. Feeling like he's being controlled by fear, he stands up. Hongjoong nods and turns around, at least giving Seonghwa a little bit of privacy.

He quickly begins changing his clothes, shivering at the feeling of the crisp night air against his bare skin. He suddenly gets the idea to run away while Hongjoong is turned, but he knows it'd be pointless and probably fatal. He's too tired right now and in such an open field, it'd be impossible to hide.

He sadly finishes and slumps back onto the ground. The clothes are baggy on him, but not too large. He notices how the clothes are black and concealing, the moonlight providing enough light for him to even see that much.

Next, he turns around while Hongjoong changes and the same thoughts plague his mind again. Maybe if he sprinted really fast...

"I'm done, let's go," he hears the dreaded voice of the other. He hesitantly stands up again.

Please find me quickly, uncle and aunty.