The Breakout Project - Hwang Hyunjin

Chapter 8

It's safe to say I didn't go back to sleep after that.

But things didn't stop right there because that would have been too lame. Instead, I woke up that Thursday to my father drinking his coffee while listening to the news on the TV. At first, I had seriously considered not telling my dad about it because his nerves were already prickled after the sudden destruction of his carving machine. However, I quickly changed my mind after my ear managed to hear the word 'murder' coming from the rectangular screen in our living room.

Dumping my breakfast, I hurried to the couch and let my body fall on the cushion, my face blanching at the pictures they were showing.

"Another body was found near Hongdae this morning. Mr. Jung Hyesong claimed to almost step on the corpse as he was taking out the trash from his bakery at around 6 A.M." The mentioned one appeared on the screen; a man in his seventies with the ends of his hair slightly white and sleepy-looking eyes. "Somehow, I had forgotten to take it out yesterday. I used the back door because I don't like leaving my trash at plain sight, it causes smell, y'know? I have a container in my yard so I always dump the garbage there. It was a surprise when I opened the dumpster and found the limbs there."

Limbs.

The victim had been shredded to pieces. Of course they didn't show it this time, only a short footage of the man's backyard where the green containers could be seen.

"How do you think the victim got there, Mr. Jung?" the woman interviewer asked.

"The place is completely confined except for the lack of roof. I'm assuming someone dropped his body from one of the rooftops in the adjacent buildings," he explained, scratching his jaw.

The news lady appeared once again. "Experts confirm that there were no signs of knife usage, seeing that the appearance of the soft tissue demonstrated a lack of clean cuts, which led authorities to think that the body parts were, in fact, torn using physical strength only."

A bitter state formed in my mouth.

"That is completely messed up," I heard my father say next to me.

"Again, we ask all citizens to stay inside your houses and don't go out unless strictly necessary."

"Dad," I found myself saying. There was no going back now. "I have to tell you something."

My father's eyes darted from the TV to me, waiting for me to continue.

"There was someone standing in the street last night. It was a man. And before you say anything, I wasn't dreaming, okay? He was standing there, looking at our house without doing anything." My voice trembled a little.

As a response, I saw his eyes furrow in confusion and then, as the truth sank in, he let out a nervous sigh, pulling me into his arms and hugging me tightly. His hand rubbed my back soothingly as I let myself be washed with emotion. I could feel him place his hand on the back of my neck, straightening my hair and my heart broke when I heard him sob.

After that, he promised to call the cops just to be sure and then, he bid me goodbye as I left for school, not without making me swear that I would be back early today. Of course, I complied.

I convinced myself that telling him had been the smartest decision.

My morning consisted in checking the classroom clock every now and then, waiting for lunch to arrive. I still had one more period before that happened and I couldn't wait to see Chan and Jisung. Being honest, I wasn't sure how the latter would react, he would likely make fun of me and tell me I was on drugs; Chan, being the good friend that he is, would side with me and make sure I was okay.