August, 2023:
Long deep breaths and faster-than-usual strides led the bulky man deeper into the dark alley, devoid of any breathing being. tan arms littered with messy, meaningless tattoos now dangling beside the built figure. he looks back and glances at the lingering dark figure, unable to get rid of him. it was a matter of seconds before the frightened man accelerated through the narrow streets, not even looking back now. unsure of how to retort, he lays low to get rid of the human leech trailing behind him.
Passing the endless graffiti-covered walls and a few abandoned storehouses, the bulky man comes head-on with a dead end, mumbling profanities under his breath, he turns around and faces the man covered in black from the dishevelled strand peeking out of his cap tucked downwards to his covered toes in expensive combats. to save the last ounces of his dignity, he manages to mutter out a weak "What do you want?", it comes out croaky and breathless but it gets the message across cause the taller male strides forward with teasingly slow steps, pulling the cap closer to his yet to be revealed face.
"Would you give it to me if I were to tell you?" The air seems a lot chillier all of a sudden or most probably it was all in his head, squaring up his shoulders, the man upon hearing the stranger's cold voice marches forward despite the chills running down his spine, trying to sound intimidating, all after whimpering and sprinting like a timid puppy to this impediment.
"I might consider it." The fear in his groggy voice might've been evident seeing the man cladded in black lets out a humourless chuckle. gulping down the frenzy of his emotions, his eyes zero on the suspicious lad pulling a crowbar out of his daypack puzzling the cornered man further.
"Your fingers." The Mysterious lad mutters, swinging the crowbar in one of his hands, he strides with long steps, not giving the confused man a chance to process his sudden ambush, swinging the weapon with full force, he launches it at the bewildered bloke.
"Give me two of your fingers." were the only coherent words that resonated within the bounded region and all that was heard after that were the useless cries for help of the chap and his glass-shattering screams as blood oozed out of his attacked hands, trickling down onto the rough pavement of the old alley road, becoming one with the water of the random puddles.
February 2014:
"Alright class, that's all for today! Are you all studying hard and preparing for the upcoming CSAT?" Groans and eye rolls were directed at the cheerful homeroom teacher as she sorted out the files on her table, preparing to leave the room. She shakes her head at their antics before smiling one last time and finally leaving the class.
"Moonseok-ah! Do you wanna go to the arcade after school?" The lady in question glances up from her notes, hands stopping midway of doodling random words on her notes, and looks through her thick glass lens to the short-haired student leaning in front of her desk.
"I'll pass." She says after a moment of deliberation, going back to scribbling indecipherable characters in her notebook. The short-haired lass sighs, having heard the same thing more than a thousand times now. "I didn't ask. You're going! Thank you very much" She ends with a toothy grin, puppy eyes gleaming with thin strings of hope.
"I'm busy." Was her curt reply, it sounded almost rude to the passersby however the one sitting in front of her was unfazed, already used to her unimpressed, half-ass looks. "No, you're not." She retorts. "I very much am." The eye roll accompanying her words made the lass deflate, she shrunk back to her seat, a cute pout on her soft features.
"Yeah. When did I ever win against you?" The girl mumbles, picking out books of her own and burying her face in the pile of papers stacked on the desk. "I'm sorry, maybe next time, Minjoon." Moonseok smiled a bit in apology before getting back to her work.
In the blink of an eye, the sun had set, and the blue sky had morphed into mesmerising shades of crimson red and copper orange. Moonseok shoves all her belongings into her black schoolbag, the last one to leave her class, she turns off the blinding lights closing the door after her as she departs.
Once out of the school, realization sits in as she spares a bored look at her surroundings, it is late. Her father will give her an earful about being careless once again, it'd be the third time this week she listens to her father go on about how she should leave the school premises the second they are let go. Shaking her head, she pats down her frizzed bangs, walking down the dark streets, both hands tucked in the pocket of her oversized hoodie that she desperately tries to keep warm, the chill air ambushing her already cold hands.
Turns and corners, long but lazy strides and Moonseok is already halfway across the town, nearing her worn-down house. A halt in her step can be seen from afar as she hears heavy footsteps following her, the soles of their shoes prodding annoyingly against the decrepit thoroughfare.
The intruder slows his pace seeing the young lass hesitant, after a moment of standing still and staring at nothingness ahead of her, the girl continues her march, although at a greater pace this time. She's almost sprinting down the alleyways, passing broken streetlights and garbage-littered corners in a flash, not once turning around to look behind her. The footsteps get louder and clearer, just like her erratic heartbeat, she swears she can hear her pumping organ trying to break out of her ribcage.
It is only a matter of seconds before she is roughly flung from the streets into a secluded corner, the intruder holding onto her shoulders with her thrashing around in his tight hold, straight black hair flying everywhere, she desperately tries to free herself of his suffocating hold.
The stranger turns her around in his arms, both facing each other now, barely a centimetre in between them. Moonseok glances up frightened only to see a familiar face hit her vision. The man in question just grins sheepishly, scratching the back of his head rather harshly at her timorous, nonetheless unimpressed gaze.
"What is wrong with you!?" She shrieks in an irked manner, roughly backing up, making a safe distance between them, grabbing ahold of her bag strap and securing it once again against her shoulder, which had somehow slipped off in a bewildering encounter with her classmate.
"I know you told me not to talk to you, but let's face it, who wouldn't like me? Moonseok-ah, I mean, I'm pretty amazing. So, if you want to date someone who's on my level, then go ahead and ask me out. You won't regret it." The yet-to-be-named let out in a hushed whisper, hands sweaty, a rictus grin on his face that he tried to conceal with a shit-eating smirk.
The aforementioned glances up at his attacker and rolls her eyes, folding both of her arms in front of her chest, tapping her right foot on the pavement, appearing almost bored at his confession, if it counts as one. "I don't like you. It's as simple as that. So stop following me like a creep and have some dignity." She spits out rudely, getting back on her way, throwing the boy one last disgusted glance and turning around leaving the man to his messed up emotions.
Running his tongue on the inside of his cheek, the male closes both his eyes, hands finding their way into the tight pockets of his denim pants. With a slight tilt of his head, he lets out a small sigh, opening his eyes with a sudden change in his demeanour, the shy gaze he not long ago had in his hazel eyes replaced with something darker, something Moonseok should've taken notice of. But she didn't, she failed to recognize the evil glint in his eyes, the change in his behaviour and most importantly, she definitely should've noted the sudden surge of chilly, cold air resembling the ones on harsh winter nights.
"Ahh, this bitch must think she's a celeb." Jerking his head in the direction of her departing figure, he follows her. The latter, a couple of steps ahead of him oblivious of his approaching steps. He takes hold of her crossed arms, alarming the shorter once again. Moonseok frowns, ready to throw insults at him once again, but she finds herself unable to mumble out even a syllable cause of his chapped lips austerely pressing against hers. Her eyes widen at the situation at hand and start pushing him with all of her strength but to no avail, the male only letting go once he's out of breath.
Moonseok glares at his towering figure in absolute pure hate, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, disgusted at the saliva clinging to her manicured hands. She delivers a sharp slap to his face alarming the guy, head still at one side. A dark chortle echoes in the falling night, he seizes her dainty build, dragging her against her will, the latter tries her very best to make him let go of her but unsuccessfully.
"I'm gonna have my way with you and you're gonna like every fucking second of it." Moonseok tries to cry for help but the sound comes out muffled as her limp body is shoved to the nearest corner and thrown to the ground, palms prodding against the rough rocks, she winces at the sting. Tears weld up in her clear eyes that don't seem so clear anymore, fogged with unleashed tears and pure horror at the approaching devil, hands fiddling with his belt, tucking his shirt out of his pants.
*
A night of absolute, boundless ghastliness. A night Moonseok can never obliterate. A blemish she can never triturate off her body despite a great deal of forlorn baths in her small snug bathroom. Regret. Regret is the most prominent of all the frenzy in her clogged mind. A dozen what-ifs and only-ifs mocking her trembling body. Maybe this could have been avoided.
Only if I had skipped school today and stayed with Dad.
Only if I had gone to the arcade with Minjoon.
Only if I had left for home early... Only if I had not taken the shortcut to home.
Only if someone had seen me in the streets and called the authorities.
Only if I had enough strength to punch that jerk in the face and run away.
She stands in front of the aggressive sea waves, staring longingly at the sole horizon, the sun yet to come out of its sleep. Hair dishevelled, uniform distorted, and a repugnant feeling in between her legs that made her wanna kill the person who did it to her. blood wouldn't stop trickling down her smooth legs, she felt dizzy, memory foggy and the only thing she recalls before plopping down on the ground with a thud is her father's warm smile, holding her brother in a chokehold as the latter complains of suffocation with a small smile on his face and a tainted, bloodied Moonseok standing at a distance from them until she disappears into small fragments of dust; regret and broken promises crowd her disappearing body. Until she is reduced to nothingness.
Her dead body is soon discovered by a group of loud fishers who cry in horror at her limbless, lifeless figure in a pool of crimson-red blood and it's no longer that every living being in the small town of Jeju finds out about her cruel death. Pitying the young girl, they pray for her soul to rest in peace and let death be kinder than man.
To be continued...