"Seven days! You only have seven days left!"
I open my eyes and find a grey parrot repeating the phrase over and over again on my shoulder. The parrot had menacing, bloodshot eyes. The bird finally flies away, squawking "Catch him if you can!"
Catch who?
I get up and stretched. I have no idea what my exact location was. I observed my surroundings and realized I was on the top of a roof of a tower... but how did I even get here?
From my view, I see a gigantic maze below me. I spotted a dark haired boy with a white t shirt running in the maze... it's Jungkook!
He seems to be running away from some figure- a dark shadow was following him. That shadow seemed so familiar...
I climb down the tower and stood in front of the maze's entrance.
There was a gigantic sign.
Enter if you dare to endure the consequences.
Without a second thought, I ran into the maze.
Giant stone walls surround me. Everytime I thought I found the exit, another obstacle came my way. It was like the wall just came out of thin air! I feared that the maze would be endless, and there was no way out. I couldn't even keep track of my own direction.
Despite my fear of being eternally lost, I struggled through and found the exit.
Outside the maze was sunshine enough to see the towering walls of steel. The brightness of the outdoors was a complete contrast to the gloomy atmosphere prior to entering the maze.
Maybe the brightness was a foreshadowing to the future?
I follow the path of light to find boy with a messy posh of dark hair.
"Jungkook!" I call out, running speedily towards him.
His eyes shine, upon recognizing my face. Jungkook's vibrant smile was emphasized by the glow of the sunset behind him. Maybe he'd be just fine?
Exhausted from my run, I rest my hands on my knees. I grin. "I finally found you!"
He grins back. "You'll be the last person to see my final moments!"
"Yeah, I guess so." I just realize the meaning of his strange words. "Wait, what?"
The shadow that was chasing him finally engulfs Jungkook's body. His eyes becomes completely black and his face is void of emotion.
He waves at me. "I'll finally be at peace."
He falls backwards from the cliff.
"No!!!!" I scream. I run and grab his arm.
I'm holding onto his body as he was dangling from the edge of the cliff.
"I...can't...hold...on.. any...longer.." Sweat was dripping from my face as I was trying to pick Jungkook up but he was too heavy.
"You have to climb up! Use your strength!" I instructed him, gritting my teeth.
He shakes his head, smiling. "I don't have any strength left. You deserve to live and I deserve to die."
"That's not true. Just hold on a bit longer..." I begged him, trying my best to grip his body. He slowly slipped, and now only my hand was holding his hand.
"I can't." With an apologetic grin, he lets go of my hand and falls into the deep blue water below the cliff.
"No!" I cry.
This was really the end for Jungkook. I tried everything in my power to stop his pain, but I wasn't able to change destiny.
He lost the faith in everything and everyone and didn't have the strength to go on.
I place my hand on my fast-beating heart. I look around and find myself in my poorly lit room.
Jungkook's still alive. It was just a dream.
I haven't had such a vivid dream since my childhood. And this one about Jungkook felt so real.
I wonder if he dreams about me too.
Well, hopefully not a horrifying one like this. ..This felt like a nightmare.
A nightmare which perfectly depicted my fears. Guilt of his past was haunting Jungkook and wouldn't leave him alone. Despite how much he tried to runaway, it would ultimately consume him.
And he'd have no will to go on left.
One week.. Like the bird said, I had seven freaking days left before my mission would end. And I can't even meet with Jungkook without the risk of getting murdered!
What are my options?
I recall to the strange lady I met again last night advising me to go to Hell to retrieve Taehyung.
Was Taehyung even there? Was she telling the truth?
She showed me a picture of an unconscious Taehyung being held by a stranger in front a phone booth. But what if that picture was photoshopped? How reliable was the evidence she gave me?
And even if I were able to enter the Underworld.. what if I can't get back to Earth? The woman says that I'd be able to... but what if she's lying?
But what other options did I have?
No I would have to wait. I can't get that desperate to risk my life like that.
After showering and dressing, I skateboard to the police station.
I entered and I saw someone familiar packing boxes on the front desk.
Were my eyes felling the truth? Was she back?
"Deborah!" I call out and run towards her.
She seems surprised to see me but also a bit distressed.
"What's wrong? How was your vacation?" I question.
She looks at me quizzically. "I was never on a vacation. I was looking for your friends..."
"Taehyung and Jimin!" I excitedly shriek. "How's it going with the investigation?"
She sighs. "I got fired."
"Huh?" I raise my brow.
"My superiors told me that 'missing people' weren't under my wing but I didn't see much work being done to find your friends. I found it suspicious and tried to find them in my free time but my bosses fired me for not following directions."
"I-I I'm so sorry." I didn't know what to say.
"It's fine." She packs her final box and moves from the front desk. She walks out of the police station.
I follow and walk beside her outside.
"Where are you going?" I ask.
"I'm being relocated to Gangnam. I'm not allowed to make contact with you and other clients after today, so goodbye," she blankly says.
I bow. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."
She gestures for me to come closer and I do. "Don't trust the police. They don't want to find your friends."
"Huh?" I ask.
She whispers. "There's something freaky going on in Busan. They threw out the missing person's reports for Taehyung and Jimin. They wiped out all the evidence of their existence from security cameras. I tried to investigate and now I got fired and relocated."
I gulped. "Why does the police care to destroy all the evidence of my friends?"
She shrugs. "I wish I could give you a definite answer."
"I'm so confused.. aren't the police supposed to be the good guys?"
She wholeheartedly laughs. "Anyone who gets paid to rule over you is never gonna be a good guy."
After I said my final farewells to Deborah, I ran all the way home.
I pulled the door open to my bedroom and took the slip of my paper from the dress I wore last night.
I entered the digits from the paper into my phone.
Hurriedly, I called the according number.
After a few rings, I heard the voice of the lady who's been following my every moment.
"Y/n? Why did you call?" She whispers.
"I agree with your plan. Let's go to Hell," I state.