Chapter Text
It was late at night. Jihoon gained his consiousness after a couple of hours, all sweaty and exhausted. It was a bit dark, with only a candle lighting up the room. Jihoon looked around and saw two young men standing at the corner of the room talking with each other.
‘Who are they?’ he thought. He can’t see the faces of those men since they are wearing masks. He was about to move when he notice that his body and arms are tied to the chair he is sitting on. He can’t even talk because of the handkerchief covering his mouth.
“This is absurd! Why do we even have to do this?” said one of the guy. He is wearing a black face mask.
The other guy faced him. “We do not have a choice! This is the only way.”
“But hyung, what if we get caught? What are we gonna do?” the two of them began to argue. Jihoon just watched them while he tried and struggled to free himself from ropes tied onto him.
“We just have to get the ransom money. That’s it.” the other guy replied. He poured himself a drink.
Then the black-masked guy turned his head to where Jihoon is. He walked over and took the handkerchief off Jihoon’s mouth. “Are you okay?”
“ARE YOU NUTS?! YOU KIDNAPPED ME AND NOW YOU’RE GONNA ASK ME IF I’M FINE? THAT’S PURE BULLSHIT!” Jihoon cannot contain his frustration with what’s happening to him. The black-masked guy just looked away. “I swear, the police will get you anytime soon.” he glared at them.
“Will you put that back on his mouth before I loss my patience, for god’s sake.” the other guy said. The black-masked guy just did whaat he was told and began covering Jihoon’s mouth with handkerchief again then he whispered. “I’m sorry.”
After a couple of hours, they began hearing a lot of police sirens going towards where they are.
‘You are so screwed’ Jihoon thought.
“Oh, shit. Hyung, what are we gonna do?” they began panicking. They peeked through the window to check what’s happening outside. And yes, they saw a lot of police flocking outside with their guns pointing towards their location.
The other guy began untying the ropes tied around Jihoon’s body, then he locked his arm around Jihoon’s neck and pointed the gun to his head.
Jihoon felt a thump in his chest. He doesn’t know what to do. He was nervous a while ago, but feeling the gun touching he side of his head made him three times more nervous.
The guy began dragging Jihoon towards the windows.
“The ransom money is already here, you have to free Lee Jihoon now!” They heard the police speak through a megaphone.
“WHO ARE YOU FOOLING? YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME THE MONEY FIRST BEFORE I FREE THIS GUY.” the guy shouted through the windows.
“You have to listen to u--”
*BANG*
The police did not even finished what they are going to say. The guy fired his gun to the roof causing all of them to be startled.
“YOU WILL GIVE ME THE MONEY OR THE NEXT BULLET WILL BE TOWARDS HIS HEAD.”
“Hyung, No!” the black-masked guy can’t also keep still. He’s also nervous of what his friend will do.
The police still isn’t moving. They are too afraid to make a move.
‘I’m sorry hyung, I have to do this for us.’ the black-masked guy immediately grabbed a piece of wood and hit the head of the other guy. Then he immediately grabbed Jihoon’s arm and dragged him to his side. Jihoon took the handkerchief off his mouth and threw it on the floor.
“Hoshi, you jerk!” the other guy was still kneeling with pain while holding onto the back of his head.
“Look, we have to take the back door. No questions.” Jihoon just nodded and the two of them ran towards the back door.
‘So this guy’s name is Hoshi, huh?’ Jihoon just stared at the guy who is guiding him.
The other guy still managed to stand up and grab his gun. He fired his gun towards the two, but luckily they already stepped out of the door.
They ran through the forest, with Jihoon’s arm still being held by this guy. Jihoon is not sure where this guy is going to take him, so he stopped for a moment.
“What are you doing?” Hoshi turned his head and moved closer to him.
“I… I…don’t know if I can trust you. I’m scared.” Jihoon said while looking away.
Hoshi held his shoulders “Look at me.” Jihoon turned his head and looked at him. His eyes were catching the light of the moon. They are so warm and gentle, it kept him calm. Hoshi began to whisper. “Don’t worry, I will not leave you alone. You can trust me.” Hoshi held his shoulders tighter. Jihoon took a deep inhale and nodded.
“Go now, I’ll be right behind you. I’ll tell you where to go.” Jihoon began to run forward and Hoshi followed him. Jihoon is still curious of what he looks like. His face was still covered with a mask.
They continued to run but then they suddenly heard a gunshot. Jihoon, turned his head at the back to check on Hoshi but he was already lying on the ground, bleeding. He had been shot.
“HOSHI!”
The sound of gunfires were going closer and closer to them.
They heard a voice shouting “Hoshi, you son of a bitch! Where are you!” then followed by another gunshot.
Jihoon helped Hoshi stood up. Hoshi was holding onto his shoulders.
“C’mon we have to hurry.” Jihoon was about to walk forward when Hoshi stopped him. “No. YOU have to hurry. If you continue running straight, you’ll soon reach the streets. You can get help then.” Jihoon looked at him, surprised.
Gunshots are still being fired in the air.
“I can’t leave you here!” Jihoon said. He’s still nervous but he can’t help but to worry as well.
Hoshi shook his head. “Don’t worry, I-I’ll be fine.”
Right then, they heard the voice of the other guy nearby. “There you are. How can you just leave me like that?!” he walked forward.
Hoshi leaned his head towards Jihoon’s ears. “At the count of three, you have to run as fast as you can. Don’t look back.”
Jihoon inhaled deeply. “One…”
The guy took another step forward while pointing his gun towards them.
“Two…”
Jihoon gathered courage and prepared himself.
“You can’t escape. Get ready to die.” the guy said. He is only a feet away from them.
…
“THREE!” Hoshi pushed him and kicked the other guy in the abdomen causing him to drop the gun he’s holding. “RUN!” Jihoon was still surprised but his feet started moving and he ran away from the place.
‘Don’t look back, don’t look back’ Jihoon kept on repeating the words in inside his head. He heard the gun fire again but he had no choice but to keep on moving forward.
‘I have to keep running’ he wiped off the sweat on his forehead.
He can already see the streetlights but then his feet suddenly slipped on a rock causing him to roll down the cliff.
“AHHHHH!” he suddenly felt a loud thud on his head. He reached for his head and felt the blood dripping out his scalp. He banged his head onto a huge rock, causing it to bleed heavily.
Although groggy, Jihoon tried his best to stay awake. He tried screaming but to words are coming out from his mouth.
‘I have to go home.’
And everything went blank.
“I’m sorry but he will lose his sense of hearing.” the doctor told Jihoon’s mom. Jihoon is still lying on the hospital bed, unconsious.
His mom can’t do anything but cry. She was worrying about how Jihoon would react about this.
‘No, my son can’t lose his sense of hearing, please.’
Music.
If there was one thing that makes Jihoon happy…it would be music.
Jihoon’s mom walked towards the room where Jihoon was staying. She sat beside his son and began caressing his hair while tears are still falling from her eyes.
“Jihoon-ah, I’m so sorry. You have to live differently from now on.”