"All these things... belonged to Niki," said Jake, his voice trembling.
Sobs began to be heard. The three of them were overcome by the sadness that filled the entire room.
"How are we going to tell the others?" asked Heeseung softly.
"No… I can't believe Niki's really dead!" Jake angrily flung the piece of bag fabric from his hand.
Chaotic thoughts began to race through his mind. He wanted to find whoever this 'Unknown' was – kill them, then burn them to ashes.
"Jake, calm down," Sunghoon patted his friend on the shoulder, trying to soothe him.
Psssst…
Heeseung caught a faint sound, then smelled a strange odour.
"Er, did one of you fart?" asked Heeseung, confused.
"What are you on about? No way. It must be you," Sunghoon replied quickly.
"Seriously, there's a strange smell."
Sunghoon began to sniff the air, and his eyes widened instantly. "It's anaesthetic gas! Cover your noses and mouths right now!"
"We've got to get out of here fast!" shouted Jake.
Without a second thought, the three of them ran out of the house. They were now standing at the edge of the forest, surrounded by tall, eerie-looking trees.
"I hope we're not going to be kidnapped and burnt too," muttered Heeseung, her voice trembling.
"Thank goodness we managed to get out of there," said Jake, relieved.
But their troubles weren't over yet. They were at the back of the house, whilst the car was parked at the front. To get there, they'd have to turn round and walk past the house again.
Thud!
"What was that sound? Don't tell me… a ghost?" said Heeseung, his face pale.
"It's a deer—no surprise, we're near the woods," said Sunghoon, trying to stay logical.
Unbeknownst to them, someone was lurking behind the trees. The figure then threw a balloon filled with liquid at them.
Splash!
The balloon burst, hitting Jake squarely.
"What on earth is going on now!" grumbled Jake, trying to spot the person who'd thrown it.
"He's hiding behind that tree!" shouted Sunghoon, squinting.
"G-guys, this isn't water… it smells completely different," said Heeseung in a panicked tone.
Sunghoon sniffed the liquid and knew straight away. "It's petrol!"
Jake's eyes caught a flash of light in the figure's hand. He realised immediately.
"GUYS, RUN!"
They ran as fast as they could towards the car and sped off, leaving the place behind.
A few minutes later, Jake stopped the car.
"Why?" asked Sandy.
Without answering, Jake got out, opened the boot, and threw some clothes towards his two friends.
"There's a public toilet nearby. Let's change our clothes first."
After changing, they gathered together again.
"I need to wash this car first. Now let's go to the station and take the train home," said Jake.
"Yeah, it's safer," replied Heeseung.
They walked to the nearest underground station.
Jake looked down at his feet. A sense of guilt weighed on his mind. He regretted his suspicion of Niki, simply because of the photo sent by 'Unknown'—even though it might just have been a coincidence that Niki happened to be in the living room at the time.
The sound of his friends' chatter caught his attention.
"I'm still really on edge," said Heeseung.
"Me too. The culprit was really clever—dousing us in petrol, then trying to set us alight with fireworks," said Sunghoon.
"Lucky we realised in time," added Heeseung.
Jake suddenly realised something.
"Guys, he sprayed us with tranquilliser gas earlier, didn't he?"
"Yeah… why?" asked Sunghoon.
"Maybe that gas was to drive us away, so he could set us alight in the garden," guessed Jake.
"So… do you think that's strange?" asked Heeseung.
"He could burn someone in the fireplace… but us?"
Sunghoon began to think. "Firstly, as there are three of us, it'd be difficult and take a long time to burn us in the fireplace. Secondly, perhaps the previous victim was already dead, so they were just placed there to cover their tracks. Finally, it could be that the Unknown wanted to keep the house clean."
"That makes sense," said Jake.
"Have fun figuring it out, my devilish friends. I've got to go—got some business to attend to," said Heeseung, waving goodbye.
"Got a call already?" joked Jake.
"Yeah, you can probably guess," replied Heeseung.
"Want me to give you a lift? Or shall I hire a taxi?" teased Sunghoon.
"I'm still straight, for f*ck's sake. I wouldn't go for a bloke!" said Heeseung, amused.
"Oh, so you're after lonely middle-aged women then?" teased Jake.
"Shut up, both of you."
Heeseung went off to find a taxi, whilst Jake and Sunghoon continued down the stairs towards the underground station.