This morning, Jungwon woke up with a headache and feeling a little dizzy; even so, he got up and glanced towards the open door.
"Sunoo,"
It was very unusual for his bedroom door to be open without any sound of activity around him.
Jungwon walked slowly out of his room. The smell of something burnt immediately hit his nose.
"Was Sunoo having a burn something again last night?"
His eyes kept darting about, searching for his friend, whilst his slow steps led him down to the basement.
The scent grew stronger there.
Squeak.
Jungwon opened the door to the room. Sure enough, there were traces of burning there.
Jungwon felt a sense of unease; he walked towards the scattered sheets of paper that had turned black.
Jungwon's hands trembled as he looked at the papers; the writing on them revealed information about his friends.
Jungwon was completely speechless when he saw the charred body lying not far from where he stood. He slumped to the floor, weeping with guilt.
"Jungwon, so you're awake after all." Sunoo stood in the doorway, smiling as he greeted his friend.
"Y-You did this," said Jungwon.
"You're still asking? You could say he was an eyewitness, couldn't you?" Sunoo chuckled.
Jungwon immediately got up, intending to leave. Just as he took a single step out of the door, Sunoo grabbed his arm.
"Oh, by the way, yesterday I gave you some sleeping pills that kept you asleep all day, even though there was something I needed to tell you,"
Sunoo pulled Jungwon's hand closer to him.
"Today is your last day as my hostage because I'm going to sort everything out today as well," he whispered.
Jungwon didn't have time to turn round because the kitchen knife had already plunged into his neck.
Thud.
Sunoo clapped his hands as if he'd just brushed off some dust.
"All sorted. Time for me to head back to my flat."
Sunoo immediately walked out of the house; he spotted the car parked out front and, on reflex, reached into the pocket of his own jacket.
"I nearly left the keys behind,"
Sunoo then got into the car, glancing briefly at its condition—it was still in excellent shape.
"He quite clever with his car; I'm so lucky it's mine now,"
Without wasting any more time, Sunoo set off in the car towards his flat.
*****
The sun was beginning to shine brightly. Jake stared listlessly out of the window.
Today, he was going to school to double-check his friends' data stored there. He was sure there was something to be found.
Krietttt.
Jake walked into the dining room. Jay and Sunoo were already there, waiting for him.
"You took ages in your room. I've already bought some food for us to eat together," said Sunoo.
Jake gave a brief smile in response, then sat down in one of the chairs.
"Oh, did you buy soup and satay? Is this the same satay place we ate at yesterday?" asked Jake.
"Yeah," replied Sunoo.
"You're quite the connoisseur when it comes to satay," commented Jay.
"Well, it's tasty, that's why I keep buying it from there," replied Sunoo.
"Aren't you going to have any of the soup either, No? It's really good," said Jay.
"I'm not really into veg, hehe," replied Sunoo casually.
"Oh," Jay replied briefly.
After that, only the clinking of spoons and forks could be heard, filling the silence until their food was almost finished.
"Jake, do you remember me telling you about my family last night?" asked Sunoo.
"Yeah, why?" replied Jake.
"I haven't told you the whole story yet," said Sunoo softly.
Jake fell silent, confused. Suddenly, he felt a sense of unease.
"The rest of the story… I'm on my own now. Because my cousin is dead… at the hands of a hitman."
Jake's eyes widened. Instantly, he realised that the person in front of him was Unknown – the mastermind behind all the terror, and the reason his friends had gone missing.
"You!" Jake jumped to his feet and grabbed Sunoo by the collar.
Thud!
Before a fight could break out, Jay suddenly fell off his chair.
Sunoo smiled at Jake. "No need to rush."
"You're—" Jake's sentence trailed off. His head suddenly felt dizzy; the world was spinning.
"Are you okay?" Sunoo removed Jake's hand from his shirt, then laughed.
"Soup laced with chloroform. A brilliant idea, isn't it?"
*******
Jake began to open his eyes again after hearing the sound of crying.
"J-Jay,"
Jake saw Jay not far from him, lying on the concrete with his hands and feet tied.
"Jay," he called again.
With great effort, Jay turned his head.
"Jake, you're awake," said Jay.
"We're tied up here…" Jake slowly began to remember what had happened earlier.
"Calm down, Jay, we'll definitely be able to get out of here," Jake reassured Jay.
"N-no, it's not that, it's my little brother," said Jay.
Before Jake could speak again, Sunoo appeared and approached the two of them.
"Luckily, it looks like we can have talk now," Sunoo said, looking down on his two friends.
"WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!" Jay shouted.
"Why? My cousin was killed by a hitman, wasn't he, Jake?" said Sunoo.
Jake hung his head at that statement, whilst Jay glanced at his friend questioningly.
"You know about this, Jake?" said Jay.
"Of course he knows, because he's the hitman—the one your father hired to kill my cousin," replied Sunoo.
"This can't be true," Jay shook his head in disbelief.
"Jeongin—Sunoo's cousin—knew a lot about the crimes your father committed, Jay," said Jake.
Jay burst into tears upon hearing this.
"I'm sorry I kept this from you; if it weren't for me, Sunoo wouldn't have been able to do this," said Jake.
"Oh, well, it's good that you're admitting your own mistake," said Sunoo.
He then approached Jungwon's lifeless body, dragged it over, and dropped it right in front of Jay.
"That taser mark you saw was actually because Jungwon attacked me; he accidentally stumbled upon my plan for revenge, but unfortunately I managed to turn the tables and he ended up as my hostage," said Sunoo with a chuckle.
"He helped me take out Niki, Heeseung and Sunghoon, but unfortunately there was an eyewitness who helped them. But don't worry, I won't let them get away."
He reached for his gun and, without warning, shot Jay in the head.
Jake was actually used to seeing blood right before his eyes, but this time he couldn't hold back his tears.
"Tsk, a hitman and such a crybaby," teased Sunoo as he put his gunl away.
"If you've got a grudge against me, why do the others have to be victims too?" said Jake.
"It's not just you, Jake; there's Jay and Jungwon too, because their father was the culprit. But I'm being kind enough not to kill you all, so you can all be reunited in the afterlife," said Sunoo.
Jake could only remain silent at Sunoo's words; he truly felt guilty towards all his friends.
Seeing Jake lost in thought, Sunoo thought he'd given up, so he immediately covered Jake's head with a cloth, then took a knife and stabbed him repeatedly.
Just as Jake had done to Jeongin.
******
Sunghoon and Niki were waiting in the hospital car park, feeling a mixture of hope and anxiety. But before long, that anxiety faded.
"Jo's replied; he says he's on his way to this hospital," said Sunghoon.
"Oh, right then, I'll bring Heeseung here first," said Niki.
Heeseung actually still needed hospital treatment, but she was to be transferred to a hospital outside the city to avoid Sunoo.
A few moments later, Niki returned with Heeseung, whom he was pushing in a wheelchair.
"Will he be here soon?" asked Niki.
"I think so," said Sunghoon uncertainly.
"What about Jungwon? Is he safe?" asked Heeseung.
"Jo didn't mention anything about that. Maybe he's on his way here with Jungwon too," said Sunghoon.
Brmmm.
A car pulled up in front of them; Sunghoon recognised it as Jo's, so he told his friends to get in straight away.
Niki and Heeseung sat in the back, whilst Sunghoon sat up front, in the passenger seat.
Click.
Sunghoon jumped in surprise when he heard the door lock; he glanced at the driver.
"Jo, why are you wearing a cap and a mask like that? Are you ill?" Sunghoon trembled, realising that something was definitely not right here.
The young man took off his cap and mask, turning to look at Sunghoon with a sweet smile. "I'm fine, really,"