What do you see Jino?
“Ahhhh, how can you have such hot showers in this type of weather?” Jay sighed, unknowingly pulling his lips into a childish pout.
“Oh hyung.” Jino grinned, his eyes forming bright crescents. He walked towards the chair sitting next to the small TV set in the corner and flung the spare towel towards Jay.
“I don’t want to shower. It’s too hot.” Jay murmured, shifting himself closer the edge of the bed, the flying towel narrowly missing his head.
“Welcome to Summer” the young boy said softly, and without warning flung himself onto the bed next to Jay, making the older boy fly off the edge of the bed hitting the musty carpet with a loud thud.
A groan rose from beside the bed. Jino swung himself around and pulled himself towards the edge of the bed, peering over. Jay lay frozen on the ground, his eyes a fixed glare at the ceiling.
“Hyung?”
“Idiot.”
Jino stifled a giggle, pulling a pillow up to his face. Jay caught the boy laughing into the pillow as he staggered to his feet.
“So Jino, have you any idea where we are?”
“Well, I…” Jino started and hesitated a little, “think we’re somewhere in…the south of Vietnam?”
“It’s so fricken hot here.”
Jino shrugged with thoughtful smile, “I guess.”
“Let’s get out of here kid, I can’t stand this.”
* * *
“What do you see Jino?”
It was a question Jay often asked when they were out together.
“I see a lot of rain. Hot, wet, rain.” Jino replies, dimly.
“Open your eyes.” Jay pushes.
With a sigh, Jino starts again. “I see a man fixing his bike on the side of the road. He’s using the wrong sized gears.” Jino continues, squinting into the distance, “And a young girl, she wants something but her mother won’t let her…”
Jay raises an eyebrow, “What does the young girl want?”
Jino pauses, “Her father.”
“Ah.” There really wasn’t anything more that could be said. Jino’s father walked out on his family when he was young. His mother hung herself shortly after, and to this day, Jino still blames himself.
“Let’s get on to the job.”
“Good idea.”
* * *
Rats scurried around their feet as Jay and Jino walked through the alleyway. Water pipes covered the walls, rusting, covering the surrounding stonework with a moldy green. A brown, sludge-like filth covered the soles of their shoes, once in a while, kicking up, splashing up onto the leather.
Jino grimaces, looking down at his feet. “So who is our client?”
Jay clears his throat, “Who is our client? She’s my client. Not ours.” He corrects.
Jino nods, “Right. Of course.”
“You’re an apprentice Jino. One day you’ll be able to take clients yourself.”
“I know.” Jino retorts.
Annoyed, Jay exhales loudly. “She’s a wife of some rich ass, owner of some Chinese media conglomerate.”
Jino cocks his head slightly, “Why is she in Vietnam?”
“In our line of work, we don’t ask questions. We just do what she wants.” Jay responds sternly.
Jino can sense Jay’s temper but he feels he needs to ask more questions. So he treads a little carefully, “How long is this one going to last?”
“As long as the client wants. In this case, we’ve got 24 hours.”
The young boy is shocked, “24 hours? Are you kidding me? Is there any time for rest or something?”
“No rest. Rest and get killed. Easy as that.”
Vermin continue to dart and scatter around their feet, scurrying with the squelching under their shoes.
* * *
The two of them stopped outside a large wooden door with brass numbers nailed carelessly above the doorframe. Jay smoothes down his jacket, running his fingers through his hair. Jino follows, tensely fingering at his collar and tie, sweeping his hair from his eyes. They locked eyes and pushed the door open.
“Welcome. I’ve been expecting you.” A woman’s soft voice rose from a chair set inside the brightly lit room.
Jay delivers a curt nod and motions for Jino to do the same.
A small willowy woman stood up from the chair, brushing the folds in her skirt lightly. Striding slowly towards the two, she clutched a silver briefcase in her delicate fingers. “I want this to be done right, okay?” The woman purses her lips into a thin line, “if my husband ever finds out about this, I’ll be killed. Both of you will be killed as well.”
“Understood.” Jay replies, with a fleeting look over to Jino.
“You are to deliver this briefcase to the South Korean Embassy. An identical briefcase will be given to you upon delivery of this current briefcase. Inside it will be the artifact and the address of where it has to be delivered. If there are any questions, there is a number you can call. That number will be available for you to access after you reach the Embassy.”
Jino steps forward and the woman hands the briefcase over. Jino clasps the cold edges of the briefcase and before the woman lets go, he feels her stare boring into him. “You have 24 hours for this job, but I recommend you finish it earlier. The monsoon is here.” And then she lets go, both parties bow and turn to go their separate ways. As Jay reaches to turn the handle on the door, he stalls, and glances back.
“What do you see Jino?”
Taken aback at the sudden question, “I-I-don’t know.”
Jino feels Jay’s hand whack the back of his head. He winces.
Jay waves him off, and shakes his head. “Open your eyes.”
* * *
Jay walks at a brisk pace, arms swinging by his side, every once in a while pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. Jino walks a few steps behind Jay, one hand clenched around the handle of the briefcase and another shaky hand holding a large black umbrella.
“Hyung, the umbrella is big enough for the both of us…” the young boy calls out, waving the umbrella a little, a slick layer of sweat forming on his neck.
Jay turns around, his hair wet and matted, rain dripping down his face, collecting around his collar, soaking into his shirt. “I’m fine. Just keep walking.” He mutters, pulling the soggy jacket around his shoulders, wiping a mixture of rain and sweat from his brow.
Jino frowns, but continues walking.
* * *
After a few hours, Jay wasn’t sure if he could last any longer. The rain was pouring down hard onto his back, seeping into his skin. If it was just rain, it might’ve been okay, but the claustrophobic heat was absolutely suffocating. Ducking under Jino’s umbrella, he shakes the water off his jacket, carefully avoiding the younger boy.
His eyes search the ground, it seemed like something was wrong with the underground pipes, because the rain wasn’t clearing into the drains. Walking together under the umbrella with the water up to their calves, Jay treads on uneven ground and slips, falling.
“Hyung!” Jino shouts, letting the umbrella fall out of his hands. He pulled the older boy up.
Getting to his feet, Jay quickly tugs at Jino’s elbow. “Hand me the briefcase.” Jino passes the briefcase to Jay without a word, but looks up at the older boy with questioning eyes.
“The embassy is a few blocks from here, but I’m going to hide the briefcase around here until we get the okay there.” The older boy heaves a sigh, “They’ve made us walk in this fucking rain for miles, so might as well get them out in the rain for a bit as well.” he adds with a smirk.
Jay walks around, surveying the area, water streaming around his ankles. Peering into a car nearby, he gives the door window a swift elbow and it shatters. He then thrusts his hand through and unlocks the door. Without turning back, he gives the signal for Jino to come over.
“What do you see Jino?”
“I-uh, I see, a smart guy doing his job?” Jino flinches a little, readying himself for a whack across the head.
“Heh, not quite.” Jay laughs, “I’m taking initiative and precaution. It’s not in the job description. But you’re right about the smart guy bit.” Jay pushes the briefcase under the car seat and pulls Jino closer to the car. “Drive the car 2 blocks east, then 5 blocks north, leave the car there and meet me at the embassy. Got it?”
“Wait, what?” Jino eyes widen, “I can’t drive here, I’m still underage!”
“Like what we’re doing isn’t already fishy enough. Underage driving won’t make much of a difference.”
Jino looks around nervously and slips into the car, “Okay. Got it.”
The car speeds off into the distance through the rain. Jay sighs, shrugging his wet jacket off and folding it over his arm. The car hits the curb as it turns, splashing water over the nearby buildings. Jay smiles to himself and heads off toward the embassy through the heavy rain, his pants making swirling patterns in the water as he walks.
* * *
The embassy was a small white building, masked gray by the pollution. Striding strongly through the water towards the security booth, Jay knocks on the window, startling the security guard on duty inside.
“What do you want?” A gruff voice barked through the telecom.
“Just let me in. I have official business.” Jay replied flatly.
The telecom beeped, “Just go home. No one will see you in this type of weather. Just save your ass while you can.”
Jay swears loudly at the telecom, kicking the water around him, almost slipping again. He trudges around the gate and then knocks on the security booth again.
“Open up!” He yells, and tries smashing the glass with his elbow. It remains intact. “For fuck’s sake, open the damn door!” He curses, slamming his fist onto the door. At that moment, the blinds open a bit and an irritated face peers out. After a few minutes, the door opens somewhat, and before the security guard can say anything, Jay kicks the door open, throwing the guard down onto the ground.
The security guard groans and rubs the back of his head. Jay stares down pitifully at the guard and apologizes, then kicks him swiftly in the head, knocking him out.
Spinning around, Jay clumsily fumbles around for the control panel to open the gate. Sifting through piles of loose paper and a box of donuts, he finds a remote.
“Ah, finally.” And Jay presses the button. Throwing the remote down, he glances to the guard still knocked out on the floor and starts for the door.
The door handle turns before his hand reaches it. Jay freezes.
The door opens and a dark figure shoves a bag over Jays head. Jay’s hand limbs flay about, trying to feel around for something heavy enough to hit the idiot with.
“Stop moving around.” A low husky voice snarls.
“Fucking hell, let me g―AHH!” Jay hears a loud bang and a hot burst of pain erupts in his leg. He flails around to try and grab the motherfucker but before he can, something heavy comes down onto his head. And then everything goes black.
* * *
The room was dim when Jay cracked his eyes open a little. A musty smell filled his nostrils while a low rumble gurgled outside.
The rush of blood to his head was sudden, but expected, and hurt so fucking much. A sharp pain shot from the bullet lodged in his thigh, up and down his spine. He screamed out in agony, lashing out aimlessly until darkness consumed him.
* * *
The sound of laugher echoes in Jay’s ears, then screams pealing, falling, an unmodulated piercing stab down the cochlear. The sound of water swirling, splashing on wet stone filled Jay’s head.
Jay feels cold water thrown onto his face, jolting him back to the dimly lit room. Trying to put pressure onto his wounded leg, he tugs to find both his hands tied together with coarse rope. Jay curses inwardly and opens his eyes to see a young man with pale features.
“Hello Jay.”
Jay spits in his face, “Who the fuck are you?”
The young man pulls out a white handkerchief from his pocket and dabs his face and smiles. “I am Cho Kyuhyun.”
Jay spits again, “What the fuck do you want with me?”
Kyuhyun glares at Jay then waves a crooked finger. The door swings open and a small bagged figure is pushed in. The figure stumbles down, knees grazed on the hard floor. Kyuhyun pulls the figure up by the elbow and shoves it towards Jay. Kyuhyun flashed a sinful grin and pulled the bag off.
Jay blinked, “Jino?”
Kyuhyun shoved Jino’s shoulder and stalked around him, then to a rickety table in the corner of the room. He turned on a small lamp, and the tungsten glow shone on a large rifle that lay on the table. Kyuhyun picked it up, polishing the long metal barrel with a rough oiled cloth. Turning suddenly, he aimed the rifle at Jay’s forehead.
The small lamp flickers, upset by the low flushing rumble from outside.
“So, Jay. Or should I call you Mr. Kim Youngdeok?” he sneers, “Where’s the briefcase?”
Jay keeps his eyes evenly on Kyuhyun’s face, “What briefcase?”
Losing his patience, he turns to aim the barrel at Jino’s head, his gaze not leaving Jay. Kyuhyun’s lips pull up into a snarl, “Don’t play stupid. I know about the briefcase. I know who you are, what you’re doing here and how much you can lose. Don’t fuck with me.”
Jay’s stare wavers and he glances to Jino, “What did you tell him?”
Jino’s eyes were cast down, “I didn’t say anything hyung.” Looking up, his eyes pleading “I swear, I didn’t say anything.”
Kyuhyun cocks the rifle, steps away from Jino and slides the cool metal barrel against Jay’s stubbled cheek.
“The boy has said nothing. But if he keeps at it, you will know the price.” And he swings the barrel of the rifle towards Jay until it connects to his jaw with a muted crack.
“HYUNG!” Jino cries out, his voice hoarse. Hot tears stream down the side of his face as Jino watches Kyuhyun take continuous swings at Jay. But what can Jino do?
All of a sudden he feels what seems to be a drop of water on his hand that didn’t seem like one of his own tears. The light flickers and goes out. The low rumble begins to get louder, a flushing wail sounds suddenly, until it reaches a deafening volume and the panels of the roof give way and water empties into the dark room.
* * *
Jino’s eyes scan desperately around him, searching for the familiar face. Waves thrash him about, beating onto his face. “Hyung! Where are you?!” He screams, but his voice escapes him and is lost in the surrounding water. Jino grips the wooden plank tightly, digging his fingernails into the wet grain.
And he lets go.
The piece of wood slips out of his fingers so quickly, getting washed away with the current. Jino splutters as his head goes under and he accidently swallows some water. He has his eyes shut, scared of opening them, not used to having water as his enemy. Clawing blindly around him, he tries to push himself upwards through the surge. But there’s nothing. The water just passes between his fingers, sliding across his pale skin. At this point, Jino’s lungs are filled with too much water. This racking pain against his ribcage will be the most painful experience of his life.
Jino is drowning.
Screaming would be futile at this point. Opening your mouth would only mean more water pouring in. Any sound waves produced would be lost in the depths of the water.
But Jino screams. He opens his mouth wide and he screams. He screams. Again and again.
Jay.
Jay.
Jay.
Are you listening, Jay?
Where are you?
Are you still alive?
So many questions ran through Jino’s head. Then, he thought he almost felt a strong arm around his waist, dragging him upwards.
I’m scared.
What do you see Jino?
I’m scared.
No. What do you see?
I don’t know. I don’t know.
Open your eyes.
And Jino opened his eyes.
He saw sky.
* * *
The air was cold. Jino felt like he was coughing up his lungs. A shadow loomed over him, a warm hand patted him on the back.
Jino stumbles up off his knees, trying to find his feet. His legs give way from beneath him. The strong arm grabs him once again and pulls him to his feet. Jino bends over, dry heaving. He rubs his eyes with the back of his hand and tries to catch the face of the person beside him.
His eyes sting as he opens them.
And the sting settles in his heart as he sets his eyes on his savior.
“Who are you?”
“Jonghyun.” The boy beside him replies with a smile.
.....to be continued
DUN DUN DUUUUUUN. /suspense chords
have fun, i'm coming back home in 2 days :)
“Oh hyung.” Jino grinned, his eyes forming bright crescents. He walked towards the chair sitting next to the small TV set in the corner and flung the spare towel towards Jay.
“I don’t want to shower. It’s too hot.” Jay murmured, shifting himself closer the edge of the bed, the flying towel narrowly missing his head.
“Welcome to Summer” the young boy said softly, and without warning flung himself onto the bed next to Jay, making the older boy fly off the edge of the bed hitting the musty carpet with a loud thud.
A groan rose from beside the bed. Jino swung himself around and pulled himself towards the edge of the bed, peering over. Jay lay frozen on the ground, his eyes a fixed glare at the ceiling.
“Hyung?”
“Idiot.”
Jino stifled a giggle, pulling a pillow up to his face. Jay caught the boy laughing into the pillow as he staggered to his feet.
“So Jino, have you any idea where we are?”
“Well, I…” Jino started and hesitated a little, “think we’re somewhere in…the south of Vietnam?”
“It’s so fricken hot here.”
Jino shrugged with thoughtful smile, “I guess.”
“Let’s get out of here kid, I can’t stand this.”
* * *
“What do you see Jino?”
It was a question Jay often asked when they were out together.
“I see a lot of rain. Hot, wet, rain.” Jino replies, dimly.
“Open your eyes.” Jay pushes.
With a sigh, Jino starts again. “I see a man fixing his bike on the side of the road. He’s using the wrong sized gears.” Jino continues, squinting into the distance, “And a young girl, she wants something but her mother won’t let her…”
Jay raises an eyebrow, “What does the young girl want?”
Jino pauses, “Her father.”
“Ah.” There really wasn’t anything more that could be said. Jino’s father walked out on his family when he was young. His mother hung herself shortly after, and to this day, Jino still blames himself.
“Let’s get on to the job.”
“Good idea.”
* * *
Rats scurried around their feet as Jay and Jino walked through the alleyway. Water pipes covered the walls, rusting, covering the surrounding stonework with a moldy green. A brown, sludge-like filth covered the soles of their shoes, once in a while, kicking up, splashing up onto the leather.
Jino grimaces, looking down at his feet. “So who is our client?”
Jay clears his throat, “Who is our client? She’s my client. Not ours.” He corrects.
Jino nods, “Right. Of course.”
“You’re an apprentice Jino. One day you’ll be able to take clients yourself.”
“I know.” Jino retorts.
Annoyed, Jay exhales loudly. “She’s a wife of some rich ass, owner of some Chinese media conglomerate.”
Jino cocks his head slightly, “Why is she in Vietnam?”
“In our line of work, we don’t ask questions. We just do what she wants.” Jay responds sternly.
Jino can sense Jay’s temper but he feels he needs to ask more questions. So he treads a little carefully, “How long is this one going to last?”
“As long as the client wants. In this case, we’ve got 24 hours.”
The young boy is shocked, “24 hours? Are you kidding me? Is there any time for rest or something?”
“No rest. Rest and get killed. Easy as that.”
Vermin continue to dart and scatter around their feet, scurrying with the squelching under their shoes.
* * *
The two of them stopped outside a large wooden door with brass numbers nailed carelessly above the doorframe. Jay smoothes down his jacket, running his fingers through his hair. Jino follows, tensely fingering at his collar and tie, sweeping his hair from his eyes. They locked eyes and pushed the door open.
“Welcome. I’ve been expecting you.” A woman’s soft voice rose from a chair set inside the brightly lit room.
Jay delivers a curt nod and motions for Jino to do the same.
A small willowy woman stood up from the chair, brushing the folds in her skirt lightly. Striding slowly towards the two, she clutched a silver briefcase in her delicate fingers. “I want this to be done right, okay?” The woman purses her lips into a thin line, “if my husband ever finds out about this, I’ll be killed. Both of you will be killed as well.”
“Understood.” Jay replies, with a fleeting look over to Jino.
“You are to deliver this briefcase to the South Korean Embassy. An identical briefcase will be given to you upon delivery of this current briefcase. Inside it will be the artifact and the address of where it has to be delivered. If there are any questions, there is a number you can call. That number will be available for you to access after you reach the Embassy.”
Jino steps forward and the woman hands the briefcase over. Jino clasps the cold edges of the briefcase and before the woman lets go, he feels her stare boring into him. “You have 24 hours for this job, but I recommend you finish it earlier. The monsoon is here.” And then she lets go, both parties bow and turn to go their separate ways. As Jay reaches to turn the handle on the door, he stalls, and glances back.
“What do you see Jino?”
Taken aback at the sudden question, “I-I-don’t know.”
Jino feels Jay’s hand whack the back of his head. He winces.
Jay waves him off, and shakes his head. “Open your eyes.”
* * *
Jay walks at a brisk pace, arms swinging by his side, every once in a while pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. Jino walks a few steps behind Jay, one hand clenched around the handle of the briefcase and another shaky hand holding a large black umbrella.
“Hyung, the umbrella is big enough for the both of us…” the young boy calls out, waving the umbrella a little, a slick layer of sweat forming on his neck.
Jay turns around, his hair wet and matted, rain dripping down his face, collecting around his collar, soaking into his shirt. “I’m fine. Just keep walking.” He mutters, pulling the soggy jacket around his shoulders, wiping a mixture of rain and sweat from his brow.
Jino frowns, but continues walking.
* * *
After a few hours, Jay wasn’t sure if he could last any longer. The rain was pouring down hard onto his back, seeping into his skin. If it was just rain, it might’ve been okay, but the claustrophobic heat was absolutely suffocating. Ducking under Jino’s umbrella, he shakes the water off his jacket, carefully avoiding the younger boy.
His eyes search the ground, it seemed like something was wrong with the underground pipes, because the rain wasn’t clearing into the drains. Walking together under the umbrella with the water up to their calves, Jay treads on uneven ground and slips, falling.
“Hyung!” Jino shouts, letting the umbrella fall out of his hands. He pulled the older boy up.
Getting to his feet, Jay quickly tugs at Jino’s elbow. “Hand me the briefcase.” Jino passes the briefcase to Jay without a word, but looks up at the older boy with questioning eyes.
“The embassy is a few blocks from here, but I’m going to hide the briefcase around here until we get the okay there.” The older boy heaves a sigh, “They’ve made us walk in this fucking rain for miles, so might as well get them out in the rain for a bit as well.” he adds with a smirk.
Jay walks around, surveying the area, water streaming around his ankles. Peering into a car nearby, he gives the door window a swift elbow and it shatters. He then thrusts his hand through and unlocks the door. Without turning back, he gives the signal for Jino to come over.
“What do you see Jino?”
“I-uh, I see, a smart guy doing his job?” Jino flinches a little, readying himself for a whack across the head.
“Heh, not quite.” Jay laughs, “I’m taking initiative and precaution. It’s not in the job description. But you’re right about the smart guy bit.” Jay pushes the briefcase under the car seat and pulls Jino closer to the car. “Drive the car 2 blocks east, then 5 blocks north, leave the car there and meet me at the embassy. Got it?”
“Wait, what?” Jino eyes widen, “I can’t drive here, I’m still underage!”
“Like what we’re doing isn’t already fishy enough. Underage driving won’t make much of a difference.”
Jino looks around nervously and slips into the car, “Okay. Got it.”
The car speeds off into the distance through the rain. Jay sighs, shrugging his wet jacket off and folding it over his arm. The car hits the curb as it turns, splashing water over the nearby buildings. Jay smiles to himself and heads off toward the embassy through the heavy rain, his pants making swirling patterns in the water as he walks.
* * *
The embassy was a small white building, masked gray by the pollution. Striding strongly through the water towards the security booth, Jay knocks on the window, startling the security guard on duty inside.
“What do you want?” A gruff voice barked through the telecom.
“Just let me in. I have official business.” Jay replied flatly.
The telecom beeped, “Just go home. No one will see you in this type of weather. Just save your ass while you can.”
Jay swears loudly at the telecom, kicking the water around him, almost slipping again. He trudges around the gate and then knocks on the security booth again.
“Open up!” He yells, and tries smashing the glass with his elbow. It remains intact. “For fuck’s sake, open the damn door!” He curses, slamming his fist onto the door. At that moment, the blinds open a bit and an irritated face peers out. After a few minutes, the door opens somewhat, and before the security guard can say anything, Jay kicks the door open, throwing the guard down onto the ground.
The security guard groans and rubs the back of his head. Jay stares down pitifully at the guard and apologizes, then kicks him swiftly in the head, knocking him out.
Spinning around, Jay clumsily fumbles around for the control panel to open the gate. Sifting through piles of loose paper and a box of donuts, he finds a remote.
“Ah, finally.” And Jay presses the button. Throwing the remote down, he glances to the guard still knocked out on the floor and starts for the door.
The door handle turns before his hand reaches it. Jay freezes.
The door opens and a dark figure shoves a bag over Jays head. Jay’s hand limbs flay about, trying to feel around for something heavy enough to hit the idiot with.
“Stop moving around.” A low husky voice snarls.
“Fucking hell, let me g―AHH!” Jay hears a loud bang and a hot burst of pain erupts in his leg. He flails around to try and grab the motherfucker but before he can, something heavy comes down onto his head. And then everything goes black.
* * *
The room was dim when Jay cracked his eyes open a little. A musty smell filled his nostrils while a low rumble gurgled outside.
The rush of blood to his head was sudden, but expected, and hurt so fucking much. A sharp pain shot from the bullet lodged in his thigh, up and down his spine. He screamed out in agony, lashing out aimlessly until darkness consumed him.
* * *
The sound of laugher echoes in Jay’s ears, then screams pealing, falling, an unmodulated piercing stab down the cochlear. The sound of water swirling, splashing on wet stone filled Jay’s head.
Jay feels cold water thrown onto his face, jolting him back to the dimly lit room. Trying to put pressure onto his wounded leg, he tugs to find both his hands tied together with coarse rope. Jay curses inwardly and opens his eyes to see a young man with pale features.
“Hello Jay.”
Jay spits in his face, “Who the fuck are you?”
The young man pulls out a white handkerchief from his pocket and dabs his face and smiles. “I am Cho Kyuhyun.”
Jay spits again, “What the fuck do you want with me?”
Kyuhyun glares at Jay then waves a crooked finger. The door swings open and a small bagged figure is pushed in. The figure stumbles down, knees grazed on the hard floor. Kyuhyun pulls the figure up by the elbow and shoves it towards Jay. Kyuhyun flashed a sinful grin and pulled the bag off.
Jay blinked, “Jino?”
Kyuhyun shoved Jino’s shoulder and stalked around him, then to a rickety table in the corner of the room. He turned on a small lamp, and the tungsten glow shone on a large rifle that lay on the table. Kyuhyun picked it up, polishing the long metal barrel with a rough oiled cloth. Turning suddenly, he aimed the rifle at Jay’s forehead.
The small lamp flickers, upset by the low flushing rumble from outside.
“So, Jay. Or should I call you Mr. Kim Youngdeok?” he sneers, “Where’s the briefcase?”
Jay keeps his eyes evenly on Kyuhyun’s face, “What briefcase?”
Losing his patience, he turns to aim the barrel at Jino’s head, his gaze not leaving Jay. Kyuhyun’s lips pull up into a snarl, “Don’t play stupid. I know about the briefcase. I know who you are, what you’re doing here and how much you can lose. Don’t fuck with me.”
Jay’s stare wavers and he glances to Jino, “What did you tell him?”
Jino’s eyes were cast down, “I didn’t say anything hyung.” Looking up, his eyes pleading “I swear, I didn’t say anything.”
Kyuhyun cocks the rifle, steps away from Jino and slides the cool metal barrel against Jay’s stubbled cheek.
“The boy has said nothing. But if he keeps at it, you will know the price.” And he swings the barrel of the rifle towards Jay until it connects to his jaw with a muted crack.
“HYUNG!” Jino cries out, his voice hoarse. Hot tears stream down the side of his face as Jino watches Kyuhyun take continuous swings at Jay. But what can Jino do?
All of a sudden he feels what seems to be a drop of water on his hand that didn’t seem like one of his own tears. The light flickers and goes out. The low rumble begins to get louder, a flushing wail sounds suddenly, until it reaches a deafening volume and the panels of the roof give way and water empties into the dark room.
* * *
Jino’s eyes scan desperately around him, searching for the familiar face. Waves thrash him about, beating onto his face. “Hyung! Where are you?!” He screams, but his voice escapes him and is lost in the surrounding water. Jino grips the wooden plank tightly, digging his fingernails into the wet grain.
And he lets go.
The piece of wood slips out of his fingers so quickly, getting washed away with the current. Jino splutters as his head goes under and he accidently swallows some water. He has his eyes shut, scared of opening them, not used to having water as his enemy. Clawing blindly around him, he tries to push himself upwards through the surge. But there’s nothing. The water just passes between his fingers, sliding across his pale skin. At this point, Jino’s lungs are filled with too much water. This racking pain against his ribcage will be the most painful experience of his life.
Jino is drowning.
Screaming would be futile at this point. Opening your mouth would only mean more water pouring in. Any sound waves produced would be lost in the depths of the water.
But Jino screams. He opens his mouth wide and he screams. He screams. Again and again.
Jay.
Jay.
Jay.
Are you listening, Jay?
Where are you?
Are you still alive?
So many questions ran through Jino’s head. Then, he thought he almost felt a strong arm around his waist, dragging him upwards.
I’m scared.
What do you see Jino?
I’m scared.
No. What do you see?
I don’t know. I don’t know.
Open your eyes.
And Jino opened his eyes.
He saw sky.
* * *
The air was cold. Jino felt like he was coughing up his lungs. A shadow loomed over him, a warm hand patted him on the back.
Jino stumbles up off his knees, trying to find his feet. His legs give way from beneath him. The strong arm grabs him once again and pulls him to his feet. Jino bends over, dry heaving. He rubs his eyes with the back of his hand and tries to catch the face of the person beside him.
His eyes sting as he opens them.
And the sting settles in his heart as he sets his eyes on his savior.
“Who are you?”
“Jonghyun.” The boy beside him replies with a smile.
.....to be continued
DUN DUN DUUUUUUN. /suspense chords
have fun, i'm coming back home in 2 days :)