By Zephyria 
“What the hell is going on?”
“Uh, what do we do?”
“Hey! Take off your clothes and try to put it out!”
Overhearing the panicked shouts of the group rushing towards the source of the explosion and flames, I checked the area outside the window for a place to land. Then, I extended one trembling leg outwards.
Even though I tried to mind-control myself, telling myself that a second-floor height was nothing, like Do Yun-hyeok jumping from school, it was still dizzyingly high as I prepared to jump.
‘I wasn’t the type to play actively on the playground when I was young…’
But I had to do it to escape. I slowly exhaled and moved my stiff body. I climbed over the windowsill and hung by my arms. To quickly get out of the kidnappers’ sight inside and to reduce the impact of the fall, I planned to lower my descent.
While listening to the panicked voices, I followed my landing spot with my eyes. Looking away seemed more dangerous. After picturing the landing spot in my mind, I pushed off the outer wall with one arm and let go.
“Ugh…”
I quietly suppressed the groan that followed the impact. The second floor was indeed not a trivial height, and fortunately, I landed on the ground without any serious injuries. There was no time for this. I moved my feet. From upstairs, I could still hear the chaotic sounds. The explosion was louder than I expected, which also contributed.
What I had done upstairs was simple.
I tied together several discarded butane gas canisters and lumber with duct tape, then placed them on a mattress, which looked expensive, along with another pile of styrofoam. That was all the preparation.
I lit the mattress soaked in alcohol with a lighter and quickly ran to another room I had scouted as an escape route.
After that, it went as expected. The sound of the butane gas canisters, heated by the flames, exploding startled the occupants, who rushed up to the room I had been in. I took advantage of the commotion to jump down from the back of the building, which I had scouted from another room.
Fortunately, the stacked styrofoam and mattress were burning well, and the fire showed no signs of being extinguished. It seemed to be growing larger than expected. I had to escape quickly before the people upstairs, panicked by the fire, noticed I was gone. I stayed low and quickly evacuated, avoiding the foul smell billowing out.
“Shit, where’s Seong Hae-jun?”
“Huh? He’s not in here?”
“What? This rat…! Find him!”
I increased my speed. The shouts of them raging and searching for me grew further away.
❖ ❖ ❖
The sky was hazy and dark, and with a pitter-patter, raindrops began to fall from the sky. I scowled and looked around.
My thinking was short-sighted. There was something I hadn’t considered when jumping from the building: this was an unfamiliar place. Since I wasn’t familiar with the geography, I had no idea how far I had gotten. I thought I had moved away from the construction site, but looking again, I was near it. I had to get out of this limited area as quickly as possible, but I just ran around frantically. Before I knew it, I was just going in circles.
On top of that, it started raining, and bad luck was piling up. But I couldn’t stop. The thought of escaping quickly and going to Seong Hae-min made my nerves sharp. Anxious, I kept looking around and ran again in what I thought was the opposite direction of the construction site, keeping my presence hidden.
From a distance, I heard something like an engine sound piercing through the rain. It sounded like motorcycles…
Listening closely, it seemed like more than one or two. I could feel them getting closer.
Had they increased their search party after realizing I was gone? I needed to hide and assess the situation. I quickly scanned my surroundings. A dilapidated truck, parked nearby for a long time, caught my eye. Thinking I should hide first, I lowered my body and crawled under the truck.
The motorcycle group must have parked nearby, because after a certain point, the approaching sounds stopped all at once. I lay flat on the ground under the truck, holding my breath. The raindrops splashing on the asphalt stung my eyes. The sound of raindrops hitting the ground seemed particularly loud.
Beyond the sound of the rain, I heard faint voices, and then they began to move away. They were heading towards the construction site. After the footsteps had faded somewhat, I cautiously crawled out from under the truck.
But thinking about it again, something felt strange. If the people who came to catch me, why would they go straight to the construction site? A sense of unease welled up in my chest.
After making sure there was no one around, I headed towards where I had heard hushed voices earlier.
Soon, familiar motorcycles came into view. Among the many motorcycles parked haphazardly, I could clearly identify a few.
The Lion’s Roar and the Jaguar, the motorcycles Min Si-hu and Lee Beom always rode, and…
Even Do Yun-hyeok’s motorcycle, which I hadn’t expected.
‘So, the people from earlier…!’
A sense of defeat washed over me, a feeling I hadn’t experienced even when I realized I’d been kidnapped.
I thought they were the ones who kidnapped me, so I just hid, but they were the Four Heavenly Kings coming to save me! I hadn’t realized because of the rain. I stood there, bewildered, getting soaked by the pouring rain.
They knew I was kidnapped, so they must have come looking for me…
‘What should I do?’
Should I just go home? But I had been lost and wandering all this time. In a situation like this, where I didn’t know the way, had no money, it was raining, and I had no mobile phone to contact anyone, trying to find my way home blindly might be even more dangerous.
Realistically, it seemed best to chase after the Four Heavenly Kings before it was too late and let them know I was here.
Beyond the rain, the small, receding figures of the Four Heavenly Kings flickered. I didn’t have time to think carefully. Making a decision a moment too late, I chased after the Four Heavenly Kings.
‘Please!’
I ran blindly, praying they would find me, begging them to look back just once. But no matter how much I ran, the distance didn’t close. The rain was getting heavier.
My stamina wasn’t good, and I was gasping for breath. Perhaps from being in the rain for so long, I felt phlegm in my throat with a wheezing sound. To somehow catch up to them, I took a deep breath.
“Hae-min—!”
And at the same moment I tried to shout Seong Hae-min’s name with all my might, a figure suddenly jumped out from the roadside and tackled me.
❖ ❖ ❖
Lee Beom checked the figures around him. Even through the rain, he could recognize their sturdy faces at a glance. It was as if a hole had opened in the sky, the rain poured down even more fiercely. Exchanging glances, they nodded and stepped into the construction site.
Perhaps because of the downpour, the bulky figures they had seen beyond the tarp earlier were gone. The flames on the second floor, which had seemed like they would erupt with uncontrollable intensity, had also vanished as if they had been a lie.
A sense of unease, as if no one was there, quickened their steps. They entered the first floor of the abandoned building, still drenched. The building, abandoned mid-construction, couldn’t block the rain completely, and dark moisture dripped down. The eerie sound of dripping water echoed through the space, along with the deafening roar of the rain outside.
“Come out!”
Seong Hae-min, stepping forward, shouted as if declaring war. But the building remained silent. Exchanging glances with his colleagues behind him, Seong Hae-min shouted again.
“Seong Hae-jun! Hae-jun-ah! Can you hear me?”
“Oh dear.”
Then, from the second floor, the sound of someone descending the stairs in the corner could be heard. The footsteps, walking down with a steady thump-thump, echoed particularly loudly. The Four Heavenly Kings, Do Yun-hyeok, and Kim Yi-gyeong and others who had come to support them, all tensed up, tightening their fists.
And the figure who descended the stairs leisurely was, as everyone expected, Park Se-yong, a third-year student who had recently received severe disciplinary action at school.
“…Sunbae Park Se-yong!”
“You know my name well enough without calling me that.”
Park Se-yong, with a clean complexion unsuited to the fierce rain, sneered. He was accompanied by a crowd of burly men he’d never seen before. However, Kim Un-gyeong, who always followed him like a partner, was nowhere to be seen.
“Well, you found me. It would have been fun even if you hadn’t, what a shame.”
“Where is Hae-jun?”
“Whoa, calm down. What’s the rush?”
“Don’t play games.”
“But you found me, surprisingly. They said you wouldn’t be able to.”
To Seong Hae-min’s wary question, Park Se-yong merely mumbled incomprehensible words with a relaxed demeanor. His smile was sly.
“What I’m curious about is Hae-jun. Where is he? Is he alright?”
“Calm down. Aren’t you curious who said that? You’re in a hurry.”
As if unfazed by the intense gazes directed at him, Park Se-yong leisurely tilted his head and stretched his neck. He met their gazes with a relaxed smile. Scanning the people gathered there, Park Se-yong spotted Do Yun-hyeok and raised an eyebrow.
“But there’s an unfamiliar face mixed in.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Oh, really… You formed an alliance with that kind of person to find Seong Hae-jun? This is why you clash. Well, I expected it, but… I wondered why that guy hated you all so much…”
After delivering his meaningful words, Park Se-yong laughed coldly and clapped twice.
“Anyway, you came at a good time.”
Everyone watched Park Se-yong with tense eyes. Along with him, a dark figure appeared from behind the wall, through the opening in the building.
“…Hae-jun-ah!”
“Jun-ah!”
“Seong Hae-jun!”
Though his face was hidden as he was slung over the shoulder of a burly man, everyone knew. Those who recognized Seong Hae-jun shouted his name.