7. Off The Edge

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Every day and night I'm gon' chase you

The Storage Room never failed to scare me

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The Storage Room never failed to scare me.

Back when I was little (and quite frankly even in the present time), whenever any kid pulled any mischief that ended up being discovered, all fingers pointed at me, no matter who actually did it. And our former matron was an impatient, short-tempered, ruthless old woman who'd lock anyone who pissed her off in the Storage Room, and let them be there till the time some janitor happened to unlock the door. Or maybe she would just forget about it all. The other children would appal me further by speaking of all the rats and lizards and roaches and spiders that resided in there, and to top it all, the light switch was very conveniently situated on the wall right next to the door outside the room. Even if the matron didn't turn it off after having locked me in, the other kids definitely did. After she went away and a new, more merciful lady came, I thought that I'd never have to encounter that dreaded place again.

Needless to say, I was wrong.

After Im Changkyun left me there in that alley last night, I made for the subway and headed to the orphanage. The remaining night was a blur, a struggle to fight disturbing thoughts and get some sleep. Of course, I couldn't get any. My brain was as if in a sort of chaos all throughout, different trains of thoughts colliding with each other before any of them could reach a conclusion.

When the birds started chirping, I just gave up and got out of bed and began roaming around the hallways in an attempt to clear my mind. Didn't do much help, though. I was still lost in my head, not paying attention to where my feet were taking me, when I felt a sudden tug on my pajama pants. Immediately, my hand went to my thigh, fisting the fabric before it could slip down too much.

I absolutely despised the five-year-old kid who was standing down there. Doubtlessly the most horrid one I had in my life, but yet all the staff's beloved little girl. She was glaring up at me shamelessly, a pout on her lips.

"What're you doing here?" I snapped, a scowl contorting my face. "Go to your dorm room."

Kim Minjeong crossed her chubby arms and answered back in that irritating, high-pitched voice of hers. "No!"

Attitude.

"What do you want?" I barked.

The girl just stuck her tongue out at me.

My scowl intensified before I did the same to her.

Bad move.

Because the moment I did, her face did that. That thing it does whenever she's about to burst into weeps, and boy she weeps loud.

"H-hey, listen-"

I outright panicked when she began to howl, her noisy wails unleashing into the silence of the morning like a dam releasing raging river waters.

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