Incarnadine | Prequel to "Viridescence"

18

17th October
2005

The bullet plants itself right into the man's forehead, preventing him from having even another second to live. He falls away quickly and Hongjoong gasps loudly. 

The gun instantly falls from Seonghwa's hands and his knees connect with the ground. He can't believe what he has just done, and he breathes heavily with his eyes stuck on the man.

The man that he just killed.

His ears ring and his mind goes numb. Everything around him sounds muffled. Even when he feels hands holding his shoulders and helping him up, nothing registers in his mind. Everything looks like a blur.

Not a word comes into his thoughts. He can only see that man. The man that was alive and breathing only moments ago. The man who might have had friends and family. The man that was simply doing what he was ordered to by his gang. The man that had his whole life ahead of him.

Hongjoong guides Seonghwa away from the scene before anyone passing by can see. He notices that Seonghwa's face has gone completely blank and his movements are robotic. "You did well," he tries telling the older boy, but the words don't get through to him.

The two step around the abundance of blood all over the concrete and reach the car. Hongjoong enters the car searches through the interior until he finds a small phone. He plays around with the buttons until he finds the word "Jaehyun" before clicking onto it and sighing out of relief at the sound of ringing.

"Hello? Is everything done?" Jaehyun asks over the phone. "Come collect us, everyone's dead but me and Seonghwa. He's not in good condition either," Hongjoong rushes into the phone while glancing back at the blanked out Seonghwa. "I'll be there in a few minutes, please stay safe and alert in the meantime. Call me if anything else goes wrong," he orders before cutting the call. Hongjoong tucks the phone into his pocket and stretches his neck.

As he's standing by the car beside Seonghwa, he looks out at the dead bodies. But then he notices something.

It's very easy to miss, but one of the SS gang members' eyes are wide open. They blink very slowly, but undoubtedly stare straight at Hongjoong. It seems like he's pleading Hongjoong with his eyes to save him in his last moments.

Hongjoong stays put and stares back at the man coldly. He places his arm around Seonghwa's shoulder and continues to watch the life slowly leave the man's desparate eyes. Seonghwa is still too shaken to notice.

Eventually, the blinking comes to a halt. Every single bit of movement in the man ceases and Hongjoong exhales, growing impatient while waiting for Jaehyun. Seonghwa needs help.

The pools of ruby blood glisten in the setting sunlight. The corpses are twisted in unsettling ways and Hongjoong unconsciously turns Seonghwa away from the scene of the crime even though his eyes are completely unfocused anyway.

What feels like a lifetime later, Jaehyun appears. "Get in!" he hisses to the two boys, eyeing the corpses outside. No one else has appeared to the site yet, but he can see a couple coming in their direction. If they see his car at the scene, it's over. He sings a symphony of curses under his breath and doesn't hesitate to drive away at full speed once the boys are in the car.

"Seonghwa, are you okay?" Jaehyun asks. Silence hangs in the air and Seonghwa doesn't even move his eyes a centimetre. They simply stare straight into space. Hongjoong's grip tightens on Seonghwa's arm while he awaits some sort of response. And then the realisation hits him.

Perhaps is he...worried for someone else? A foreign feeling twists and turns lightly in Hongjoong's gut as he watches the other boy. He doesn't know exactly what to call this feeling, but he just knows that it doesn't feel good at all. Seeing Seonghwa act so differently makes his chest hurt on the inside. Is this really worry? Stress? Nervousness? Disappointment? He can't tell which he feels but he suspects that he is worrying for someone other than himself or Jangmi for once.