Incarnadine | Prequel to "Viridescence"

25

25th July
2006

"Are you sure you'll find your sister in a psychiatric hospital?"

An older gang member expresses his doubt towards Hongjoong as the younger boy and Seonghwa take turns hurling daggers into a dummy behind the SS house.

Hongjoong smirks to himself subtly and flings another dagger. Once it makes a satisfying thud in the wooden mannequin, he straightens up. He approaches the older member and goes onto the tips of his toes to reach the other's ear. "I've been trying to keep it a secret from everyone, but I'll tell you the truth. My sister has always been in and out of psychiatric hospitals since she was a baby so there's a good chance that she's in one right now," he lies.

The member lets out a small gasp and nods understandingly. "Okay, I'll drive you both then. But if this turns out to be a lie then Jaehyun will not let you boys off easy," he hisses back. Hongjoong scoffs and returns to his previous position beside Seonghwa. "I'll come to your room to collect you both in three hours, be ready by then!" the older member calls out to them before leaving.

Hongjoong quickly whips his head around to check if anyone else is nearby. He feels mischief bubbling up in him when no one else is to be seen. The two boys are in the field behind the MX house, where it's far away enough from the actual house. No one can see them from there.

"So Hwa, are you ready to put our plan into action?" Hongjoong announces. Seonghwa's arm halts mid throw and lowers to his side slowly. He smiles too, also slightly excited. "Let's go."

The psychiatric hospital Hongjoong was admitted to has been on his mind for several weeks now. Each and every memory from that place causes a murky mess of anxiety to swirl deep within him. The hatred he has for there only keeps growing over time.

Dead. He wants them all dead.

Hongjoong feels as if he can never move on from his trauma until he destroys the hospital completely. Only recently did the effect of the memories grow enough to the point of disrupting his daily life. Not a day went by without him fighting the fury and agony inside him at the memories. After multiple breakdowns and vulnerable moments, Hongjoong realised that he can't do this anymore. Now is the time to take action.

But Seonghwa did get a chance to talk to Hongjoong about it. By being around him nearly every minute of the day, Hongjoong's problems became Seonghwa's too. It grew difficult for Seonghwa to witness Hongjoong lashing out over nothing and breaking things randomly.

After some discussions, Seonghwa managed to convince Hongjoong to kill no one, even though it required a lot of effort and hard work to do so. It paid off in the end when Hongjoong finally agreed. After all, simply destroying that building might be enough to satisfy his needs.

But Hongjoong and Seonghwa are no fools. There's no way Jaehyun would allow them to do what they're about to do. He's all about staying subtle and hidden, and the two boys are about to go against all of that.

One thing Jaehyun does allow however, is Hongjoong's search for his sister. He's no heartless mafia boss, in fact he holds family on a pretty high pedestal. It didn't even take much convincing before the boss granted the boys permission to conduct searches for Jangmi whenever they want.

So they decided to exploit his trust in them. Seonghwa was the only one who felt any guilt, but Hongjoong never cared for Jaehyun anyway. He stays focused on his self-centred desires only.

Although he feels guilty, Seonghwa feels more compassion towards Hongjoong. That boy has done more for him than Jaehyun has. That man feels distant to them, as he's always busy in some way.