Mouse - Brotherhood

Chapter 19

Once again Yo Han made sure to drive the car, since it was someone that Ba Reum knew personally.

Ba Reum pointed the directions out to Yo Han, making sure that they would reach the house in time, and they arrived in the nearly abandoned neighbourhood where he and Bong Yi used to live. No lights were on in the house, but seeing the hour, this wasn't weird.

"I hope he still lives here." Ba Reum said, biting his lip nervously. They got out of the car and rang the bell.

"Hwan, are you in there?" Ba Reum shouted, knocking hard on the door. The lights of the neighbouring house went on and a window on the second level opened.

"What is all that ruckus? Do you know what time it is?" came the voice of a cranky man.

"I'm sorry, I'm looking for Hwan. He used to live here?" Ba Reum shouted back, his mouth mask covering his face.

"He moved," the man shouted. Ba Reum looked at Yo Han with a desperate look.

"Do you have his new address. It's urgent. Something happened to his mother." Yo Han shouted back.

Luckily the neighbour had the address, shouting it down at them. He complained a bit more about the ruckus while he closed his window.

"That's on the other side of town." Ba Reum said when they went back to the car, he could feel his breath becoming shorter and the anxiety rise. The thought that Hwan could be in danger because of this....

"We'll try to get there quickly." Yo Han said, while starting the car, "we don't know if he'll be a target yet, or even when, so best not think too much of that."

"I'll try." Ba Reum said. Yo Han knew that Ba Reum was feeling bad about it, and Yo Han was not feeling great either, but he had to try and stay calm. He was the more level-headed out of the two of them, but it is always different when somebody you know is in danger instead of just a stranger.

It took them over an hour to get to the new address, twice they had to take another route because of there were works being done on the road. Both man were getting more nervous and frustrated with the situation.

"It's here." Ba Reum said and both man got out the car. The light was still on. Yo Han was about to knock on the door when he saw it was open.

"What if we are too late?" he whispered to Ba Reum, who looked thoughtful for a second.

"Take out your phone and film everything. Just in case. If we catch him in the act, at least we'll have evidence." Ba Reum whispered back, trying to hide the shaking of his hands. They couldn't be too late, right?

They opened the door as softly as possible and continued through the hall trying to not make a sound and then looked around the door to the living room. When they eventually entered the living room, the first thing they saw was the body on the floor, it's eyes wide open, his mouth stuffed with a piece cloth. It was lying on a plastic sheet and the blood was coating quite a bit of it.

Ba Reum immediately turned around swallowing back the bile, which he could feel rising at the gruesome sight.

"Is he still alive?" he asked desperately, not wanting to believe this man was dead.

He couldn't believe that this man he knew from church group could be dead. He wasn't his best friends, but he could still remember a few conversations they had shared.

Yo Han tried to feel for a pulse, but he should have known he wouldn't' find one. The amount of blood and the pallor of the man could have told him.

"I'm afraid we're too late." Ba Reum wanted to say something, but they heard a noise at the door. The both man looked at each other, eyes wide and surprised.