𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙨 | Lee Felix | Mafia

o n e

The evening air was fresh and filled with a sweet scent. And as the sun began to set, the cloudy scrolls ran into the dark skies in an unexpectedly fascinating way.

The city wasn't too active at this hour, but you could still find a few young people in their twenties surrounded by their friends in front of pubs, drinking beer and laughing at dumb jokes. They definitely would have realised their jokes were stupid if they were sober. It made me smile as I shook my head lightly.

Seeing a middle-aged couple eating their meal while passing in front of one of the restaurant windows made me realize how hungry I was. But Irene had already taken care of getting us some food.

The plan for tonight was to drink and eat while watching a drama. Irene had ordered fried chicken for us, and I was going to get some sweet snacks and a bottle of soju.
I had decided to enjoy the weather before going to the store.

The sun was slowly disappearing, letting the moon illuminate the city. Fortunately, I had decided to grab my coat at the very last minute. It was Thursday night, but the city wasn't as active as it usually is. Maybe it was because I was on the outskirts of town, but this particular street seemed nearly deserted in retrospect. I decided to take a risk and go down the short path that leaded straight to the store. I barely knew the path because I always avoid it at night, assuming it could be dangerous.

The passageway was narrow, in between high buildings. Cooking smells were drifting from open windows, but it wasn't the only scent. Another overwhelming odor was present, like a thousand cats had come to this specific place to do their business. The alley was empty and lit with a few street lamps. But that didn't alarm me.

A few seconds later, I heard a noise behind me. I started to grow uncomfortable. It was probably just my imagination. Or at least, that's what I thought to try to reassure myself. But I felt a weird presence behind me. When I turned around, I found nothing but a straying black cat crossing the path. The cat did stop for a second, its tail moving left to right, and starred at me with big eyes, as if it was frightened of me, before continuing to rapidly walk away.

I opened the store door and looked at the man behind the counter. He gave me a little nod while I flashed a smile before he returned to his newspaper. My eyes fell on the snacks. I chose the sweets and walked over to the drinks aisle to get the alcohol. After grabbing a bottle of soju, I went to the storekeeper and took my wallet out of my backpack when the doorbell rang. At that moment, I was so focused on counting the money so I didn't see who was coming in. I heard the footsteps and assumed a young group had entered. I thanked the man and went out of the store.

After a few steps, I heard a deep-voiced shout. My heart began to race and I couldn't think clearly. I stood there on the side of the street, petrified, eyes closed, trying not to make any sound in case I was discovered. I realised that I was lightly pressing my nails into the palm of my hand.

A distant thud echoed across the cold, hard floor, ricocheting into my ear. Someone was coming. My stomach retched, my throat dry. Had I gotten myself into a mess? My heart skipped a beat when I turned around. I discovered a dark silhouette a good distance away from me. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. The street light that shone from behind the man in the thick black hoody ensured anonymity. I couldn't define his age either, but he seemed to be quite young.

I didn't move. He didn't either. What was I supposed to do? I didn't have time to think about trying to construct a plan. And even if I had time, my mind wasn't clear.

My legs reacted first before my brain processed the situation. I ran as fast as I was able to. I took the same path, remembering that I had spotted a little corner with big trash cans earlier. I didn't know where else I could hide, so it was the only place that came to my mind. I was persuaded that he wouldn't find me behind the trash cans if I was fast enough.

I immediately went straight behind the biggest can and stayed in a squat position for a while, breathing irregularly. It was very hard not to move to prevent any sound that could reveal my cache. Except I couldn't stay like this any longer. I had to find a way out of this place.

A few moments later, I decided to take a peek to see if he could eventually be in proximity to me. But the moment I raised my head, I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder. I froze completely. My brain was empty; not a single thought ran through it.

He pulled me aggressively backwards while his other hand covered my mouth. My body was screaming out in agony as I tried to twist away, but all that happened was more pain. Another sharp ache caught me by surprise: my back was burning like hell as it hit something hard. That's when I realized he had me pinned against the wall. He was holding both of my hands on top of my head with only one hand, as the other one was still covering my mouth.

"Make a fucking sound and I'll kill you without hesitation," the aggressor threatened with a rough voice.

Fear took control of me like nothing else; it kept me silent and hopeless at this very moment. I couldn't free myself from his grip; he didn't allow me to make any move.

I wasn't able to comprehend what was taking place. My eyes started to feel watery and more panic took control of me. All I wanted to do was scream for help, but I obeyed.

"Hmm," he hummed and muttered something else under his breath. I didn't know if it was due to dread, but I didn't understand his words.

I got caught off guard by his next move: he pulled something out of his pocket and pressed it against my mouth. It was a dark tissue. He was trying to drug me. Tears started to fall from my eyes. I attempted to shake my head, but I knew that it was useless.

A second later, the guy's grip loosened, as he was pushed away from me. A mysterious boy with bleeched hair kicked him behind the knees, forcing him to kneel down. He shot him in the head without hesitation, causing him to slowly collapse on the cold floor.

"Go!" my savior exclaimed, his voice commanding, back to me.

I was astonished and terrified, but I dashed away without further ado.

I had no idea where I was going, but my feet just kept on pounding steadily against the ground. I was tired, but I couldn't stop to rest.
A tree root, jutting out of the ground—I tripped, but by then I'd run out of energy and there was no way I could get back up again.

"Aeri?" said a voice behind me. "What on earth are you doing here?"

When I turned back to face the person, I realized it was...

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Author's note:

Hello everyone, and welcome to this new journey! Thank you so much for taking the time to read the first chapter of my very first book! I hope you loved it and are looking forward to find out what happens next!

Please feel free to express your thoughts and suggest improvements if you believe it is necessary. It would also be really helpful to me if you voted and shared my story with others in order to raise awareness :)

(Next chapter is coming soon!)

@jimilix