fatal flaw - kang sae-byeok

(5)

the walk back to the base room gave mia an odd feeling, one she'd never felt before. she felt relief, guilt, sadness, anger, happiness, all at once. one would've assumed that she'd be almost excited- she was one step closer to the money, but she didn't care anymore. that money had caused so much death, anger, regret, fear. it wasn't worth it anymore.

still, she persisted.

noticing mia's knitted brows, sae-byeok gave her hand a comforting squeeze, which she held onto. that was, until a guard had a problem. the red-clad figure slowly aimed his gun toward the girls' intertwined fingers. mia, too shocked to react, stood with wide eyes. sae-byeok pulled their hands apart at lightening speed, and the gun retreated.

the girls exchanged an alarmed look and continued with the group, keeping a safe distance apart.

upon walking through the huge doors to the room of beds, the number now dwindling, a soft murmur began to rise.

''let's find the others''.

some members of the team spoke about their relief, or their guilt. some thought about what they'd do when this was all over - dead or alive. others, however, sat in silence. no thoughts.

in an attempt to refuel, they nibbled on a stingy meal, not enough to feed a small child.

''hey, come with me'', sae-byeok said to mia. she gave ji-hun a glance before getting up and following the other girl.

''what's up?''

''i have a plan'', sae-byeok looked serious, ''we go into the bathroom at lights out. there's a vent''.

mia looked intrigued but hesitant.

''one goes up and finds out what the next game is. the other keeps watch''.

''i'm not sure about this,'' mia wore a worried expression.

''i am'', sae-byeok rested a hand on mia's shoulder.

''wait for my signal''.

lights out arrived, mia stared up at the ceiling and wondered what was beyond it. where was she? she was losing hope, but a glimmer of optimism came with sae-byeok's dangerous plan. a loud sneeze coming from beneath her, alerted mia to the start of the mission. that was the signal, get ready.

''c'mon, i need to pee'', sae-byeok's voice whined. she banged on the door, attempting to make the guard give in to save his ears.

''fine'', mia can only imagine the guard rolling his eyes.

''me too!'' mia joined in.

''you as well?''

''yes! i drank one too many cups of water with my corn earlier, i'm desperate''.

''be fast''.

bingo.

the girls were lead down the colourful corridor and to the surprisingly fancy bathroom.

''hurry up. ill be outside waiting'', the guard warned.

it was now or never.

they rushed into the empty bathroom and piled into the stall furthest from the door. as if she'd done it before, sae-byeok quickly pulled herself up onto the toilet frame and reached up to the vent above them.

''hey'', mia said, ''be careful''.

sae-byeok said nothing but sent mia a mischievous smile, before disappearing out of sight.

mia nervously bit her fingernails and jumped at every noise, terrified of what would happen if they got caught.

''hey!'', she whispered-shouted upwards, ''are you almost done?''

''i'm seeing nothing''.

a loud bang at the door made mia jump out of her skin.

''you two! hurry up!'' one of the guards shouted.

''just a minute!'' mia shouted shakily.

the guard quickly lost patience and threatened to enter the bathroom if they didn't get out, unaware of the teenage girl in the ceiling above him.

''sae! now!''

sae-byeok scrambled across the width of the bathroom and popped out of the vent, quickly resealing it, just as the guard gave up yelling and stormed into the room.

it was obvious to the girls that he would have questions about why they were sharing a stall, so mia began to silently think of a plan, in the 3 seconds that she had - she was holding my hair back whilst i was sick? she was fixing my hair? without giving her another second to think, the stall door flew open.

suddenly, faster than mia could comprehend, sae-byeok grabbed the back of her head and connected their lips. mia felt as if this was always supposed to happen, they fit together like jigsaw pieces. a hurricane of butterflies made her palms sweaty and her heart rate quicken, but mia felt as if a colossal rain cloud had just been lifted from her shoulders. she felt free.

sae-byeok however, felt irritated that she had allowed this girl to single-handedly break down all of her walls, but it was difficult to focus on those negative thoughts as her mind turned to mush. mia was like sweet like honey and she wanted to stick to her forever.

hands began to wander and breathing began to become more jagged and heavy, the guard taking that as a cue to shuffle away.

they continued like this for a while - two bodies tangled to make one. small smiles erupted every now and then. the sweet hereafter.

after what felt like hours, mia pulled away.

''he left'', mia said, glancing out of the stall door.

''i know''.