Shadows Within (Lee Eun-Hyuk x OC x Cha Hyun-Su)

Chapter Ten

Surprisingly, tending to Sang-Wook went well. He was recovering now, but it was still touch and go. There was a good possibility that we missed any internal injuries and even if everything went well, the head injury could mean he would never wake up. We didn't have any equipment to sustain him. It meant if it came to that point, he was as good as dead.

As I watched him, I could see Jae-Heon handing Eun-Hyuk a flip phone. There was a frown in the swordsman's face and he even glanced at me a few times, which piqued my curiosity further.

Eun-Hyuk's hand clenched tightly around the phone. There was an audible creak, making me wonder if he would break it.

What could be so bad that he looked as if he was going to murder someone? What was in there and whose phone was that?

I absentmindedly wiped Sang-Wook's face with a damp cloth; being extra careful around his wounds and curiously gazing at his scars. What had he been through? Why? I wanted to know, but I had a feeling he wasn't going to tell us.

"You're being too mysterious for your own good, you know?" I sighed, placing the towel back in the bowl.

There weren't many people around. Some had carried the bodies downstairs, thinking of burying them with markers to pay their respects. Digging the dirt was going to take a while, but it would boost team morale knowing that there could even be a hint of normalcy – as morbid as it may be.

I stood up and walked over to the two men who were quietly talking amongst themselves.

"I want answers," I said, plopping down beside them.

They immediately fell silent and looked at me.

"I'm tired of being left in the dark. I never seem to know anything and I think being caught unaware is more detrimental to me." I was going to be firm about this.

"It doesn't matter. It's over," Eun-Hyuk told me, slipping the phone into his pocket.

I huffed. "When is anything ever over? Why do you keep so many secrets from me? I want to know!"

"Eun-Hyuk... maybe..." Jae-Heon began, but he was quickly shut down.

"I said no. She never needs to know -"

I quickly leaned over and took the phone from his pocket.

"Ari!"

I rolled over on to my stomach, caging the device as I flipped open the phone and the first thing in there made me freeze.

They had left the phone on the photo gallery.

It was a photograph of another photograph. A young girl with frightened eyes stared back at me. She was tied up, covered in grime as if she had been there for a while.

I curled up tighter as Eun-Hyuk tried to take it from me.

I couldn't stop now.

I looked at the next photo and the next. There were dozens of them - girls ranging from around five to seventeen. All of them looked young and scared. The next set of images showed the dark room where hundreds of photos must've been scattered, clipped on strings and on the tables.

Was this... Yoon-Jae? Was this why Sang-Wook was so angry? Who did he know in this?

"Ari, give it back to me!"