Madman [Hwang Hyunjin ff]

13

Eun POV

We sped past the gate, rifles in our hands. In the fight at the plant, Jisung and Seungmin had been hurt, so they stayed in the vans, waiting for us to clear the place first.

The whole house was silent, and no light could be seen. Not even the moon was shining, resulting in the house being pitch black. We tried switching on some lights, but the power had been cut off.

- Minho, if you can hear us tell us where you are. - we whispered through the earpieces.

- Upstairs. Closet. They are close. - he whimpered.

We silently hurried upstairs, ready to shoot at any movement. We heard some gunshots from Minho's room, and a loud thud followed by sounds of glass breaking.

- Minho! - we all started rushing towards his room, hoping for the better. There, we saw a lifeless body lying on the floor.

Next to it, Minho was barely standing, holding his already injured arm, a gun in his hand.

- I-I am sorry. - he was sniffling due to the pain - I-I heard them entering the house, so I just thought of hiding everything about today's operation... I'm so sorry I left you there, I should have done better... - he looked at us with teary eyes.

- Do you think they were of the same gang as those who were at the industrial plant? -

Minho nodded in reply.

- They were two only. Maybe they knew I would have been here alone. I managed to kill this one, but the other escaped. - he explained, sitting on his bed staring at the floor.

- I think what's best for us now is to secure the house, make sure nobody else is still in here and rest. - it was Chan talking. - Many of us need some time alone. - he looked at us, his pitiful eyes stopping on Hyunjin, Minho and I.

No one dared to nod, but we all knew Chan was right.

- Ok, let's do it then. - I said, moving toward the terrace of Minho's room to see if the attacker was still there.

And with that, our clearing of the house started.

I couldn't sleep. I had slept few minutes, but memories of my mom were coming back.

I was young, very young, when I last saw my mom.

That night of seventeen years ago, I had stayed awake because of nightmares, and my father was out. I had heard those people enter the house, so I had hidden in the closet. Then, a loud noise.

Thinking back, I know that sound was a gunshot, but in my five-year old mind it was fireworks. I waited a bit for more fireworks which never came, before rushing to my parents' room to wake them up to see them. However, my mom wouldn't wake up.

I waited next to her on the bed, eventually falling asleep, until my dad came home. When he saw us, he fell on the floor, crying, thinking we both had died. But when I woke up, his eyes lit up with hope, his following words still stuck in my mind: "I will teach you how to defend yourself, baby. I will give you siblings who will protect you, so that you will never be harmed".

He was crying, and I was too. I don't know if I was aware at the time that my mom was dead, but the only thing I know for sure is that the following week I was already practicing knife combat in a room full of other kids: the Stray Kids.

I was in the brink of tears for the third time that night, when a voice made me jump.

- E-Eun... can... can I sleep here? - it was Hyunjin, speaking feebly between sniffles - My... my mom, and... my sister... - he was crying now. I had never seen him so desperate, so weak. He was always the one with the indecipherable look, his expressionless eyes lost into nothingness. Yet, right now he seemed just like the six-year old child who kept crying at the sight of a gun, and who would run to the bathroom to hide from everyone, hoping he would disappear.

I ran up to him, said few comforting words, then guided him towards my bed.

- I'll go get some water. - I said, turning to the door.

- N-no, please... stay. - his teary eyes broke me, my mind couldn't think of anything else but how to help him.

I sat on the corner of the bed, gently caressing his hair as his sniffles got quieter and his breaths became more steady. His eyes were still wet, sorrow inhabited them.

- He was raping her, and my sister and I were there, we couldn't do anything. He had a gun pointed at us. When he was done with her, he shot her, then walked towards our dad to kill him too. My... - he took a deep breath, trying not to burst into tears once more - ... my sister ran to him, trying to take his gun away. He shot her too. "This is what bad kids get for trying to steal one's gun. Now be a good kid for me and stay here" he said, patting my head. Then, he took my father's life. -

Hyunjin was gripping onto my arm, as if I had threatened to leave again. I didn't know what to say: he had no one to turn to, all of his family was dead. I guess we were now his only family.

I stared at him, analysing his features. I could see his skin, reddened due to the crying. I gently stroked his cheeks, his eyes finding mines. He slowly opened his arms, asking me to lay next to him, with a slight smile stamped on his face. I smiled back, resting my face next to his.

As his cologne filled my nostrils, I enjoyed his breaths on my cheek and the heat emanating from his skin.

- Thank you, Eun. - he quietly said before we both dozed off, comforting each other with our touch.