hala | chancheol

⛓ part 1: meeting ⛓

CHAN SAT at his desk, the moon shining through the small window above him illuminating his body and the papers on the wooden desk.

page upon page of small font, numbers and letters strewn across it, the monotone pattern broken apart by pictures in some places.

photographs - most of them seeming to be taken from secret places, judging from the angles of the pictures. people were recognizable on them, some famous stars like the singer eric nam, others looking like regular workers.

the boy shook his head in an attempt to get his black bangs out of his eyes, leaning down to get a closer look of a photograph, placed in the bottom left corner of a page.

it showed a young man, perhaps not even older than chan himself. the picture had been taken right when he had crouched down to tie his untied shoelace, the frame frozen with him halfway down.
he had short, red hair that fell over his face and covered his face from that particular angle, making chan huff in displeasure.
but at least the muscular built and broad shoulders had been captured, helping the boy to maybe somehow be able to recognize his victim later on.

the data around the picture was carefully written down, neatly organized and kept in order.
everything you could know about the boy in the picture was on this single page.

his name was choi seungcheol, the son of a tattoo artist and a office secretary. he was indeed not much older than chan, only 23 - two years older than him.
even seungcheols shoe size was listed here, also his waist measurement...
the list went on and on, and every single number was stored in chans memory, to never be forgotten.

chan had a very high IQ, paired with a photographic memory - perfect for his job and pretty much the only reason he still had a roof ove this head.

he leaned back in his seat, closing the folder and staring at it for a moment. it would soon be time to leave his apartment, go out and finish his job. sleep would be a good idea right now, but he knew there was no point in trying.
his insomnia always got in the way, the most he slept was 3 hours a day. the only reason he was still alive was probably the caffeine he regularly pumped into his system, trying to keep himself going.

in the world he lived in, there was no time for rest of any sort. you had to go on and on, and if one day you just couldn't do it anymore, then it was fine for you to leave.
as in, permanently leave the face of earth.

the minutes ticked by way too fast and suddenly the sun was already rising. time to go, chan decided.

he got up from his chair, stretching and leaving to go take a shower before changing from the simple blue pyjamas he was wearing into an elegant black suit.

after checking himself out in the mirror for a moment - he needed to make sure everything was perfect, flawless - he went into the kitchen and retrieved the small suitcase from underneath the kitchen sink. it was the perfect hiding place for something as important as the content of the black case.

he left the apartment block, walking at a fast pace, gaze lowered onto the floor and mind running through his plan once again.

✖ ⛓ ✖

it was a cold day and chan was thankful for that, he couldn't imagine having to walk around in the tight black suit on a hot day.
it also set the perfect mood for what he was about to do, giving everything the feeling of a scene from an action movie.

he had reached his destination, a small house in an even smaller neighborhood, sooner than he had thought. now he was positioned around the corner, his suitcase open next to him.

inside laid a sniper, silver with black streaks around it. there was a phrase engraved on it in mandarin that translates to "silent night", something chan thought was quite fitting.
it was his most prized possession, his father had owned it before him.

the street before the house was empty, too early in the morning for people to be awake, except of the red haired figure that opened the door and started jogging down the street, in chans direction.

the boy smirked. seems like the prey is coming to the wolf's cave by itself, he thought, turning around and grabbing silent night.
the weapon laid familiar in his grip, he had lost count of how many times he had pulled the trigger by now.

the red haired boy was steadily jogging towards him, earpods in and humming lowly to the music he was listening to.

chan couldn't help but feel that familiar feeling inside his stomach, it felt like he had eaten a pack of ice - he would never be able to shoot without feeling ill doing it and somehow, he was really thankful for that. wouldnt everything else mean he had become what everyone in his world had become by now - heartless zombies, only waiting for the command to pull the trigger, doing so without remorse or guilt but rather satisfaction.

he silently counted down the seconds. fifteen, fourteen....the boy stopped.

chan furrowed his brows - had he been discovered? what happened? carefully not to be seen, he got up from his crouched position and squinted his eyes.

nothing? the red head was just standing still in the middle of the road, staring into nothing.

then he lifted his hand and ran it through his hair, lifting the red streaks and allowing chan a glimpse of his face.

familiar.

the sniper fell to the ground, the soft clank sounding way too loud in the silent morning air.

chan closed his eyes, rubbing them - only stopping when he realized how childish the thought that the sight would vanish if he looked again was.

when he opened his eyes, the redhead was indeed gone and the black haired boy gasped in surprise.

"long time no see, chanie."

the low sound of breathing at his neck.

a deep voice in his left ear, sending shivers down his spine.

and a pair of steel like arms, caging the boy and pressing him against a toned stomach.

"s-scoups."

✖ ⛓ ✖

tbc