chapter-2
1557 Words
“Open the door, Juhan.”
Juhan couldn't breathe.
His back was pressed against the wall, and his eyes remained fixed on the door.
The handle moved again.
Slowly.
Almost lazily.
As if the person standing outside knew there was nowhere for him to go.
Juhan's fingers tightened around the photograph.
The old picture trembled between them.
“How...” His voice barely came out. “How did you get here?”
Silence.
Then Taejin answered.
“You left the door unlocked.”
Juhan's eyes widened.
He immediately looked toward the lock.
It was locked.
He remembered locking it twice.
“You're lying.”
A quiet laugh came from the hallway.
“I expected you to say that.”
Juhan stepped farther away from the door.
“Go away.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
This time, Taejin didn't answer immediately.
When he finally spoke, his voice had lost its teasing quality.
“Because someone else is looking for you.”
Juhan frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“You think I'm the person you should be afraid of.”
A pause.
“But I'm not.”
Juhan's heartbeat became louder.
“If you're not the person I should be afraid of, then who is?”
No answer came.
Juhan waited.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Then he heard footsteps moving away.
He rushed toward the door.
“Wait!”
He unlocked it and pulled it open.
The hallway was empty.
Taejin was gone.
Juhan looked toward the staircase.
Nothing.
He ran to the elevator.
The doors were closing.
For a second, he saw a tall figure inside.
Black coat.
Dark hair.
A familiar silhouette.
“Taejin!”
The elevator doors closed.
Juhan reached them too late.
He pressed the button repeatedly.
Nothing.
He stepped back, breathing hard.
Then his phone vibrated.
Another unknown message.
Don't follow me.
Juhan stared at the screen.
A second message arrived.
For once, listen to me.
He should have felt relieved.
Instead, he felt even more afraid.
Because Taejin had been standing outside his apartment only seconds earlier.
And now he was already gone.
Juhan slowly returned inside.
He locked the door.
This time, he checked it three times.
Then he placed a chair beneath the handle.
His eyes returned to the photograph.
He sat on the edge of the sofa.
The image was old and slightly damaged around the corners.
Two boys stood beneath a large tree.
One was clearly him.
Younger.
Maybe sixteen.
His hair was shorter, and his face looked completely different.
But the smile was unmistakable.
The other boy stood beside him.
Juhan stared at him.
There was something familiar about his face.
Something buried deep inside his memory.
He turned the photograph over.
You promised you wouldn't forget.
His fingers went numb.
“I don't remember,” he whispered.
But somewhere inside him, a tiny voice answered.
You do.
Juhan closed his eyes.
A memory appeared.
A summer afternoon.
A lake.
A red bicycle.
Someone laughing.
Someone calling his name.
“Juhan!”
He opened his eyes suddenly.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
Another image flashed through his mind.
A boy standing in front of him.
Black hair.
A small scar near his eyebrow.
A smile.
Then—
Blood.
Juhan grabbed his head.
“No.”
The memory disappeared.
He stood abruptly.
“No, no, no.”
He walked to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.
His hand shook so badly that some of it spilled onto the floor.
He drank anyway.
The photograph remained on the table.
He didn't want to look at it again.
But he couldn't stop himself.
He picked it up.
There was something behind the photograph.
A small piece of paper had been folded and hidden beneath it.
Juhan carefully pulled it out.
There was only one sentence.
Ask your mother why she lied.
Juhan stopped.
His mother.
He hadn't spoken to her in almost six years.
After the night everything changed, she had refused to discuss the past.
Whenever Juhan asked about those years, she always gave him the same answer.
Some things are better forgotten.
He had believed her.
Until tonight.
His phone suddenly rang.
Juhan stared at the caller ID.
For a moment, he couldn't move.
Then he answered.
“Hello?”
No one spoke.
“Hello?”
A faint sound of breathing came through the speaker.
Juhan's heart began racing.
“Who is this?”
The call ended.
He immediately checked the number.
Private.
His hands became cold.
Someone knew where he lived.
Someone had photographed him.
Someone had entered his apartment building.
And someone knew about his mother.
He grabbed his coat.
He needed to leave.
Right now.
He shoved the photograph into his backpack and rushed toward the door.
Then he stopped.
A thought crossed his mind.
If Taejin really was protecting him, why had he told him not to follow?
And if Taejin was lying...
Who was the person he was protecting Juhan from?
Juhan opened the door carefully.
The hallway was empty.
He stepped outside.
The elevator was still on the ground floor.
He pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
He pressed it again.
Still nothing.
Then the lights above him flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The hallway went dark.
Juhan froze.
A sound came from behind him.
A soft click.
He turned.
A figure stood at the far end of the corridor.
Juhan couldn't see the face.
“Who's there?”
The figure didn't answer.
Juhan took one step backward.
Then another.
The emergency lights suddenly turned on.
The corridor was empty.
Juhan's breathing became uneven.
He ran.
He took the stairs two at a time and reached the ground floor.
The front door opened automatically.
Cold rain hit his face.
He stepped outside.
Then he saw the black Mercedes.
It was parked directly across the street.
Juhan stopped.
The driver's window lowered.
Taejin was inside.
Their eyes met.
Taejin looked furious.
Not angry.
Furious.
He opened the passenger door.
“Get in.”
Juhan didn't move.
“You said not to follow you.”
“I said don't follow me.”
“Then why are you here?”
Taejin looked toward the apartment building.
“Because they found you.”
Juhan's stomach dropped.
“Who?”
Taejin stepped out of the car.
His gaze moved over Juhan's shoulder.
“Don't turn around.”
Juhan's body went rigid.
“What?”
“Whatever you do, don't turn around.”
Taejin crossed the street.
His expression had changed completely.
The calmness was gone.
“Juhan.”
His voice was low.
“Get into the car.”
Juhan swallowed.
“Why?”
Taejin stopped in front of him.
“Because the person standing behind you isn't your imagination.”
Juhan's blood ran cold.
He heard footsteps behind him.
One.
Two.
Three.
Someone was approaching.
Slowly.
Taejin reached out.
Juhan instinctively stepped back.
“Don't touch me.”
Taejin stopped.
For a moment, something vulnerable flashed across his face.
Then it disappeared.
“Fine.”
He lowered his hand.
“But trust me for the next thirty seconds.”
Juhan stared at him.
“How can I trust you?”
“You can't.”
Taejin looked past him.
“That is exactly why you need to listen.”
Another footstep sounded behind Juhan.
Closer.
Juhan's breath caught.
He couldn't resist anymore.
He turned.
A man stood near the entrance of the building.
Middle-aged.
Grey coat.
Black gloves.
And a familiar scar running along the side of his jaw.
Juhan had never seen him before.
But the man smiled as soon as their eyes met.
“You finally remember.”
Juhan couldn't move.
The stranger reached into his coat.
Taejin immediately stepped between them.
“Run.”
Juhan stared at him.
“Taejin—”
“NOW.”
The stranger pulled something from his pocket.
A photograph.
He held it up.
It was the same photograph Juhan had just received.
Except this one had something written across the front.
Four words.
HE WAS NEVER YOUR FRIEND.
Juhan looked at Taejin.
For the first time, fear appeared in Taejin's eyes.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for Juhan.
Then the stranger spoke.
“Ask him what happened at the lake.”
Taejin's jaw tightened.
“Don't listen to him.”
Juhan's voice trembled.
“What happened at the lake?”
Taejin said nothing.
That silence was enough.
Juhan stepped backward.
“You know.”
Taejin looked directly into his eyes.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Taejin's expression hardened.
“You tried to save me.”
Juhan's breath stopped.
“And you failed.”
The stranger smiled.
Taejin turned sharply.
“Get in the car, Juhan.”
Juhan didn't move.
Because suddenly, the memories were coming back.
The lake.
The red bicycle.
The blood.
A hand slipping from his.
And a voice screaming his name.
Juhan's knees weakened.
He whispered the only name his memory could finally recover.
“Taejin...”
Taejin looked at him.
And Juhan realized something terrifying.
He had known Taejin before.
Not tonight.
Not recently.
But years ago.
And whatever had happened between them at that lake...
It had been the reason Juhan forgot him.
The stranger laughed softly.
“Welcome back, Juhan.”
Then the lights across the street went out.
And somewhere in the darkness, a gunshot echoed.
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