Home Invasion || Park Jisung

11。mrs. katsuki

Wednesday, 02:04 a.m.

"Through the window—" Nari gestured— "call her through the window!"

They both stood up in the closet space, Jisung peeking out carefully. He was relieved to see that the burglar had closed the door of the laundry room, making it safe for them to come out from the messy closet.

"Can this thing open?" Jisung asked.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on—" she slipped past him hurriedly towards the tiny window. She fiddled with the lock until finally, a faint little click sound signified the window was unlocked. She pushed it open, forcing her head and part of her shoulder out through the tiny space.

Just as she'd expected, Mrs. Katsuki was stepping out of her car. For someone her age, Nari was surprised the lady wasn't using a walking cane, much less driving that beat-up car. She held a big tote bag on one shoulder, the other holding her car for support as she tried to waddle around the vehicle and into her house.

Nari cleared her throat, mustering whatever courage she had left to call out to the elderly lady from across the street.

"Mrs. Katsuki!"

Her heart jumped in its place, cringing at how loud her voice sounded. Her neighbor, however, was none the wiser; she kept walking, slowly but surely disappearing behind her car. For a split second, Nari's fear of losing Mrs. Katsuki overcame her fear of the robbers—

"Mrs. Katsuki!"

The air in her lungs held its place as Mrs. Katsuki finally stopped. She felt Jisung pressing himself against her, trying to peek out as well.

The old lady turned around slowly and began scanning her surroundings until finally—

"Oh, Nari!" Mrs. Katsuki's raspy voice greeted rather crisply. "What a pleasant surprise, I don't often see you around—" she squinted as she began making her way back from the front of her porch— "my, is that Jisung from next door? What are you doing over at her home so late at night?"

Without a second to waste, Nari yelled out, "Mrs. Katsuki, there are burglars in our house right now! Please call the police! We're staying in the—"

"Sweetie, you're speaking too fast, I can't hear you," she interrupted, taking curt steps forward obliviously.

"Police, Mrs. Katsuki," Jisung called out from behind Nari, "please call the police!"

Nari felt her heart thumping violently against her chest; Jisung's deep voice should've done it, but Mrs. Katsuki remained perplexed. "Why don't I come over, since you kids don't want to greet me by the door."

"No!—"

Thump!

A loud thumping noise shut her up, forcing her to pull the window shut and duck down in panic; Jisung verbalized what he knew the both of them were thinking.

"Fuck, this is bad."

"If Mrs. Katsuki knocks on my door, they'll know."

Jisung ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to rationalize the situation. "She might not even knock, she's expecting us to greet her there, right?"

Nari closed her eyes, feeling her insides squirm as it dawned on her what they had to do. "We have to make sure she doesn't knock."

The two stared at each other. Nari gulped anxiously at the thought of going out and possibly facing the intruders. But they had no choice now, right? Her eyes deepened into his features, a slight mix of fear and determination somehow giving her the momentary push she needed.

Alright, here goes nothing.

She opened the laundry room door, careful not to cause any creaking as she slowly pulled it open. She peeked her head through the crack she had made, scanning the room swiftly. She had expected at least one of them to be doing whatever burglars do during a home robbery, but the place was surprisingly still.

She took this as an opportunity to slip out of the laundry room, finally. "Come on—" Nari beckoned at the boy behind her.

Without looking back, she tiptoed onwards, letting the familiarity of her own home guide her. She rushed swiftly down the front hall until she made it to her door, which wasn't too far away.

"Alright, let's go—"

She turned around and felt her heart fall to the floor.

"So you're the lovely homeowner."

11。❝ mrs. katsuki ❞