Under The Snowflakes

Hold Your Breath

Run.
Stop thinking about your legs, lungs, steps..
All you have to do is run away.
Run away from that monster.

｡｡｡

She ran through the empty roads, the only thing helped her disappear was the dim street lights that government disagreed to change to the ones lightened around the street enough. It was the moonlight and her step sounds giving her away. She kept panting while searching for an escape.

"Celine! Isn't the moonlight lovely? When we go back home I will play The Moonlight Sonata for you, I know you love it!" she heard his voice echoing along the street. Why was nobody around when she needed them?

She kept the silence, tried to mute her steps even though she knew she would fail to hide from his unexpectedly developed hearing abilities and perfect pitch too. She also didn't have time to take off her shoes. Wasn't there any escape? There has to be...

"Baby, I can hear your footsteps. You sound like a little kitty!" he kept yelling. If she wouldn't know him and would be a stranger seeing or hearing this happening, she would probably think;

What a lovely, cute couple...

Even though she denied to think about it, he was the person she fell in love first. His kindness, thoughtfulness, ambitious and talented self was what she fell in love with. She specifically remembers how her heart skipped a beat when he smiled at her. After spending time together, she realised he was sick. He constantly had two different personalities that has different memories and sense of past, understanding, logic... Unfortunately, the one she fell in love... is not available. Now all she can do is escape, as long as it takes.

After reading the head signs, she finally found a possible escape room. She quickly took off her shoes ーleft them in the entranceー and passed down the stairs to the subway. She was shocked when she saw that there was still no one around. Her throat knotted for a second.
She felt like screaming right there for her life..
but no one would hear, right?

"Oh- Your- Your footsteps have gotten quieter!" His voice was coming from far away. A wave of relief hit her body along with the wind coming from the empty subway.

"Ahh~ Maybe I should start doing my best too? Is it disrespectful that I'm not giving it all but still finding you? It sounds like it.. I am sorry!! Let's do it then! I'm coming baby~ Let's do our best, hmm?" He kept blabbering as usual. His voice sounded kind and melodic like a spell hypnotising everyone to obey him.

ーFlashbackー

"What- WHAT DID YOU DO???" she yelled, on her knees crying and yelling at him. Her voice was harmonised with the piano notes he was playing at the moment.

"I gave them an another chance, another try... They should be grateful." He answered, not looking away from piano in the middle of the house. His unbothered face made her almost choke him to death but the least thing she wanted was to have any contact -leave aside physical- with this monster.

She turned back to the bodies on the ground, there wasn't any blood or neither any sign of harassment. The way he was professional in this made her frustrated that she was about to pull her hair off from her scalp.

"YOU'RE FUCKING SICK," she yelled to him. Trying to take off her anger. How could he have no sense of logic but still commit murder without any mistake, any error?

"They should be grateful that I gave them such a lovely end like this," he stated with his melodic voice, still playing piano. She directly looked at the bodies on the ground. After a recognisable amount of time;

She laughed.

"Yang Jeongin," she calmly said, he stopped playing piano without looking away from it. He was listening, carefully.

"There will be one day, I promise you that one day you will pay back all you have done. It's the rule of this world, given-taken..." She said calmly. Her confidence gave him goosebumps.

"And you know...
I don't have any regret except one thing; and that's the day I told you that I love you."

After that moment, she met the hell that she couldn't even imagine.
He lost his side that was full with love, mercy, warmth, kindness and anything nice...

She tried to escape, run away from this hell but this monster got addicted to it. He got addicted to the feeling of her escaping and catching her back. Without even her knowing, he let her escape amounts of times. It was a game for him now...

ーEnd of Flashbackー

She sat to the corner of hidden walls and started controlling her breathing. After attempting to escape from him many times, she surely developed herself and abilities. She was able to hold her breath up to 7 minutes in a good day but since she ran whole city for hours she knew her limit would be maximum up to 3 minutes which means 180 seconds.

She raised her wrist quietly, checked her watch;
05:38AM

There was twenty two minutes till the first subway. She quickly analysed the next few hours in her mind.

If the first subway comes at 6AM that would mean the subway officer should be around here.
Where would the night subway guard be at?
Are they asleep?
Did they not come because it's national holiday?
What if they see him or me?
If they see him, they might help him to find me. And surely he'll escape with me after that.
If they find me I will have to talk and at his good day he could hear my voice -even when I change it- from 150 meters. That would mean I have to act like a deaf person and use sign language. But if I fail to escape this time he'll figure out I know sign language and find a solution for that too.

05:42AM

It's been 4 minutes since the last time she heard his voice. Up to her instincts he would be inside subway station in few seconds. Not so late after she counted to 10, she heard step sounds coming from his oxford shoes. She quickly looked at her watch and counted;

1.. 2.. 3! Hold Your Breath!