Are You Insane, Like Me?

Chapter 6 - Stand By Me

After the day's chaos, he'd decided to hang low and found a place where he could just chill and play video games. He was attempting to focus on the games and enjoy himself, but he was too tightly wound. Additionally, there were hoodlums in the game room who were too loud. He tried to ignore them, but when they crashed into his chair, he was done. The kids didn't know the danger they were in. Because of this, he decided to go to the front desk and voice his grievance, which thankfully resulted in their removal.  Enabling him to finally enjoy a portion of his day, even if he didn't have enough money to play for long. As anticipated, he was soon out of game time and subsequently required to leave. As he walked out of the building with a lighter step, his thoughts turned to Moon-jo. He pondered how angry Moon-jo was about the comments he had made on the roof, as he turned onto the alley that was adjacent to the game store. Considering that he had not observed him following him throughout the day, he expected him to be quite upset. 

Suddenly, one of the hoodlums from the game room came zooming by on his bike. Tires squealing as the kid's bike skidded in a manner that obstructed the alley. Subsequently, the kid's friends soon appeared and surrounded Jong-woo. He tried to stay in control. Tried to explain that he'd had a rough day and behave with respect, but then one of them threw a brick at him. 

One of the kids managed to transcend his flashbacks and allow Jong-woo to hear him begging him not to kill his friend. Looking down, he could see that the kid was damn near there. As he moved away to rest against the wall, he began to hyperventilate. He was overcome with panic when he realized that he had almost killed a kid. His breath coming out deep and rapid to the point he felt light-headed. The monster inside of him was no longer buried deep. 

After forcing himself to check on the other kids, he sees that two of the boys are in slightly better condition, but not by a significant margin. Jong-woo didn't see the other one when he looked around for him. He figured the kid must have sought help.  Meaning, the police would be arriving soon. He was fucked, and would likely be going to jail tonight. Even though this was also a case of self-defense. The brutality with which he assaulted them spoke for itself. Plus, he had military training, unlike the kids. 

As he sat there listening to the badly beaten kid struggling to breathe, he was struck by the realization that another person could die because of him. Panic gripped him to such an extent that he could barely register the appearance of Moon-jo. He honestly thought he might be delusional because why would Moon-jo be here, he was mad at him. Yet, there was no mistaking that it was Moon-jo's soft voice. Using the tone he reserved for Jong-woo to ask if he was okay. Moon-jo's touch was gentle as he wiped away the blood from Jong-woo's mouth, telling him not to worry because he would be right next to him. However, Jong-woo was still unable to catch his breath, and his vision began to dim. His last thought before passing out was, why.

Upon Jong-woo's awakening, he noted the binding of his wrists and the presence of a device extending his mouth. Moon-jo's head was positioned over him in a manner that was too close for Jong-woo to figure out his movements. Unable to maintain control; experiencing anxiety regarding the situation, particularly the cuffing, he struggled. "Fucking crazy bastard!" he thought. 

Moon-jo didn't seem bothered by Jong-woo's behavior, and calmly explained to him that he was stitching up Jong-woo's bleeding and wounded mouth. "You need to be still, or I'm going to accidentally clip you." 

"Would it really be an accident?" He couldn't help thinking. 

"Why are you doing this to me?" He demanded of Moon-jo as he removed the instrument from Jong-woo's mouth and lifted the dentist chair up. 

"Who are you?" Jong-woo inquired further, resulting in Moon-jo's characteristic creepy smile.

As he asks questions of his own, he keeps smiling his creepy smile. "Who do you think I really am? A dentist who lives in a studio?" He pauses for a short second and then continues in a softly deceitful voice, "Or a serial killer that you would see in one of your novels."