VICIOUS

floor in red.

03.

yeonjun had to cycle down to the end of the sloped road to the corner where the only rows of petrol stations and convenience stores of the village were present. he was happy when he was on the bike. it was freeing to bolt through the air so fast, with nothing to feel other than the static wind in his ears. he grinned, bowing his head at the elderly people he recognised.

when the red and blue bricked walls were in sight, and the road had turned flat again, he pushed the pedal once, and soon pulled the breaks. it was noon, so there wasn't much busyness to witness. people would retire to their homes at this hour for lunch and cold drinks. his place was inhabited by old people, forgotten and detached from the other side of the country. he saw meeting people of his own age as something rare. that's why he couldn't get the girl's face out of his head since yesterday.

grabbing the shopping bag behind him, he pushed open the door, mister hiroshi not behind the table. maybe he was in the store room, rolling up a cigarette for himself. yeonjun nonchalantly walked between the aisles, searching for the particulars his mother had asked for.

potatoes, parsley, cashew cookies, orange juice, a binder, sugar. what else? a knife, a rubik's cube for taehyun. another knife. for yeonjun. he slid his fingers over the carved out chrysanthemum on the metal. it was beautiful. he couldn't hold back from not buying it. he had enough savings to make the purchase for himself. turning on his heels, he walked back to the counter, calling out for mister hiroshi.

"i know you're smoking. but i need to leave soon, otherwise my mother would seek too many answers." silence. "mister hiroshi?" yeonjun watched the isolated road out of the window pane. "mister hiroshi?"

this was worrisome. he would always show up within the time yeonjun had gathered the items. he tilted his head at the store room. yeonjun could imagine mister hiroshi either absent, or collapsed inside it. laughable, slightly, but he was quite old for his age.

yeonjun decided to walk up to the door, and as soon as he opened it, a whiff of smoke entered his lungs. he coughed, squinting inside the dark room. "mister hiroshi?"

the light bulb was in the middle of the room. the switch was hanging from it. yeonjun wasn't much confident in the dark, but he took a step for it, and as soon as the switch was in his hand, he slipped on something, the bulb illuminating away the darkness. yeonjun groaned, but it wasn't long after that he felt his breath caught in his chest.

blood.

there was blood on the floor, on his hands, his clothes, and boots. and a few feet away layed mister hiroshi. cold dead, eyes open, his expression in shock.