paranoia / gyuricky

03: ding dong ditch

...

"Ricky? Ricky! Hello? Can you hear me?"

Shaken out of his trance, Ricky is found to be face-to-face with Gyuvin, who had a tight grip on his shoulders.

He was still in the forest. Not in bed, and definitely not watching the execution of Jo Hayoon.

Ricky looks down, jumping in fear as he realizes he was holding a skull this entire time. He tosses it away, panting as one hand clutches his chest. "Fuck, dude."

"Oh my God," Gyuvin exclaims in relief, pulling Ricky into an unreciprocated hug. "You scared me so bad."

"What happened?" Ricky asked once Gyuvin pulled away from the hug. He rubbed his nose as he felt a strange, wet feeling, realizing that blood was trickling out onto his upper lip.

"When you fell back after pulling the skull out of the ground, your eyes sort of turned white? And you stopped being responsive. I was so fucking scared, man! I thought you were gonna die right then and there! But—" Gyuvin took notice of the look on Ricky's face. "Sorry, not helping." He springs up from the ground, helping the blonde do the same. "Come on, Gunwook doesn't live too far from here; just down the road. It's better, just so you don't collapse on the way back to my house or something."

Ricky can barely process anything Gyuvin is saying, but he does at least know where he's going—to Gunwook's house. He feels rather unstable with every step he takes, but Gyuvin is there to make sure he keeps his balance, although he could barely feel the younger's touch on his body. It was as though holding that skull sent a shock through him, bringing him into a daze that he couldn't quite yet shake away from.

The conversation Gyuvin had with Gunwook on the porch of the latter's house was quick, and Ricky found himself being laid down on the couch in Gunwook's living room.

Gyuvin crouched in front of Ricky, reaching out to brush the blonde strands out of his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Hurts," Ricky manages to say, bringing a hand up to his forehead.

Gunwook sends Yujin, who was sitting on the floor and watching a movie, into the kitchen. He returns with painkillers in one hand and a glass of water in the other, handing both to Ricky once he sat up with Gyuvin's assistance.

"Lay him back down after," Gunwook says, "it's better to get him to sleep for a while."

"What even happened?" Yujin asked, resting his chin on Gyuvin's shoulder.

"So, basically—"

A knock on the door.

Excusing himself, Gunwook leaves the room, slowly poking his head out the front door as he opens it.

Nobody was there, though.

He stepped out the door, surveying his surroundings but finding nothing. Gunwook sighed loudly, assuming that someone had been playing a prank, but before he could close the door, his gaze was drawn to a figure standing in the middle of the street. He considered calling out to what he imagined was a person, but ultimately decided against it due to the fact that there was both a child and someone who was asleep inside his house. Gunwook quietly closes the door and remembers to lock it before returning to the living room. He peers through the window that looked out onto the road to notice that the figure was gone. Instead of jumping to conclusions, Gunwook shrugs it off as his eyes playing tricks on him.

For an hour or so, everything was just fine, with Gunwook and Gyuvin joining Yujin on the floor, watching whatever movie he decided to watch as Ricky slept on the couch next to them. Gyuvin, although finding the movie fairly interesting, couldn't concentrate owing to Ricky's condition, frequently checking in on the older to ensure he was okay.

Another knock on the door startles the three who were sitting on the floor.

"Do you think I should answer it?" Gunwook asks, standing up to look out the window, peeking through the blinds.

Yujin shook his head. "It's like, midnight. What if a murderer is on the other side of the door?"

"Very comforting," Gunwook deadpans, to which Yujin makes a taunting face in return.

For the third time, there's a knock on the door, followed by the doorbell being rung. Gunwook is visibly getting more annoyed and Yujin is starting to feel afraid.

"That's so noisy," a voice behind Gyuvin said. He turned to find that Ricky had woken up, already sitting upright.

Gyuvin, with a smile, leaps onto the couch next to Ricky, engulfing him with a hug. "You're awake! How are you now?"

"Better," Ricky replies, patting Gyuvin's back gently. "My headache is gone."

"Your nose is bleeding," Yujin suddenly points out, causing the blonde to pull away from his hug with Gyuvin.

With one hand, Ricky wipes the blood away from his nose, and with the other, he examines the shoulder of Gyuvin's sweater. "I got blood on your shirt."

"Don't worry about it," Gyuvin brushes off with a smile. "As long as you're okay. And from what I see, you seem to be just fine! You really scared me, and I wasn't sure what to do, but—"

Gyuvin's statement was cut short by glass shattering rather than being interrupted by someone speaking. Someone crashed into the window next to the television, scattering glass everywhere.

"What the fuck?!" exclaims Gunwook, who was pulling Yujin to his feet in no time, wrapping his arms around the younger.

A figure in full black with a skull mask climbs through the window. They look around the room before heading straight for Ricky, who was still sitting on the couch. All he could do was stare at the person with wide eyes, and then, just as he thinks his life is about to come to an end, he feels an arm, likely Gyuvin's, grab his sleeve and yank him off the couch.

The four immediately flee; Gyuvin and Ricky exit through the back entrance, while Yujin and Gunwook exit by the front. They reunited at the driveway, rushing into Gunwook's car.

The person appeared once again, slowly approaching the car, which had Yujin petrified.

"Hyung, hurry up!" shouted Yujin, bouncing in his seat as he slapped Gunwook on the arm numerous times.

Fumbling with his keys, Gunwook couldn't help but sigh. "I'm trying!" He ultimately gets the car to start, and with no time to waste, he starts driving away. "Mom is gonna fucking kill me," he grumbles, checking the rearview mirror to make sure they aren't being tailed.

"How is she gonna get mad at that?" Gyuvin questioned. "It's not like you knew some guy was going to break in."

Gunwook let out an uneasy hum. "That's true, but if Yujin got injured, you would never see me again."

"Good thing I'm fine!" Yujin exclaims, a smile on his face as he stuck two thumbs up.

Ricky, who was looking out the window, grew tired of staring only at trees for so long. "Where are we going?" he asks, leaning his head against the door.

"To the police station," Gunwook replies, taking a sharp turn onto a road that leads to the centre of town.

The sudden turn causes Gyuvin to lose his balance and fall to the side—right on Ricky, that is.

"Put on your seatbelt, dumbass." Ricky uses all his force to push the younger away from him, causing Gyuvin to collide with the door of the car.

"No need," Gunwook chimes in, "we're already here." He finds a spot on the side of the road, taking his sweet time parking properly. Normally, Gunwook would choose to do a half-assed job when it came to parking, but he was known to have a serious fear of cops, making his decision to be careful inevitable.