paranoia / gyuricky

05: again and again (and again)

"The gunshots didn't stop her," Ricky huffed, flopping onto the couch. His head was pounding once again; he was tired and just wanted everything to end.

Gunwook gave a nod. "Great observation, as usual," he says, sarcasm dripping from his lips as he paces around the room, staring at the ceiling.

"Who the hell was that?" questions Yujin, placing a hand on Gyuvin's shoulder.

Gyuvin frowned, getting up from the floor to take a seat next to Ricky. "How should I know?! She seemed normal, I—"

"Normal bitches don't bleed black fucking blood, Gyuvin!" the blonde retorted as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay, fine!" conceded Gyuvin. "She was normal until she attacked me with that fucking box cutter!"

"Box cutter?" Taerae questioned.

"Yeah, like, those ones for small boxes, or in this case, slitting her fucking—"

"Wrists," Taerae says, dropping the folder he was carrying onto the coffee table and flipping through the newspaper articles within. "Was that girl you saw... singing something?" he asked, "like, an oldie song?"

Gyuvin raised his eyebrows at Taerae, leaning over to get a better look at what was just placed on the table. "Jesus, Taeraevision, how do you know all that?"

Taerae takes a newspaper clipping from his folder and stacks it on top of the others. It displayed a picture of a girl who, Gyuvin realized, bore a strong similarity to the girl he had seen earlier.

"This is Jang Eunbi," Taerae explained, adjusting his glasses. "Isn't she who attacked you?"

Snatching the article off the table, Gyuvin intensely stared at it. "Holy shit," he mumbled.

"She sang as she murdered her boyfriend, her friends," Taerae carried on, "then she killed herself."

"She slit her wrists," Matthew finishes off, receiving some looks from those around him. He didn't exactly know anyone in that room too well, so he decided to chime in every now and then.

"The fuck?" exclaimed Gunwook, pacing around the room once more, running hands through his hair. "Why didn't I see this on the news, then?"

"Because," Ricky starts, grabbing the paper out of Gyuvin's hands. "It happened thirty years ago. 1993."

Taerae picks more newspaper clippings out from his folder, spreading them across the table. "Eunbi is one of the notorious killers of this town, just like that skull mask guy you mentioned." He points at a news article about Yang Minho, who had been behind a killing spree in a mall while wearing a skull mask that happened a year earlier.

"I remember him!" Matthew commented. "He went to our school, even killed that one girl."

Yujin's jaw dropped, seemingly dumbfounded by the sudden information. "I remember walking by that girl's locker since people left flowers and stuff. So much for my first year of high school."

"Okay, now look," Taerae said as he unfolded another article. "2011, twelve years ago. Masked psycho murders a bunch of kids at—"

"Camp Planet," Gunwook chimes in, finally sitting on the floor in between Taerae and Yujin. "Our mom's sister was there. I was six, but it was crazy balancing that and raising me and Yujin at the same time."

With a nod, Taerae acknowledges what Gunwook said, continuing with his list of known killers. "1971, Kim Minjae, a local milkman slashed a bunch of housewives. And here, 1935, Humpty Dumpty killer. 1922, Moon Haemin. 1904, Grifter guts girls, and on and on. It happens here all the time. Normal people turn into psychos."

"Holy fuck," Yujin mumbles, pulling a photo out from the bottom of the paper pile. "Look at this guy." He holds up a headshot of a man with his eyes poked out, and although in black and white, it doesn't make the photo any less unsettling.

"That's the pastor, Jung Wooseok," Taerae explains after silence fills the room. "1666, the first one recorded. He um... killed kids and cut out their eyes."

Ricky retched as he stood up from the couch and dashed to the kitchen. He crouched over the sink, coughed a few times, and recoiled in disgust when he saw the blood he puked up.

Following his friend into the kitchen, Gyuvin couldn't help but feel upset, tears welling up in his eyes. "You okay?" he softly asks, pulling Ricky into a gentle hug.

"I've been better," Ricky chuckles. returning the hug with a pat on Gyuvin's back.

"I know," the younger replied, pulling away to properly look at Ricky's face. "You look terrible."

Ricky could only grin and nod, acknowledging his dreadful situation. Even with all of the upheaval Gyuvin had thrown him into, he couldn't have the heart to be upset at him. Ricky felt safe because of the way Gyuvin comforted and laughed with him, and because of the way he stared at him with those wide eyes that appeared to carry the entire galaxy. No matter what happened, he knew that he could count on Gyuvin for anything.