Room 409

Chapter 1

A CHASE FOR SURVIVAL

"You're leaving right now?" questioned the 18 year old. "uhm yes? Unless it doesn't look like it." he glanced at her once while answering. "It's midnight" "So?" A pause. She grumpily walked into her room. It didn't bother him. He was used to it. If he wanted to give his little sister the best of the world, he had to leave even if it meant hurting her a little.

Seoul streets were packed that night. Nothing unusual. On his way, he had grabbed a coffee to keep him up even though he didn't needed it. There were already multiple things to keep him up all the night.

The lack of sleep was nothing new. And even then he could usually go back home with no problem. Not tonight though. Tonight was different. The city was quiet but something was definitely wrong with his senses. He couldn't put a finger on it but there was something off about tonight. Maybe he just imagined things. He sighed. Yeah, maybe he did imagine it. But the thought kept lingering like a ghost in the back of his mind.

As the train slowly drove away from Seoul, it was the sound that snapped him out of his deep thoughts. His stomach sank when he heard the loud wail of sirens. The siren's screech made it impossible for anyone else to hear it.

But he still knew that it was a police car. He felt his whole body tense with dread. The only possible reason why the police would show up in a busy area like Seoul after 10pm was because of an incident, a crime, an emergency or a death.  What he hadn't expected was that the person screaming was... himself. The man whose ears were ringing and the fear consuming his body.He had been so caught up in the suddenness of everything that he didn't even realise how close he was to the other people riding on the crowded train. They were staring at him in shock. Some were probably horrified by what they saw in his eyes.

"JEON JEONGGUK!" called a policeman, breaking through the crowd. Terror traced his face as he realized the policeman was his father. He tried to push himself towards the exit before his father could catch up with him. But unfortunately for him, someone shoved into his side and prevented it.  It almost knocked him off balance and he was afraid that he was going to fall down but then he regained his balance and continued his escape. He ran as fast as he could, not noticing the policemen chasing behind him. Tears flowed freely from his eyes and his lungs burned, trying desperately to get air. He felt the adrenaline.  He felt all that pain. He felt free for once yet his father had to ruin it all. After some minutes, he finally broke through the crowd and reached the streets. His knees buckled and he collapsed against a building. His hand pressed hard against his chest. His eyes darted everywhere as he attempted to regain control of himself.

Tonight it felt better to just leave for home. His actual home.