monster » baekhyun ✓

chapter 24

I was leaning against a pine tree and looking up at the dark night sky. Clouds covered the moon and it began snowing. I was watching the snowflakes circling through the air and falling on the trees, the grass and the nearby beach. There was already a thin layer of snow covering everything.

I raised my hand and let the snowflakes land on my bare palm.

'' Let's separate, '' Kyungsoo suggested and looked at the rest of us with a serious expression on his face. '' There are more than sixty small properties here. We'll never be able to find the right one if we don't separate. ''

'' That's true, but this is exactly how it goes down in the scary movies. One has the bright idea to separate and the killer gets them. I don't want to die, '' Sehun complained and crossed his arms on his chest in protest.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and glared at him in annoyance. His pale cheeks were slightly reddened from the cold and snowflakes were melting on his dark hair. '' Idiot. You know you have a gun that you can use to protect yourself, right? Also, it's not like the plan is for you to act on your own. If you find the right property, you call the others. ''

I clenched my fingers in to a fist and raised my head. I stared at the others for a few moments, then I slowly nodded. '' I'll go north. Keep your phone close, stay alert and be careful, boys. ''

Kyungsoo was about to open his mouth and say something, but I already pulled the hood of my jacket on my head and walked in the darkness. The night quickly became cold when it started snowing and I was blowing air in my hands and trying to warm them up while I made my way through the forest. I was taking fast steps and my eyes were darting around the darkness and trying to spot anything dangerous or suspicious.

There were gravel roads going between the small properties and some were surrounded by fences or stone walls to stop trespassers. There were a lot that had just gardens, that were abandoned now that it was winter and had a thin layer of snow covering the forgotten scarecrows, shovels and other equipment, but I wasn't particularly interested in those. The properties with small huts were the ones that I cared about, but I had no idea how to find out if any of them could be the one that we were looking for. The only light besides the moon was coming from the twinkling Christmas lights set up on the fence of one of the nicest properties, but they weren't really of much help.

I was walking around and taking longer stops observing the area behind trees until I suddenly spotted something that made my heart stop. A chill ran down my spine and I nervously swallowed. In the freshly fallen snow, just a few meters away from me, were footsteps.

My heart began beating faster in my chest when I slowly followed them. I knew there weren't many other possibilities of who could be we walking around here, but I still didn't want to call the others until I wasn't sure. The footsteps were fresh and I could tell that whoever left them behind had to pass here about half an hour ago. There was still a chance it was just another owner of one of the gardens here who decided to go home when it got late and the snow began to fall.

The footsteps lead to one of the nearby properties and when I reached the rusty and old gates in the wall that was surrounding it the realisation suddenly hit me. There were no marks leading back, so wherever left them had to still be there. I quickly hid behind the wall and looked at the hut that was on the small patch of land. It was one of the nicer ones and it was so big that you could already call it a proper wooden cabin.

My hand was trembling when I searched my pockets for my phone to call the others. I still wasn't completely sure that it was the right place, but I had a bad feeling about it. I didn't want to go and act on my own. Perhaps it was just that I was actually scared of mister Hwang and what he could have done to my mother.