i was panting in the unusual humidity of the night, running faster than i ever did before in the city of insadong. my arms punched through the air in the same rhythm as i ran.
my legs tensed in tiredness and my mouth was dry due to my rapid breathing but i couldn't stop running.
they were still behind me.
every corner i turned, they would always show up behind me only a few seconds after.
three probably armed males all dressed in black hoods and masks chasing after one pathetic man in a fancy suit for god knows why. the only vivid sounds i could hear were my footsteps, their footsteps, my panting and the almost deafening beat of my heart pounding out of my chest.
"who are you!" i yelled at them over my shoulder with an intent of emitting an intimidating roar of a lion but all that came out was like the whine of a panicked gazelle. not even an inch of bravery. of course, they gave no reply. my legs were failing me. my tensed up muscles made my legs feel as if they were about to fall off.
i kept a fast pace for the past twenty minutes. but they seemed as if they were used to running so much. they didn't even slow down their pace like i did every once in a while. it was as if they trained for this.
or they could just be extremely fit, they are criminals after all; y-you're just paranoid, wonpil.
soon, i turned a corner connected to an alleyway that connects to four other streets. once turning the corner there was a trash bin i almost ran into which seriously could've been horrible. i rapidly got inside a garbage container that was fortunately empty and waited for the frightening sound of the footsteps that would soon come.
the sickening smell of all sorts of garbage still lingered in the compacted space although the container was empty, but it was better than nothing.
the footsteps of the three men came. they paused in front of the garbage, a couple feet away. my heart dropped. i was sweating in exhaustion and fear. please give up.
i hugged my knees in exhaustion and caught my breath, hoping they wouldn't think of looking here.
"you idiots! he got away" a voice scolded. a female voice. "we were all running the same pace!" a husky voiced man replied, panting. the other man joined in the argument and they all just stood there arguing with pettiness. i heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
i raised my hand to scratch my head but accidentally hit the inside of the container with a pang. they stopped talking, and i sensed them looking toward my direction.
i was wide eyed and i didn't breathe. i couldn't. i was too scared to breathe as if they'd hear my panting. i stared up at the opening, ready to leap out and defend myself when they open the container.
the top rapidly opened about five inches and my heart skipped a beat when i locked contact with the hooded man's eyes before it dropped closed again and i remained in the closed darkness that echoed my heavy breathing.
the sound of footsteps started again, but it was slowly getting further away from me. i held my breath until the horrific sound of those stomping footsteps eventually faded away; then there was silence.
what felt like hours had passed and the container hadn't been opened again. i pressed my ear to the side of the garbage container to be sure nobody was outside waiting to ambush me.
there was nothing to be heard.
i lifted the top in a slow and hushed manner and peeked out. two of the people that were chasing me were outside.
laying on the cold cement.
they looked lifeless but were still breathing. darts were shot into one's side and the other man's shoulders. what is happening.
i opened the container so that i was able to stand.
no one else was here, just the two unconscious men lying there on the cold, hard ground.
i got out of the container as quietly as i could, keeping my eyes on the men incase they would move. i was still trembling in fear and paranoia.
i walked away, but from the corner of my eye i caught the silhouette of a girl standing at the window behind a curtain and i froze, stopping in my tracks.
the girl had shoulder length black hair, almond shaped eyes, and she was wearing a white short sleeved nightgown. she seemed to be in her early 20's. the mysterious girl moved the curtain to the side with the back of her hand and smiled at me. i reluctantly sent a smile back and kept walking as if it was nothing. as if it was a normal occurrence at two in the morning.
"wonpil," she called me and i turned around to see her right behind me, still giving me that friendly smile.
"h-how did you get down so fast?" i questioned her, glancing at the window i first saw her at and looked back into her eyes.
"wonpil!" she said again, ignoring my question but i just stared unknowingly. who is she?
"wonpil," she said in a more annoyed tone, opposing her kind smile.
"kim wonpil!" she yelled in a suddenly deeper tone in a very familiar voice of a male. i was sweating. and she kept screaming at me in the very much familiar voice of my best friend. all i did was stare in confusion.
then the girl slapped me, quite a few times actually, but i gave no reaction.
wake up.
i opened my eyes. i felt like i was drenched in sweat, and i was. my eyes flickered up to see jae's glasses bearing face hovering above mine. "what are you doing?" i screeched at him and shoved his face away from mine. "why is my cheek stinging?" i touched my cheeks with the palms of my hands in confusion.
"because i slapped you."
i eyed him with a dirty look. "you were talking in your sleep and you were sweating a lot so i tried to wake you up but you didn't," jae reasoned.
"you were like, panting a lot and grunting. i thought you were gonna die so i slapped you like ten times to wake you up and it worked so you should be thankful i saved your life."
i glared at him and hit his face with my teddy bear and laughed "you idiot!"
"what were you dreaming about? was it a nightmare? or something else maybe you didn't wanna wake up from?" jae gave me a dirty and suggestive smirk
"no! shut up you dumb butt!" i smacked this nerd with my pillow again.
he wheezed when the pillow collided with his annoying face. "so it was a nightmare then," jae thankfully concluded.
"i-i guess so," i hesitated and recalled the dream, staring off in a daze. it was so strangely vivid. usually i forget nightmares and dreams the moment i open my eyes but this time, it seemed as if it was engraved into my mind.
"don't tell me about it 'cause i don't really care, i'm just glad you're alive," jae remarked. "go downstairs soon, i made breakfast you ugly rat," and my eyes followed him as he exited my room without letting me reply.
i laid back down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling in thought with my hands folded together on my chest. is this important?
nothing like this has ever happened before so i wasn't sure if i should let it go because it's just a dream. on the other hand, it seems like an interesting situation i can write about one day.
i was in a writing club with other lame people like me, and i guess this would be a pretty good plot.
coming to my senses, i picked up a notebook and pen i always kept next to my bedside and recalled as many details as i could to extreme specifics, describing every minute of it to the best of my writing abilities, careful not to change any minor thing.
i filled up four pages and concluded with the date and time i finished writing. shutting the notebook closed, i set it down on the table it was sitting on before and headed downstairs.
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;)
