Rednegne ✅

Peal 15

[이도]

I sighed heavily as it seemed there was no end to this forest. "Think we're lost?" "Probably." "Interesting. Never met a guy who openly admits to being lost." "No point in denying the truth." I looked around then noticed it had gotten darker. "It's getting late. It won't do us any good trying to find our way in the dark." We settled down then I lied back. A part of me felt slightly annoyed by the fact that I couldn't see the night sky. "I miss Keonhee's little suns. One would be pretty useful right now." I opened my arms wide then smiled.

"I hate you." "I hate me too." Despite claiming he hated me, he moved closer to me. "We did do the right thing, right Jo?" "About what?" "Nothing. Just thinking aloud." Why did I care whether it was a good idea or not to leave them? They were simply going to throw us away whether we awakened our powers or not. I didn't want that. I didn't want that for Youngjo either. I didn't want us to experience being thrown away again.

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I was awakened by the feeling of something biting into my calf. I sat up then noticed they were on Youngjo as well. "Youngjo!" It worried me that he wasn't waking up. I pulled them off of me and made sure I killed them on the spot. "Youngjo, wake up! We need to move." He wasn't waking up. "What do I do..." I spotted more of them coming and I wasted no time in picking up Youngjo and our things. "God he's heavy." It was still dark out and it was hard to see where I was going. It was moments like this where I wished I had magic.

I came to a complete stop as a cliff lied ahead. The leech-like creatures could be heard from behind us.

It had been a long time since I felt this helpless. The only way to avoid them was to go down. It wouldn't have been a bad idea if it weren't so steep and Youngjo wasn't unconscious. "They stopped moving...?" Not too long after, they all burst like balloons and sprayed yellow blood everywhere. This wasn't a natural death and someone or something was clearly behind it. Were we next? A figure started to emerge from the darkness and the bright yellow blood could be seen from afar. "Whoever or whatever you are, we don't want any trouble." They stopped then started laughing. What was so funny?

"You aren't going to kill us, right?" They stopped laughing then completely came out of the shadows. "Dongju..." "That's my name, don't wear it out." I frowned as he had helped us again. "Why did you help us?" "W-" I shook my head. "Actually, I don't want to know. You only want us alive so you can graduate. Otherwise you wouldn't even be here. None of you." I was tired of being treated like an object, like I didn't have a will of my own nor feelings. I was positive Youngjo felt the same. "Just go back home and study for your exam. We're not going to awaken our powers. We don't want any of your help anymore. Just leave us alone for fucks sake."

"Is that everything?" I blinked as he stood there silent once more. "The other two...?" "Neutralizing the dark matter." It was silent again until a groan came from my arms. "Where are we?" "By a cliff. Before you freak out, we have company." He left my arms then held onto me for support. "Dongju? I thought we said get lost. We don't want to help you." "I'm aware you both won't. Surprise, surprise, I actually have a heart and didn't want to see you both die." This conversation was wasting time. "Youngjo, think you can do it?" "Huh?" I told him my plan and as I expected, he seemed against it. "I know it's scary but..." "Fine. Let's do it." I looked back at Dongju then smirked. "What are y-" We leapt over the edge.

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I rubbed my head then forced my eyes to open. I looked myself over then grimanced at the cuts and scratches all over my body. Blood had stained parts of my clothes. I looked around me then panicked as Youngjo wasn't with me. "Did he stay up there?" A sharp pain went through my heart as the feeling of abandonment came over me again. I was alone again. Memories of my past resurfaced and I found myself drowning in sadness all over again. I thought I had gotten stronger over time. I thought my wounds had healed.

"Why are you crying?" I lifted my head but didn't see anyone. "Who are you?" "Why are you crying?" "At least show yourself." A familiar small light appeared in front of me. Was it the same light that freed me from that cell? "Are you...?" "Yep." "Thank you for helping me then." Maybe I was hallucinating, but I didn't care. I only wanted to live in the moment before the crushing reality came back. "Why are you crying?" "I'm alone." "No you're not." "But, Youngjo...he's not here..." "Idiot." I grimaced at the fact a light had called me an idiot. "Come."

I slowly followed behind it then moved leaves and branches that were in my path. "He's here." I peeked through the bushes and saw Youngjo being watched over by a rather large bird. "Y-" "He's not in danger. Look." It pained me to stay put but it didn't seem like it had any intention of harming Youngjo. The small light flew towards the bird then soon after disappeared. "Go to your friend." I was still wary of the bird and took cautious steps towards Youngjo. It quietly looked at me as I neared him. "Youngjo." He didn't look badly beaten up like I did which was a huge relief. "Are we dead?" "You're awake!" I hugged him tight and ignored the pain coming from my wounds.