Don't tell me bye bye (mystery/ thriller)

Chapter 2

"Who's there!? he shouts into the rain, his eyes like desperate fog lights. He holds a shivering hand up against the beam of light from my head torch, and I take it off, holding it down low as I make my way towards him. "What do you want!?"

What do I say? I'm here to rescue you? You can trust me? I'm an officer of the law and I command you to get down and stop scaring me? As I work on my response, I put one foot in front of the other until I'm less than two meters away from him. There's a small rectangular container sitting just beneath him and I realise what the strange smell is.

It's petrol.
My heart leaps into double beats, but I try and keep my voice steady. "Me. Uh, my name is Y/n."

"The new girl," he jeers then turns away, shaking his head. His teeth are chattering together so hard I can barely understand his words. "I know who you are."

"Um, you do?" I pause, hoping that he'll look at me, see how bone chillingly scared I am, and just hop back over the railings and laugh at how terrified he's made me. He doesn't. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name?"

The wind and rain batters me, the elements freezing my bones and numbing my skin. How long has he been sitting up there, paralysed by the weather? As I will him to get down, I can't help but think about mum, Jin and Teddy back at the house, enjoying bed time stories and kisses good night. I think of everyone living in Seoul going about their evenings, enjoying their loved ones, watching their TVs, and reading books curled up and cosy on sofas and warm beds.

I think of all of these people even though we are the only two people in the world right now. "It's only fair you tell me your name if you know mine," I try.

He looks upwards as if the moon is telling him what to say then wipes the rain from his eyes, and he sighs. "Taehyung. I'm Kim Taehyung."

Okay, just keep him talking. That's what they do in films. Or is that when someone's holding hostages in a bank?

"I have to say, Taehyung, I don't know if this is normal behaviour for you, but you're making me kind of nervous up there. It's so slippery." I swallow, my mouth as dry as cotton wool. "Why don't I help you down? We could go for a walk. You could show me around Seoul."

A low chuckle swirls up from inside him, and if I didn't think it was possible to feel more scared, I do now. "What's funny, Tae?" I ask.

"Me showing you around this place. Funny." He shakes his head, a smile carved into his face as he frowns at a small object in his hands. I crane my neck to see what he's looking at and the item catches the moonlight and flashes in my eyes.

It's a lighter.

"Yeah, real funny," I whisper, my eyes still on the silver lighter. I clear my throat. "Tae, seriously, talk to me. Why are you up there? Have you had an argument with someone?"

He barely shakes his head, but it's a definite no.

"What then?" I risk a step closer to him, the smell of petrol spiking up my nose. "Tae, why can I smell petrol?"

I stare at him, silently pleading with him to just give me something, some clue about what to say, a magic word that will snap him out of this nightmare and bring him down. He fiddles with the lighter, turning it over in his palm as precious time ticks away from both of us. A little bubble of hope floats up in my belly and I thrust my hand into my pocket and pull out my phone.

"Look, is there someone I can call for you?" He doesn't answer, and I think of who I could call. I only have mum and Jin's numbers. "Do you have a girlfriend? Or maybe I should call the police."

"No!" He whips around to look at me, wobbling slightly but at least I've got his attention. "I don't want them here. I don't want anyone here."

"Okay, that's okay, Tae." I make a show of putting my phone back in my pocket, keeping my eyes on him as I do.