The feelings they tried to keep in their pasts, their losses, their suffering, insecurity and absence...it was time for them to embrace their destiny.
Started: 13 April 2019
Ended: 29 June 2020
Thank you for the journey
"Let's go, we have to get out of here!" I grabbed my friend's hand and ran to the rear door of our classroom.
As I looked back while running down the hall, I saw the men spilling out of the classroom, chasing us.
"Stop! Stop right there!" Their voices seemed to seize us by the back of our necks.
We frantically thought of where to go as we darted down the stairs. The first destination that came to mind was the hill behind our school. We just needed to cross the playground and go out the school gate and we would hit the bottom of the hill.
Although it wasn't that high, it was pretty rocky and rugged. After running through the gate and rounding the corner at full speed, we ignored the walked trail and jumped right into the bushes.
We waded through the dense limbs and kept running. We ran for what felt like forever, finally stopping when the footsteps behind us were gone.
We collapsed on the ground, covered in layers of dried leaves, sweat dripping from our faces.
"They won't be able to follow us here, right?"
My friend nodded, breathing heavily.
We lifted our T-shirts to wipe our faces with the hem. My fiends face was wet with sweat and tears. His wrists were bluish black with bruises. The neck of his T-shirt was ripped.
"Dad hasn't come home in over a week. Mom just keeps crying. The cleaning lady and driver stopped coming. Aunt says that dad's company shut down. Those men came to our house last night. We stayed inside with all the lights turned off, and they kept swearing in front of the door. We couldn't sleep at all."
My friend cried through his whole story. I couldn't think of anything to say. All I could do was tell him not to cry.
A FEW MINUTES EARLIER
It was shortly after the class had started when the front door swung open and four or five men burst in.
They were unruly and rash.
"Which one of you is Mr Choi's son? Come on out with us."
Stunned, our teacher asked them to leave immediately, but they simply ignored her.
"We know you're here. Come on out right now."
Some of the kids leered at my friend sitting next to me and began whispering. The men noticed and came towards us.
"Can't you see we're in the middle of class? Please leave." Our teacher tried to block them, but one of the men pushed her hard to the whiteboard. She fell to the ground.
The man who had shoved our teacher walked towards us in a threatening manner. All the students' heads turned towards us.
The man snatched my friend's arm. "We'll take you to your dad and get the money from him. Surely, he won't turn away his son."
The men were menacing, and the atmosphere was intimidating.
I looked into my friend's face. He was trembling. Trembling hard with his head bent low.
He was my friend.
I reached under the desk and grabbed his hand. He looked up and I pulled his hand.
"Let's run."
ｖｏｔｅ ＋ ｃｏｍｍｅｎｔ + ｓｈａｒｅ
ａ／ｎ thank you for waiting so patiently. this chapter was a ride. and far from what I expected. I am shook.
this is what the book looks like:
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i got a blank notebook along with the book itself. the book jacket looks the same as the notebook cover. i also got a translucent card of Taehyung as well!
(perfect for reading this book at school, because it's discreet. so no one will judge me for having a beautiful Korean man for a bookmark)
