By Chance Or By Choice

By Chance or By Choice: Part 5

Junhee cast around in panic. The town – normally so peaceful – filled with shouting. Soldiers flooded from the palace, drawing swords as they ran. The alarm bell rang, rang, rang...

"We have to go tonight." Even Donghun's voice made him jump. They all turned to him. "We can't alter what happened. At least two of us die in this life tonight. And who knows what that would mean for our present-day selves, stuck in these bodies?"

"You mean," Byeongkwan said, looking sick, "if we die here, we might not ever go back to our Korean lives?"

They were silent while fear sunk into their stomachs.

"Chan and I have an idea." Donghun looked at their youngest, who gave a curt nod. "We thought things through while trying to get through to each of you."

"It's nearly nine," Chan added quickly. "We need to hear a bell ring at nine. And the alarm-" He stopped abruptly.

"The alarm has stopped ringing." Donghun gave a vicious hiss. "Shit, why?"

"It rings thirty times to signal the alarm," Byeongkwan answered. "Then it's all men to arms."

Junhee watched them, trying to keep up with their ideations while his heart beat a frantic rhythm. "The clocktower rings out on the hour? If we need a bell to ring..."

"Yes!" Donghun lit up, and immediately began to move. "We don't have much time, we need to get to the clocktower!" Junhee and Chan began to follow him, but as they broke into a run, a voice stopped them dead.

"Are you out of your minds?"

They span around. Byeongkwan remained where he stood. His eyes were filled with fire.

"Kwan, we need to move, now-"

"What about Sehyoon?" He stared at them as though they had gone crazy. "We need to get Sehyoon!" He looked around desperately. "I know where he is – well, I know the woods. I can find him! I can take us to him, I-"

Junhee met Donghun's eyes. He saw in them the same appalling resignation that turned his own stomach.

"Kwan..." Junhee started, even though the words were dreadful enough to slice open his own throat as he spoke them. "We have to go now. If we don't, we might not get another chance..."

"Are you suggesting we leave him behind?" Kwan stared at them all in turn. "You'd leave your own brother here?" The anger that sizzled through the air shocked the hairs on the nape of Junhee's neck.

"It's that or we all die." Donghun's voice was firm. "We don't even know if this will work. We can try, it might bring Sehyoon with us, it might reset everything."

"But you don't know that! There's no bells where he is, if you're so sure that's the-"

"Kwan, we have no time for this!" Junhee shouted as he stalked up to Byeongkwan, driven by fear. "We're going to die-"

"Then let me die!" Byeongkwan stared at him, eyes brimming. His voice cracked. "Let me stay here, and die. What if we go back and he's not there? I don't want to... to..." His face broke, and Junhee mustered all his strength to choke down the emotion threatening to crash over him. They needed a leader now, more than ever. He had no choice.

"We're not letting that happen. But we need to go now. Please, Kwan, don't just throw your life away here. We don't know what's going to happen but if we lose..." He couldn't say it. "I'm not losing you too."

For a long moment, Byeongkwan searched his face, tears silently dripping from his chin. With all the strength he could gather, Junhee held his gaze.