ʟᴀᴄʜᴇꜱɪꜱᴍ • ᴊᴜɴɢ ᴊᴀᴇʜʏᴜɴ

Part 34

The cold, fall evening forced an icy shiver down his spine. Despite looking calm, adrenaline was was pumping in his entire body, his senses sharpening in response to the feeling. And unlike others, he did not feel small and vulnerable when surrounded by pitch black darkness - the darkness felt small and vulnerable because of him.

Turning another corner, his final destination finally arrived in sight. His tension-filled, chocolate brown eyes were dead set on a giant, neon red flickering sign, with the words 'Motel' written on it. Then, with only a couple of hasty and wide footsteps, he was already right at the door.

A wave of oppressive, almost suffocating heat hit him as soon as he stepped through obnoxiously yellow worn-out entrance. There was nothing particularly interesting about the room he had just set foot in: it was small and cramped, containing a couple of old and rigged dark green seats, a tiny wooden reception desk and a multi-colored, dusty rug with questionable stains on it. There was also a door behind said desk and a narrow hallway lined with doors.

As Jaehyun took his first look around, the man behind the reception took a single look from his low, plastic chair before hurriedly standing up. "Hello sir, how may I help you?"

Jaehyun's boring eyes set on the other individual and he seized him up silently. The man was maybe in his late 30ies, rather short and very skinny. His head was bald, but had a very messy and dirty-looking beard spreading from both his ears down to his chin. He had tanned skin, with dark circles under his dead-looking eyes and his veins bulging out so far that they seemed to be at the edge of bursting. He was clearly an habitual drug-taker, Jaehyun could figure that out just by his looks. And after short assessment, he deemed him a small threat.

"I am from the police station and have come to look for someone." Jaehyun lied confidently, taking his fake police officer badge out of his pocket and letting the man steal a glance at it before putting it away. "Are there any guests at the hotel currently?"

The reveal of Jaehyun's fake identity clearly made the man more on edge, as his eyes wandered elsewhere and his Adam's apple bobbed in discomfort.

"No. You know, business is tight these days. Especially in unpopular places like this." His voice somehow managed to get deeper and more anxious.

And Jaehyun had been prepared for the very-obvious lie and just sighed, scanning the top part of the man that he could actually see. "I'll still take a look around."

"Hold on!" The man yelled out, more panicked as Jaehyun took a step towards the hallway with doors. "You can't go there."

"And why not?" The other cocked an eyebrow.

"I-..." The man thought hard about what he should say. "You have to confirm this with my boss."

"Oh. Where is he then?"
"His office is at the end of that hallway." He responded, feeble and shaky finger pointing towards the narrow hallway to his right.

Jaehyun simply nodded and began walking that way, heading for where the man had told him.

But of course he did not trust him, no. Being a criminal doesn't only enhance your combat and deception skills, it also shows you how to read individuals. This skill can be built up for weeks, months and even years depending on you experiences, but for someone like Jaehyun who's been involved in crime for almost half a decade, it was a piece of cake to find out someone's bad intentions. And the look on that man's face, his body language... Jaehyun was sure that he was going to act out in some way.

And he was right. Because about half-way down the hallway, he heard the thundering footsteps rapidly approaching him from behind.

Jaehyun was quick to turn around, jumping back just in time to avoid the wooden baseball bat being swung right at his head. Instead, it hit the wall with such great force that it shook up the entire building. Upon retracting the bat, there was a huge, ugly dent visible in the wall.

But Jaehyun ignored it and instead focused all of his attention to the male in front of him, reaching for his waistband and drawing the knife that had been hidden in there all along.

"I know you're not a police officer." The now crazed looking man licked his lips, showing his rotting yellow teeth in a wicked smile.

"And I know you're not just a motel employee." Jaehyun hummed in response, casually glancing down at the bat that was being pointed at him. "Is that how you welcome all guests?"

"Only the ones that are about to die." The man hissed out, taking a few steps forward to swing once again.

But as soon as the bat missed it's target and created another huge hole in the wall, it was Jaehyun's time to act. He had to be quick and efficient. Therefore before the man could retract the weapon from the wall, Jaehyun had already grabbed the other end of it. With a single hand, with one pull, he managed to get the entire body of the other male to move, showing the huge physical advantage he had in the situation.

"Well, sorry bud. I'm not dying tonight." Jaehyun flashed him a charming smile before turning around whilst going forward, ramming the knife into his lower abdomen.

The man's breath hitched, eyes becoming wide as the blade went into him deeper, and twisted 180 degrees before it was taken out. His hands clasped over his bloody wound and he soon fell back onto the floor, a pool of red liquid beginning to form around him.

Yet Jaehyun had no time to waste as he headed for the door at the far end, the bloody knife twisting in his hand.

I just wanna take a moment to remind everyone that what is happening currently in the world is very real and should definitely be taken seriously. Please, please take all the necessary measures to stay safe during the pandemic.

1. Stay at home as much as you can
2. If you need to go out, make sure to wear your mask everywhere and bring hand sanitizer
3. Wash your hands as often as possible and stay hygienic
4. Keep your environment clean and tidy and change your sheets more often

Stay safe loves 💖