Formless

The man kneeling on the floor reached out to grab Kangwoo’s leg as he was about to turn around. Kangwoo’s gaze fell on the hand gripping his pants.

“P-please…”

The hand, which could only be described as crushed, slid helplessly down Kangwoo’s neat pants, leaving a dark stain of blood.

“…”

Seo Kangwoo slowly lowered his head and looked at his pants. His perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed, and his brow creased slightly. Heeun, peering through the small gap, didn’t dare blink. The dust floating in the dim light, the shadows across his face, time seemed to slow down.

“Fuck, filthy.”

Heeun blinked at the soft curse that escaped Kangwoo’s lips. Reality hit him. He had to report it. But unlike the slow thoughts he had formed, Heeun could only watch as Kangwoo moved his hand into his pocket.

Something Kangwoo pulled out gleamed under the flickering light.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Kangwoo, holding a jackknife, swiftly stabbed the kneeling man in the neck. It was a skilled, decisive movement, without hesitation.

Blood shot up from the man’s neck like a fountain. Even as Heeun watched the liquid fall in a parabola through the floating dust, he didn’t understand what had just happened.

“…S-s… save…”

The man, clutching his neck, let out a suppressed groan before collapsing forward.

Seo…

Seo Kangwoo… stabbed someone.

Heeun inhaled sharply, his chest tightening from the sudden breath. It felt like he might lose consciousness from the difficulty breathing.

Is he dead? His trembling eyes scanned the body of the man lying motionless. He… looks dead. What should I do? I need to report it quickly.

Shaking uncontrollably, Heeun typed out a message.

There were so many typos, but there was no time to fix them. As Heeun desperately pressed the send button while breathing heavily, he noticed something strange. Suddenly, everything around him became eerily silent.

Heeun pressed his eyes against the gap in the box again.

“Come out.”

A low voice casually added to the still air. Heeun tensed up, shrinking his shoulders.

No way. No way.

“It wouldn’t be good if I came.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately hoping the voice wasn’t directed at him.

“I said, come out.”

Kangwoo said irritably, just as he had before stabbing the man’s neck.

Heeun’s face turned pale. He had been hiding well, not making a sound, there was no way he had been noticed. No, it couldn’t be. He tightly gripped his phone like it was a lifeline. Once again, everything fell into silence. The only sound in the vast space was the chirping of insects.

Just as Heeun was about to cover his mouth, fearing his own breath would break the silence, a voice came from above him.

“You really don’t listen, do you?”

As the voice came from above, his hair was painfully yanked. At that moment, Heeun’s hand slipped and pressed the send button.

“Aaaah!”

Feeling as though his scalp was being torn off, Heeun looked up and was met with strangely gleaming eyes. Fear consumed his entire body.

Kangwoo, casting a sideways glance at Heeun’s pale face, slowly walked toward him. Heeun’s legs dragged on the floor, kicking up dust.

“Ugh… ugh…”

Heeun desperately rolled his eyes. However, it would have been better if he hadn’t. His eyes met those of the man dying on the ground, lying in a pool of blood.

The man’s neck was pouring an impossible amount of blood, more than Heeun could process. The red puddle that had formed was spreading, and the man’s hand, scraping the floor helplessly, twisted out of shape.

Heeun’s eyes met the man’s again, as he was dying quickly.

A scream that had been choked in his throat finally erupted.

“Aaaah!”

Heeun’s eyes widened as he struggled.

“Stay still.”

“Let go, let go!”

His hands flailed wildly in the air, scratching across Kangwoo’s hand. Kangwoo, frowning, stopped walking and roughly pulled Heeun’s hair, making eye contact with him.

“Ahhh!”

Heeun, locking eyes with the murderer, jumped back.

“Quiet.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but the scream immediately stopped.

“…Hhh…”

Heeun trembled, his chin shaking as he made a choking sound. Kangwoo calmly scanned Heeun’s pale face, which was frozen in fear.

After what felt like an extremely long silence, Kangwoo spoke.

“Don’t scream. It’s annoying.”

“Ugh… Yes, yes.”

Kangwoo, who seemed like he was observing him for a moment longer, released Heeun’s hair and took a step back. Heeun didn’t dare touch his sore scalp, nervously looking around. The other men stood a few steps away, maintaining a firm stance.

And.

Right next to them, someone was dying.

At the edge of his vision, Heeun saw a blood-soaked hand twitch. As if it were being controlled, the red blood slowly crawled toward the sneakers the man was wearing. Heeun recoiled in horror and moved sideways.

*Thud.*

When he turned around, something hard collided with his back, and he looked up to see the cold face of Seo Kangwoo looking down at him. Heeun twisted his face in distress and crawled backward a little.

Kangwoo, who had been quietly observing Heeun crawling on the floor, crouched down. When Heeun averted his gaze, Kangwoo tilted his head as if trying to make eye contact.

Terrified, Heeun squeezed his eyes shut. It felt like he might die from fear. He had never been this scared in his 26 years of life. It was far more terrifying than when the loan sharks came for him.

“Are you scared?”

“Y-yes…”

Heeun trembled as he answered, then quickly looked around, startled. Kangwoo was smiling gently. Just a few hours ago, that smile had made Heeun feel excited, unsure of what to do with himself. But now, all he felt was pure fear.

“Then why did you follow me all the way here today?”

Heeun’s eyes widened at the seemingly kind voice, which he was hearing with tension. Kangwoo had said, ‘today.’ As if he knew Heeun had been stalking him.

“Huh?”

When did he know?

“You usually leave by 8, but now you’ve decided to follow me all day?”

He even knew Heeun had turned around at 8 in front of his house. How much did he know?

Heeun was panicking, completely confused, when Kangwoo suddenly spoke.

“Shut up.”

Before Heeun could figure out what Kangwoo meant, a flash of light burst in front of his eyes. With a sharp *thwack*, Heeun’s head rang painfully as his cheek was struck. He lowered his head, placing his hand on his cheek, blinking several times. His vision was blurry. The pain mixed with the taste of blood in his mouth from the breath he hastily swallowed.

A hand reached under his chin and lifted his face. ‘You’re not listening.’

Kangwoo clicked his tongue as he watched the blood dripping from Heeun’s mouth.

“Woo Heeun. Heeun sunbae.”

“Ugh…”

“When a person speaks, you should listen and answer. Got it?”

“S-sorry…”

Kangwoo, who had been staring at Heeun as he lowered his eyes, gently wiped the redness from Heeun’s cheek with his fingertips. It was warm and soft. Not a bad sensation.

“What did I ask you earlier?”

“…Ah. Why… why did you follow me here today?”

Heeun, looking like he might die, responded. Then he clamped his mouth shut again.

“Sunbae must be a bit dumb. Do you want another hit?”

“Ugh… No, no.”

Heeun shook his head frantically. Even as he did, his eyes, glistening with moisture, glanced at Kangwoo’s hand.

“Ah, earlier… I was going to go home, but you came out…”

Heeun cautiously glanced around, and Seo Kangwoo gestured with his chin as if to tell him to continue. Heeun’s mind was a tangled mess.

Seo Kangwoo had stabbed someone, and he knew about Heeun’s stalking. And now he was asking about it.

Would he kill him more horribly because of the stalking? Should he hide something? Should he speak honestly and ask for forgiveness? He had already witnessed a murder; would Seo Kangwoo let him live? What would the police do?

At that moment, Kangwoo grabbed Heeun’s face with one hand. His small face was distorted in his large hand.

“Ah, it hurts…”

“Stop thinking. Speak properly.”

“Yes. Yes.”

Heeun, terrified, answered multiple times.

Kangwoo’s large hand gave his cheek a quick tap, like a warning, before pulling away. Heeun’s jaw felt like it would break, his cheek throbbed, and the cold look in Kangwoo’s eyes sent chills through him.

He could be killed at any moment. Heeun couldn’t measure the danger anymore. His mouth moved on its own.

“Th-the suit looked so cool… I thought you were going to a club… so I followed you.”

“…”

Kangwoo tilted his head slightly and stared at Heeun. As Heeun rolled his eyes, it seemed like he remembered something and added:

“I followed you.”