Chapter 3 (2/2)

> Da-Hun: Oh damn. Your uncle wanted to become a member of the Secret Service before this, right?

> Chang-Su: ㅇㅇ (ㅇㅇ is short for 응 (eung), which roughly translates to “yes”)

> Hee-Un : That’s pretty lit dude. Hey Su-Jung, if this goes well, maybe we can go back to Korea early.

Su-Hyun: I told you guys to be careful about what you say. Even if it’s in private.

> Hee-Un: OoPs. Sorry Su-Hyun. I forgot… ;-;

> Su-Hyun: Did you just talk back to me?

> Hee-Un: Aaa sorry, my bad, my bad. >.< I’ll be careful next time. You’re not mad, right? Su-hyun-ah?

> Su-Hyun: Just be careful. My dad told me that your dad has to become the head of the IRS this time.

Jun-Hyuk: Da-Hun, Chang-Su, stay alert. You know what happens if people discover the five of us are in America right?

> Da-Hun: Hey, I keep my lips zipped. Hee-Un is the *real* dumbass who can’t shut up.

Jun-Hyuk: lmaooo, yo, Da-Hun, wire me some money. Not through the bank though, send it from someplace else.

> Da-Hun: ㅇㅇ

Yu-Jin: Yo, we’re at a party right now. LOL Su-Jung’s got the boys on her tail… hehehe

> Da-Hun: Wow. I’m jealous.

Yu-Jin: There’s still some left right? Yaknow, the thing that comes out…

> Chang-Su: ㅇㅇ

> Hee-Un: Are you even keeping track of the date? When are the three of us getting out of here?? (ㅠㅇㅠ)(ㅠㅇㅠ)

Su-Hyun: Lee Su-ho. Keep track of Su-Jung and Yu-Jin. If they take a selfie with the boys and it gets posted anywhere, we’re all fucked.

Su-Ho: Ok.

> Yu-Jin: Hey! I can still see all your posts, you know that right? The auDACIty.

Jun-Hyuk: HAhaa, Lee Su-Ho, you idiot. You chased Su-Hyun all the way across the ocean just to get ordered around.

Su-Hyun: Hey, where are you?

Jun-Hyuk: ㅗ (“ㅗ” = middle finger)

Se-young, who had been reading so far, turned off the application. Even while observing their conversation, his expression didn’t change. Se-young’s eyes returned to the digital clock at the top of his screen.

2:15 A.M.

After turning off his PC, Se-young opened the door and stepped into the living room to prepare for his bedtime. He squeezed between boxes, pulled up the curtains that covered the windows, and checked all the locks carefully.

*Click! Click!*

Even after confirming the window was locked, Se-young quickly released and re-locked the latch by hand twice more, then blocked both the inside and outside screens with curtains.

He moved to the main entrance, where he repeated the same motion with all eight of the locks on his front door. At that point, he returned to his room and checked the skylight in the same manner. He then turned to his bedroom door, which had twice as many locks as the main entrance, all mounted in a neat column that covered from the top of the door to below the handle.

Finally, he laid in his bed and waited for sleep to come.

This unusual ritual had not been broken or deviated from for nearly two years.

***BANG***

“…!”

Se-young’s eyes shot open at lightning speed.

It hasn’t even been 5 minutes since I laid down, so it can’t be a dream.

The room was silent enough to hear each tick of the clock’s second hand, but not even the noise of a thousand carnivals would have been able to mask the ensuing sound and the soul-shaking trembling that accompanied it.

*DA-DUM*

Se-young grabbed his phone from the bedside table, and with the entirety of his frail, shaking body, slowly turned to face the door.