Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap—Twenty-eight steps to the right.
Stop by the gate, take three steps forward.
Then, turn to the left, seven steps.
Gun stood in the middle of the empty yard of their neighbouring house at the end of the lane.
They say that it had been empty for over 20 years. No new tenants dared to live in it because they were scared off. Something about the previous owners running away after the husband committed suicide on the very same spot he was standing on.
There was a tree in front of him, somewhat gnarled but still standing.
He looked down at the ground with an empty gaze.
As the season was beginning to shift into winter, the overgrown gra.s.s and weeds in the yard were mostly dead and wilted.
This was where... ... ... .
Gun narrowed his eyes.
"I"ll get you your justice soon," he whispered to the ground.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed.
"What is it?"
"Oh, sh*t! Sorry, for calling when it"s already so late. I almost forgot that you"re still a student."
"It"s fine. I"m still awake."
"It"s about the things you ordered. It"s here. When do you want to pick it up?"
"Are you free right now?"
"I"m at the bar but I"m currently on a break." The person on the other end paused. "Wait, are you coming right now? Are you crazy? If someone saw you, I"m the one who"ll get in trouble! I"m not going to let a minor into my bar."
"It"s not like I"m going to your bar to get a drink," Gun frowned in annoyance. "Fine, let"s meet up at the usual place tomorrow. Same time as always."
"Alright."
Gun hung up and went back home.
Before entering the house, he dusted off the dirt from his shoes.
Gun slipped back into bed without waking Yeo Ri up. He lied down and closed his eyes, trying to get rid of the images in his mind.
He was jolted awake by a nightmare earlier and couldn"t fall back to sleep so he decided to take a walk.
It had been a while since he had that dream. It left him feeling so helpless and unsettled.
Gun"s hand unconsciously rubbed his neck.
"Oppa...? Did you go somewhere?" Yeo Ri muttered in her half-asleep state.
"Just for a short walk. Go back to sleep, Yeo Ri-ah." Gun whispered as he fixed her blanket. Yeo Ri mumbled some gibberish in reply before falling back to sleep.
Gun attempted to close his eyes again, but the dream still haunted him. He could hear that woman"s crying voice, begging him to stop. He could still recall the scent of the stale air as he hid in the storage room.
And from the tiny slit of the door, he saw it.
"This is what I get? I loved you, Yeoreum-ah. I loved you! But you? You cheated on me! With some b.a.s.t.a.r.d you met on the streets! Were you that unhappy, huh?! After clinging on me for so long, now you want to throw me away?!"
"No—stop! I—"
The woman struggled to speak as her throat was strangled by the man.
"Were you planning to run away with your lover?" The man chuckled darkly. "I should have known. I should have known! You did the same with me, so of course you can do the same to me!"
"Ahk—Darling, please...! Listen to... me! I wasn"t...!"
"Han Yeoreum, you b*tch! You f*cking sl*t! Die!" The man tightened his grip, and the woman falters. She was gasping for air but the man wouldn"t let her. He didn"t let go until the woman stopped moving, her lips tinted blue.
Gun remembered how the woman breathed her last. The lone tear dripping out from the corner of her eyes that was wide with fear and unfairness.
Seeing the woman"s life flow out of her body made little Gun want to cry out, but he had seen something he shouldn"t have. The young boy"s instincts told him to remain hidden from the man.
Then, he watched as the man moved her still-warm body, dragging her by the crook of her arms, heading outside. Little Gun clamped his mouth shut with his hands, stifling his cries as he mentally screamed.
Gun was startled awake, feeling as if his limbs went weak just like during that night.
A sharp glint appeared in his eyes.
"...Mom." Gun muttered. He rubbed his neck again. "I"ll definitely... destroy him. For your sake, and for all the rest, too."