A tall teenager with black messy hair, silver eyes, and a lollypop in his mouth made his way down the stairs along with his friend with
Together, they had matching outfits: a tight black pullover hoodie, a white t-shirt on underneath that slightly popped out from the bottom, black baggy sweatpants, and slides.
The stairs were covered in blood stains and the passed out bodies of countless adults.
The teenager pulled out the lollypop, "Jaeho, what's with these crazy ass adults these days?"
Jaeho shrugged, picking up his school bag at the bottom of the staircase. "That's a good question, I surely thought we took out all of the nearby gangs."
A moment of silence passed. Jaeho turned around confused at the lack of response, "Jin?"
Jin clutched his fists. "That's not what I meant, Jaeho... What's with these crazy ass adults in trying to put blood stains on my brand new sweatshirt? I spent a lot of money on this!"
Jaeho chuckled, "Haha, so that's what you're worried about? Not that there are more gangs popping up?
"I mean, yeah," Jin responded. "What does it matter if more gangs pop up? I can just take care of them anyway. You know, now that I think about it, we should leave some up and extort them for cash every once and a while."
Jaeho sighed, "We already talked about this, Jin. I'm not going to let that happen. You need to learn to make money for yourself, stop being so lazy all the time."
Jin groaned, "It's not being lazy though, it's called being smart!"
Jaeho slung his bag over one shoulder and shook his head with a tired look. "That's a crime, Jin. Extortion isn't 'being smart,' it's just adding on the extra charges you'd get for beating them up. That's jail time, perhaps prison."
He paused, then added with a small grin, "And don't expect me to visit you. I'd probably forget about you by the second week."
Jin scoffed. "Wow. Touching. Truly."
"Hey, I'm just being honest," Jaeho said. "Besides, you'd probably end up teaching the inmates how to be lazier than you, which I don't know if thats possible. If you weren't so strong and had such a great friend like me, I wonder if you'd be some holed up video game nerd."
"Hey, it's a talent of mine," Jin mumbled, chewing on his lollypop stick.
They stepped onto the sidewalk, the cold morning air brushing past them as they started down the street toward school.
"Do you think Ms. Kim will yell at us again?" Jin asked.
"Of course she will," Jaeho replied. "You heard her last time. 'If you two come late on more time, I swear-"
He didn't get to finish. They turned the corner and both came to a full stop.
Their school looked like it had been hit by a natural disaster. Windows blown out. Pieces of the outer wall scattered across the pavement. Smoke drifting up from the main entrance. Students were sprinting out in every direction, some crying, some shouting into their phones.
"It's a monster! No, it's more like a demon!"
"Get away from the courtyard!"
"Everyone, run away!"
Jaeho blinked slowly. "...What's happening?"
Jin pulled the lollypop out of his mouth again, staring at the chaos before doing a full 180. "Jaeho... let's just go home!"
Jaeho, still staring at the school, grabbed Jin by the hoodie and pulled him back. "No. What if it's one of those gang leaders we met and they came looking for you? Aren't you going to handle it?"
Jin scratched his chin. "Nah. Why is that my problem? Just let the police come and they can deal with it."
"Even if Seo Chaerin was in trouble?" Jaeho asked.
Jin shot upright with urgency written all over his face. "Let's go handle it!"
Seo Chaerin was Jin's crush. She had astonishing beauty, silky black hair, and a slim figure. Even though Jin talked more than most people, he had never once introduced himself to her. It was completely one-sided.
When they stepped through the smoke at the entrance, they saw a tall, towering creature in the middle of the courtyard. Its skin was dark and cracked like burnt charcoal, its eyes glowed faintly red, it had large black horns, and it was feasting on the corpses of students.
For the first time in his life, Jin felt fear. His knees weakened, his palms turned sweaty, and his stomach twisted with butterflies. His instincts screamed at him. If he moved even a little, he would die.
Jaeho placed a hand on Jin's shoulder and called his name several times before shaking him back to reality. "Jin. Get a hold of yourself."
Jin forced himself to look at Jaeho. "Jaeho... I don't remember defeating something like that."
Jaeho swallowed hard as he watched the creature tear into another body. "Me neither. That thing, isn't a creature. But we have to go! We can't stay here!"
A group of students attempted to run toward the entrance while the creature was busy eating. One of them tripped, and someone shouted Chaerin's name.
Jin's breath caught in his throat as he looked back. He grabbed Jaeho's sleeve who was trying to pull him away. "S-she's there, Jaeho! I have to save her!"
Jaeho tightened his grip on Jin's hoodie, pulling Jin toward him. "Jin! Think before you rush in. How on earth are you supposed to beat that thing? It's bigger than an elephant, and we both know that you could never beat an elephant in a physical fight!"
"I am thinking," Jin said, though his voice trembled. "If she dies while I'm standing here doing nothing, what kind of man does that make me? T-the love of my life is right in front of my eyes!"
The creature's head slowly turned in the direction of the girl who fell, as if it sensed something. Its jaw hung open, strands of blood dripped from its teeth.
Jaeho lowered his voice, "Listen, dude. I'm telling you, she doesn't care about you. You can't do anything to it, so leave it to the government. We have to go, now! We can't let it notice us!"
Jin hesitated. His legs felt like they were rooted to the ground, but Chaerin's scream for help made him move before he could think.