Formless Chapter 2

So…

Seo Gangwoo… stabbed a person.

Heewoon drew in a rough breath. The sudden inhale made his chest ache tightly. His breathing wouldn’t come easily, and he felt like he might pass out right then and there.

Is he dead? His eyes, trembling finely with fear, examined the sprawled body of the man. He—he looks dead. What do I do? I need to report this quickly.

Heewoon typed out a message while his whole body shook uncontrollably.

There were many typos, but he had no time to fix them. Just as Heewoon, gasping harshly, was about to press the send button, he noticed something strange. Suddenly, the surroundings had become far too quiet.

Heewoon pressed his eyes to the gap between the boxes again.

“Come out.”

A low voice settled indifferently into the quiet air. Heewoon hunched his shoulders.

No way. No way.

“It won’t be good if I go get you.”

Hoping desperately that the words weren’t directed at him, he squeezed his eyes shut.

“I said come out.”

Seo Gangwoo said irritably.

Just like he had right before stabbing that man’s neck earlier.

Heewoon’s face turned deathly pale. He had hidden well and hadn’t made a single sound, so there was no way he could have been discovered. It can’t be. He clutched his phone tightly like a lifeline. Silence returned once more. The only noise filling this wide space was the chirping of insects.

Just as Heewoon was about to cover his mouth for fear that his own breathing would break the silence—

“You’re really not listening, huh.”

The voice came from directly above his head, and at the same moment, his hair was painfully yanked. In that instant, Heewoon’s hand slipped and pressed the send button.

“Aaaah!”

Feeling pain as if his scalp were being torn off, he looked upward—and met eyes that gleamed unnaturally. Terror swallowed his entire body.

Gangwoo slowly shifted his gaze to the pale face that couldn’t even scream, then began to walk slowly. Heewoon’s legs dragged across the floor, kicking up clouds of dusty gray.

“Ugh… ugh…”

Heewoon desperately rolled his eyes around. But it would have been better if he hadn’t. Because his eyes met those of the man lying on the soaked blood, dying.

From beneath the man’s chin, an unreal amount of blood was pouring out. A red puddle that had formed at some point was gradually growing larger. The man’s hand, weakly scratching the floor, was distorted beyond recognition.

His eyes met the man who was dying quickly once again.

The scream that had been stuck in his throat finally burst out late.

“Aaaaaah—!”

Heewoon’s eyes bulged as he thrashed wildly.

“Stay still.”

“Let go, let go!”

His flailing hands scratched the back of Gangwoo’s hand. Gangwoo frowned, stopped walking, and roughly yanked Heewoon’s hair backward to meet his eyes.

“Uwaaah…!”

Heewoon jerked violently upon meeting the murderer’s gaze.

“Quiet.”

The voice wasn’t loud, but the scream cut off abruptly.

“…Hngh…”

Heewoon made a choking sound as his jaw trembled. Gangwoo’s gaze leisurely examined the deathly pale white face.

After a silence that felt excruciatingly long to Heewoon, he spoke.

“You’re being loud, so don’t scream.”

“Ugh… Yes, yes.”

Gangwoo gave him a look as if to watch whether he would obey, then released the gripped hair and stepped back one pace. Heewoon couldn’t even think to touch his stinging scalp and rolled his eyes anxiously. The other men were standing a few steps back, motionless like statues.

And.

Right beside him, a person was dying.

At the edge of his vision, the bloodstained hand twitched. As if manipulated, the red blood slowly crawled toward the sneakers he was wearing. Heewoon recoiled in horror and shifted sideways.

Thud. Something hard hit his back, and when he turned, Seo Gangwoo with his cold expression was looking down at him. Heewoon grimaced and crawled backward a little.

Gangwoo, quietly watching Heewoon crawl on the floor, bent his knees and sat down. When Heewoon avoided his gaze, Gangwoo tilted his head as if to force eye contact.

Terrified, Heewoon squeezed his eyes shut. He was so scared he felt like he might die. In his 26 years of life, this was the first time he had ever been this frightened. It was far more terrifying than when the debt collectors came.

“Are you scared?”

“Yes, yes…”

Heewoon answered while trembling violently, then startled and glanced at his reaction. Seo Gangwoo was smiling faintly. Just a few hours ago, that smile would have made his heart flutter uncontrollably, but now it only filled him with fear.

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

Heewoon’s eyes widened as he listened tensely to the seemingly gentle voice. He said “today.” As if he knew about the stalking.

“Huh?”

Since when did he know?

“Usually you leave at 8, but now you’ve decided to follow me all day?”

He even knew that he turned back at 8 in front of his house. Just how much did he know?

Heewoon was panicking and confused when—

“Shut your mouth.”

Before Heewoon could even understand what Gangwoo meant, his vision flashed white. Struck hard enough to make a loud smack by the large hand, his head rang severely. Heewoon lowered his head, placed a hand on his cheek, and blinked several times. His vision was blurry. Along with the pain, the breath he swallowed hastily tasted of blood.

A hand reached down and lifted Heewoon’s chin. Not listening, huh. Gangwoo clicked his tongue as he looked at the blood trickling from Heewoon’s mouth.

“Woo Heewoon. Heewoon sunbae.”

“Hngh…”

“When someone speaks, listen and answer. Got it?”

“So-sorry…”

Gangwoo stared at Heewoon who had lowered his eyes, then brushed the slightly red cheek with his fingertips. It was warm and soft. Not a bad texture.

“What did I just ask you?”

Gangwoo’s voice softened a little.

“…Ah. Why, why… did I follow you all the way here today…”

Looking like he might die even though he wasn’t told to, Woo Heewoon said it. Then he clamped his mouth shut again.

“You must be pretty stupid, sunbae. Do you want another hit?”

“Ugh… No, no.”

Woo Heewoon shook his head frantically. Even as he did, his eyes glancing at Gangwoo’s hand were glistening with moisture.

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

When he checked Gangwoo’s reaction, he gestured with his chin as if to continue. Heewoon’s mind was a complete mess.

Seo Gangwoo had stabbed someone and knew about his stalking. And he was asking about it.

Would he kill him even more horribly for stalking? Should he hide something? Should he tell the truth and beg for forgiveness? He had already witnessed a murder—would he let him live? What are the police doing?

At that moment, Gangwoo grabbed Heewoon’s face with one hand. The small face that fit in one hand distorted.

“Ah, it hurts…”

“Don’t overthink it. Just tell me properly.”

“Yes. Yes.”

Terrified, Heewoon answered several times.

The large hand tapped his cheek lightly as a warning and withdrew. His jaw felt like it might shatter, his cheek throbbed, and the gaze touching him was cold.

This was someone who could kill him at any moment. Heewoon could no longer hold back. His mouth moved on its own.

“Th-that… You were wearing a suit and looked so cool… I thought you were going to a club, so I fo-followed.”

“…”

Gangwoo tilted his head sideways and stared at Heewoon silently. Heewoon rolled his eyes, then added as if he had just remembered.

“I followed you.”

Gangwoo, who had been staring intently at Heewoon, let out a short laugh. Then he asked quite gently.

“Did you follow me because you were worried I’d hook up with some other guys?”

“Th-that’s not it…”

Heewoon denied it first. The corner of Seo Gangwoo’s mouth twisted upward. He didn’t seem offended.

Heewoon glanced around. At some point, the other men had disappeared, leaving only bloodstains on the floor. Only he and Seo Gangwoo remained here.

But he didn’t think of attacking him even a little.

Because he had no confidence he could win in a fight. His palm alone hurt this much—if he got hit properly, he wouldn’t even stay conscious.

He was Woo Heewoon, so weak against violence that even loan sharks would find it absurd.

So he desperately began thinking about the police. They must have received the message by now. Would it be a message saying they’re dispatching? They must be coming, right? For now, buy time.

“Uh, since when did you know?”

“From the beginning. You’re probably the only one who would tail someone so obviously, sunbae.”

Gangwoo, wearing the face of a kind junior, stroked Heewoon’s head.

“Sorry. I-I originally just… just planned to walk behind you…”

Gangwoo listened quite tolerantly to the halting, incoherent words.

“Watching you made me feel good, even though I shouldn’t. I was wrong. I-I won’t do it anymore.”

“Why?”

“…Huh?”

Heewoon asked back with a dazed face.

“It was so funny how stupidly you followed me—why stop?”

“…Uh… Then, I-I’ll keep following you.”

“Keep following me?”

A faint smile appeared in Gangwoo’s eyes as he slightly frowned.

Heewoon realized it too late. Seo Gangwoo was toying with him. If toying with him stopped being fun, he might kill him. He began thinking somewhat rationally. Seo Gangwoo was the criminal, and he was the witness. In other words, Seo Gangwoo, who had killed someone, had no reason to let him live.

He was a dead man.

“Hic……”

In the end, tears burst out. He was so scared and wronged. He missed his mom. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have gotten annoyed when giving her money. How sad would his mom be if she found out he died here? He didn’t want to die. He was only twenty-six.

Moreover, his mom couldn’t do anything properly without him. If she couldn’t pay the monthly amount, those people would come looking. She should escape to where his brother is before that. But would his mom have the courage?

Would his mom have to pay back the student loan he took out? How could his mom, who spent most of the day lying down, pay back all that money?

Even on the verge of death, he hated his life where he could only think about money and his mom. It was unfair. He had lived so pathetically these past few years—if he had known he was approaching death, he wouldn’t have lived like that.

“Huuaa…”