"San…"
With his vision growing weaker, Arkhan glanced at Sandy beside him, who had turned his face away. To be honest, Sandy couldn't bear to strike his own friend either, but he had panicked and moved on pure reflex.
"Khan, I'm sorry," Sandy said through tears, hugging the unconscious body tightly.
Drap. Drap. Drap.
The sound of footsteps grew closer until Jio's figure appeared at the rooftop doorway.
The young man froze for a moment, staring at the scene before him.
"San… Arkha's okay, right?" Jio asked.
"This is my fault… I'm sorry," Sandy replied between sobs.
"What do you mean by that?!" Jio approached him angrily.
Sandy couldn't answer. All he could do was repeat the word "sorry" over and over.
Jio was clearly still furious. Whatever the two of them had argued about earlier must have led to this, but for now, he forced himself to suppress his ego.
"Let's take him back to the room first," he said to Sandy.
*********
Sena was inside his cell after Sandy and Jio's visit some time earlier. He looked confused and deeply guilty over what his two friends had told him.
After everything terrible he had done, his friends had forgiven him—they didn't hate him. They were angry and disappointed, yes, but Sena's reasons for carrying out all those acts of terror couldn't be taken lightly either.
The fox-eyed young man sat on the floor, leaning against the wall.
"Khan… how are you? Will you forgive me too?" he whispered.
His gaze shifted to the canned drink and bread Sandy had given him. Slowly, he opened the bread wrapper and took a bite.
After just two bites, his hand felt something inside the torn bread. Sena pulled out an object hidden within.
********
"Good thing that kid agreed not to tell anyone that the people who came earlier were from the organization," Jio said as he sat down on the sofa beside Sandy.
"One thing's certain—Khan is starting to be targeted by both the organization and the police," Sandy said.
"The police? Sena testified that everything he did was out of jealousy over Arkhan's achievements. He didn't mention at all that Arkhan is actually a hitman," Jio replied.
"But the organization can provide proof, Ji. If they fail to capture Arkhan, they'll expose that he's a hired killer," Sandy said.
"There are only two choices left for us now—we move forward, or we abandon Arkhan and Sena."
Jio fell silent at Sandy's words. Was there really no other option? No happier ending?
"You've got a plan, right, San?" Jio asked.
Sandy chuckled and met his gaze. "What do you think?"
"You idiot, answering with a question," Jio muttered.
"Why'd you suddenly ask that anyway?" Sandy said.
"Your behavior's been suspicious," Jio replied.
Sandy laughed, amused by Jio's annoyed expression.
Knock knock knock.
"Excuse me," Jo said as he opened the door and saw the two of them inside Arkhan's room.
"All good, Jo?" Jio asked.
"Yeah, the police told me I could leave," Jo replied.
"Then just go home," Sandy said.
"But what if the police ask again—"
Sandy immediately pushed Jio's shoulder to stop him.
"Don't listen to him. Sorry for causing you so much trouble," Sandy said.
"What Jio said earlier might be true," Jo added.
"Don't worry about it. Leave it to us," Sandy said.
"O-okay then. Thanks. I-I'll head home now," Jo said before leaving.
"You chased him away so there wouldn't be any witnesses, didn't you?" Jio teased.
"You know me too well," Sandy replied.
Silence followed until a voice broke it.
"Tch, so I'm still alive," Arkhan said, having just woken up.
"Be grateful you're still breathing," Jio shot back.
Arkhan turned toward his two friends sitting on the sofa.
"You shouldn't have saved me, San," Arkhan said.
"Saved you? You two were fighting earlier and went at each other," Jio said.
"That's because I didn't explain what was going on. Your imagination went wild," Sandy said, shaking his head.
"Then explain it so I understand," Jio replied.
"There was no fight. I went up to the rooftop, and Sandy followed me and lectured me. I was one step away from jumping when he struck the back of my neck and knocked me out. If he hadn't done that, I'd be in a coffin right now," Arkhan explained.
"You were that desperate. Sandy did the right thing by saving you. Don't go anywhere for now—you still have us," Jio said.
Arkhan closed his eyes, holding back the tears that threatened to fall.
*******
"You only have five minutes," the guard said.
"Yes, sir," Sena replied before entering the bathroom.
He went into the last stall, following the instructions Sandy had given him on a piece of paper. Above the stall was a fairly large ventilation opening, which Sena immediately used to escape.
Thud.
The moment his feet hit the ground, Sena was startled by a body being thrown nearby.
The person wore a hospital gown and a black wristband. Sena remembered that patients with that band were those beyond saving, only waiting for their time to come.
A hooded figure in black approached and began slashing the patient's face.
"Hey! What are you—"
Sena's words were cut off when his mouth was covered with a cloth and his body was restrained from behind.
"Don't make a sound," a voice whispered into his ear.
Sena couldn't hold his breath any longer. He gave in as the scent from the cloth entered his nose, making him dizzy.
"Couldn't he just wear a mask and a jacket?" the first person said.
"There's still a checkpoint at the gate. Disguising him like that would be difficult," the one behind Sena replied.
"What if we wrap him in a blanket? Is that safe?"
"We'd look like we're just carrying dirty laundry. It'll be piled together with other clothes, but the risk is he might have trouble breathing. That's why it's safer to make him sleep like this so he won't feel anything."
"Oh."
Even with his eyes closed, Sena could still sense his surroundings. He felt his body being wrapped in a blanket. Fear crept in—but relief followed when he recognized the voices as Sandy's and Arkhan's.
********
The fox-eyed young man slowly regained consciousness as the sounds of activity around him overlapped.
Sure enough, when he opened his eyes, his friends were cleaning the house. Sena immediately recognized it—it was his cousin's house.
"We came back here?" Sena asked.
Arkhan, holding a feather duster, turned with a smile.
"Sorry it looks cheap—we didn't buy a new house," he joked.
Sena sat up from the sofa where he had been lying. "It doesn't matter, as long as we can be together again."
"We'll live a new life. Let's start everything over—from the beginning, without resentment," Arkhan said, smiling at Sena, who returned the smile.