AUTHOR'S NOTE:

  Experimenting a bit with formatting, feedback is much appreciated.

  CHAPTER 4

  “Jihoon! Lend a hand, won’t you?”My stepmother had once berated me, as my father took on a massive loan to pay off my birthmother’s debts.“Work hard like your father! What do you do with your free time other than spend our money?”Before I was even old enough to move out, my stepmother already couldn’t wait.“You dig us further and further into our hole, when are you gonna stop relying on us? Even your birthmother must’ve thought you a burden!”I wondered a few times why my father married a witch, but I quickly realized that making me cry wasn’t her only power.She was a great maniputor, and actor. On a whim she could go from berating me to doting on my father.A burden was the st thing I wanted to be. Even if it was the words of such a hateful woman, I reasoned some truth behind them.My father worked multiple jobs, in attempts to pay off my birthmother’s debts, and had I truly been just digging him further?Growing up with my stepmother was hell, and I remember every beating and every lesson to a tee.But even those abuses were before my father died.I never learned his cause of death, and I couldn’t be bothered to ask, but his death left my stepmother to pick up the rest of his debts.“Jihoon, your first paycheck goes to your parents.”“Jihoon! You’re making more of a mess than cleaning one!”“Jihoon! Get out! Live on the street for all I care! You’re just killing me!”“Jihoon! Can’t you do anything right?”“Jihoon! Die! You’re just deadweight!”“Jihoon!”“Jihoon!”“Jihoon!”Jihoon slowly opened his eyes as his own name echoed within his mind.“Jihoon, wake up! Rise and shine buddy!”Il-seong was smiling, spping Jihoon’s cheeks as he shot up to the sound of many voices, and the sight of people, some gathered around him.He rose, as Il-seong showed him the group of people he’d be bringing to the mineshaft.The group had included: the bearded man from the night before, two younger boys, who looked to be just out of highschool, and one woman, short with reddish hair. The boys looked very simir, the only difference being their clothes and that one had earrings.“You guys ready to go then? It won’t be easy.” I could be leading them to their own death for all I know.Il-seong handed each person in the group a makeshift spear, and turned to Jihoon with a half smile. “It’s something, right?” Suddenly, a woman came from the watching crowd, seemingly as a spokesperson.“What should we do while you’re gone? Will it be long?”They’re probably scared at the thought of their trusted figure leaving.Il-seong was a bit flustered, so he passed the questions to Jihoon. “Hmm, I’m not sure honestly. What do you think, Jihoon? What should they do while we’re gone?”Jihoon snapped back to reality. “Huh? Uh, maybe just the basic stuff. Gather firewood, explore the area nearby maybe, for pnts, anything of use really.”The woman nodded, and began to rey the tasks to the rest of the crowd.Jihoon was surprised they acted so quickly on his word.“Already taking initiative, desert wanderer… I see, I see…” Il-seong grinned and joked.“Let’s not waste any daylight now…” Jihoon had warned in a serious tone.They began walking back towards the direction of the mineshaft, going a bit off-route to drink water from a stream not far from the camp.“Are you like their leader?” Jihoon asked Il-seong as they rested.“Not really, but for some reason I found them kind of coming towards me for answers. I think that, when you keep your calm while others struggle to, it's like they– admire you? They seemed to trust me somehow, though I’ve done nothing for them.”

  The boy with earrings overheard and added on.“Il-seong’s confidence and demeanor were calming. It’s like when I’m with him he’ll guide me to the right path somehow.”Jihoon thought about it as they set off towards the mineshaft again.As they arrived at the mineshaft, the torches flickered, still burning brightly.Jihoon grabbed one off the wall, instructing to take one as well.They slowly pushed into the dungeon, as Jihoon took the lead, with his metal rod in one hand, and torch in the other.As they passed by bits of rubble, they’d attempted to pull out more metal rods, but only one was able to break free, the others weighed down by the stones on top. Il-seong took the rod, and took the front with Jihoon.In front of the party was a corner, all too familiar to Jihoon. He slowly peered over it, seeing that nothing was there now.“There was a pack of wolves here when I came st…”“And what did you do?” asked one of the boys.

  “He killed them.” Il-seong answered for him, smiling smugly as he bragged about Jihoon’s own achievements.As they pushed further into the mineshaft, the rubble and debris became more common, with holes dotted all over the mineshaft walls and floor, and slowly, an overgrowth of flora had begun to emerge from the cracks of the structure.A maze of intersections, the group had continued finding nothing but corridors opting to go forward at every intersection, wanting to get a gauge of the size of the mineshaft. However, the faint echo of breathing followed them throughout.As they ventured deeper, Jihoon felt a sense of unease. The faint stench of blood and death touched on his nose, and a faint sense of being stalked.This feeling is familiar, it’s almost like the same eerie feeling when I first ran into the wolves.Jihoon whispered to the group.“I feel like wolves are near–”Sure enough, just out of his torchlight, a breathy growl and the muzzle of a small, familiar wolf.The wolf had a rge purple bruise on its side, and Jihoon smirked to himself.So we meet again. I’ll finish you off this time, though.The wolf pawed forward, drawing the eyes of the entire group.“It’s just one wolf?” Il-seong asked, kind of disappointed.But his words were cut short by the scream of the boy with earrings from the back.Jihoon’s eyes shot back, as he saw at least seven more wolves behind them.Behind? Did they hide in the intersections–The wolf in front of them had leapt at Jihoon, tackling his whole body to the floor.Il-seong quickly stabbed at it with his metal rod, but his had cked an end with real sharpness, and only knocked the wolf away momentarily.Behind them, the wolf pack had begun mauling the boy as he held on to his fleeting life, the others watching in horror. The bearded man had tried to scare off the wolves with his torch, but they had no reaction, already used to being around the dungeon’s torches.In anger, he jabbed at one, the wooden spear snapping, unable to support the force.Jihoon hoisted himself to his feet, and yelled out to the group.Seven, no, eight wolves while we’ve got sticks? In this position? It’s too many.“We have to run! NOW!” The other young boy objected loudly. “What? I– We can’t leave him!” “He’s already dead!” The red haired dy grabbed the boy’s arm, yanking him forward.Jihoon rushed the wolf in front of them, stabbing into its body with the sharp end of his rod, as Il-seong came up, smming its head with his.The wolf colpsed to the floor, as the group ran down the long corridor, the majority of the pack not following, choosing to feast on the boy left behind.Nonetheless, three had chosen to follow them.Good! We can take them bit by bit…Jihoon turned around quickly. “Let’s take them here!”The wolves attacked all at once, as one bit at Jihoon quickly, as he stuffed his metal rod down its throat, it stabbed the mouth of the wolf and it reeled back in pain.One grabbed for the bearded man, its cws and teeth biting into his calf as he screeched in pain. The bearded man hit it with what remained of his makeshift spear, with the red-haired woman stabbing it in the eye with hers.The wolf released its vice, as the bearded man grabbed a rge piece of stone rubble, smming the wolf’s head down between the floor and his strike.The third wolf went for Il-seong, but he had managed to keep it at a distance, before Jihoon stabbed it from the side, pinning it to the wall.Il-seong struck down with his metal rod multiple times, until the wolf stopped moving, and the group stood and recovered their breaths.The high school boy watched from the ordeal from behind, still stuck with shock.He’s just gonna watch while we’re being mauled? Damn I should– Il-seong seemed to catch on to the death gre Jihoon was giving the kid, and grabbed him, shaking his head with an expression that said, “Not now.”Jihoon understood, and spoke up once the group had caught their breath.“We could keep going deeper and try to avoid the wolves, or go back and see if that boy is…”He’s dead. But I suppose it would give this boy some closure… But to walk back into four wolves?The group thought about it for a second, before fate made the decision for them.“Ahead!” Il-seong shouted, drawing attention to three more wolves coming their way. Jihoon stepped up to the front with Il-seong, and the red haired woman, as the bearded man struggled to walk up, his leg bleeding profusely.Two wolves went straight for Jihoon, as Il-seong intercepted one.Using his metal rod like a lever, Il-seong smmed the end into the jaw of a wolf, its head snapping back and the wolf losing its bance.The red haired woman had jabbed a few times at the wolf nearing her, the wolf shrugging off her stick.As it neared her, it pounced, but Il-seong, with precise aim, thrusted his metal rod into the wolf’s teeth, completely breaking a chunk off the top row.Meanwhile, Jihoon had already killed the st wolf, and oddly he felt as if he was getting better at killing them.Jihoon and Il-seong finished off the remaining injured wolves. The high school boy finally spoke up. “We should go check up on Bon-suk! Maybe he’s still alive!”Bon-suk? Was that his name–“Don’t give yourself false hope, kiddo.” The red haired woman warned him.While cold, the woman wore a faint sense of sympathy on her expression.“Well! It’s Schrodinger's dungeon!” Il-seong smiled, but Jihoon elbowed him.Too soon… Way too soon…They walked back down the corridor to where they left the boy, and he y there, motionless, his body almost unrecognizable.One wolf remained, still feasting, not bothered enough to look up at the group.Jihoon felt his heart beat in his ears,THUMP!THUMP!But as the thumping grew louder, it was clear it wasn’t his heartbeat.The walls of the dungeon began to rumble, as the others crouched lower to the ground so as to not lose bance.Dust and small bits of debris floated down from the ceiling, and the wolf, once unbothered, turned tail and sprinted down the corridor.Behind them Jihoon saw a faint growing light, and the echo of something massive.THUMMPP!!THUMMPP!!THUMMMPPP!!He had made eye contact with something he shouldn’t have.