L*st and Death

“So, have you given it any thought—about the threesome?”

At the sound of that voice from the other side of the steel door, Baekgyeong, lying face-down on the bed, unleashed a torrent of curses in his head.

Ian Fitzner had finally shown up.

“What, no answer? You said you’d tell me how to escape if the three of us did it.”

Ian laughed—his voice like sticky residue clinging to the inside of Baekgyeong’s ear, the way old stickers leave behind a greasy film. Face buried in his pillow, Baekgyeong screamed internally and reluctantly got up.

He approached the door and muttered,

“I don’t do threesomes. Two’s better.”

“...Two to do what?”

“What do you think? The sex you want.”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the door. Ian stepped back, his face flushing red as he darted his eyes side to side like someone afraid of being overheard.

“Are you serious?”

“...Shut up and get me the hell out of here.”

Ian eagerly opened the cell door. He tried to play it cool, but his cheeks were already burning pink.

“The cell you used to stay in is empty. No one’s using it, and the CCTV is disconnected. Should we go there?”

No chance in hell.

With both hands shoved in his pockets, Baekgyeong kicked the half-open door wide with a bang and stepped out.

“I’m suffocating. If I stay here any longer, I might lose my mind. Let’s just get out.”

“God, this feels like a date.”

Baekgyeong froze.

“...What?”

“Hm? Did I say something?”

He’d definitely heard the word date, but Ian looked up at him with feigned innocence, as if he hadn’t said anything of the sort.

“You said da—... ugh.”

Baekgyeong shut his eyes tight and ran both hands through his hair, sweeping back his bangs with force. The word date made his skin crawl; he couldn’t even bring himself to say it aloud. Worse yet, something about Ian’s look made it feel like he was waiting for Baekgyeong to say it—like it meant something to him. That made it even more unbearable.

“Forget it. Let’s go.”

Once outside the lab, the two of them donned raincoats and headed straight for the electric cart. If Siron had managed to move the bomb, it would be tucked safely inside the side compartment.

As Ian started the cart, Baekgyeong walked around as if to take the passenger seat and casually pulled at the side compartment handle.

“...What?”

It didn’t open.

Baekgyeong’s heart lurched. Without the bomb, everything would fall apart. If the compartment was locked, then Siron must’ve hidden it somewhere nearby.

“What’s this?”

Ian’s voice called out from behind. Baekgyeong turned, pale as a ghost. Ian was opening the lid of a large thermos.

“Don’t touch that!”

Leaping over the second row of seats like a man vaulting a low wall, Baekgyeong slammed his hand down on Ian’s just in time. The sudden motion froze them both in place. They were uncomfortably close. Realizing this, Baekgyeong quickly withdrew and avoided Ian’s eyes.

“If you open it... the heat’ll escape.”

“...Heat?”

Licking his dry lips, Baekgyeong ground his teeth.

“You’re always cold, right? I thought we could share something warm. Told them to fill it with coffee and stick it in the cart.”

As Ian’s grip relaxed, Baekgyeong snatched the thermos and retreated to the backseat, muttering curses under his breath with his head lowered.

Coffee, my ass. The thing reeked faintly of gasoline.

Baekgyeong risked a glance at Ian to see if he’d bought the lie.

But Ian was gazing at him like a man entranced by art—completely mesmerized.

Baekgyeong looked away and carefully settled the thermos on his lap.

“What are you doing? Drive.”

Ian blinked and came back to himself. He climbed into the driver’s seat, face still flushed, and started the engine.

Rain lashed the acrylic windshield of the cart like a curtain of knives. Even with wipers, nothing could be seen through the deluge. Driving in this kind of storm felt more like a death wish than a getaway.

“Shit!”

A sudden gust lifted the cart several centimeters into the air before it thudded back down.

“Do you know how insane this is? I would never drive in weather like this under normal circumstances!”

Rain hammered the cart like thousands of fingers drumming on all sides. Ian shouted to be heard above the noise.

“I’m only doing this because of you, damn it!”

In that instant, Baekgyeong realized he and Ian weren’t in the same story. His life was an action thriller. Ian, meanwhile, was trapped in a torrid erotic romance.

Baekgyeong might deny everything, but the fact remained—they had shared a very R-rated moment the day before.

But that ends today, you sick bastard.

With a cold stare at Ian’s head, Baekgyeong gave a crisp command.

“Turn right.”

Ian burst out laughing.

“East? What now? Planning to spy on something again?”

Baekgyeong didn’t answer.

The wind was pushing northward, buffeting the cart and occasionally lifting it off the ground. It dropped back down with bone-jarring thuds, like it could flip over at any moment.

Eventually, Ian brought the cart to a halt.

They had reached the island’s eastern edge—where massive rocks lay strewn in chaos. It was the same place Baekgyeong had ‘punished’ Ian the night before. No cameras, no foot traffic. The kind of place where someone could fall off a cliff and no one would know.

“Outdoor sex in this weather? You two really are insane.”

Ian chuckled at his own dirty joke, excited by the thought. Baekgyeong simply watched.

“Hang on. Gotta tie this thing down or we’ll blow away.”

Ian opened the stubborn side compartment and pulled out a nylon rope at least five centimeters thick. He picked a sturdy boulder and wrapped the rope several times around it and the cart’s support frame.

“Hurricane’s been upgraded to Category 5, you know? We could die doing it out here!”

As Ian laughed to himself, Baekgyeong recalled something Isaac had taught him—a way to knock someone out by applying pressure to the neck. He’d only heard it explained, but it didn’t seem too complicated.

Baekgyeong crept up behind Ian and wrapped his arms around him. Just as he was about to squeeze—

“Take me with you.”

Baekgyeong froze.

“...What?”

“You three. You’re planning to escape during the hurricane chaos, right?”

Before Baekgyeong could respond, Ian clamped down on his arms and used the cart’s frame as leverage to kick off with both feet. The force knocked them both over, crashing to the ground in a heap.

Unfortunately, Ian had landed them on a jagged rock. Pain shot up Baekgyeong’s spine like it had snapped in half. He couldn’t breathe.

“I saw 3543 shove the radio into the food. I saw Isaac steal Singh’s thermos. I saw him stand up out of the wheelchair and grab clock parts.”

“Wait—what? He stood up?!”

“Every time you idiots left evidence, I cleaned it up. I deleted the footage before anyone saw it—me, I did that!”

While Baekgyeong was still gasping, Ian grabbed the thermos from the backseat and ran toward the cliff. Baekgyeong, stunned, snapped out of it like he’d been slapped. He sprang up and gave chase.

Ian stopped just three meters from the edge. He wedged his feet into the rocks so he wouldn’t blow away, and raised the thermos like a shot-put athlete, aiming for the sea.

“You think you can choke me after I try to help? Is that how you treat people showing you kindness?”

“I was going for breath control! You like that shit!”

Ian took a deep breath and glared at Baekgyeong.

“You think I’m a fool, but I’m not stupid enough to fall for that. If your escape plan works, it’s because I made it possible. So I deserve to go too. Take me with you!”

Baekgyeong stared with bloodshot, exhausted eyes.

“Why the hell do you even want to come?”

“You said you’d give me suppressants!”

“You don’t need suppressants. You can fuck all you want here.”

“Because it’s disgusting! I’ve been trapped in this hell for two years! There’s no salvation here. And more than anything—”

Ian paused to catch his breath.

Baekgyeong had a bad feeling. Something awful was coming.

“I like you. Let me stay by your side.”

Ian’s face was desperate, fervent, dreamy. Like he was caught in a feverish hallucination.

Baekgyeong, meanwhile, looked like a man trying not to gag. He stretched out a hand toward Ian.

“Fine. You win. I’ll do whatever you want—just give it back.”

“Promise me. Swear you’ll take me with you.”

Baekgyeong could’ve said it a hundred times. There was no contract, no witnesses. But he knew Ian wouldn’t believe him without some show of sincerity.

“I’ll take you. But you promise me something too.”

“What?”

“Help me catch the people who killed my mother.”

Apparently, Baekgyeong’s background wasn’t something Ian had really thought about. The boy hesitated visibly, and Baekgyeong scoffed at him in mock disappointment.

“What, you say you like me, and you never even considered that?”

“I mean—wait! Just give me a sec—”

“You like me? Seriously? That’s your big emotional stand? You piece of shit!”

Ian waved frantically as Baekgyeong lunged at him.

But Baekgyeong wasn’t after his pride.

He surged forward and snatched the thermos from Ian’s hands, then bashed him across the head with it.

“Argh!”

Blood sprayed across the air, but vanished instantly in the downpour. With no real resistance, Baekgyeong easily overpowered Ian and smashed the thermos into his temple, his jaw, his solar plexus.

All that frustration—all that rage—finally exploded.

It was pathetic how easily Ian passed out.

Just minutes ago, he’d been screaming heartfelt confessions. Now he was just another body on the rocks, fading into the storm.

Baekgyeong had always had a talent for mocking people’s sincerity. And sadly, Ian’s confession meant nothing to him.

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