Page 133 of Scarbound

“No. Look at what you’re doing.”

The silence that followed was unbearable. Noeul remained on the floor, listening. A minute passed. Perhaps two.

Then footsteps moved away. Relief began creeping through him. They were leaving.

But another sound came from outside.

Metal against metal.

The familiar click of a key.

Noeul’s blood ran cold.

The spare key.

His heart seemed to stop.

“I’m coming in,” Chung-Hee said.

Noeul sprang upright. His legs were weak, but panic carried him across the apartment. He reached the door just as the key entered the lock and twisted the interior lock hard.

The door moved. Stopped.

Chung-Hee tried again.

“What the hell, Noeul? Open this door!”

Noeul pressed his entire body against it, one trembling hand still gripping the lock. Jun said something outside, too low for him to understand.

“I will not open it.”

His voice was quiet.

Chung-Hee struck the door once with his palm.

“Noeul!”

“I said no!”

The words tore from him before he could stop them.

Silence.

Noeul stood frozen. He had shouted at him.

And nothing had happened.

The door remained closed. Chung-Hee remained outside.

Jun’s voice came next, firm and unmistakable.

“We’re leaving.”

Another silence. Then footsteps. This time, they faded completely.

Noeul remained pressed against the door long after the hallway became quiet, his body shaking with silent sobs. He didn’t know whether five minutes passed or thirty. He stayed there listening, terrified that the key would enter the lock again.

It didn’t.