Chapter Text
With bated breath, Yugyeom watched the two figures spar. From his position in the trees, the branches were partially obscuring his view but that only served him as more protection. He was unable to make out any faces because of how far away they were, but he didn’t have to be close to enjoy the view. The two continued their fight, bodies moving as one. The shorter and bulkier of the two moved with such aggression, Yugyeom wondered how on earth the other managed to block their attacks. The person moved fast and they moved dirty, seemingly uncaring of the pain they were inflicting on their opponent. Yugyeom hissed slightly when a particularly lethal right hook was thrown. But the opponent didn't even flinch. It was as if a yin met their yang, as the other moved with such grace, Yugyeom thought they were dancing. Barely allowing their feet to reach the ground, they responding with high jumps, quick blocks and sharp kicks.
‘Like cat and dog,’ he thought.
But was the sole purpose of his mission to gawk at martial artists? Yugyeom gripped the branches tighter as the wind picked up. He was high up in a pine tree and the last thing he wanted was a nasty fall. The rustling of leaves and the faint thuds when one of them managed to land a hit filled the silence. He doesn’t remember the last time his heart had felt so at ease. Or the last time he had let it. He was used to never letting his guard down, but here, here he felt safe. He felt like he was at home. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wood, breathing in the fresh country-side air which was so different to the air in the facility.
By the time he reopened his eyes, the pair were nowhere to be seen. Frantically, his eyes scanned the clearing until they landed on a bench, where they both were talking and drinking. He let out a breath of relief, chuckling softly. He was planning on jumping to the next tree to get a closer look but stopped when suddenly he felt like he was being watched. He slowly pivoted his eyes back to the bench, they had moved again. Now they stood in the middle of the clearing, staring right at him.
Shit.
Yugyeom practically threw himself off the tree and began sprinting deeper into the woods. At first all he heard was his heart and his footsteps but he soon heard more in the distance. He could have sworn he had at least a mile head-start. His feet continued to thunder down, branches whipping his face but that was the least of his worries: they were gaining on him.
Shit, shit, shit.
His bike was on the opposite side of the forest and there were too many goddamn trees in the way and Yugyeom started to panic. His brain began running faster than his legs were, flipping through his options which weren't looking too good to begin with. He could stop running and pretend he was just on a run, and somehow ignored the massive ‘KEEP OUT’ sign. Maybe his bike broke down and he got lost…so he decided to climb a tree. Yugyeom mentally grimaced, he was steadily running out of options. When he felt a hand graze his neck, his brain chose one for him: run.
The adrenaline shot through him like an arrow. He ignored the burning in his chest and propelled himself through the forest. A particularly thick pine tree loomed ahead of him and Yugyeom was running head-first towards it. Just before he would crash into it and in turn see God, he swerved to the left and started pelting it down. Right after he swerved, he heard a dull thud which honestly wasn't loud enough for his peace of mind. As quickly as the footsteps stopped, they restarted; this time twice as fast. If he hadn't pissed them off before, he definitely had now.
Yugyeom was running so fast, he wasn't sure he was still making contact with the leafy ground. He began clawing his way through bushes and cobwebs and was practically hurdling over logs but he finally saw it. His beloved bike that was seemingly glowing. Yugyeom could taste his freedom on his lips, a few more metres and he would leave the two to eat his dust. His face broke into a grin, he had almost made it.
Suddenly, the most deafening shrill he had ever heard pierced through his body. Yugyeom was at his knees in an instant, his hand clasping against his ears but nothing seemed to muffle the sound. He crumbled like a puppet without strings; heaving and trembling. He lay there with black spots clouding his vision and nausea creeping up his throat.