The flurry of sharp, cold bullets whizzed past him for a split second, leaving him with some graze wounds before he disappeared around the corner. He heard the metallic clicks of the soldiers lowering their weapons, knowing this was his chance. They would start to chase after him. Think. Quickly. Years of taekwondo training allowed him to use his adrenaline for more than just running. He let his body stop moving, and his mind start racing. There was more road ahead and a few other turns, but then it was only a matter of time before the soldiers found him. If he couldn’t go forwards, he either needed to go up or down. He looked up and scanned a few buildings, and found one that caught his eye. Quickly darting to the right, he quietly slipped into it, and closing the door quickly. He found a drop down ladder leading to the attic. He jumped onto it, climbing up. A few seconds of confusion. Then they’ll start looking in the buildings. He reached the top and closed the trapdoors. He carefully watched out of the window at the North Korean soldiers. The squad leader shouted orders to search the houses. The soldier's footsteps echoed, rushing inside each of the abandoned buildings. He had noted the ladder outside the building to the roof beforehand while he was running before on the other side of the street, and used that to his advantage. He went out the back and grasped onto the chillingly cold ladder, his back away from the street with the leader and his squad. Managing to climb the ladder without giving out, he crouched against the sloped roof, and hid there. The footsteps continued to resound through the house. Eventually, the leader shouted orders for them to regroup and search the next section, and just like that, the group appeared back by his side and walked away to another block of the buildings. He lied back on the sloped roof, and recalled the time before the soldiers came. Before the betrayal. With every second of rest, every quick blink, the memories flooded back. He took a deep breath in-

-And a deep breath out. Clean, fresh air. He smiled, as he took each step without a care in the world. Well, minus the looming exams for the next couple of days, but who needs exams. A sudden voice called to the right, “Hodong. Gang Hodong.”
“Whats up Hedyung?” Hodong replied, looking at his friend.
“You spaced out for a bit there,” He murmured, looking suspiciously at him, “You don’t do that often. Win the lottery?”
“Tch. You wish,” Hodong smirked, “You’re the type to think about things like that anyways. I’ve got more important things to think about.”
“Right, right, because I should believe everything that comes out of your mouth,” Hedyung remarked.
“Have I lied to you?” Hodong asked.
“Good… Point… Ok, fine,” He mumbled.
“Alright then… I’m going home,” Hodong sighed.
“I’ll be seeing you tomorrow then,” Hedyung nodded, smiling brightly.
The two went their separate ways, walking into their houses. Hodong instantly jumped on his bed when he got home. He slowly blinked into unconsciousness, without worrying about anything. But next day…

… Early in the morning. A strange, sharp sound filled the air. The first time, Hedyung disregarded it, half asleep. And then the second explosion sounded, this time much louder. He jumped out of bed, throwing the curtains to the side, looking for the source of the explosions. Towards the inner city, and from the North side. He stood in shock for a good 12 seconds before another artillery round shocked him into action. He threw his jacket on and ran downstairs. Mother and father were gone, and so was his Brother. That was good, at least they got away… Though, he could see why they had to leave without him. He was a really heavy sleeper, even sleeping through the first few explosions. They knew he would wake up soon enough, and they had to have known the explosions were coming from over 5 miles away. He decided to go and find them, and then find Hedyung. He hoped he and his family were safe as well, though they lived much more north then he did. After another explosion, he decided it wasn’t the best time to think, and he started off south. He got around 2 blocks there, but was cut off by Hedyung and his father…? W-what? Thats impossible, the explosions only started a few minutes ago- and his Dad? Hodong took a step back, scanning them for an explanation. All he got back was a smile from both of them. And then an squadron of NK and Chinese soldiers. Hodong was already running the other way. No… This is wrong. I’ve known Hedyung for all his life. And the explosions were coming from both sides, there’s no way they could have gotten to the other side… Without a few inside men. It was a pincer attack. Hodong was going into the military next year as a mandatory service to the country, so he knew battle and war tactics like the back of his hand. Still, he tried to find ways that it couldn’t be Hedyung, but- … The soldiers weren’t firing. He looked back, only to see Hedyung smiling gently and waving. Hodong turned around again to see some of the other soldiers starting to pool into the street. He jumped into an alley, and ran as fast as he could. A group of soldiers, led by Hedyung’s father followed after him, cold bullets plunging into the walls next to him. Hodong himself pressed himself against the wall for a second to let some of the bullets pass by him, and he turned the corner, running. He took in his surroundings and ran into the building, climbed up the ladder and managed to shake them off. After opening his eyes once again, he maneuvered back down to the ground, dusting his torn coat and pants, clutching his graze wounds, and slowly continued south, off to where his family was.