56: Chapter 56 Footsteps in the Dark

The beam of the military-grade flashlight cut through the darkness of the second-floor hallway like a sharp sword.

Song Tianhao rushed down the stairs with astonishing speed, crossing an entire flight of steps in almost two strides.

His footsteps echoed through the empty stairwell, heavy and hurried, interweaving with the howling wind and rain outside and the faint, groaning sounds of the building in the distance.

The floor below was darker and more chaotic than the second floor.

The light from the emergency lamps seemed even weaker here, barely outlining the silhouettes of the furniture overturned in the living room.

Although the broken floor-to-ceiling windows had been barely covered with plastic sheets by Jang Se-hoon and the others, the strong wind still tore at the gaps, emitting a "woo-woo" wailing sound, while cold rain and moisture constantly seeped in, forming puddles on the floor.

The air was filled with an unsettling scent, a mixture of dust, rain, and something akin to the acrid smell of a short-circuited wire.

Song Tianhao did not pause at all; the flashlight beam swept quickly across the chaotic living room, but Kim Taeyeon was nowhere to be seen.

He turned directly toward the kitchen.

The kitchen door was half-open, and inside was pitch black, with no light and no sound.

There was only the howling of the wind and rain rushing in from some broken gap, and... a faint, suppressed, painful intake of breath that seemed to be squeezed out from between clenched teeth.

Song Tianhao's heart tightened abruptly; he slowed his pace, lowered his body, and directed the flashlight beam into the kitchen first.

Wherever the beam landed, there was a mess.

The power of the earthquake was clearly revealed here.

The double-door refrigerator that had originally been placed against the wall had tipped over entirely, its heavy frame crushing the wooden breakfast counter in front and slamming into the cupboard beside it.

The cupboard door was twisted and deformed, and most of the delicate bone china inside had shattered; white and blue porcelain shards, mixed with wood shavings, spilled seasonings, and unknown liquids, covered a large area in the center of the kitchen, reflecting fragmented and messy light.

And between the overturned refrigerator and the wreckage of the shattered breakfast counter, a slender figure was curled up.

It was actually Kim Taeyeon.

She was lying on her side on the floor, half of her body pressed under the overturned breakfast counter board; more accurately, her left lower leg was pinned tightly by a heavy piece of the countertop.

She was wearing thin loungewear pants, and the fabric around her lower leg had already been stained red by a patch of seeping blood.

She was leaning her back against the side of the cold refrigerator, her face as pale as paper, her forehead covered in cold sweat, and a few strands of chestnut hair, dampened by sweat and rain, were stuck to her cheeks and neck.

Her lips were bitten white, even oozing a few drops of blood, clearly enduring immense pain.

Yet her hands were tightly clutching three or four unopened bottles of mineral water, shielding them in her arms as if they were some incredibly precious treasure.

When the flashlight beam shone on her, she seemed irritated by the harsh light, struggling to lift her eyelids, her blurred vision trying to focus.

When she saw the silhouette of the tall figure at the doorway backlit by the light, her eyes suddenly erupted with a light of disbelief, mixed with immense surprise and an instant, dam-bursting sense of grievance.

"Opp... Oppa..." she made a weak, breathy sound, her voice trembling violently with a crying tone, yet it was as if she had let out a sigh of relief; her tense body visibly relaxed, as if she had found her backbone.

Song Tianhao's gaze swept quickly over her pale face, her pinned lower leg, and the few eye-catching bottles of mineral water in her arms; his eyes instantly sank to a frightening depth, like a frozen deep sea.

He did not speak immediately but quickly observed the scene: the direction the refrigerator had tipped, the structure of the board pinning her leg, the sharp porcelain shards scattered around, and the broken window that had been blown open by the gale at some unknown time, now "clanging" and continuously letting in rain and cold wind.

He turned off the flashlight to let his eyes adapt to the darker light, then turned it back on, using a more focused beam to carefully examine the specific situation pinning Kim Taeyeon's lower leg.

The board was not particularly heavy, but its edges were irregular and might have splinters; moreover, it was in a tricky position, wedged perfectly between the refrigerator and the floor, forming a simple lever that she could never break free from on her own.

"Don't move, don't speak, and conserve your energy." Song Tianhao's voice was very low but steady, carrying a strange, soothing power.

He first carefully avoided the mess everywhere, especially the sharp porcelain shards, walked to her side, and crouched down.

He didn't touch her leg first, but instead quickly checked her head, neck, and upper body, confirming there were no other obvious external injuries or signs of being directly struck by heavy objects.

Only then did he cast his gaze toward that damn board.

"Tell me if it hurts, but try not to move." Saying this, he bit the flashlight in his mouth, aiming the beam at the area of her pinned lower leg.

He grabbed one end of the board tentatively, feeling its weight and the angle at which it was wedged.

Kim Taeyeon bit her lip and nodded forcefully, her eyes misting with moisture from pain and fear, but she held back tightly, not letting the tears fall.

She looked at Song Tianhao's side profile, inches away; there was no expression on his face, only a tense jawline and focused eyes, which looked exceptionally clear under the swaying beam.

A large piece of his shirt hem was missing, revealing a small section of his solid waist and abdomen, stained with dust and blood; that was what he had torn off earlier to bandage Ham Eunjung.

At this moment, he reached out again without hesitation, grabbing the stain-covered board with its potentially sharp edges.

Song Tianhao took a deep breath, and the muscles in his waist, abdomen, and arms instantly tensed.

He did not lift it by brute force but first tried to adjust the angle, finding a fulcrum that was relatively less strenuous and would not cause secondary injury.

Then, he let out a low shout, his full strength erupting, and the heavy board was slowly lifted by him, creating a teeth-gritting sound as it rubbed against the refrigerator and the floor.

"Creeak... craaack..."

As the board was lifted, the pressure on Kim Taeyeon's lower leg suddenly eased, but it was followed by an even sharper, stabbing pain; she couldn't help it and let out a short cry of pain: "Ngh..."

Song Tianhao did not stop, steadily lifting the board to a sufficient height, then quickly kicked over an overturned trash can nearby, wedging it between the board and the floor to temporarily support it.

Then he immediately leaned down, carefully sliding out Kim Taeyeon's pinned left leg.

Freed from the pressure, Kim Taeyeon trembled all over from the pain, drew a sharp breath, and the cold sweat on her forehead increased.

But she was finally able to move her stiff leg a little.

Song Tianhao lowered the board, and the trash can fell to the ground with a "clang."

He picked up the flashlight again and carefully examined her lower leg.

The fabric of her loungewear pants had been ripped open below the knee; the skin underneath was bruised, with some abrasions and broken skin at the edges, and it was seeping blood, but fortunately, there were no obvious open wounds and no unnatural bending, so the bones should be fine; it was mainly contusions and crush injuries to the muscle and soft tissue.

He tore off the other hem of his shirt again; this expensive custom-made shirt was completely ruined today.

With skilled technique, he used the cloth strip to apply a pressure bandage to the most severely injured part of her lower leg, temporarily stopping the bleeding and immobilizing it.

"Can you still move? Try your toes." He asked while bandaging, his tone as calm as a doctor's.

Kim Taeyeon tried to move her left toes; although it pulled at the injury and made her grimace in pain, the toes could indeed move.

"I... I can." She answered in a hoarse voice.

Song Tianhao nodded, said nothing, and quickly tied the knot.

Then, he reached out, one hand passing behind her back, the other scooping under her knees, and carefully lifted her up horizontally.

Kim Taeyeon's body was very light, holding her in his arms felt almost weightless, but at this moment she was stiff all over, trembling slightly from pain and cold.

Song Tianhao held her and turned around, preparing to leave this chaotic place.

His gaze fell on the few bottles of mineral water she was still tightly clutching in her arms; the bottles were ice-cold, even beaded with condensation.

The worry and urgency from just a moment ago, in this instant, upon seeing these few bottles of water, mixed into an inexplicable anger that scorched his reason.

He looked down at the pale face of the girl in his arms, her wet eyes, and those hands obstinately clutching the water, his voice kept very low, but carrying a repressed, icy anger:

"Kim Taeyeon, you tell me, at a time like this, you ran down here just to get these few bottles of water?"

He called her by her full name, the anger in his tone undisguised.

Kim Taeyeon was asked this by him, and her body flinched almost imperceptibly, like a child caught doing something wrong.

She thought she would hear a harsher reprimand and had even prepared herself mentally.

But the expected rage did not come; what she heard was this kind of cold, angry... concern?

Yes, it was concern. Although wrapped in a shell of anger, she could hear it.

This anger was because she was in danger.

Somehow, this realization actually made that tight, fearful string in her heart loosen a little.

The pain seemed to have lessened just a tiny bit as well.

She lowered her eyelids, not daring to look into his furious eyes, her gaze falling on the ice-cold mineral water bottles in her arms; her voice was small, carrying grievance, and even more so, a kind of almost stubborn seriousness:

"Hyomin... Hyomin hurt her knee, and Eunjung is unconscious too; they... they need to drink water. What if, what if they need to take medicine..." Her voice grew lower and lower, finally becoming almost inaudible, "And... everyone is so scared, drinking some water, maybe they'll feel a little better..."

She spoke very chaotically, and her logic was not very clear.

In such a situation where she could barely protect herself and was surrounded by danger, what she thought of was still that others might need water, might need medicine, might... be scared.

Song Tianhao's arms holding her tightened imperceptibly for a moment.

He looked at her lowered, trembling eyelashes, looked at the flush on her pale face that might have been caused by pain, and looked at those few bottles of mineral water in her arms.

All the anger, like a balloon pricked by a needle, deflated completely in an instant, leaving only something heavy, mixed with helplessness, heartache, and some deeper, softer emotion, clogging his chest.

This silly girl.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he only let out a very light, almost inaudible sigh from his nostrils.

He held her, turned around, and prepared to leave the kitchen quickly.

However, the very moment he turned, the kitchen window, which was already tottering, was finally blown wide open by a more violent gust of wind!

"Clang! Whoosh—!"

The entire window detached from the frame, flipped inward, and smashed heavily onto the kitchen counter, the glass instantly shattering!

The cold rain poured in frantically like a waterfall, completely unblocked!

The strong airflow, carrying rain and glass shards, struck in head-on!

Song Tianhao reacted extremely quickly; almost the instant the window was blown open, he turned to the side, using his own back to block most of the rain and potential shards heading toward Kim Taeyeon.

The cold rain instantly soaked through his thin shirt, bringing a bone-chilling cold.

But this was not the worst of it.

The gust of wind and the sudden impact caused the flashlight he was biting in his mouth to jerk violently, flying out of his grasp!

With a soft "patta" sound, the flashlight landed squarely into a pool of murky water that had accumulated on the floor, mixed with dust, seasonings, and rain, at some unknown time.

The light extinguished instantly.

It wasn't flickering, it wasn't dimming; it was complete, unannounced, absolute darkness.

The flashlight's circuit seemed to have short-circuited.

The whole world seemed to have had its mute and black-screen buttons pressed at that moment.

There was only the sound of the raging wind and rain outside, the splashing sound of rain pouring in, and... the two people's suddenly clearly audible, interlaced breathing.

Absolute darkness swallowed everything.

"Ah!" Kim Taeyeon let out a short cry of alarm, subconsciously shrinking into Song Tianhao's arms, her hands grabbing his chest clothing even tighter, while one of the mineral water bottles in her arms fell to the ground with a "thud."

Song Tianhao's body also instantly tensed.

He stood in place, not moving.

His eyes were rapidly trying to adapt to this sudden, pitch-black darkness, but with little effect.

Only the lightning occasionally streaking across outside could provide a fleeting, ghastly pale, and twisted light, illuminating the ghostly shadows of the mess in the kitchen, before immediately sinking back into deeper darkness.

With vision deprived, other senses were forced to heighten.

He could clearly hear Kim Taeyeon's gasps, laced with pain and fear; he could feel the subtle trembling of her body and smell the faint scent of shampoo from her hair, mixed with the smell of blood, dust, and the aroma of rain.

And then... his own heartbeat, pulsing steady and strong in his chest, forming a sharp contrast to her panic.

"Don't be afraid," he said in the darkness, his voice kept very low, yet exceptionally steady. "I'm here."

These few short words seemed to have magic, allowing Kim Taeyeon's tense body to relax slightly.

But her hands, gripping his clothes, remained clenched tight, her knuckles turning transparently white in the occasional flashes of lightning.

Song Tianhao's brain was racing.

The flashlight was ruined; the only light source was gone.

The water in the kitchen was pooling more and more, and glass shards were everywhere; it was not a place to stay for long.

Kim Taeyeon's injury needed further treatment, the people in the third-floor master bedroom were waiting, and Ham Eunjung's condition remained unclear.

He had to leave here immediately.

He groped around, trying to recall the layout of the kitchen to avoid the glass shards and standing water on the floor.

But the darkness increased the difficulty.

Just then, as he held Kim Taeyeon in his arms, his elbow accidentally brushed against the pocket on her side.

There was the outline of a hard object in the pocket.

A phone!

Song Tianhao immediately freed one hand and carefully reached into the side pocket of her pajamas.

His fingertips touched a cold, cracked screen.

It was Kim Taeyeon's phone. He pulled it out and pressed the side button.

The screen lit up.

The faint light, in this absolute darkness, was as conspicuous as a lighthouse.

Although the top of the screen was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, it was still usable; with the brightness turned to the maximum, it was enough to illuminate a small area around them.

Song Tianhao let out a sigh of relief, and by the light of this faint glow, he quickly made out the path under his feet.

He held Kim Taeyeon steadily with one arm, while holding the cracked phone in the other, like a small torch that could go out at any moment.

The light from the screen illuminated his well-defined jaw, his tightly pressed lips, and his eyes, which appeared exceptionally deep and focused in the dim light.

It also illuminated Kim Taeyeon's pale face as she looked up at him.

She watched him without blinking, as if she wanted to carve his image into her heart.

"Hold onto me tightly, don't let go," Song Tianhao whispered, then began to move.

He walked very steadily, every step carefully considered, skillfully avoiding the chaotic ceramic shards, scattered debris, and the increasing amount of standing water on the floor.

His movements were precise and calm, as if he were not navigating through a perilous, dark kitchen, but walking a safe path that he had practiced countless times.

Kim Taeyeon followed his instructions and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his soaked yet still warm neck.

His body temperature, his steady heartbeat, and the scent on him—a mix of sweat, rain, and a faint smell of blood—became the only driftwood she could cling to in this cold darkness and fear.

The pain seemed to become distant, leaving only a feeling of almost numb dependence.

Song Tianhao, holding her, finally made it out of the kitchen without incident, returning to the relatively drier and slightly brighter living room area.

Although it was still dim, it was at least much better than the absolute darkness from before.

He did not stop, carrying her directly toward the stairs. The stairs were still littered with plaster and dust shaken down by the previous earthquake.

Taking the first step onto the stairs, the jolting motion caused Kim Taeyeon's leg injury to be jarred, and she couldn't help but gasp softly, her body stiffening for a moment.

Song Tianhao paused, his arms hugging her tighter, pulling her closer to his chest to minimize the jolting.

He lowered his head and spoke into her ear, in a voice only the two of them could hear, carrying an unquestionable tone and a kind of almost overbearing tenderness, saying word by word:

"Kim Taeyeon, you listen to me carefully."

"Next time, no matter the reason, if you dare to run off by yourself again..."

He paused, and in the dim light of the stairwell, his gaze locked onto her eyes, which were inches away and filled with panic and confusion.

"I will hold you in my arms like this all day long, and you won't be going anywhere."

A visible flush rapidly spread across Kim Taeyeon's pale face.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but felt her throat go dry, and her heart began to beat uncontrollably and violently, even overpowering the pain in her leg.

The threat in those words sounded more like... a firm protection.

On this cold and fearful night, it stirred ripples in her heart.

She hurriedly averted her gaze, burying her burning cheeks deeper into the crook of his neck, no longer making a sound, only tightening her hands around his neck subconsciously.

Song Tianhao said nothing more, carrying her, walking steadily up to the third floor step by step.

His stride was firm, as if he could shatter all darkness and danger.

The door to the third-floor master bedroom was tightly shut, but the steady and reassuring white light of an emergency lamp shone from beneath the gap.

Song Tianhao nudged the door with his shoulder, and Park So-yeon's nervous voice immediately came from inside: "Who is it?"

"It's me, Song Tianhao. Open the door."

The door was opened from the inside immediately.

Park So-yeon stood at the doorway holding a flashlight, her face pale. When she saw Song Tianhao carrying Kim Taeyeon, whose leg was bandaged with strips of cloth and whose face was pale, she visibly let out a sigh of relief, but her heart immediately tightened again.

"Taeyeon!" Jessica Jung was the first to rush over. Seeing Kim Taeyeon's state, tears instantly streamed down her face. "Are you okay? Where are you hurt? Does it hurt?"

Others gathered around, speaking all at once, their faces filled with worry and lingering fear.

"I'm fine..." Kim Taeyeon whispered, struggling to get down from Song Tianhao's arms, but he held her tighter and walked directly to the bed.

The large double bed now appeared somewhat crowded.

Park Hyomin was leaning against the headboard, her left knee bandaged with Song Tianhao's tie; her face was still somewhat pale, but her spirits were decent.

Ham Eunjung lay quietly on the other side, the cloth strip on her forehead soaked with some blood, her face pale, still unconscious, but her breathing was steady.

Jeon Boram and Lee Qri were carefully wiping the bloodstains from her face with a wet towel.

Song Tianhao carefully placed Kim Taeyeon in a small empty space at the foot of the bed, letting her lean back as comfortably as possible.

In this way, there were now three injured people on the bed: Park Hyomin with a knee injury, Ham Eunjung with a forehead injury, and Kim Taeyeon with a leg injury.

The space suddenly felt even more cramped, but it also centralized the "infirmary area" in this room.

Seeing the injury on Kim Taeyeon's leg and looking at her pale face, Park Hyomin's eyes instantly turned red. She reached out to take Kim Taeyeon's hand, her voice choked with sobs: "Taeyeon unnie... you... you only did this to get me water..."

"Don't say silly things," Kim Taeyeon interrupted her, trying to force a smile, although she looked very weak. "It was my own carelessness."

Song Tianhao did not participate in their conversation. He settled Kim Taeyeon, straightened up, and his gaze swept over the remaining twelve people in the room.

Every face was filled with lingering fear, terror, exhaustion, and an unconscious reliance when they looked at him.

He needed help.

Ham Eunjung needed more professional examination and care, Kim Taeyeon and Park Hyomin's wounds needed disinfection and dressing changes, and with so many people crowded into one room, someone was needed to maintain order, take care of the injured, and observe the situation. And...

A memory flashed through his mind of the fleeting, extremely faint, but definitely unnatural footsteps he had heard outside the kitchen window amidst the wind and rain.

Sneaky, full of spying intent. That didn't sound like someone from the Villa.

Jang Se-hoon and the assistants were sealing windows on the first floor, and everyone else was here. Those footsteps... who were they?

There was very likely an intruder in the Villa. On a night like this, with the storm raging, communication cut off, and isolated from the world.

The danger was far from over.

He needed helpers, helpers who could stay calm, follow orders, and handle emergencies. He couldn't face everything alone.

Song Tianhao's gaze slowly swept over everyone's faces, and finally, he spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears, carrying an unquestionable, leader-like authority:

"Now, listen to me."

"Ham Eunjung needs continuous observation, Taeyeon and Hyomin's wounds need treatment, everyone needs someone to take care of them, the room needs people on watch, and we need to observe the situation outside."

"I need people to help me."

He paused, looking sharply into every pair of eyes:

"Who among you is relatively brave? Or, even if you are afraid, can you control yourself, follow orders, and not cause trouble?"

The room was silent for a moment. Only the sound of wind and rain outside and the light or heavy breathing of everyone could be heard.

Park So-yeon raised her hand first, almost without any hesitation. Her face was still somewhat pale, and fear lingered in her eyes, but more than that, there was a kind of desperate determination.

She didn't look at Song Tianhao, but instead watched the unconscious Ham Eunjung on the bed, her voice not loud, but very clear: "Me. I'm not afraid. I can help."

Immediately after, Im Yoona bit her lip and also raised her hand.

Her hand was still trembling a little, and her arm, which had just been scratched by glass, was simply bandaged, but she tried to straighten her back, looking at Song Tianhao: "President, I... I can help too. I'm brave."

Jessica Jung, with red eyes, looked at the weak Kim Taeyeon on the bed, then at Song Tianhao.

She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and also raised her hand, her voice choked but exceptionally determined: "And me. Taeyeon was injured for everyone's sake, I can't... I can't just watch."

The other girls, like Kwon Yuri, Choi Sooyoung, Seohyun, etc., also showed expressions of struggle and a desire to help, but looking at the three injured people on the bed, and then at their own trembling hands, they ultimately did not step forward.

Song Tianhao's gaze lingered on Park So-yeon, Im Yoona, and Jessica Jung for a moment, then nodded: "Good. Everyone else, stay here, take good care of the injured, keep quiet, and pay attention to the sounds outside. If there is anything unusual, tell me immediately."

He turned and looked at the three of them: "You three, follow me."

After speaking, he walked toward the door first. Park So-yeon followed immediately; Im Yoona and Jessica Jung exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, and followed out.

Song Tianhao did not go far, only coming to the corridor outside the master bedroom. It was dimmer here than inside the room, with only the dim green light of the emergency lamp at the far end of the stairwell barely providing any illumination.

He pulled the master bedroom door ajar, ensuring that the light and sound from inside would not easily leak out.

Then, he turned around, facing the three women who looked nervous but were trying to straighten their backs.

Outside the window, the storm seemed to have weakened slightly, but the heavy darkness, which seemed ready to crush everything, had become even more intense.

The sound of rain hitting the windows became fine and dense, which instead added a sense of eerie silence.

Song Tianhao lowered his voice, speaking slowly at a volume only the three of them could hear clearly, every word clear and cold, hitting their tense nerves:

"Listen to what I'm about to say, don't scream, don't panic."

He paused, his gaze as sharp as a hawk, sweeping over their instantly tensed faces.

"Just now downstairs, I heard footsteps outside the kitchen window."

"Those footsteps were very light, very cautious, but they were definitely not from our people."

Park So-yeon's breath hitched, and her eyes widened instantly. Im Yoona subconsciously covered her mouth, blocking a gasp in her throat. Jessica Jung's face turned deathly pale, and her body swayed almost imperceptibly.

Song Tianhao looked at them and continued in that tone, calm to the point of being cruel:

"There may already be 'things'... or 'outsiders' inside the Villa."

"While we weren't looking, from a place we don't know."