CHAPTER 3

"You what?" This time around, Josh spat his coffee on the table. I reached for the tissue to wipe it but he held my hand and stopped me from wiping the wet liquid from the table. "Why did you change your password in the first place?" he asked curiously.

"Because I saw him kissing Brittany!" I exclaimed.

Josh laughed at me. "But they always kiss here in school! You don't have the right to feel jealous, he's not yours!"

"I know! I know! Oh my! They're coming!" I pretended I was drinking my cola and when Jeonghan and his friends passed by our table, I looked up. I waited for him to take a glance at me like he used to do but he didn't.

What was his problem this time?

He kissed me last night and now he was acting like nothing happened? Like he didn't know me. Was he always like this to other girls? But he always kissed Brittany even though they're not a thing. The whole school knew that Brittany slept with almost half of the guys on the campus.

"Now, he's ignoring you!" Josh let go of my hand, snatched the tissue from my hand, and continued wiping the table. I didn't know why I felt frustrated that Jeonghan didn't look and smile at me this time like he always did.

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After school, Josh and I went out to bond with his cousin Megan. We went to eat dinner at this newly opened restaurant near their place and it was awesome. The food was delicious.

It was nearly midnight and I felt tired so I decided to take the shortcut crossing through a dark alleyway.

It was pretty dark but I was still able to see where I stepped. Then suddenly, I stopped moving when I saw three men just a few meters away from me.

"Hey hey! Seems like it's my lucky night!" I heard the man in a blue shirt say.

"I-I think I came the wrong way." I stuttered and then they laughed.

I turned around to go the other way while I put my hand inside my pocket and dialed a random number when suddenly someone grabbed my hair.

I started screaming and flailed my arms to scratch his face but he was too strong. His grip on my hair tightened and I winced at the pain.

"Hello, Yoo-mi? Where are you? Oh my god, Yoo-mi?" I randomly dialed Josh's number and he heard my scream.

I could feel my heart beat so fast and tears started brimming down my face. I couldn't breathe well and I couldn't move.

"Josh!" I shouted, hoping he could hear me. Hoping he could help me. But that was nearly impossible because his house was a mile away from mine.

"You need to cooperate so that everything would be easy for the both of us, do you understand?" the man whispered in my ear but I screamed again louder this time.

"Help! Please someone help-" He hit me. I've never felt such a strong and sudden pain in the 16 years of my life. I lost my balance and fell into the hard concrete.

I nearly passed out when I heard someone call my name. "Yoo-mi? Yoo-mi!!!"

Jeonghan?

The man who just hit me got scared and quickly ran away leaving me on the ground and the other two who were just watching the whole scene followed him.

I tried to find my voice to speak. "Jeonghan..." Tears started to blur my vision and knowing Jeonghan saved me made me cry even more.

I saw him running towards me like crazy. His hair was tousled and he was only wearing pajamas. He must have run so fast to come here so quickly.

But how did he know I was here? His beautiful eyes met mine and I could see the concern in it. As soon as he reached me, he put his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I leaned my head on his chest and sobbed loudly.

"Yoo-mi, please don't cry. I'm here, you're safe now." He held my face and kissed me on the forehead.

I was surprised and my face burned hot when I felt his lips touch my skin. "How did you know I was here?"

"Megan called me. Your boyfriend told her you're in danger and luckily, she still has my number."

"But he's not my boyf-" he cut me off.

"Let's go! It's not safe here!" He turned around and crouched down, giving me his back. I looked at him confused.

"What are you doing?" He turned his head to look at me and he smiled. "I'm taking you home. Come on, it's pretty late."

My heart jumped but I tried to calm down. Carefully, I got on his back and he lifted me up easily. I rested my face on one of his shoulders but my cheek burned at the contact.

Tears started to form again as I thought back to what just happened. "Stop crying Yoo-Mi. I'm here now. I will protect you." he said, walking down slowly and carefully.

My grip on his shoulder tightened. I could feel the sincerity in his voice. I could feel that I have fallen for him even more.

We arrived home and as usual, mom was at work. Jeonghan put me down gently on my bed and stood in front of me.

"Thank you, Jeonghan. If it wasn't for you, I must have been-"

"Sssh.. stop talking Yoo-mi. Take a rest now. Tomorrow will be another day." He calmly covered me with my blanket and kissed me once again on the forehead. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, he was looking at me intensely.

I averted my gaze and I felt him get up on the bed. He started walking to the window but I reached for his hand to stop him from leaving.

"Stay please, don't leave me." he turned around and his gaze burned through me.