Note: I posted this and then fixed it a bit. So please reload before reading this chapter!

"Morning hottie," Bobby greets me early in the morning as he opens the windows in my bedroom.

"What do you think you're doing?" I grumble from under my covers.

"We have an early schedule so I thought I could visit you for a bit," he says, sitting cross-legged on the opposite end of my mattress. I pull myself out of the blanket, glaring at him. "I've never seen you wake up before. I thought I should see it at least once."

"What are you going on about?" I mutter, frustrated by his cheeriness and rambling.

"Nothing." I notice a vase of flowers on the table. "Oh and I bought you some fresh flowers. I thought that I should get you some flowers...at least once."

At least once? Why does he keep saying that?

"Are you dying or are you leaving YG or something?" I ask, rubbing my eyes open. "Why are you being so nice to me so sudden?"

"I feel like..." He pouts his mouth. "I feel like we could be close friends if you let us."

“Bobby…” I say, speechless. I’m also too drowsy for a conversation like this.

“You don’t have to trust me or anything,” he adds quickly. “You don’t even have to like me back. Let’s be…friends. Just friends.”

Without my approval, he goes on to talk about his days and life, leaving me utterly exhausted when I am about to head to school.

***

I’m trying to catch some sleep in class but Jun Ryeol’s threatening voice keeps piercing my thoughts.

“Where’s my money, idiot?” he torments my classmate.

Finally, I had enough and walk up to him.

“Leave him alone,” I say in a clear, loud voice.

“What – are you going to give me the money instead?”

“I’m going to report you to the teacher,” I say, putting a brave front. “Then your poor can sit longer in detention.”

I can see how that pushed a sensitive button. He brings his arms up but Mr. Yunho arrives right in time to prevent anything from happening. Without hesitating, I report to him everything that happened.

***

He throws me onto the school wall and I fall weakly on the concrete pavement.

“You dare to speak down to me!” he yells furiously, kicking sand in my face.

I hide my face behind my hands.

Jun Ryeol didn’t hold back his anger and immediately dragged me out after class ended.

“You ,” he curses, squatting in front of me while squeezing my jaws painfully before shoving my face into the wall.

I cry out in pain.

“You think we’re friends because we share the same detention?” he asks, laughing maniacally. “Let me show what you mean to me.”

He takes my bag and unloads the contents on to the floor. With an amused face, he starts jumping on my books and papers, tearing them apart.

He picks up Hanbin’s account book and flicks through it.

“What’s this…?”

“None of your business!” I exclaim angrily.

He shoots a frightening glare my way before throwing the book into my face. My nose cracks and my eyes can barely open now as they water continuously.

“You—” he marches to me.

“STOP!” a man shouts, intervening. Jun Ryeol eyes the man. He wears a casual outfit with a cap covering his face. “Stop!”

Without much persuasion, Jun Ryeol takes off like a cheetah. I sigh in relief. I rest my head on the wall, exhausted.

The man picks up my stuff and carefully place them back into my bag.

I watch his strangely familiar figure bending down in front of me.

“You’re bleeding,” he remarks plainly. He grabs Hanbin’s book but I hold it tight in my hands.

“I’ll hold onto this,” I mutter as firmly as I can, slightly wary.

He puts my arm around him and help me up to standing position.

I groan as my body stretches, enhancing the sore areas.

“You need to go to the hospital.”

***

“Hanna, can you go to the hospital? I might be hospitalized later,” I tell her through the phone. “It’d be great if you can come to deal with the paperwork.”

“What happened?” she asks, worried.

“Long story – I’ll tell you later. I’m almost there.” I hang up on the phone.

I glance at the man on my side who saved me from Jun Ryeol’s beating.

“Thank you,” I sincerely say to him. He doesn’t look my way and merely nods.

“Have we met before?” I wonder, attempting to get a better look on his face.

He doesn’t answer. A call comes through his phone and he answers it.

“Yes,” he mutters quietly though I can still hear him in the taxi. “Yeah…I think it’s…I think I found it.”

The more I stare at the outline of his figure, the more familiar he seems. He might not know but perhaps I’ve seen him?

“No, no. I’ll deal with this one myself,” he says into the phone. He sounds slightly afraid of whoever he is talking to on the phone. It must be one scary boss.

“Here we are,” the taxi driver declares. The man pays for the ride.

We’ve stopped at an alleyway a bit further down the hospital.

“Oh?” I hobble out of the cab. “Why didn’t he just drop us off there?”

“I told him to,” the man replies, swinging my bag around his shoulder. “Let me hold onto the book for you.”

I’m still clutching Hanbin’s book into my arms tightly.

“No, that’s fine.” I put it closer to me. The taxi drives away and we’re left in the quiet street.

I limp my way forward but suddenly, the man puts his hands on the book.

“Just give it to me,” he orders gently. “I know you’re in pain, so give it to me before I hurt you.”

“Wh – what?” I say, taken aback. “What are you doing?”

He fights for the book but my hold on it is so strong that I tumble backwards with it still in my arms.

Isn’t he supposed to be the nice guy? What is he suddenly doing?

“Just give it to me!” he screams, desperate. “I need it!”

I crawl backwards in fear. He puts his foot on mine to stop me from moving away.

“HELP ME!” I shriek, tears running down my face. “HELP ME!!”

I can see his face contort as if he’s unwilling to do it then he dislocates my ankle by stepping on my foot.

“Why are you doing this?” I sob, hurt.

He approaches me, sighing. “I can’t let you run with this.” He’s about to take the book away when something hits him on the back of his head.

There is no effect on him. He swings his arm around and tackle the person behind him.

“Hanna!!” I shout, alarmed when I see her fall to the road with the man over her. “Leave her alone!”

Hanna, being quite a fit girl, holds up a good fight. She kicks him in the crotch and he backs away slightly.

She runs to me, trying to help me up.

“No, no, no, I can’t walk,” I tell her as she uselessly lifts me up. “Get the police - go call –”

The man pulls her apart from me and pushes her onto the opposite wall.

She tries to land a punch on him but nothing fruitful comes out of it.

He punches the side of her head and she falls in a daze.

“STOP IT!” I shriek. I’m crawling towards them but I can’t seem to get there fast enough although the distance isn’t that far. I hate myself for being handicapped at this moment. “Stop it!”

He turns to me now.

“I just want the book. I didn’t want this to happen,” he says regretfully.

Hanna manages to wrap her hands around his ankle to prevent him coming to me.

In response, he kicks her stomach and she screams in agony.

“No, no, no, no!” I exclaim in fear. In all the chaos, I drop the book to my side and move towards Hanna.

The man passes me without any compassion that he showed me earlier and picks up the book before leaving the scene.

“Hanna!” I shake her awake. “Stay awake!”

I take her phone out her pocket and dial for ambulance.

“No, no,” I sob as she bleeds continuously. “No, Hanna, baby…no…”

The last few minutes of my consciousness is a blur as flashing lights of red and blue comes around the corner.