"You're late again Jisung," Tem sighed.

"Yeah, like I don't know that," I rolled my eyes at my fellow waitress and best friend. Then I got a good look at her. My eyes widened. She had marks under her eyes as purple as bruises, and her eyelids were almost closed. "You look ing exhausted Tem! What're doing here?! Go to bed!" I exclaimed.

She completely ignored me, and went back to the fact that I was late. "You're going to get fired if you keep being like this," She told me. I knew that well enough too, but I did not want to talk about it in much detail. At least I had an excuse today, whether I should share it with her or not. I took off my jacket and hung it in the backroom, swapping it out for an apron. I sighed as I made my way back to the service counter.

Tem was serving a table, and I debated whether I should tell her about Jooheon and his friends. I didn't know how she would react. I was interrupted by our latest, and youngest, employee, who was just here on a Saturday job.

"Could you cover my shift for me?" She asked, on her way back from serving a table.

"Are you joking?" I scoffed.

"Please, unnie!" She insisted.

"Fine, but you'd better buy me something nice while you're skipping your shift," I told her. She looked desperate enough, and I knew what it was like to not be able to go out and have fun because of work. I didn't want to be the mean, strict colleague either.

"Thanks! You're the best!" She grinned, skipping out of the cafe.

I glanced over at Tem again, and she was engaged in a conversation. It wasn't like I could interrupt her, so I focused on my plan.

I bit my nails nervously, trying to find the right moment to use the phone. I glanced around, and it was nearly empty in here anyway. I went to the phone and rang my home number. It kept ringing, unanswered, as I pleaded for them to pick it up. I gripped onto it with both hands, but I was distracted by the small television across the cafe. It was a shot of my apartment block. Someone was being dragged out on a stretcher, and I caught sight of Hyungwon's face, half covered with an oxygen mask. My pulse rose, and I gripped the phone tighter.

The phone on the other end answered, to my surprise. I gingerly held it up to my ear, hoping to hear one of them say that they all got out okay.

"I know where you are,"

My eyes widened and I slammed the phone back down on the holder.

I tried to shake it off and continued working, taking people's orders and serving tables. I was on edge, and a few people had asked me whether I was okay or not. I kept shrugging it off, until a noise from the kitchen made me jump. "Tem?" I called out, opening the door.

It was a mess. Plates and glasses lay shattered on the white tiles. An entire counter had a dent in the side of it. I stepped over the sharp shards and slammed a hand over my mouth when I saw blood on the silver counter top with the dent in it. Tears pooled around the edges of my eyes and I looked around the room frantically.

Then, I was grabbed from behind, hands wrapping around my throat. I elbowed the guy in the stomach and spun around. "Changkyun? Where's Tem?" My voice was a little shaky. He didn't reply to me, and looked so sad that he was about to cry. I took a cautious step towards him, but he pulled out a switchblade and came at me. I was scared and confused, but I knew I had to defend myself somehow.

I didn't know who threw the first punch, but suddenly my fist was slamming into his face. Blood pooled in his mouth as he gagged and dropped the blade. We stumbled apart for a brief second to catch our breaths before he made his next move.

I dodged his fist and came up with my own; for a brief instant, his eyes widened before he managed to tilt his head back and slam it into mine. Stars burst in my vision but I shook it off, blindly throwing a kick in his general direction.

He stepped back, easily evading the kick. "Jisung, please," He pleaded. "I promise nothing bad will happen,"

I knew his promises were , but I wanted to believe him anyway. I knew I couldn't let him take me though. A quick jab to his throat put him off for just enough time to escape out of the kitchen and through the backroom.

My feet slipped outwards on the wet autumn leaves as I rounded the corner, the cold evening air shocked my throat and lungs as I inhaled deeper and faster. With each footfall, a jarring pain shot up from my ankle to my knee. Perhaps helping those guys wasn't so smart. I was just so sure that it had something to do with them. I mean, what other reason would there be for Changkyun to chase me down. It's not like he's chasing me for that chocolate bar I stole when I was seven, or for him breaking up with me. It just doesn't make sense. Shouldn't this situation be the other way around since he's the one who broke my heart?

It was all or nothing. I knew this area better than he did, that pig is just a pretty boy with no heart, shipped in from the nicer end of town. I knew he was weighed down with a gun, I saw a flash of it earlier. They're useless anyway, unless he gets a clear shot, which he won't. He wouldn't be able to shoot me anyway. He wouldn't have the guts. I could hear him panting from three hundred steps behind me, that's how freaking noisy he was.

I took a quick glance back, and that curiosity of mine finally caused me to make a mistake. Another guy, obviously on the same team as Changkyun, grabbed me and pushed me to the ground. I saw him swing a baseball bat up and I locked eyes with him before he smashed it down onto my skull.

Shownu you bastard.