PROLOGUE

Ya, Jung Jessica… What are you doing with your life?

The freezing, merciless winter’s night surrounding me matched my desolate mood. Dead, leafless trees stood on each side of the pavement and they emphasized loneliness as they were whipped by the wind. They were helpless against it - and that was exactly how I felt inside. Hopeless.

I sighed at the rhetorical question because honestly… I had no answer to that.

I was currently jobless, friendless and about to be homeless.

And worst of all, I was a failed medical school student.

Life couldn’t be better…

I shook my head at the stupidity of my thoughts as I trudged home in the darkness. It was well past midnight already and winter was nearly upon Seoul as Christmas neared. Already, people had been predicting that it’d be a white Christmas this year.

I sighed, watching my breath mist up and continued my walk down the quiet, barely illuminated road that led to my three roomed apartment. Well, it was technically only mine for another week. After that, I’d be taken out by force.

“Aish, I should really just stop thinking…” I reprimanded myself loudly as I couldn’t see a single person around me. No-one really walked this path at night and the area where I lived wasn’t even that populated in the first place. It was too far from the main city really.

My ankle-boots clip-clopped against the tarmac and I shivered in my knee-length coat. It really was going to be a cold wint-

BANG

I froze dead, my every limb becoming numb as the gunshot filled the air. My eyes widened and my heart rate began to increase rapidly as I whipped my head in the direction of the gunshot.

I couldn’t really see in the dark, but it seemed to be coming from a nearby alleyway.

I flinched as another gunshot rang through the air.

But, despite all common sense, I began walking in the direction of the gunshots, my humanitarian side taking over as I broke into a run.

I reached the darkened alleyway in a matter of seconds and I stared into the blackness for a few seconds, trying to see if I could make any life forms in the black void. I squinted as my vision focused.

Without hesitant steps, I bravely ventured forward, ignoring every warning signal my brain sent.

Soon, I could hear the sound of panting and a lone figure became clear. The figure seemed to be male and they were sitting against a wall, legs sprawled beneath them awkwardly. I frowned as the smell of blood and metal enveloped my nose.

A low growl of pain captured my attention and I looked at the male silhouette again. Biting my bottom lip, I tentatively stepped towards him.

“Hey, are you alrigh-

I was interrupted as a gun I heard the safety of a gun click.

 My breath hitched in my throat and I could feel my body begin to quiver in fear.

The gun, it was pointed at me.

I gulped as the male against the wall grunted painfully and began sliding himself up the wall into a standing position, but due to my trained eyes, I could see he was favouring his left shoulder from the way it drooped.

The gun was only inches from my face now and in the barely-lit alleyway, I could see the barrel was aimed directly between my eyes. It’d be a clean, killing shot if he decided to fire. I’d probably die upon impact.

I flinched at the thought.

And then, I closed my eyes.

“Uggghhhh,” the male groaned and anticipation filled me. He’d shoot now. I was really going to-

I gasped as a dead weight fell on my slender frame and I heard the gun clatter to the floor. My eyes shot open as I fumbled to keep my balance under the male’s unexpected weight.

Somehow, after a few more minutes of panic, I managed to sling the male’s right arm over my shoulders and I was able to support him. I paid no mind as his head lolled to the side, resting close to the nape of my neck.

“C’mon,” I told him as I gathered my strength and slowly began walking out of the alleyway. Somehow, I was managing to carry the both of us.

I was suddenly grateful that I lived in a less populated area as no-one would see me dragging an unconscious, bleeding man out of an alleyway. The cold didn’t even affect me anymore as pure adrenaline coursed through my veins.

You know, I think I’d just lost my mind.

Foreword finished ^^ So, whatcha think? Let me know!