To Save a Life

Guts

“You okay?”

Hyerin lifted her gaze up to meet Baekhyun’s pretty brown eyes. “Huh? Yeah, I’m okay. Why’d you ask?” she asked, fixing the cuff links of the waitress uniform she was wearing. She moved on to tying her bowtie, although she was having difficulty with it.

Baekhyun clipped on his suspenders before slipping on his coat. “You look pretty down. What’s the matter?” He stared at Hyerin’s fingers struggling with the bowtie. “Did something happen?”

“What? No, no, it’s just that,” she sighed, giving up on the tie. She propped a hand on her waist before continuing. “I’m just worried about Kai. Ever since that night he got drunk, he’s been so quiet,” she said, looking down on the floor.

Baekhyun let out a breath before slowly sauntering over to Hyerin; he took her bowtie in his hands and tied it for her. “You know, just like the rest of us, Kai can hold his own,” he started as he worked on her tie. All she can do was stare up at him. “He’ll get over it sooner or later. He can’t stay sad forever. There,” He pulled on the bow to tighten it. He proceeded to dust invisible lint from her coat to top it off. “All done.”

Hyerin couldn’t help but smile. She liked the contact. “Thanks,” she mumbled. “And yeah, I guess you’re right. He’ll get over it sooner or later.” She shrugged.

“Mhm. Kai’s a big boy.” He returned the smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. “He'll be fine.” It traveled up to the crook of her neck, squeezing slightly. It made her shiver, but in an oddly good way.

“Everyone ready?”

Hyerin and Baekhyun broke the contact once Kris came into the room along with the others.

Baekhyun nodded. “Yeah. We’re good to go.”

It was already the day of Suho’s family’s grand party held in their humongous garden. The first time Hyerin stepped inside the household, she thought it was like a real-life palace. Their house was nothing compared to the Kim’s manor. It made her wonder if Kai’s home was as big as this.

The gang decided to not put too much attention on them, deciding it would be best to disguise a few of them as waiters, while the rest can pose as guests without attracting any familiar eyes.

“Check your earpieces everyone,” Kris commanded. Hyerin, Baekhyun, Lay, Xiumin, Tao, and Luhan did as he said, all the while adjusting their black and white waiter uniforms.

“Alright. Suho, Kai, can you hear me?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“Perfect. Let’s do this,” Kris sighed, walking out of the kitchen along with the others who were holding trays of either appetizers or drinks.

Once they stepped outside into the garden, they parted ways.

The venue was beautiful. Big round tables spread out along the vast garden, with pretty red and white centerpieces placed on top of each table. There was no need for excessive amount of decoration as the variety of flowers in the garden grown by Suho's family were already beautiful by itself. Tall white posts surrounding the venue provided dim romantic lighting, and a platform was placed at the end of the garden against a wall covered with English ivy. That was where Suho and Kai’s families were, along with another table for their honorary guest; the mayor.

Hyerin made her way around the tables and served wine to the elite guests.

She spotted Suho and Kai in their respective tables, both doing exactly the opposite of each other; Suho was actively participating in the conversation that was going on in his family’s table, sometimes even looking like he was sharing a story of some sort, while Kai was slumped in his chair, staring down at his food as he blocked out his family’s conversation. She spotted what looked to be his father beside him as he practically appeared like an older version of Kai.

Her earpiece crackled.

“Everything going great so far?” It sounded like Chen.

“Yeah,” Tao replied. “Targets haven’t arrived yet, though.”

“Don’t worry, they’ll come around soon,” Hyerin mumbled as she scanned the room for any sign of the Noxius brothers.

She went around some more and passed the ones who were posing as guests. She pretended to ignore them, when Sehun whistled.

“Hey, waitress, over here!” he called out.

Hyerin whipped around, almost forgetting that she was supposed to be a waitress and that she was supposed to not know them.

Holding her expression, she gave Sehun a tight smile. “Sir?”

“You passed by our table when I wanted a drink.” He shrugged, seemingly innocent. “Hurry and give me one before I report you for bad service,” he teased, holding the grin that was about to break any minute.

Hyerin looked unfazed. “I’m sorry. We can’t serve alcoholic beverages to minors, but don’t worry! Just wait a few more years and you’ll get the good stuff soon, kid.” She bowed and gave him a wink before walking off with a smug look on her face. She could hear the others laughing behind her and some of them through her earpiece as well. She looked to the platform and saw Suho trying not to laugh, and Kai who was smiling faintly down on his plate.

She grinned. “Idiots.”

The rest of the night was spent serving dinner, all the while looking around to see who arrived and who left, expecting the Noxius brothers to be one of them.

The party officially started once the mayor arrived, wearing his trademark charismatic grin as he waved to the guests. Mayor Kwon was one of the youngest mayors to ever be elected in the history of Seoul, mainly because he had an intelligent, open-minded view of things and was also said to be a graduate from an honorable university in the United States. He had a handsome youthful face and a way with words. Truly someone anyone would want as a leader.

He gave a quick speech about being honored to be at the famous yearly event the Kim family held, followed by Mr. Kim himself and then a few impressive words from Suho. Hyerin felt proud of the boy as she watched him stand in the middle of the platform like some rich, wise aristocrat. Suho simply had that kind of appeal, and she was happy about that.

A couple of moments after that, they saw the Noxius brothers arrive. It was during Mr. Kim’s speech when they sneaked in from the back and sat themselves at their rightful table. Hyerin insisted that she was the one to serve their table much to the others’ dismay, but it turned out quite well. Aside from exchanging fake smiles with Key and knowing looks with Minho, nothing else really happened. The brothers must have known that they were coming to the event.

Hyerin was getting the hang of tending to tables when she was suddenly called by the head organizer to go over Suho’s family and serve them. With a quick reminder to the others to keep an eye on the Noxius trio, she walked over to the Kim’s table.

As she neared the platform with parfaits on her tray, she noticed the awkward, uncomfortable aura surrounding the particular table she was told to serve. While climbing up the short flight of stairs, she could hear the lady with graying hair and expensive clothes seated on the table talking.

“Do you not realize what you are doing, you fool? Unnecessary activities outside school will surely make a drastic effect on your academics! Not only that, but you will be seen lurking around the streets like some nomad who has no life!”

Hyerin’s brows knitted together as she stopped at the table, slowly placing the parfaits in front of each guest. She warily looked up at the old lady who was heatedly talking and followed her gaze to the person she was reprimanding.

It was Suho.

“Did you not express your desire to be an honorable member of this family? Tell me, did you not?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Suho sat straight in his chair as he stared down at his empty plate. “Yes I did, grandmother.”

“Then what is this thing we hear about you wandering around the city with a bunch of young men we do not even know about!?” She glared at him before continuing. “Do you think this is an act of a man wanting to be honorable? Doing pointless activities will lead you nowhere. If you want to come and live in my house again, then you better straighten out your priorities. Until then, you are not a part of this family!” she exclaimed, her wrinkly face contorting in resentment.

Hyerin watched as the others seated on the table took spoonfuls from their parfaits, acting as if nothing was wrong. Suho was stiff the whole time, hands placed down on his lap as he gave his grandmother a small tight smile. It was probably all he could muster at the moment. “Yes, grandmother.”

'Yes, grandmother'? That’s all he has to say? Hyerin stared at the boy in disbelief as she set the last parfait on the table. Why wouldn’t he stand up for himself? Was this lady that important to make the boy scared to even defend himself? And who was she to be so mean to Suho? Can she not see how hard he was working to be a good president to their student body? What a .

The lady continued with her lecturing, and it was starting to make Hyerin angry.

“-you are a disgrace! Do you not feel ashamed!?” The grandmother demanded, face red.

“I know I would be,” Hyerin cut in before Suho could have the chance to reply. The boy shot his head up at her with wide eyes as well as the others. She just couldn’t help herself. She knew it wasn’t her business, but she just couldn’t stand there and watch this woman make a fool out of Suho.

“I beg your pardon?” she scoffed, looking baffled.

“I said I would be,” Hyerin deadpanned, turning to leave their table. “Seeing that I have a witch of a grandmother.”

Everyone in their table gasped, and although it was sick, Hyerin felt good about it. How dare that woman say such horrible things to someone as special as Suho?

She knew the lady was going to retort. She was already preparing for a comeback when her earpiece crackled loudly, making her cringe at the sudden jolt of sound.

“This is Luhan.” The reception was quite unclear at first. “I spot a suspicious guy in black sunglasses and a gray shiny suit next to the fountain. He’s been eyeing the stage for a while now. I don’t know what he’s up to.”

“This is Hyerin. I’m up here on the platform if you see me. Where is he?”

“I see you. He’s at your nine o’ clock, exactly beside the fountain.”

Hyerin looked to the left and immediately saw the guy Luhan was talking about. Her lips jutted out in determination before quickly going down the stairs. “Saw him. I’ll take care of this.”

“Alright.”

Hyerin abandoned her tray and scurried through the crowd towards the guy. He did look suspicious as he was just standing there, phone pressed against his ear and eyes trained on the stage where she was previously standing.

Hyerin almost reached him when he suddenly walked towards the opposite direction from the stage, towards the back of the garden.

She found herself in a maze as the suspicious man went around the garden like it was some game he randomly wanted to play. It puzzled her as to what he was intending to do that Hyerin was taken aback by the next course of action he took.

The man dug his hand inside his inner-coat pocket and pulled out a small sharp knife. With much speed, he flung it in the air towards the expected target; the center stage.

Hyerin’s eyes widened, realizing what was happening. She didn’t give herself any more time to analyze the situation and instead did the first thing she thought of doing.

She sprinted towards the knife that was spinning mid-air, clear as to where it was heading—the mayor. She could hear the yelling of her teammates through her earpiece as she ran so fast that she wasn’t even distracted by the other waiters and guests bumping into her. All that mattered was that knife and what kind of mess it would bring.

For some bizarre reason, Hyerin found herself nearing the knife. Her tracks were trailing behind the weapon, but there was no time to think about other things aside from saving the mayor.

Hyerin’s heartbeat quickened as the knife neared the platform. She gritted her teeth out of determination, picking up her speed. Something in her told her that she could do it, she could stop this, and she believed it.

The mayor was completely oblivious to the sharp object flying towards his way. It was only a couple of feet away from him, and seeing as there wasn’t any other option, Hyerin ran the fastest she could and flung herself in the air.

Everything felt like it was in slow motion. Hyerin managed to push the mayor out of the way, sending the man down to the floor. At the same time, she bumped hard into Kai’s seat, making the boy fall down to the ground as well.

She didn’t see what happened to anyone or anything else as she felt a sudden surge of pain come up her right arm. She was also lying on the floor, and when she lifted the said arm up to her face, she saw a fresh deep cut running along from her elbow up to the back of her hand. It hurt, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle.

Hyerin quickly got up to her feet and noticed how the whole venue was silent. She looked up, only to see that everyone was staring right at her. Through her peripheral vision, she could see Suho with his hand outstretched and on the other side, Kai sprawled on the ground, face ashen. She turned fully to her left, and caught Kai’s father, Kim Jonghun, gawking at her with a pale face. He was shaking and looked like he was about to faint.

She uneasily pressed on her earpiece before asking, “Why is everyone staring at me?”

It took a few seconds before someone answered. It was Chen. “Hyerin, you-” There was a brief pause. “You managed to stop the knife in time.”

“Yeah, I did.” She frowned. “So?”

“Hyerin,” Chen said, slowly this time, “you came from the other side of the garden, hundreds of feet away from the stage.”

Hyerin’s mouth slightly parted, realizing what she just did. She managed to run and catch up to the knife from across the garden. How did she do that?

Light scurrying beside where Hyerin stood snapped her out of her thoughts. It was the mayor, struggling to get up.

At once, she helped him to his feet. “Sir, are you alright?” she asked.

“My goodness, what happened?” Mayor Kwon asked, confused as he dusted his pants.

“Someone tried to assassinate you.” Hyerin thought the term was a little bit too much, but there was no reason to sugarcoat things.

Mayor Kwon’s brows furrowed, but relaxed shortly after. “Goodness. And you saved my life,” he said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I am not so sure what is exactly happening at the moment, but I sincerely thank you for what you just did, miss…?”

“Hyerin. Kim Hyerin.”

“Ms. Hyerin. Thank you very much,” he said genuinely.

It was not long before the place bustled with noise. The mayor was taken away immediately for safety, while the guests were told to calm down and head home once the police arrived.

Suho and Kai ran to where Hyerin was.

“Jesus, Hyerin are you okay!?” Suho asked worriedly. Kai immediately came up to hug her tightly, only to notice that she was bleeding.

“That looks bad. You’re bleeding too much!” Kai frantically yelled.

“I’m fine, it’s doesn’t hurt much. Where are the others?”

“No.” Suho gave her a stern look. “We’re getting that fixed right away,” he said, before calling someone from his earpiece.

“Well, where’s Lay, then? He could heal this in an instant,” she said.

“Lay got taken by the police along with a few others as witnesses. The Noxius brothers left as soon as this mess started,” Kai explained. “Are you sure you’re okay? God, you got me so worried,” he muttered, pressing his palms to the sides of her face as he gently caressed the arch of her eyebrows.

“I’m okay.” She smiled faintly at him before taking his wrists and pulling his hands away.

“What do you need me for, prez?”

Hyerin and the two turned to see Kyungsoo climbing up the stairs with a serious look on his face. His eyes briefly caught Hyerin’s before he focused fully on Suho.

Suho fished out a key from his pocket and handed it to Kyungsoo. “Take this and go to my old room at the third floor, east wing. It’s the door at the very end of the hallway. There’s a first aid kit there and tend to her wounds. It’s going to take Lay a long time to get here, so you take charge of her while we take care of some stuff here.”

Kyungsoo nodded gravely and was about to leave when Hyerin asked, “But what about what happened earlier? How did I get to the stage so fast?”

Suho and Kai exchanged looks. “We’ll discuss that later. For now, you need to clean that up,” Suho said, shooing them off.

Hyerin nodded in defeat before following Kyungsoo through the garden and inside the mansion.

They went through a series of hallways and staircases in silence, both hesitant to speak. There was nothing to talk about anyway, so there was no need.

They finally arrive at the end of the east hallway, and Kyungsoo used the key Suho gave him to unlock the door. He turned the knob and opened it, stepping aside to let the girl go in first.

Kyungsoo immediately looked through the cabinets and the bathroom for the first aid kit while Hyerin sat on the edge of Suho’s bed, looking around the huge room with a hand clasped on her bloodied forearm. It looked dusty and unused but still beautiful and had this antique ambiance to it. The place smelled like old books and a little bit like an old lady’s perfume. It reminded her of Suho’s cruel grandmother.

Shortly after, Kyungsoo arrived with a white metal box that could only be the first aid kit. He walked over to the switch and flicked it up, but the lights didn’t turn on. He did it a couple of times before giving up and sitting beside Hyerin on the bed. The moonlight was good enough.

“Take off your coat,” he mumbled without looking up as he took out the necessary stuff for the wound.

Hyerin did as she was told and took off the black blazer carefully, trying not to bend her right arm as it hurt whenever she moved it. She dropped the coat to the side and proceeded to loosen her bowtie.

When Kyungsoo looked up from busying himself with the first aid, he was taken aback to see Hyerin only clad in a tank top.

He cleared his throat. “I said take off your coat, not everything you’re wearing.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to stitch me up like this?”

He gave her a pointed look and said nothing as he began to clean up her wound with Iodine.

The both of them were enveloped in silence after that. Hyerin stared out the window quietly while Kyungsoo dabbed the cotton gently against her skin. Once he was done, he picked up a needle and sterilized it before inserting the thread. He tied the ends tightly and took her right arm, ready to stitch up the wound.

Hyerin the insides of her cheeks to keep from crying out as she felt the needle pierce into her skin. It hurt even worse when he pulled on the thread as she could feel it going through the inside of her skin. She hated getting stitches.

They continued like this until Kyungsoo was almost done. There were instances when he would pull too hard or plunge the needle too suddenly, making the girl whimper from the pain.

Ow,” she cried through gritted teeth, nose scrunching up.

“Sorry,” he mumbled quietly, his grip on her forearm loosening.

“It’s alright,” she said, inhaling deeply.

Kyungsoo paused to glance at her quickly before finishing the remaining stitches. “Quite a night for you, isn’t it?” he remarked indifferently, ignoring Hyerin’s squirming as the tip of the needle met her skin once again.

“It’s been interesting.”

“You need to stop.”

“Isn’t that contradictory to what you said that night Key broke into my house?” Hyerin scoffed lightly. “You told the others to give me a chance to find out more things about the case we’re trying to solve, now you’re asking me to stop?”

He tugged on the needle so hard it made her curse out loud. He proceeded to cut the thread and tied it into a knot. “I’m not telling you to stop trying to solve the case. I’m telling you to stop playing hero for once.” He placed the necessities inside the kit neatly before closing it shut and standing up to put it back inside Suho’s drawer.

“Why?” Hyerin asked.

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Because.”

“Because what?” Hyerin pressed.

“Because it’s worrying the others too much,” he said impatiently.

“And you’re not?” she challenged. She didn’t know why she asked such a question, but her eagerness to have a comeback made her do so. It was unnecessary, she knew, but she still asked.

And maybe because she kind of wanted to know what his answer might be.

Kyungsoo whipped around, his charcoal eyes meeting with her equally dark pair. Some kind of determination sparked in his expression that was triggered by the challenge in her voice as he stormed his way over to her.

His eyes never left hers as he crouched down to be in the same level as her. “You need to stop saving everyone else when it is completely unnecessary.”

She raised a brow. “You think saving the mayor was unnecessary?”

Kyungsoo clutched her arm. “He has guards surrounding the whole venue, Hyerin - they would be there to protect him. And even if they weren’t able to, which they obviously didn’t, it’s not your job to take their place. It’s their fault the mayor dies. You’re not his bodyguard. You don’t have to.”

“But I want to!” she snapped back. Something in Kyungsoo’s strong grip told her to not argue with him, but she did anyway. “I know I could do it, so I did it. I just can’t-”

“It’s not your job!”

“It doesn’t matter that it’s not my job,” she said. “I just can’t stand there and watch someone innocent get hurt when I know I can do something to stop it. By not doing anything, it’s like I’m actually allowing him to die. And that’s not what I want, Kyungsoo, I don’t want him to die.”

By now she was breathing heavily, heartbeat picking up in pace as she refused to break away from the boy's stare.

His gaze quivered with uncertainty as he sighed deeply. “Yes, I am.”

Hyerin’s brows knitted together. “What?”

“To answer your question, yes, I was worried,” he said, looking to the side stubbornly. His jaw clenched and unclenched repeatedly before continuing. “I was worried, and I still am. So just…just stop.”

He looked up at her again, and this time, Hyerin felt uneasy. His gaze wasn’t filled with the hostility she was so accustomed to. Right now, it was different.

She found herself clutching the bedsheet as Kyungsoo’s hand slowly went up from her arm to the side of her face, fingers slightly brushing her collarbone and neck. Kyungsoo’s eyes were completely set on her face, palms pressing against her cheek as she fought the urge to lean her head further into his hands. It just gave her that sense of comfort.

His thumb grazed her temple, and she knew he wasn’t going to try anything. He wasn’t leaning in or staring intently at her lips. He was simply looking at her with this newfound tenderness that told her he did care. That although he may seem hostile and moody all the time, it didn’t mean he wasn’t worried; he just simply didn’t show it.

On the other hand, Kyungsoo didn’t know what he was doing. His body acted on its own accord, and he was sure he’d regret it later. He just wasn’t the type of guy to be affectionate in any kind of way, so he was confused as to where the desire to touch her came from.

Nevertheless, he savored the moment. It was peaceful and quiet. The night was young, and it casted a pretty glow on her face that made her hair shine and her eyes sparkle. On top of that, he was able to tell her that he cared.

It was nice.

Hyerin and Kyungsoo were forced to back away from each other as the door opened suddenly with Luhan and Tao coming inside the room. They wasted no time as Luhan immediately plopped beside her and showed her the pictures in his camera.

Hyerin briefly glanced up at Kyungsoo. He was standing up straight now, his arms folded in front of him as he indifferently stared down at the floor. She shook her head to focus back on the pictures. It was a series of Luhan’s shots from different angles of the man who tried to assassinate the mayor.

“That’s all I really got before he suddenly threw the knife.” Luhan shrugged. “Tao here had an observation, though.”

Tao walked up to them with a serious face. “His neck,” He nodded at the camera, telling Hyerin to look at it again, “He has a tattoo, the same one that all Immitis Clan members have.”

“So this guy’s a part of the Immitis Clan, too?” Hyerin asked in disbelief.

Luhan nodded. “Yes.”

Hyerin scoffed as she collapsed on the bed. First, they act as guards for Lucy, and then later on found out to be associated with the Noxius brothers, and now trying to kill the mayor?

Their intentions were unclear, and it was making her head hurt. What exactly are they trying to do, and most importantly, how did this all relate to her?

---

With the usual tobacco and scotch in hand, the mysterious man grinned devilishly at the obviously terrified man seated before him.

Kim Jonghun shook from fear, his face paling as how it did earlier that night. “Please,” his voice cracked slightly. “Please never do that again.”

The man smirked. “I’m telling you, Mr. Kim, just give me the thing I want,” he said in a sly tone. “I promise you, I won’t break him.”

With a fast beating heart, he fished out a flash disk from his pocket and slid it on the table. Seeing what he did, the mysterious man chuckled from amusement.

“E-Everything is there. J-Just-” Jonghun practically choked out the words, “just please.

“Excellent,” he drawled. “I knew I could count on you.”

---

 

A/N: That was short. Once again, I stayed up late to finish this and post it immediately! And on my birthday, too, lol

Please tell me what you think, and I'm sorry for not being able to reply to your comments from the last update! Till' then, lovelies!

btw this chick from kill bill reminds me of hyerin for some reason

 

 

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Comments

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idk----
#1
thank you for the story!
multifandomized #2
miss your works author-nim :((
shonwanigop
#3
💙🥰
Pxnellyxq #4
Chapter 50: but i want kai to be happy with her ?
Pxnellyxq #5
Chapter 36: Holy a screenshot of OG AFF
multifandomized #6
Chapter 71: I AM STILL WAITING FOR AN UPDATE,,, GOD KNOWS HOW LONG WE HAVE BEEN WAITING,,,,, i didnt know u also put your story here, since the last time i read this, it was on wpad,,,,, anyWAYS PLEASE COMEBACK ㅠㅠ
Thosemine01 #7
This is soo good
blackstardust
#8
Chapter 34: Hey, i have been following this story for so long as i can remember. And then i also remember trying to look for this story but was unable to find it. This week i just clicked the link to this story that i bookmarked years ago and i am so surprised that i found it again. I love love love this!!! Thank you for writing this!
DobuOnew
#9
Chapter 69: AHHHHH MY HEART!!!! I can't handle this .
DobuOnew
#10
Chapter 56: Ah man! The ending of this chapter! I really ... ugh. It always makes me cringe and feel shocked, powerless and desolated all at the same time. It's frustrating really, but it gives this story originality and life! I mean, damn never was I expecting this turn of events in the first place. And, every single time, I just feel so damn sorry for that little squishy!!!!