Nighttime fell rather quickly and when you stepped out of Happy Home, darkness greeted you. Since this place wasn’t far from school, you assumed that taking the same street that you came from would bring you back. From there, you’ll have no difficulty finding your way to Kai’s house.

Unfortunately, your bad directions failed you once again and you ended up walking in what seemed like a circle. Turns after turns, you only ended up more lost.

Goddamn it! What the hell is wrong with me? You were more annoyed at yourself for not remembering your streets clearer earlier. It felt like hours since you’ve been walking in this endless maze.

When you reached a corner of a street, you decided to turn left this time and that had lead you to an ally way. Shiet. Not a single person was in sight and as courageous as you were, even chills ran down your spine when your mind forced frightening images upon you.

“Just walk fast and don’t stop.” You mumbled to yourself and instantly paced forward. You laughed inwardly and shook your head when you reached the other end of the ally with all your body parts still intact.

Thankfully, you had escaped that deserted neighborhood and were now into the traffic streets. You sighed contentedly and dragged your feet across the sidewalk. Kai’s annoying face appeared in your head as you allowed the burden of harsh reality sit back on your shoulders.

Because you’re not real….

Kai’s insensitive words left a deep mark even if they were somewhat very true. You wanted to deny the fact that he was having such a big affect on you, but no matter how much of an he was, hate wasn’t the right word to describe how you felt about your human. You couldn’t hate him even if he turned his back on you now.

He grew on you and your heart was going along with it too. Being with him practically 24/7 could be the sole reason, but you knew it was possibly more than that. He was always there for you in ways you couldn’t describe. At times when you’re at your weakest point, drowned by fears of nightmares, he was there to comfort you. The little things he did that made you smile or laugh rather than angry and disappointed were far more important..

So, you were going to just keep the pain you received from his words earlier a secret locked far away because it didn’t matter anyways. You were going to leave one day and he’ll forget you eventually. You’d be erased from his memories and so will everything that’s ever been said or done between the two of you.

Cuz I’m not a real human. Deal with it, Ah Ri.

You quickly dropped by a convenient store and bought something before actually going home. You knew it was getting late so you hurriedly stuffed the item in your bag and headed towards the crosswalk.

A shuffling of close footsteps behind you alerted your ears and you stopped. You turned around to see what it was, but nothing was in sight. It was late into the night already and barely anyone was around at this hour, so you knew you weren’t hearing things. You scratched your head and continued walking.

The footsteps only get louder and closer; making you more paranoid. Each time you looked back, it was an empty sidewalk. You took about three steps and saw a dark shadow fade behind a telephone booth at the corner of your eyes. Eeriness filled your stomach right away as you felt the cozy atmosphere of the night wash out completely.

You hitched a breath when cold chills slithered down your spine like before. Only this time, you knew it wasn’t your mind being delusional.

Someone’s following me.

Ah Ri, run…

Even Sora’s voice echoed in your head.

AH RI RUN! RUN!

But you couldn’t move, couldn’t take a single step forward as the shadow neared you. The darkness enveloped you like a nightmare and you were entirely vulnerable to the figure that stood before you.

Damn it, move!

Without looking back at it, you fought inwardly and broke free from your own mental binding. Your wobbly legs carried you as fast as it possibly could, but you were now being chased. Heavy footsteps were catching up to you quickly and you had never been more terrified. Out of all times, why did you have to lose braveness now?

Ahead of you was the crosswalk. The busy street was filled with incoming cars and you couldn’t have been more relieved. Your knees wanted to give in, but you refused to stop. An image of Hyun Woo’s disgusting face appeared in your head and that gave you all the right reasons to run into the streets without waiting for the light.

Sweat flowed furiously down the sides of your face as you sprinted recklessly towards the busy road. Your mind went blank and nothing seemed to matter to you right now other than getting away. Honking, screeching and blinding lights flashed towards you faster than you were able to realize what you were doing.

Everything slowed down, time paused for a brief moment, and you knew this was the end for you. You immediately shut your eyes and waited for the crash, for everything to end rapidly, but it never came.

 Instead, you were instantly engulfed into a pair of strong arms that swiftly carried you out of harm’s way. A loud gasp escaped your throat when you both stumbled frantically into the middle of the street, but far from danger.

Hot and out of breath heaving from your savior hit the nape of your neck and you trembled. Your face was buried into his chest with your body being held against him protectively. Too weak and shocked, you didn’t dare move from the position.

Cars after cars sped carelessly by causing the bitter wind to batter every inch of your skin, yet you felt nothing but warmth and security. Long fingers weaved gently through your hair and clasped behind your head, carefully tucking you under his chin as he held you close.

He wasn’t planning to let you go any time soon.

 “Are you…en…out of your….damn…mind?”

 A rather familiar voice glowered deeply and exhaustingly into your ears and although it was far from friendly, you were so glad to hear it. You allowed