Okay, I know what you're thinking:

What?! Two updates in the same week? On a school night? Right after the other?!!!

All right, maybe you're not thinking that, but ehh.  I've had a urge to write again, and I'm honestly happy that I do :)

So, enjoy this chapter and those who are left, please vote if you haven't! I can finally have the ability to be featured with votes not, instead of having to wait for really high views and subscriptions. I'd love you to death if you did (not to say I don't already do :] )

Previous Chapter:

Dear Journal,                                                                                                                                                                                            1/15/12

            Well, this is the last entry I suppose, and I should make the best of it.  It is my grade, and part of Yun Hee’s grade as well.  I don’t think she’d appreciate it if I was the one who brought our grade down. 

            It’s kind of funny to think about how I didn’t even want to do this project when this was assigned.  Although I was thankful I was assigned to someone like Yun Hee, I didn’t really have a desire to complete it.  There was a moment when I was sitting next to her on the first day that I thought about failing the entire project.  Of course, things change. 

            It was different being with Yun Hee.  She didn’t even pay any sort of attention to me; she was indifferent almost, except for that fact that she didn’t want to do this project either.  Somehow, our prides didn’t hold out on our grades. We ended up coming up with a compromise, but things progressed way faster than we thought it would, and here we are today, three months into a relationship that has made me so happy and giddy. It’s the little things I love.  The way we can just sit there silently without any awkwardness, the way she can light up the whole room with her presence, or the way she just smiles for no reason. Wow, that was one sappy sentence.

            I admit, I’ve changed, but I like the change.  It’s refreshing, and I’ve seen the better side of people through Yun Hee.  I wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows before meeting her, and I’m not that now either.  Let’s just say I’m a bit more positive and optimistic about human nature nowadays.  I know we learned about Freud and the human psyche and all, but through Yun Hee, I can really believe that things are better than they seem.  My friends always told me that I was a stick in the mud.  I haven’t heard that phrase from them in a while now, so it must be true.

            Yesterday, Yun Hee got to have dinner with my parents.  She was definitely nervous, and I had to keep reassuring her that she’d do all right.  I don’t think she heard anything I said, but just as I knew she would, Yun Hee was the epitome of a perfect girlfriend, not only being courteous and respectful of my parents, but was also brought a sense of informality into the home and relaxation.  My parents are always busy with work and are forced to behave in a stiff and formal manner.  With Yun Hee there, it seems the ice was broken and I was able to see my parents smile happily and sincerely.

            Today, we sent her brother back to school in the states and then came home to make some cookies.  It was fun to spend some time baking with her.  Actually, it’s always a fun time being with Yun Hee, and I don’t think that will ever change. Now, here we are writing our last entries in the journal.  It’s been a good and relaxing day.

            As a last thing, I’d like to say thank you for assigning this project.  This is changed me in so many ways, and I’ve met someone who I can see myself being with for a very long time. If you decide to do this project again next year, I definitely support it.  It’s a great experience that everyone can use.  Once again, thank you.

Lee Jin Ki

Walking to class, I felt that the stares had suddenly increased again.  However, instead of scorn and jealousy this time, I sensed an air of joy and relief, though I couldn’t pinpoint where this all came from.  Jin Ki seemed to be a bit miffed as well when we sat down together in Psychology, but we took note of nothing after that.  Ms. Yang walked in shortly after the bell rang and stood up at the front.

“Well class, I think we all know what today is.  It’s finally the day that you all are, in a sense, ‘released from your bonds’.  Your project is over, and therefore, your journal is due today.  So, if I could have everyone pass their journals up so I can collect them.  I’m looking forward to reading all of your observations.”

The noise level of the room grew to a soft chatter as everyone talked about the project, and how glad it was finally ending, or how much fun they had with it. Jin Ki and I shared a secret smile hearing the others talk.  Once all the journals had been passed in, Ms. Yang continued her lecture from the week before about classical and operant conditioning.  It was interesting to learn about Pavlov’s dogs and Skinner’s rat box, and the period flew by. Once the bell rang, Jin Ki and I quickly packed our bags before heading out to lunch.

Although that was our original plan, it didn’t go exactly as planned.  Almost immediately after Jin Ki and I exited the classroom, Hee Mi threw herself at Jin Ki and clamped herself to his arm.  I began to see red and would have done something if it wasn’t for the other hoards of girls who were cheering outside the classroom.  I was quickly separated from Jin Ki as the crowed pushed toward Jin Ki.

I tried to keep my balance as I was pushed aside like a rag doll and managed to do so pretty well, at least until I arrived at the edge.  The extra push of arms was exactly what I needed to fall straight to the ground.  Landing with a huff, I looked up to see a bunch of legs before inspecting myself for any damages. Well, there was some definite floor burn on my hands, but that wouldn’t last too long.  I was used to them from badminton.  Standing up and gathering my bag, I looked up to observe Jin Ki.  He definitely looked swamped right now, and the question now was what could I do to rescue him?

Hee Mi slid even closer to Jin Ki that I thought was possible and now had a Cheshire smile on her face.

“I can’t believe that dreaded project is over.  Now we can be together!”

“Together?”

Uh, hec no girl.  That is so not happening.

“Of course, aren’t you glad you don’t have to deal with Yun Hee anymore?”

I growled and rose my voice.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Hee Mi?”

She looked over at me, with a bored look her face.

“What Yun Hee? Are you missing something? Or should I say, someone?”

She and the rest of the girls giggled at that comment, as if it was the wittiest thing in the world.

“Uh, no, because there’s nothing to miss, since he’s still mine.”

“Yours?!”

I smiled sweetly and started walking toward her.  The crowd amazingly parted, seeing that it was my battle and hers.  Well, that would make forgiving them for pushing me to the ground a little easier.

“Yes, I do recall saying that we were dating a last week.  Don’t you Oppa?”

Jin Ki smiled relieved and carefully extracted his arm away from Hee Mi.  Well, tried to at least, until I went over and pulled her off him. 

“Yeah, I do.”

Hee Mi was getting livid, and I could tell.  Oh, the sweet victory.

“What?! Oppa! How can you even go out with this thing? She’s not even worth your time.”

I stepped in front of Jin Ki and glared at her. 

“On the contrary, Hee Mi.  If I wasn’t worth his time, as you’ve put it, then I don’t think he would let me do this.”

Promptly, I spun around and pulled Jin Ki down for a kiss.  I heard the crowd gasp and the loud shriek of Hee Mi.  Smiling, I pulled away from the kiss and turned around, smirking at her.  Sure, I wasn’t acting like the nicest girl in the world, but when you’re dealing with someone like Hee Mi, it’s kind of necessary.

“So, if you could stay away from my boyfriend with whom I am going out for real and not for the project, I’d really appreciate it.”

Smiling one last smile, I slipped my hand into Jin Ki’s and led him out of the crowd. Once we had turned the corner, I finally realized what I had just done and groaned, leaning against the wall, and hiding my face in my hands.

“Yun Hee,” Jin Ki said a little later.

“I know, I know.  That was so very rude of me and I shouldn’t have done that---”

“Yun Hee.”

“---I’m sorry, and I promise not to do that again---”

“Jagiya.”

“---though, I don’t think there will any other opportunity or need to do it anyway---”

“That was hot.”

“---and even if there were…what?”

I withdrew my hands and looked up to see a chuckling Jin Ki.  He stepped closer and leaned down toward me, trapping me against the wall.  I could feel his arms snake around my waist as he spoke.

“You should do that more often.”

“Do what? Stake my claim on you in front of the entire female population at school?”

“That, and kiss me like you did back there.”

“That? Yeah..um, it was kind of out of impulse, and I was definitely not in my right mind.”

“You may have not been in your right mind, but I was, and I liked it.”

He was still grinning and it made me crack a little smile.

“It wasn’t bad?”

“Nope?”

“And you’re not mad at me?”

“Quite the contrary.”

“All right then.  Sorry for putting you on the spot there.”

“I think I like being claimed, especially if it’s someone like you.”

And he said that before leaning down to give me a kiss. Once some time had passed, we separated but Jin Ki didn’t go far, simply leaning his forehead against mine, speaking in a soft tone.

“You know, as much as I liked you kissing me in front of those people, I think I’d prefer a little privacy.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are some curious eyes looking on.”

I turned my head slightly to look to the left and saw what he was talking about.  Some girls were shamelessly leaning around the corner watching us.  I guess they didn’t notice me catching them yet. I turned back to Jin Ki and buried my head into his shoulder, embarrassed.

“I still can’t believe I did that earlier.”

“Well, too late to regret it now.  Let’s go get some lunch, okay?”

“Guess it’s time to face the music now.”

With a last kiss on my forehead, Jin Ki led me toward the lunch court, leaving the gossiping girls behind.

Again, I could feel the weight of stares on me when we entered the lunch court.  I kept my head tall and grabbed a small lunch before heading to our table.  The girls had become friends with the guys, so we had moved to a larger table where we could all eat comfortably. I heard a couple of whistles and hollers as we neared the table and I blushed.  Here came the onslaught.

Jong Hyun clapped his hands and had an amused grin on his face.

“I heard you caused quite a scene today Yun Hee.  I’m proud of you!”

“Actually, Hee Mi started it by latching onto Jin Ki,” I said opening my sandwich. “If she hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have done anything.”

Jong Hyun had the grace to laugh, and so did the rest of our group.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about her anymore, right?” Tae Min asked.

“That’s debatable. I’m sure she’s not done with her part of the fight yet.”

“Well, if she does try anything, we’ll be the first ones to know,” Ki Bum said after taking a sip of his juice. “I mean, didn’t Jin Ki assign some guys to you?”

“Without telling me beforehand, but, yes he did.”

Min Ho smirked as he reached for a carrot of my tray.

“Okay okay, let’s leave the poor girl alone.  I’m sure she’s had enough excitement for one day,” he said before sending me a wink.

I rolled my eyes and bit into my sandwich, turning to Ji Eun as she giggled.

“Can you believe the look on Hee Mi’s face as you walked away? Priceless, I tell you!”

“Definitely picture worthy,” Hye Mi said with a matching grin.

“Aside from Hee Mi,” Ha Ni commented, “you should have seen the girls.  Man were they talking up a storm.  I just don’t understand how they thought that you guys were just acting like that for a project! People just don’t know how to use their brains these days.”

I nodded, agreeing with her statement.  It was true.  I suppose it would work if we were actors and actresses, but that wasn’t the case.  I could never understand how they could kiss each other and walk away without feeling anything.  They were doing it for entertainment, but I suppose it comes with the job, making sure that it was just acting, not real feelings to mess things up. Swallowing my bite, I spoke up.

“Speaking of on a lighter note, did anyone do anything interesting this weekend?”

And so the topic of the scene this afternoon was forgotten. The rest of school passed up uneventfully, and the drive home was peaceful.  Jin Ki dropped me off, saying he had some business at home to take care of before coming over for dinner.  I waved bye and watched is car disappear before walking toward the house.  However, I stopped and turned around, looking around at my surroundings.

“Hello?”

Silence.

“I know you’re there, so could you please come out?”

More silence.

“Please?”

I noticed a car door open, and two suited men in black came out.  So that’s where they were.  Their car was hidden slightly by other cars on the street, but I suppose that was better so as to not cause suspicion.  As they made their way to me, I grinned and waved.

“Hi! Thank you for watching over me, but could you do me some favors?”

“Favors?” the man on the right asked.

“Yes.  First of all, what are your names? I feel silly not knowing who my protectors are.”

The men looked at each other and then back at me before introducing themselves. The man on the right spoke first again.

“I’m Kim Jae Joong.”

“I’m Park Yoo Chun.”

“It’s nice to meet you! I’m Kang Yun Hee, but I’m sure you already know that.”

“Yes m’am.”

“Eyy, none of that! Just think of me as a friend, yes?”

The men looked at each other again and then back at me, nodding.

“All right, secondly, are you the only two watching me?”

“We trade shifts with two other men.”

“Oh, and they are?”

“Kim Jun Su and Shim Chang Min, “ Jae Joong said.

Yoo Chun looked worried and hissed into Jae Joong’s ear.

“Yah, are we allowed to tell her our names? What if we get in trouble.”

Jae Joong rolled his eyes.

“I think she has the right to know.  I don’t know why Jin Ki told us to just keep afar. Even I think that is a little extreme.”

“He’s right you know,” I said looking at Yoo Chun.  “I think it’s a bit extreme as well, but what can I say? That guy is one tough cookie. Anyway, I have one last request.”

“And what would that be?” Yoo Chun asked.

“I’d like you to take a break off while I’m at home.”

“What?!” both of them cried.

“Come on! I’m at home.  What’s the least that could happen? If anything were to happen, they wouldn’t have enough guts to break into my home.  Besides, we have a security system, so I’ll be fine.  If you’re really worried, just come during night shift or something.”

They looked at me and thought for some time before nodding.

“She does have a point you know,” Jae Joong said.

“Well, there hasn’t been anything fishy going on, so I think it’ll be all right…” Yoo Chun said hesitantly.

I smiled and gave them each a hug.

“Thank you! I’m sure you both need the rest.  I would be terribly bored out of my mind and tired of watching some girl at home.  You go take a break now, yes?”

"Can we see you go in first?" Yoo Chun asked.

"Of course," and I walked into the house, closing the door.

I peeked out the window and watched them go back into their car before driving away and felt a sense of freedom.  Now I could be free without anyone to watch me.  It’s been a long time since I’ve had time to myself without anyone watching, even body guards. I dropped my things off in my room and grabbed my purse, leaving a note before heading out.  I felt like some window shopping today, so that was what I was going to do.  Luckily, there was so light homework tonight, and I knew I could finish it easily tonight. Something in the back of my mind told me this was a bad idea, but I ignored it.

Locking the door and then walking down the driveway, I left my home and headed down toward the plaza near my home.  It was still a cold day, and I was thankful for the warm sweater dress I had with orange, baby blue, red, purple, and white stripes, a light teal oversized cardigan, some dark grey leggings, some pale pink boots, and a warm wool cream scarf. 

I smiled as I made my way along the sidewalk.  It was perfect, until the van that drove up.

I saw it park on the street and something about it made me nervous, so I sped up my walking.  However, before I could do anything, two guys jumped out of the van and chased me.  I began to run as fast as I could, but as luck would have it, I tripped over a crack in the concrete and fell.  They grabbed me and stuck a napkin onto my face.  I knew it was chloroform instantly from the sickly sweet smell and tried to stop breathing; however, it was too late.  I had already inhaled too much of the drug and I could already feel my mind going hazy.

I tried as hard as I could to fight off the offenders but it was pointless. I was getting scared and I couldn’t breathe anymore.  As I felt my eyelids slip and my mind fall to the darkness, the only thing I could think of was how foolish I was to send away Jae Joong and Yoo Chun and risk my safety, something that Jin Ki tried so hard to protect.

Dun dun dun!

So this finally happens huh? I've been hinting it for..Idk...over 30 chapters so far, so I think you all know it's been coming.

What will happen to Yun Hee? Please wait patiently for the next update! 

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<3 WinterRose