The wind blew dry leaves away. We had strong winds that day.

We were at the public park. I was sitting on the bench, looking frontwise. I rocked my legs back and forth, my hands were gripping my denim pants. I couldn't look left.

Woohyun was sitting right beside me. Okay, not really right beside me (we were about one meter apart), but we were still on the same bench. I could tell from the very corner of my left eye, that he's looking at me. I gritted my teeth anxiously.

Why would he do that?

If it's not for Bomi...

Two hours ago.

"Unnie!"

"What?"

"I need your help. You really have to help me," said Bomi. Redundant.

"Of course, dear Bomi. What is it?"

"Mmm...I need you to keep Woohyun off me. Please take him somewhere else while I help Eunji...can you do that unnie?"

"What?! Why me?!"

"There's no time to explain. I'm going!" Bomi dashed off, leaving me alone. Well, not really alone. I glanced to that guy who was smiling at me.

Nam Woohyun.

Dang it.

So actually Eunji had this little 'crush' thingy on Sunggyu. She once said it on a popular show and we didn't really put any thoughts into it, but apparently it's true. Don't ask me, I learned this just now. Those eyes can't lie to me. Meanwhile this was no news for Bomi, Eunji must have told her everything. This 'coincidental' meeting, was their petty arrangement. Eunji and Bomi already observed (i prefer the term 'stalked') that Sunggyu like to come to that particular coffee shop on his free time. They were the ones who suggested me to treat them there. I felt stupid.

But apparently the plan didn't go that smooth. Sunggyu did come, but his companions weren't in the plan, especially Woohyun. My dongsaengs panicked and improvised, yet somehow they managed to bring Sunggyu and L away, leaving me and Woohyun. I bet Bomi later takes L somewhere else so Eunji could talk to Sunggyu alone. 

So here I was, a sacrificial lamb. With groceries.

Those 93 line wenches. They would be dead later if we get back to dorm.

Now I have to deal with Woohyun first. I am that kind of shy girl who doesn't really talk much around people that isn't close to me, even more if he's a guy. I know I shouldn't be, as Woohyun wasn't really a stranger for me. We came from the same hometown, we met on music shows, our groups had lived at the same apartment complex, greeted each other whenever we meet, but still...being left alone, just the two of us like this...was still too much for me. For this reason, awkwardness was imminent. I glanced once again to him, and tried to put a faint smile on my face.

"So...what are we going to do?" suddenly he asked.

A pretty bold conversation starter. I was taken aback and couldn't give a solid response. "Eh...I don't know. Maybe..um...we could talk about something, somewhere not so open like this place..."

That statement was meant for us to avoid getting caught up in a rumor or scandal, you know how paparazzis and media here work. Getting our photos sitting together on a park bench on an article headline tomorrow morning was the last thing we need.

But it felt like Woohyun processed my sentence differently. He bit his lower lip and nodded while smiling. I didn't like that smile.

I just couldn't understand how boys' mind work. Ugh.

"I...I mean...we can eat together at some cafe or something, I just...I just don't want someone to take our picture." I quickly added.

Basically I was just digging my own grave. Nevertheless, I successfully erased whatever was inside his mind. Apparently he finally knew what i mean, as he suddenly stood up and said, "Okay then, just name the place. It's on me."

I didn't care.

We ordered dalkbal (chicken feet), dolsot bibimbap (stone pot mixed rice), two servings of tteokbokki (rice cake), and a pitcher of lemon tea. Did I say we? I mean, I. Those are for me.

Woohyun only ordered a glass of coke and a serving of kimbap (rice rolls). As he sat in front of me, he glanced through all the feast I was having for myself.

"You...eat a lot, huh?" He smiled to me, sipping his drink through his straw. He can't hide the astonishment in his tone.

I didn't care. You said you want to treat me, now eat your words. Besides, nervousness never fails to make me hungry. It's still a win for me.

I didn't give him any response as I continued to munch my dalkbal. My mind was filled with another thought, as something felt missing. I usually eat dalkbal together with a bottle of soju. That's why it tasted different today. But I can't drink soju right now. Not with him.

The silence continued as we dug in our own meal. I peeked to see him sometimes. He ate slowly, and surprisingly neatly. He even used fork to eat his kimbap. He chewed silently with his mouth closed, gave a brief of sufficient chews before swallowing it down his long neck. His Adam's apple was moving up and down as he swallows...very tempting...

I shook off that seed of crazy thought from my head. Damn it, that thing gave me unnecessary adrenaline surge, and now my heartbeat has risen.

"So...how's life?" his other attempt to break the ice.

Funny how this question just came out after two hours has passed since we were together at the park bench. I decided to answer him.

"Great. How's yours?"

"Never been better."

Silence again.

"I am sorry I couldn't visit you when you were at the hospital. I am glad you are alright."

He brought back that topic. I didn't really want to talk about that, but I still showed my appreciation.

"It's okay. We all have tight schedules, don't we? It doesn't matter. Thanks for worrying about me," I forced a smile. He smiled back.

"May I know what happened that day?" he started.

I put down my spoon as I finished my bibimbap. "It's getting dark, we need to go home."

Woohyun drove me home. Apparently he was the one who drove the car when Infinite came to the coffee shop a few hours ago. Lucky me.

Or not.

Even after meeting for hours the atmosphere was still awkward between us. I was sitting on the front passenger seat, yet I looked down at my phone almost the whole time. He also didn’t say anything as he drive through the wet night.

I forgot to tell you. It rained again that night.

I was watching the water droplets on my window, like what I always do when I travel beneath a downpour, when I realized that Woohyun didn’t take the route I know to go back to my dorm. In fact he almost drove all the way to the opposite side.

“Hey, where are we going? This is not the right way. I want to go home,” I tried to sound calm.

“We are going home,” he answered. He bit his lower lip and smiled. The same smile I hate before. Then he made the situation more unsettling as he added,

“…later.”

 “Stop this car now, Woohyun. I am going back home. Stop it now or I’ll jump,” I challenged him.

He kept silent. I tried to open my door, only to know that it was locked.

“Open the lock now, or I’ll smash the window,” now my voice seemed a bit shaky, but I couldn’t show him my fear.

“Whoa whoaa. No need to be that rash, Chorong. Okay, let’s have it your way,” he slowed down. He turned left at the next intersection, but then another left turn into a small alley.

This bad omen I was familiar with, came suddenly without any notification. This time my fear was beyond anything related to Woohyun’s wrongdoing.

Woohyun stopped the car. It was dark, the street lamp in the alley was so dim it barely light up anything. The rain hasn’t subside yet, it was still pouring hard for eternity. He opened his seatbelt. I grabbed my phone, trying to call Bomi.

“You won’t need this, baby,” He snatched my phone and threw it to the back seat. I gasped in horror, but I can’t scream. His hand was already upon my left thigh, trying to caress me all the way up. I repelled his hand.

“You made a wrong decision, Woohyun. You don’t know what you’re doing,” I kept trying to control my shaky voice. “This isn’t right. Let me go!”

“Just relax, Chorong-ah. You will surely enjoy this too,” His face was getting closer to mine. I held my breath in.

That’s when the real horror kicked in.