Song suggestion: 새벽녘 (Dawn)- 에피톤 프로젝트 (Epitone Project)

12:01...1:30... 2:00... 

A frustrated Suho lay on his bed tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Thoughts of Chorong clouded his mind, and he was bothered by the injustice of the school. Not only was Chorong being bullied, but the other scholarship students as well. It didn't make sense that the school wouldn't attempt to take action. He was also disappointed at the thought that his friends had been bystanders, just like everyone else. 

"Aishhh!" He ruffled his hair, completely bewildered.

"Daebak... those dark circles." Kyungsoo's eyes widened at Suho's unusually disheveled look.

Chanyeol laughed. "So, what did you do yesterday?"

Suho glared at everyone and yawned. "Couldn't fall asleep. Maybe I have insomnia?" He shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

"Sooooo... what exactly happened yesterday after we left?" Baekhyun eyed Suho and kicked the ground. "I mean, that's probably the reason you couldn't sleep..."

Suho sighed and was about to speak when a hand smacked the back of his head.

"Sheesh, I had to wake up early just to make sure you wouldn't blabber anything to them." Eunji yawned. Her hair was messily tied up in a lazy bun and her clothes were wrinkly. 

"Chorong didn't come?"

Sehun socked Baekhyun in the arm. "Yah, stupid, what happened just yesterday?"

Baekhyun glared at Sehun and rubbed his arm in pain. "Aishh..."

Jongin ignored the bickering and asked, "So, what exactly did you guys talk about?"

The others eyed Eunji in silence. She sighed and cracked her knuckles.

"H-h-hey, we don't mean anything bad, we just want to know too." Sehun stuttered as she rolled her eyes.

"Here we go again... Why do I trust you people?" 

"I wonder where she was all of this time."

"I heard she went on a full spree of . She earns a lot for just one you know, ion must certainly be a high-paying career."

"Maybe she had to assasinate someone as her gang mission."

At the notice of the gossip, Chorong began to blast the music from her earphones. It had been two weeks before she finally decided to show up to school. She figured Jiyeon and her crew would have cooled down by now and that Suho's threats would have shut them up.

Chorong took a seat at a group table in the library, when someone unexpectedly took the seat next to her.

"Unnie, are you okay? I heard about everything from Eunji unnie..."

Chorong smiled at Naeun's concern. "I'm fine, really."

Naeun sighed and smiled back. "You know, since you weren't here, the others decided to pick on us. No one minded though, we couldn't imagine what you had to deal with. We should be sharing the burden equally. Oh, and since I'm here, can you help me with this problem? I can't figure it out."

"Oh, Naeun-ah, you're here?" Eunji tilted her head and took a seat on the opposite side of the table.

"Yeah, I was just asking Chorong unnie for some help."

"Ooh, smart girl. She's rank number one after all."

They conversed for a while until all three went back to studying and doing their homework, but the time passed by like a breeze.

Suho eyed how happy Chorong was, completely different from his expectations. He thought after that incident, it would take time for her to cope, but she was doing quite well considering the fact that it might have triggered unwanted emotions of the past.

"Joon Myun, if you keep up that stalkerish stare, I guarantee you that your eyes will pop out. You too Baekhyun. It's even worse than Kyungsoo's huge buggy whites." Sehun playfully scolded the two.

"Yah! My eyes are beautiful." Kyungsoo put his hands to his eyes and glared at Sehun through the gaps between his fingers.

"Wait a minute. Hold up. Holddddd up. Who's that guy right there?" Baekhyun eyed the male student who comfortably took a seat next to Eunji and joined in on the group's conversation.

"Yah yah yah yah YAH. He's getting too close for comfort there isn't he?" Baekhyun's jealous anger flared and he pointed at the student with his eyes wide open. His satoori had slipped. 

The mystery guy talked with the girls for a while until he naturally got up and left with Naeun. Chanyeol squinted and eyed his name plate. "Oh, it's Lee Taemin, a junior. He's a scholarship student too. I did hear certain rumors floating around about the scholarship students only dating their own kind... "

"Oh so NOW you tell me. Aish I had a heart attack there." Baekhyun sighed before his eyes widened and he covered his mouth. "WHAT AM I SPURTING FROM MY MOUTH!"

"Students, BE QUIET. This is the library. Go outside if you want to yell, thank you." The librarian tsked at the sudden outburst before going back into her reading.

Chorong and Eunji turned and giggled to find that the commotion came from Baekhyun's direction. He covered his face in shame while the guys snickered at his actions. It was obvious something about Eunji's rambunctious, boyish charms had an infectious effect on him.

"Aish, seriously." He rumpled his hair in vexation.

After a couple of more hours of studying and homework, the students began to leave one after the other. However, Chorong stayed a bit longer this time to catch up with her work. She promised Eunji she'd be fine, so Eunji left, as she was dead tired and wanted to hit the sack.

Chorong sneezed but continued to study her textbooks. It didn't take long before her eyes were giving out, growing heavier and heavier by the second.  A little nap wouldn't hurt... She fell asleep on the table, with her head resting on her arms.

By then, all of the EXO-K members had left except Suho. Baekhyun was straightforward with his burning desire to follow Eunji, as he left the library when she left. He even tried walking her home, but that unmistakably turned out wrong in every way possible. She kicked him in the knee and left in a huff, leaving him completely bewildered AND in pain.

"Yah, she's all alone hyung. Do you think?" The junior wore a devilish grin.

"This'll be fun, wouldn't it-" The hyung's hand was abruptly controlled by another's.

"Y-y-yah, Suho-ah... we were just..." Suho glared at the two guys and interrupted.

"Just leave."

"O-o-of course. But, I mean, you know, w-we could share-"

"Leave." He had a slight growl to his voice. The two rushed out of the library, leaving Suho and Chorong the only two left. It was almost 12 a.m. after all. The school library is normally only open until 10, but every so often the librarian would snooze off and leave the library open until she woke up from her nap.

He turned and found Chorong peacefully sleeping, obviously drained of energy after having to cram in so many lessons. She looked like a tired little puppy, completely drained of energy after a long day. He took off his coat and gingerly placed it over her shoulders, having kept note that she sneezed from time to time while studying. Suho took the seat next to Chorong and laid his head down on the table as well, facing Chorong.

"Hey kid, you two are the only people left, and I want to go home and sleep. Thank you very much." The librarian yawned after her sarcastic speech.

Suho abruptly got up from his seat, embarrassed having been caught in the act. "We'll get going soon."

"Make it now please." She turned around and started muttering to herself. "Kids these days..."

"Psst, Chorong? Chorong-ah, get up, the librarian's going to leave." He gently shook her shoulders, but she didn't stir in the slightest. Suho leaned in next to her ear. "Park Chorong, wake up!"

Startled, Chorong opened her eyes towards the caller, only to find Suho's face right in front of hers. Her eyes widened and she abruptly backed away, hitting her elbow on the table all the while. Both were flustered at the suddenly close proximity.

"Sorry, it's just you weren't waking up so..." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head and awkwardly cleared his throat.

She quickly collected her stuff and threw them into her backpack, bowing to the librarian before leaving. As she started heading home, Chorong abruptly turned around, only to bump into Suho.

"Why are you still following me? Go home."

Suho stared at her face but his eyes began to scan her body.

Embarrased, Chorong covered her chest area by folding her arms before realizing that his coat was actually on her. The sudden realization hit her like a bullet and she immediately threw the coat at the owner.

"I think you can leave now."

"Are you sure? You know, what if it's not safe?" 

She rolled her eyes, confident no one would even bother touching her. "I'm fine. Just leave me alone."

Chorong wandered underneath the dim street lights, walking crookedly as she enjoyed her time alone. Everything was so calm and peaceful at the night, and the touch of wind made the scene perfectly beautiful.

She smiled to herself as the usually busy streets of Seoul were peaceful for once. Chorong lifted up her head and stared at the stars as she walked, lost in the nature. Omma.. Appa, you guys are watching over me right? 

Gradually, Chorong noticed a presence in the air, and she heard the sounds of footsteps growing by the minute. Unalarmed, she slowly reached for her phone and kept it close to her heart.

The dark shadows of the night drew closer and she saw the hand of one of the shadows reach for her shoulder. She swiftly turned and grabbed a hold of the arm, pinning it behind the offender's back while twisting it.

"YAH YAH YAH HYUNG, A LITTLE HELP HERE." The dongsaeng yelped in pain.

The elder attempted to pull Chorong away with no luck, she powerfully kicked his knee before he could come any closer.

"AISH. This ." As she held onto the younger one with one hand, she pulled out her phone before a third guy appeared out of nowhere.

"Yah, Chorong-ah, why don't you just give it up, huh? You just let your guard down against yours truly."

The male curtsied offensively, wearing a Cheshire cat smile.

"This is really ridiculous. You two seriously at holding her down, she's a girl too. Unless she secretly has a down there." Hyunseung smacked his lips before taking the phone and slamming it to the ground. The screen completely shattered and was obliterated into bits and pieces here and there. Chorong watched the phone fall in horror, it seemed like time had slowed down as it fell; the phone was her only chance of guaranteed safety.

A little perplexed at the sudden turn of events, she kicked the guy she was holding in the back of the knee. She cautiously back-pedalled before running as fast as her legs could carry her.

Oh . 

Someone from behind grabbed a hold of her hand, pulling her into a dim and eerie alleyway. He pushed Chorong against the wall and only their heavy breathing could be heard. She struggled against his grasp before her eyes widened as he put a finger to her lips.

"Shhh. It's okay, you're fine with me."

The footsteps and shouts of the three lewd males eventually faded as they gave up searching for Chorong and the mysterious guy who dragged her away.

After the silent pregnance ensued for some time, Chorong bit Suho's finger until he moved it away from her lips.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"What was the point of putting your finger against my lips if I can't even scream bloody murder? I'm mute!"

Brushing the note aside, he began to make sure Chorong wasn't hurt anywhere.

"Pheww. You sure do have a lot of predicaments. I didn't mean to push you earlier, but you kind of get feisty sometimes... if not you probably would've put me in an armlock. You bit my finger anyways. Anyways, at the speed you were running, even Usain Bolt couldn't have caught up."

 How did he...? 

"Ahh, and if you're wondering how I got here, I kind of got worried so I decided to just walk your route and then that happened..." 

Chorong kneeled to the floor and held her trembling hand to her beating chest.

"Since that was the case, I didn't need you to save me. I'm strong enough on my own." She straightened her posture and pushed Suho away, out of the alleyway.

He walked ahead of her and didn't look back. "I know you don't need saving with those skills. I just want to be there for you." 

Suho decided to walk Chorong home just in case. When they reached her home, Suho turned to leave. However, Chorong tugged on his arm.

"Want to come in for a warm drink first? Or something... it's quite cold." Gotta be courteous and thank him for his help at least.

"I'm okay, really." He turned to leave once more before sneezing.

Chorong smiled to herself before pulling him into her house. Silly.

She went ahead to prepare some tea while Suho roamed around her living space. He didn't notice just how depressing and colorless her house was. She only had a picture of her family on her nightstand, along with a picture of her and the Jungs.

Suho smiled as he noticed how young and happy Chorong was in her family photo. No doubt she took her mom's beauty and her dad's rough edge. He looked at the photo closely and couldn't help but be drawn into those twinkling dark brown eyes. He thought for a moment before realizing how everything perfectly pieced together.

Chorong poked Suho from his daze and handed him hot tea in a disposable cup along with some gaeran bbang (egg bread) neatly packaged in a bag. On it, she put a sticky note.

"Thanks for the help...I guess. Eat it while it's warm."

He grinned at the bread. "Did you make it yourself?"

She nodded. "I just heated them up for a little bit so they're warm now. You should probably go home... it's already a little past 12... your family would be worried."

"I guess I'll get going then. He won't be too worried I presume." Chorong tilted her head as he left. He?

Suho sipped his tea and munched on the bread while walking. He stopped to look at the stars, having seen Chorong wander around staring up at the sky. I wonder why she likes stars so much...

A/N: Yo, keeping my promise of updating once a week. Hooray? I really dislike my chapter titles -__-" Seriously I only chose The Great Escape because it's the title of a song. I have no good ideas for titles... *sighs*

UPVOTE, COMMENT, & SUBSCRIBE!!! ^^ (Hurray for comments! And really, feel free to write what you like/dislike about the ch. Constructive criticism is constructive after all.)