“Thank you, Sungyeol.” Miyoung said with a faint smile.

He nodded, looking away.

She started rubbing her hands together and he noticed it.

Sungyeol side glanced and contemplated for a moment. He was supposed to be in his own world. A world that was hidden behind glass walls where nobody could reach him. Where nobody could influence him and he didn’t like his concerned self coming out again. Park Miyoung… Sungyeol looked to his right once more and sighed. 

“Are you col-

“Park Miyoung!” A loud voice boomed from the other side of the road.

Miyoung watched Woohyun run across the road and he stood before the two half-panting, evidently worried. Sungyeol watched him interrogate Miyoung until the attention turned to him.

“Are you alright? What happened? Why were you screaming over the phone? And… who is this here?” Woohyun shot many questions before realizing Sungyeol’s presence.

“I would leave now.” Sungyeol left quickly, before Miyoung could utter another word of thanks.

The two walked to the nearby playground and Miyoung sat on the slide. She tugged on her dirtied skirt and looked down. Woohyun’s frown has not left his face the moment they met.

“I was being harassed by an ahjussi when helping granny and Sungyeol, my new desk mate, came to my rescue.” Miyoung explained simply, trying not to recall the details of the incident.

“That bastard, I am going to kill him.” Woohyun mumbled as his breathing became laboured.

He punched the tree beside him hard and kicked it in frustration.

“I am sorry.” He whispered but Miyoung heard it nevertheless.  

 “It’s okay. You still came.” She thought to herself.

Then, she felt something on her shoulders. Woohyun adjusted his blazer on her and smiled warmly. Giving her shoulders a slight squeeze as if telling her to cheer up, he stood up.

“Let’s go. I will send you home.”

The two walked home with the companion of dim orange street lights and occasional cricket sounds.    

“Thank you, Woohyun.” She said it again.

He nodded and gestured for her to leave. The door closed and Miyoung leaned against it for a while. She let her legs collapse beneath her as she squatted there for some time. She was scared, really scared.

-

A few days passed and Miyoung had slowly forgotten the night. Sungyeol did not utter any word regarding the incident of which she was actually silently grateful. Woohyun, on the other hand, kept harping on how he would have punched all the teeth out of the bastard’s mouth if he were there. It was pretty amusing for Miyoung to hear for she knew exactly the strength of Woohyun’s fist, after all. He would probably succeed in breaking half a tooth.

Miyoung lingered outside Woohyun’s classroom and noticed he wasn’t in. She sent a quick text to his number and left first. Outside the school gates, she noticed a familiar figure. She had a few evident bruises on her hands and face which made Miyoung approach her unconsciously.

“W-What happened to you, granny?” she stuttered.

The old lady looked up at Miyoung and flashed a weak smile.

“I-I got injured by myself a while ago…” She replied.

Miyoung watched the granny pick up the card boxes in difficulty and her heart ached a little.

“Can you… Ah, it’s okay.” The granny looked down at her slippers.

“D-Do you need my help?” she asked.

The elderly nodded slightly and looked away in shame.

“-but is your… your son in?” she asked warily.

“H-He went overseas yesterday and won’t be back till next week.”

“Ah. Let’s bring these back to your house~” Miyoung chirped as she carried the card boxes against her chest.

Miyoung ignored the feeling of uneasiness building within her as she walked alongside with the granny. Unlike before, she did not speak and the atmosphere felt weird. She looked around and noticed it was the late afternoon but the streets in their neighbourhood seemed pretty quiet. Perhaps this area has always been this isolated, she thought to herself.

“We are reaching soon, aren’t we?” Miyoung asked with a smile as she spotted granny’s house.   

“Young lady.” The granny called out as she stopped walking.

“You should leave now.”

“What?”

Miyoung turned around in confusion. She looked ahead at granny’s house which was just a few steps away.

“-But we are reaching. I will just walk you back and drop these? It’s just a few ste-”

“M-My son is home.”

Miyoung’s eyes widened in shock at her words.

“I am sorry I lied… He forced me to, else he was going to give me another round of vicious beating… I should have known better than to involve a kind-hearted lady like yourself. Please, please leave now before he comes out.” The elderly begged and urged her to leave.   

“Granny, this won’t do. You should call the police and arrest him for abusing yo-”

“Please, just go now…” The old lady pushed her away slightly.

The cardboard boxes fell to the ground and another voice pierced the silence of the scene.

“Wow, wow, wow. Look who’s here and wants to call the cops on me now?”

Miyoung froze as she heard his voice again.

She held her breath and spun around to face him, glaring as hard as she could. She must not look afraid, she told herself. Slowly, she took out her phone but it was deliberately snatched out of her hand within seconds. He smirked and she could see his yellowish teeth. The look in his eyes made her tremble a little. She stepped back and away, about to run off when the old granny came forth.

“Let her go, son.” She pleaded, grabbing his arm.

“Go away, old hag.” He pushed her away mercilessly and she fell to the rugged ground, together with Miyoung’s phone, with a loud thud.

“You bastard!” Miyoung yelled in disgust and turned to her right to help the granny up.  

“Let me go.” She screamed when he grabbed her arm forcefully.

 “What makes you think I would?” he smirked.

He pulled her closer and whispered into her ears, “For your information, I’ve been jailed before and guess what my crime is?”

Miyoung felt tears falling against her will at his words. She was scared. The moment he started pulling her away from where she was, she started yelling hysterically for help but the neighbourhood was too secluded and any signs of rescue seemed bleak. Miyoung saw her phone which was tossed onto the ground for the last time before being forcefully dragged into the house. The old lady picked herself up from the ground but was locked out of her own house. She cried and knocked pitifully for her son to open the door.

Miyoung felt herself being thrown onto the sofa and she began grabbing anything she could see around her, tossing it against him. She knew she had enraged him when he yelled angrily and grabbed both her wrists with tremendous strength. He smiled widely, baring the set of disgusting yellowish teeth again. 

“I have never once allowed the same bait escape from my hook for the second time.” He said and leaned down to seek pleasure despite her cries of plea.

“Woohyun…”

The locked door burst open in a swift moment and a bag hit the man’s head. He kicked him off Miyoung before he could lay his disgusting claws on her. Miyoung sat up and backed away, blinking away the tears rapidly she had in her eyes. He hit him hard aimlessly, pinning him on the ground. The old lady limped towards Miyoung and held her hand. It was cold and trembling.

“Let’s get out of the house… The police will be coming soon.” She took the chance to get her out of the house.  

From the side of her eyes, Miyoung saw Woohyun being attacked by the man with raining punches but he still held onto him. He gritted his teeth and grasped onto the man’s shirt as if it was his life line.

“LEAVE!” He yelled.

The sirens of the police car were heard soon after and within 5 minutes, the man was in handcuffs. Miyoung couldn’t register the surrounding noises and calls for her as she made her way into the house. She saw Woohyun grabbing his shoulder, and holding onto the wall for bare support. Miyoung walked up to Woohyun unsteadily and engulfed him in a hug. Her tears fell relentlessly, wetting his chest in no time.  

“T-Thank you for coming…” She mumbled against his uniform.  

Woohyun cringed in pain as he raised his arm but still managed to her hair lightly.

“You’re safe now, you idiot.” He reassured and rested his chin on her head.

She felt so fragile at that moment, just like back then.

Woohyun was so, so thankful he came in time. He couldn't have imagined if he was any later...

“Take care of yourself more, you idiot.” Woohyun reprimanded, closing his eyes.