You had no idea where you were going, just that you needed space. You walked for a while, lost in your thoughts and not realizing where you were going.

He likes me? 

He wants me to be his girlfriend?

How did I not know that he felt this way?

What do I do?

I like him, but not like that.

Should I tell him?

Should I wait to see if my feelings change?

What if I like someone else?

Suddenly, a voice pierced your muddled mind.

"You should have brought your coat. You look cold."

You turned, surprised to see another senior standing behind you. "Siwon?"

He grinned at you. 

You shivered. Most of the girls at school swooned over his smile, but something about it caused your skin to crawl.

"What are you doing here?"

"I should say the same to you. You're out here, wandering the streets alone and without a coat." He seemed to almost sneer. "Come here, I'll keep you warm."

As he said that, you knew something was wrong. You began to look around you for ways to escape, but soon noticed that you had unknowingly trapped yourself in a dead-end alleyway. 

"I'll be just fine." You bluffed. "Now, if you'll kindly excuse me." 

You attempted to walk past him casually, but he reached out and blocked your path with his arm.

"Won't you be cold walking the entire way back to campus dressed like that?"

His words caused you to wonder just how far you had wandered.

"I said I'll be fine, thank you, Siwon."

Before you could move, he grabbed your shoulders roughly and pushed you back against the wall behind you. Your eyes widened.

"What are you doing?" You were honestly too scared to move, not to mention the vice-like grip he had on you prevented it.

"I was going to ask you to dance, but you never left your friends long enough for me to say anything." He leaned toward you. "I've kept my eye on you for a while now. I've seen you walking alone at night, studying with Heechul in the library, going to and from your classes with Jimin."

You shook your head as a new thought hit you. No! He couldn't be Oppa! Oppa would never do this to me!

He leaned close enough that you could now feel his hot breath on your face, and you turned your head away from him.

"Why do you deny me? Every other girl would be grovelling at my feet for a chance to be this close to me, yet you turn away. Why?" He shook you roughly.

You turned toward him just enough to glare at him. "I've been enough places in this world to know when a person's actions are sincere. You don't like me, you want me because you think I'm exotic."

He backed off infinitesimally. "So I do." He sneered. "I want to be able to say that I was the one to capture the heart of the beautiful yet mysterious American. The one who got to know her beyond everyone else."

"That's never going to happen."

"In that case, I'll make sure that I can say that I was the one who broke the most sought after wild mare in the school."

Your eyes flashed with the anger and repulsion you felt. "You're disgusting!"

He smirked at you, then moved his hands from your shoulders to your hips. He held your upper body in place with his own, and his mouth sloppily placed kisses on your neck. He began to roam his hands over your body, touching you through your dress. 

"I'll make you beg for me to take you. Then, I'll tell everyone that you not only wanted it, but that you threw yourself at me until I mercifully gave in to you." He hissed in your ear.

"Stop it!" You hit him, but he was unfazed by it. You tried to push him away, but he was too strong. You even tried to run, but his sheer strength kept you in place.

His hands moved to your thighs, gently lifting the hem of your skirt.

"No! Stop it!" You screamed again.

You squeezed your eyes shut, knowing what awaited and dreading it. Your mind floated back over the past several weeks. You remembered every happy moment with Jimin. Would she see you the same after this? You remembered Donghae and Eunhyuk, and the way they would smile at you when you walked up to them. Would their smiles change, knowing that you had been by Siwon? Your mind wandered to Prince. He knew about what had happened to you before, so this probably wouldn't change how he acted, but he would probably feel responsible for it. His sudden confession had caused you to run out into the cold, and you were followed then trapped in this alley. You really didn't want him to feel responsible. It wasn't his fault that you ran, you just weren't sure what to say or do, and you got scared.

Lastly, you remembered the time you spent with Heechul. Your mind painted a picture of his disdainful face when he found out about what Siwon was going to do to you. 

You began to cry as you realized that, out of everyone you were close to, the one you didn't want to have look at you differently was Heechul. After everything he had done for you; he had helped with your Korean, helped you find your dress for the party, kept you from being lonely when everyone else left, and had even stayed with you after your nightmare; you began to care for him at some point. You liked Heechul. You had known ever since the two of you had spent that last night at your parents' house, but now, because of Siwon, you could see any chance of Heechul accepting you crumble to dust.

As his hands began to move farther under your skirt, they suddenly stopped. The pressing weight on your chest disappeared, and the sloppy kisses ceased. Scared of what could be happening, you slowly opened your eyes and were stunned at the sight before you.

Siwon was on the ground, half sitting, half laying, and holding his jaw. His lip was split open, the bright red blood staining his pale face. In front of him stood Heechul, the anger on his face radiated through the air around him. His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Neither of them said anything, or even made much sound, as they stared at each other. Suddenly, Siwon scrambled to his feet and dashed past Heechul and out of the alley. 

Several moments later, the cold wind shook you back to your senses.

"Heechul oppa?"

He turned toward you slowly. "Did he hurt you?"

"Aniyo."

He quickly let his breath out, and unclenched his fists as he noted your scared look. "I hope that's the truth. For his sake."

You were confused. "Why are you out here?"

"To find you. You left without your coat so I was going to bring it to you." He gestured vaguely to the discarded pile of fabric that lay in the snow.

"Oh." You looked down, not able to meet his eyes now that you knew how you really felt toward him.

"Are you alright?" You glanced up to find him within an arm's length of you.

You tried to respond, only to find that your limbs were shaking and the tears had begun to stream down your face again.

Before you could move, his arms wrapped around you. You were unable to hold out any longer. Sobs wracked your body, causing your already weak knees to give out beneath you. Only his strong hold kept you from hitting the ground.

"Maddie, it's alright now. I'm here for you." He shushed you. "I'll always be here for you."

Those words seemed extremely familiar. You remembered him saying that to you once before, but there was something else... some other place that you remember it from. 

Then it hit you.

Oppa. Oppa had said that to you. 

Oppa had also called you Maddie earlier, just like Heechul had.

Gradually, the pieces fell into place. Oppa and Heechul were a lot alike. Each of them cared for you and seemed to know when you were upset or needed someone to talk to. Oppa had told you that he stayed in Seoul for a friend, as did Heechul. He had only messaged you when you weren't around Heechul, and when Heechul was around, you rarely ever saw him on his phone.

Were Oppa and Heechul the same person?

The shock from the revelation dried your tears. 

"O...Oppa?"

Heechul looked down at you questioningly. 

"You're Oppa! You're the one who's been texting me all this time! It was you!"

You saw the hint of a smile touch his face. 

"If you've figured everything out, then tell me how I would have gotten your number."

He was clearly amused. 

You thought about it for a moment, realizing that Oppa had messaged you before Jimin became friends with the guys, so she couldn't have given him your number....

Wait a minute!

"Science class!" You said excitedly. "You had warned me to watch where I left my phone. You had plenty of time to look up the number before I realized it was missing."

"Clever. You have figured it out." His voice sounded impressed, yet slightly scared.

"Why didn't you tell me who you were?"

His face was unreadable. "I knew that if I told you, you would become a target. I didn't want my 'fans' to target you because of me."

"Oh... Oppa? Why me?"

"What?"

"Why did you choose me? If you wanted to message someone without them knowing who it was, you could've messaged anyone, so why did you choose me?"

He stared into your eyes, showing you the sincerity of his words. "Something about you struck me the moment I first saw you. I wasn't sure what it was or why I felt it, but I knew I needed to talk to you, become friends with you, and that was the only way I could think of because I was scared."

"Scared? I don't remember ever seeing you look scared."

"I put on a cold front because I'm always scared. I'm scared of getting too close to anyone, scared of being betrayed, and scared of falling in love with someone who might not love me back." His voice lowered so that you had to lean closer to hear him.

Your heart skipped, and there was a painful tightening in your chest. "Are you in love with someone, oppa?"

"Neh." He nodded.

You paused for a moment to ease the growing constriction. "How could anyone resist falling for an amazing oppa like you? You're caring, sweet, charming, and fun. I'm sure she would love you back." You turned and picked up your coat from the wet ground. "We should get back. Thank you for your help with Siwon."

"Maddie." The nickname caused you to stop. "I told you I would find you, and that I'll always be here for you. What's wrong?"

You couldn't tell him about the pain his words had caused. It would hurt him to know that you were hurting, and you couldn't do that to him.

"It's nothing, I just have to figure out what to tell Prince."

"What do you mean?" His voice sounded as cold as you felt.

"He... he sorta confessed to me, and he's still waiting for my answer." You couldn't bear to look at him in that moment.

"What are you going to tell him?" He almost whispered.

You sighed. "I'm not sure yet. I may ask him to wait and we'll see if my feelings for him grow." You walked toward the opening of the alley.

"You don't love him?"

"He's like my brother, oppa. I love him, but only as that."

His next question caused you to freeze. "Then who is he? The man who's stolen your heart." You didn't respond so he continued. "You told me after Christmas that your heart belonged to someone special. If it's not Prince, who is it?"

You were silent for long enough that he thought you weren't going to answer. You thought you weren't going to answer.

Then you broke.

Your heart seemed to scream out until you knew that you would regret it if you remained silent. Still standing with your back to him, you finally spoke. 

"You."

Suddenly, you heard his footsteps get closer. He grabbed you by the shoulders, turning you around so quickly that you looked up at him in shock.

"Me?"

You nodded slowly, not meeting his gaze. "I love you, Heechul."

In the blink of an eye, he held you in his embrace. He looked down at you and whispered the words you never expected to hear from him.

"I love you, too, Maddie."