CHAPTER SEVEN; 

Hours seemed to pass before Lu Han finally fell asleep. He wanted to stay awake as much as possible to say his last goodbye to her, but that was a pretty bad idea. He should have slept to wake up early. So, when the sun started peeping through the windows, it took him a while to wake. Although the sun rays were warm, the bed still felt cold without her there.

She had already left.

Sighing deeply, he got up, rubbed his tired eyes and started getting ready for the day. If she thought that she could get away that easily from his grasp- especially when he was this attached to her- she was very wrong. 

Just as he entered the bathroom, Yuri was only a block away, hoping to get rid of her limp. She had her bag perched on her good shoulder as she headed towards the direction of any bus stop. The idea was to get as far from Lu Han as possible, but not too far from the targets' residences. 

By the end of the morning, she rented herself a suite thanks to some persuasion; she acted all innocent, hurt and desperate for a place to stay, and the manager was just a er for her pouty lips. He let her stay in the presidential suite for an entire week for half the price- room service included. 

Throwing her bag onto the bed, she fell right beside it and enjoyed the comfort of the soft duvet. Although it seemed like it didn't suffice, that there was something missing. Ignoring that feeling, Yuri started running a bath, needing to ease the knots in her back with some warm scented water.

After prepping the bath, she wrapped a hotel towel around the body and exited the bathroom to grab a few clothes. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and she was getting suspicious. Lu Han couldn't have followed her here, could he?

"Room service," An unfamiliar voice called out and she peeped through the hole, noticing the crisp uniform of a bellhop. She carefully opened the door before slowly opening it all the way. "M-Miss Tian?" He asked and she nodded.

Like anywhere else, Yuri never used her real name to check in so she would always create a fake one. She had no idea why she used the name 'Tian' since it strangely resembled 'tianshi', the nickname Lu Han uses for her.

"Yes, that's me," She replied sweetly as the bellboy seemed to take his time raking his eyes over her. She tried not to scowl in disgust and wondered why she never felt this sick when Lu Han did it. 

"Y-Your dress is here," His shaky hand held out a sleek black dress in a plastic bag. She frowned, but still took it anyway to not raise any suspicions. 

"Thank you, honey," She smiled and finally closed the door. "What the ?" She whispered angrily to herself, raising the dress to her face to inspect it. No secret cameras, just a note.

Meet me at 10 pm at the hotel's bar- Hyeonwoo

Hyeonwoo was her next target. He must know by now that she was after him then why the hell is he contacting her and inviting her to his party? Unless he wanted to die without much of a fight, but she doubted that. Could it be Luhan, then? Why would he impersonate someone else? He couldn't be that desperate to see her again? No, that couldn't be.

Now, the next thing she needs to decide is to whether go or not. 

***

Was it such a good idea to actually go to the bar to meet her target? Of course not- especially when you don't know if he'll actually be there or if it's a trap. Yet, Yuri always liked to take risks and decided to go anyways. If Hyeonwoo was there, then she could cross another name off her list, but if Lu Han was there, then he'll leave the bar without his balls for wasting her time. Problem solved.

She slipped into the tight, form fitting black dress after her shower and wore the black heels that came with. She quickly applied makeup before glancing at the clock and rushed out her hotel room. With only a few minutes to spare, she entered the packed bar and made her way to where the alcohol was. Her eagle eyes examined the crowd and no one seemed to be watching her. 

"One beer, please," She ordered and a large glass was slid to her. She sipped on it leisurely while eyeing the room of half drunken people dancing and grinding on one another. She scowled at the few men who cat called her.

"Ah, you must be the killer beauty everyone talks about." Someone sat beside her. She sent a sideways glance, meeting the gaze of a man who looked to be a few decades older than her. "The nickname suits you."

"I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else." She said casually, continuing to drink on her beer.

"I don't think so," His hand fell on her exposed thigh as he gave it a small squeeze. She wanted to punch him, but that could ruin her chances. Since he's asking for it, might as well give him what he wants. "I'm positive that you're her."

"And what if I am?" She turned to the side, extending her leg a little more so he could get a better grasp. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Kill you," He said without hesitating. "But maybe a kiss could be a good compensation." He smirked.

"Just one kiss?" She eyed him sceptically while thinking his offer through.

Give him one kiss so he could spare her life? It should be the other way around. Yuri didn't fancy kisses and she wasn't going to just give them out like free candy. So, all in all, his offer meant jack to her.

"Maybe more if you're willing," He winked.

"Sorry, but no," She denied him, turning back to the bartender who eyed her worriedly. She huffed since he should worry about himself. She wasn't defenceless.

"Then why come all the way down here in that beautiful dress I bought you?" He whispered into her ear which made her cringe from the closeness. 

"I wanted you to recognize the person who'll kill you." She scoffed and pushed him off, but not harsh enough to make him fall back. 

"I don't think so," There was something dark and menacing behind his words.

Suddenly, she felt something cold ride up her leg and to her stomach- right where she knew there was a vital organ just underneath her tan skin. She glanced down, eyeing the pocket knife that was held in his clenched hand. She looked back up at him and he smirked back, nudging his head to the side. Slowly, they both got up and walked out of the bar with Hyeonwoo pulling her closely to hide the knife.

Soon enough, they found themselves outside the hotel and at the end of some alleyway. She thought it was completely cliché, but the location was not the problem at the moment. She watched as a few people passed by, not even noticing them. 

"It's a shame, really," Hyeonwoo sighed. "You were such a sweet girl when I met you."

"When you were in the midst of killing my parents or manipulating them?" She shot back and his grip became tighter. 

"You do what you have to do. You should know that now since you're in our world now." He snickered, poking the knife's tip through her dress.

"Like as if I wanted to get caught up in all this ," She grumbled. "It's revolting how a group of money and power hungry men would get together and destroy a family." She continued to jab at him, playing with his buttons until she hissed in pain from the knife that finally broke her layer of skin.

"Watch it," He warned. "I don't need to be wasting my time any longer, but I am."

"How nice of you," She sneered, her voice dripping in sarcasm. 

"Fine, because you are so ungrateful, I will end this now. I have other things to attend to." He shook his head, not even a hint of remorse or guilt in his cold eyes. Just like everyone else. "But before that,"

His hand gripped the back of her head, clutching onto her hair while pushing her face to meet his in a rough and sloppy kiss. She tried her hardest to push away, but it was practically impossible with his strength plus the knife keeping her in place. Hyeonwoo pulled back, a satisfied smile on his lips.

"Just as sweet as I thought they would be," He smirked and had a steadier grip on the knife handle. 

Panicked, she pushed forward again and kissed him, pressing her lips against his while trying her hardest not to squeal and gag. He seemed to be enjoying himself as she felt his body loosen up which gave her the perfect opportunity to jab his side with her elbow. He stumbled back, shocked. 

Yuri didn't waste a second as she kicked the knife out of his hand which sent the object flying across the alley, hitting a brick wall. She quickly grabbed for her gun and pointed it at his head when he finally regained his balance. 

There was no need for chitchatting. That was, as he said it before, a waste of time. She cocked her gun and was about to pull the trigger, but something tackled her to the ground which sent her groaning in pain since she wasn't completely healed. It was one of Hyeonwoo's bodyguards or something of the sort and there were more on their way. 

"Finish her," Hyeonwoo growled and walked off, wiping some blood from his lip since she did bite him when the attack happened.

Without further ado, she felt a sharp pain at the junction of her neck and her shoulder- it was a needle. Quickly after, she felt this cold stream rush through her veins and her vision was getting blurry by the minute. She stumbled around, trying to find her footing as the men laughed at her. She smirked, pretending to struggle more than she was as they laughed amongst each other. 

Finally, she accidentally kicked her gun and feigned a fall to recover her weapon. Knowing that there were a total of 6 bullets in there, she was worried. First of all, she didn't know how many men there were, and secondly, her vision wasn't necessarily perfect at the moment. 

"Look at this bimbo!" One of them hollered.

That was it. 

Swiftly turning on her heels, she brought her hands up and pulled the trigger which sent the bullet flying to her intended target. One after another, she fired bullets until there were only three men standing. 2 years of target shooting didn't go to waste, but she still had to curse herself for not having her gun fully loaded. The men stared at her, utter disbelief written on her face, but they quickly shook that look off. They all braced themselves to attack.

They would have all been dead by now... If it weren't for the drug they injected into her.

"Let's finish this before the boss runs us over for taking too long," One of the remaining three muttered harshly. 

She kept pulling the gun's trigger, but all in vain. There were no more bullets and she felt herself slowly losing consciousness. Yuri kept struggling to keep awake, but it was getting harder as the seconds ticked by. The men slowly approached and was about to attack, but then they all fell to the ground, utterly lifeless.

That was the last thing she saw before she fell with them, but her fall seemed less rough.

***

If the word '' could be used to describe a feeling, then that's what Yuri would take. She felt like utter and the pain was just a small part of it. Even if she felt like she was lying on a cloud, her body wouldn't let her enjoy it as it screamed in pain. Every part of her body was aching.

Groaning, she forced her eyes to open and she sighed in relief when there was no light blinding her. Through the pain, she felt something else, something warm. She moved around a bit, but felt a bit constricted. Something inside her told her to not panic, that there was no need for it. Yuri lifted her head to meet the eyes of the man she hoped to never see again.

Lu Han.

He was sleeping soundly beside her, calmly breathing with a small smile as if he was in the middle of a good dream. She had never seen him so serein and happy at the same time before. She was afraid to ruin his mood if she moved. 

'This is not good,' she told herself, formulating a plan in her mind for another escape. She couldn't stay and risk developing feelings or whatever it was she felt. 

Emotions were obstacles. Yuri didn't like obstacles. 

Her hand slowly placed themselves on his, gripping it softly as his grip around her tightened. He frowned a tad bit, but his expression softened when she stopped moving. She felt these small tingles run up her arm and it took everything in her to ignore. The pleasurable feeling was soon replaced with panic when he stirred in his sleep, pulling her closer to him.

Cursing under her breath, she gave another attempt at freeing her body from his iron grip and she actually succeeded. She sighed in relief and rolled off the bed, landing gracefully and quietly on her stomach. She could hear him move around until he became frantic. She quickly slid her body underneath his bed post and hoped that nothing dirty was under there. 

"Yuri?" She could hear him whisper before he jumped off the bed and checked the bathroom before dashing out bedroom.

The girl in question sighed in relief before pulling herself out- painfully at that. Her body felt sore as the bandages around her body covered her injuries. Did he treat her? 

Throwing all those questions in her mind out, Yuri dragged her damaged body all the way to the window where she pulled herself onto the small roof under it. The plan was to grab onto the tree's branch and shimmy down the trunk until she reached the bottom. After that, well, she'll think about it later. 

Halfway through her plan, everything was going well until she lost her footing and landing harshly on her feet. She stumbled to the ground and leaned against the trunk for a few moments to gather her strength. Yuri has been beaten senseless and hasn't gotten the chance to fully heal yet which was worrisome for her health. Any longer and she might as well drop dead.

"Am I that unbearable?" A deep voice sounded from the other side of the tree. She kept eerily still which worried Lu Han as he approached. "Yuri?" He muttered softly. "ing ," He cursed and picked up her unconscious body from the ground and let out another line of colourful words while bringing her back inside.

The next time Yuri woke up, she was in even more pain than she could even imagine. A groan left her dry lips as she tried to figure out where she was and why she was tied down. The smell that hit her reminded her exactly where she was- back at Lu Han's. How badly did she fail to end up back there?

"I had to do it or else you would've died from your injuries." Lu Han exited the bathroom in nothing but his black basket shorts and a towel draped around his shoulders. His hair was damp which obviously meant he just finished a shower.

"Maybe if you let me alone... I would be able to rest," Yuri muttered weakly. 

"Tell me, tianshi, what is it about me that makes you so revolted that you want to get away so badly?" He towered over her as she lied in bed, staring in the other direction. She kept quiet. "Still waiting for that answer," He said, his voice turning cold at the same time. 

"You're not getting it," She mumbled. "Now untie me!" 

"Not until I get some answers, tianshi," He shook his head lightly, walking away.

"You little ! Come back here and untie these damn knots!" She hollered, even if it hurt her vocal chords.

In an instant, Lu Han came barrelling towards her, nothing but irritation and slight anger in his eyes. She held back a gasp when he suddenly found himself straddling her, holding her face a bit too tightly for her liking. He was fuming, but there seemed to be a battle inside him by the look in his eyes. 

"Don't..." He heaved. "Don't disrespect me," He said calmly, but she knew he was mad. She became the bigger person and simply nodded before pulling her head away from his hands. "I'll untie you, but don't run away again. You need to heal." She nodded again. He got up and gently undid the knots around her. He stood straighter and simply stared at her as if contemplating something very, very deep.

"I want to take a shower," She stated softly, looking down at her aching wrists and rubbing them. He simply nodded and left to bring her back some clothes- his, of course. 

Sadly for her, this was the one time that a simple shower didn't help her forget everything for a few minutes. Too many things were running in her mind that she didn't get the chance to enjoy her shower. She slipped out with a towel wrapped around her badly bruised body before pulling her hair into a quick bun. She wore his oversized t-shirt which, of course, smelled a lot like him. She wondered if he just wore this today...

"Are you done, tianshi?" He called. 

It just seemed like no matter what she does, he's presence will forever haunt him. Everything was about him, about Lu Han. Why can't she just shake him off? Why won't he leave her alone? Why does she feel different around him?

"Yuri-"

"Yes," She quickly answered and scurried out the bathroom, rushing past him and towards the living room until he caught her wrist, turning her around. 

"Where are you going?" He frowned and even that sole expression made her knees malfunction. Why did he seem to care so much?

"To the sofa," She muttered, looking only at his chest which was in front of him. She suddenly made it her mission to avoid eye contact with him. 

"To sleep? No way, you're sleeping where I can see you," He stated firmly, leaving no room for any arguments. He gently pulled her back to the very familiar bed.

Ever so gently, he picked her up by slipping his arms under her knees and her shoulders. He treated her like some fragile, porcelin doll. She actually enjoyed this type of treatment which was a drastic change to her usual 'fend-for-yourself' and 'everyone-for-themself' lifestyle. 

Once settled in her spot, she started taking her extra pillow to create some sort of barrier between them. He frowned at her and waited until she laid back down to throw it away. Yuri laid on her right side, her back facing him. Lu Han wanted to pull her flush against him, but decided against it since she was so calm so far and didn't want to provoke her. Instead, he simply placed his palm on the curve of her body where she tensed for a quick second.

"What are you doing?" She asked hoarsely. 

"Just go to sleep," He shrugged her off, closing his eyes and letting the fatigue take over him.

Yuri couldn't inch away from his touch because she was already on the brink of falling of the bed. Or better yet, did she even want to move away from his touch?

AUTHOR'S NOTE; 

Well hello there :) 

Sorry for the long wait, writer's block is to blame :/ But this is just the beginning of a new beginning- if you get what I mean ;) 

Drama and very descriptive scenes coming up!