Beginning…

                         The day flew by in a blur, Ari could not even remember what she had learnt in the university that day. Elizabeth Locke, Ari  for short, is a junior student in the famous El Dorado University. It had been six months since she first enrolled in the university, yet she felt like she did not belong there. To her, the world was a boring place. Nothing extraordinary had happened to her.  Thus, she’d rather keep everything to herself.

                       The ride back to her apartment took a good forty- five minutes. She was already exhausted by the long ride but somehow managed to bring herself up to the second floor where her unit is located. “Thank god I’m at the second floor.” With a sigh, Ari quickly fished out the house key from her bag. Allowing herself in, she set her things in the living room. She gazed around her surrounding, soon landed on the wall clock. Five minutes to eleven it stated. Finally, she decided to take a pampering bath since it was Friday night, (TGIF) Ari strolled past her bedroom to her closet and stripped off her so-called ‘dirty clothes’.

                        Ari moaned before plopping down in the bathtub. “Who would have thought university life would be so difficult.” Ari chuckled bitterly to herself, smelling the aroma of the forest rose mixed with vanilla scented candles that emerged. With a deep sigh, she started to scrub her body, shampooing and conditioning her long wavy hair before putting on a face mask to soothe her skin. She had been rather tired, especially at the peak of the months when works kept on piling up since the first-semester exam is just around the corner. Satisfied with the long bath, she put on comfy pajamas clothes. Ari was beaten up, all she could think was to throw herself on her king sized bed and drifted off to Neverland. As on cue, her stomach started to cry out with a loud growl. "I guess living alone seemed rather pitiful now," She said while clenching her jaw slightly in displeasure. "Don't skip your meal dear. It's not good for health." Her mother's words suddenly echoed in her mind. Every little action that she made would just lead to another flashback. She hated the fact that her mom would leave a hard impression in her life. Especially when she was no longer around anymore, literally.

                        While Ari was busy preparing the late night snack in the kitchen, a rattling noise suddenly erupted from the front balcony. Ari froze in her daze. The possibility of someone trying to break into her apartment suddenly crossed her mind. “This is a second floor, no?” For a mere second, she tried to convince herself it could be a cat or some other animal playing around on her balcony. Her hypothesis is rejected when she heard a loud thud from the sliding door. “What should I do?” Sweats started to form on her forehead as her eyes travelled around her surroundings. She does not own a cellphone and definitely had a zero chance to use the home telephone when it was located in the living room. Did I also mention it was beside the sliding door? A loud bang continued with a few groans interrupt her mind war. Her heart speeds up with the sudden wave of fear and panic running down her entire body. The imagination of the burglar trying to kill her or maybe kidnap her wasn’t making the whole situation any better.

                        Ari pressed her back to the wall and tried to sneak a peek after counting to ten, her eyes caught a mysterious figure on the other side of the sliding door. Even though it’s a bit dark, she could make out the mysterious figure has a muscular built and with the height reaching six feet tall. And the weirdest part is that he definitely did not look like a normal thief judging by his appearance. He was too exposed to be considered a “burglar” since we all know a “normal” burglar would cover up their face with a mask so their identity would be unknown. On second thought maybe he’s not normal. “Well, don’t take thing for granted Ari. You might regret it later.” Ari huffed quietly while slowly making her way towards the sliding door. Each step she took felt like a century and the nearer she is towards her destination, the clearer she could make out the mysterious figure face. She stopped a foot away from the sliding door, baffled when she realized there’s a red stain by the sliding mirror. “What in the world? Who are you…?”  Then it hit her. The moment when she finally saw his full profile a strange of familiarity crashed onto her.  “Kim JongIn?” Ari said urgently, eyeing the guy in front of her in utter confusion. When her eyes dropped at his waist, the fear she felt just a moment ago was now replaced with shock. Blood. There’s a gush of blood by his waist, staining his once navy blue t-shirt and his left hand was holding that part firmly.

                       Ari recalled the moment she stumbled upon him on their last encountered, she hated to admit that her heart quickens the pace at the first sight of him. It seemed so obvious the reason why Kim JongIn, one of the famous boy who was worshipped by everyone especially girls in her university. With the perfect white teeth, the endearing smile and cheerful eyes, he was a lady charmer. Ari wonders how one would kill to be in her place right now. To witness this side of him. “Please… Help… Me… “ He pleaded audibly, a small cloud formed as he breathed through his mouth. Ari's gaze locked with JongIn’s.  She swallowed hard, suddenly unsure what to do anymore as his pleading eyes scanned her face, waiting for her decision. She felt a sudden sting in her heart. In the haste, while sliding the door open, JongIn staggered on his feet soon crash landed on Ari in the process. Ari stared at the ceiling for a minute, slowly digesting what had happened. Her head slowly turned to his side, looking for any sign if he is still alive. No one would like to have a heavy dead body collapsing on top of them. Realizing she had a handsome boy in her apartment to dealt with, Ari closed her eyes for a moment, trying to gather her emotions from spilling all over the place.