Na Rae has no mercy as she swings the staff towards Min Hee’s left side. Min Hee throws her arm up, bending it and blocking the attack the way she has been taught. The staff makes contact with her arm but Min Hee has long gotten used to the pain. Her right side is now attacked and weeks of training have proven to be useful as she reacts quickly to defend herself. Na Rae continues to attack her from two sides until at one point, Na Rae surprises her with a frontal strike. This catches Min Hee off guard as her speed of reaction slows down. Her breath hitches and she braces for the pain but it never reaches her for inches away, Na Rae halts the staff.

“Always remain alert,” Na Rae says, retrieving the staff. “You need to remember that in a real life situation, it wouldn’t a staff hitting you but something else that resembles it. Had it been, say, a rusty metal pipe, its end would have made you a goner.”

“Na Rae!” Jungkook calls out, diverting her attention. He then holds up her phone, showing that she has an incoming call. Telling Min Hee to take five, Na Rae hops off the training rink and takes the phone from Jungkook’s hand. Taking a closer look at the caller ID, Na Rae frowns.

“Didn’t I tell you to never dial my personal number?” Na Rae says in a hushed tone, addressing the guy on the other line.

“I’m sorry Na Rae but this isn’t related to the organisation,” the other says, causing Na Rae’s brows to knit.

“What’s up?”

“We lost him.” Na Rae’s heart drops for a second before her grip on her phone tightens.

“You’ve kept track of him the past two years and now you’re telling me you lost him?” Silence fills the other end of the line. “I don’t care what you do. Find him.”

Na Rae taps the tip of her pen against her table continuously, looking out the window of her classroom anxiously. All that is clouding her mind is his sudden disappearance from the radar. He could be anywhere, he could even be in the area, and she wouldn’t know. Despite her calm exterior, she’s a nervous wreck on the inside. The sound of heels clacking against the floor fills the classroom, signalling her lecturer’s arrival. She hears a few sighs here and there but makes nothing out of them, thinking her classmates are being the dreaded students they are.

≈♦♦♦≈

“Class, we have a new student today joining our class. Please introduce yourself.” Na Rae’s eyes are still glued to the window. Her mind is too distracted to even pay attention.

“My name is Chae Hyungwon.” Na Rae stops tapping her pen as her head snaps towards the front. Her eyes grow wide upon seeing the ever so familiar face. She feels her heartbeat increasing rapidly as Hyungwon scans the room and eventually meets her eyes. He smiles, making half of her classmates coo due to his visually appealing face, but Na Rae knows it’s just a front. There’s a glint in his eyes as he tilts his head slightly.

“Nice to meet you,” he utters but she knows in his mind, he’s thinking, “Found you.”

The lecturer tells him to find a seat and he nods, making his way down Na Rae’s row and making it a point to take slow steps as he passes her table. She knows he’s going to the seat right behind her. She knows exactly what he’s trying to do, and she hates how despite all that, she’s very deeply affected. She feels the burning gaze on her back but she refuses to turn around. For the first time ever, Na Rae is afraid.

Na Rae subconsciously places her books into her locker as his face continues to flash in her mind. Questions begin to pile up yet she fails to find answers to them. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she takes in few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. After regaining her composure, she shuts her locker only to end up seeing the one person she has been trying to dodge. Once again, her composure is lost. The smile he had in class is now a smirk as the two remain staring at each other.

“Surprised?” Na Rae doesn’t say anything as her stare turns into a glare. “Oh come on, you can’t still be mad at me after two whole years. Didn’t I tell you that I was sorry?”

“You knew, didn’t you?” Na Rae asks.

“For about a week, I was clueless but eventually I caught on,” Hyungwon answers. “You’re probably wondering why I didn’t act upon it right? Well, it’s simply because I wanted you to feel as though you have the upper hand when in truth, you don’t. I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t actually planning on surprising you until much later but then I received an offer from the university which you coincidentally attend and well, it’d be a waste to not take it up wouldn’t it? I figured I’ve played around with you enough already anyway.”

“Did you miss me?” Hyungwon asks, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Not one bit,” Na Rae replies through gritted teeth.

“Do you still love me?”

“Oh please,” she answers, scoffing. Upon hearing this, Hyungwon takes a step towards her, towering over her even more as he leans in slightly.

“Then why have you been avoiding me? That’s why you put the tracker on me, right? Because you didn’t want to be where I am, right? Well, now that I’m here, what are you planning to do?” Hyungwon pauses, taking in her expression. He knows he’s getting to her. He knows just how to push her buttons. Na Rae curls her hand into a tight fist as she bites down on her jaw. She tries to keep a strong front but she knows she’s crumbling. Hyungwon doesn’t back down, enjoying every second of seeing her all shaken up. Eventually, he lands his final blow as he brings his lips to her ear and whispers, “Are you going to run away...just like you did two years ago?”

≈♦♦♦≈

Mr Choi watches as his daughter stares at her plate, everything left untouched. She’s been doing that for at least five minutes now. Mr Choi considers asking her what’s wrong but a part of him wonders if she’d prefer to not be asked. Eventually, her never-ending stare gets to him. Heaving a sigh, he places his utensils down.

“What’s wrong?” He asks. For a good few seconds, she remains extremely silent. This makes Mr Choi wonder if she even heard him to begin with but right before he asks her again, he hears her voice.

“He’s in my school,” Na Rae utters before looking up. “Hyungwon is attending my school.”

The mention of his name stops Mr Choi’s heart for a second and the rest of the news only makes it worse. He doesn’t say anything, unsure if words are even necessary at this moment. The two can only stare at each other. Mr Choi’s eyes scan her face, noting the sullen in her eyes despite her lack of expression. Mr Choi would hug her but such a gesture isn’t really practised between the two and more often than not, the situation would only turn for the worse.

“I’ll transfer you to a different school,” Mr Choi says after the long silence.

“No.” The sole word surprises him as he stares at his daughter. “I’m tired of running away, Dad.”

“Then what do you want to do?”

“Kill him.”

A/N: And a new character has been introduced. Dun dun dunnn. I was all fired up while writing this chapter so I hope it was a good read. Comments are very much loved. Subscribers are appreciated and upvotes make my day. Till the next update! ;)