[CONTENTID2] Twelve O'clock [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID1]

Sharp, profound tremors slithered down my spine as the man hoists his arm, wrapping it around my neck. Drops of heavy downpour hits me, dousing me by a whole as the umbrella topples to the ground.

 His rough, scaly hands covered my mouth as I breathed in the stench of cigarettes and booze, smothering the scent of rain. The wallet was still in my possession, in the verge of slipping away from my trembling hands.  

Not a single person was present within the vast darkness. Only the rain’s thunderous pelting penetrated within my ears.

“Yah punk…if you even bother letting out one scream, I will ing stab you…so listen to what I say okay?! You hear me?!”

. Was today my death day? Will I finally pay for my faults?

Fear warped my brain, flooding my senses as I submerged into numbness.

“Follow what I say,” he whispered, his breath brushing against my ear lobes. Death approached me as the man aimed a knife at my neck, positioned inches away from cutting into my flesh.

…Chae Won, what do I do? Should I scream? Should I kick him? How do I escape this?

“Give me the wallet,” he spat.

I couldn’t just give him the wallet. I didn’t care about the credit cards, the cash stacked inside. There were memories-pictures of Chae Won and I. I couldn’t just let him take it! No way!

But…if I wanted to save my life…if I wanted to see Chae Won’s face…I had to live, not just for Chae Won but for In-sung, Changmin and my friends.

“Here…” I whimpered, leveling the wallet to his gaze.

Before the man had a chance to take my wallet, a vigorous force from behind displaces me out of the man’s hold, causing me to fall onto the wet pavement. Glancing over my shoulder, the wallet enters my sight as I spotted it laying on the curb.  

“Ya! Bastard!!” a familiar voice cried. Judging from his silhouette, the man was wearing a hood that cloaked over his head. He imposed over the man’s tiny structure, standing at a certain stance as he prepared to launch another attack,

Unable to see the other man’s face, I squinted within the darkness, hoping to catch a glimpse of his features. The wild precipitation hindered my ability to see as I blinked in nothing but rain drops.

The robber jolted back as he took an impactful punch from the man across him.  More punches followed after, taking the robber’s strength away as he stumbled backwards, giving the impression that he wanted to surrender.

“Piss off!! Or I’ll call the ing cops!!”

Like a coward, the robber took tentative steps back, soon dashing to the end of the road.

I scrambled onto the slippery surface, sprawling for my wallet.

Wedged between the ground and the wallet, a photograph entered my view as I lifted the wallet up.

Taking the flimsy photo within my wet fingers, I lifted it to my eyes, hoping to get a clearer view of it. 

My jaw dropped as I saw the face within the photo.

It wasn’t Chae Won, nor myself.

It was somebody I knew. Not In-Sung, Changmin, or my father. But a person I was somewhat acquainted with. Not by choice-but by fate.

It was all due to my bad luck. My horrendous, tragic fate.

“Yunho…are you okay?” The hooded man crouched over me, inspecting the horrible state I was in.

How the hell did this guy know my name?

But as I look into the man’s black eyes, the sound of his name trespasses my mind.

“Kim Jaejoong?”

“! Yunho, I’ve been trying to call you on your phone…but you wouldn’t answer!! You ing…didn’t…didn’t I say not to go out in midnight?”

It’s been a while since I’ve seen him.

“I’m…I’m…I’m sorry…” I stumbled. “How…how did you know I was here?” I asked.

The heavy feeling weighing down my chest prevented me from expressing my genuine thoughts. My body refused to break from its palpitating state, hindering my abilities to compose a sentence.

“Yunho-ssi…I was so worried sick about you,” Jaejoong’s croaked. Warmth emitted from Jaejoong as he wrapped his arms around me, subsiding the growing pain in my stomach.

Somehow, hugging him felt hugging like my own mother-even if I didn’t have one. Despite my resentment towards him, I didn’t fight, or shove him away. Slowly, I felt myself sinking within the sweet scent of his jacket as I closed my eyes, hoping to forget life’s cruelties.

“Let’s go home Yunho-ssi…”

I didn’t even protest. I couldn’t.

I shoved the wallet back into my pockets, along with the picture I found on the ground.

“Your leg…” I said, standing up from the ground. “It healed…I mean your cast is gone.”

“Were you surprised I could fight like that?” he asked, picking up the umbrella from the ground.

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“Since I saved your life…instead of using formalities…can we drop the formalities?” he asked, hovering the umbrella over us. I got a whiff of his breath as he stepped closer to me, intruding my space. He stood in front of me, only positioned a few inches apart. Staring into his black eyes, the image of my face reflected within his irises. The intensity of his gaze strengthens; alluring me in an indescribable way.  

“Um…”

“From now on just call me; Jaejoong-ah. And I’ll call you; Yunho-ah…deal?”

“Deal,” I gulped.

~~

“Take us to Myeongdong please,” Jaejoong said, slamming the door beside him.

“Yes,” the driver said.

The car took off as I heard the friction of the tire crunching onto the gravel. I leaned my head against the window as my cheek rubs against the glass’s cold, wet surface. Slowly, my consciousness was wavering; on the brink of ending abruptly as I sat through the vehicle’s steady pace.

How are you guys on this Thursday Morning? Well it’s dark outside since it’s thirty minutes past midnight but I consider AM as morning…so don’t question my MC skills or my intelligence! It’s ME Kim Seul Gi on air right now! Currently, it’s raining…On this sad, rainy night…let’s play a sad ballad.

We’re going to be playing Park Hyo Shin’s Beautiful Tomorrow~~

“Yunho-ah, are you tired?” Jaejoong asked. I remained within my position, not moving a single inch despite his curiosity.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “I just want to go home…”

I just wanted to f