Chapter 15 

 

As Jaejoong was filling the tank in his car, his mind was scattered. What was he supposed to do? Yuri wanted to meet serial killer and he planned for her to meet him. Still, some stupid voice inside of him said that if he made this one date amazing enough, she wouldn't want to meet him. They had moved on and maybe someday, she had forget about serial killer. 

 

Then that ing alarm went off during a good moment, 'Damn it! Why does she have to be so on time to ?! Ugh. Whatever.' 

 

On his way to drive her home, he decided he had let serial killer blow her off. Yeah, it was going to hurt like hell to watched her get rejected but if he wanted them to have a clean slate, it was something that had to be done. 

 

He was so prepared to do it, too. He was ready to distract Yuri from his alter ego. It was selfish, he knew, but he was going to do anything in ordered to keep Yuri by his side. 

 

When he opened the door to the car, he became worried about the looked she wore. Then he saw his phone in her hands. He saw the looked in her eyes as her face fell. He saw the mistrusts and betrayal. 

 

"What the hell does this mean?" Yuri sounded like a low boil, ready to rapidly burned whatever got in her pot, "Yuri, I...it's..." 

 

"You aren't him. You can't be him." She stare down at the phone in her hands, shaking her head. 

 

'!' 

 

Jaejoong reached for her as he settle into the drivers seat. Yuri jerked and slapped his hands away, "Don't touched me." So Jaejoong retreated. He let her thoughts sink in. Damn it. What the hell does he say? 

 

"Was this some sort of joke to you? Some game to mess with me?" 

 

Jaejoong shook his head, frustrated that she would even think that of him, "I'm not that kind of person, Yuri." "Oh really?! What kind of person are you then?! Someone who lies?! Pretends to be someone they are not?!" She was furious. All she wanted to do was run out of the car now. Anything to get away from him. 

 

"No. , Yuri!" He hated the way she was burning into him. It brought back all his old aggression he dealt with in high school while he stayed away from her. She couldn't possibly think he was trying to hurt her. Did anything he said to her, text her sounded like that was his objective? For sake, Yuri was ready to meet someone who she thought was someone else. 

 

"I don't think you are one to talked!" He sneered. 

 

"Excuse me? I'm not in the wrong here?" 

 

"What were going to do, huh, Yuri? Explained this to me. You kissed me, admitted you like me and then decided to go see another guy tonight." 

 

"It was you, Jaejoong Oppa. The other guy was you." 

 

"But you didn't know that. Did you think that was alright Yuri? To go see some guy, knowing how I feel about you and how you said you felt today?" 

 

Yuri stopped talking as her heart started pounding and head getting woozy from this sudden bombshell dropping into her. It's not fair for him to pinned this on her. It's not and yet, it's like her heart was being ripped apart by guilt and betrayal all at once. 

 

"I'm leaving." 

 

"You are what? No Yuri, that's not what's happening." 

 

She was already reaching for the door handle when he grasps onto her wrist, "Let me go." 

 

Jaejoong's jaw clenched as he tried so hard to focused on a gentle tone. It didn't worked though, "No way. Not when you need to listened to me." 

 

He watches as she swallow, turning towards him and when she does, her other hand shoots up, slapping him across the face. Her chin quivered as dead silence followed the smacking of skinned. 

 

"Let. Me. Go." 

 

This time, he did, giving her the chance to get out of the car. Jaejoong should have felt the pained stinging his cheek. He should have feel the cut she left from her nails but he didn't. He couldn't physically feel anything expect the gaping hole in his chest as part of his heart left the car. 

 

He rolled down the window because even though he wanted to run after her, he knows it would only fueled her angered. 

 

"Please Yuri?" He called. 

 

She turned around and started to screamed, "Go! I want you to leave! I want you to leave and get the hell away from me!" Her hands pushed at the car door aggressively. More aggressively than Jaejoong had ever seen her act. Ever. 

 

He winced, shaking his head, "I can't leave you here all alone!" He yelled at her, because she's not thinking straight. If she's going to be mad, be mad in her dorm, not in the middle of nowhere in this gas station thirty minutes away from campus. 

 

For an instance, Yuri gathered herself, still shaking with emotion, "I will called Taeyeon. So leave. Just leave." There was bitterness in her voice. A terrible bite to it. 

 

Jaejoong bite onto his lips, angry at her, angry at himself, "I need to see you called her." 

 

Yuri rolled her eyes with a heavy heart before taking her phone out to called her best friend, "I have got her. So leave, Oppa." 

 

That's when Jaejoong lost his senses of rationality, "Fine!" He shove the keys into the ignition and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal. He was fuming as the wheel beneath his hands became victim to his deathly gripped. 

 

Specks of dusts was rolling all over the parking lot of the gas station, left behind by Jaejoong as Yuri held her phone to her ear. As Taeyeon started to asked questioned, Yuri bursts into tears. 

 

"Oh my god, Yul, what's wrong?" 

 

"Jaejoong Oppa, it's." She sniffs, trying not to choke up, "He's serial killer. The guy I have been texting since the end of summer but he knew who I was, Taeyeon. He was lying to me." 

 

There was silence on Taeyeon's end. This made Yuri suspicious, "Taeyeon? Is that not shocking to you?" 

 

More silence. 

 

"I swear, if you don't say something, I'm hanging up and I'm..." 

 

"I knew." 

 

"What?" Yuri felt the ability to breathe getting lost again. There's no way. There's no way she knew. Taeyeon would have said something, done something. She's never a sidelines kind of girl. 

 

"I'm so sorry Yuri. Kyuhyun Oppa told me what was going on and I thought..." 

 

"Kyuhyun Oppa knew, too?" 

 

"Yes, but please Yuri, just listened because you need to know, Jaejoong Oppa, he..." 

 

"He's a liar Taeyeon. He manipulated me. He's always been a horrible, horrible jerk to me. Ready to played with my feelings at a moments noticed and you know what?" She pauses, gritting her teeth, "You are a liar, too." 

 

With that, Yuri hung up. Taeyeon's face and name immediately appeared on her phone. Yuri can't even looked at her or hear her so she turned it off. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. More tears fell, wetting her cheeks and lips. She stare at her blank phone. How could the one person she needed also be the last person she wanted? 

 

"Miss? Are you alright?" 

 

Yuri glances up at a car that pulled over. She wipe away at her eyes and then nodded. Then she shook her head, "I'm fine. I'm sorry. I'm just going to, um." Her shoulders shook as she held back more tears. 

 

"Wait. Is that you Yuri?" 

 

She whipped her head up to get a closer looked at the mystery driver. It took a few long stares and mental notes of who went to her high school but then, she realizes who he was. 

 

"Lee Jihoon, right?" 

 

He smirked, raising his hands to gestured over himself, "In the flesh." 

 

"I haven't seen you in...in like forever." She forced out, choking on the last words. 

 

"Hey, you know what, how about I give you a ride home, huh?" 

 

Yuri swallow, ready to shake her head but who else would she called? All her friends were clearly not on her side. If she called her mom, she had want to know everything and she so did not want to say anything right now. So instead of saying no, Yuri nodded, stepping towards the car. 

 

"That would be amazing actually." 

 

"Hey, anything for an old classmate." 

 

She stepped forward, grasping his truck's handle. A sinking feeling had her wondering if she should go with him but then, she scanned his interior which is spotless and she sees his wide grinned, seeming genuine and helpful and the sinking feeling left her as she slipped inside. 

 

"I can't thank you enough. I wasn't sure how I would get home." 

 

"Yeah, no problem at all. If you don't mind me asking, why are you crying?" 

 

Yuri was pulling the seatbelt over her body when she flinched and bought her hands up to her cheeks. Sure enough, there's involuntary tears flowing from her eyes. She quickly wipes them away. 

 

"I'm sorry. I just had a huge fight with my." She pauses. Boyfriend nearly slipped from her lips. That's not what Jaejoong is or what he ever was. Maybe almost. God, she didn't want to think about it. 

 

"Yuri?" 

 

How long had she stopped talking? Swallowing, she shook her head and forced on a small smiled, "You know, it doesn't matter, they are not going to be in my life anymore." 

 

Jihoon plump lips were pressed together. His long fingers tapped and tightened on the wheel, "Alright. So, did you need to get back to ChungAng's campus?" 

 

Yuri nodded, lying back into her seat. Closing her eyes, she tried not to think about going back to her dorm to see Taeyeon. Hopefully, she was at Kyuhyun's and...Wait. How in the hell did he know where she went to school? It was weird enough to suddenly see him at the same gas station as her. 

 

Cautiously glancing at him, that sinking feeling from earlier returned. Everything's ok. She's still breathing and obviously, she knows who Jihoon is. He had always been nice to her. Quiet at times but was nice to her when they were at school together. Maybe she did mentioned ChungAng to him? 

 

"How did you know I went to ChungAng?" She asked hesitantly. Each word said calmly. 

 

There was tension in his jaw. She can see it and then his thumbnail dugged into the driving wheel's leather. He laughed lightly, "Did I say that? I just assumed since that's where most people from our school went." 

 

Yuri had to bite her tongue. This feels weird. Really weird. When she thought back to high school again, she only ever remembered Jihoon speaking with her. He never uses his energy on other people. 

 

Choosing her words carefully, she mumbled a reply, "True." 

 

Silence. 

 

As she watches the road in front of them, she spotted a signed that she knows is the opposite direction to ChungAng, "Um, I think campus is the other way." 

 

Jihoon nodded then winked at her, "I know a shortcut." 

 

The air was getting tenser as she watched his speed meter. It was going fast. Too fast. 

 

"Maybe you should slow down a little." 

 

"Maybe you should shut that ing mouth of yours!" 

 

It took all of her not to gasps at his words. Fear rolled through her, causing her fingers to shake. She reached for her phone. 

 

Jihoon's laughter erupts but nothing about it is happy. It was disturbing in fact, "I'm sorry about that. I have just got to controlled that tempered of mine." 

 

She press her fingers along the on button on her phone, "You know, I think that my other friend would probably want to take me back because she just text me and she's worried about..." 

 

His stare slices through her, "Your phones not even on yet, Yuri. Are you trying to leave me? Am I not good enough for you?" 

 

"Wh...What?" Yuri stammered, because she was so confused and terrified. 

 

"You know what I'm talking about Yuri. You and me. I know we have always had this connection and you had be lying if you say you never felt it." 

 

"I think I need to be dropped off somewhere." 

 

"Why Yuri? Why? I'm everything you could possibly want and you know that bastard Jaejoong is never going to treat you the way I would." 

 

As her phone was , she fumbled her fingers to called for helped, concentrating on the numbers on her screen when she feels something cold, hard and sharp against the temple of her head. 

 

"Don't you dare or I will take you now, right here and killed myself after." 

 

Yuri's mouth dropped opened as her body froze. There was a knife to her head, poking at her skinned. 

 

"We can be together Yuri and I will never hurt you. Not like Jaejoong has." 

 

"Wh...What are you talking about?" She surprised herself with her ability to formulate a complete sentence. Slowly, her fingers began to hit the emergency called on her phone. 

 

"Don't you dare!" Jihoon's roared, making the car swerves, the tipped of the knife drawing blood from her head. Yuri lost her phone to the ground. Damn it. Her head was pounding with fear as she felt the stinging sensation on her face. A tiny dot of blood glide down her face. 

 

The car returned to its lane as Jihoon pulled the knife further from her face so it wasn't touching her skinned. 

 

"It could have been so much more simpler if that bastard didn't get in the way of Soohyuk doing his job for me. We would have already been together, baby." His voice softened at the end of his words. Yuri's head whirls. Soohyuk. The party. 

 

Oh, god. He tried to tell her. He tried to say something and now... 

 

In the cornered of her eye, she saw him. She saw Jaejoong. He was in his car, in the other lane. She couldn't moved though. Any sudden movements and she's not sure what Jihoon is willing to do. 

 

Jaejoong just speed off, away from the gas station. Away from Yuri and her assumptions, away from her screaming, away from all her tears and away from the other half of his heart. 

 

He punched the wheel, frustrated and hurt. He should have told her the moment he knew. He should have said something. 

 

Damn it. He shouldn't have drove away. He pulled on the break and made an abrupt u-turned towards the gas station. What he's going to say to her hasn't crossed his mind yet. If he could just see her, he knew he would be able to get through this with her. He will start from the beginning. Tell her everything. 

 

He's in love with her. He's been in love with her since forever. 

 

As he pulled into the gas station, he spotted her but she was getting into another car. He didn't recognized it. It was a truck too, and no one she knows could have arrived here faster than him. He watches as the truck drives away in the opposite direction of her dorm. 

 

What the hell? 

 

Where was she going? 

 

Who was in that car? 

 

He waited until the car was out on the road, far enough for him to followed it without suspicion. If he could just know she was safe. Getting his phone out, he flicked his eyes from the road to his phone before calling her. It immediately goes to voicemail, 'Dear god woman, your phone.' He thought, as he speed closer to the car in suspicion. 

 

. He didn't care if she sees him and thinks he's psychotic for following her. So, he speed up some more and got into the lane beside the truck to see who was driving. He sees her, sitting up straight, unusually stiff looking, 'Looked to the right!' His mind screamed. 

 

He drove closer until he was thrown by the shine of a sharp object near Yuri's neck. All of his tension left him when he finally saw the bastard's face. 

 

Jihoon. 

 

Suddenly, the bastard turned to see him. His truck zipped pasts Jaejoong, racing away. 

 

"Did you tell him?!" Jihoon yelled forcely, blade still in his hand while he hit the gas pedal hard. 

 

Yuri was ready to cry out as she shook her head, careful not to hit the knife, "I can't get to my phone." 

 

"He won't get to us." He told her, as he kept speeding down the long stretch road. He passes another car, them honking at his destructive driving in the processed, "We are going to be happy together, Yuri. Secluded from the harsh world and no one will take you away from me." 

 

"I don't want to be with you!" Yuri practically cried, making Jihoon flinched at her words. 

 

"You don't mean that. Besides, if I can't be with you, no one is going to have you." The blade hovered up and down her cheek, "I don't think you would want that." 

 

She squeezes her eyes shut, shivering 'Please helped me Jaejoong Oppa?' She mentally begged. 

 

"I don't think he wants to give up." Jihoon remarked, looking at his rearview mirror. Sure enough, Jaejoong was picking up speed, "Grabbed your phone and called him." 

 

She breathes hastily and bend down, the knife following her every moved. 

 

"You are going to tell him to stopped following us and that you never want to see his face again. Make it sound good." 

 

Pressing her lips together, she held onto her phone, her mind screaming at her to called 911. They couldn't get to her fast enough though. Not with Jihoon ready to hurt her. So, she finds Jaejoong's number instead. 

 

"I told that er to stayed away from you a long time ago and yet, here we are, just like I said." Jihoon was rambling and the words were like bricks smashing into Yuri's chest. There wasn't time to think about the meaning as she pressed called. A different idea crossed her mind though. She needed this called to mean something to him. To mean something was terribly wrong so she finds serial killers number and pressed called. 

 

"Yuri! Tell me what's going on? Has he hurt you?" 

 

"N...No." She clear to sound believable, "He hasn't hurt me. I'm fine. I want you to stopped following us. He's being nice and good to me like you clearly haven't." Her voice nearly cracked, "I don't want you in my life anymore. I never have." Then she dropped the phone without hitting end. 

 

"Good job, babe. He deserved it." 

 

Yuri's hair rises as he calls her babe, "Where are we going?" 

 

His thick brows raises at her, smirking "Eager are we? It's a surprised." 

 

"You can't keep me hidden away from everyone." She said louder than before. He didn't seem to noticed. 

 

"Just for a few days then you will be so in loved with me that you won't want to leave." 

 

Yuri swallow, "Maybe you are right. If you had taken me earlier, I would have never had to deal with Jaejoong." Her said, praying for Jaejoong to save her somehow. 

 

"Why are you speaking like that?" He asked suddenly, then his jaw started clenching again, "Picked up the phone." "What? Why?" 

 

"Picked it up. I want to see your phone." 

 

"But..." 

 

"I said, picked it up!" He screamed, and she frantically reaches over to picked it up when the entire car makes a sudden turned. The blade flew from his hand into the backseat while she smashes into the side door. The car brakes slammed and they were no longer on the road anymore but on muddy grass. 

 

She was bruised and everything hurts but she can't stayed still. She has to get out. There were black dots blocking her vision as she feels a hand on her upper arm, squeezing hard. Gasping, she was suddenly being dragged away. Struggling, her hands scratched at the arms holding onto her. Then they were around her neck, pulling. She gasps for air as her body rolled over the seat until fresh air hit her skinned. 

 

"Yuri!" Jaejoong's voice broke her state of blurriness. 

 

"Jae..." A hand covered before she can finished. Her eyes flickered to the scene before her. Jaejoong was out of his car which is blocking the road and Jihoon's truck was tilted on the muddy grass, 'What is Jaejoong Oppa thinking? He could have been killed.' 

 

"Don't come near us." Jihoon said, holding Yuri down. 

 

"Like hell I won't. Let her go and maybe I won't killed you right now." Jaejoong gritted through his teeth, stepping towards them. With haste, Jihoon dugged into his pocket, releasing his hand from Yuri to pulled out another blade. He bought it to her neck, making Jaejoong stopped. 

 

"One more stepped and I cut opened." Jihoon warned. 

 

"This is how you want to do this? Hide behind her? Let's face it Jihoon, you have been too much of a coward to fight me since the day you said to stayed away from her." 

 

Yuri's breath hitches at Jaejoong's words. What did he mean? How long had Jihoon been after her? There were so many questions but she needed to focused on staying alive. 

 

"Come on, Jihoon. You say you want her but how could you when you aren't willing to fight?" 

 

Jihoon snarled, trying to restrained himself. Then his hand raises until he uses the blades handle to hit Yuri in the head, sending her to the ground, unconscious. 

 

"You bastard!" 

 

That's when Jaejoong charged forward and so did Jihoon. His knife was aimed towards Jaejoong's chest but Jihoon forgot that Jaejoong has been studying fencing since he was thirteen years old. The moment the two collided, Jaejoong whipped Jihoon around and grabbed the knife, centering it on Jihoon's neck this time. 

 

There were sirens blaring as cops began to race to the scene. 

 

"It's over." Jaejoong told him. 

 

Jihoon laughed hysterically as officers surrounded them. 

 

"Dropped the knife!" The police shouted, pointing their guns at them. Jaejoong let the knife dropped to the ground before the police ran to grabbed him and Jihoon. 

 

'Wait. Yuri.' He thought, as he pulled away from the officer, desperate to get to her. 

 

"Stayed still!" The police order him, but he shouted, "Yuri's hurt! ing helped her!" 

 

Another officer was on the moved to get to her. He never lifted his eyes from her as the officer does precautions to wake her up. He watches her stirred, painfully getting up. Their eyes met next and he watches her begin to realized what was happening. 

 

"Jaejoong Oppa!" She screamed, ready to run towards him until the officer held onto her shoulder. She winced, head still obviously sore. Only then can he relaxed. She's safe. She's hurt but she will be ok.