“Was that…?”

            “A sniper’s laser,” Hee Neul confirmed, checking other spots to see if the laser would show again. She knew something was up. The librarian wouldn’t leave her post in the library without something happening. “I told you. Everything’s fair game.”

            “Then—Then, I was about to be…”

            “Don’t be ridiculous,” Hee Neul cut him off, seeing his wide eyes from the corner of her vision. “They wouldn’t dare shoot a rifle through the window and vandalize school property. Besides, lasers…only idiots or freshmen use them for aim.”

            Kyungsoo looked at her with furrowed brows, trying to understand the information given to him. He asked, “Then what?”

            “You’ve just been marked.”

            Hee Neul gnawed on her lip, her mind already going past speed limit as she thought about her options. She was sure that none of the seniors or juniors would use lasers unless it was for intimidation. However, surely, no freshman would think about taking a spot in the bell tower closest to the senior building unless they’re asking for a death sentence.

            “Marked?” Kyungsoo choked out, his hands going up to grasp Hee Neul’s upper arms, wanting to shake her, and perhaps himself, out of this nightmare. “What do you mean I’ve just been marked?”

            “I mean someone just called ‘dibs’ on you and wants to take you out!” Hee Neul hissed, finally registering the position they were in, and she pushed him away at arms’ length. “Was it not clear before?”

            “Nothing’s clear with you,” Kyungsoo bit back, stumbling a bit at the sudden action. “You speak in riddles!”

            “Then let me make this very clear,” Hee Neul said, patting her pockets to check if she had anything that could be used. Although, she knew that she only had lock picks, a black marker, sticky tack, her fidget cube, two pens, and fake IDs in her pockets. “Someone just tagged you as their mark. Using a laser for a sniper is a rookie mistake, no freshman would have the gull to go up the senior bell tower unless they want to be missing for the rest of their lives, and if they wanted you dead, you would have been two minutes ago. Either seniors or juniors are marking you to intimidate you or…”

            “Or?”

            They--whoever they were--knew he was with her.

            Hee Neul gnawed on her lip, a terrible habit that she knew she should give up now that she had a cube and the knowledge that her lips would start bleeding again. She shook her head and asked, “Do you have any live weapons on you?”

            “Any what?”

            She didn’t answer, but started patting Kyungsoo down. She started first on the pockets of his uniform slacks, careful but at the same time panicked. There were keys, most probably for his dorm room and locker, something long and thin like a pen, loose change, and some soft material (probably a handkerchief). When Kyungsoo started squirming to get out of her grasp, Hee Neul reached out to clamp a hand on his upper arm to keep him close to her. She then tried to check the pockets on his blazer, feeling sweat forming on her temples from the small struggle between her and the new student.

            “Quit it!” she hissed, finally finding something cool underneath her fingertips in one of his blazer pockets.

            “What are you doing?” Kyungsoo asked, looking at the girl as if she was deranged. As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, this weirdo had to go and start molesting him.

            Hee Neul pulled out the small, metal thing, almost breathing out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was a Swiss knife. With trembling fingers, she picked out a sharp blade before checking around the pillar for the shooter. Whoever it was, she knew that they would regret using a laser pointer since their position was easy to determine. For laser pointers, you would have to be in line with the target.

            There was a tuft of dark hair that could be seen through one of the windows in the bell tower. There was no time in determining whose hair it was; the only thing in Hee Neul’s mind was taking care of a threat. After finding an open window in the library, she chucked the Swiss knife through the window, using all of her strength and not caring for a moment if her aim was off. There was no time for good aim.

            “Now!” Hee Neul shrieked once she heard the clang of the knife on concrete. She grabbed Kyungsoo’s sleeve and dropped to her knees, taking the short man with her. There was a loud thud and a curse from Kyungsoo as they both dropped to the ground. Hee Neul didn’t spare any time before crawling away from her spot, careful to take cover using the shelves in the library.

            The cold floor was unforgiving on the skin on her hands and knees as she crawled. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest any minute. Just a few more feet, she thought, seeing the wide door of the library. When she felt a chill from a cold draft sweep inside the room, she instantly froze, her eyes widening at the sensation.

            There shouldn’t be a chill in the room, unless—

            She turned around to check if one of the windows was open, but what she found was something she could never imagine someone doing. Kyungsoo was in front of the window where the laser once shown through, his face set in stone. He had opened the window while Hee Neul scrambled for her life, letting the cold draft of the oncoming night to pass. His wide eyes were clear, reflecting the intensity of the scorching sun within its brown depths. The dying rays from the sunset painted his pale skin a splash of pinks, oranges, and dark reds, like fire fuming and liking at his face. He was a boy on fire and magma.

            “Kyungsoo! What are you doing?” Hee Neul hissed, remaining on the spot hidden behind the shelves. She almost couldn’t bear to watch for she knew any moment, that blasted red dot would be back again.

            Kyungsoo didn’t reply, but he simply stared at straight at the bell tower. His expression was a careful mask, and Hee Neul couldn’t think of a time where a person looked so serious.

            A minute passed, a dreadful minute where she couldn’t even remember if she breathed through it all. There was a hiss from her when the red dot appeared again by his pocket, where Hee Neul knew they were aiming for his heart. The laser was steady, a sign that it was being handled by someone with strength, or the gun, if there was one, was mounted on a tripod.

            Still, Kyungsoo’s face remained impassive, almost carved from stone. If he even felt a tiny bit of fear, he hid it well. That sent almost a prick of fear in Hee Neul’s heart. Watching him raise his hand and start adjusting the sleeves of his blazer without breaking eye contact with the sniper made her stomach churn. Watching him look death in the eyes unnerved her.

            Just like a candle getting snuffed, the laser dot was gone.

            It was like there was a sigh of relief in the room, amplified by the sound of the window sliding to a close. Kyungsoo let out a breath before turning to find Hee Neul still on the floor, though all thoughts of leaving thrown out of her mind. Her once narrowed, feline eyes were wide as she stared at him. Whether it was from fear or from amazement, he couldn’t tell.

            “What…was that?”

            Kyungsoo blinked and crossed the room to offer Hee Neul his hand. He pressed his lips together, but he did not answer her.

            “What was that?” Hee Neul repeated, ignoring Kyungsoo’s hand and pushing herself up to her feet. She dusted her knees off, still feeling the sting of the cold floor on the bare skin. Her hands continued to shake as she tried to calm her heart.

            “You said that someone just marked me,” Kyungsoo replied, wiping his hand on his blazer to stifle the slight embarrassment that he felt when she didn’t take his hand. “I think the better question is ‘What did you do’.”