The strong sensation of Deja vu she feels is incredibly overwhelming. The euphoria building in her chest, the blood pumping strongly through her veins, the addicting thrill of excitement moving throughout her body- all of it was familiar. This time around, she did laugh, a loud, exhilarated laugh like Wonho’s had been the first time he chased her. Something was different with this so-called rematch- noticeably, her first instinct was to say that her previous fear was absent, but it was a little more complicated than that.

There were a couple more things in her favor this time. For one, she wasn’t outfitted in a restrictive dress and heels inches high. She also had more experience now. However, there were still a couple things against her too. The area in which they had parked was flatter, more open, and much more sparsely adorned than the city where she had escaped him before. She couldn’t pull the same tricks this time that she did the last with the limited number of buildings around. And Wonho was still one of the best Runners in the Flight- that fact had never changed and probably never would.

“You’re going to have to be faster than that, Princess,” his laughing voice follows her own, far more mocking and still possessing the dark intensity it held when he had told her to run. She leans to the left, dodging outstretched pale fingers and a swiping hand, his words and the rush of wind giving away his location and movements ahead of time. Daeun lets out a few swears and pushes herself harder, gaining more speed.

His endurance is better than hers just because he’s been a Runner for longer, his body more used to it, trained. She needs to shake him soon, or else he’ll eventually catch up to her when she tires. In an attempt to buy herself some time, she takes a sharp turn around another lone vehicle and makes a rough U-turn directly after, rounding the car completely. It’s more than just risky- it’s undeniably stupid. But it gives her a few precious seconds, Wonho having been close enough behind her that he skids past the car and is forced to come to a complete stop in order to change directions. Once again, just like in their earlier game, he’s stunned by her quick wit and agility. He’s grudgingly impressed. Of course, facing a worthy opponent only makes the sport of cat and mouse more fun; Wonho smirks confidently, following after her.

There’s infinite space, but limited material to work with. Shownu’s mysterious car is another possible obstacle she can throw in his path and use to her advantage, but he’s not an idiot, and he won’t allow himself to fall for the same technique again or be distracted. Her mind is racing, searching for a way out. Her eyes land on the bar and the dumpsters with black and white trash bags piled up next to them that rest behind it. She swerves to the right and flings herself towards them. She lets out a harsh puff of air as her abdomen slams into the hard edge of the trash bin, her momentum carrying her too far forward to stop before reaching it- there was sure to be a bruise later, but right now that wasn’t any of her concern. She doesn’t let the setback slow her down, wincing as she scrambles up, and then using the dumpster as a boost to jump up and grab onto the ledge of the building’s roof. She pulls herself up, heaving a little from the blow that had momentarily knocked the wind out of her. Not making the mistake of looking behind her -if she had, she would have seen Wonho’s steps falter for a split second in his hesitation as she surprised him once again with her actions-, she sprints across the roof and leaps.

Wonho pauses, eyebrows shooting up beneath his hairline in surprise, stalling halfway through the process of hauling himself up onto the rooftop after her. He can’t help but let out a shocked laugh and grin as he finally follows through with the motion and comes to stand on the solid roof, enthralled once more by her unpredictable actions. He doesn’t waste any more time though, shaking his head as he copies the trail she’s blazed, eyes alight with amusement and the intoxicating thrill of the chase.

He jumps, launching himself off the building, arms latching onto the branch of a nearby tree, nails digging into bark, scraping against it in a painfully uncomfortable manner. He swings himself up just as she had done and fixes his balance, steadying himself with one hand against the trunk and his sneakers struggling to grip the wood on the sturdy branch below him. He’s careful not to put all of his weight on it in fear of it breaking, but he throws caution to the wind and pushes down hard to gain enough momentum in order to propel himself over the stonewall adjacent to the tree. By the time he’s on the other side, feet planted on the ground once more, she’s got a strong lead on him. He just barely manages to catch a glimpse of her back as she rounds the corner of another building, brown, red-tipped hair streaming behind her in the breeze she was creating with her speed.

Daeun was thanking every deity she could think of off the top of her head for the small cluster of tiny warehouses located off the side of the pitstop behind that stone wall. They were probably filled with cargo and other merchandise, a few trucks and semis parked in the neighboring lot. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were here for, or why there was a bar next door and a gas station on the other side of the storage area- her current end destination. She aimed to get to the station and go from there, perhaps even backtrack afterward. She tried snaking through the storehouses to ditch her pursuer, zigzagging and making turns without any real pattern to her movements.

She makes it to the gas station without trouble, though she can hear the sound of Wonho’s heavy footsteps pounding against concrete close behind her. Putting her rough plan into action, she runs past the pumps and dashes through the small store attached to it. The resistance from the doors, both the one she enters at the front and the one she exits at the back, slows her down and she mentally curses at herself for her stupid idea. The little bell on the door jingles as she navigates her way through the stocked shelves as fast and smooth as she can, the next bell on her designated exit door ringing not long after the first. Hoping that she can make it, she heads back through the warehouses again, goal the stone wall once more. To be honest, she has no clue what she’s doing. This feels like a wild race, just going back and forth. Her heart is beating at an alarming rate and her sides are starting to hurt, lungs protesting at the lack of air as her breath escapes from in little puffs and pants. There’s no way that Wonho won’t catch her at this rate- unless, that is, she can somehow get back to the car, get in, lock the doors, and claim triumph that way. It would be a rather petty, childish victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Wonho, his latest attempt to snatch her having failed when she slid on the pavement and dived into the store, chuckles despite just missing her. He’s going too fast and overshoots the entrance. Forced to keep going and take the long way around the building in order to avoid costing himself any more time, he finds that he’s actually enjoying himself, reveling in the thrill, the challenge. Daeun really is something else, that’s for sure. He isn’t going to lose though. He’s got too much riding on this, more than just his pride- he’s determined not to let her get away from him again, and he means that in more ways than one.

Daeun’s almost back to the wall when she realizes she’s made a mistake- several, actually. First and foremost, there’s no way back over that wall. It’s too high and there’s nothing for her to climb on or to help her scale it. It’s effectively a dead end. Even more important- why had she even been running in the first place? Of course, it was because Wonho told her to, but why had she listened? There was really no reason for her to indulge him in this little game of his. The more she thought about it, the more she questioned both her motives and his, the more she was beginning to think that she actually wanted to get caught. But that was impossible. Ridiculous. Insane. Right?

Maybe it was Wonho