24/5

9.15 p.m.

Glancing at his watch for the sixth time that day while running and manoeuvring himself through the throngs of people in the street, he cursed silently to himself. He ran as fast as he could, clutching the strawberry latte in his hand being careful not to stumble to anyone.

He shouldn’t have hit the snooze button on his phone this morning. With his body and legs still sore from last night working out with Ten and Taeil at their apartment gym, he pushed himself too hard trying to get back in shape. It’s been a while since he hit the gym and returning back to his place, he just flopped himself on his bed too tired to even shower. Before his eyes drooped, he heard the vibration from his phone and saw a message from Chaeyeon.

In his still sleepy induced mind, he just skimmed the message content. It was not until several hitting the snooze button and getting up from the bed with sore muscles all over his body, he just remembered he had two agenda that morning. First he had a morning class and two, he briefly had a flash of memory of Chaeyeon texting him last night telling him to order a strawberry latte before 9.30 for her class.

He looked at the clock and then checked his phone for confirmation. What he saw immediately made him ran to the bathroom. After that he hurriedly put on his clothes and then ran out from his place after locking it.

Jaehyun really didn’t expect that he would have a morning run right not after last night. He knew of one coffee shop place that sold her latte right near his apartment. Unfortunately for him there were already people lined up. All the time he kept glancing at his watch, he become even more agitated and when it was his turn, he practically had to tell the barista to make it quickly which the latter did. He bolted out of the place after getting his order.

Nearing the university, he peeked at his watch again.

9.25 p.m.

He internally screamed in frustration as he ran towards her class at the second block. He took two steps on the stairs and spotted her standing outside of her class waiting for him apparently as she looked around. Today she wore a long sleeve red turtleneck crop top and light blue denim jeans.

Jaehyun slowed down this time as he walked towards her, finally catching his breath. He could feel the sweats trickled down his back and face. Luckily for him, her drink was still in good condition though he couldn’t guarantee the taste of it would be to her liking. She didn’t even mention which franchise coffee shop she prefers.

Uh oh

As he approached her, he gulped nervously as he knew he was in trouble because judging from her furrowing eyebrows and her lips thinned.

Not good.

He didn’t think he could sweat some more.

She crossed her arms while staring at him when he was in front of her. She didn’t say anything as her expression already spoke for herself

“I’m sorry I’m late.” Then Jaehyun handed her the strawberry latte which she took a bit aggressively from his hand.

“I’m really sorry I’m late-“He started to explain himself but Chaeyeon wasn’t having none of it.

She gave him one last glare and promptly entered her class.

Jaehyun could only suppress a breath he’s been holding. He ran his hand to his unruly messy hair that he didn’t have time to comb that morning due to his rush.

With the way she acted to him just now, it’s understandable that she would be mad at him. No excuses came from him.

Walking away, he headed towards his class sweaty and already tired for the day. He just hoped that when she meets him later, her anger already simmered down.

***

In the middle of his class, an incoming vibration from his pocket told Jaehyun of a message. His eyebrows rose as he saw it was from an unknown number. He debated with himself whether to open it or not but in the end curiosity got the better of him and decided to open it.

What he read immediately send a chill towards his spine. The message was a no ordinary message. It was a threatening message written in bold caps. It read:

“STAY AWAY FROM HER OR BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN TO YOU”

It didn’t take a genius to know that by ‘Her’ it meant Chaeyeon. It seems that someone had been paying close attention to both of them, he surmised.

The first person that came to Jaehyun’s mind was Junhong. He didn’t know why but something about the guy left him a little disturbed with the way he stared at Jaehyun with obvious hatred in his eyes yesterday but a jealous ex-boyfriend doesn’t mean he would do it.

Would he? That question bugged him throughout his class that half of his attention was on the lecture and half was on the message. He planned on calling the number later.

When his class ends, Jaehyun received another text assuming it’s from the same sender but fortunately this time, it’s from Chaeyeon telling him to meet at the cafeteria like yesterday. He sighed in relief and his heart feeling lighter than just now.

He exited the room once class ends. For now, he’s going to temporarily forgot about that message. He swept his gaze on the place and found her sitting and laughing with her friend. He walked towards them as he blew out his breath ready to confront with her.

Chaeyeon stopped when she finally noticed him and swivelled her gaze to him. Jaehyun tried not to shift on his weight whenever she looked at him like that as if she’s clearly studying everything about him.

“Why were you late this morning?” she asked in a clipped tone. The friend who was next to her was watching them with apparent interest in her eyes.

He rubbed the back of his neck wincing at her tone. “I woke up late after last night with my friends. I’m sorry.”

“Where were you last night? And what were you doing with your friends?” she inquired and Jaehyun frowned. Unless he’s wrong, he thought that he heard a hint of jealousy in her tone which doesn’t make any sense to him. Why should she? It didn’t help that the friend who was watching them tried to stifle a laugh at Chaeyeon’s questions.

“I was at the gym with my friends.” He replied.

“Are these friends of yours females?” she asked some more.

He shook his head.

Was that a look of relief he noticed just now?

This conversation was turning weird for him.

“I don’t like people who are not punctual or late for that matter. Next time I won’t be as forgiving. Understand?” she gave him a terse warning.

Jaehyun just nodded. “Was…the strawberry latte to your liking? Is it alright?” he asked.

“It’s alright I guess.” She said nonchalantly. She rummaged through her bag and handed him two note papers. He took it revealing a list of groceries with the second note only having few groceries than the first one. He had a hunch the first one was Chaeyeon. Of course he was right because...

“Ah the second note was mine. I’m Nayoung by the way. I hope you don’t mind buying them for my grandmother. She gave it to me this morning for me to buy later in the afternoon but I have an emergency meeting with my club members. Chaeyeon said since you were doing the grocery for her, she thought I might as well give it to you. Of course I have the money with me.” Nayoung interjected while giving him an apologising look. Meanwhile Chaeyeon smirked at him apparently delighted see him in misery.

He wished she had told him beforehand what he will be doing for the day. At least he would be prepare somewhat.

Guess it can’t be helped then, he thought to himself.

He gave the friend a reassuring smile. “It’s fine.”

She gave him the money and thanked him before leaving the table. When Jaehyun turned his attention back to Chaeyeon, expecting her to do the same only to find her narrowing her eyes at him and quirked an eyebrow.

What did I do wrong now?

She did end up giving the money for her groceries though before casually remarking “I don’t think I need to give you the address to my place. Do you?” all the while giving an innocent look with her doe like eyes.

Same like last time, she was baiting him and still he won’t take it. Not anytime soon anyway. She knew it of course. Whenever she , he actually secretly enjoyed it. Maybe it’s a bit weird for him to think like that but he can’t deny it. He liked this playful side of her rather than her usual chic and cold image she usually portrayed at times.

If he’s being honest with himself again, he’d prefer it if she’s like this with him all the time.

I really need to stop thinking like this, he gloomily thought to himself. It’s not good. Not at all.

“What? Is there something on my face?” she asked bringing him out his thought. Jaehyun didn’t realise that he was staring at her and was caught by her again.

“N-nothing. I-I’d better go. I’ll see you later.” He hastily said before she could see his flush cheeks.

***

12.45 p.m.

Standing near fruits and vegetables aisle, he went back and forth checking from the lists to the basket to make sure he had put in everything in the basket. He mentally ticked each one of them satisfied that the place had it all.

He stopped in his track when he spotted packets of strawberries on the cold shelves and picked two of them without hesitation. That one was going to be on him. The reason he bought them well, it reminded him of her.

Now that he thought about it, the colour red really complements her well especially when she had red blushes on her cheeks during their photoshoot.

Approaching the cashier, he lined up behind an elderly couple. He sighed heavily to himself as he was worried about something. The supermarket he went to was near Chaeyeon’s apartment place actually but considering the amount of things he bought, he didn’t think he could carry all of them by himself. The easiest choice was for him to call Ten or Taeil but the problem was he didn’t want to explain to either one of them on why he’s buying groceries for two girls out of the blue.

Jaehyun purposely didn’t mention to any of them about the proposition Chaeyeon imposed on him last night. If they knew or ever found out about it (which was impossible), they would relentlessly because Jaehyun had once told them he was a former classmate of Chaeyeon when they hang out together at his place and that he had a crush on her since then. At first they didn’t believe him until he showed them a photo of his high school graduation class. From there they sometime subtlety whenever they stumble upon a photo of her in the street or at magazines.

He told the cashier to separate the two groceries and the strawberries. After the cashier had already packed his stuff, he let out a breath before picking up the numerous plastic bags in his hands. Along the way, Jaehyun kept adjusting his hold on the plastic bags. He let out a sighed when he saw her apartment building in sight.

Nearing at the front of the gate, Jaehyun saw a tall guy stood in front of security guard post with backpack and several luggages behind him. The guard wasn’t there.

A new tenant perhaps? Or someone who was lost?

Jaehyun approached him. “Excuse me? Are you lost by any chance?”

The guy turned, surprised by Jaehyun sudden presence behind him. “Well you can say though. Is this the right place?” he showed Jaehyun a paper which contained an address. So, the guy wasn’t lost. He’s a new tenant.

“Yes. You just moved here?”

“Yeah. I came from Chicago but decided to pursue my study here. I just arrived this morning. My aunt gave me this address. She was supposed to pick me up at the airport and showed me around but suddenly had an emergency meeting. I’ve been standing there for a couple of minutes waiting for the guard. I’m Seo Youngho by the way but you can call me Johnny.”

“I’m Jung Jaehyun.” He introduced himself.

Johnny noticed the many plastic bags in his Jaehyun’s hand and his tortured expression “Now that’s a lot of plastic bags. Who are they for?”

“A friend of mine and her friend.” Jaehyun replied. An idea then popped in his head. “That friend of mine lived here in this apartment. She knows who the landlord is. Follow me.”

“Thank you. Hey why don’t I carry half of those bags for you?” Johnny offered.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? I mean you do have those luggages behind you.”

“It’s fine. It’s the least I can do for you helping me with this.”

“Well okay then. Thank you.” He handed some of the plastic bags to Johnny. They entered the lobby area and Jaehyun texted Chaeyeon of his arrival. He also informed her of Johnny, the new tenant. Although he knew of her address, he didn’t actually know which floor she was staying.

While waiting for her message, both he and Johnny took a seat at the lounge area when the latter asked a question that left Jaehyun flustered “Is this friend of yours a female?”

“What made you said that?”

Johnny lifted an eyebrow. “You were smiling while texting to her. She must be someone special I take it?”

Well he’s not really off the mark actually. He didn’t even realise he was smiling while texting her. Was he really that transparent?

Jaehyun could only stare at the guy, speechless of his observation. In correspondence to his question, well Jaehyun couldn’t deny that Chaeyeon is definitely someone special to him but in terms of what, he’s still finding out about that.

“You-could say that though.” He answered with a sheepish smile and Johnny can’t help but chuckled. Even if Jaehyun tried to deny it, his expression already told Johnny all he needed to know.

Jaehyun received a message from her a while later telling him to come up. He learned that she lived on the third floor. He knocked on the door and she opened it a moment later.

Wow!

Those were the first word that came through his mind when he saw her. He thought he saw it all with Chaeyeon but apparently not all of it. He nearly had his mouth gaped open right in front of her. Wearing only a white t-shirt and black shorts with her tied back in a ponytail and apparently bare face, she was really beautiful more so than when they done the photo shoot together.

“Did you get all of them?” she asked.

It took him a moment to understand what she was asking. He nodded and both boys entered her place. Her place was not what Jaehyun thought it was. He expected more from someone like her but he thought wrong. The place wasn’t that spacious but was well decorated with furniture and bookshelves lining up.

Johnny told Chaeyeon of his situation while Jaehyun sauntered what appeared to be the kitchen area. He took the plastic bags that Johnny put down on the floor as well.

“Actually the landlord just went back to hometown but her granddaughter is staying and living with her. Let me message her. Please have a seat.” She told him before moving to the kitchen where Jaehyun was.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she saw him taking out her groceries one by one.

“Helping you out. Why?” he replied.

“You don’t need to do that. I can take care of it.” she said joining him.

“It’s fine. Before I forget, here.” He searched his pocket and gave her the receipt. She looked at it for quite a while he continued with his task.

She then noticed a small plastic bag that was separated from the others and peeked inside. “Strawberries? I don’t remember putting it on the list.” She looked at him questioningly.

“They’re for you actually. I bought it ” Jaehyun replied casually, casting his eyes downward on the task in front of him.

“Oh. T-Thank you.” She stammered before taking them to clean to the sink behind them.

What Jaehyun didn’t know was that Chaeyeon was smiling shyly at the unexpected gesture.

Meanwhile Johnny who was silently observing the two of them just sighed exasperatedly at both of their behaviour. A person would have to be blind not to notice that both of them really liked each other. After Jaehyun told that the strawberries were for her, he saw her expression softened to those of a shy girl talking to her crush. From the way she talked to Jaehyun, she put on a tsundere act in front of him.

Isn’t that how girls are when they are in front of the guy they liked? Johnny thought to himself. He found himself smiling at a sudden revelation he had discovered upon observing further the way she act and talked some more with Jaehyun.

The guy may not know it yet or probably would never know but it looks like Chaeyeon was playing a hidden game of push and pull with him.

***

1.30 p.m.

He left her place not long after she received a message from Nayoung and accompanied Johnny to meet her friend. That left him alone in her apartment. Though she didn’t say it to him, Jaehyun put the groceries away in their proper cabinet and shelves.

When she came back alone this time, he told her he’s going back and she thanked him once again. He felt an odd warmth coursed through him when she told him to arrive back home safely when she send him at the door. Going down the elevator, he can still feel that warmth.

He gave a brief nod to the security guard on his way out of the gate.

The moment he stepped out of the gate, he felt that chilling sensation again like the one back in the library. He didn’t have time to search around when he felt a stinging pain on his left cheek before another pain hit him again on his temple and then his forehead simultaneously.

He kneeled down. Reaching for his face, he saw his hand was covered a little with blood.

The security guard uncle rushed to him apparently saw the whole thing. “Are you okay? What happen?” He frantically looked around the place and saw a silhouette of someone running behind the bushes. He gave a chase.

Meanwhile Jaehyun let out a grunt of pain. Though he could see it was just a minor cut it still hurt. He then spotted on the ground some sharp stones with some bloods on it. His blood to be exact.

He didn’t have to think hard who the perpetrator was. The sender did say bad things will start happen to him if Jaehyun didn’t stay away from Chaeyeon. Well too bad for the guy, Jaehyun’s not planning to follow his order anytime soon.

“Did you see who it was uncle?” Jaehyun asked as he saw the security guard came back breathing hard from the chase.

He shook his head. “No. He got away fast but from what I can see he’s tall and wearing all black from top to bottom.”

That description fit well with Junhong since he was tall. The problem was there are so many tall guys from the university it could be just about anyone. Was it perhaps a crazy fanboy of hers or her stalker who didn’t like her with any guys? Or could it be a jealous ex-boyfriend?

“You’re bleeding a bit there. What happen?” the guard asked and Jaehyun told him.

“Well it looks like just a cut but you can’t be too careful. Let me take you to the clinic not far from here.” The guard offered to help but Jaehyun rejected it thanking him anyway. He also told the guard not to keep silent about this incident from Chaeyeon as he didn’t want to worry her especially since he now knew someone had been keeping an eye on him.

Back at his apartment, he treated his wound gingerly. In the midst of it, a message then came in and he felt a sense of dread out of nowhere. He knew the feeling well and what the message contain. The message this time came from a different number than before. Unlike the last time, this time he anticipated the threatening message. It read:

“DID YOU LIKE THE SURPRISE I GAVE YOU? THERE’S MORE TO COME THAN THAT. THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING. STAY AWAY FROM HER.”

Not likely.

He’s not going down without a fight. However the one thing that he feared was that Chaeyeon would be hurt in the process just so the perpetrator could make his point cross towards Jaehyun.

Jaehyun then thought of someone who can help him with this kind of thing. He nearly forgot about that person. He dialled the number before he heard the person on the other line picked up.

“Hey. I need your help with something.”