I finally rang the door bell. I can't think straight because of how fast my heartbeat is. I felt my entire body is vibrating because of how nervous I am. 

"Who is it?" A familiar calming voice suddenly spoke from the speaker that was on the gate. 

"Seulgi, it's Irene. I mean, Joohyun." I answered to the other line. Silence welcomed me. "Can I speak to you?" I spoke again when I felt she doesn't have a plan to reply.

"No," 

I almost jump from my position when I heard her answer. It was a joke, right? I thought. 

"Seulgi," I urged. "Please..." 

I suddenly hear a loud laugh from the speaker. I imagined her holding her stomach because of too much pressure. "Just kidding, Joohyun." She said between laughs. "Wait for me. I'm coming~" And that was the sweetest answer, voice, tone I heard from her recently. I can't help but smile. 

"Hi, Joohyun! What brought yo---" She doesn't finish her sentence when I punch her to her shoulder, a harmless punch. "Ow!" She shouted while brushing her shoulder because of the pain she just received. "What was that for?" 

"That was for the silent days you gave me." I said. I can feel the heat from my neck rising to my ears because of anger. I'm mad because finally, I am abled to talk to her and give her what she really deserve. I want us to go back to normal and stop these nonsense don't-talk-to-me situation. 

I was about to punch her shoulder again when she was able to grab my arm. "And what is this for?" She gave me these answer-my-question look on her eyes. 

"For not answering my texts and calls." I said. I punch her shoulder using my free hand when she swiftly grab it again before it landed to her.

"And this?" She asked again while raising my arm. 

"For the day I was worried sick about you." I said silently. I planned to say 'because I saw you with another girl' but I don't think that this is the right time for us to talk about it. She laughed quietly. "Why are you laughing at me?" I asked out of frustration. Why not? When I was so serious here but she just laugh at me like whatever I said was a joke. 

"You are so cute when you're mad." She said and laughed again. 

I felt like my tongue drag down to my stomach and felt the warm on my cheeks. I bet, I'm blushing right now. I don't know what to say next when she reaches my hand. Now, I finally felt the comforting warmth I was looking again. 

"Sorry," was all she could say.

"Y-you should!" I stuttered. 

She laugh because she noticed but gently nodded her head after. " I was really angry back in the days when you spoke to your uncle lik---" she didn't finish her sentence again when someone called her name from my back. 

"Seulgi~ It's so nice to see you." I'm positive that it was a girl who called her because of the tone. 

"Sulli," Seulgi called.

I was about to turned my head when she suddenly place both of her hands to my cheeks, stopping me from turning. "Don't." Her voice was serious and full of demand. I wanted to ask why but her face was serious so I decided to just follow her order. I've never seen her face like this before. 

"Oww, we have a visitor here, guys." The girl from my back spoke again. It was probably me who they talked about earlier. She laughed. No, they laughed. I heard many voices laughing from my back after a while. "Finally, we meet again, Seulgi." I bet she's walking towards us when I felt her voice is getting nearer and nearer. "Do you like our new instruments?" She asked. 

What instruments? I thought. I badly wanted to turn my head but Seulgi's hands are stopping me. "Don't, Joohyun. Please, don't." She said silently. 

"O-okay," I said. 

"I have a face mask inside my pocket. Would you mind to get it?" 

I nodded and shove my hand to her side pockets just like what she said. 

"It's a pleasure to use these instruments first for you, Seulgi." The girl spoke again. I wonder want she meant with these instruments she mentioned. I bet, it's not really instruments like guitars or whatever but deadly tools.

"You got nothing here." I whispered to Seulgi, wanting to tell her she got an empty pockets in her sides. She shook her head and look at me using her eyes only. 

"Really?" brows raising for inquiry.

"Yeah," 

"Ah! At my back, Joohyun." She said when she finally realized it was in her back pockets. I rolled my eyes at her. "Wear it immediately." She demanded.

I don't know what she planned to do but I did what she told me. 

"Done." I said silently. She nodded when she saw me wearing the face mask already.

I heard the girl and her team laughing again. "You don't want us to see her face, huh? Is she that kind of precious, Kang?" 

"Don't listen." She said to me. "Prepare yourself, Joohyun." She said while holding my arm tightly. I can sense, danger is coming our way because of how she hold me. She clicked the button from the doorbell. 

"Oh?" Krystal answered, always cold as blue. 

"Code red." Seulgi said to the other line. 

Two words. Just two words and we started running as fast as the hell as we can. I was blinded of what is currently happening but I just ran as fast as I can too.

The girls and her gang followed us in a second when their leader, I don't know if it's really their leader, shouted, "Follow them!" 

We ran down to the stairs for I don't know how many steps was there. I could hear their voices and steps behind us, meaning they are close. 

"What the hell is happening here, Seulgi?" I said, when we were hiding in an alley, want an immediate answer. 

"Don't shout. They'll hear us." She whispered. We turned to another street and the dirty market welcomed us. We walked as fast as we can through these ppeople who sometimes bumped us. The dirty market is busy as usual. When we reaches the end, she planned to turn right when we meet the people who were chasing us. Affirmative. They weren't brought the literal instruments but baseball bats, axes, and hammers. 

Seulgi started running to the left, holding my arm tight, leading our way like a prince protecting his princess from the enemies. But the only difference is that, I don't have a goddamn idea who the hell are them.

"Run, Joohyun." Seulgi demanded when she realized the gap between us got bigger. "Here." She suddenly pulled me to a silent alley. She suddenly stop from running when we saw shadows at the end of the road. She check the area around us. She drag me to an another empty alley but this time, it was small. Small as in she have to walk first before me because we cannot fit in together. When we reached the end of it, the more we saw shadows of the chasers. She quickly check a store, which was already close and opened the door. Luckily, yes luckily, it wasn't locked. She gently pushes me inside of it.

"What are you planning to do, Seulgi?" I asked. I don't like the idea my mind is giving me right now. 

"I have to fight them." She said while walking around inside the store. I think, she's finding a thing or a tool that could help her in fighting them. "And you have to hide here, Joohyun."

"What? No!" 

"We don't have any choice, Joohyun." She saw a piece of hard wood and she's like weighing it using her two hands. 

"No, Seulgi. You could die. There's always another option." I insisted. I stop her in walking out by grabbing her by her arm. She turned to see me. 

"Please..." She said silently, her tone was begging. "I don't want us to die here. I'll lure them. Just stay here, I'll be back for you." 

"But you could die there too." 

She just smiled, a small smile. "Don't worry," was all she said and left the room immediately. I was about to follow her when she suddenly close the door. "Don't you dare in coming out, Joohyun." She demanded. And there was nothing for me to do but to watch her from the window. 

There were three girls came to her, each of them carrying baseball bat. 

"I didn't know your planning to create a baseball team." Seulgi said to them sarcastically. The girls didn't answer her but run forward for offense. The girl with a short hair smashes her bat to Seulgi but she dodged it. She smashes her wood to the girl's bat and it flew quite away from the owner's position. "Didn't you have a training how to hold a baseball bat well?" Seulgi said jokingly again. The other two were smashing their baseball bats to Seulgi but luckily, Seulgi always manage to dodge every move. I am quite impressed of how Seulgi still didn't get a single hit from the enemies. Girl number one, girl with short hair, was trying her best giving her hard punches but Seulgi always dodge it. Seulgi get some dust from the floor and throw it to the girls. They shouted when it landed to their eyes. I smiled. We already won. 

But I was wrong, when the other two, who still have their bats, keep smashing their tools even their eyes were close. Seulgi keep her eyes focus on the bats. In one swift move, she smashed the wood she carried to the other girl's shoulder and she immediately fell on the ground. I can't imagine how hard was the impact to the girl's body when it keep on screaming because of pain. I also heard a crack. Seulgi run towards the other and kick her gut and punch her jaw. She passed out. The remaining one was very far from where Seulgi was standing, so she didn't bother to fight her anymore and run the hell away from her.

She slowly walk towards the store, where I am hiding, trying her best not to make a sound. She opened the door carefully. 

"You alright?" I whispered, checking wounds to her body, knowing the enemy might just meters apart. 

She nodded. "Let's go." She said with a smile on her face while offering her palm to me. A smile that tells me that everything's gonna be alright when she's with me because she will protect me at all cost.

I squeezed her hand as tight as I can. I give her a small smile to tell her I'm ready to escape from death again. 

She check the surroundings if it's safe for us to run in this direction and when she finally confirm that it was safe, we run again together to another alley that leads us to the main street. 

"Ugh!" I urged when my leg snapped.

"What happened?" She quickly fill the gap between us to hold my face. "Are you alright?" 

"No!" I half screamed half whispered. "My leg snapped." 

"I'm really sorry, I was in a hurry. Can you handle it?" She asked but I couldn't manage to answer when my leg is starting to hurt so bad. "Joohyun, we need to hurry before they chase us." She holded my arm again and was about to start running when I pulled her to me. She raised her eyebrows for inquiry. "I can't walk." I pleaded silently, feeling the pain on my leg. 

She breathe heavily while looking at me, around us, checking if there's an enemy in a distance. 

She sighed. "Okay," she said. She turned around. Her back facing me now and she tap it. 

No. Does she planned to do the ridiculous thing I am thinking right now? I thought. 

"Come on, Joohyun." She urged. She tapped her back again while slouching down. "Hop in." She whispered. 

"No no no no no." I can't help but walked backwards, avoiding her because of her damn plan. 

"What no?" She said. 

"You can't carry me." 

"I can. Trust me." She said. She's serious and her eyes were full of worries when she was staring at my legs. "You just told me you can't walk. What else can I do? I can't leave you here. I don't want us to die neither." 

I remember those guys' tools. But I wasn't worry about Seulgi carrying me because we need to escape from death, but because... urgh. "I don't know... how heavy I am, Seulgi." 

"I don't care if you're heavy or light." She said while tapping her back for the third time. "Just hop in, Joohyun. So, we can both escape from death." She demanded. I think, I was convince because my body started moving on its own and did what she told me. She jumped to fixed me to her back. "Right? Left?" She asked while slowly pushing us up from the ground, carrying me this time. I hold her shoulders tight when she started doing that. I hooked my arms around her neck and buried my face to my arms because I'm scared. "Joohyun!" Seulgi's voice made me go back to reality. 

"Hmm?" 

"Right or left?" 

"What, right or left?" 

"Your hurt leg." She titled her head to my legs, telling me which one is painful. 

"Right." I whispered. She nodded. All of a sudden, a girl out of nowhere shouted.

"They are here!!!" 

We both turned our heads to where the voice came from. The gang run next to her and look at us with a sarcastic smiles on their faces while carrying these deadly tools. I swear, they look like satans trying to steal our lives. 

"Seulgi," I whispered while I submerged my face to my arms, which are embracing Seulgi right now. 

"Don't worry. Just hold tight." She said in a monotone. She jumped again to fixed me to her back. 

Is she serious? Is she going to run to I-don't-know where, carrying me to her back? I thought. 

But she did what exactly I was thinking. She really ran away from those crazy girls who are still following us. She turn to every alleys she think were safe. But do you know what shock me the most? Realizing her speed isn't decreasing despite having me at her back. 

Seulgi. I know you're having a hard time right now but praying is the best thing I could only give to you at this very moment of ours. I thought.

We were at the bakery when somebody shouted. 

"Seulgi!!!" 

It was Krystal, who is parking her car at the next street, in front of us. She signaled us to run to her car.

As much as we wanted to run and hop inside her car immediately, the traffic light is stopping us from doing what we wanted. It's a red light.

"You can put me down, Seulgi. I think I can handle myself from here." I said. 

"No, Joohyun." 

I couldn't help but to stop arguing with her when her tone was worried, demanding me to stop whatever ridiculous thing I'm thinking. 

"Here!" Another girl shouted from our right. In just a second, there were numerous of them running towards us. 

"Seulgi." I can't help but gently punching her shoulder when I saw the gap between us and the enemies getting thinner and thinner. But she didn't answer me. Instead, she was so focus looking straight to Krystal's car in front of us. Staring to the other end of the lane.

"Go go go go!" I shouted when the traffic light turned green. She run as fast as she can. Krystal on the other hand, opened the car for us. Seulgi immediate put me in the passenger seat, carefully placing my leg to the most comfortable way while I'm wearing the seatbelt. "Hop in, Seulgi! Hop in!" I can't help but shouted when I saw the girls chasing us are already crossing the lane.

"Hold on tight!" Krystal declared when she noticed Seulgi just finished wearing her seatbeat. She immediate started the engine and left the place in just a blink of an eye. 

I took a deep breath after realizing we already escape from death, all of us are safe now, far from where we are earlier.

Krystal glances at me whenever she have a chance while driving.

"What?" I said. 

"Is your leg hurt?" she asked. "I noticed Seulgi carefully put your leg inside the car." 

"Yeah," I said. "It snapped when she dragged me to an alley." 

She nodded. "I'm glad you're safe now. Right, Seulgi?" She said. But no one answer her. "Seul?" Krystal called again. She narrowed her eyes while looking at the rare mirror to see what Seulgi was doing but she can't confirm it. 

I decided to turn around to look at her when I saw no one was sitting at the back. But I can't confirmed it because it was dark. "Seulgi?" I called but no one answer me again. Krystal clicks a button overhead us and there was light. 

"Seulgi!" I shouted when I saw her lying on the car's floor, lifeless. I hurriedly unbuckle my seat belt and didn't hesitate to go at the back to help on Seulgi even the car is running.

"Careful, Joohyun." Krystal reminded me of my leg.

I lowered my head and tried my best to fit myself between the passenger seats, carefully raising my right leg because it is still painful, so I can go at the back and check Seulgi's situation. 

"Seulgi?" I called again, trying to know if she hears me so I would know if she's conscious. But she still didn't answer. Worse, she didn't move a damn inch. 

When I successfully reached the back, I shake Seulgi's body. "Seulgi!? Kang Seulgi!?" I shouted. I decided to carry her to me.

Krystal parked the car for I don't know where and unbuckled her seatbelt as well. She goes out from the car and walk to the back to open the door and help me carrying the unconscious Seulgi. "She passed out." Krystal said while putting Seulgi's arm to her shoulder. 

"Passed out? How?" 

"Energy drained, Irene." Krystal said. I assisted her in carrying Seulgi out of the car.  

"It's okay, Joohyun. I can handle her now." Krystal said, telling me to stop helping her. "Your leg," she reminded. 

I just nodded, following Krystal's order. I looked around me, to this is unfamilar place. "Where are we?" I asked when I realized we were surrounded by huge houses and huge trees. 

Krystal still fixing Seulgi's arm to her shoulder to the most comfortable way. 

"Seulgi's house." She said. "It's very dangerous to go back to my house right now. So, for the meantime, we'll stay here." Krystal titled her head to the villa she was talking about.

I was mesmerized of how big the villa was, standing beautifully in front of me. The flowers are bloomed in the garden. I can see that Seulgi take her time in pampering her garden with care and love. 

This is quite an expensive place. I already know it the moment my eyes laid on its luxurious design. 

"Can you handle yourself here, Irene?" Krystal asked, while looking at me over her shoulder. 

"Is this a private villa?" I asked, mouth slightly opened. "Her private villa?"

Krystal silently laughed because of my question. "Yeah," She nodded. "Remember when Seulgi joined our class for the first time?" 

I nodded. 

"Do you still remember what Ms. Pizarro said that time?" 

I paused for a moment to think. "That she's a famous underground dancer?"

Krystal shook her head. "Nope. Keep digging." 

"That she live in Louisville---" I paused. "This is Louisville?" 

Krystal nodded and say cheerfully, "Yes, this is Louisville." 

"But I remembered, she said she used to lived her."

"That was probably because she left this house after she graduated in elementary." She shrugged. "But she keep coming back. You might get surprise to see what's inside there. She called this place as her paradise." 

This was the first time I realized how much money an underground dancer can own.

"So, can you handle yourself from here, Joohyun?" 

I shook my head to set things aside. "Y-yeah," was all I could say when I slowly following Krystal to where she's heading. 

"Just tell me when you need help." Krystal reminded. 

"Okay," I nodded my head. 

I saw how glamorous the house when I saw the interior design when we were approaching the villa.

When Krystal pushes the glassy main door of the villa, my jaw automatically drop because of the aesthetics of the place that welcomed me. 

Who would have thought a simple student had a private this luxurious place? This is very unimaginable, unexpected. 

Very unexpected.

*********

Author's note:
Guys, please leave a comment about your thoughts to this chapter. It is a great help and motivation for me to keep moving on. 

And also, I might can't update next week because finals are approaching! Thanks for you understanding! Love lots!