Whilst the crowd still had their attention solely focused on Brian Kang, you silently made your way down from the elevated podium to the ground, hoping to slip away through the crowd and disappear. Yet you had no such luck. You soon find yourself in the middle of an onslaught as adoring fangirls and fanboys alike charged towards Brian Kang. You couldn’t dodge them fast enough and you were soon assaulted by a barrage of hits and shoves. The last shove was the hardest, and it had you falling to the ground, knocking the wind out of you in the process. Wincing as you held onto your shoulder, you looked up to glare at the rude girl who didn’t even bother to apologise, curses already hanging by your lips. 

Only to be silenced by Brian Kang’s fiery gaze. 

Just like before, his eyes were locked onto yours, with you being the sole subject of his focus. Not even a single glance for a millisecond at anyone in the crowd of people surrounding him, all vying for his attention. All he could see was you. Your cheeks burned under the intensity of his gaze, and you did not appreciate the feeling of being scrutinised by a complete stranger. 

Turning away, you stood up from the ground with a huff, making a dash for the school building right at the end of the school. 

You wanted to be away from the crowd, 

Away from the humiliation, 

And away from Brian Kang. 

Something tells you that he’s not quite done with you yet, but you have no intention to stick around and find out if that’s true. 

---

Pushing open the light metal door, you deeply inhaled the cold winter air, relishing in the coolness that now glazed over the back of your throat. You made the mistake of looking up, causing yourself to be momentarily blinded by the intense rays of the winter sun. Once your vision cleared, you shuffled over to lean against the wall, sticking your head out over the edge to let the wind fan against your face. The cold wind was always so soothing, and this time round, you hoped that the wind could blow away the bad memories from the whole fiasco just now. It was silly to think that way, you know. But fear does sometimes make one lose all sense of rationality. You begin to wish upon the silliest things, hoping that by a miraculous of luck, you could be saved. 

The tranquility of your quiet moment was broken by the sound of the metal door slamming against the concrete wall behind you, followed by the loud panting of someone. Wearing a scowl on your face, you turned around to stare at the intruder. A familiar mop of messy black hair greets you, and the same fox-like eyes finds yours again for the third time today when mystery intruder lifts his head up to face you. 

“Ya Rachel Hwang. When someone saves you, shouldn’t you at least say thank you? Or a sorry would suffice.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong so why should I apologise? Besides, I didn’t ask to be saved.”

“Oh so you’re going to play the saint now and pretend that you had it under control? Anyone looking could tell that you were terrified. In that scenario just now, I was a hero.” 

“A hero? What ridiculous nonsense.”

“Ya.”

“You’re a fallen hero Brian Kang. With that little ‘heroic’ act of yours just now, you’ve basically fallen from grace. You’re now forever associated with me, and you’re going to be everyone’s target now. When you realise that you’re the topic of every malicious hallway gossip, maybe you won’t be so proud of your ‘heroic’ act anymore.”

You narrow your eyes at the last sentence, hoping your sharp words would pierce through his str