Naeun found herself at sixteen years of age again.

“Naeun-ah,” a familiar voice called behind her. 

Her heart leaped as a smile formed on her rosy lips, “Oppa!” and ran towards him. His wide warm arms caught her as he spun her around.

“Miss me, Kitten?” he purred.

She nodded her head, “Very much,” before giving her Oppa a peck on the lips. Naeun and L had been dating over the last six months, in secret. With the school's strict rules regarding relationship and PDA, it was difficult for her to spend time with him. L was pretty infamous at school too, so keeping their relationship at low profile from their family and friends was challenging as well. 

They normally arrive to school much earlier than most students to spend some quality time together cuddling and kissing before going their separate ways as they were in different classes,  Naeun didn’t dare to go out on dates after school or during the weekends, afraid that her mother might find out, or if someone from their school spotted them. So, her secret boyfriend came up with the idea of meeting each other every morning before the assembly started.

Many would never believe that the most introverted girl was secretly dating the school’s hottest, baddest, most playful boy. Everybody saw him as a bully but not Naeun. She saw beyond that. To her, Myungsoo was also a fun and supportive boyfriend. He understood her when no one could, was there for her when her mother couldn't. He filled the hole in her heart that her father left. Sure, she had Eunji, but even she could never fully comprehend the pain of having a parent abandoning their child. Myungsoo did, and he’d been her cheerleader and comforter.

Naeun was in the midst of her fall semester when her class had received a transfer student from a school in Busan. Being the class leader, it was her duty to show him around the school. To her surprise, she and the new kid got along very well.

A little too well in Myungsoo’s eyes.

For the first time in his life, he felt jealous and protective of Naeun. These feelings were harmless as flies at first. Naeun even found it loveable, which was how he got his nickname, L. As strange and lame as the nickname was, Myungsoo wore that title with pride, telling his friends to address him as L. He didn’t tell them why, of course, but they didn’t question him either unless they wanted a knockout from him. 

Then the unthinkable happened: Naeun’s first secret admirer, but L knew right away who it was from. He tore the letter before Naeun could read it.

“Myungsoo!” she scolded him. Her anger had surprised him before angering him.

“What? You’re not supposed to be reading anyone else’s love letters or gifts other than mine.”

Naeun calmed herself down before replying to L, “It’s called basic courtesy, Oppa.” She spotted a small box of Ferrero Rocher and a little teddy bear holding a heart. Again, L grabbed them before she could.

“Oppa! Give them back!”

“No!” he yelled. It was the first time L had raised his voice at Naeun. He walked to the nearest trash bin and dumped them in there.

“Oppa!” She tried to dig her hand in the trash bin, but L stopped her, pulling her wrist  out of the it. She winced from the pain in her wrist.

“Oppa, stop, you’re hurting me," she said.

“Not until you promise me you won’t dig your arms in to find them.”

Naeun lost her patience. She tried pulling her wrist back, but L’s grip was too firm. The hallway where they stood was empty, so no one was around to bear witness.

“Oppa, this jealousy of yours is getting out of hand,” she growled, “You of all people should know that I would never cheat on you, but that doesn’t mean I should dump every gift I receive.”

“I don’t care!” he hissed, “You’re my girlfriend, and no other boys should be showing their affections for you. You.Are.Mine.”

“They don’t know that I’m yours! Whose fault do you think that is, huh? You’re the one who convinced me that we should make our relationship a secret!”

L’s grip on Naeun tightened even further, and she couldn’t help but yelp in pain.

“Naeun-ah!”

It was Eunji. L immediately let go of her and walked away.

Naeun quickly covered her red wrist with her blazer before Eunji could spot it.

Over the next few days, Naeun refused to meet L or speak to him. The red mark on her wrist took a while to recover, so she covered it up with bandages. 

"I hurt my wrist the other day," was her excuse to Eunji. It wasn't a complete lie, so Eunji fell for it.

One day, during recess, the new kid, whom Naeun came to know as Max, went up to her.

“Did you receive the gifts I sent? A-and the letter?” Naeun was unprepared for that. She had a feeling Max was her secret admirer, given by how shy he got around her, but she never thought he would come up to her now. She didn’t want to lie to him, but he couldn’t know the truth either. Not only would that portray Naeun as an insensitive girl, but it would also break the poor boy’s heart.

“I did,” she lied, “They’re wonderful gifts, and the letter you wrote was touching, but I’m sorry, Max-ssi. I-I only see you as a good friend, nothing more.”

The last thing Naeun heard from Max was telling her that it was worth a shot confessing to a beautiful and kind girl like her - she blushed at his compliments - and that he hoped his affection for her would not ruin their friendship.

“Of course not,” she reassured him before the two gave each other a friendly hug. When the weekends had past and a new week of school had begun, however, Max was nowhere to be seen. Days had gone by and still no sign of him. Naeun tried calling and texting him, but each one of them was ignored. She finally asked her form teacher about Max’s whereabouts. She looked surprised.

“Haven’t you heard, dear? Max transferred to another school during the weekends.”

What?

“But why?”

“I’m sorry, Naeun, but that part is confidential.”

Confidential my , she thought.

If it’s some drama or fight that Max got involved in, she knew a classmate who would know all about it.

He was at his locker when Naeun called out to him, “JinYoung-ssi!” (Yes, GOT7 wkwkwk)

“Oh, hey Naeun, what’s up?” he said.

“I heard Max got transferred last weekend. Do you know why? Ms. Kim wouldn’t tell me - says it was ‘confidential’.’

“Oh, yeah, poor boy.”

She frowned before signaling Jin-Young to continue.

“He was beaten up pretty badly by L and his goons. Why he did it is clueless to me too.”

Naeun’s eyes widened in bewilderment. She couldn’t believe what she had heard.

How could he? How dare he?!

Naeun's sudden reaction made Jin-Young ask if she was alright, but she quickly dismissed him after a quick ‘thanks,’ and looked frantically for her boyfriend (or soon not to be).

L was busy conversing with his boys when he felt a firm grip on his arms.

“Kitten,” he smiled, but the look on Naeun’s face was far from the one L had.

“We need to talk.”

WARNING: THIS PART MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR PEOPLE UNDER 15

It was dark by the time Naeun and L arrived at his apartment. His adoptive parents had gone away for business again. They were by themselves.

“How could you?!” she yelled at him. He blinked in surprise.

“You wanna try to be a little more specific, Kit-”

“Don’t call me that right now, Myungsoo! How could you beat up my friend for just showing his affections for me?!”

Damn that Jin-Young, he cursed. It was stupid of L to think his secret fun could be kept from Naeun when she had a classmate like Jin-Young standing on school soil.

“I rejected him, Myungsoo because I’m in a relationship with you. I told you that I would never leave your side, yet you don’t trust me! How can we happily be together if you don’t trust me?!”

“Oh, so that warm embrace you did with him was nothing, then?” L said sarcastically.

“It was just a friendly hug!” Naeun retorted. He scoffed, “I saw the way you looked at him. Don’t deny that you fell for him.”

Naeun was utterly at loss for words. Did jealousy blind him so much that he couldn’t trust her words?

“You sound like you don’t even know me,” her words were full of pain and disappointment. Where was the boy she fell for months ago? All she saw in front of her was an immature, reckless boy who had let his own fear guide his judgment; the bully that everyone came to know and fear/hate. 

Out of anger, L swiped the glass cups that laid on the counter table. Naeun jolted back, her hands covering .

“Do you want to know why I did it?”

No, but Naeun was too shocked and frightened to let the word out.

“It’s because I love you; it’s because my love for you is so big that I don’t want any other man to touch you except me.” She didn’t like where this was going. She trudged back as he approached her until her heel tripped on the sofa.

L hurriedly pinned her down by the shoulders.

“Please,” she whimpered, “S-stop, please.”

“No,” he purred. His eyes were full of lust as he his lower lip, “Let me show you just how much I love you, and how much you belong to me.” and crashed his lips on hers.

This kiss was different from their previous ones. While other kisses were gentle and full of fluff, this was forceful, desperate, and overpowering. Naeun hated it. She tried pushing him away, hitting him, but that only made L lock her wrist to the sofa as he continued to leave kisses and bruises all over her face and neck. 

L was so lost in lust and desire that as his hand trailed to her sleeves, he tore it and pulled it down to nip at her shoulder.

Stop! Stop! Stop!

She squirmed to get his weight off of her, but she was too weak. Her vision hazed as his endless kisses made it difficult for her to breathe. Naeun had to think of something fast before ...her skin tingled at the touch of L’s hand on her waist.

! And her free leg unconsciously hit him where the light didn’t shine bright.

L howled in pain as he curled up like a shrimp on the floor. Naeun sprung away from the sofa, not giving the boy a second glance before running to grab her bag and out of the apartment. 

Everything was spinning in her head. She could barely run straight, and she didn’t know where she was heading, but she didn’t care. All Naeun focused on was getting away.

Keep running.

That was her father's advice should trouble ever arise.

Don’t stop, don’t stop.

Her legs cramped, but Naeun didn’t slow down until something blinding caught her attention. She barely had time to turn her head.

CRASH!!

Her body flew into the air.

The pain in her head was unlike anything Naeun had experienced. She wanted to scream but couldn’t. She couldn't move -  every inch of her body screamed in agony. A large crowd circled her.

“Oh my God, is she dead?!”

“No, no, she’s still moving, look!”

“She’s bleeding! Quick, someone dial 119!”

Naeun still tried to say something, but all that came out were short gasps. The last thing she heard was the wailing of a distant siren.

~~~

“YOU ARE MINE!”

“AHH!!!”