Narrator POV

His leaned up against the cool brick of the building. Any second now the dismissal bell will sound and the students will exit the two main entries; one south and one north. As long as he stayed close to the east wall where the sun’s shadow fell he should be safe.

*Ring Ring

The ear-piercing shrill shook up every cell in his body. His eyes squeezed shut and he took five deep breaths to calm the nerves.

The demonic noise ceased. He heard the doors swing open and hundreds of voices poured out to form one inaudible mess. He strained to listen for the one voice he longed for but it was fruitless; there were just too many people. His wanted so badly to step out and physically find her but it was too risky, he didn’t want to be caught.

His body tensed in anticipation. Just one more glance, that’s all he wanted. One more glance to help him sleep through the night. He had already caught two glimpses of her today. Two beautiful glimpses of the girl who captured his interest. His eyes closed and a bead of sweat formed on his brow. Just thinking about her made his heart race and his body heat.

“Su Min! Hey, Su Min!” he heard a girl yell. His head jerked toward the sound. So she’s nearby….

No matter how he tried, he couldn’t hear the next words, for the sea of voices drowned out his love’s response. He sighed. No, this was insanity. He had already come this far. He wasn’t about to just wait here, straining to hear one voice out of hundred. Just as he was about to step away from the safety of the wall, two voices stopped him.

The voices were coming from right around the corner. All it took was a quick spin and he would be face to face with the students. He gulped and tried to move away, deeper into the shadows but the ground was full of golden crisp leaves, the ones that would crackle menacingly at a mere touch. Even the tiniest of movements would blow his cover. With nowhere to turn, the man stood his ground, listening as the voices drew closer.

“I like you.” The first voice was masculine, but lined with the softness of a child. It was the voice of a boy yet to be a man.

 The man smirks. What’s this? A confession of young love? This ought to be interesting.

“I’m sorry but I don’t like you back.” replied a softer, more tender voice.

 “Why? We’re both in the student council, we would be great for each other.” The first one insisted

“Maybe….but….”

“But what?”

 “I like someone else….”

Silence. The sudden awkwardness seemed to go on forever. The man in the shadows could feel his legs begin to go numb from lack of movement. But he ignored it and continued eavesdropping.

“You like him, don’t you?” anger tinted the once tender voice.

“Who?”

“Don’t play ignorant, you like Ren.”

“I don’t like-“

“Yoon Ji, I see how you watch him. Just like all the other ing girls.”

“You know what? Even if I did like him what’s it to you?”

The leaves around their feet shifted and crunched. The girl gasped.

“Chin Ho, let go of my arm!”

“You and Ren would never work out.”

“Shut up.”

“He’s already got a girlfriend, what makes you think he’d just drop her?”

“Shut. Up.”

“He’s got Su Min. They’ve been hitting it off ever since she got here. You can’t break that.” He laughed evilly.

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

*Slap

More leaves crunched as the girl ran away, stifling sobs while doing so. But the man wasn’t focused on her. Their little drama no longer amused him. The boy’s words echoed through his mind.

“He’s got Su Min”

What? How was it possible? How dare she begin a relationship without his acknowledgment? The man’s hands clenched until the knuckles turned white. His ears burned from rage.

“Who are you?”

The man looked up. The anger in his stomach left as quickly as it had come. His mouth opened but no words came out. He had been caught.

“I said who the are you?” the boy sneered. His cheek swelled angrily from the girl’s slap. It looked painful but the boy gave no hint of it.

The man quickly straightened up. “I was just….I….”

“I’ll tell you what you were doing. You were listening into my conversation.”

“No, no that’s not what I was trying to do. I was just sitting here and you guys came and I didn’t want to disturb you so….”

Chin Ho glared at the man but then sighed in defeat. He was about to walk away when the mysterious man stopped him.

“Wait, I heard you mention Su Min’s name.” he blurted out.

Chin Ho turned around and gave the man a strange look. “What’s it to you? You know her or something?”

The man nodded. “Um yeah…I’m her….I just know her.” He didn’t know how to describe their relationship. It was….different. In a way that society tended to look down upon.

Chin Ho walked toward the man slowly, squinting up at him with hard but curious eyes.

“You look too young to be her dad….but a little old to still be in high school… what’s she to you?”

“That doesn’t matter, I want to know, is she going out with that boy…”

Chin Ho gave the man one last hard look before answering. “Yeah. At least from what I’ve heard. She and Ren are getting pretty close…..”

The man flinched. The former anger came rushing at him in an instant.

“Oh…I see….”

Chin Ho didn’t know how to respond. Why was he even talking to this sketchy guy? He had just been knocked down by the girl he liked, Yoon Ji. it. He was pissed, he just wanted to go home and wallow in the bitterness of the day’s rejection.

So, without a word, Chin Ho left. The man didn’t notice. He was too consumed in his own anger that he couldn’t care less that some boy he just met was leaving without a good bye. He sat down and ran a hand through his short dark hair. Hours passed by. Before he knew it, the sky was dark and the blue jacket that he wore did nothing against the freezing autumn wind.

Reluctantly, he got up, and made his way down the road where his Porsche was parked and drove to the hotel where he was staying.

Even as he stepped into the warm shower of the hotel room, he was thinking about Su Min. His heart ached at the thought of her beautiful face. Her dark brown eyes, her soft complexion, her plump lips…

How could she do this for him? He had loved her so much. Why didn’t she love him back? He had both money and looks. Ladies would kill for even a glimpse of him. Yet the only one that he wanted was Su Min. There was something about her, something he couldn’t pinpoint, that stood out to him. He could never say what it was, but he knew from the moment he laid eyes on her that he wanted her. And whatever he wanted, he would get.

After all, he was the most desirable bachelor in the cities, Aron.