I stood out.

I kept running away from those strange boys, gasping for breath, panic still alive in me. Those three words were on fast-forward and repeat, playing again and again.

I stood out.

I stood out.

I stood out.

A breath hitched in my throat as tears streamed down my face. Oh God, I’m going to get it now.

I stood out.

Oh God, I’m so dead. There’s no way he’ll let this slide. I kept running, ignoring the stitch in my side.

Don’t stand out.

A small cry escaped from me. Why the hell did I run? That just made me stand out more! And they know who my brother is!

Oh God. Henry’s gonna find out about this.

Then I heard the rush of water, and my weak legs failed. I plopped down on grass I wasn’t aware of running on, sobs caught in my throat. I could barely see through my tears.

No…

I fell on my side and curled into a sniveling, hysterical ball on the grass.

No…

I’m not quite sure how long I stayed there. I was unaware of the passage of time. But slowly, eventually, I raised my head, trying to feel shock at how long the shadows were. But I really didn’t care. Nothing mattered in light of the current situation.

Slowly, I realized my phone was buzzing insistently. I pulled it out of my pocket, blinking at it, then pressed answer. I didn’t bother to speak, the person on the other line spoke for me.

“Taryn, you’re such a disappointment. Don’t expect me to go easy on you. Stop trying to run and go back to the dorms.” Then the line clicked dead.

I sighed and pushed myself into a sitting position. It was inevitable now. I pressed one hand to my ribs and hissed a bit. That cramp must have remained for this whole time.

I decided to check my phone for the time. I was faintly aware of the 5:11 blinking back at me; I must have fallen asleep or something. But the thing that really caught my attention was the little ‘Unopened Messages’ icon. I touched it, and was flooded with messages from Alex and Uki, asking me where I was and if I was okay, and why I wasn’t back at the apartment.

Not surprisingly, there weren’t any from Henry. I rolled my eyes and stood as I opened a new message to the both of them.

To: Alex, Uki

Sorry, guys. I guess I fell asleep next to the river. I’m coming back now. Where are Henry and the rest of you?

As I put my phone back in my pocket, I realized I was just as lost as before. A spark of annoyance stirred as I looked between the river on my right and the road on my left. I sighed as I made my way back towards the road and started walking towards where I thought the apartment was. A few minutes later, I passed a 7-Eleven (yes, they do have them here) and I knew I was on the right track, remembering how I had noted the weird pink color of this bike rack earlier in the day. Then I heard my phone buzz again, with only a message from Alex this time.

From: Alex

Oh, thank goodness you’re okay! You were worrying us sick! Anyway, Henry has been at the studio all day working on his next violin piece. He doesn’t know about your little disappearing act. Some of the boys are at a variety show filming and the rest are at another radio broadcast.

I sighed again. ‘The boys’ probably didn’t even realize I had disappeared from the apartment during lunch. My stomach clenched at the word lunch.

To: Alex

Do you mind not telling him about this? I don’t want him to worry about me.

After another ten minutes of walking and not receiving another text, I could see the apartment building in the distance. I finally allowed myself a small, self-congratulatory smile on finding my way back alright. Ha, I didn’t need the help of Aron and the rest of those guys!

Finally I walked through the door of the building, bowing a bit to the security guy, and made my way through the lobby to climb the ten or eleven flights of stairs to reach the apartment. Panting and grunting, I eventually pulled myself through the stairwell doorway, my stomach screaming at me for not giving my body fuel other than that one strip of seaweed.

I paused in the stairwell doorway. Since I’m back, I can eat now, right? I shook my head. No, I’d better not try his patience when I was already in so much trouble. My stomach let out an angry gurgle at this thought, and I pressed a shaky hand to my abdomen. Calm down, I’ll drink some water when I get inside, I admonished it.

Reaching the apartment door, I pulled out my magnet-stick thing and held it to the sensor next to the door while punching in the code from yesterday. It clicked open and I stepped through, kicking off my shoes with a sigh after closing and locking the door again. I knew how worried Henry was about girls making their way up here and breaking in to see their favorites. I slung my bag carelessly on the table, sighing at the sight of more dirty dishes piled up in the sink, and grabbed a glass for water.

“Yah!” I heard from the living room. I turned, surprised, and stared at…I think it was Sang-mini? He was half in, half out of the comfy loveseat, a confused look on his face. Did he not remember me from this morning or something? He asked me a question in Korean, and I stared back blankly.

“Sorry, but I do not speak Korean, er… What’s your name again? Sang-mini?” I said slowly, hoping he could understand.

His face got a little bit red. “SUNGMIN!” he yelled, now standing. “Hu ahl you?!”

I raised my hands in a surrender position, trying to quell his anger. “I’m Henry’s sister, Taryn. Remember? We met during breakfast.”

He glared at me for a moment, then visibly relaxed, apparently recognizing me. “Shorry,” he muttered, stalking into one of the rooms after flicking off the TV and throwing the remote onto the loveseat. The door slammed shut, and I sighed, putting my water glass away and starting the dishes. Might as well do this before the man contacted me again.

~~~~~~

Hey guys! Early update for you, maybe a double update later :) So, so far you guys think Mary is 1. her (abusive) boyfriend; 2. her mad boss; 3. a member of her family; 4. her obsessive doctor; 5. a mad scientist; 6. her real father; 7. a stalker; 8. a creeper; 9. a psycho; 10. a kidnapper; 11. a threatener (?); 12. a killer; 13. a ; 14. her manager; 15. a pedo guy; and 16. a creepy rich person. Unfortunately, you are ALL WRONG! :D Keep guessing, and tell me what you think of this chapter!