-Chapter I-

Yong Hye expertly walked through the crowds of people that were milling about on the streets, her phone pressed to her ear. She was talking to Taemin, her fiancé. He had proposed almost a week ago after dating since their sophomore year of high school, and both were happy. Right now, they were planning the strategy of telling her parents.

Her parents knew and approved of Taemin, but her parents had a legendary ability to make everything a bigger deal than it is, and this sort of news would mean throwing a large party, which both Taemin and Yong Hye wanted to avoid.

“What if we told them we just promised to get married at some point?” Taemin suggested. “And it wasn’t a full-fledged engagement?”

“Didn’t you say you already asked my dad if it was okay to marry me?” Yong Hye asked. “They already know, they’re just waiting for us to tell them, so they can set a date for the party. They probably already have it planned. Heck, they probably have the wedding planned already.”

Taemin laughed, even though they both knew she was probably right. Taemin’s family already knew, and had been sworn to not tell Yong Hye’s parents. Their families had been close all their lives; it was probably suspected that Yong Hye and Taemin would end up together long before they could speak.

“Well, then there’s probably nothing we can do except beg,” Taemin said, sighing dramatically, making Yong Hye smile.

“Probably,” she agreed, dodging around two kids who were running towards her, completely oblivious to the adults above them, trying not to catch them underfoot. “And explain to them that the wedding won’t be for a while,” she added.

Both she and Taemin were in college. He was studying to be a doctor, a surgeon, exactly, since everyone else in his family were surgeons, and she was going to become a journalist, far from what her corporate business family wanted, and neither could afford to put a lot of effort into a wedding while still in school, especially if the wedding will turn out to be the event Yong Hye was afraid her parents would make it.

“So…we’re just going to tell them?” Taemin asked.

“Yeah. And beg that they don’t plan anything,” Yong Hye added.

“Sounds like a plan! I’ll see you back at the apartment tonight,” Taemin said. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Yong Hye said, and then she hung up, a smile still playing on her face. She was so happy with how things were happening. Though, generally, anytime she was with or talking to Taemin, she was happy. He had that effect on her.

She walked down the street, looking into shops as she passed them, looking to see if there was anything interesting. Her family could probably pay for anything she wanted, but there was something about just looking at the stuff in the windows that made her happy. She didn’t often shop at the “trendy” stores, preferring the second hand shops that only some people knew about and her parents hated.

As she was looking into a particular store, she heard a commotion down the street. It sounded like people yelling. She looked over, and saw a few men running in her direction, but didn’t pay any mind to it. She had seen weirder things than a few young men running around.

It was as she was turning away from the bookstore that something very heavy ran into her. Instead of falling to the ground though, someone grabbed her arm and, in one movement, pulled her into the alley that was just off to the side of the bookstore and pushed her into the alcove of the bookstore’s side exit.

She was going to scream, cry, or at least say something, but before she could even register what words to use, a hand clamped over . She briefly considered biting the hand, but then decided against it, as she had no idea where the hand had been.

The person who had both run into her and put her into this position was pressed up against her in the alcove, so that he both shielded her body and made it impossible for him to be seen from the street, which, after a group of men ran by yelling “Where did he go?” Yong Hye decided the latter was his main reason for shoving her into the alcove as far as he did.

Once the group of men had passed, the man held her there for a few seconds longer, then stepped back from the alcove. He looked back out on the street, his hand still covering Yong Hye’s mouth.

Yong Hye was straining to see his face, but the combination of her angle and the shadows made it impossible to see him clearly at any one time.

Apparently satisfied that the guys who had been searching for him were gone, the man holding Yong Hye’s moth shut turned to face her, and for the first time, Yong Hye could see his face. “Will you scream if I let go?” he asked. He sounded more scared than angry.

Yong Hye raised an eyebrow. She didn’t mean to, it was just her tendency to be a smart aleck, no matter the situation.

The man copied her action. “Don’t be smart with me. I know you can’t speak. Just nod or shake your head. Will you scream if I let go?”

Yong Hye thought about telling him no and then screaming anyay, but then she realized that he hadn’t really given her a reason to scream. Yeah, he shoved her into an alley, but he hadn’t done anything, and it looked like he was going to let go. So Yong Hye just settled for saying “No,” and not screaming.

After receiving her answer, the man slowly let go of , as though he had suspected her first plan.

They stood there for a few seconds, both waiting for the other to do something.

When neither did, the man said, “Don’t leave until I’m out of sight.” Before Yong Hye could ask why, he continued. “Trust me, it’d be better for your safety. If those guys are smart enough to check the alleys once they realize I’m not on the main road, it would be bad for you to be with me.”

Yong Hye didn’t respond. Usually she was the one who thought of every possible situation. And she hadn’t thought of that one. This guy had beaten her at her own game.

“Don’t leave,” the man repeated, “Until I’m out of sight.”

He started backing away, going further down into the alley, watching Yong Hye.

Yong Hye, remembering that he said the guys who had been running earlier may come back to look down the alleyways, turned quickly to the entrance. Not seeing anyone, she turned back, but the guy was already gone. She stood still for a little while longer, making sure he really was gone, and then turned and walked back out of the alley, her mind racing, wondering about what had just happened and who that guy was. 

Thanks for reading/subscribing~!

I'll try and update as much as possible, but with two stories going, it won't be as often as I would like.