chapter o2 ~

Zipping my hoodie, and putting my cap on, I glanced at the alarm clock on my nightstand, 10p.m, it indicated. I made my way to my bedroom's door, and tiptoed outside, glancing right and left.

"No one in the hallways, perfect." I whispered to myself, before heading downstairs.

I walked to the front door and putted my sneakers on faint silently. Everyone seemed to be deep asleep, so sneaking out this night was going to be easier than what I thought.

"What are you doing, young lady?"

or not.

I turned around when the lights were , only to be welcomed by the head maid, Mrs.Kang.

"Uh.. I was just going to sit on the doorstep, I need air." I said, gulping audibly.

"Your room is provided by a long large balcony, you could've taken some fresh air from there miss." She said firmly.

"Uh.." I looked at her confused. "Ok, fine. I was sneaking out."

"may I know why?" She said, her tone suddenly changing.

"Because I love taking walks around the neighborhood late at night." I stated.

She sighed, and looked away.

Mrs.Kang has been the head maid for quite years now.. She was firm, too polite for my liking, and extremely stringent, but she was also very caring and mother-like. She took care of me when my aunt and uncle were out of town and so.

"If I tell you to go back to your bedroom and sleep like everyone else, will you do that?" She asked, approaching me.

"Probably not.." I said, faintly.

"Are you going to get hurt?" She said.

"Uh, no.. I don't go that far you know, just around the mansion, and to the ice-cream shop at the end of the neighborhood." I said, looking at my shoes.

"Fine, be back at midnight." She said, starting to walk away.

"B-but, aren't you going to have problems if uncle finds out?" I said, confused by her actions.

"Not if you come back at midnight, now go." She stated, then walked upstairs leaving me blinking.

I quickly recovered from my confusion, and opened the door, a breath of fresh air enveloping me. I made my way out of the main door, then out of the gates, making sure I closed them, before heading towards the long alley. 

The sun had completed its tour for the day, and had now been replaced by myriad stars, which dotted the inky canopy. A low, waning gibbous moon hovered tenuously in the twilight firmament, bestowing a very dim light upon the land. It was a cool, windy night; the swaying of trees and rustling of leaves could be heard but not seen, as the encompassing darkness had blotted out all but the faintest light. Briefly, a dark, wispy cloud eclipsed the crescent moon. For a few shadowy moments, it looked like there was a halo around the cloud, a dull aura of lunar luminescence.

Thinking about how my life will change when I enter university, I turned around a corner, and carried in my walk. Being homeschoooled wasn't that good.. I didn't meet any people that could possibly have became my friends, and I didn't "hang out" on fridays and saturdays like the other teenagers of my age. No, instead, I was either stuck in a house or at a costly restaurant, eating famous french, american, or korean dishes for dinner, and spending the night watching TV or sleeping early to avoid getting bored, which led to me sneaking out by night. While taking walks late at night, I felt.. free. Any worriying burden, or affliction wasn't present in my mind at that moment, I only felt peace and freedom.

Making another turn, I stopped, and froze. I looked around and saw that I may have took the wrong turn while spacing out in my thoughts. I took three steps back, and looked around, I could clearly see that the surroundings were unfamiliar to me. I frowned and walked forward, then turned around the same corner, and stopped at the beggining of the alley. There it stood.

Long dark and menacing. It was just a gap between two old terraced houses built many years ago but it was cold and uninviting. It was like a cavernous moth just waiting to gobble up anyone who dared enter it. You couldn't see the far end and it looked as it had been blocked off by a large heavy oak gate many years ago to stop the thieves and misfits of the area cutting through to the wastes that lay beyond the rear of the houses, the old boarded up houses. I knew this alley, everyone in the surroundings knew about it, but no one liked it, no one used this alley except for the brave and the fool hardy for you never knew what lay in its depths, and being the curious female child I was, I kept forward, making my way down the obscure passage.

l went on my walk, glancing around here and there, smiling, while taking pleasure in the silence and the fresh air the mid-opened backstreet offered. There was a slight breeze, but not so much as to envisage an oncoming storm.

Pit.

My smile faded. I glanced back. A whelp cat was naively pecking at the street's corners, wondering what was there to explore. A smile rose on my lips again, as I continued to walk, thinking nothing of it. 

Pat.

I swung round. No one. My rising heart beat interrupted the eerie silence, but I continued to walk, thinking nothing of it. 

Pit Pat. Pit-

My pace increased. I did not want to know what was behind me. My breath swirled in the wind in tiny wisps. All I could hear was my own steps and my thudding heart beat. I stopped and smiled again. There wasn’t anybody behind me. There couldn’t be. My imagination was way too wild for me. I continued to walk, thinking nothing of it.

Pit Pat. Pit Pat-

I swung round and caught a glimpse of a shadow escaping round the corner. I froze in my spot. My heartbeat getting wilder, and goosebumps covering my body. I turned around and looked at the end of the alley that seemed unexistent.

"Pretty lady, what are you doing down here?" sang a horredous, hair-rising voice, right behind me.

I turned around, to be faced by a mid-aged man, a long scar coming from his temple and ending at his jaw. He had jet black hair, and was wearing black clothes. His eyes were unnerving, and a smirk printed on his lips.

"N-nothing. I just took the wrong pathway, sorry." I said, and walked passed him, only to be catched up, and brought to my previous spot, his strong hands rigidly wrapped around both of my wrists.

"Not so fast. This isn't your territory, you shouldn't be here." He said, looking into my eyes.

"I know, I said I was sorry, I took the wrong pathway, isn't that enough for you to let me go?" I mentally and harshly slapped myself for being this bold, while my life is about to end.

"Oh, fierce, I like that. How about you show me this cruel attitude somewhere else, uhm?" He said, his lips.

"Keep on dreaming, inglorious sleazeball." I stated, inwardly cursing my lion-hearted self.

The smirk on his face suddenly fading, replaced by a teeth tightening, his eyes getting duskier than they already were.

"Who, are you calling a sleazeball, ?" He stated, as he harshly crashed my body against the strident wall, not letting go of my wrists.

I closed my eyes shut, and winced in pain, ache spreading all over my body.

"I'm gonna show you how tough I can be, sweetheart." he said, leaning forward towards my neck.

"How about you show me, how tough you can be Jae?"

My eyes snapped open at the sound of the other male. I turned my head left, and saw a tall, young man, with sandy hair, leaning against a wall, feets away from me.

"Kris, mind your own buisness, would you?" said the named Jae, still holding on both my wrists.

"I know her. She's family." the named Kris stated, causing me to widen my eyes exaggerately.

"Is that so? How can I trust you?" said Jae, tightening his grip.

"Ask her." said Kris, on his thumb like nothing's happening, and causing me to widen my eyes again.

"Is it true?" said the Jae guy, turning to look down at me. 

"W-wh-hat? Oh-uh.. y-yes, K-Kris is my cousin. C-can you like, let go of me? You're hurting me." I said, looking at my wrists.

"I swear if you're lying to me Kris, I'm-"

"You're what? Let her go Jae, now." said Kris, looking up at him, glaring. His face was absolutely perfect.

Jae suddenly let go of me, and backed away. I looked at my wrists, red fingerprints were marked on them, bringing me to massaging both of them at a time. I looked up at Jae, fighting the urge to spit mainly on his hard-featured face.

"We'll see each other soon sweetheart." He blew me a kiss, and walked away, shouting "Take good care of her Kris!"

I made a face at the unlovely words he said, and turned to Kris. He was looking at me, no wait, glaring at me with his deep brown eyed. He scoffed, and approached me.

"Cousin?" He said, causing me to look away.

"Sorry about that, I was.. scared. And thanks too, for.. saving me." I said.

"I didn't save you, I saved my territory." He said firmly.

"W-what?" I looked up, hearing his words.

"You're in the wrong zone." He said, turning around, and back facing me, his voice husky, low, threatening, and scary.

"I beg you pardon?" I stated.

"You heard me, don't get on my nerves. Move out of here, go away, you shouldn't be here." He said again, his tone bloodcurdling.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" I said, slowly but surely getting irritated.

"I'm the one who is saving your life by telling you to get the hell out of this neighborhood. I won't say it twice, get out of here." He said, as he began to walk away.

"W-wait!" I said, reaching for his forearm, and pulling it.

He turned around, his eyes landing at my hand holding his arm, then at me.

"Let go, now." He threatened.

"S-sorry.." I said, letting go of his arm, and looking at the ground. "but I think I'm lost."

"And?" 

"And can you s-show me the way? I mean just tell me the directions, you don't need to walk me, I'll find it myself.." I said, looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"As if I was really going to walk you back to where you come from." He said, then sighed harshly. "Take the way back 'till the bottom of the alley, then turned right, you'll find the main street." he turned around, and walked away, then stopped.

"Don't you ever come back here again, heard me?" He said, before walking away for good.

I stayed frozen in my spot, thinking about how I got myself into this. And there was one thing I was sure about..

I was going to come back, I wanted to see Kris again.

-

I'm so sorry, yesterday I was on phone, and I wanted to edit the chapter because of some little typos, and I accidently deleted half of the chapter, but I wrote it again, so here it is!

Happy reading~