12

That night after the sightseeing in London was awkward - not many words were exchanged between the two of you. Kai's words had thrown you completely off guard - did he really mean what he said or was he just playing with you?

You made an assumption when the next morning, you tried to wake him up for breakfast.

You shook his arm gently. "Kai, wake up. It's morning."

Kai didn't move, his head buried under his pillow. You shook him harder.

"Yah, get up!"

He rolled over onto his stomach, muttering, "Go away, stupid."

You rolled your eyes and shook his leg this time, hard. "Kai, get up right now! I made breakfast already and it's getting cold!"

"Go away! I don't want to get up this early in the morning!" Kai snapped, making you jump.

*That bipolar butthead!* you thought, stomping out of the room and down the stairs. You ended up eating breakfast by yourself that morning in silence. You left his breakfast out, covered by a plate to prevent bugs from going on it.

You looked up at the clock in the kitchen - 11:07AM and Kai still wasn't up.

*Whatever - forget about him, Sukyung. You can have fun by yourself for the next ten days remaining!* you told yourself, feeling determined yet sad. You really expected him to be different towards you after the other night, but it looked like he was just playing with your heart...

You quietly changed into your outfit for the day ad headed out with your wallet and purse.

You realized there was one problem - how were you going to get to London if you had no car and you couldn't drive?

THen a memory of driving past a bus stop not too long from here flashed through your mind.

*I guess I'll have to walk.* you sighed, starting your journey to the bus stop.

It didn't take you that long to get there, but your feet hurt a bit from walking for so long. Once you got onto the bus, you sat down and took off your flats, warily massaging your tired feet.

The bus finally arrived in London, the sounds and sights greeting you once again.

*I have no idea where to go.* you thought, looking around helplessly.

You started walking westward and found yourself stepping into a long street. In this bright early afternoon, you could hear steady beats of club music on the sides of the street. You grew nervous.

*Am I in the bad part of London?* you wondered, walking as quickly as you could.

You broke into a speed walk, nervous and frightened that someone might stop you.

Suddenly, a big hand snatched your wrist, pulling you to the side.

*Too late!* you groaned inside.

You turned to see your offender. He was part of a group of three British boys, all wearing messy navy blue uniforms with red and gold silk ties. He had way blond hair and light skin, his chocolate eyes hazy but dangerous. From the looks of it, they were definitely from a rich high school.

The one gripping your wrist smirked and said, "Look what we have here? The Asian girl's cute, don't you think, boys?"

The other two nodded, smirking as well. Your eyes flitted back and forth between them. You felt very anxious to get out of this situation, but he was gripping your wrist too tightly for you to struggle with your own weak strength.

He leaned down, his face close to yours, a faint whiff of alcohol coming from his breath.

"So - how old are you, sweetheart?" he asked seducively.

You made a face at him and snapped, "That's none of your business!"

The boy seemed taken aback from the fluency of your English, but got back to his normal drunken state, "Ooh, she speaks like those Yankees! And you know what that means, boys - she's a feisty one."

The boys sniggered. The blondie raised his eyebrow and introduced himself, "I'm Alex Ride. The three of us are all eighteen years old. From the looks of it, you're younger, aren't you?"

You opened your mouth to retort rudely, but he continued without letting you speak, "Seems like it.. Ohh well, we're gonna have fun with you anyway."

Alex started pulling you towards a club. You struggled against his grip, a panicking feeling rising up in your chest.

You opened your mouth to scream for help, but Alex put his other hand over your mouth, muffling your cries.

*Oh my God I'm going to get !* you thought, tears b in your eyes. *Where's Kai when I need him?*

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Kai woke up with a start. He listened to his surroundings carefully, but he didn't hear anything.

"Sukyung?" he called out. Nothing. No familiar response of "What, buttface?" or "I can't hear you!" anywhere.

Kai flung the bedsheets off him, a spark of worry starting a marathon in his heart.

He started to scour the pension for you, calling your name loudly in hopes of seeing you pop out from somewhere, but you were nowhere to be found.

*Aish, that stupid girl!* Kai thought, biting his bottom lip in worry. He ran upstairs to the bedroom, throwing on some clothes and running out of the house. He got into the car and started the engine in a rush.

*You're so dead when I find you.* Kai clenched his teeth.

-----------------------------------------

Alex got his two friends to guard the bathroom door on the outside while he dealt with you. You were backed up against the wall in the men's bathroom, with no way to escape. Your heart slammed in your chest, threatening to burst out. Your knees started to wobble as Alex leaned closer and closer to you. He was so close that his chest was lightly pressing against yours, towering over you.

He traced a long finger by your trembling jaw and tilted your chin up, forcing you to look at him. He smirked and whispered, "Why are you so tense, girl? Loosen up a bit."

His other hand slowly rubbed your arm up and down, sending chills up your spine. You smacked his hand away and growled, "Don't touch me."

Alex smiled. "Feisty - I like it."

Then his knee pressed against your theigh and pinned your shoulders against the wall. You yelped at his roughness. Alex's lips were just about to touch your neck when suddenly, one of the stalls opened and a tall Asian guy with curly blond hair came out. He stared at the two of you, a strange look on his face.

"Help me!" you croaked out before Alex pressed a hand over your mouth, silencing you.

"Go away if you know what's best for you, kid," Alex sneered.

The boy just blinked and pointed out, "Doesn't look like she's too comfortable with you pressing her against the wall like that."

"Ignore us and scram kid!" Alex barked. His grip on you loosened a bit, letting you breathe more easily.

The boy shook his head walking over, "Nah, I don't want to. Besides, she looks like she wants to bite your head off or something."

You nodded rigorously, giving him a pleading look.

Alex let go of you and pushed the boy's chest hard, making him stumble back a bit.

"I told you to get your out of here," Alex growled.

A light seemed to turn on in the boy's eyes. "If you want to be that way, I guess I'll have to - "

He sent a violent punch at Alex's faw, sending him flying backwards.

You gasped, throwing a hand over your mouth in shock.

Alex got back on his feet, his knees wobbly, blood dripping from his nose. He smirked at the boy. "Oh, you really want to go?"

Alex charged at him, about to aim a punch at the boy's face. You squeezed your eyes shut, expecting to hear a sickening crack and a pound, but there was only silence. You opened one eye and saw the boy holding Alex's wrist, Alex struggling to get out. The blond haired boy smirked and kicked him in the chest, sending Alex flying back again, hitting his head against the sinks. His eyes rolled back and slouched, knocked out.

There was silence, you cowering against the wall and the boy just standing there, staring at Alex.

"He's not dead. Don't worry about it," the boy murmured quietly.

You couldn't stop staring at your savior - you felt both awed and scared at the same time.

*Does he have ill intentions with me too?* you wondered, looking at him warily.

The boy ruffled his curls and said, "My name's Zelo. Are you perhaps Korean?"

You nodded, "Yes, I am."

Zelo switched to Korean, "Oh, I see. Let's get out of here before someone walks in."

He opened the doors of the bathroom for you, giving the two male "bodyguards" death glares. He led you out of the street, away from trouble.

Once you got away from there, you let out a huge breath that you didn't know that you were holding in.

Zelo looked at you with concern, "Are you okay?"

You nodded, "I'm fine. Thank you for saving me back there..."

Zelo gave you a cute grin, "You're welcome. What's your name?"

"Song Sukyung," you answered, smiling shyly.

"Well, Song Sukyung - are you thirsty?" Zelo asked.

You were a bit thrown off by his random question, but your stomach growled in answer. You blushed a light pink.

"Let's go someplace. I'll pay," Zelo suggested, smiling at you.

"Okay," you said, a smile crossing your lips.

*He seems pretty nice...He's pretty cute too.* you thought.

At the café he took you to, he bought you hot green tea latte, ordering the same for himself.

"Hope you like green tea...It's my favorite but I didn't know what you liked," Zelo apologized, giving you a small smile.

You shook your head and said, "Oh, no, green tea is my favorite! Thank you so much."

There was an awkward silence of just sipping green tea and hearing the quiet traffic from outside. Sitting here in the café drinking green tea reminded you of that time when Baekhyun brought you to that café in Korea...Your mind turned to the kiss/ he gave you when you drank the froth...

You looked up at Zelo, who was looking outside with the cup in his hands.

*He's really handsome.* you thought, surprising yourself. You turned red and looked down quickly, lightly slapping yourself. *Don't try to fall in love with three different people, Sukyung-ah! People will mistake you as a !*

Zelo noticed you slapping yourself, giving you a weird look. *Is she okay? Is it from the trauma from before?*

He gazed at you, his eyes softening. *She's really pretty...I wonder how old she is?*

"Um...how old are you?" Zelo asked timidly.

"I'm 16 going on 17," you replied, coming out of your little moment, taking another cautious sip.

"Oh, I'm the same age as you!" Zelo exclaimed pleasantly.

"When's your birthday?" you asked, suddenly interested.

"It's a few months from now - October 15th," Zelo answered. "What about you?"

Your eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! Me too!"

Zelo laughed, "Woah, that's really weird! Were you born in Korea?"

You nodded, cradling the latte in your hands. "Yup. In Seoul."

"What is going on here? I was born in Seoul, too!" Zelo said, putting his hands on his cheeks in surprise.

"We have so much in common!" you said in delight.

He nodded, "Yeah, that's crazy...Do you...have a boyfriend?"

You suddenly grew a bit more cautious around this question, quietly answering, "Well, no, but I'm getting married soon..."

Zelo's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Getting married at this age? Wow, you must really be in love with him then!"

You shook your head. "It's an arranged marriage..."

Zelo's gaze softened. "Oh, I see...I'm sorry, I must've sounded kind-of offensive."

"No, you weren't," you sighed. "It's just a bit...stressful. The guy I'm getting married to isn't the most gentleman like person in the world..."

"So you don't like him?" he asked, leaning his chin on his hand.

You smiled weakly, "I do, but I think it's kind-of like a one-sided love situation..."

He nodded slowly. *So she loves him, but he doesn't love her back? Is he crazy? Doesn't he know he's the luckiest guy in the world to be marrying a girl like her?*

"That's too bad...I hope things turn out better for you," Zelo encouraged you, grinning brightly.

You smiled back, "Yeah, I hope so."

Suddenly, the doors of the café were flung open, making all heads turn to it in surprise. You turned around and gasped. Kai was standing there, his eyes wild and frantic, scanning the room. They landed on you, locking eye contact with you.

You blushed and looked away. He took big strides towards you and was next to you in a second. He glanced at Zelo, who had a puzzled expression on his face, and took your wrist. You looked up at him, your lips forming a small "O".

"Do you know how long I've been looking for you, stupid?" Kai muttered dangerously to you.

You gulped. "I wasn't in trouble - "

"Shut up and come," Kai snapped, dragging you out of the café.

You looked back at Zelo and gave him a apologetic look. *I'm so sorry Zelo! I'll see you again soon!*

Zelo stared after you until you were gone. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, sipping his latte. His lips turned up in a soft smile. *It was nice meeting you, Song Sukyung, even if I just met you. You're so beautiful that I fell for you in first sight, but I see you're already taken...But I can tell just by your future husband's actions and expressions that he really cares about you and is very protective of you...It seems like he loves you back - you just didn't realize it yet...*