“The start”

There he was, his hands casually hidden in the pockets of his jeans. That Oh Se Hun leaned lazily on the sidewall of the elevator. He doesn’t show a tint of surprise after noticing my existence. The chance of him remembering me may be slim.

I managed to cough awkwardly as I stepped into the elevator.

It was quiet for a second as silence seeped through every inch of the limited space. I started to debate internally on the choice to greet or to ignore. The lift slowly made its way down as I decided on the latter. I took a deep breath and focused on my reflection on the mirror. Mindlessly drifting to the reflection of his face.

Again, his eyes bored on mine through the image. His intoxicating gaze lingered. I quickly flicked my sight away and coughed again, trying to redeem the awkwardness.

Like magnets, my eyes unconsciously flickered back to his figure in the reflection. I watched as he shuffled, adding more weight on the wall as he leaned in idly. He blew his bangs up, lips curving into the shape of an adorable pout. I suppressed a smile.

He seemed to notice.

“Hey” the lazy voice resonated through the elevator.

He just spoke to me.

I lifted my gaze, in level with his through the reflection. Again, the boy’s beautiful eyes poured into mine. “Ah. Hey” I managed to choke out a decent response.

I mentally slapped myself upon noticing my gawking expression. Stupid Jae, what are you doing.

The beautiful teenager scratched the back of his neck languidly, as if on cue, the elevator door slid open, approaching 1^st floor.

I didn’t budge, still waiting for his response. The guy smirked and gestured his hands towards the exit. “Ladies first?”

I snapped out of my thoughts  “Uh Yeah”

Rigidly I stepped out of the elevator, often stealing glances back at the enigmatic figure behind me.

in a deep breath, I spoke, disputing a simple question “I didn’t know you live here”

Se hun’s lips twitched, yet his expression still portrayed the usual languor. “Ah. I didn’t know you live here either”

I rolled my eyes, exasperated at lack of enthusiasm in the answer as I tried again “Where are you going?”

“To the convenience store.”

“Oh…me too”

“Mmmm” He hummed in response, not showing any hint of extra emotions.

Not long after another round of awkward silence, we stepped into the convenience store. I immediately rounded the corners towards the ramen section just in the same time as Se Hun did.

Funny. What a coincidence. Again.

“Ramen?” He slurred in a teasing tone.

“What?” I looked at him with a dull expression.

“I’ll pay for you,” He offered suddenly. Shocked, I looked up to meet his face, in search of any trace of facetious. His sincere expression surprised me.

“Uh No thank you?” I rejected the offer with much sensibility. “I’ll pay for my own.”

“Why? Don’t girls like it when guys pay for them?” Se Hun smirked, his features finally showing a hint of expression.

“I barely know you.” I raised my eyebrows in a questioning manner, “You barely tried to talk to me this whole way. Why bother to pay for my ramen.”

“Ah. Cause I think I might need to borrow you for a little while later” He replied without much thought.

“Excuse me?” I coughed. His expression irked me. What does he mean by borrowing.

“More specifically. You and your kitchen” Se Hun took the packs of ramen out of my hands and strode towards the counter.

Before I could stop him, the money was paid and he held all five packs of noodles in a plastic bag, dangling it in front of my face.

“Now you can’t reject my request”

“I can always pay you back. I don’t want to lend myself nor my kitchen to you” My eyebrows scrunched together at the silliness of my sentence. It doesn’t even make sense.

“Well too bad, I don’t accept pay backs.” He swished around and walked out of the store.

I was more than dumbfounded at the stubbornness of this mysterious guy. I gritted my teeth and shook my head, reminding myself of how he helped me with my locker this morning. You’re paying him back Jae.

I had to jog to catch up in step with him. His long legs carried him way faster than mine did.

“Dude. Will you slow down?” I complained after a while of arduous tagging.

“I’m not walking that fast.” He kept his pace as he replied, not turning back. I could see his muscles contracting through the thin material of the t-shirt, showing every trace of fitness.

I averted my gaze and muttered, “If I had longer legs I’d say that too.”

Se Hun chuckled lightly, signaling he heard. My eyebrows twitched, how could he hear something so inaudible. Damn it.

The night wind filled the air as it tore across the vast space in the street. Its blows started to get stronger and stronger, leaving the leaves on the roadside trees rustling in protest.

It was cold.

The wind continued to savage. I wrapped my arms around myself, in hope that the warmth of my own body would soon stop the sudden drop of temperature.

Suddenly, the wind grew smaller.

Oh Se Hun.

The colossal male walked casually in front of me, accurately blocking all access of the wind.

It wasn’t that cold anymore.

I looked up, only to be greeted by his broad shoulders moving in sync with his steps. His brown tousled hair shimmered slightly in the dim moonlight.

I couldn’t help when a grin pooled on my lips. I walked quietly behind him, stepping in rhythm. Silence reigned the air again.

Comfortable silence.

I watched the swinging plastic bag in his hands, the noodles rocking back and forth.

“Hey Jae”

“Yeah? Wait. Did you just call my name?”

The male in front of me came to an abrupt stop, making me crash head on into his back. He turned around and tapped me in the forehead.

“Why are you such a dumb-dumb” He mumbled, amused.

“Stop pretending to be such a smart-” I retorted, flipping his hands away.

“I’m not pretending. I am smart” He chuckled, but stopped shortly.

His teasing expression disappeared, “What’s wrong?”

I stared at the dark streets ahead that now seemed eerier than before. Se Hun still didn’t reply.

“Se Hun?”

“Shh” He managed to pull out a whisper, “Just stay behind me”.

I could feel my heartbeat escalate as he protectively hovered his arms behind, surrounding my body. I couldn’t help but nestle into his back, grabbing onto his T-shirt.

“Be quiet,” He said through gritted teeth.

I nodded, too intimidated to make a sound. The atmosphere grew too discreet to be in comfort; Se Hun remained his aggressive stance.

A gust of wind ripped through the vast street, bringing up a thin layer of fog. I opened my eyes wider, inhaling the air. The mist tasted numbing and sweet, almost addicting.

“Jae. Don’t.” Se Hun’s voice was strained. A warning.

I quickly buried my head back into his back, inhaling his scent instead. His cooling aroma soothed the numbing sense in my nose.

I peered carefully around his arms, gripping even tighter on his shirt. I couldn’t help but let out a small gasp. Se Hun’s arms immediately tightened around me.

Dark figures approached from the midst of the fog. Three. No. Six.

They stood in front slowly, spreading out. I squinted my eyes to see better, only to realize that the figures were fully veiled from head to toe in dark cloaks.

From the back, I could feel the thudding of Se Hun’s heart; his skin was too cold to be normal.

Without much thought, I started to rub circles on the small of his back. “We’re going to be okay,” I whispered firmly, even though my hands were trembling.

Just as the male was about to turn back, one of the veiled figures spoke.

“Oh Se Hun”

They know him.

Se Hun made a sound. Something between a hiss and a growl.

“What do you want?”

“You know what we want.” The figure took a step forward, Se Hun immediately snarled.

“You are not going to get her. Leave.” Se Hun’s tone was calm, yet dripping with poison.

“Se Hun as a-”

Se Hun flexed his hands and a gust of sharp wind cut to the veiled figures. They were taken aback and the one in front stumbled backwards.

There was a huge cut in the cloak.

My eyes widened in shock. What just happened?

“Se…Hun?” I tapped him lightly, only resulting him pushing me back behind him.

“Stay”

I could only obey. The air was quiet for a moment, the mist slowly fading. My heart still thudded fast against my chest as I huddled into Se Hun, listening.

“Oh Se Hun. You-” One of the veiled figures started, only to be cut off again.

“Now please. Leave."

The veiled figures scowled. The mist around us started to clear, the air was normal again.

I peeked from behind.

They vanished.