Warning: You might encounter a disturbing scene ahead. But please bear with it cause you'll see the love light at the end . ^^

---

“Why are you doing this? Please spare me! Help! Help!”

No matter how much she screamed, no matter how he felt the guilt consuming him, no matter how much he hide his fear, he couldn’t stop now. Days, weeks, and even months, he would spend just to memorize her every move. When she’s totally used to his presence, it was the time that he would start his move.

No, he won’t kill them. He was just after his obsession…just his obsession.

---

“I wonder what’s taking her so long,” Kai thought as the middle school grounds started to empty as students went on their own ways after school.

“Maybe she can’t find the book in the library. You know, some of the students don’t put them back in the right place,” said Kyungsoo.

Sehun was busy looking at his phone when he noticed something on the newest news about the maniac. “Hey Baekhyun, Chanyeol, look at this,” as he showed his phone to the two.

“What about it?”

“Isn’t that girl familiar?” said Sehun. Baekhyun and Chanyeol looked at the picture in the phone. The latest news showed another victim.

“Ah!” exclaimed Chanyeol.

“What? Do you know her?” asked Baekhyun, who still couldn’t recognize the face of the girl.

“Isn’t she the high school girl we met in the café, the one who was looking for her phone and comb? The cute one!” said Chanyeol.

“Ah! You’re right. But we just saw her yesterday. What a pity!”

“Wait. So that means…” Chanyeol tried to recall everything that happened yesterday.

“It means that the suspect was there yesterday,” finished Sehun.

“But we were there till 10 and I didn’t see anything suspicious,” said Chanyeol.

“Well, that’s because we focused solely on Tao. If only we were more attentive,” said Baekhyun.

“What? You focused on Tao? What do you mean?” asked Kai who suddenly became confused not knowing anything about what the three had done yesterday.

“Ah…well,” Chanyeol was about to explain. “Sehun will explain it.” Chanyeol nudged Sehun.

“Well, we thought that Tao might have something to do with all these strange cases lately so we tailed him yesterday. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find something about him. He just went home yesterday,” explained Sehun.

“At least we know he’s not the suspect. By the way, I think we need to go now. We still have our band practice,” said Baekhyun.

“Wait. Are you all leaving?” asked Kai.

“Kyungsoo will be helping us with the vocals. We will need Sehun’s car to transport my drum set and other instruments. So, we’ll just see each other tomorrow. Bye!” said Chanyeol.

“Bye.”

Kai looked at his phone just in time for an incoming message. “Just go ahead Kai. I think I have to stay in the library a little longer. Don’t worry, I have a friend to accompany me to the bus stop later,” he read. “So she’s staying then.” Kai thought for a second if he’s going to stay or not. But then, he thought that he should trust Seyoon and believe in her.

He was already on his way to the bus station when his intuition prickled him. After a minute, he found himself standing in front of the café where Tao was working. ‘Why am I here? Oh well, just a drink and I’ll leave,” he thought as he opened the café doors. Upon entering, he saw Tao who seemed to be surprised seeing him.

“We-wel-welcome,” Tao greeted him with a stuttering voice. Kai bowed at him before occupying the table at the corner of the café.

‘What is he doing here? He didn’t, by any chance, know…’ Tao thought as he handed Kai the menu.

“Just ice Americano,” Kai said to him without reading the menu.

“Okay. I’ll be back in a minute,” said Tao as he left Kai who was looking left and right into the café.

‘If the victim stayed here yesterday, there’s a great possibility that the suspect is here. Ah, why am I even bothering to know who the suspect was?’ Kai thought.

---

Seyoon was woken up by an aching sensation at back of her head, only to find herself in an unfamiliar place. She couldn’t see anything except for places lightened by the setting sun through the window. If she’s not mistaken, she’s been here before. But because of the pain on her neck, she couldn’t seem to think straight.

She tried to move herself but couldn’t because of the rope looped on her arms and legs, tying her on the chair. She couldn’t even talk with the tape on . She didn’t know why she was there or how she even got there. All she could remember was the time when she was walking with Tao to the home economics room then she felt someone hit her neck and falling into Tao’s arms. “Tao…”

---

Kai never liked coffee and he never thought that drinking the Ice Americano he ordered would take longer time than he expected. It was already dark outside. Every now and then, he would see Tao looking at him. ‘Maybe I am staying here for too long. I should go now,’ he thought.

Kai was already leaving when Tao came to him smiling. “You’re already leaving?” Kai just nodded at him. “See you tomorrow then, sunbae.”

“See you,” Kai said before he left. ‘Something’s really weird with that guy.’ He was on his way to the bus stop in front of their school when he received a call from Seyoon’s mother. “Hello, Aunt Jin?”

“Jongin-ah, thank goodness you answer your phone. I was calling Seyoon since a while ago but she’s not answering my calls. Are you with her right now?”

“No. We’re not together. She said she’ll have things to do in the library so…”

“Oh, she’s in the library then. Maybe her phone is in silent mode. Ah, thank goodness. Anyway, I’ve been calling her to tell her that we’re leaving tonight. There’s an emergency in our business abroad. Anyway, can you please tell her that? We are really in a hurry.”

“It’s okay Aunt Jin. I’ll tell her.”

“Thank you Jongin. Please take care of her while we’re out. We’ll be counting on you.”

“Yes, I will take care of her, always.”

“Okay, bye!”

“Bye.” ‘So Seyoon is probably still inside. Well, there’s nothing wrong if I go take a look. Besides, I need to tell her what her mother told me,’ Kai thought as he entered the school grounds again.

When he entered, all he saw were empty rooms and hallways. Even the faculty room was already empty. Good thing, the lights were still open in the main hall for students who were staying all night to study. As he went to the library located at the end of hallway, he saw few students but there was no trace of Seyoon anywhere. “Where is she?”

Kai went back to the main hall but he still couldn’t find her. He went to the cafeteria but it was already closed. He went to their classroom on the third floor but all rooms were already empty. He was about to go down when he saw someone walking on the hallway of the opposite building. That building was where club rooms are located. Kai thought that maybe Seyoon was there.

---

Seyoon heard footsteps going to the direction of the room she was in. It’s been an hour since she woke up and found herself in that room. Now, she could barely see anything. The moonlight was not enough to light the place. As the sound of the footsteps getting louder, all she was thinking was to get the attention of that someone outside. She needed help now. She tried to untie herself from the knot but it was too tight. She tried to stand up but the chair was too heavy to lift. She was surprised when she heard the door of her room opened. She was wide-eyed when she saw Tao entering the room.

“So, you’re already awake,” he told her nonchalantly.

Seyoon couldn’t talk or even shout. She couldn’t ask for anyone’s help. She couldn’t tell him that she couldn’t believe seeing him like this. She wanted to tell him how much she trusted him. She wanted to tell him how she argued with Kai just to tell Kai that he was harmless. She didn’t want to believe all of this. She wanted to ask him, “Why?”

“Don’t worry, it wouldn’t take that long. After this, I’ll let you go as long as you’ll never tell anyone. Anyway, we will not see each other anymore after this,” Tao told him as he got closer to her. She stared into his eyes, those eyes that became so different. It was so dark, so deep, and so intense like there was no light could pass through. And if ever it could, his eyes would just consume them deep into the dark hole. “Unfortunately, you couldn’t ask for anyone’s help now. The main hall is almost empty. The library is sound proof. And your friend…” He moved his mouth closer to her ear and whispered, “he already left you,” which caused Seyoon’s fear to rise.

“I’ve waited for weeks for this. But it is not my fault. If only you didn’t talk to me that day. If only you just let that handkerchief on the floor, I wouldn’t have seen you and your beautiful,” Tao the back of her head, as he moved his fingers on her hair strands, “…hair.”

She wanted to free herself from his touch. She tried to move but her hands were bound. She wanted to cry but she didn’t want to show him that she was conquered with fear. Instead, she looked at him with intense eyes. She glared at him furiously.

Seyoon saw the scissors in Tao’s hands; blades gleamed because of the moonlight. Seyoon swayed her head in horror as Tao traced the blade on her neck, causing goose-bumps down her spine. “Sorry,” Tao muttered Just when he was about to take the scissor and cut her hair, someone came and hit Tao’s head with a baseball bat.

“Luckily, I brought this from Sehun’s locker downstairs,” said Kai. “Are you okay?” he asked Seyoon. Seyoon nodded at her. He removed the tape covering Seyoon’s mouth.

“Why are you here?” was all she could say after seeing Kai.

“Well...hmm….it’s not that I am too worried about you or concerned about you, it’s just that I just happened to be here. It’s all coincidental,” Kai looked at the rope tying Seyoon. “It’s too tight. We need something to cut this,” he said.

“How about that?” Seyoon pointed her head to the direction of Tao, still unconscious with the scissor in his hand.

“Oh…” he went to Tao who was lying on the floor. He poked his shoulder just to make sure that he was still unconscious. He slowly lifted Tao’s finger to get the scissor. Kai tried to be careful because a slight movement might wake up the sleeping maniac. “I got it.” He immediately went to Seyoon and cut the rope bounding her hands and feet. “Let’s go,” he said grabbing Seyoon’s hand. He noticed that it was still quivering with fear from what happened earlier. “It’s alright. Don’t worry, I am here now.”

Seyoon looked at Kai and observed how his hand held hers with care. She felt how it sent sparks in her anxious body. She held for it for a moment and so, and she didn’t want to unclasp from it, never. She felt safe now, at least. “But what do we do with him? We can’t just leave him here.”

Kai looked at Tao who was still in the same position he had earlier. “We have to run out of here and seek for someone’s help. We can’t just drag him along. Let’s go before he wakes up,” he said as they tried to run away.

However, even before Seyoon take another step, Tao held her ankle and twisted it which caused her to fall on the floor. Seyoon wailed in pain and she can’t move her ankle anymore.

“Where are you going?” Tao stood up from the floor. “My back hurts, who did that? You!” He looked at Kai who seemed shocked of what happened. “Where’s my scissor?!” he said as he looked for the scissor that was left on the chair where he tied Seyoon earlier.

Kai tried to help Seyoon stood up but Tao suddenly kicked him which caused him to fall on the floor. “You dare to interfere with my plans!” Tao blurted endless profanities to Kai but he couldn’t understand since they were in Mandarin. “I wouldn’t let you go,” he said as he lifted his scissors, aiming to hit Kai’s feet. Just then, Seyoon’s hand prevented Tao.

“Seyoon, your hands…” They were bleeding. Seyoon bit her lower lip to resist the pain as blood dripped on her hands from the cut in her palm caused by the sharp scissor blades. She barely made it. But seeing Tao aiming at Kai’s feet, she found the strength to drag her one leg and stopped Tao.  

“Blood…” Never been in any of his acts in which Tao was able to see blood. It has always been one thing that he wanted to avoid the most. He had always been very careful all this time. But tonight, it happened and he didn’t like it. He felt like his head was going to rupture. He hated it just like how he hated his father and how he cut his mother’s hair when he’s mad or drunk. Tao was acting frantic which gave Kai the chance.

Within a second, Kai found himself hitting Tao with the baseball bat causing Tao to lie unconscious on the floor again. He grabbed the rope that was used to tie Seyoon. It was long enough to tie Tao’s hands and feet. He made sure that it was tightly knot before he went to Seyoon.

She was still holding the scissors in her hands which was shivering in pain. Kai hold her hands and gently removed the scissors from her tight grip. She saw the cuts on her palm. He grabbed his handkerchief and gradually wrapped the cloth on her wound. He, then, put her arm on his shoulder as he hoisted her up to carry her. “No need. I can wa-”

“No, you can’t. Just hold on tightly,” he said. Seyoon stared at his eyes for a moment. It was glinted with gentleness. She stared at it for a while. She liked how it brought her the feelings of safety and being protected.

---

“Thank you Mr. Officer for bringing us here,” Kai said to the police officer who drove them home. Seyoon also bowed at him.

“No problem. Thank you also for reporting that guy to us. It’s been months since we’re trying to hunt him down. Who would have thought that a middle school students like you would bust him out of his disguise? Don’t worry, we will take care of him and make sure that nothing will happen in the future. He would be deported back to China soon,” said the Mr. Officer. “Do you want me to help you carry your friend?”

“No need. I’ll take care of her,” Kai replied. “Thank you again officer…”

“Jongki, just call me Officer Jongki. If you need any help just call me,” said the officer whose eyes smiled in delight as he left Seyoon and Kai. Seyoon was still clinging on Kai’s shoulder since she still couldn’t move her one ankle.

“Why are we here? You could’ve just dropped me at home,” said Seyoon.

“You’re sleeping with me,” said Kai.

“What?”

“Ahh…I mean, you’re sleeping over at our house.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Your mother called me and wanted to tell you that your parents would be gone for an emergency business trip. There’s no one at your house right now so I think it is better that you stay here for tonight.”

Just then, the light from their house illuminated the entry way as Mrs. Kim came out. “Oh kids! The police station just called and we are extremely worried. But I am happy that you two are already fine. Oh, you don’t how worried we are,” she said as she squeezed Seyoon and Kai into a big hug. “Come in now, I prepared delicious meals for you two. I know you are extremely tired.”

---

“Seyoon, I already prepared Kai’s bed. I hope you don’t mind but all I could prepare was Kai’s old sweatpants and shirt. Well, they are just a little bigger than your size but it would fit,” said Mrs. Kim.

“It’s okay Aunt Kim. In fact, you’ve helped me more than enough. But is it okay with Kai if I sleep in his bed?”

“Of course it is! There’s no way that he’d let you sleep on the floor, right Kai?”

“Whatever, sure. Let’s go. I’ll carry you to the room. Get on my back,” he said to Seyoon.

“Huh?”

“Just get on my back. I’m quite sleepy too so get on,” he said.

“Alright.” With that, Seyoon climbed on Kai’s back as he carried her upstairs to his room. “Sorry if I’m heavy.”

“It’s okay.” He released her on his bed as he grabbed something from underneath his bed. “Give me your hand.”

“Huh?”

“Your hand…” he pointed on her hand wrapped in his handkerchief. He held her hand gently as he removed his handkerchief before he examined her wound. He grabbed the first aid kit and cleaned her cut before he applied the antiseptic. Seyoon flinched once in a while from the pain caused by the frequent touches on her wound. Kai, then, wrapped it carefully with gauze.

Just then, he was surprised as Seyoon suddenly pulled him in a hug. He could hear her as he felt his shoulder moistened where Seyoon’s head was resting. She cried to him. She mumbled words that Kai tried to understand. She repeatedly apologized on how clumsy she was. And that she was sorry that she didn’t believe him.  And that he almost got into an accident because of her. And his feet so precious to him, the one that brought him to his passion of dancing, she deeply apologized that it almost got hurt because of her.

Kai could feel the pain and sincerity in her every words. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her that everything’s fine, that he was there because he cared for her, that he couldn’t stand seeing her in danger, that he, himself, was afraid to confront Tao but was able to find his courage because of her, that he was extremely and forever grateful (and guilty) that she let herself be hurt just to save him, that she was important to him more than anyone. He wanted to tell it all but couldn’t so he just let it all be concluded with what he think was best for the moment.

Seyoon felt Kai’s hand cupping her face and wiping her tears. She couldn’t look straight into his eyes with her eyes soring in tears. It was embarrassing, she thought. But Kai didn’t care. He slowly moved his head closer to her. Closer…Until she felt his warm lips touched her forehead. It was tender, placid, and warm. Her world stopped for a while. She wanted to feel it, and she felt it. "Don't ever leave my side," he said to her. 

Then she felt the throbbing feeling in her chest. It was only with him that she felt this unexplainable feeling. She thought it would only happen once but it happened again. That was when she knew who owned her gaze, her strange feelings, her everything. She knew whom she liked. And it was the person she was with now. She knew since then that she loves him.