Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“I’m not exactly someone with a strong commitment or ideal, but maybe after I watch them

– mostly him, I think  I should start to have one too”

Seuk Ri’s eyes are literally bright as she looked at the white wall full of various beautiful paintings. Some of them are sweet, some are calming, and others are making the word ‘horror’ into an understatement. “Baekhyun could get into a wonderful atelier with works like this”. Risa just laughed at the young painter’s praise softly as they continued to walk across the hallway.

Byun Baekhyun is not a normal person and he clearly made that impression on everyone who made any contact with him. The first time Seuk Ri saw him, she thought he just a pretty guy who paints elegantly, but her first idea of Baekhyun totally thrown to another galaxy. He’s like a beautiful box made from kinds of gems, and inside of it was a black hole that’s once caught you, it brought you to a place no one could ever imagine. But somehow, the luxurious box was damaged. Seuk Ri doesn’t know exactly but there was, she was sure, an imaginative gash that went across all of Baekhyun’s paintings.

“Seuk Ri, are you done staring?” Her train of thoughts is cut off as she turned her head towards the White Representative. She nodded as they followed Risa who’s crossing both her arms in front of her chest. “Let’s go, and I don’t want to lose you on some daydream of yours”

~//~

“Risa… I’m bored” Baekhyun whined endlessly as the television showed him a slideshow of landscapes with classical music. He slumped on the comfortable sofa. His body slid down. “Can I watch something else?”

“No,” Risa who’s currently on the dining room behind the sofa told him as firmly as ever. “I am glad that you didn’t draw another assassin but still, you don’t know how glad I am that you paint the balcony scene… not something else” Seuk Ri watched Risa cringed badly at the thought on her head.

Seuk Ri slowly drank her warm jasmine tea while Risa help herself with a butter cookie. “Risa I don’t know you visit Baekhyun constantly” she asked and Risa looked at her before taking another cookie from the plate in front of them.

“Baekhyun’s mother is my mother’s friend, and since he’s being himself, Baekhyun’s mother asked me to watch him on weekends” Risa explained as she nibbled the edge of the cookie. “Beside he’s a prodigious painter and an important asset of the Whites, and mostly because he needs a help and a White,” she paused as she leaned towards Seuk Ri who sat across her. “A White never leaves any person behind”

Never leave anyone behind?

~//~

“Seuk Ri,” someone called my name, the girl absent mindedly thought but her mind insisted on not working properly. “Yah, Kang Seuk Ri!” Luhan shook the girl’s shoulder until she looked at him with bewilderment on her face. Staring at her face, Luhan’s gaze softens. “Does anything bother you?” he asked worriedly.

“The only thing she should worry about is you” Risa glared at Luhan who sat opposite of him. “And furthermore, why are you here, Kim Jong In?” she continued her rampage at the Blacks. Luhan just ignored Risa’s spiteful remarks as Jong In replied her with a cold stare.

Jong In broke the eye contact as he drank his coke with closed eyes. “Of course to protect the Black Leader from a ‘Villainous Swine’ such as you, White Rep” he casually told Risa as he finished the coke. Seuk Ri, whom finally brought back to the reality, could see Risa was about to lunged towards Jong In and choke him to death.

Luhan, who already made himself comfortable next to Seuk Ri, snapped his fingers in front of the painter. “You didn’t answer my question,” he said.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was spacing out just now” Seuk Ri told him apologetically. After keeps her silence she finally explained her problems. “I just happen to have a lot of home works and I haven’t submit any painting for the scholarship I’m looking for” Seuk Ri ended her words with a tired sigh.

“You’re looking for a scholarship?” Baekhyun, the only one who’s eating peacefully finally said something. Luhan and Seuk Ri stared at him. Maybe because of Jong In and Risa’s argument made the genius go unnoticed at a moment.

“Uh, yes for an atelier in England” Seuk Ri scratched her cheek nervously. “Though it’s quite a small chance to be picked” she laughed, dismissing the topic. Baekhyun however smiled at her.

“You can look for some reference at the library. They have quite numbers of gallery book, sometimes I look at them, but I forget when…” Baekhyun’s voice trailed as his eyes moved from Seuk Ri to the next seat’s occupant. “Luhan, why are you staring at Seuk Ri as if she was floating?” Luhan was indeed looking intensely at the girl.

“Luhan, do I have something wrong in my face?” she asked but Luhan’s gaze hasn’t moved until Risa screeched.

“You better stop harassing my friend!” Risa pointed at Luhan accusingly but her anger quickly jumped to Jong In who shouted at Risa for not ‘blame Luhan for something he didn’t do'. But with the heated argument between the representatives, the Black Leader just blinked his eyes repeatedly, trying to process something within his own mind.

~//~

The library is not really bad. They have quite many collections of books. Mostly about general studies but there are also numerous books related to art, whether it’s some songs, paintings, sculptures, or choreography.

It was almost the time school ends when Seuk Ri entered the quite calm atmosphere place. She scanned the whole rack to find where the books Baekhyun was talking about are. To her own conscious she finally realized she needs to thank the other painter. He did introduce me with Chen and Sehun, and now he tell me where some of fine art books are.

But still, the library was very huge; she couldn’t found the exact rack. “It would be better if Baekhyun just tell me exactly where the books are… or come with me,” she paused before hitting her head repeatedly. “Ah, you are so ungrateful Kang Seuk Ri!” she told herself before crouching down. “But still, I’m not exactly good with directions…” she mumbled as she looked at the scribble she made on her palm. But then from the edge of her eyes she caught a shadow towering over her. Slowly she looked up and her heart missed a beat.

“What are you looking for?” the guy asked her. But Seuk Ri could only stare at him with slightly gaped mouth.

~//~

“Why are you here, Risa?”

“I could ask the same, Jong In”

With blazing eyes, they glared at each other. Electricity shot from their eyes, threatening to zap the other if one of them is being careless. The world has shut for them as they only focused on each other; and because of that, they didn’t realize the two people who watched them with a gaze between ‘what the hell’ and ‘they aren’t blinking at all!’

As the two people watched in wonder, someone who’s definitely cannot read the circumstances, broke the focused glares both representatives are giving to each other. “Good afternoon sunbae!” Sehun shouted and soon he received a hardened stare from Jong In and Risa. At the glare plus it was from someone he least expected, the first-year flinched.

“I hope it was for me” Jong In looked at Sehun. For one reason, around them are consist on Risa, Chen and Baekhyun, all are Whites. Sehun laughed nervously.

“Of- of course I called for you Sunbae- I mean, Representative” Sehun stammered his confirmation. No need a genius to know he’s completely lying. Jong In merely gave him another look before turning his head away.

“To think she’s not here at this hour” Risa checked her wrist watch. Jong In messed his hair. The White Representative clicked her tongue at Jong In. “If you think you can go to Seuk Ri’s house too, just forget it” she half-mocking, half-adviced. The boy narrowed his eyes.

“At least I could make her not to go with you” he spat as Risa growled lowly as a response.

“As if she would choose to go with you” they let a growl before started glaring at each other. The three other people just watched them like watching some kind of movie they remember the every detail of the scenes. But then one of the viewers remembered one detail the other two didn’t know.

“Wait, are both of you waiting for Seuk Ri?” he said. The mention of the girl they were expected made them averted their attention to Baekhyun. “Well,” his voice is indifferent. “She’s on the library, maybe because you’re to focus on each other you didn’t hear I told her in lunch time about some books on the library. Maybe she’s looking for them”

“Oh,” Risa said before smiling. “Then there’s nothing to worry about-“

“Library?!” Jong In shouted in horror. “Seuk Ri cannot go there without supervision” he exclaimed before setting a move to enter the school again. But before he could do any kind of attempt to ‘save’ Seuk Ri, Risa already grabbed his wrist.

“Kim Jong In,” Risa said his name in her foreign sweetest tone. “Shall we go, now?” her voice dripped with poison but Jong In struggled his way, but the ‘tsundere’ method was being used by the half-Japanese as the tall boy found himself shaking in fear. “Come on Jong In, stop resisting” he shuddered immediately as Risa looked at him with a look that made him lost a beat.

“Sehun, save me!” Jong In begged as he struggled even more, making the girl has a hard time keeping him on the same place.

“Chen Sunbae, Baekhyun, help me here!” Risa shouted as now she’s holding one of Jong In’s arms with both of her hands. However the three mentioned people just watch as they mind their own business.

“Sorry Representative Kim, but as a first-year it’s not very polite for hit an upperclassman, let alone a girl” Sehun said as he just playing with his phone. The representatives changed their glance to the third-year.

Chen just waved his hand in dismissal. “I don’t think that’s my business” he excused. The last person namely Baekhyun was looking blankly at the sky before finally realized he was being watched by Risa and Jong In. Baekhyun stared at them before smiling.

“I think it’s more personal than you ever imagine, so I just going to pass” he told them and both Risa and Jong In’s face turned slight pinkish.

“It’s not personal!” they denied in unison. Upon realizing that, they started glaring at each other, again and shortly Jong In frantically trying to get away when Risa’s grip tightened. And they continued this, although most likely they are going to forget what makes them fight in the very first place.

~//~

It’s beautiful…

She watched the sight in front of him. Looking up from her position, Seuk Ri stared at the guy who’s towering him. The window behind with the light shade of golden rays, gave him an angelic look. She was brought into a trance but as Seuk Ri watched his features, the serene feeling that lingering in her chest burst into a sudden surge of panic. She gasped as she stood up abruptly, and if the White Leader doesn’t have a good reflexes their heads might collided with each other.

“Err…” Seuk Ri mumbled as she remembered – gladly – Kyung Soo’s question. “I- I was looking for some books!” she quickly shut as her voice was raised without any purpose. But the White Leader just stared at her before looking at the racks on their sides.

“What books are you looking for?” he asked as he returned some books that went unnoticed by Seuk Ri at first. Glancing nervously, as Kyung Soo emits a different kind of aura than Luhan, somehow colder and distant, Seuk Ri finally found her voice back.

“Um… I was looking for some books,” she paused as she realized she wrote the titles on her palm. She peeked at Kyung Soo’s calm face as she slowly showed her hand. Different from what she firstly thought, the White Leader merely looked at the scribbles and start walking on passed Seuk Ri.

Bewildered, Seuk Ri just watched his back before he turned to her way. “Aren’t you want to know where the books are?” he asked and Seuk Ri could only nod her head as she hastily followed him.

The quiet library doesn’t actually help the awkward feeling that looming over their heads – or maybe only hers. The only sounds around were the sound of their shoes hit the floor beneath. It wasn’t all unpleasant but still the silence is killing her little by little. Her eyes are looking blankly at the White Leader’s back. Until, he’s stopped and Seuk Ri’s face is an inch away from his back.

She was beyond startled when Kyung Soo shoved the book to her face. “Here’s one of the books you are looking for, the rest is on this rack. You can look it for yourself. When you’re done, return it by yourself or you can ask me” with that Seuk Ri could only blinked her eyes as Kyung Soo walked on the opposite direction.

~//~

Kang Seuk Ri currently wanted to chop her head off, for being so stupid for being asleep in the library and now she’s currently panicking in front of the locked door. She hit her head as she remembered she was so forgetful she had left her phone at home. “So this is what it feels to be a person in a drama…” she muttered as she recalled all the dramas her mother watched all night.

But aside of that she was very afraid and started walking back and forth; finding a way to calmed the powerful beats of her heart. She yelped as she watched her reflection on a mirror. One lesson she learned from all horror stories and movies, is not to stand in front of a thing called the dreadful mirror. And the sky went darker by any second had passed. She’s started to hyperventilate before finally tires herself and sat on one of the chair.

“What should I do now?” she wondered. “Should I wait till the guard is present, or should I…” realized she doesn’t actually find any plan; Seuk Ri put her head on the wooden table in front of her. She started to stomp her feet as she shout her fury out. But a voice stopped her.

“You’re awake?” She lifted her head and found the White Leader sat across of her. She was sure no one was there before. Her mind still not working, she told herself as she pinched her cheek, it proven to be hurt. She rubbed the sore cheek that flushed deep red as Kyung Soo stared at her with slanted eyebrow.

“You’re not my hallucination right, White Leader?” Kyung Soo merely chuckled at the absurd thing as he leaned and poked Seuk Ri’s forehead.

“Am I your hallucination now, Kang Seuk Ri?” he inquired as the girl started rubbed the place the White Leader poked. “And please call me Kyung Soo, Do Kyung Soo; the school’s closed for the starter. I believe you know what I mean, since you are friend of Luhan” he told her as he stood up. The chair made a creaked sound that echoed in the whole place.

“Why are you here, Kyung Soo?” she asked with extra caution. Kyung Soo stacked his books and put them inside his bag that conveniently on top of the table. As he inserted the books, he stole a glance before continued with his task.

“Simply because I cannot leave you behind and I don’t want to disturb your sleep” he answered easily as he slung his bag. “Bring your bag, we’re out of here” he told Seuk Ri who hastily took her bag that was lying on the floor for some time.

“But the door-“

Her words stopped as Kyung Soo picked the window and slide the window opened. He looked at Seuk Ri, “who said we’re going to go through the door?” he said as he pointed at the opened window. “Ladies first”

Seuk Ri was too confused at the moment so she just follows what she was told as she carefully climbed over the window. She was glad the library is on the first floor or they might not get out until tomorrow morning for sure.

Her feet barely touched the ground but she made it nonetheless, without embarrassing herself to her relieve. Kyung Soo followed behind as he gracefully landed near her. “Go this way” without any chitchat, Kyung Soo led her to the closed school gate. Seuk Ri immediately cursed her luck. Only able to get out the library doesn’t mean she can get out of the school. However Kyung Soo doesn’t show any worries as he walked towards a wall that separated the school yard with the main road outside.

He easily climbed the wall and he extended his left arm towards Seuk Ri while the other balanced himself on top of the brick made wall. Kyung Soo didn’t say anything but even without proper lightning; his gaze told Seuk Ri that he wanted to help her. So, hesitantly Seuk Ri took his hand. By a surprising strength, Kyung Soo pulled Seuk Ri helped as she climbed the wall.

He’s surprisingly strong even though Kyung Soo’s is noticeably smaller than either Jong In or Luhan. But as the Kyung Soo helped Seuk Ri to the other side of the wall, she was sure she’s safe in the hand of the White Leader.

As Seuk Ri brushed off any dust on her uniform, Kyung Soo already jumped with a soft thud. At his presence Seuk Ri straightened her posture. “Thank you, Kyung Soo” she thanked him gratefully.

Inside her mind she was asking why these problems are starting to swarmed her. First is the incident on the convenient store and now this. Both times she was saved by the school leaders. And she questioned is this was her luck or should she consider it as a misfortune.

Kyung Soo watched her for awhile. His eyes seem to analyze her before he fixed the way his bag strapped before his watchful eyes returned to Seuk Ri. The way he stared only makes the already awkward situation worsen. But after he saw the uncomfortable look on Seuk Ri’s eyes he averted his gaze. “I’ll take you home”

“Eh?” Seuk Ri startled. She started waving her hands in dismissal. “No need to, my home is near!” she told him, hoping that he would quickly drop the subject. Kyung Soo stared at her, asking her silently if she would be okay walking in the night. Catching the question, Seuk Ri went into silence. She wasn’t sure herself, but to think she might become a burden to the White Leader if she continued looking for help.

“I’ll be okay” she firmly told Kyung Soo with the least courage she could muster. But the boy just keeps his stare as he came closer to her. Before she could react Kyung Soo grabbed her hand. She yelped in surprise.

“Tell me where your house is” his voice is commanding but shows no tyranny over her. Maybe that’s the sole reason why Risa became so devoted to the leader, she wondered. However in the end Seuk Ri couldn’t think anything else as she can only muttered her address. Even with her small voice, Kyung Soo could hear her clearly as he started to drag her – with least force – on the way to her apartment.

~//~

It was already dark as they neared the apartment complex. Now, instead of dragging, Seuk Ri is walking closely behind Kyung Soo still with his hand over hers. If it wasn’t the lack of light, the red tint on Seuk Ri’s cheeks would be visible. To not focus herself with Kyung Soo, she watched the moon that hanged above them. It was pretty and better than any night-themed paintings she had made in the past.

“You lied to me, Kang Seuk Ri” Kyung Soo calm-tone voice startled her as she abruptly looked at him who doesn’t even look away from the road in front. “Your apartment is quite far from the school” said the White Leader with his thin, accusing tone.

“I’m sorry,” Seuk Ri muttered, doesn’t know what else she could say at this kind of moment. “I just don’t want to worry you in any kind” she continued and Kyung Soo halted immediately. The girl started panicking inside if she had said something wrong as the White Leader let go of her hand and turned around to see her.

His right hand rise slowly and hesitant while Seuk Ri just stared at him confusedly. Finally the hand of Kyung Soo rested on top of Seuk Ri. “If you don’t tell, anyone with common sense would get worried” he told her with a stone hard stare, but with compassion beneath the look he was giving. “And a White, never leave anyone behind” he pointed out as Seuk Ri faintly heard Risa’s voice said the familiar thing. “We’re here”

As he said that, Seuk Ri finally realized she had arrived at the apartment building. She turned to Kyung Soo whose hands returned to his side. “Thank you” she said, “good night” she mumbled before bowing deeply and soon half-running to the lobby.

She doesn’t even want to take any glance at the boy behind her. Right now her only thought is to calm her heart that threatening to make its way to break her ribcage.

author's note--

author's note--