Chapter 1

            Waking up to the sound of my noisy alarm clock was a sign that today will not be one of my best days ever. Worst, it woke me up at exactly 3AM. I sighed, and plopped myself back onto my sweet comfy bed, in the darkness of my medium-sized room. I closed my eyes and started to dream.. No, wait. I couldn’t. There was some sort of worry that kept going on inside my head, making me unable to go back to sleep. I badly needed the rest though, considering tomorrow’s a super big day at school, it’s the day of graduation. And I have to be there in order to graduate, and I must look good too, without any sores around my eyes.

            Feeling a bit timid, I gave up trying to sleep as I kept imagining things were going to pop out of nowhere, scaring me to death, I decided to switch on the lights. I sat back on my bed and tried reading some novels I hadn’t finish reading yet. Though, I couldn’t focus. I kept feeling like there’s something that’s out to get me, something was watching me. You’re just being paranoid. Continue on your book, nothing’s gonna hurt you. Who would even enter your room at 3AM?, I told myself. I continued trying to dissolve into the book that I was reading.

            It was out to get me. I could feel it. Though no one believed me, saying I was ridiculous and such, I believed in myself, that I was right. I’m always right. I was and never will be wrong. The shadows won’t be coming near.. 

            And it’s then, then that I heard a thud coming from out of the window. I tried to ignore it, perhaps it was just my imagination, I thought. I continued to focus in my book, holding it tighter and re-positioned myself on the bed.

            The shadows won’t be coming near as long as I don’t fret, think or even imagine about it. I couldn’t even speak about it or else, it’d be just... right beside me, without me even realizing it. I...

            Thud! Came the sound again. As a few seconds passed by and the thud became louder and louder, I knew, it wasn’t my imagination. It was real. The clock had already passed 3.30 AM. Something was going on, I knew it. Something that I didn’t know. Didn’t want to ignore the sound as it became more of a knock rather than of a few rocks being thrown straight onto the window. I went to the corner of my room and grabbed a baseball bat, just in case, you know? As I neared the windows, I kept having weird thoughts in my head, on how it was that stalker that my friends had told me about, out to kill me. And what definitely made it worse is the fact that my parents aren’t in our house currently, as they had to spend the night over at some motel, and might be a little late to my graduation ceremony because the car suddenly broke down on their way home from vacation.

            It had been a week since my friends started to tell me on how they felt like someone was always following them, when we were walking, talking, gossiping or doing anything together. They certainly did feel like someone was watching over us, over me. I ignored the fact, telling all of them that it was only a part of their imaginations, which is ridiculous that the girl who was only known by a quarter of the school could possibly have a stalker. If I was the school president, then maybe I’d be a little more conscious and believe them.

            Well, all of my friends, except for my only best guy friend, Onew told me about the stalker. When we all gathered and talked about the stalker to me, Onew too, said that it was ridiculous and impossible. And you know, when someone agreed with me, my confidence grew higher and I was unconscious of my surroundings and started to believe that it was all a part of my friends’ pranks. They do love to prank one another.

            It wasn’t until the last two days, that I felt like someone was following me. But as always, when I told Onew, the only one who agreed with me, he said it was nothing, and is probably my imagination. I decided to agree with the thought and decided to ignore it throughout these recent days and night but not now. I’m now certain with the thought of having a stalker after hearing those thuds nearby the window.

            The knock came in again, and this time, a low-pitched voice said, “Come out, dear Victoria. Come out, come out, we know you’re in there.” I was certainly startled and gripped onto my baseball bat tighter than before and was ready with my stance of hitting whoever said that. I held my breath, and slowly opened the window, ready to knock someone out with my old, woody baseball bat that I had ever since I was a kid.

            “Who is it?! Don’t you dare come near me! You will get a serious hit if you, whoever you, stalker you! I have a baseball bat, a metal one and I’m certainly not afraid to use it!” I cried out loud, trying to lie for the fact that I didn’t have a metal baseball bat but instead, a woody, choppy one.

            “Chill! Toria, it’s me! Are your parents in? Come on down! I want to take you to some place!” I heard a familiar voice, and put down my baseball bat, looking out the window. It wasn’t a stalker, it was my very good boy kind of friend, G.O.

            “Ah.. It’s only you! You know, you didn’t need to scare the out of me like that! You could’ve just called my cell phone and asked me out! It’s freaking 4AM for God’s sakes!” I complained while crossing both of my arms.

            “Aw come on, don’t be like that! It has to be special, you know? Besides, tomorrow’s graduation and I was scared that...”

            “That what? That you might die from boredom from Jihyun –the class president’s speech? Or that you might be exhausted from laughing too loud out of the principal’s clumsy acts?”

            “Hahaha, you’re so funny Victoria. It’s not that, it’s..”

            “It’s?”

            “That we might not be able to contact, see nor meet each other ever again,” G.O ended his talk with a sorrowful face, looking down to the ground instead of facing me that was up on my balcony.

            I scrunched my lips, and went down quietly without G.O even noticing. Climbed out of my room, locked the windows and crept in front of G.O, cupping his face with both of my hands, and told him,

            “Why not? You know I’ll always be there for you, you know?”

            “I made a deal with my dad. I’m supposed to fly to America to further my studies, that’s what I promised with my dad before even coming here. If I hadn’t made that promise, then we wouldn’t even be friends right now.”

            “Alright, fine. I’ll follow you. Where do you want to take me?”

            Placing a big grin on his face, he replied, “It’s a secret. But here’s a clue. It’s definitely not where Kyuhyun or Changmin took you before.”

            “But Kyuhyun and Changmin took me to a lot of places here. It’s until there was like, no place that we have ever not went.”

            “I told you, it’s a secret. Now, wear this blindfold. We only have six hours before graduation ceremony starts.”

            “Fine. Put it on me then~” I teased cutely, just for fun. G.O let out a chuckle, yet he still placed the blindfold onto my eyes. “I’m excited!”

            “Yeah.. me too. Me too, Victoria, me too.” I heard him sighing slowly and took my hands, and lead the way to the so-called ‘secret’ place.

            “I’m sorry.”

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            The car stopped at a dark alley nearby a dirty, abandoned neighborhood, which left the blindfolded Victoria unknowingly suspicious. She was excited at first, but as she smelled the smell of dead rats, cats and dogs, she didn’t really felt anything good out of it. However, she just played along and trusted G.O. He was and still is –her good friend, all along. In her group of friends, G.O was the one that she trusted most. He was always trustworthy, never letting a secret from her out, dependable and would be her live diary.

            “We’re here,” G.O’s voice echoed throughout the alley, as he led Victoria into the dark alley, where she was still wearing her blindfold.

            “Where are we, Byunghee-ah?” She purposely asked, though she could already guess that the place was definitely, a smelly, stinky, alley.

            “Well, open your blindfold and take a look.”

            Victoria did as she was told, and as usual, she was right. There were dead rats at the corner of a trashcan, inside the alley, which certainly did, creep her out and not to mention, there were also trash all spilled onto the dirty floor, which made her scream in disgust. In her own mind, of course. In conclusion, it wasn’t a pretty sight, especially at 4.30 AM.

            “Why are we here, G.O?” he let out a sigh as he stared deep into her eyes, full of meaning. He neared her, bit his lips and was in hesitation to tell her the truth.

            “Listen. I.. I’ve always loved you. Not as a friend, but as a lover, as someone whom I’ve always wanted to date, someone who could comfort me when I’m in hard times and someone who could love me unconditionally throughout everything. I’m sorry for doing this, bringing you here, to this, stinky and disgustful alley, I had no intention at all for doing this to you, and I’m really super sorry. It was all because of a promise, Victoria. I’m sorry,” as he ended his words, he couldn’t help but kiss her on the cheeks, he wouldn’t dare steal her first kiss. She couldn’t say a word, still clueless about why she was brought there, why her very good friend is expressing his thoughts now and what is really happening?

            “Goodbye.”

            “Wait! G.O! Byunghee! Where are you going? Don’t leave me here! I don’t know how to get home! Come on, G.O. Don’t do this to me! Please!” as Victoria cried her thoughts out, G.O didn’t seem to care, to her at least and quickly left with a tear in his eyes, bringing the car out of her sight.

            She was now helpless, without a single person by her side, alone, in the dark alley, cold and was very annoyed with the smell that was unexceptionally stinky. Though, she didn’t cry. She was a strong girl and had been brought up by her parents as someone who was independent and could surely survive through any condition. After a minute standing in the cold, Victoria thought that she should at least do something to get out of there. Though she didn’t know where she was, due to the trick that G.O played onto her, she walked straight out of the alley –or at least tried to.

            At the end of the alley, she suddenly stopped. There was a rock, very small, about an inch away from her foot, right in front of her. Suddenly, she had a strong instinct that if she ever surpassed the rock, something bad is going to happen. She looked up, sideways, back and front just to make sure that she was all alone in there. Nah, your brain’s playing with you, Victoria. What could a silly little rock ever do to you?  

            “A lot,” suddenly, she heard a voice coming from behind. Automatically, her head turned, to see if there was someone waiting for her at the back. Though, no one was present as she turned her head back again, someone was in front of her with only a few inches apart. She stepped a few steps back, observing the stranger carefully.

            “Who are you?” she asked, still stepping away from the stranger.  

            “That, you don’t need to know.”

            “Why? What are your intentions for letting G.O bring me here? What do you want me for?” she continued asking. The stranger let out a small chuckle, and looked straight into Victoria’s eyes. As Victoria stepped back, he came nearer and nearer.

            “You’ve got nowhere to go now, huh?” and yet again, he chuckled. For a bit, she actually thought the chuckle was quite familiar, but she ignored the thought as something that’s way more important is in front of her.

             “I don’t know you! Why are you following me? Get of off me!” she cried suddenly as the boy in black came nearer and nearer.

             “What’s the use of shouting inside a deep, dark alley when no one can hear you but me?” he smirked, accidentally showing a bit of his white, bunny teeth. She took another step back, didn’t want the so-called stranger to come nearer but atlas, she was held to a stop as her back touched the walls of the dirty alley.

             “Now, you’re finally mine. After all this time...”

             Realising that she was unable to move, she gave up trying to run away. Perhaps, this is how I shall end my life. Not married, by the age of 19 and without a boyfriend my whole life. Mediocre grades, mediocre popularity, extremely loving friends...

              She froze herself and closed her eyes, giving up on saving herself, letting whatever the stranger wants to do to her happen. She had lost. She could no longer run away from him, she regretted how she ignored those warnings of him. No, wait. I am Victoria Song. The Song Qian who can get anything she wants if she wants it. I cannot be lost. There must be another way…

            “Do anything you want to me. I don’t even care anymore! I don’t even know why you’re doing this! What did I ever do to you?!” she shouted back to him. The stranger sighed and suddenly laughed out loud, leaving Victoria in suspense. He came nearer to her, until there was only an inch of difference between them.

            His right hand gently her face while his other grabbed her waist and pulled it closer towards him. Victoria turned her face away, with full of disgust. No, she could not even see his face. The stranger was actually oddly dressed up, with a handkerchief covering his nose to his chin, leaving his eyes open wide, together with an odd dark-green coat with a black undershirt underneath, completed with a journalist’s hat, covering almost 50 percent of his black hair.

            Using his finger, he turned her face towards him, making her stare straight into his eyes. He pulled her closer to his body, and her back gently. Victoria’s eyes stared in shock mixed with horror, as she finally knew who the real person behind the entire ruckus was.

            At the speed of light, she kicked him with her sneakers, after the stranger backed a bit; she punched him in the gut and pushed him away from her, which made him fell on the ground while she made a run, while she still can. She ran as fast as she could, without even turning back, straight out of the dirty alley.

            You did it, Victoria! You did it! You survived a stalker attack! You are one of a kind, amazing, awesome, dependable woman who can survive through…

            “You tried to run away, but you failed. You thought you succeeded, but I am faster than you, Victoria,” the stranger neatly covered up , carefully chained her arms to his wrist, hugging her waist back to the corner of the wall, where she ran away from.

            He sat the helpless Victoria down by the corner, facing her face; he calmly stared into her eyes, once again. He smirked, and said, “You already know who I am, don’t you?” she slowly nodded, as he flashed a smile under the handkerchief covering his face.

            “Then why did you run away? You know, it’s me. Why did you run?”

            “I didn’t know you had this stalker-self inside of you. If you liked me, you could’ve just told me! Why didn’t you confront me? I’m always available, we are always side by side, you were my friend, one of my bestest friends! You were my friend, Lee Jinki.” She replied sternly, enforcing her words, with her sharp stare.

            “Huh. Always available? You are unbelievable! You’ve always rejected those boys that had always came to you, you even rejected Kyuhyun and Changmin; the two most suitable people for you! I even hinted you, giving you those messages, gifts, every single time, but you never realize them! Don’t you remember, Victoria?”

            “I do.”

            It was that long time ago, that she received a letter of love from her very own friend, Onew or as she liked to call him, Jinki; even though he hated the name. It was on his birthday that she had gotten the letter, right on top of her desk. She still remembered, that she thought it was an absolute prank, that Onew would never like her as she was always the teaser, liked to play and goof around while Onew’s type would be the total opposite of it. Little that she know, it wasn’t. At all.

If you can’t read it..

            Hey Vic!

So.. how ya doing nowadays? Fine? I know.. this is a weird thing to say, since we've been friends for like, ever? And sorry for the bad hand writing, by the way. So.. here goes.

I have the biggest crush on you. You are my one and only love, back from we were in first grade, I had my sights fixed on you, and you only. I don't know if you'd accept me into your life as your. You know.. Boyfriend, since you didn't even take in Changmin nor Kyuhyun.. I actually don't know what else to say. Weird thing for a confession letter, huh? I just.. One thing, you need to know..

I LOVE YOU! ♥ with my pure, whole, heart.
Sincerely, Lee Jinki.  

            “Did you know? Did you know, that I spent all of my birthday money, which was not that much, just to buy you that present of heart chocolates? Did you know, that I personally bought that pink marker, just to tell you that I freaking love you with my whole heart? And yes, I still keep the pink marker, that I wrote to tell you, from that day, until today. In fact, it’s here, in my pocket. You played around, and I don’t know where you placed those chocolates, but I saw the box, together with those chocolates, in our classroom’s waste basket. And on the next day, you knew I was nervous, waiting for you to answer, but you acted like nothing happened! Why are you like this?!”

            “You.. You’re crazy.”

            “Fine, yes, I’m crazy. I’m crazy for you. I’m crazy because of you. I was your stalker all along. And yet, you still didn’t notice me. Now that I have you chained, now, you regret.”

            “I… I’m sorry. Let me go, please.” Mercilessly, he scoffed.

            “Now that you’re chained, you can’t go anywhere, you are finally mine. And you will be mine, forever.”

            As expected, he slowly opened his handkerchief that was covering his entire face, opened his odd and old coat, and sat next to Victoria. He faced her and she faced him. Tears were falling again, from her cheeks as she closed her eyes, facing the fact that this is how her first kiss will be taken. She took deep breaths as Onew’s lips neared hers, and by one second, they were already touching.

            “I.. I.. I can’t do it.” Suddenly, his voiced echoed through her ears. She was obviously startled, as what she thought hadn’t become real at all.

            “What?”

            “I can’t do this to you. Even though I love you more than I love myself, I can’t. Not as much to steal your first kiss, or any rights from you. I won’t.” he said slowly, as he began untying the chain he used to chain his wrist with Victoria’s. As soon as he was done, she rubbed her painful wrist yet she didn’t move.

            “I’m.. sorry. Go now, before I change my mind, Vic.”

            “But..”

            “Go!”

            “But I don’t know how to get out of here! This is a dark alley and I don’t know how I would ever get home again!”

            “Oh. Come, follow me.”

            Onew grabbed Victoria’s hands, leading her way out through the alley (like a man!) and into his car, he drove Victoria back to her house, with silence filling the atmosphere. It didn’t take long, just around 30 minutes and Victoria had already arrived in front of her own house. She got out of the car, and went straight to her front door. As she turned behind, Onew’s car sped away from her sight. It was definitely the first time she had seen Onew like that.

            “Oh, it’s 5AM already.” 

A/N: Oh hey! I finally posted 8D Are you anticipating the ending already? :3 Ahh I'm sooo rusty. Haven't been writing for a long time XD Sorry if I disappointed any of you~ Hope you enjoyed it ~! And comments would be really lovely :3 
And LOL I worked on this for two weeks and had just gotten it done by today :P Sorry. And welcome back, Candy~!