Two

“Are you sure it wasn’t some bizarre initiation for a club or an organization?” Bom inquired in between bites of her sweet-jelly filled bread.

Chaerin practically coughed in the midst of drinking her soda. Why hadn’t she thought of that? “I feel so stupid, now. I even took him into my home. Ugh!” Gingerly, she smacked her head in growing despair. “That makes a lot more sense. I can’t believe I fell for it.”

Bom replied heartily, “It’s okay. These things happen. Mr. Lee probably would have kicked his , so you did save him from some harm.” The girls fell into hysterical bouts of laughter at the thought.

She stretched her limbs lazily, glanced at the analog clock resting above the entrance, it was almost time to lock up. Bom had left earlier than usual, her boyfriend had planned something special for Friday, and Mr. Lee had called in sick – nevertheless, Chaerin side-stepped Mr. Lee’s advice to leave around the same time as Bom and stick around in case anyone else needed the library’s services.

He would thank her later.

After about a month into her workload, she was quite aware of the procrastinators that would be in dire need of wifi and books.

Chaerin went back to Mr. Lee’s office to acquire the keys when she heard the door swing open. Odd for anyone to come by within moments of closing time, she looked back to make sure she hadn’t misheard.

And there stood her enigma of a guide whom she hadn't seen for weeks, his lanky figure resting against the glass, his hands carrying a worn and torn brown bag. His style was crisp, clean, preen - with a white shirt, and shapely jeans. His dark-brown locks starkly contrasted with his outfit, the hair wild and spiked. His unforgettable intense eyes never left her for a second.

Not one to be completely distracted by her duties she asked, “Oh, did you need something?”

A deep voice she had been privy to only once before answered curtly, “Yeah, you.”

Aghast she confronted him, her words rolling out. “Excuse me?”

“It’s late. Mr. Lee sent me over to fetch you and take you home. He presumed you would not leave with your co-worker, like requested. What, were you expecting something else?”

She huffed, thoroughly annoyed by the cheeky tone he took on towards the end of his statement. “The shift isn’t finished just yet. You’re more than welcome to wait against the door while the minutes trickle by.” And then she honed in on the documents laid out on her desk, refusing to grant him any more of her attention. As if.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed he seemed agitated by her conviction, and paced around the book shelves. She hummed, jotted down notes for her next time slot, and tell Bom of her visitor. Her pencil hovered over the post-it; she hadn’t even told her of the times he assisted her. She scrawled in a quick note to tell her everything.

A swift peek at the time and she hustled along, organizing her things, throwing on her jacket, all-the-while on the lookout for her guide.

He had been wandering amongst the books, so he couldn’t have gone too far. Oh, if he went up the next two floors he would never hear the end of it. She rounded the corner, calling out to him, informing him it was time to go. Without a response to go off of, she muttered a string of profanities and headed for the elevator.

Chaerin frowned when the lights flickered off, her head twisted to the right, her finger inches from the button indicating her desire to go up another floor.

“What the heck do you think you’re doing?” She cursed, returning to the front desk. “Hey, are we good to go? If this is another initiation , you got another thing coming if you think you are going to fool me.”

Feeling the atmosphere creeping in on her to be a little too eerie for her liking, she made her way back to flick the lights on when the glass window burst, shards flying in every direction. Horrified she unleashed a scream and ducked behind the desk, her hands shielding her face. Her ears caught the sound of a creature sifting among the broken glass and then felt it pounce on top of the counter, a slight growl pouring through.

She held her breath, trying her best to cease movement, but she squeaked. The creature stilled, its bating breath giving her hope it failed to hear her. It then, however, snarled and landed before her, its head cocked to the right, sharp teeth glaring at her. Frozen with fear she looked on, the creature emerging to be an animal – a dog?

On impulse she kicked her chair towards the mutt, staggered to her feet, and ran to the stair-well. She felt she had never run so quickly in her life and yet it felt as if she were barely running as the creature pursued her from behind. Choosing to put her life first and foremost, she unclasped a shoe, hurled it at the dog hoping to deter it from her. Her shoe whacked the beast on the snout, momentarily stunning it.

Gasping she reached the door and shoved it closed behind her, knowing fingers bolting it shut. Although she was exhausted she hurried up to the next level, relief seconds away. She dashed forward after reaching the top and crashed into another being causing her to thrash, screams falling from her lips.

“Control yourself,” He reprimanded, grasping her by the shoulders. Realizing it was not a potential threat, she slumped to the ground pacified.

Alarmed, he demanded to know what happened. Chaerin stuttered through her response, but she managed to relay enough information for him to get the gist of things. He stiffened, his eyes reverting back into that dark, endless abyss. Large hands passed her a set of keys, “Here, the car is out back. Go on ahead. I have other means of transportation.”

Chaerin croaked, “You can’t be serious. You’re not really going to go down there, are you? Call the campus police, they should know what to do. It’s a wild animal, goddamn it.”

“Do not argue with me. Now, do as I said.” He retorted, his tone implying that was the end of it. She, however, was ever stubborn and declined.

“You are an idiot if you think you can handle what’s down there. I would be even more of an idiot to leave you to your death. Try again.” She bit out, struggling to stand; she kicked off her other shoe.

Aggravated by her stubbornness, he turned his dark gaze upon her. “Are you refusing to do as I asked? I’m your senior, now go.”

“To hell with seniority at this moment!” She growled surprising him. “I’m not risking your life.” She flinched, he observed.

He sniffed, reached for her leg inducing her to lash out. “Whoa, just where do you think you are touching-oh.”

“You’re bleeding.”

“I thought I avoided the glass…”She mumbled, her hand trailing the dribbles of blood flowing along her leg.

Change of plans, it seemed.

“Do I have permission to touch you?”

“What?”

“You won’t be able to last long if you continue on like that. And I am asking for your goddamned consent to carry you.”

She flushed, felt foolish for being swarmed with the possible ulterior motives his statement carried. Chaerin gave her consent which she instantly regretted when he swooped her into his hold, her head tucked underneath his chin. Funny, she hadn’t noticed just how tall he truly was and she certainly hadn’t noted how large his hands were either.

“Oh! You’re going to be covered in my blood. Let me bandage the wound at least.” Her protest affected him little, his legs already near the exit to the descending staircase.

“Are there other sets of stairs we could use?”

She directed him to the second staircase near the emergency exit, her arm tightly winding itself around his neck as they came closer to the first floor. Her anxieties had long since been subdued, her former character gaining strength as they neared safety. The onslaught of a breeze met her when he swung open the door, relief washing over anew. He carried her to the vehicle and helped her clamber in, her leg no longer oozing with fresh blood.

They drove on in silence, her eyes beginning to droop with sleep. He gently prodded her awake when he arrived in front of her residence, causing her to groan, rub the sleep from her eyes violently.

She stepped out, held the door open as she considered things over. “You’re going back, aren’t you?”

Accepting his silence as a ‘no’ she peered at him, his attention on the road that lay before him. “Thank you.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell him to be cautious, not when he was diving into danger himself. Her hand let go of the door and he drove off. Limping, she returned to her home, sweet home.