“INHYE TELL THEM I’M INNOCENT!” Hakyeon called out to me.

“Did you go with this man by your own free will?” The officer asked me.

“Y-yes I did. We were coming here to spend the night at our friend’s parents’ house.” I told the officers.

“Your boyfriend called the Seoul police department and said he wasn’t able to get ahold of you and suspected this man of kidnapping you.” The first police officer said.

“My phone is turned off, if I can show you.” I asked, making sure I wouldn’t startle the officers in any way. You never know. They nodded and I pulled out my cell phone and turned it on. “I turned it off so my boyfriend wouldn’t bother me while I was away. We got into a fight earlier so Hakyeon and I were out getting our mind off of things and decided to come visit our friend.”

“If that’s the truth, then I’m sorry Mr. Cha for handcuffing you.” Hakyeon was released and I quickly joined his side.

“Miss Kim, I think you should call your boyfriend and sort things out with him. We were supposed to take you all the way back to Seoul.” The second officer told me.

“How did he know we were here?” Hakyeon asked.

“He told the Seoul police you’re phone number and they tracked it to the train. Miss Kim’s boyfriend assumed you two were headed here so the Seoul police called us.”

“What’s going on here?” Another man in a police uniform approached us.

“Officer Shim!” Both officers bowed to Mihyun’s father.

“Mr. Shim, we’re very thankful you could come and pick us up.” Hakyeon said as we both bowed to greet him as well.

“Did something happen here?” Mihyun’s father asked.

“The young lady’s boyfriend reported Mr. Cha for kidnapping and we were responding to the call from Seoul.” The first officer told him.

“You idiots! This girl is running away from him! She’d be in danger if she went back to him!”

The two officers looked at each other and began to look embarrassed. Officer Shim let out a sigh of frustration. Hakyeon grabbed my hand and turned me to face him.

“Inhye, whatever happens I’m not going to leave your side, okay? If we have to keep traveling, I’ll keep going with you.” He told me.

“First, let’s get you two to the house and we’ll figure a plan out from there.” Officer Shim said.

“Can we ask how this boy is dangerous?” The second officer asked. The first officer hit him on the back of the head.

“Inhye-ssi doesn’t even know. So it’s best to just tell you now.” Officer Shim sighed and looked at me sympathetically. “Lee Hongbin has a past. He’s been in trouble for stalking and attempt of murder. During his trial, they pleaded that he was bipolar and he was left off easy.”

“How long ago was this? Hongbin is only twenty one years old.” I said.

“It happened when he was sixteen. He was required to see a psychiatrist regularly and he had to do some community service, however as you can see that hasn’t affected his studies.” Officer Shim sighed. “Let’s hurry and get you two to the house. For all we know, Hongbin could be on his way here.”

Hakyeon and I didn’t protest and followed Officer Shim to his car. Hakyeon sat in the backseat with me and tried his best to help me stay relaxed. I’m pretty sure he was freaking out himself however he didn’t want me to see that and he was doing a pretty good job at hiding it. We arrived to Mihyun’s parents’ house within a half hour and quickly rushed inside.

Mihyun and her mother were pacing around the living room. They had prepared some snacks and pillows and blankets for Hakyeon and me but sadly we probably wouldn’t be able to use them now.

“Are you two alright? You must be exhausted. Hurry and eat up so you guys can get to sleep.” Mrs. Shim told us.

“They can’t stay here.” Officer Shim said.

“DAD WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?” Mihyun exclaimed. “You said you’d protect them!”

“Hongbin reported Hakyeon for kidnapping and had the idiots at the station try to arrest him.”

“Are you serious?” Mihyun and her mother both gasped.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality. I really wish this wasn’t the predicament.” I bowed politely to Mrs. Shim. “And thank you so much Mihyun. This really means a lot to me. I’m sorry things are going this way.”

“I’m sorry things are this way too.” Mihyun frowned. She looked over at Hakyeon. “You know, I should have known I’d never be able to come in between you two.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Blame everything on me.” Hakyeon told her. “It is all my fault that anything has happened anyways.”

“Now stop the blame game, kids. We need a plan.” Officer Shim closed his eyes to think for a moment. “There’s no way we can get you two out of the country without your passports, so we’ll have to think of something else.”

“Going to our home town would be out of the question, wouldn’t it?” Hakyeon suggested. “We’re already half way to Changwon. We could just hide at home.”

“Yes it would be. He probably knows where you two are from and could probably easily find you there.”

I sighed and sat down on the floor. This was all just too much for me to handle right now. I was really regretting asking Hongbin those questions. If I wouldn’t have questioned him or ahjumma I’d probably still be back at his apartment with him, curled up on the couch or something. We wouldn’t be playing this cat and mouse game.

“Can we just go home to Changwon for a little while? Like maybe a day or two?” I asked. “How about seeing if the Seoul police can keep tabs on Hongbin or I’ll talk to him and work something out.”

“It might be too dangerous to call Hongbin. What if he comes for you?” Mihyun asked.

“I don’t care. If all he wants is for me to go back to the apartment, then we should oblige or at least come up with a compromise.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I just don’t want to be running around and hiding for god only knows how long.” Hakyeon knelt down beside me and put an arm around me.

Officer Shim pulled out his phone. “You’re tired. How about you two rest a bit and I’ll see what we can do.” He looked at Hakyeon. “You said you were not leaving her side. Are you okay with going to Changwon for a few days and then rushing off to somewhere else?”

Hakyeon nodded. “Whatever Inhye wants to do. She’d do the same for me.”

Officer Shim nodded and headed into the kitchen as he called the Seoul police department. Mrs. Shim and Mihyun helped Hakyeon and I get settled to rest in the living room. I got the couch while Hakyeon laid on the floor. Mrs. Shim told us if we needed anything to just come and get her. We thanked her one last time before she herself went to bed. Mihyun lingered for a little while longer.

“Mihyun, you can go to bed too. We’ll be fine.” Hakyeon told her, propping himself up on his elbows so he could look at her.

“Oppa, this is scary. What if you get hurt? What if Hongbin tries to hurt either of you?” She had tears pooling up in her eyes.

“He won’t hurt us. As long as we play it cool and don’t say anything that’s going to upset him, Hongbin will remain calm and harmless.” I told her. “So that means, Hakyeon that mouth of yours needs to stay shut and you need to let me do the talking.”

Mihyun looked around the room and let out a sigh as she tried to keep her tears from falling. Hakyeon got up off the floor and hugged her before helping her to her room, leaving me alone in the living room.

Without any hesitation, I jumped off the couch and ran into the bathroom. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned it back on. All of Hongbin’s attempted calls and numerous voicemails appeared on my screen, but I ignored them and just hit call. It took no longer than one ring before he picked up.

“NOONA! NOONA ARE YOU OKAY? WHERE ARE YOU? DID THAT BASTARD GET PUT AWAY? I KNEW HE WOULD TRY AND PULL SOMETHING!” Hongbin sounded relieved that I called him, even though he was still a bit worked up.

“I’m safe, Bin-ah. I’m sorry for worrying you.” I didn’t want to say much more because I wasn’t quite sure how he would react just yet.

“Are you on your way back to Seoul? Have you eaten something? You’re not hurt are you?” This was the Hongbin I remembered from when we had classes together. The kind, selfless Hongbin.

“Yes I have eaten. No I am not hurt. Bin-ah, I’m going to be gone for a few more days. This all has me really shaken up and I want some time alone.” All I could hear was Hongbin’s breathing on the other end. “Hongbin-ah? Are you okay? I’ll be back in a few days, okay? And then we can go on like this never happened. Make sure you eat all your meals and you get enough rest. Do well at your internship. I want to hear only good things when I get back.” Hongbin still wasn’t responding. “Bin-ah?”

“He’s still with you, isn’t he?” I could hear his rage clearly in each word spoken. “You’re running away with him.”

“No Hongbin. Don’t miss understand. I’m half way to my hometown. I’m going to visit my parents for a few days and then I’ll come home to you.” I spoke slowly and calmly, hoping this would help Hongbin calm down as well.

“But Hakyeon is…”

“Don’t you think or worry about where Hakyeon is. Just count down the days until I come back okay? I’ll be back in three days, Lee Hongbin. Got that?”

Hongbin let out a sigh. “I understand. I will wait three days. Do you want me to pick you up? How will you be getting here?”

“I haven’t thought that far yet and when I know, I’ll text you. I’m going to turn my phone off for those three days so don’t call me. Don’t freak out. I’m safe. Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll miss you.”

Was Hongbin saying words to play sweet or had I really calmed him down enough to where he’s acting like himself again? It was so hard to trust anyone right now but I had to go with my gut and if I mistrusted someone, it was my own fault.

I turned my phone back off and stepped out of the bathroom. Hakyeon and Officer Shim were standing there with their arms crossed. Hakyeon’s expression was a little angrier than Officer Shim’s but they both just looked at me, waiting for me to explain myself.

“I have to be back in Seoul in three days. I told him not to call me or freak out and that I’ll be at my parents’ house.” I said. Hakyeon groaned and unfolded his arms.

Officer Shim patted his shoulder. “That’s okay. This is good. Seoul officers will be watching him and making sure he doesn’t leave town, so everything will work out for the most part. Now you two get some sleep.”

Hakyeon and I bowed and thanked him for all his help so far before we walked back into the living room. I was going to lay down on the couch again when I noticed all of my blankets had been arranged on the floor next to Hakyeon’s. I looked up at him and he just smiled and pulled me down to the floor with him.

“Why do I have to sleep on the floor too?” I asked, as he pulled the blankets over the both of us.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. “Because I want to sleep like this for tonight.”

All these years I have liked Hakyeon and he had to express his feelings towards me now. I thought I was getting over him with Hongbin and its like Hakyeon is trying to win me back. I could feel my pulse start to race a little bit but Hakyeon’s touch wasn’t as electrifying as it used to be. Did that mean I was falling for Hongbin?

A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this update. Things have really heated up, haven't they?