(Narrator’s POV)

Jaehee didn’t want to believe her eyes as she stared at the last person she would ever thought would do such a thing. 

Would shoot someone…

Would kill someone. 

“Jaehee.” Baekhyun’s eyes widened when he recognized the girl looking back at him with wide eyes. “Jaehee—“ he took a step forward but she backed away almost immediately, fear evident in her eyes. She looked at the man who was slumped unconsciously on the ground, gulping at the pool of blood around him. Her breathing became uneven and her eyes filled with tears as the memory of Baekhyun shooting him replayed in her head over and over again. 

Baekhyun looked over to where she was staring at then switched his gaze to his hands, which were bloodied; holding a gun which he used to kill the man just a few moments ago. He dropped the gun, the weapon skittering to the ground with a clank, as he reached out for her, “Jaehee—“ 

“No!” She stepped away, terrified. “Don’t come any closer!”

Baekhyun gulped, “Please—I can explain—“

“How do you explain that?!” She exclaimed as she deliberately placed more distance between them, her body visibly shaking. 

“I—“ Baekhyun sighed, knowing that there was nothing to explain. What she saw was that. There was no sugarcoating it… He had killed someone. Baekhyun had been was accustomed to blood, to killing—but looking at Jaehee’s terrified face, he couldn’t but help but feel disgusted at himself. He looked at her pleadingly, “Jaehee please…”

“Stay away from me!” She yelled when he reached for her again. Just then, a sudden sound of footsteps running on the pavement were heard, followed by deep voices. Baekhyun looked up at the sound with wide-eyes, recognizing the voices. He looked back at Jaehee and his blood ran cold.

They can’t find her here, he thought before reaching her in two long strides and pulling her into his arms.

 “Let me go!” Jaehee squirmed as she tried to get away from his grip. She tried to scream but Baekhyun covered while his other arm wrapped around her body like iron and he was able to drag her deeper into the alley, away from the nearing steps. “I’m sorry.” He murmured in her ear when she kept on struggling from his grip. “But please, you have to—“

A loud bang sounded and Baekhyun looked up in horror as the men were now visibly advancing towards their direction. He cursed under his breath pulling on Jaehee’s left hand. “Run.” He said and Jaehee was too shocked to even protest. 

They ran and ran, the men right at their heels. Jaehee was panting by the time they got about five blocks away and Baekhyun pulled them into another alley. They hid behind a huge dumpster as Baekhyun shoved her against the wall. Jaehee winced at the impact but before she could complain, he hovered over her and brought a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. 

The only sound was their breathing, hard and uneven. Baekhyun was looking out, checking if the men were following them. He sighed when they passed their hiding place, oblivious to their presence.

“Where is he?!” A voice yelled and Baekhyun immediately moved closer to Jaehee, hovering over her protectively. Jaehee was too frightened of what’s happening to fawn over how closely he was looming over her. 

“We don’t know boss—“

“Well find him!”

Baekhyun and Jaehee held their breaths for a few moments until the sound of their pursuer’s footsteps faded and eventually died out. 

Jaehee looked up at Baekhyun, who closed his eyes like he was calming himself down. “Baekhyun?”

He winced at hearing his full name. Even after he told her to call him Baek, a name which he only let’s people he’s close with—whom he likes—call him. And that’s basically his five friends and…

“It’s Baek.” He said which came out a little harsh, making Jaehee jump slightly. Baekhyun immediately regretted it and reached out for her. “Jaehee I—“

“Get off me.” She said as she pushed him away, standing up. But she ended up stumbling, still shaken up from what just happened. It was a good thing that Baekhyun was fast and he was able to catch her. “Careful.” He said and as Jaehee looked up at him, realizing how close he was… so close that she noticed the little mole above his right lip—

 Snap out if it, Jaehee! He’s a killer! You’re supposed to be running away! Not staring like a lovesick puppy. 

She cleared and removed herself from his grip and walked away. She hasn’t even made it out of the alley when a hand closed around her arm, pulling her to a halt. “Yah. Park Jaehee.”

Jaehee’s heart raced, partly from contact and mainly from fear. “Please…let me go.” It hurt Baekhyun to hear the quiver in her voice, to see the way her hands clenched into fists. She was afraid of him and he knew it. He loosened his grip but didn’t let go as he maneuvered to face her. “I’m—I’m not going to hurt you—“

“How do I know?” she said as she looked into his eyes; the same dark eyes she loved staring at. It made it even harder for her to believe that those eyes belonged to the same person who shot someone a few minutes ago. “For all I know…you’re a killer Byun Baekhyun.”

He pursed his lips, trying to swallow down the pain in his chest at her harsh words; though it was practically true. “Call me whatever you want,” he said. “But I’m not letting you go home alone. It’s too dangerous—“

“I can take care of myself.” She spat as she removed her arm from his grip forcefully. “If there’s anything I should be afraid off…it’s you. You’re the danger here.” Jaehee walked off without another glance, feeling her heart break at each step as the events of the night replayed in her head. No matter how much she wanted to turn it around, to look for a possible—and reasonable explanation, she couldn’t. Because there’s simply wasn’t any. How do you explain shooting someone? Killing someone? There’s simply no way around something that involved guns and blood… even if it was him, the guy she actually liked—and might have fallen for.  

 She wiped a tear that escaped her eye, feeling heartbroken and afraid, as she walked a little faster; wanting nothing more but to put as much distance between them as possible.

Little did she know that Baekhyun followed her all the way to her dorm, soundlessly watching her—protecting her. 


~~~

Hell.

That pretty much sums up how Baekhyun felt in the last few days, since after that night Jaehee saw him in the alley.

Hell. Hell. Hell.

He wanted to assure her that he wasn’t a killer (though he was), and that he wasn't going to hurt her (though it was possible). Damn, he thought. I can’t live with this!

Baekhyun gave out a frustrated sigh as he saw Jaehee switch directions in the hallway the moment she saw him coming her way. She had been avoiding him since that night, distancing herself as much as she could and practically ignoring his very existence.

In class, he watched her like a hawk, hoping to meet her eyes—the pretty eyes which he missed looking into. But she never did look up at him nor acknowledge his presence, even though she sat right beside him. He also tried calling her several times, but it always remained unanswered. When the receiver did pick up, Baekhyun would light up like a Christmas tree but then die down like a candle loosing its flame the moment he’s sent right into voicemail. 

Baekhyun leaned against the lockers, waiting for Jaehee to come out of her last class; a routine which he had done in the past week. He still hoped that she would look his way, even for just a moment—

Jaehee walked out of the classroom, shuffling through some papers and Baekhyun watched her with a smile, drinking her in. He liked her and it was agonizing to just watch her from a distance, to not be able to speak with her, to be so close yet so far away.

Baekhyun felt his heart stop when she looked up and surprisingly met his eyes. For a split second, he thought this was the day that she would finally budge… would finally acknowledge him. But as expected, she averted her gaze almost immediately and walked away, leaving a broken Baekhyun in the emptying hallway.

 The tables have definitely turned. 

~~~

(Jaehee’s POV) 

I see him watching me from the corner of my eyes. He was always watching, always waiting, and I couldn’t help but wonder why he would even bother. He never had a hard time ignoring me before, so why wouldn’t he just leave me alone now? What changed? Why can’t we go back to being strangers? To the “we can’t be friends” era?

I’ll tell you why…

Because I’ve fallen for him.

I’ve fallen for a killer and I wanted to slap myself for it. 

Friday night, I went straight to my dorm after spending almost two hours in the library, reading some assigned articles for one of my classes. My eyes were tired and I would’ve slept right there if it weren’t for the snobby librarian giving me disapproving looks. 

It was a short walk from the library to my dorm and I sighed in relief when I finally reached my room. I unlocked the door and got in, not bothering to even turn on the lights as I left my bag on the floor and practically threw myself onto the bed. I sighed as I felt the familiar sheets wrap around my body like a warm embrace—

Buzz…

I opened my eyes as I felt my phone vibrating in my front pocket. I arched my back to get it and then slumped back down to see who was calling…

Byun Baekhyun

I rolled my eyes in annoyance and groaned, throwing the phone across the room where it landed on the sofa with a soft thud. I smiled victoriously; I still have a good arm—

“You know, it’s not nice to ignore calls like that. What if it was an emergency?”

I sat up from my bed, surprised at the sudden intrusion of a familiar voice. I crawled to my desk to turn on my nightlight; illuminating the room with a yellowish glow—revealing a boy with black hair, staring down at me with an amused expression by the door.

“Good evening, Jaehee-ssi.” He smirked.

I stared at him wide-eyed, “Wha—“ before I could let out a scream, Baekhyun reached me in two long strides, tackling me on the bed and covering my mouth with his hand. I tried to struggle free, but his weight held me down.

“Don’t scream!” he hissed. “I won’t hurt you, I swear! I’m only here to talk. Please Jaehee, give me a chance to explain.” He pleaded and as I looked up at his eyes, I felt my heart ache. He looked helpless…desperate, even. I sighed and closed my eyes, staying still.

“I’m going to let go now,” he murmured. “Will you promise not to scream?” I nodded and he removed his hand from my mouth.

 “Thank you.” He breathed.

I cleared my throat and gestured for him to get off me. Baekhyun, upon realizing how awkward our position was, blushed and started to lift himself up— but he didn’t move all the way up.

“What?” I asked, leaning on my elbows, as he remained hovering over me, his hands on either side of my hips. “Get off—“

“What if once I get up you’ll run away?“

I rolled my eyes and he responded by advancing towards me, making me lie down on the bed once again. “Baekhyun!” I gasped as he leered over me; a blush creeping to my cheeks at our closeness. This was definitely too close, I thought. “This is not funny, Baekhyun. Get off me!”

“Not until you promise that you won’t run away.” He said and I nodded. He moved his face closer to mine, his scent consuming me: he smelled clean, like soap. “I want you to say it.” He whispered, his face inches from mine. I stared into his eyes and found myself drowning into them. “I—I won’t. I promise.” I mumbled.

Baekhyun stared at me then his gaze dropped to my lips and I felt my heart beat quicken. I had to push his chest lightly to snap him out of it.  He looked back at me in a daze and I raised my eyebrow, “Off.”

“Oh.” He said as he lifted himself up from the bed. He folded his hands in front of him and I couldn’t help but smile at how cute he looked. 

We were silent for a while until Baekhyun broke it by starting, “About that night…”

“I don’t want to talk about it—“

 “I don’t too.” He said a matter of fact. “But you’re ignoring me because of it and I don’t want that even more. So we’re talking about it.”

I stared at him and scoffed, “What happened to ‘we can’t be friends’, Baekhyun-ssi?”

“I’m being serious, Jaehee.” He said as he stepped towards me and on instinct I stepped back. He looked hurt by my retreat. “Are you—“ he sighed. “Of course you are…” he mumbled.

“What?”

“You’re afraid of me.”

“Who wouldn’t be?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose as his angled his body away from me, “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“What exactly did I see Baekhyun?” I asked.

“Me shooting that guy.” He said darkly, making me shiver.

“Why did you shoot him?”

“Because it’s what I do.” He said as he spun to face me. “I kill people.”

My eyes widened at his confession. My heart racing as he stared at me with a predatory gaze. “I—”

“It’s what I’ve been doing for the past few years.” He said as he advanced towards me. His movements seemed almost cat-like, slow and soundless, and I found myself inching backwards; like a mouse caught in a trap. “I’m an assassin, Jaehee. It’s my job.” 

I stopped when I felt my back hitting the wall. Baekhyun continued to advance towards me and once he was close enough, he leaned his hands on either side of my head, staring at me with his deep brown eyes, locking me in his very own cage. “I was born to kill, Jaehee-ssi.”

 My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest as the beautiful—and dangerous— boy leered over me. “You—you want to kill me too?” I gulped, feeling my knees buckle.This is definitely the end of me… I was going to get murdered inside my very own room; under the hands of the boy I loved.

Talk about a tragedy!

Baekhyun’s stare softened and his expression turned slightly playful as he smirked, “I want to do a lot of things to you, Park Jaehee.” He said and leaned in closer to whisper, “But killing you isn’t one of them.” 

I looked at him in shock, not quite understanding what he’s trying to say. “What do you want, then?” I challenged, though my heart was beating faster than the speed of light and I had no idea where I got my voice from, let alone the courage to say what I just said. 

Baekhyun looked at me for a second or two, before his eyes lingered upon my lips. “I want to kiss you.”

 My breathing became heavy as he leaned in closer. I closed my eyes and waited for his lips to meet mine. He’s going to kiss me, I thought. Oh god, He’s really going to kiss me…

But it never came.

I opened an eye and was surprised to see a smirking Baekhyun looking down at me. “Wha—“

“I didn’t know you wanted it so badly.” He grinned as he placed his hands inside his pockets. I blushed at his comment and smacked him hard on the chest. “Ow!”

“ert!” 

Baekhyun chuckled and it was a beautiful sight. I was going to smile back when I remembered that he just confessed that he was really a killer—

“I’m not going to hurt you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He said. “I won’t. I would never hurt you, Jaehee.”

“Why?”

“Uh… because you’re innocent?” he said as he sat down on my chair. “I only kill criminals.”

“It’s still killing.” I said. “It’s still wro—“

“I know it’s wrong which was why I quit.” He said. “Remember that night? The men chasing us?” I nodded. “They were after me because I left when I swore an oath of loyalty. Once we become a part of the mafia, we can’t leave.“

“But you already quit. You already left—“

Baekhyun stood and moved towards the window, staring out; the moonlight’s glow casting shadows upon his beautiful face, making him look like a dark prince. “I did.” He murmured. “And now they want me dead.”

I gulped at his response, not knowing what to say.  So instead, I walked towards him and held his hand. “I—“

“I’m going to die soon.” He said, sounding light, like he’s already accepted that fact.

“You’re not.” I said, defiantly.

“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” He sniggered as he squeezed my hand. “But Jaehee—“

I spun to face him and cupped his chin, forcing him to look at me. “You are not going to die. I forbid it.”

Baekhyun looked at her, his eyes softening, as he reached over to caress her cheek with the back of his hand, “If only things were that easy.”

“I’m going to save you.” I said, courage filling my bones though I had no idea how one earth I would do it. “I’m gonna get you out of here.”

~~~

We talked all night, planning a way for Baekhyun to escape. It was probably the most difficult task I had to do. Even more difficult than solving Mathematical equations. We ended up with a plan of him moving away to another country, somewhere on the other side of the globe where the Mafia can’t track him.

“But they will.”

“Not if you changed your name, your look, your identity!” I said. “Trust me, this will work.”

“Which movie did you get this from?” he snickered and I shoved him playfully. “You want my help or not?”

“I want you.” He smiled; triggering a blush to show upon my cheeks.

“Aigoo~” he poked my cheek. “I should say things like that more often. You look cute when you blush.” I slapped his hand away, trying not to smile…but failed. “Whatever.”

Baekhyun chuckled slightly as he laced his fingers with mine. “Thank you.”

“No biggy.”

“I’m not talking about this.” He gestured at my desk, which was piled with papers scribbled with escape plans. “I’m talking about this.” He raised our intertwined hands. “At least I’ll be happy when I di—”

I silenced him with a kiss, not wanting him to complete that three-letter word that would wreck my world apart. Once we parted, Baekhyun had a dazed look on his face. “Don’t say that.” I said as I tightened my grip on his hand, raising it between our faces. “There will be more of this, okay?”

Baekhyun smiled and pulled me into a tight embrace, his hot breath tickling my neck. “I’m looking forward to that.”

 ~~~

The next morning, I woke up to find myself tucked in my bed, my desk clean of papers and my bag fixed and sitting on my chair. I sat up from bed, wondering if last night was all but a dream—

Buzz…

 I looked over to my desk, where my phone sat, its screen alight. I opened it up and a smile lit up my face as I read a message from Baekhyun:

Good morning, Jaehee-sshi ;) I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye…

Whoops! No goodbyes remember? Kekeke~

See you in class.

-Baek

I grinned as I read the text over and over again, wanting nothing more but to consume myself with thoughts of him… thought of my Baekhyun.

Damn. So this how it is when you’re in love.

After reading the text for the nth time and sending a good morning reply, I went into the shower and got myself readied for school.

In half an hour, I was already dressed and ready to go. I left my room and walked down the dormitory steps; a light skip gracing my feet as if I was walking on cloud 9. As I was leaving the building, I patted my front pocket, where my phone should have been. I huffed when I realized that I actually left it on my nightstand. 

I groaned as I went back to the building, cursing myself for being forgetful and for not double-checking my things before going out. As I reached my room, I caught sight of my phone sitting on the nightstand just as I expected. I sighed heavily as I reached for it, seeing that I have a message in my inbox.

I left my room, balancing my phone (trying to open up my inbox) and keys on my hands to lock my room. I had just turned the key to the right and the familiar click sounded when a hand covered my mouth and grabbed my waist. The hold was so tight that I could barely breathe and as I look down on my captor’s hand, I realized that it was also holding a white handkerchief and before I knew it, I inhaled.

It didn’t take long before my mind went blank and I felt my body slacking; my things dropping to the floor with a clank. The last thing I saw was my phone lighting up, before darkness consumed me.

~~~

1 NEW MESSAGE

Baekhyun

Where are you?

to be continued….