Chapter 5 : Losing the game

Jeon Jung Kook

“Yah, Jung Kook! What are you doing?” Tae hyung threw a wad of paper at me, disturbing me from my thoughts.

“Probably thinking about her.” Jimin teased.

“I wasn’t!” I protested hotly.

“About who? What did I miss??” Yonggi asked as he approached us while twirling a basketball on his finger. I gave a start as I glanced at him. He looked more intimidating than usual today all decked in black from his shirt to his skinny jeans. The only thing with a hint of colour was probably his sneakers and his cap turned backwards.

“Oh?” Tae hyung straightened. “Hyung, you’re here!”

Yonggi grinned and bounced the ball over to Tae hyung who randomly hit it with his head instead of catching it, only to realise his error belatedly as he exclaimed from the pain.

Giving Tae hyung a weary look, Yonggi sat on the bench beside me and playfully punched my shoulder. “So who is it?”

“No one!” I insisted again but only caused Jimin to snort rudely.

“You better tell me now before the rest comes…” Yonggi drawled out in that ‘cool’ tone of his.

I sighed and avoided the question by running after the bouncing ball and started dribbling with it. Tae hyung, who was playing with it did not appear impress and tried stealing the ball back from me.

“Ohhh…it’s a girl isn’t it??” Yonggi gave a whoop and I shot death glares at Jimin for secretly telling him. During this time, Tae hyung managed to successfully steal away the ball and ran away chuckling in happiness.

I took a threatening step forward to the laughing hyung’s when I heard Tae hyung shouting a greeting. Yonggi and Jimin sobered up and brushed past me to exchange high fives with the newcomers.

“Jung Kook-ah…don’t you know how to greet your hyung’s?” a deep voice boomed out.

I took a deep breath and waited for them to pounce on me – which they always did, without fail.

“Eiii – our little Jung Kookie has grown so much! He looks so smart in his school uniform!” an exuberant Hoseok said as he tried to mess with my hair.

I moved back only to bump into Namjoon who seemed intent on strangling me by grabbing me in a chokehold.

“We. Just. Saw. Each. Other. A. Month. Ago!” I cried out in between choking breaths.

“Ok kids, that’s enough. Let the little one breathe.” Jin stepped into the foray and rescued me – well, not really since he pinched my cheeks painfully before releasing me.

“Come on guys, cut it out. I think I’m old enough to be greeted normally without getting bruised up.” I complained in a bitter tone.

Everyone stared at me in silence before breaking out in laughter.

“Ha-ha. I wasn’t kidding.” I said, unamused.

Hoseok clutched his sides and stumbled towards me. “In our eyes you will always be our little maknae.”

I shrugged him off and peeked at my watch. “Fine. Laugh as much as you want. I’m leaving.”

“Wait – wait…we’re coming too.” Jin said as he bit his lips to keep from laughing and focused on ushering everyone to make a move.

*** ***

We stood along the hillside intersection and took turns to place flowers on the man-made boulder which was erected in memory of those who had passed.

With bowed heads, we said a silent prayer before moving on. Only I remained behind – the others knew better than to call out for me, preferring to give me a moment alone.

It’s been nearly three years since that fateful day and just thinking about the horrifying incident still caused my heart to twist painfully. I made a promise to visit this site every month on the 5^th – which was the day it happened – to pay my respects and assuage the guilt within me.

It was my fault.

I never told anyone about it – not even to my hyung’s, but this was all my fault.

*** ***

“Fried ddokbokki is the best!” Tae hyung said as he stuffed more than one piece into his mouth.

Yonggi chewed thoughtfully as he gazed at Tae hyung. “I thought you said kimchi fried rice was the best?”

Not falling for it, Tae hyung countered back without missing a beat. “Yummy food is the best.”

Sniffing at his response, Yonggi switched his attention to me instead. “So…who’s the girl?”

I groaned inwardly. Looks like he wasn’t about to let this go. All eyes turned expectantly towards me, waiting for my response. Only Tae hyung and Jimin continued stuffing their faces with ddokbokki.

“It’s a schoolmate.” I said reluctantly.

“Girlfriend??” Hoseok exclaimed with wide eyes.

“No…”

Jin and Namjoon exchanged glances before turning to me. “Please don’t say it’s…” Jin trailed off in a serious tone.

“I told you…” Tae hyung muttered loudly at me before escaping with the pretence of getting more soup.

“JEON JUNG KOOK!” Namjoon exclaimed in shock horror. I watched as his pale face became redder as seconds passed and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.  Sporting a slick wavy blonde do coupled with his pale white skin – which was as red as a tomato now – Namjoon hyung appeared comical.

He scoffed in disbelief at my reaction and narrowed his eyes at me. “You find this funny??”

I bowed my head and apologized quickly.

“Jung Kook-ah…I thought we made a deal – no more hit list.” Jin said in disapproval.

“Ahh, hyung…this time it’s different.” Jimin intervened before I could answer.

“How different?” Namjoon raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“Jung Kook’s the one getting played.”

*** ***

Played??

Me, the school’s tyrant…the terror-machine, getting played?

No. There was no way. What Jimin said earlier was wrong. There was no way I was the one getting played. I had Tae Chan eating out from the palm of my hand – she was doing my biddings right?

Is that why you allowed her to stay back? Letting her get away with ignoring you? Questioning your power? A tiny voice said in my head.

I shook my head and continued my walk home alone. It was getting dark and the rest had decided to continue hanging out at Jin hyung’s place but I wasn’t in the mood.

Amidst half-hearted complaints, they finally allowed me to leave with the promise of hanging out with them the next round.

A gust of wind blew past and I hunched against the cold. Seeking warmth in my school blazer was useless, so I quickened my steps towards my street. Something was niggling at the back of my mind but I ignored it – too caught up in thinking about what happened at the eatery.

Thanks to Jimin, I became the of everyone’s jokes as he continuously regaled them with tales of how I always ended up thwarted when dealing with Tae Chan.

Speaking of Tae Chan, I wonder what was she up to at this moment. Probably studying…wait – wasn’t she supposed to meet me or something? I felt heavy dread settle in my heart as I realised what that niggling thought was about.

She was supposed to text me her number…and , we were supposed to meet her after school!

I pulled out my phone and checked my messages. Sure enough there were a few messages from an unknown number. I cursed myself for leaving my phone on silent.

Message 1 : Tae Chan (0100…)

Message 2 : Are you getting this, Jeon Jung Kook?? (0100…)

Message 3 : I’m waiting outside the gates. (0100…)

Message 4 : Your bags are heavy! (0100…)

Message 5 : Hello?? (0100…)

Message 6 : I’m leaving and throwing your bags into the gutter. (0100…)

Message 7 : Is this a form of punishment for your hit list candidates? (0100…)

The last message was sent only a few minutes ago. It can’t be. She can’t possibly still be waiting at the gates, right?

I quickly dialled the number and waited for it to ring.

The number you have dialled is currently not available. The number you hav –

I ended the call and muttered another curse. Was she or was she not there? She can’t be that stupid to stay and wait, right? Any person in their right mind would’ve gone home in this cold weather.

I stared a moment longer at my phone screen before coming to a decision. Breaking into a full run, I headed to the opposite direction of my home and towards the school.

If there was one thing I learned about Tae Chan…she wasn’t just ‘any person’.

 

Park Tae Chan

I punched Jung Kook’s bag for the tenth time that day picturing it as his face.

How dare he made me embarrass myself by going around asking for his number – only to be ignored – and causing me shame when I had to go not only to his class but the sunbae’s class as well to collect their bags!

And to top it off I was left shivering in the cold at this moment while waiting for him.

Ugh! Thank god for Minji… She had quietly passed me a note that contained his number when word got around about my mission. She also took it as a chance to remind me not to get on Jung Kook’s bad side – underlining her words for effect.

Hence the reason I was left waiting at the school gates like a total idiot.

Pulling my blazer closer from the cold, I yelp at the pain on my wrist as it came in contact with the cloth. Damn. I had forgotten about that.

I lifted my hand higher to catch the light from the lamp post and inspected my injury. A big red angry welt encircled my wrist and I wished that Kang Ji Yoon would trip and fall on her fake nose. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy about me taking Jung Kook’s bag and decided to fight me for it.

I shuddered as I recalled her long talon like nails reaching out for me and scratching me in the process. I wondered if she purposely sharpened it every day for moments like this. Blood had dripped from the wound and I remember thinking to myself that I was lucky to have blocked the attack with my quick reflex.

Better my wrist than my face.

A hard jab to her chest was all it took for her to stumble back and that was when I escaped the scene. After washing my wound under running water, I left it to dry and continued to the senior level.

Thankfully the senior level was empty and I was able to make my way to their class unseen. Carefully, I peeked into the class to ensure it was vacant before strolling over to Jimin’s desk.

What a messy boy, I thought to myself as I brushed away pieces of paper away from his drawer desk and pulled out his books. After stuffing it all unceremoniously into his bag, I moved on to Tae hyung’s table. What I saw made me cringe and wonder if he wasn’t human.

His project of replacing each book with different covers was an eyesore and judging by the knick knacks he had on display made the table itself barely visible. Compared to Jung Kook’s table which was stark empty, this was an abomination!

“What are you doing?” a rough voice said from behind, making me jump.

“I’m sorry…” I said as I turned and bowed. “I was just –“ I stopped midsentence, recognizing the student before me. It was the bus boy!

He approached me and leaned forward. “Park Tae Chan…” he read aloud from my name tag.

“Yes?”

He straightened and suddenly smiled at me, making me release a sigh of relief – he looked totally unapproachable when he was scowling.

“Running errands?” he pointed out to my shoulder and arm where I had draped Jung Kook’s and Jimin’s bag packs.

I shrugged and the action caused the bag to bump into Tae hyung’s table making the stacked books in the corner topple over to the floor. Hampered by the bags on my arm, I was unable to catch it in time and only ended up swaying from the weight.

“Be careful!” he cried out as he steadied me with one hand while picking up the fallen books with the other.

“I’m sorry!” I said in embarrassment.

Looking up from his kneeling position, he only smiled and said, “Why are you always apologizing?”

“I don’t know…sorry.” I gasped as the apology automatically slipped from my mouth again.

He chuckled and stood up. “I’m Sejoon. Nice to meet you, Park Tae Chan.”

“Oh,” I said and accepted his handshake clumsily. The bags were starting to be a bother. “Sejoon sunbae….oh! The school president??”

He chuckled and passed me Tae hyung’s bag without answering my question. “I’ll see you around.” He said nodding slightly before walking away.

I stared after him in bewilderment. First it was ‘have fun in school’ now it was ‘see you around’. What was that supposed to mean? Was he teasing me or was it just a saying? Did I just made a friend? Sejoon was a man of few words and it left me confused.

A beeping sound from my pocket brought me back to the present and I came to with a start. With fingers stiff from the cold, I dug out my phone from my pocket and let out a shriek of frustration.

I was alone. In the dark. Outside school. In the cold. Stuck with three idiot’s bag packs. And no battery life in my phone.

Great.

*** ***

Five more minutes.

I’ll just wait five more minutes and then I’m leaving.

No matter how many times I jumped up and down to warm myself, I still felt cold and the dark silence was not helping with the chill either.

Ever since I was little, I wasn’t fond of the dark and somehow always end up creeping myself out from my over imaginative mind. Today was no different. Even the tiniest sound or movement made my heart beat erratically and I was this close to tearing up.

At first, thinking up ways of torturing Jung Kook help keep me preoccupied. But slowly I drained out of ideas and just wanted to go home. Tae-ra was probably freaking out about my whereabouts.

Suddenly I could hear muffled steps heading towards me and I shrunk back into the darkness. What if it was a psycho killer or worst, a ghost??

I bit my lip to keep from screaming out in fear as the footsteps neared and felt my forehead break out in cold sweat despite the cold night air.

“Tae Chan?”

 

Jeon Jung Kook

“Tae Chan?” I called out breathlessly upon reaching the gates.

I could see our bags lying dejectedly at the sides but there was no sign of her. Did she go home? I hope she did…I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her because of my stupidity.

“YOU!” she suddenly appeared from the corner with anger lacing her tone.

“You’re still here??” I said in disbelief.

Tae Chan glared at me and I could tell that she was holding back from lashing out from the way she was breathing heavily.

Intent on apologizing, I took a step forward, “I –“

My words were cut off abruptly when she lunged at me. Half expecting her to strike me, it was to my utter amazement when she embraced me instead.

“What…?!” I said in shock before realising that she was actually sobbing quietly. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Feeling alarmed, I clenched and unclenched my fists, not knowing what to do. Since she was petite, her head only came up to my chest and I could feel every single sob she let out – which gave me an uneasy feeling in my heart.

Not used to having any physical contact as intimate as this, I remained as stiff as a statue until finally she moved away to wipe her tears.

As sudden as her embrace, so was her whack to my arm. “Oww!” I said in surprise as she continued letting out her anger by aiming kicks at my shins.

“You. Idiot!” she targeted another low kick at me and I jumped out of the way. “You made me wait in the dark…and it’s cold!”

“It’s not my fault you were silly enough to wait!” I protested and avoided another kick.

“What??” she shrieked incredulously and aimed a punch to my chest. I caught her wrist mid-air and was taken aback when she cried out in pain.

I released her just as she pulled away violently while pushing me away. “Oww…” her voice broke as she cradled her wrist gently.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her worriedly. I couldn’t have hurt her with just a simple grab right?

She stared daggers at me before muttering, “This is all your fault.”

“What is? Let me see…” I reached out for her hand but she stood back.

“Go away.”

“Don’t be so stubborn. Show me.” I made another grab and this time successfully managed to hold her in place as I peruse her wrist.

There was a deep scratch along her wrist and I could see that it was fairly new. “What happened? Who did this??”

She tugged away from my grip and stamped her foot. “You were the one who made me get your bag…surely you can guess!”

There was no need to think about who was the culprit when she put it that way. There was only one person spiteful enough to inflict this kind of injury – and go against my word.

I sighed. “Ji Yoon…”

“That’s right! She actually fought with me for your bag! Can you believe her?” Tae Chan stared at me with wide eyes, waiting for me to answer.

“Let’s just say she’s very possessive.”

“Possessive my foot! Are you two dating or something??” she scoffed in disgust.

It was my turn to glare at her. “For the record – there is nothing going on between me and Kang Ji Yoon. And there will never be.”

“Whatever.” She shrugged, still cradling her hand. “I’ll leave you with the bags. Goodbye.”

“Huh? Wait…where are you going?” I blocked her.

“Home.” She said and tried to side step me. I countered and blocked her again.

“You’ll go home when I allow you too.”

 

Park Tae Chan

“OW!” I jerked from his grip. “You’re too rough. I can do it myself.”

He ignored my protest and continued applying the antiseptic cream on my scratch, albeit with less pressure this time. “Shhh –“ he hushed me with a frown.

Sighing in defeat, I allowed him to continue with his administrations and glanced around the convenience store. It was the same one where I bumped into him before this and I bit my lip as I remembered my impression of him then.

Contrary to the bruised boy before this, the one standing opposite me couldn’t have been more different. His gaze had softened somewhat as he tended to my wound and I couldn’t help but feel a slight tug in my heart at this change.

Surprised by the surge of unwanted emotion, I immediately pulled away the minute he finished taping on the bandage on my wrist.

“Th-thanks. I-I need to go home now.” I cursed myself for stammering.

Jung Kook seemed to find it odd as well for he crossed his arms and watched me with raised brows.

“My sister will be waiting…”

“Then call her – tell her you’ll be late.” He said dismissively while he walked away and started perusing the items in the store aisle.

I followed him. “My phone –“

“Is out of battery. I know. Use mine.” He said and handed me his phone. It was clear that he wasn’t about to let any excuses stand in his way.

I let out a loud sigh to show him my unwillingness before moving aside to make the call.

“Hello?” a harried voice sounded on the other line.

“Onni…it’s me, Tae Chan.” I said cautiously.

“PARK TAE CHAN!” she shouted and I instinctively held the phone away from my ear. Here it comes. “WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IS IT? DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS??”

She stopped for breath and I turned to see Jung Kook staring at me with wide eyes. I don’t blame him. When my sister was on a roll, the whole world could hear her. I gave him a ‘hold-on-a-moment’ sign to show that there was more to come.

“WAS THIS WHY YOU TOOK A BUS JUST MORNING? SO YOU COULD COME BACK LATE? I SWEAR WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU –“

“Onni, I’m safe and I’ll explain when I get home, ok? Alright, goodbye!” I said breezily and hung up before she could say a word.

Jung Kook cleared his throat and glanced away from me. He pretended to be absorbed in reading the ingredients of some random snack bar.

“Look…I really need to go –“

“I’m hungry. Prepare this for me.” He said bluntly while throwing a cup of instant noodles at me to catch.

Cursing at him under my breath, I first stomped over to the counter to pay (surprising the cashier with my fierce look) before stomping back to the prep counter. I continued with my act by tearing off the cover roughly and sloshing it with hot water.

The whole time, Jung Kook watched me calmly from the corner while sipping on a can of soda. He appeared unperturbed by my show of rebellion.

As I set the noodles aside to cook, I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently on the floor, refusing to look at him.

3, 2, 1!

“Here! All done. Can I go now??” I nearly whined in frustration. Picturing my sister’s angry face was enough to give me a heart burn.

“I’ve changed my mind. I’ll go somewhere else to eat.” He said as he tossed the now empty soda can into the bin.

“What??”

“You can eat it and go home.” He grabbed the pile of bag packs off the floor and headed towards the door.

“What???” my voice rose shrilly in disbelief. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Why are you wasting my time?? Why change your mind on eating this?” I motioned to the soaked noodles.

He turned to face me and shrugged. “From all the cursing you were doing, you might have spat in it.”

“I did no such thing!”

He shrugged again. “Who knows?”

“Why you –“ I cried out, but he was already gone.

Jeon Jung Kook

I covered my mouth and yawned for the third time that morning, shifting from one foot to another as I waited for the cross walk light to change. I didn’t get much sleep the night before and I blamed Tae Chan for that. How dare she appear in my thoughts and caused me to toss and turn in guilt all night.

I scowled at the two other bag packs I held in my hands and was sorely tempted to throw it into the trash can. These hyungs couldn’t even meet me in advance to take their bags and had grouchily requested – no ordered – me to pass it to them at the gate when I called them up just morning all the while muttering curses about me disturbing their sleep. It was only five am in the morning.

Finally the lights changed and I was about to cross when someone gave me a light tap on my shoulder.

“Aish –“ I glanced behind and the swearing died on my lips.

“Still don’t like to be touched, I see.” He smirked coldly at me.

“What do you want?” I said stiffly and continued crossing the road, knowing he would follow.

He tsk-ed. “I don’t like your tone, hoobae.”

I scoffed, still intent not to look at him and quickened my steps. “What do you want, Sejoon sunbae.” I grind out the last bit to show my annoyance.

He overtook me and blocked my way, giving me no choice but to look up at him. Standing at six feet with a slender build, Sejoon’s popularity with the girls was further cemented by the fact he was extremely good looking. His cold persona did nothing to dither them.

I cursed inwardly as his admirers start to stop and stare at what looked like a stand-off between us. I glared at him as insolently as I could – I knew how that grated on the always perfect Park Sejoon.

“The transfer student – Park Tae Chan…”

“Huh?” that’s what he wanted from me? Tae Chan?? No way. “You want Tae Chan?” I scoffed in disbelief.

He smirked again. “Want her? I don’t need to ask that of you. She doesn’t belong to you.” He took out a hand from his pocket and stepped closer. “What I want is for you to leave her alone.” I tensed as he pretended to brush off dust from my blazer.

Not wanting to appear ruffled from his challenging stance, I smirked right back. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.” He frowned as I pushed past him and nonchalantly walked towards the school gates.

I felt my tense shoulders start to relax as Tae hyung and Jimin’s profile came into view but Sejoon wasn’t done with me yet. He called out to me.

“How can I make it my business…?”

I turned to him and narrowed my eyes questioningly. What was he playing at?

“How can I make it my business?” Sejoon repeated with a sneer. “Should I date her?”

*** ***

“Eeeiii….stop thinking about him. He’s not worth it.” Jimin said as he slung his bag pack over his shoulder and grinned at me.

He was right, there was no use fussing myself over someone like Sejoon. I sighed in agreement and tossed Tae hyung his bag, who caught it distractedly. Was he bothered by Sejoon? I knew they shared a history together but that was about it.

Not many people knew this, but Tae hyung and Sejoon used to be good friends back in middle school and were rarely seen apart. Something happened one day and ever since then, there was bad blood between them.

“Hyung…you ok?” I nudged his shoulder and he gave me a blank look.

“Wh-what? Oh – I’m good.” He smiled at me distractedly.

“Is it because of Sejoon sunbae?” I prodded again.

“Uh, no…it’s something else.” He inhaled deeply and grinned at me. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll see you guys later.” He said before waving off.

Tae hyung was lying. Something was on his mind and he was reluctant to share it with anyone. Come to think of it, he did appear preoccupied when I was telling them about Sejoon’s challenge.

“Jimin hyung…do you notice anything strange about Tae hyung?”

He scrunched up his face in thought. “Strange? What are you talking about? Tae hyung is always strange.”

“Huh…I guess you’re right.”

“Oh, there’s the bell. See you at lunch!” Jimin waved and bounded off.

Damn – I just remembered that I was supposed to give them a piece of my mind for leaving me to lug their bag packs around. I blamed Sejoon for coming into the picture and I knew just how to get my revenge. I smiled at the prospect.

 

Park Tae Chan

I can’t believe it. I was actually grounded.

No TV, no surfing and worse of all – no phone. It wasn’t fair, especially when I just got my phone back. With no form of communication, how was I ever going to bridge the gap between me and Kang Jun?

This was all his fault.

A hush fell over the class and I glanced up from my musings. What excellent timing, I thought while gritting my teeth. The very object of my thoughts was standing nonchalantly at the door, staring at me intently with narrowed eyes.

I knew what was coming next so I looked away and busied myself with flipping through my text book. Sure enough, he repeated his act of the past few days and approached me with his signature ‘table kick’ to announce his presence.

This time however, I didn’t ignore him. With a calm look, I pushed away my book and gazed up at him expectantly.

He looked slightly taken aback at first but quickly covered it with a scowl and nudged his head towards the door.

“Come out.” He said simply and walked out.

Without missing a beat, I stood up and followed him. He probably wasn’t expecting such compliancy from me because a few steps out the door, he whirled around again and almost bumped into me.

This time he wasn’t able to hide the look of astonishment crossing his face to find that he didn’t actually have to drag me out.

I smirked inwardly. Hah! I had the upper hand this round.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he turned back to continue walking. From time to time, I could see him slightly glance back to see if I was still following him.

I wondered what it could be this round for him to call me out.

*** ***

“Wait, what do you mean there is no reason?” I asked Jung Kook as he sat on the roof ledge nonchalantly.

He shrugged and closed his eyes. “There is a reason…but it’s meant for someone else.”

“What do you mean?” I approached him slowly. What does he have up his sleeves now?

“You’ll see soon enough.” He replied dismissively.

“I don’t –“ I began but broke off when a loud bang sounded behind me. I whirled around to see Sejoon striding forward purposefully after kicking the door open.

“I expected better from you.” He ground out to Jung Kook who was now smiling gleefully at him from atop the ledge.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jung Kook answered innocently.

Sejoon slanted a gaze at me before walking up to Jung Kook. “Get down here.” He said, making a grab for one of Jung Kook’s legs.

With a frown, Jung Kook pulled up his legs and scrambled up. My heart skipped a beat as I recalled that he was standing on the roof ledge – more than 2 storeys high up from the ground.

“Hey…” I called out but was ignored by both.

“I told you to leave her alone.” Sejoon said as he made another swipe to grab him.

“I never said I would follow through…” Jung Kook said and taunted Sejoon by feinting left then right at random intervals.

“Stop being so childish!” Sejoon scolded and narrowly missed catching hold of Jung Kook’s right leg.

Jung Kook skipped back and almost lost his footing in the process, making my heart jump for the second time since the start of their confrontation.

“Both of you stop it!” I screamed out in frustration, earning surprised looks from both of them. “Sunbae, are you crazy? Why do you keep trying to catch him? Can’t you see he is standing on the roof ledge??” I glared and continued. “And you, Jeon Jung Kook! Do you have a death wish or something?? Get down from there!”

Sejoon sighed and moved to a corner, crossing his arms sullenly. Jung Kook merely grinned sheepishly before hopping off the ledge. The minute his feet touched the ground, Sejoon approached him once more and swung out at him. He avoided it easily and kicked Sejoon in the tummy.

Doubling over from the pain, Sejoon stumbled back and I watched in horror as Jung Kook proceeded to kick him again.

“Stop it!” I cried out and rushed to block his next attack. “You’re hurting him!” Flinging myself between them, I held out my hands in a protective gesture.

“Get out of the way, Park Tae Chan.” Jung Kook scowled at me. “He asked for it.”

“No!” I yelled back stubbornly. From behind, I sensed movement as Sejoon slowly regained his strength and straightened up while grunting from the effort.

Jung Kook’s eyes hardened at my response. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to interfere in other people’s business?”

“They didn’t stick around long enough to tell me that.” I retorted angrily.

He raised an eyebrow and took a step towards me. “Oh…bet they couldn’t stand your meddling ways and left.” He said in a mean tone. “Tell me…did your mother even look back when she left you?”

That one sentence struck a chord in me and I felt rage bubbling up faster than I could say ‘shut up’. Before I could stop myself, I retaliated.

SMACK!

Jung Kook’s eyes widened in disbelief as I slapped him across the face – hard. I heard a sharp intake of breath from Sejoon and I knew my actions surprised him as well.

But I didn’t care. I didn’t care one bloody bit. How dare he?!

“You –“ my voice broke from the effort of trying to calm myself. “You have no right. How d-dare y-you –“ I couldn’t go on. The sob at the back of my throat was hindering my speech and if I didn’t leave at this very moment, I was going to break down and cry.

Jung Kook never took his eyes off mine and something flashed in his eyes briefly as he took another step towards me. Biting my trembling lip, I did the only thing that flashed through my mind.

I ran.