NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR:

Hi December Rain readers!

Augh! Why you no notice me? Haha. BTW, I just noticed something. Is it just me or the words p-e-r-v-e-r-t and -y do not appear when you read the fic? Can anyone please answer :(

Lots of love,

TheDorkProof

CHAPTER 7. No Ricochets

The thought of Kim Jae Won blurred me. Everything went dark for a few seconds before they could even turn the emergency lights on. But the darkness was not the worst part. The gunshots were so audible that I immediately submitted to the idea that Jae Won finally found me and that he's going for the kill.

For half a second, my nerves were wrecked. But not until I felt Jungkook's hand on my wrist. He grabbed it so sudden I thought I died for a second. We sprinted all the way to the end of the lobby until we found the emergency exit stairs. More gunshots ringed in our ears. And for every bullet sound, he accelerates; like as if the bullets were meant to hit him.

I was blank as a tape. There's the thought of Jae Won and his desire to kill me; and there's the thought of Jungkook and his palms tightly wrapped around my wrist. I couldn't think of both.

The staircase felt so narrow as we swerved from floor to floor. We were running and I don't even know why he's being too paranoid. He reached for his phone down his pocket and dialed digits.

“Eomma! Are you fine over there? Are you okay??” he called on his phone rather vigorously. I couldn't tell if he was trembling or if he was just manipulating his adrenaline. “Thank God. Keep safe. I'll call you later Eomma.”

Just a few seconds after he dropped the call, his phone rang. T'was Manager Kang.

“Manager Kang, what was that? What's going on? Where are you??”

He was so tensed but by the echo structure of the emergency exit it seemed like the voice over the phone was amplified that I can hear it perfectly well.

“Do not panic, kid. That was something else. Don't panic. We're at the parking lot, inside the van. Hurry down here.”

It seemed like just a matter of milliseconds that we found ourselves running to the van at the basement parking area. The doors opened before we could even do so. We sneaked into it and took the rear seats just like yesterday. And the van zoomed away from the building.

“Are you fine? … Okay good. Today's shoot is cancelled. I'll keep you posted. Take care.”

I presupposed Manager was talking to us, until I saw him holding his phone. Apparently, he was checking on the other staff. He turned his back to check on us after he dropped the call. “I just called up the other staff. They're already on the other van. You okay boys? Jungkook? Naru? You all fine?”

“What was that back there??” Jungkook asked Manager Kang, still with eyes that are waiting for answers or something. I looked at him closer and realized something must really be wrong.

“Calm down boy. Not everything is about you. Apparently we are on the same hotel as the vice president of the SHP Group of Companies. He was shot and killed in his hotel room.”

My mind froze. I can hear the boys buzz about what just happened and where they ran to and how they exited whatsoever. I couldn't hear them properly while I stared blank out the window as I kept bending my knuckles. It was as if half of my soul began to question my security. Kim Jae Won is indeed working his way up to get SHP, our group of companies. I trembled, perhaps invisibly. Bygones cannot be just bygones. It seems like any moment I would be strangled to death by any of Jae Won's men. Or maybe get shot like the vice president or maybe they'd just throw me off the sea. I was so nervous my eyes started to get watery. I wanted to run to Dad but he's all but a premonition. I've never felt too scared knowing I have none to run to this time. It's all but a one-man fight now, I thought to myself.

“Noona? Noona are you crying. Noona?”

And before I could even say no, Kim Taehyung already had himself transferred to the empty space beside me; and I don't even know or care how he did that because next thing I knew his arms were already semi-wrapped around me; I felt his arm around my back and his left palm on my left shoulder. “Awww noona, it's okay. Don't be scared.”

Taehyung's words were medicine. And so is his touch. Just the same moment, Jimin turned his back and looked at us from the second row seat. He sat backwards with with his knees kneeling on his seat as he tried to reach out to my head with his voluptuous arm. I felt his fingers on my hair while he pacified me too. “Noona, that was nothing. We'll be your superheroes. Okay?”

It was very awkward for me. I wasn't even crying but I know I was damn scared I could almost feel my heart thumping against my chest. But with Jungkook on my left side, who held my wrist earlier, though not my palms, was medicine. And Kim TaeHyung on my right side plus his sidehug is medicine. And Jimin in front of me with his smiling eyes and kind words is medicine. When I heard the other members try to pacify me too, I wanted to cry for real. But before I could even do so, my phone rang which got me back into my panic mode. It was Mr. Kwon.

“Mr. Kwon!”

“Ms. Shin Hye, where are you now? I just needed to warn you, Jae Won killed the vice president of SHP. Please be careful my dear. You know I want to meet you in person but it's too critical for now. Always keep safe. I'll call you again later. The company is in a big mess right now.”

My tears were about to squeeze out. Everything is starting to overwhelm me I needed to cry. I saw the boys faces while I talked on the phone so I requested Manager Kang that they drop me off and lied that my cousin's house was just over that area. But in fact I just wanted an escape. And whenever I cry I never let anyone see it. In all honesty, nobody ever saw me cry except my parents. Nobody.

I had a hard time convincing them to drop me off. Even the boys insisted for me to stay. Of course the fangirl soul in me would crave and savour moments such as being asked by your favorite guys to stay with them. Yet, it dawned to me that I have really personal and critical circumstances which makes it difficult for me to act like a normal fangirl. I hopped off and walked forth. I saw a park and got myself a seat on one of the benches. I looked up, not because I wanted to have a view of clouds but because I wanted to keep my tears from falling. The least thing one would expect to see me doing is crying. I hold them as much as I can. Amazingly, it drizzled. It was as if I was given a chance to cry,again. The rain poured from lenient to heavy. People on the same park started to scamper in search for shades. Yet I sat on the same spot and finally, I cried.