Chapter 20:  Fool's Paradise

"All I know is you held the door
And you'll be mine and I'll be yours
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed."

He was trembling, he really was. Each step he took felt very heavy, and his mind was debating with his heart. A part of him told him to just turn back and go home and pretended that none of this had ever happened and he would be just fine.

His hands were shaking and sweaty, despite the cold weather and wind that engulfed him in a hug. He should’ve just stayed away from this. It wasn’t even his fight, yet he was involving himself in it. He was scared, really scared.

But a rational part of him kept on reminding him that it wasn’t right to simply let this matter go, especially when two lives were concerned. Well, it would be three once his was counted. He realized then that if he overlooked this and something was to happen later, he would never forgive himself.

He would live his whole life in regret, knowing that he could’ve done something to stop this from happening and yet he simply let it be. He didn’t want to live that way, regretting for not stepping in when he should.

Arriving at the doorstep, he took a deep breath before raising his hand to knock on the door. A part of him couldn’t help but to hope that he wasn’t too late, and when the door opened, revealing a woman he expected to see, he sighed in relief.

She looked unharmed and her face showed no signs of fear, only confusion as it was the first time they saw each other.

“Yes, can I help you?” She asked, with a slight frown on her face. She’d never seen this young man before, but he looked like he was about YiXing’s age.

The boy before her bowed, and with a forced, firm voice, he introduced himself. “Hello, ma’am, my name is HoSeok. I’m uh ... a friend of TaeHyung’s. You know him, do you?”

Hearing TaeHyung’s name mentioned, Ms. Zhang nodded her head. “Yes, I do know him. He’s friends with my daughter. Can I know what this is about, please? Are they all right?” She grew alarmed, worried now that something might have happened to them. She didn’t receive any call from the police or anyone, and to have this young man suddenly appeared and asking about TaeHyung worried her a little.

HoSeok sighed and nodded, “They’re fine, but your daughter, unfortunately, will not be that way for much longer.”

Ms. Zhang’s expression darkened, and with a cold voice, she asked, “What do you mean by that? Why wouldn’t she be fine?!” Fear sparked through her veins, and an ice-cold wire threaded its way down her spine as she thought of her daughter.

HoSeok was about to answer her when he noticed that she was holding something, which was a shoebox. His brows met when he immediately recognized the box, having seen it somewhere before, and before he could say a word about it, Ms. Zhang already beat him to it.

“Are you the one who sent this box to me? Why are you looking at it like that?” Her voice had turned cautious now, and slowly backed away from HoSeok, while her mind started raking as to where the nearest weapon could be so that she could defend herself. If this boy was her stepson, then she had to be very, very careful.

HoSeok noticed her backing away, and the alertness was visible in her eyes. He knew she was being very cautious and at the same time scared, so he couldn’t waste any more time to explain who he really was.

He raised his hands in a placating gesture, and said, “Rest assured, I wasn’t the one who sent the box to you, or any other things that followed. But I do know who sent them to you. I know your stepson.”

That revelation came as a bolt from the blue, and Ms. Zhang was caught unawares. “You know him? How?” She asked, voice shaking now upon the thought of her stepson and his words that had been haunting her for days.

“I’m a friend of his, and unfortunately this relates so much to YeonAe. You have to listen very carefully as to what I have to say.” HoSeok replied, and realizing that they were still standing at the door, Ms. Zhang invited him in, before looking at the corridor suspiciously, as she closed the door.

Once in, HoSeok looked around and said, “You have to call YeonAe back. Tell her to get home this instant.”

Ms. Zhang put the shoebox on the table and asked with a frown, “Call her back? Why? She’s with TaeHyung right now, and I don’t think I want her to know so much about my stepson yet. I’m not ready for her to know anything about it.”

HoSeok sighed and shook his head furiously. “No, you have to call her back. You have to get her home! She is not safe being around him!”

“Wait, what does that supposed to mean? Why isn’t she safe with TaeHyung?”

HoSeok took out something from the pockets of his coat, which turned out to be a crumpled piece of paper. He straightened it out and gave it to Ms. Zhang for her to read. The woman read it then and looked back at HoSeok with a confused expression mixed with fear.

“That is your stepson’s writing.” He said. “He is out to not only get you, but also YeonAe. The reason why I want YeonAe to be home right now because your stepson is with her right now. In fact, he’s with the two of you this entire time.”

Color drained immediately from Ms. Zhang’s face, as she had to use the chair next to her for support. She was struck dumb, and words failed her. Tears began to form in her eyes as she pictured the boy who had been very helpful in trying to cheer YeonAe up, help her to move on and at the same time being the friend whom YeonAe needed at present. He was also the boy whom she was happy to have around, as he was her son’s best friend, and now, those images disappeared.

“Are you saying that-” She tried to force the words out, as they felt like poison in . Bullets of tears finally dropped from her eyes as her heart sank, and HoSeok’s heart went out to her as he watched her breakin