In the middle of the road was empty and the car was moving at a normal pace. Min-Jun, Ryung, and Hwan have been cognizant of where they are right now and as for Taeyun and Jaesang, the two are seemingly inattentive. Yet, they were somehow pertaining to thoughts about the unascertained suspect to themselves.
“Any sign of them?” Joon-wo asked.
“No,” Bryan replied through the voice speaker.
Min-Jun’s eyes wandered off to the distant familiar figure, who was none other than their friend. He pointed out immediately, saying. “Guys! Look, over there!”
Their heads turned quickly to see who it was and they all stopped by to get out of the car.
“Jiyoo!” They called out in unison that caught his slow attention, but he reverted it back to the mess that was near him.
“Jiyoonie, you alright?” Hwan asked in worry.
“What happened?” Taeyun queried.
He didn’t even look at them and only stared longingly into space with a perplexed look. “My car has a flat tire...”
“Wait, she fired it?!” Hwan was taken aback.
“Obviously, you can see the bullets got stuck through the wheel,” Min-Jun uttered and kneeled a little to see the damage.
“Her smartass got away, huh?” Jaesang nodded slowly and sighed in disgruntlement.
“No doubt. At any rate, this whole thing would’ve blown up already,” Ryung said.
“But did you, at least, find any clues as to who she is?” Joon-wo asked.
“No…” Jiyoo murmured quietly.
The members expressed their groan of disappointment.
“I saw her pendant though,” Jiyoo added in.
“What was it?” Taeyun wondered.
“A moonstone lotus flower,” he answered.
“Uh huh,” Hwan mumbled.
“That’s very rare,” Taeyun stated.
“Kinda puts a ring on it,” Ryung said in agreement.
“So where is she heading now?”
“Sunny, do you really need to ask that? That person got away again and may never come back,” Min-Jun pointed out.
“Let’s just head home then,” Jiyoo suggested, to which the other members agreed.
“Who’s house?”
“Of course, mine,” Min-Jun scoffed.
“As usual,” Ryung muttered.
“We have to wait for Bryan and the others,” Jaesang reminded.
“No need. I sent them a text saying that they should just head straight to my place,” Min-Jun said, then he followed Joon-wo and the members back to the car.
For the time being, the news was clamoring on the TV that made Si-woo’s eyes glare vehemently with his chubby knuckles clenching below his sides.
“There were countless reports from netizens that indicate the vendetta group, known as, the ‘Narrow,’ is making their move across the city and another evidence has shown that one of the K-Pop idols, Yook Sunghoon, was engaged in an adhesive scandal by throwing a huge bubble gum against the staff members of his agency. A few people have also witnessed that there is a suspect on the loose that may be a threat to all…”
And just then, Si-woo’s breathing was beginning to fume ponderously and threw the remote to the screen with a furious shout. “GAAHHH!!!”
Chul Duri flinched a little, but he kept his composure still.
“I did not just hear that correctly!” Si-woo panted and looked at his assistant curiously for ten seconds. “Any updates?”
“So far, they haven’t been showing in the vicinity,” he answered.
Si-woo went in to take a couple of steps forward to examine him in a heedful, shrewd manner, asking. “Did you capture the girl?”
“Um…” Duri was staring at him nervously and was hesitant to respond, so the question was repeated for the second time.
“DID YOU CAPTURE THE GIRL?!” Si-woo interrogated with a bombarding tone.
“No-”
A book abruptly smacked Duri’s face, throwing off his eyeglasses, which made him wince in pain.
“You imbecile! You were this close!!!!”
“I-I tried, sir! But she was too fast and too tenacious!” He reasoned.
“Yeah?! Well, there were two of you and you guys failed to do your job!”
“Sir, I’ll keep searching for her. Please, you’ve got to trust me-”
“Then try harder! No more excuses! I’ve had enough of you slacking off. Be warned. You don’t want to receive a lethal penalty from me because you will wish that your parents never gave birth to you,” Si-woo demanded crossly.
“Yes, sir…” Duri bowed down and murmured apologetically as he picked up his eyeglasses on the floor to put them on and closed the door to leave his office.
Sighing out of vindication, Si-woo pulled out his device and sent a message. “Gentlemen, you are assigned to a new task that needs to be accomplished. You are to hunt down this group, including the girl… That is an order.”
By pressing and holding the button to end the dial, he set his nefarious gaze ahead while the team started to make their preparations, loading their guns, weapons, and equipment on the way.
The syndicate of men were marching out the hallway with the sound of their footsteps stomping on the floor. Their bodies are covered in full armor and helmets as they go along, sprinting to the exit doors and going inside their vans.
Si-woo became alarmed when the phone started to ring out of the blue two times. He picked it up and answered it unknowingly. “Hello?”
“How are you doing, Mr. Bong?”
“Who is this?” Si-woo barked sharply.
“I thought you already knew.”
“I would’ve if you had told me your name.”
“Ah. That is for you to find out if you are willing to meet me, but under the conditions… You and your colleagues are the ones in charge of the management, correct? I would like to bring forth the idea of you amending the rules and restrictions that you have placed upon the idols unless you don’t want the industry to be disclosed.”
Si-woo smirked at this and scoffed. “I beg to differ, young man. What gives you the right to order me in such an ill-bred manner? You think this is a joke, huh? There is no way that I and the rest will ever do you malignant favors.”
“Alright then… If you don’t, we might as well just blackmail you.”
“Go right ahead as if you can. You have no solid proof,” Si-woo remarked.
"So you don't mind me showing the whole world what you guys did to the groups and individuals…? Trust me, I already have the video, but it's going to be such an epic film to watch, don't you think?" He said tauntingly, which caused Si-woo to tighten his jaw and flared his nostrils fumingly.
His chubby fingers were curled into fists and tried to relax them as he asked lightly. "What do you want?"
"Like I said, I would like to bring forth the idea if you would allow me to amalgamate.”
“Where do you want to discuss this forward?”
“In your office tomorrow at 11:00 pm before midnight. See you then.”
With that being said, the anonymous caller ended the dial with a droning buzz, causing the CEO to slam the phone harshly back to its place.
“Argh!! That shithead! If two can play, so will the rest. You’ve tested enough of my patience, now it will be your turn…” Si-woo continues to stare diabolically at the screen.
He flipped a page that contains a list of hidden agendas that he has with others.
And this action will evoke unsought states of the people in the city.
…
Evening came when the motorcycle was parked underground in the building where the mysterious figure with black combat boots walked into the elevator and headed to the fourth floor to meet up with the squad.
“Hey, you alright?” Her boyfriend asked.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”
Standing in front of them, the helmet was removed and their eyes widened in shock at the sight of the person with audacious eyes slowly peering at them.
“Y-you are-!” Matt dropped his jaw without even finishing his sentence.
“Blooming!” Yunho pointed out.
“And fortuitous!” Beom added in.
“Hmm. It’s nice to hear that coming from you guys,” she answered smilingly.
“Glad that you are here, so shall we head on?” Jason smirked as he saw her nod in approval.
…
Inside Min-Jun’s mansion, everyone was rounded up in the living room, regarding what their friend was saying. He was a bit sullen, sitting in the middle of the couch in a slouching posture.
“She got away so fast,” Hwan noted in disbelief.
“What do you expect? That girl is capable of it,” Joon-wo huffed.
“It seems that she must have been very edgy,” Ryung said monotonously.
“I wouldn’t say that. Maybe, she was just in a hurry,” Sally murmured.
“What happened back there?” Bryan queried.
“Did you find out who she is?” Ava leaned in.
“Jiyoo…?” Jaesang called out.
Though their friend was staring off into space and took a long pause until he responded with a frazzled sigh. “I’m just worried...”
“About what?” Bryan asked blankly.
Taeyun, Jaesang, and Hwan scrutinized him, rubbing the back of his hands fidgeting anxiously, whereas Joon-wo, Hwan, and Ryung furrowed their eyebrows skeptically.
“Somewhere deep in my gut, I’ve always had these feelings and it doesn’t make me feel good. I’ve had nightmares that kept me awake all night…”
His flashbacks of his high school past have now resurfaced for the first time.
…
The papers were torn and shredded into pieces as she watched them fall right before her. The other guys gave themselves high-five till their leader approached her shrewdly.
“You suck at playing, and your voice is crap. Why keep trying? Your music sucks. Go back to where you belong, you grisly foreigner,” he spat scornfully, shoving her shoulders aggressively that led her to stumble onto the floor.
The girl froze in distraught with tears formed in her eyes, not being able to reply back.
And she knew that she was defenseless against them.
Jiyoo never dared to look back at her and went full of hysterical laughter and crude jokes with them.
“Outlines of new eyes and visions of you
Girl, I think I need a minute
To figure out what is, what isn't…”
…
The bell was ringing at the end of their classes and all the students were heading outside the school building, except for the girl, who was walking to her locker and putting her binders and books away. But just as soon as she opens it by unlocking the combination, she gets splashed by a bucket of green paint, much to her despondency. Then, she noticed the red writings on the back, stating that she is a good-for-nothing, mediocre person that ever existed.
Jiyoo’s male friends continued to laugh at her and catcalled her.
“You deserve that, you weirdo.”
“Yeah, no wonder nobody wants to hang out with you, but you can count on me, doxy.”
“I should be the first one to take you to the bottom!”
Jiyoo, on the other hand, observed them and the girl, yet his smirk was floundering a bit and glowered when he watched her slammed her locker closed before she ran off with her hands covering her face.
…
Taeyun saw her sitting alone in the chair and held his hand out to her, asking. “Would you like to dance?”
The girl hovered her forlorn gaze at him and simply nodded in response. “Sure.”
She stood up and was led to the dance floor with the lights dimmed and disco balls glittering their surroundings. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, whereas his hands were placed between her hips as they began to have their slow dance.
And from a couple of meters away from them was Jiyoo secretly glaring at the girl while he was also dancing with his girlfriend; Chia, who glanced at the couple in distaste.
She turned his cheek slightly over with her palm and reminded him gently. “Hey, babe. Why are you focusing on those two? They’re not that cute together. Only you and me.”
He looked back at her and breathed out through his nostrils calmly, saying. “You’re right.”
He brought her closer and kissed her neck, then gave them a heated look.
…
Once the prom was over, Taeyun drove her home safely and sent her a goodnight kiss, which made her blush.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling.
“You’re very welcome. Let me know if anything happens,” he prompted and waved, then he went back to his car and took off.
“I will,” she muttered and closed the front door, shutting the lights off at the front porch.
At the same time after witnessing them showing their affection, Jiyoo and his crew were inside the vehicle. To his irascibility and repulsion, he decided to take things to the next measure to attain his ultimate goal.
“These choices and voices, they're all in my head
Sometimes you make me feel crazy
Sometimes I swear I think you hate me like, uh
I need a walk, I need a walk
I need to get outta here
'Cause I need to know…”
…
The old abandoned house was burned down into flames and the amount of fire grew immensely till it exploded, which made the others yell in panic.
The emergency teams have mustered up the area and found a small dead body lying on the grass, with blood all over it.
“Is that an animal?"
"A feline?" The police woman wondered.
"Excuse me! Move! Please, I'm looking for…!" The girl shuffled amongst the crowd and moved past them until her eyes landed on the cat.
Forthwith, she screamed at the top of her lungs in anguish that echoed thunderously throughout the neighborhood, which Jiyoo heard.
…
"I couldn’t remember her face, nor even recognize her own name. It's been eight years since the last time I saw her, but when I noticed in her very own eyes after graduation was…”
“What?” Bryan went further with the question.
Jiyoo swallowed a hard lump in his throat because somewhere in his heart was something he wished he could have never done. He closed his eyes and uttered shakily with one word.
"Resentment.”
“Who are you?
'Cause you're not the girl I fell in love with, baby
Who are you?
'Cause something has changed, you're not the same, I hate it
I, I'm sick of waiting for love, love
I, I know that you're not the one, one…”198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUy7Nr49a4N
