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~.::.~
A cluster of glass bottles of various drinks sat at the center of the table. Colorful lights from outside the private booth reflected off of them, dancing in circles as were the women on the dance floor. A man sat at this booth alone. His demeanor showing he was no stranger to his environment. The thirty or something year old wore a black tank top revealing his strong physique and a colorful artwork on his arm. One could recognize the scales and ridges of a dragon's body coiling upwards. It's head assumed to be under his neckline. He lounged and relaxed until his guard escorted a man in.
The stranger took a seat. His style was quite the opposite of the first man. Instead of casual outfit and an ill-mannered expression, this man wore a newly ironed dress shirt, a tie, and a clean shave. Less confident in this surrounding but here on a mission. The man with the dragon tattoo waved his hand toward the collection of drinks, inviting his clean cut guest to get comfortable. But he kindly refused.
"Choi Do Yoon." The first man's voice rumbled like a far away storm you didn't want getting close. Although the music in the club was loud, his words were clear. "I had my boys do some research on you. What business would a pretty boy architect want with my gang? Hm?"
~.::.~
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YURIM
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The school seemed a lot smaller today as I walked up to the main building. Small was a size that made running into people too easy. I clutched my math book with a death grip against my chest. My eyes searched anxiously through the crowd of students for any sign of Namjoon and his friends. My chest almost seized at every false alarm.
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Regret won the old argument of whether I should've bothered coming to school today since it was Friday. I could've taken the rest of the week off and no one would've disagreed. What was I thinking? I sighed to myself. My head was low but I remained alert to my surroundings.
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BZZZT!
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I gasped when I felt a vibration in my jacket pocket. As soon as it registered that it was my phone I breathed out with a tense groan as I answered the call.
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"Are you really going to keep calling me every five minutes today?" I answered perturbed.
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"I just wanna make sure my best friend is okay! Can't I?" Hoseok pouted. I couldn't see him but I knew his voice that well.
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"I'm fine," I lied. My entire body was tense and I jumped at just about everything. I was not fine. But I wasn't going to admit that to Hoseok. I couldn't worry his tender soul.
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"Okay, I'm just a block away from the school. I'll meet up with you soon, okay? Try not go anywhere alone." His words triggered a memory that plucked at my nerves. The image of those emotionless eyes flashed through my mind of that person who once gave me the same warning. I rried not to think about it.
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"Alright, I'll see you later." I hung up and returned the phone to my pocket. My textbook almost slipped out of my hand in the process. That's when I noticed how sweaty my hands were.
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Everything will be fine, I tried to assure myself with a deep breath.
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The halls were filled with the lucky ones. Those who didn't have to search every corner for their harassers. They all wore smiles while discussing the trivial things with such glee. All they needed to do was stay out of the way of those people and they were fine. I, on the other hand, was on a special list. When would they move on? What could they possibly want that would satisfy them and leave me alone? How much longer will this last?
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A sudden force tugged me into the stairwell as I was passing.
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I felt my heart jump out of my chest as the stranger led me in a small space under the first flight of stairs. His hand over my mouth. I struggled against him, but his grip was too tight. It was one of them again wasn't it?
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Tears started to pool as I began to except the reality that I may be harmed again. Hoseok and Seokjin would worry. And how many more excuses could I tell my family before they caught on that something was wrong?
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Just then I heard familiar voices echo above us. The stairwell amplified them just enough for me to deduce who they were. Namjoon and Taehyung. Despite being brought against my will, I went still and quiet. Desperate to not be discovered by them.
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"...really hate her! She took Yoongi away from me- uh, I mean us." Taehyung complained.
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"Jungkook seems to be more interested in the guy who dislocated his leg. I'd hate to be him right now." Namjoon replied with amusement in his voice.
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"That's a relief. Yoongi's face shouldn't be treated like a punching bag. I hate him for choosing her over us but beauty is beauty and must be nurtured."
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"Don't mistake my meaning. If he gets the chance he'll pulverize Yoongi too. He just..."
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The voices got further and further away until we could hear them no more. Despite hearing their conversation, I understood nothing of what they were saying. I wanted to speculate but remembered the person behind me. Their grip around my waist loosened. Now's my chance! Quickly, I ripped myself from them and turned to face my abductor.
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Fire shot through my veins when I saw Yoongi standing there. Red scratches with dried blood and a fading bruise marked his face. Something in me snapped. Did he have something to do with Hoseok getting hurt?!
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"YOU!" I charged at him.
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I swung my math book and struck him hard. Once, twice, I lost count. The boy made a fuss and used his arms to shield himself from being hit. I'd never seen him in such a state but I wasn't going to give in to pity after all that's happened. I kept at it until he managed to catch the book and throw it to the ground in frustration.
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Refusing to stop, I flailed my arms at him instead, hitting as hard as I could.
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"Aish-!" I heard before feeling my wrists being captured and forced backwards.
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My back and arms met the wall. I tried to pull my arms out of his hold, but they were pinned. Struggling against Yoongi, being trapped with him in such close proximity...I could feel my anger turning into panic.
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"Let me go!" I growled.
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"You should explain why you hit me first." His breathing was labored from taking all those hits. "It's only polite." A crooked smile broke out on his face. There was a hint of awkwardness like it was his first time wearing it. A wave of heat pulsed through me. The bastard had the nerve to play games at a time like this?
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"After all that's happened because of you and your friends you think you deserve anything? You really are the worst!"
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He cut his eyes left and scoffed. "I forgot. Never leave it up to you to detect a joke."
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Is he serious?
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"I've been mocked, followed, humiliated, and hurt. My best friend's lip got busted and I'm forced to lie to my family so they think I'm not being harassed. What's funny?" I asked. My voice shook with anger.
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His eyes lowered to the ground. "I didn't-"
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"I hate you!" I cried. The traces of Yoongi's smile earlier fell flat, his eyes returned to their natural unfeeling state. There was no point in trying to make him understand. There was no point in trying to make him realize my struggle. They didn't care about any of it. Hell, they loved it! "Just do what you came to do and get it over with."
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He stared at me for a moment as I tried to prepare myself for anything. Damn it, I hate those eyes! Hit me, push me! Just stop looking at me!
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Finally, I saw the muscles in his jaw tense before making a move. I squeezed my eyes shut for what came next. I felt my arms peel from the wall before being thrown down to my sides.
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But nothing else.
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I opened my eyes. Yoongi had backed away and looked to be finding something to say. But he only sighed and swaggered off, his irritation clear.
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I stood frozen, unmoved. Trying to understand what had just happened, if that was even possible. Overcome with skepticism, I wondered if he wanted me to feel a false sense of safety before returning with a cruel plan. But moments went by quietly with only the echoes of the students climbing the stairs above me.
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Once I was confident he wouldn't return, my legs gave in and I crumbled to the floor. My whole body shook, unsure of what to do with the adrenaline. A severe tremor ailed my fingers, so I balled my hands into fists. As if keeping them from shaking could convince myself that I wasn't afraid.
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BZZZT!
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My body flinched at my phone's vibration again. Before answering I was careful to let a moment pass to calm down. At this point I had no hope that I'd get any chance to relax today.
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YOONGI
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Students avoided eye contact with me as I passed them through the halls. A natural reaction if one's name was Namjoon, Jungkook, Taehyung or Yoongi. I wondered if they would react to me differently if they knew I was shunned. But I guessed it didn't matter anyway. My biggest problem still remains to be those three guys.
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Before, I was simply stuck in a loop of doing pointless, stupid things. Targeting students who, in most cases, bought their freedom. Now, I was the target. Or one of them anyway. I needed to lay low for a while. Especially from Jungkook. That one didn't know when to stop. They'll want revenge. Namjoon will want to teach me about false righteousness or whatever weird philosophy his unstable mind birthed. But at least he likes to take his time in planning his revenge.
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Jungkook didn't take to waiting well. Apparently he wanted Hoseok's blood more than mine. But just the other day he happened to see me at the convenience store and he wasn't happy. He chased me down a couple of alleys that day. Luckily his leg slowed him down and I was able to get away.
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It was five minutes into lunch and I arrived at a classroom I believed was Hoseok's new class. I also knew it to be Seokjin's class. That guy bugged me. I steeled myself for a possible encounter with him before opening the door to enter.
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I heard a couple of gasps from students before the room went quiet.
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The droll silence seemed to make the weirdly cheery guy easier to see. Thankfully, the other guy wasn't here. Hoseok noticed the change in energy in the room then found me. His face looked puzzled but nonetheless welcoming. The two of us sort of just stared at each other for a moment unsure of how to proceed. We weren't exactly friends, so it was weird to think of greeting each other at this point.
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After deciding against speaking at all, I just nodded toward the hallway before stepping back outside. Hoping he wasn't dense in knowing my meaning.
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Seconds later, stepped out into the hallway with me. A smug grin on his face.
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I cringed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
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"I'm just touched you came to see me that's all." He crossed his arms with a cocky expression. "You want me to adopt you into our friend circle don't you?"
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"Maybe in your dreams," I retorted. Hoseok chuckled to himself. From there I got to the point. "Why didn't you tell her about the rooftop?" The cheery guy's smile lingered but his eyes died a little. They stared emptily down the hall as he responded.
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"There're too many secrets tied to that day." I waited for him to expand more on these so called 'secrets' but he didn't bother.
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A brow of mine raised, "what are you talking about?"
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He sighed. "Yurim doesn't know about me."
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"You mean the fact that you can fight? That you're actually not a over-hyper clown? That you're not a total idiot? Wouldn't that be a good thing to find out?" I asked.
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Hoseok hesitated. "There are other things."
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I ran a hand through my hair, annoyed with his vagueness. "Well, while you're keeping your secrets, she thinks I'm still with them. She thinks I would...hurt her." I squirmed as I admitted my concerns to someone who wasn't even my friend.
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But after the way she looked at me today, I was desperate to do something about it. It sucked. It wasn't fair. I never hurt her-
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A memory of that day four years ago suddenly flashed through my head, triggering a sharp pang of guilt and regret. My heart sunk.
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Fine. I never hurt her after that incident. And maybe the day at the rink had something to do with me too, but I didn't intend for things to turn out the way they did. An uninvited image of her skating with Seokjin played in my head. It's just...the way she smiled at him. It wasn't fair. He didn't even know she existed 'til now.
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I pinched the bridge of my nose as I felt the heat in my body beginning to intensify. My arms and legs were buzzing with energy. Crap! Don't lose it, you idiot! I took a deep breath, releasing the heat and anger as best as I could.
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"Are you gonna cry?"
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"Tsk, shut up."
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"Why? I wasn't teasing. Cry if you want, I don't care." Hoseok defended.
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"I'm not gonna cry!" I snapped, losing patience. Coming to someone about this was hard enough as it is. "Look, I don't know what you're hiding from her but I know she won't thank you for it. So you might as well just tell her."
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"You seem to think you 'know' her well," he grinned. This guy had weird reactions to things. It was as though he was entertained by the thought rather than offended. "But let's not pretend that's the reason you want me to tell her."
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I steeled myself from reacting. But at the same time I couldn't bring myself to counter his statement either. After an empty beat, Hoseok blew out gust of air while contemplating something in the distance.
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"Okay!" He announced. "What about we make a deal?"
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I gave him suspicious eyes. "What deal?"
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