Say Yes!

Patching It Up

Jin was not particularly sporty. He had no time for it when 16 out of the 24 hours of his day was reserved for rewriting notes, working on extra credit activities, and reviewing for tests that were 3 weeks away.

But the moment Irene's words left her lips, heaving heavy breaths, clothes all crumpled from running from building to building, every inhibition he had for running flew out the window.

Byulyi was in trouble.

Apparently, Kyung saw the two of them just as the two girls were on their way back and ganged up on them. She managed to escape with Byulyi's help. The latter wasn't as lucky.

Irene barely managed to finish what she was saying before Jin went bursting out the door.

The hallway floor was slippery and he almost tripped down the stairs on more than one occasion. His lungs were burning for air and even if the sun was beginning to set already, sweat drenched the back of his white uniform, now in the same disheveled state as Irene's were.

Jin had not come back from the old building since he and Byulyi got trapped in that storage room months ago, especially when construction started. It was a miracle Baek Kyung and his friends managed a spot to own there when sand and bricks were stacked in massive piles in the area.

Jin was looking around the place with wide eyes, trying to find signs of Byulyi anywhere when he heard yells from the back of the building. The scene was far but he could make out eight crouching figures on the ground and one talking to another who seemed to be trapped against the wall.

Byulyi.

Kyung spat out blood to the side as he leaned on his elbow. "Didn't know you were quite the hero. Letting that girl run first." He wiped the blood on his nose with the back of his hand. "Did your boyfriend scream at you to do that too?"

Byulyi ran her tongue over her teeth as she fisted her bruised hands on her sides. How is this bastard still talking? She could just kick him square in the face and be done with it. At this point, she knew he was just spewing whatever bullshit he wanted to get on Byulyi's nerves.

She wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand and her knuckles on her pants. She wordlessly limped over the several groaning bodies on the ground, making her way where Irene and her discarded their bags.

She heard the sound of dirt and clothes shuffling just as she wore both bags on each shoulder. "Don't turn your back on me while I'm talking to you."

Kyung stumbled forward a bit as he tried to stand up straight. An ugly glare was in his face, the hard lines on his jaw more prominent than ever.

Byulyi merely rolled her eyes. "Aren't you tired?" she asked as she put both hands on her hips, an action that visibly made Kyung angrier.

"You think you're better than us?" he fumed, hands flexing to fists in his side.

Byulyi scoffed. "I know I'm better than all of you combined.

His face darkened and Byulyi thought he was going to charge at her then. But instead, he raised his head and in the calmest voice said, "Musn't be that great if your boyfriend left you."

The corner of Byulyi's lips twitched by a fraction but it was enough. It was Kyung's turn to smile, his teeth stained with red.

He didn't even say who the boyfriend was. Fuck. She didn't even have a boyfriend to begin with. But her thoughts filled with images of angry pouty lips and oddly wide shoulders and God it wasn't supposed to affect her the way that it did.

Whatever anger she felt that compelled her to stay, Byulyi pushed it far far back on her mind. To be emotional in this scenario was not advantageous for her. Kyung's friends were slowly recovering and the more that she stayed, the more she would lose.