Beauty And A Beast

Chapter 30

Sana

"Okay, so the flag's not in the boxing ring either." I groan as Jihyo, Yuto, Yuta and I exit the ring.

"Where do we go next?"

"Rooftop." Jihyo replies and Yuto nods silently. The two boys walk further in front of Jihyo and me and I grab the chance.

"So. Did you find anything new?" I ask Jihyo. She comes closer to me.

"We still haven't got any evidence to prove that Agma and Chou Minjun are the same person. But we're working on finding some proof soon." she whispers. "How about you?"

I sigh. "Well, I've been working with Mark for a while now but I've only made little progress. And I'm not sure if he'd be so eager to share the whereabouts of his father's business with me. Especially when he sees that I hang out with you a lot."

"Oh, nobody knows about me other than you." Jihyo reassures me. "I'm not planning on telling anyone either, so I guess my identity is safe. As long as you don't tell anyone of course."

"Are you kidding? I'd never miss up on the chance to tell the son of a Mafia Boss that my friend is in Special Forces and is after his father." I mumble sarcastically and Jihyo and I start laughing.

"Shh! Quiet!" Yuto whisper-shouts after a while. Yuta is in front of him, back pressed against the wall. As Jihyo and I approach silently, we hear faint talking from the corridor we were about to walk straight in.

"I told you it's not there! But you had to go listen to shortie over here."

My heart skips a beat at the hearing of Tzuyu's voice. The last time I heard it was last night, outside Momo's house when she drove me home. Not because she needed to, because she wanted to. When her sudden confession almost gave me a heart attack.

That was the best heart attack I almost had.

"We've only got one place to go to. If it's not in there, we better start searching classrooms." a male voice snaps me out of my thoughts. Soon, the voices fade away.

"Where do you think they're going?" Jihyo asks.

"I don't know. But we need to hurry just in case they're going to the rooftop." Yuta says hurriedly and we quicken our pace as we walk to the staircase that leads to the rooftop.

"Just a few more steps." Jihyo encourages us as we're climbing the stairs, Yuto and Yuta behind me and Jihyo leading the way.

"We're he-" Jihyo starts but stops as soon. Yuto, Yuta and I follow her out to the rooftop.

In the middle of the rooftop is a pole with a red flag.

And on the other side, two girls and two guys are panting just as heavily as us. My eyes lock with gray ones and I can't help the soft smile that curves my lips. My breath hitches when she smiles back, one of thosw smiles I told her I want to see more of last night.

"Hello my dear contestants!" a voice echoes off the loudspeakers at the stairway.

"And I was wondering who was missing." Jihyo sighs.

"Seeing that both teams found the flag, I congratulate you on your teamwork." the principal continues. "But I also need to tell you that each Challenge can only have one winner."

My eyes fly to all the contestants and so do theirs. I take a shaky breath, readying myself for what I expect the principal to say next.

"The teams are no longer valid. The winner is the contestant to get to the flag first. Good luck and stay strong!"

And with that, the loudspeakers shut down. Silence comes over the eight of us.

Yuta then starts running. But not towards the flag. He runs past the flag and it's only too late when I realize he is going straight for Jay.

Everyone starts shouting. Everyone starts fighting each other instead of trying to grab the flag.

That's my chance.

I start walking towards the pole, success slowly building up inside me. I can win. I'm going to-

Someone falls over me, pushing me to the ground and falling on top of me. I gasp for breath when my spine crashes with the cement floor, sending a throbbing pain through me.

"We do have unfinished business Sana." Yuto smirks. I try to push him off of me, my hands meeting with his broad chest, but he's much heavier and stronger than me.

"My friend told you you wouldn't be making it out of here. At least not alive." his hands curl around my neck. "The only difference is that I'm going to be the one to make sure of that." he says with a grin.

And then he squeezes.

The grip of his hands crashes my windpipe, makes it too hard for me to breathe. I try to remove his hands from my neck but he holds firm.

"What's wrong? Cat caught your tongue?" Yuto mocks as I try aimlessly to get air into my lungs.

This is the end. This is how I'm going to die. Instead of dying like a normal person, I'm going to get strangled to death by a greedy seventeen year old.

Black spots cloud my vision. I'm giving up. And it's never felt better.

I breathe. All of a sudden, I can breathe. I gasp in all the air I couldn't inhale before. I raise my hand to my neck, still feeling Yuto's hands as they were choking the air out of me.

I get on my elbows, searching around for Yuto. And when I spot him, I gasp again but this time not because of the air.

Tzuyu has pinned him to the ground, landing punch after punch on his face. His fist connects with her jaw, sending her flying back. Her eyes meet mine as she gets on her feet.

"Minatozaki-"

She can't finish because Yuto lands a kick to her stomach, cutting her breath short.

She saved me. Again.

I run to Yuto and slip my ring on my middle finger before my right hook meets with his temple. He falls to the ground, rubbing his temple now dripping blood.

"Minatozaki." Tzuyu gasps and I turn to her. My gaze softens at the sight of the girl who has saved me twice from certain death.

"Minatozaki, go get the flag."

My eyes snap up to hers. "What?"

She raises her hand to my neck and trails the bruise Yuto's hands left there. Worry crinkles her brow as she meets my gaze. "Get to the flag. Nobody's going to notice you."

"I can't-"

"You can and you will. Go before anyone realizes they're wasting their time fighting each other." she insists. Her gaze softens as her hand reaches to cup my cheek. "Please." she mutters and I hear Yuto groan behind her as he slowly finds his way to his feet. "Just go."

The next second, the warmth of her hand is gone as she spins and lands a kick on a half conscious Yuto. She looks at me over her shoulder, a familiar smirk on her lips, and winks before turning to Yuto again.

I jog backwards and spin, running with all my remaining strength towards the flag. My fingers curl around the red fabric and pull it down from the pole.

A loud bell echoes among the yelling and groaning of the contestants.

The second Challenge is over.