Secrets and Lies

19.

She'd been avoiding Tao, Daehyun and Zelo the whole week. The latter two because of the incident back at Zelo's apartment. She was not one to be easily embarrassed, but that was definitely something special. The girl had probably asked Daehyun to join in with the fun if she had been in a really good mood.

The whole avoiding Tao ordeal was more because she was confused to what kind of motives he possibly had. But in all honesty, the topic that troubled Jiyoo the most was still the one about her relationship with Yongguk. They'd already decided to take a break, so the future of them together was still uncertain.

Jiyoo had also quit her work at the supermarket and completely moved back into her father's house. This however changed things. She would need to get up earlier in the morning as the ride to school had become longer. Plus, moving back to Gangnam meant that the girl lived quite close to Zelo. The huge apartment building was in fact located just a few blocks away. But it was not all good. The first two -three nights had been really hard, she missed having someone by her side to cuddle with. Ahri wasn't exactly the same thing as to have Yongguk there.

The girl had precisely finished school, and with that meaning the extra three detention hours that she'd received during the week. It was already dark by the time she exited the gates and headed for the subway further down the road. With her earphones in place Jiyoo walked towards her destination. A flashback of what'd happened at the playground made its reappearance when she was about to pass it by. And just at that moment could the girl feel a hand grabbing onto her arm. It was simply natural that she freaked out. Never again would Jiyoo want to meet those two drug dealers.

But after have spun around she noticed that it weren't them but Tao. It was with a huge relief that she heaved a deep sigh. Pulling out one of the earphones she asked him what he wanted. Tao wanted an explanation to why she was avoiding him; he'd noticed her weird behavior even though she had tried to look innocent. "Avoid, why?" he spoke with the limited Korean he knew. Jiyoo wriggled her eyebrows, so he'd really taken notice after all. Though, the boy wouldn't understand if she actually did explain.

Jiyoo was curious to where he'd learned that throat grip. The excuse that he'd learned it at a defend-yourself-course wouldn't work. The girl knew more than well that it wasn't taught out at such courses. The only way Tao could know it was by being in a gang or, like in her case, been taught by a parent who was once a gang member. Jiyoo's father did probably not even know that his oldest daughter knew how he'd spent his teenage years. But she did.

That office of his was a goldmine when it came to such material. His past was hidden everywhere in that room. Old pictures, documents and other stuff from his old life back in Busan, a place they moved from when Jiyoo was just a baby. She could still remember the stories her mother used to tell her. How they'd left everything in Busan just to start a new life in Seoul, away from everything and everyone. Apparently did her father's best friend, according to the stories she'd been told, live in Busan. Jiyoo had somehow gotten the impression that it was because of that person they moved. Though, it was a thought that'd never been confirmed to be either true or false.

"Just because -." She couldn't end the sentence, she didn't know how to. "I'm late for work." Jiyoo lied. The boy had seen the girl's lips move, but the words that'd flowed out made no sense to him. He was clueless to what she'd said. Tao could only watch as the girl turned on her heel and continued her journey down the street. He had no reason to keep her back, nor could he force Jiyoo to stay. One thing was for certain though; something had made the girl scared of him.

Jiyoo was so busy with thinking about the danger behind that she didn't even notice the two lurking figures that simply waited for her. The streets were filled with people and the only one she focused on was Tao, to get away from him. Though, Jiyoo crashed right into someone after have made sure that the other boy was out of reach. In haste did she turn around to apologize, "I'm -." The words vanished when a smirking Kris stood there, right in front of her. "Fancy seeing you again." her blood froze when a hand clasped itself over her mouth from behind. Jiyoo could feel the tears rising within as she was shoved inside an alley. Kris followed suit.

"You caused me to lose a costumer." He was not happy about that, and the person that was going to pay for it was none other than Jiyoo. "You'll have to pay for it." instantly did she shook her head, there was no way in hell that she was going to do that. The tears that'd build up slipped from her eyes when the tall boy inched closer. His gaze was intense and Jiyoo flinched when his hand cupped her chin, "pay or I'll find another way to make good use of you." Neither Kris nor Yixing cared the slightest about the girl. She was just any other slut they could play around with.

"Money or your body, you decide?" his grip hardened, patience was a word that his vocabulary lacked. It was with blurry eyesight that Jiyoo aimed her foot against the boy's shin. The hit was spot on and Kris let out a pained groan when he faltered backwards. Unfortunately could she do nothing about the boy standing behind her. The angle and the way he was holding onto the girl made it impossible to get free. "You shouldn't have done that." Kris was in an instant up in her face again. Where was Daehyun that moment?Jiyoo needed him now.

"Yixing." The younger boy took the hint and withdrew his hand, though; he wouldn't step away. "You like the hard way, fine with me." it was not every day he met such a girl. Not that it mattered as all of them would fall in the end. "Disgusting pervert." The words were filled with venom as she glared at the boy. Jiyoo was not going down without a fight. Why was it that all the fucking gangsters flocked around her?

"Kris, Yixing, let her go." Three persons stared in the direction of the voice, Jiyoo felt a mixture of relief and fear linger as Tao took a few steps closer. Kris only smirked; the sudden appearance of his former friend didn't bother him. "Tao, I didn't know your parents were that afraid of you rejoining a gang that they shipped you off to Seoul." Jiyoo let her gaze wander between the two, they were speaking in Chinese, something that made it impossible for her to understand. Tao was determined to not let his former childhood friend get to him. They might've grown up together, but some things could he simply not forget Kris for.

"I'm not in a gang anymore, and I don't plan on joining yours again." Tao's memory was filled to the brim with all kinds of bad stuff that he'd done back in China. Things that he wanted to forget. "Why, still thinking about Yi?" just the mention of Tao's past girlfriend made the boy furious. "I had to get rid of her, she was spilling information." Kris shrugged his shoulders, totally unfazed by what he'd had to do in the past. The tension rose to new heights when Tao growled, "you didn't have to kill her." Jiyoo watched, fascinated, as the Chinese boy stalked forward and kicked Kris right in the chest. The violent action caused the boy to fly back and hit the ground.

A fight broke out after that, Tao were launching pounces and kicks at Kris and Yixing. The girl had been so taken aback that she hadn't moved from her place. Jiyoo had heard the two other boys shout Tao's name out loud. It was an ordeal that made her believe that the three of them knew one another. She was right after all, the boy was a gangster. Though, Jiyoo wasn't so certain about wanting Tao kicked out of school anymore. Maybe he could be of good use either way. The Chinese boy was quite skilled in the art of beating people down.