Secrets and Lies

28.

Things were sort of normal again. She'd visited the hospital a few days earlier to remove the stitches and to check up on the cut Dongyeol caused. Jiyoo and Ahri had also moved from Zelo's apartment to a hotel. The blonde boy had pleaded for the to stay, he'd said that his parents wouldn't mind. Though, the hotel was a contemporary resolution, and she hoped that they would be able to return home soon. Her younger sister was still hesitant about moving back home again, mainly because she was still afraid. Luckily had their father given them enough money to last for several months, an ordeal that made Jiyoo uneasy. She was confused to what kind of plan the two adults had. Would it really take months before they returned to Korea?

"Ahri, should I go and buy some snacks?" the two sisters were sitting in front of the TV, waiting for a movie that was just about to begin. The kid turned towards her with a bright smile, "really?" it was rather unusual for Jiyoo to buy snacks and sweet things. "Yeh, but you'll have to stay here okay." the clock had already passed nine pm and Jiyoo wouldn't want the kid to experience the horror of possibly bumping into Kris, or someone else.

"But I want to come, too." no, she was not going to let her younger sister follow. Not wanting to argue Jiyoo gave the kid an ultimatum, "Stay or no snacks." Ahri pouted, "fine, I'll stay." the older of the two set a few rules whilst she was getting dressed, her sister was not allowed to open the door if it knocked, neither could she go anywhere.

The hotel they were staying at didn't have a store, only restaurants. Therefore did Jiyoo head for the closest supermarket. She felt slightly paranoid as she walked towards her destination. It wasn't like the girl had forgotten about the past incident, when Kris and that other boy showed up right before her. Paying attention was vital. Well, attention and attention.

She had the earphones plugged in and her iPod was blasting out music. Luckily was the store located quite close and Jiyoo felt relieved when entering the shop. It was unlikely that anyone would creep up and do something inside the supermarket, especially since cameras were installed. Though, one could never know. Respect was, in today's society, different than it once were.

The employers gave her a warm welcome as she walked through the store and towards the snack aisle. Contemplating what to buy she let her gaze wander between the packages displayed. Jiyoo knew that it was stupid to feed her younger sister sugar that late at night, it would probably hinder the both of them to get a descent night's sleep. But right there and then she could honestly not care less. The girl was in need of something sweet and it wouldn't be fair if she ate and Ahri couldn't. Not that they had anything important the coming day, it was just another lazy Sunday.

The shop was fairly crowded with teenagers due to it being Saturday. It caused her to feel slightly uneasy as it made it harder to distinguish who could be a threat. A tug at Jiyoo's sleeve caused the girl to tense, and she immediately spun around, only to be greeted by a male around her age. His lips moved but the only sound that met her ears was the music blasting through her earphones. "Sorry?" Jiyoo had to ask the male to take it again.

"Do you know where High and Low is located?" Yongguk came to mind when she heard that name. The girl wondered whether he was still performing or if he'd stopped. Maybe he had finally gotten his contract that he so much wished and wanted. The male voice met her ears again and she was brought out of her thoughts. "Do you?" it was with a gloomy face that Jiyoo gave him the direction. The relationship between Yongguk had her might've ended several weeks ago, but that didn't hinder her from missing him. Would it be bad to visit High and Low?The girl was really curious to what he was up to nowadays. A depressing thought came to mind and she unconsciously frowned, what if he'd already moved on and gotten another girlfriend?

Jiyoo returned to choosing snacks once the stranger left. Without a second thought did she reach for the bag of her favorite chips; onion rings. However, she knew that Ahri wasn't too fond of the taste and would want something else. What that could be weren't exactly that hard to figure out, the younger kid liked sweet snacks, such as ones with sweet potato flavour. The girl headed over to the sodas and picked a few bottles of water and a few cans of cola. She even decided to add in with some banana milk for Ahri. Everything with sugar was the kid's favorite food, which, after all, wasn't so hard to understand.

It'd taken Jiyoo about ten minutes to choose everything that she was going to buy. The snacks and drinks were shoved inside a plastic bag after that she'd paid for them. "Thank you and welcome back." the girl behind the cashier gave Jiyoo a deep bow, something she returned with a small, almost insignificant smile. The sight of Jiyoo smiling would've shocked everyone she knew. The girl wasn't exactly known to be a happy-smiley person. A frown was normally plastered on her face.

She plugged her earphones back in place once she stepped out on the street. The crowd of people had begun to increase, and Jiyoo had to literally push herself forward in order to move in the direction of where the hotel was located. But there was one thing the girl was oblivious to. Kris and Yixing were following after her. The only thing that kept them from rushing up the her was the numerous of people. It was simply too dangerous to do anything rash. "Are you sure this is such a bright idea?" the younger of the two spoke, he couldn't really get a grasp of why Kris had become so obsessed with that girl. Yixing could honestly not see what was so special about her. The girl's red hair and bad attitude was the only thing that stood out.

Kris, however, ignored the statement and let his gaze remain on the girl pushing herself passed people. He had, despite Yixing complaints, no romantic feeling towards her. The boy only wanted to know why she seemed so important to Tao. It'd become quite clear that they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend. That wouldn't work, especially since his Chinese friend was struggling with the Hangul. Well, he couldn't blame the younger boy. It had taken Kris quite some time to speak and understand the Korean language, too.

The girl was just about the enter the hotel when she felt her body being shoved to the side. It was pure luck that the bag in her hand didn't fall to the ground when she was spun around. Jiyoo's eyes met his and he could see the horror displayed in them. She was afraid of him. The girl took a deep breath, "why are you always bothering me, can't you understand that I don't want anything to do with you?" her earphones had fallen out when she'd been turned around. The boy's gaze flickered over to her cheek and instead of the cut was a scar visible. The thin, long, cut along her neck was the next thing to get Kris attention. It hadn't been there the previous time they ran into each other.

A tiny smirk grew on his lips as he pressed two fingers against her throat, just above the cut. It was an action that caused Jiyoo to flinch as the wound hadn't healed completely. Kris could, with ease, make it bleed again. The girl's gaze flickered over to the other boy who was standing a few meters away. Why was it that he did everything Kris said?The Chinese boy acted like a puppy who did whatever he was told to. "I'm going to kill you one day." Jiyoo let her eyes travel back to the taller boy, the smirk on his face remained as he let his fingers sink into the flesh of her throat. The pressure wasn't enough to cut off the air supply, but definitely enough to cause discomfort.

Jiyoo dropped the bag to the ground, she had to do something before Kris, possibly, choked her to death. The girl's next action surprised him. Though, he wasn't going to let her off that easily, and that despite that she was, with much intensity, trying to get free. Her nails had, some way along the small battle, sunk into his skin. "Yixing." his younger friend moved fast and he had soon enough shoved Jiyoo against the wall. She was dazed by the suddenness of it and could only stare at the other boy who'd taken Kris place. He wouldn't hesitate to hurt her if needed. "Fucking dickheads, let me go." she was just about to push the boy away when he grasped Jiyoo's wrists and slammed her back against the stonewall. A painful groan slipped from her lips as a result of that. "Act like that and he's really going to hurt you." Kris spoke from his place behind the two.

However, something completely else caught Jiyoo's attention once she'd calmed down. The sight made her uneasy as she kept on staring at the red spot on the boy's neck. Yongguk and Dongyeol had both displayed an exact same example on their necks. What the fuck was actually going on?How could it be that three persons, all of them teenagers, had identical scars?Yixing retreated immediately once he noticed what she was staring at. For the girl to know what it was were impossible, still, he didn't want to take any chances.

Kris got slightly taken aback when Yixing announced that he would leave. "Why?" It was rather unusual for his younger friend to act like that. "She knows something, and I don't want to risk my life over some red-haired girl." Jiyoo took the opportunity to escape when Kris was busy staring after the boy heading down the street.

It was with a racing heart that she pushed open the door to the hotel room she shared with Ahri. Jiyoo noticed quite instantly that the kid had already fallen asleep. Maybe that was for the best, especially since she would have a hard time focusing on the movie itself. The scar on the Chinese boy's neck was still a mystery Jiyoo was trying to figure out. Unconsciously did Tao enter her thoughts, did he, too, have one of those scars?