Dragon's Butterfly (Hiatus)

Pawn 045

Park Sandara

It's been two days since my arrival at this house along with the Shadows sent by Jiyong to protect me. They're not that scary, really—Mino and Neo are quite funny, Shiro seemed to be the 'wise old man' among them, Era sometimes makes me her guinea pig for fashion picks, and Miss Gummy actually discusses lessons to me and . . . yeah, guns, after I asked her to teach me more about it. (I wonder if she tells them to Jiyong, though. I hope not. Jiyong's sure to flip!)

Jiyong . . .

My reverie broke when all of a sudden, the five stood up alert, dropping their chopsticks in the process. Neo quickly grabbed the nearest kitchen knife as he stood by my side. I was frozen on my chair, gripped with terror. Would they . . . would they finally come to—!!

"Mino-kun, Era-chan, check who is outside. Gummy-san," Shiro quietly ordered. The three nodded at him and did as what they were told.

"W . . . What is it?" I whispered in a shaky voice. No one answered me, obviously trying to focus to know whoever it is that made them alert like that.

A couple of minutes later, Era and Mino came back, but Miss Gummy was nowhere to be seen. Era whispered something to Mino's ear, and the latter sighed.

"Sandara-dono, there is someone who wishes to see you," Shiro told me. "He's no suspicious man, so Era-chan and Mino-kun let him in."

I breathed out a sigh of relief while Neo visibly relaxed beside me. "Who is it?" I asked.

"Someone you might know," Shiro smiled politely. "We shall give you privacy, but we'll watch out if something happens."

The Shadows then left, leaving me alone in the dining hall.

The door then opened, and I couldn't help wishing it was Jiyong. I missed him terribly, even if I hadn't seen him for the past couple of days. Sometimes, it's making me burst into tears when I'm just all alone in my room, that's why I seek the company of the Shadows. He rarely texts me, saying that it was to make sure no one will be able to track my location. I had to swallow the lump on my throat to keep my tears from flowing.

But of course it wasn't Jiyong. Instead, it was a tall, baby-faced guy standing by the doorway wearing casual clothes, a box of something on his hands.

"Hi there!" he said cheerfully, smiling at me.

" . . . Eh?" I uttered in confusion. Who is this cute guy? My eyes suddenly widened in fear as a dark thought crossed my mind. Could he be—!!

"No, no, relax, it's just me!" he said anxiously. "I just brought along a box of donuts and hot chocolate, if in case you're wondering."

I gazed at him stupidly—and yes, in fear—as I tried to recognize him. Who the heck is he?!

"Aw, dammit. You don't remember me anymore, Sandy?" he pouted as he walked towards me. "But you sort of changed a lot though . . . except your height."

That grin, those mischievous eyes . . . wait.

"Hi, Sandy. It's me, Song Joong Ki." He grinned.

It took me two seconds before I finally placed him.

"Y-YOU?!?!"

--

Song Joong Ki. Geez. That name is something I'll have a hard time forgetting.

Back in elementary school, he was quite chubby and nerdy-looking, what with those glasses and braces. Contrary to his looks, he was quite the bully—no, wait, he was such a bully. He would usually tease me or Bom, saying that I was such a pale dwarf and Bom was a, well, corn squirrel. Sure, we were enemies of some sort, but we agreed on some things. Example, Bom being a corn addict and on a certain teacher that picked on us every class just because we noticed a mistake on his equation.