MONSTA X: THE LEGEND

Chapter III

Ryujin was walking around in campus, lost in her thoughts.

I wonder what happens with Wonho. What goes on in his life. He just has this mysterious aura. He's so secretive, it makes me wonder...what happened to him freshman year? What was that horrible incident that I heard about...?

As Ryujin continued to wonder about him, she bumped into someone, which made her lose her balance and fall down on her butt.

"OUCH! That hurt!" She whined while rubbing her back. A sudden familiar voice addressed her "Then look where you're going next time."

Then she heard a chuckle. Could it be...?

She lift her head up to look at the source of the familiar voice, only to find Shin Wonho standing right in front of her with his hand extended "Even with your glasses on you can't see?" A warm smile appeared across his face as he joked.

Ryujin looked at his extended hand, then she took it and he helped her stand up "Thanks... Sorry I was just a bit zoned out , I guess."

Wonho caught sight of a small polaroid photo that seemed to have fallen from her bag onto the floor. He bent down and grabbed it. But when he looked at it... "What is... wait what?!"

She snatched the picture from him and put it in her bag "Hey! No one permitted you to look at it!" Wonho's facial expression twisted into a serious one "Sorry... But are you really Changkyun's childhood best friend?! You're that little girl who used to wear braces and follow him around?!"

Ryujin sighed as she rolled her eyes at him "Yeah I was that weirdo. Big deal. Just forget you ever saw it."

Wonho nodded, then he asked her a question "Actually, Changkyun is a friend of mine. But he hasn't been getting in contact with me or the other guys lately. He hasn't been attending classes either. So I wanted to ask you if you know where he is?"

Ryujin cocked an eyebrow at him, because Changkyun told her to keep his location a secret "Can't tell you. Sorry." She adjusted her glasses and walked away in a fast pace. But Wonho catched up to her, following her around campus.

"Hey, where are you going?! I really need to talk to him. I need to know where he is, it's really important!"

Ryujin quickened her steps, still ignoring the desperate man beside her. She went up to her locker and opened it to take some books as Wonho leaned against the locker beside hers with his arms crossed "Come on, Ryujin. Changkyun and I are friends. You should tell me."

Ryujin snorted as she fixed her hair in front of the mirror hanged inside her locker "If you two were really friends, he would've told you where he is. However, it seems that he didn't. So you two aren't exactly 'friends' as you're claming."

Wonho stood there, at a loss for words to try to convince her to tell him where he is. Because to be fair, she was right. Changkyun and him aren't exactly 'friends' anymore. It's been years since he last had a decent conversation with him.

Wonho got tongue-tied as he tried to continue convincing her, though he wasn't doing a very good job "I...I-It's...uh..." Ryujin barely glanced at him, clearly annoyed, as she continued fixing her hair "Then you already know my answer."

Wonho closed his eyes and sighed, then he looked at her and spoke again "Look, it's complicated. But it wouldn't be a problem if you told me where he is, I promise. I just need to talk to the man, for god's sake!"

The girl rolled her eyes as she finally finished fixing up her hair. When she looked around, she saw that the hallways were pretty much empty.

So, she looked at him with a piercing gaze and spoke with a harsh tone "How do I know I can trust you, Shin Wonho? Changkyun asked me to keep a secret and I'm keeping it. I'm not telling you anything because I don't trust you! I have my doubts about you, okay? So leave me alone! Please."

Wonho raised an eyebrow at her as he scoffed "You don't trust me? We're not even friends, so that's fair. But do I really seem like a bad guy to you? Also, 'you have your doubts about me'? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Wonho was slowly losing his temper with her.

She kept her harsh tone with a dead glare "Well, let's see. You are very secretive to a point that nobody knows anything about you. Nothing at all! You are such a mysterious guy that it drives me to have some questions and doubts. For example, what was that incident that everyone spoke of? Huh? TELL ME!"

At that, Wonho completely lost it. He slammed her locker shut and pinned her against it, slamming his other hand beside her face as he got awfully close to her.

Ryujin's mouth fell open from fear and surprise while Wonho narrowed his eyes at her. She felt like her heart was about to stop because of his intense gaze. She couldn't keep up the eye contact with him as she heard his breathing sharpen, so she looked at the floor, trying to summon her courage back.

Wonho's face got closer until she felt his hot breath on her ear. His voice was so deep and threatening that it sent chills down her spine "You've got a big mouth on you, you know that? Haven't your parents taught you to mind your own business and not meddle with others'? Because let me tell you, Lee Ryujin, that incident is none of your fucking business. So don't mention it to me or to anyone else again, got it?"

Ryujin slowly raised her eyes up to meet his as he leaned away. She lightly smacked him on the chest and yelled "Okay I won't, jeez! J-Just, GET. AWAY. FROM ME!" She smacked his chest again.

Wonho tilted his head and smiled playfully at her, letting out a small 'hmph', "good." His hands fell back to his side. And, with one last look, he walked away.

Just as he was walking away, Sohyun passed by him. She stopped dead in her tracks as her gaze followed Wonho until he was out of sight, then her gaze turned back to Ryujin who was still glued to her locker.

A look of concern crossed her face, so she went up to her friend "Hey, did something happen? Professor let me come look for you because you're late for class."

Ryujin silently looked at her best friend for a moment, then she looked determined as she stated "I have to know what happened with Wonho freshman year. And you're gonna help me."

Sohyun raised both her eyebrows at her in surprise "Are you insane? Why are you thinking about that again? And how the hell am I even supposed to help?"

Ryujin and Sohyun started walking together to class while Ryujin answered her "I'll explain later."