Hidden: Strings of Fate

CHAPTER 8

I felt lost in the embrace of his smell. It seemed like I could wander for days without having a destination. He moved to my side after I replied and wrapped his arm on my shoulder. "I have back-up now N hyung. You can't pick on me anymore," he said.

Hakyeon gave him a death glare. He left the line and then proceeded to repeatedly poked Hyuk in the stomach while saying "What did you say?"

"Oowww, hyung that hurts," Hyuk said emphasising and exaggerating his hurt stomach.

Removing Hyuk's arm from my shoulder, I slid in between Hakyeon and Hyuk. I pushed his chest while saying "what if you really do hurt him...?" Hakyeon's face had concern written all over it because he soon backed away. "You've won this time but just wait until I get you on your own," he threatened.

"Oooo, I'm soo scared," Hyuk joked. Hakyeon moved forward again towards Hyuk but this time Wonshik stepped in and stopped him.

"So how old are all of you... ?" I asked. Luckily, I already knew their original names. It was on the information booklet that I received from CEO Hwang. Funnily enough though, I couldn't remember how old they all are. They all looked very young especially the magnae.

Hakyeon stepped forward again and said, "these two are 18," pointing to Wonshik and Hongbin, "Ken's 19, Hyuk's 17 and I'm 21. We have another member but he's not here now. He slept at the studio last night. He's 21 too."

"Oh ok. So, there's 5 oppas and 1 chingu," I reiterated.

"De," Jaehwan replied back.

"That's right, N hyung getting older by the minute. Soon he'll be even older and wrinkly," teased Hongbin.

"What did you say? I'm not that old" Hakyeon complained while giving Hongbin a death glare.

Hongbin continued "I can see white hair from here. Just because you dye it doesn't mean it's not there. Just face it hyung, you're old.''

"I don't have white hair," Hakyeon said as chuckled nervously.

"Sure, you don't hyung..." Hongbin said with a cheeky grin. He turned around to face me and winked.

Hakyeon then sliced his neck with the far side of his hand and then dragged him to a different room while saying, "yah! Try saying that to Leo. He'll beat you up."

"Leo...? Who's Leo?" I said puzzled.

"He's the member who stayed at the studio last night," Jaehwan stated through Hongbin's screams of pain and laughter. It seemed he enjoyed getting beaten up by the eldest. 'Ahh. That was what the last member was called. What was his other name...? Urgh. This is going to bother me now.'

"Oh, OK. What time will all of you be back by in the evening? Just so I know when to have everything finished by," I said enthusiastically.

"We should be back by 11pm at the latest. We've just got dance practice and vocal practice today at the studio," said Jaehwan.

"Oh ok," I said.

"N hyung, Kong, if you're done playing we need to get going now. Leo hyung is probably already there waiting for us," emphasised Wonshik.

"Now you know better to pick on me, don't you...?" threatened Hakyeon.

"Yes, I do, short hyung," smirked Hongbin.

Hakyeon stopped half way and stared at him, as though he was going to murder him. "What did you say?" he said through half-gritted teeth.

"I was just joking. Relax..." said Hongbin putting his hands up in surrender.

"Hyungs! Stop messing around. We need to go. Now!!!" exclaimed Hyuk.

They packed up all the equipment that they needed and headed out the dorm. I was left alone.

'Right let's get started,' I thought as I tied my long wad of hair up into a short ponytail so that it was out of the way. One thing you should know about me... I can't seem to get any work down when my hair is loose. If I have it up in a bun out of way, I'm fine, I can conquer the world. Strange, huh? I organised all the books, the hats and the clothes. I washed almost 3 loads of washing and had put them on the racks to air dry. Phew! It was hard work. But luckily, I was used to doing laundry and I love to clean. So, really with this job I get the best of both worlds. I could have a massive pile of just-washed clothes in front of me, and within an hour they'd be ironed, sorted and put away. Kinda like a wonder woman except I clean up laundry and not scum off the streets...?

9.45 PM

As I entered the front room after folding the clothes, I noticed a strange pair of shoes in the hall way. I scratched my head, confused. 'I'm sure I put all the shoes away. So, what's this doing here?' I wondered.

As I picked them up to put them away, I heard the bathroom door unlock. Out came a tall, slim-figured stranger. He looked at me with menacing eyes, like a lion hunting its prey getting ready for the kill. I had assumed that he wasn't expecting another person to be in the apartment... was he planning on robbing the place? I looked around and found the nearest weapon. A baseball bat. Perfect. I grinned like a cheshire cat as I creeped towards the bat.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? If you're planning on stealing, there's nothing of value here. You're wasting your time." I bluffed.

He stood still like a statue. Just following my movements. Edging closer. Stalking his prey. If it wasn't for the gentle rising and lowering of his chest, I would have assumed that he was not real, but a bust. I reached for the bat. Ready to kill. Well... not exactly, kill... I might maim him though. Just until the police arrive. I held the bat up ready to bat the stranger into the next century.

"Not going to answer? That's fine. We can wait for the police to come. And then you can explain to them what you are doing in my home?!" I yelled. What?! I wasn't exactly going to say that it's the home of rookie K-Pop idols, now was I?

He sped towards me quickly. Before I had time to realise what he was going to do, he had already pinned me against the wall. My spine had hit the wooden door frame. The amount of force he put into slamming me against it almost felt as though he had broken and shattered my spine. Hand at my neck, tightening with every second that passed. The other snaked around my right wrist, holding it above my head, restricting my movement. I held the hand that was wrapped around my neck with my free hand in an attempt to remove it so that he couldn't choke me.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in my apartment?" asked the stranger with curiosity. The top half of his face was covered by his hoodie.

I could see his lips. They had turned up into a sneer as though he was going to take pleasure in murdering me or whatever else he was going to do to me.

"Your apartment?!" I retorted. "Wah! Jinjja! Just because you've walked in here doesn't automatically make it your apartment!!" I bellowed.

"Answer me! What are you doing here?" he said with determination, hand wrapping tighter around my neck, making it almost impossible for me to breathe.

"I'd be happy to explain if you'd let go." I croaked. He pressed against my throat harder, cutting off my air supply. I started to struggle to breathe. "Please. You're hurting me," was all I managed to choke out.

He scoffed. "You've got some nerve. Coming into my apartment and then acting like it's yours. Now for the last time... who... are... you... and what...are... you doing here?" he repeated through gritted teeth.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the apartment door swing open and saw a familiar figure. Hakyeon. My saviour. "H...EL...P..." I breathed out with what little breath I had left.