You're My Target

Chapter 37

Troy sat in his kitchen at his table. he hung his head over a bowl of cereal. he ran his hand through his hair roughly. while he ate hwayoung tenderly walked down the hall and looked around the corner at him.

"why are you still here." troy said aggrivated.

"troy, i.." hwayoung started to speak.

"you take off on everyone, make us all worry. you accuse me of whatever nonsense your over active imagination comes up with. then you have to ask questions about people you shouldn't ask about." troy ranted as he threw his spoon down into his cereal.

"im sorry, troy i didnt know it was...." hwayoung again tried to explain herself."

"you didnt know it would make me react this way, well then maybe you shouldnt be spying on people and chasing rumors." he yelled loudly. "i feel like jiyeon now, saying all this."

"im sorry if i brought up something i shouldnt have. but do you really think im going to change my mind after you say that?" hwayoung said defiantly, but with sadness. troy looked into her glassy eyes. "if my own friends, who are like sisters to me, cant change my mind, then what makes you think you're so special troy?"

"nothing. i never said i was special. im not special. but that doesnt mean youre right about any of this either." troy argued back.

"maybe. maybe not." hwayoung said, getting choked up.

"just tell me. enough of the games." troy said jumping from his seat. he approached Hwayoung aggressively. Hwayoung backed up as troy moved in on her. "stop saying all these things. having all these suspicions, and then when confronted run around them and say things like 'o i have a feeling and there is something different about you troy'" mocking her voice. "tell me now." troy stood up to her, his face was up to hers. she avoided eye contact with him.

"youre not just a normal high school guy." she said softly.

"thats not good enough." he said leaning his head trying to get her to look at him.

"and your friend, mou... Boram said she saw him before, back when she first started talking to you." hwayoung said, her voice was getting more confident.

"oh so, boram is suspicious of me too?" troy said sarcastically.

"areum knew you." hwayoung said and finally looking at him.

"so you think im like her then? is that it?" troy shrugged. wanting to laugh condescendingly at her.

"well how did she know you then?" hwayoung demanded.

"you know what, when i find out, you'll be the first person i tell." troy smirked as he poked her in the forehead with his finger.

"you can be a real jerk." she said swatting his finger away.

"only when i have to be." he replied, he walked back toward the kitchen table. "im not like areum. i dont know areum. i have nothing in common with areum. im not hiding any secrets. im not the key to unlocking the truth to your devil man mystery. im just troy. i came here to play hockey. which by the way i am upset i cant anymore. i go to school. i come home. i do my homework. when im late, i get scolded. just like all of you. im normal. im just me."he plopped back down in his chair."and if i was anything else, what would be stopping me from stopping you from pursuing your 'investigation' of me any further?" troy said peering up at her.

"was that some kind of a threat?" she asked him hesitantly.

"yea, because im so threatening." troy scoffed. "me, who still gets nervous whenever hes around his girlfriend."

"you handled Jun and his friends that day. pretty easily i might add." hwayoung said one-upping him.

troy took a spoonful of cereal. it was soggy, and he put it back down."why do this to yourself. to your friends?" he asked her.

"why does everyone not want to know what really happened that day?" hwayoung said. she started towards the door.

"hwayoung youre just .. going in circles." he said to her as she walked by.

"yea because everyone wants me to." she said stopping, before opening the door. she put one foot out and paused.

"oh. look. It's troy's friend from back home... just so happened to be in town again." hwayoung said sassily.

"is everything ok?" a voice asked her. Troy leaned over to see who she was talking to.

"fine. i was just leaving." she said. "see you later troy."

after hwayoung left, Mou came in.

"another potential candidate?" mou asked troy as he stepped inside.

"you could say that." Troy said "what are you doing here, spying on me?"

"what you think i was just hanging outside your door this whole time? relax, i just got here." mou said trying to calm troy down.

"well stop just showing up randomly. i thought we talked about this last time. people are getting suspicious." troy told him.

"you mean like that cute little ball of spunk that just strolled out of here?" mou smirked. "she isnt the same girl you had over last time. you heart breaker."

"im being serious. no more showing up here without a heads up first, Mou." troy said sternly.

"sorry troy, but you dont get to order me around." mou snapped back.

"fine then, blow everything we've worked for because of your ego." troy shrugged.

"hey, you put me in this position. i let you roam free when we first got rolling here but you didnt check in with me andi had to track you down." mou said pointing his finger at troy.

"we can do the he said she said thing all day. the fact remains right now it would be best if you didnt show up uninvited. you can call and whatever but no more random visits." troy argued with him.

"fine. if my showing up is that big of a deal i wont. but you have to tell me who we should be wary of." mou asked him.

"just everyone. we cant just shrug it off anymore. the whole 'no one is gona believe the high schoolers with over active imaginations' routine forever. it just isnt gona cut it if we take ignorance for granted. people are starting to, question recent events." troy explained.

"hmm alright then. maybe we were getting too comfortable. we'll keep it low key." Mou said agreeing with troy.

"why are we being so secretive about all this? like, with everything thats goin on, what we've seen. isnt it going to come out sooner or later... cant we just be open with them?" troy asked mou.

"where is all this coming from all of a sudden?" mou countered troys question with one of his own.

"ive just had, too much time to think about this whole plan. and i dont know it just seems...." troy tried to explain but mou cut him off.

"yea, i agree. so stop overthinking. dont lose sight of it all now." mou said putting his hand on troys shoulder.

"that girl i was telling you about, Areum. she knows about elementians. she claims to be from the east, though." troy told him.

"that country is still unfamiliar to us. unfamiliar to the people here too. so it's possible they could know of elementians there." mou pondered.

"she said anyone can be an elementian. that long ago they came up with an idea to kept he power a secret. only letting certain people use it. the others were never made aware of what was inside them." troy confessed.

"so that means you or i could be an elementian." mou laughed at the claims.

"do you think its possible?" troy asked conerned.

"hey, anything is possible i guess. but i think if we were, we would have noticed by now. i mean, our tracers and scanners arent indicating any power flowing from our bodies." mou said. troy nodded.

"but this girl, elementian or not, we have to watch her. she's from the east so." troy suggested.

"i agree totally. 100%. she obviously is well informed. and she could be a spy..." mou thought. "no one would suspect her being a spy if she just came out and used the old 'im just a friendly refugee from a war torn country' excuse. unless you were a spy yourself of course." he winked at troy.

"i guess you have a point." troy shrugged.

"ill be keeping my eye on those girls too. the cute one who was just here. the quiet one from the other day. hyomin was her name wasnt it?" he asked.

"if you really feel like you have to." troy said.

"well if we're at the point where its a bad move for me to be seen with you so much then its to the point where we have to start paying attention to those paying attention to us." mou explained. "i mean you just told me you didnt want me around cause they were getting suspicious." troy couldnt argue with mou about that."i'll be in touch." mou said as he got up from troys table.

"ok." troy nodded. troy paced around his kitchen for awhile after Mou left. his mind raced through everything that was going on. mou saying he will keep tabs on hyomin and hwayoung. how would that work? what does it entail? the weird feeling he gets from Areum. his relationship with soyeon. Evan....at that moment he stopped pacing and turned around to get his phone. he called soyeon. She didnt answer, her phone went to voice mail.
"uhm, Hey it's me Troy. i just called to say hello, and to hear your voice. i guess you're still asleep though. Hwayoung was here not long ago. we talked for awhile but she already left. so shes safe. ill talk to you later." he said into the phone before hanging it up softly.