Behind the Mask

~Chapter 1~

It was the darkest night I had ever seen. Still, the streets were cram-filled, for it was Halloween.

Brightly coloured masks and quirky costumes were enlightening the street enough for me to be able to find my way home through the bustling city of Seoul, as it had been a terribly long night. I had spent the entire evening at a party I didn't want to attend, with people I barely knew. Fortunately, my friends had accompanied me in the beginning, but they had left hours ago, too tired to stay longer. And right now, more than anything, I wanted to take a long, hot, steamy shower and jump straight into bed, wrapped in my favourite pyjamas.

But of course, luck wasn't on my side.

I let out a small wince as I stepped onto some devil-cursed sewer cover and trapped my heel in one of its holes, hearing it crack harshly when it was torn apart from the leathered shoe. I pulled it out with a sigh, bending to my feet to tear the other heel as well and simply continued walking in my new flats, with nothing else on my mind but catching four hours of sleep tonight. It was more than I'd had all week, and to top it all, my whole body felt heavy and aching from the amount of time I spent walking this evening.
The residence I lived in along with the girls was purposefully situated in the less populated side of the city, completely opposite from the area the party had been held in. And today, out of all days, our driver had to leave town for personal matters, so we had to find our way back by ourselves. Still, I'd rather walk the entire way home than take a cab alone this late at night, dressed in the revealing dress I had chosen for the party.

I slowly dragged my feet along the crosswalk as I passed by yet another group of cheerful, restless people, when suddenly, a blinding light appeared from behind the corner of the street, making my eyes squint at the sudden brightness. As the light approached, I tried to give it a closer look, finding the way it moved somewhat strange. It didn't seem like a flashlight, or anything similar carried by the party people. This light was nearing fast, way faster than any person could run carrying it.

It took me a while to understand the fact that the light was attached to two pairs of wheels.

A car was speeding towards me and the driver seemed to be typing away on his phone, paying no attention to the road ahead of him.
It surprised me to see how calmly I accepted that, within seconds, I would get hit by the vehicle. There was no chance I could move away in time to avoid the collision, not with the pitiful state I currently was in. These feet wouldn't be doing any running for the next few days, at least.

As I counted for the moments I had left, eyes closed, breathing in and out slowly, I suddenly felt a strong force colliding with my body, pushing me from the street onto the pavement. At the impact, my skull hit the solid concrete with a thud.

Then everything around me mingled into chaos.

My vision melted into a blur. I heard a loud, screeching sound coming from somewhere near, and I saw the car wheels halt abruptly. Loud gasps and screaming errupted from the street as people powerlessly witnessed the accident unfold.

I felt dizzy from the sudden noise and motion around me and I closed my eyes, trying to stop the world from spinning. My head hurt horribly, but I didn't feel any blood when I touched my temples.
I took a deep breath, feeling a slight pressure on my rib cage, and I attempted to stand up, only to fall back down under the weight of something heavy clinging to my body.

Yet as fast as it all began, it also ended. People stayed a bit longer to make sure I was safe and conscious, but then carried on with their lives as if nothing had happened. The car driver also came in a rush and asked if I was hurt, but to my surprise, I didn't seem to be. After a few seconds, my head stopped pulsing, but the weird weight around my waist, that kept pulling me down, remained. Then, among the muffled sounds of the street, I heard the man saying something strange, that made me look up at him in confusion.

"I guess I'll leave you with the young man, then", he said. "I'm so glad you're alright, miss. And once again, I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience and fright I might have caused. Thank God he pulled you away in time." He bowed a little and then drove off, leaving me dumbfounded and overspilling with questions on the ground.

The driver mentioned a young man, who was he talking about, and why was I not hurt..? What the hell just happened here?!

I looked around myself, trying to bring some sense into the situation, only to discover something truly bizarre. A strong pair of arms was gripped tightly around my waist, their weight dragging me down whenever I tried to stand.

I looked confusedly at the fingers pressed against my hips, the fists tangled in the material of my dress, the slightly bruised wrists that had come into contact with the asphalt, and then I traced the shape of the arms that held onto me fiercely, finally seeing a boy fallen next to me on the ground. I wondered how come I hadn't noticed him before, but when I lifted my eyes to get a better look of his face, I was only met by a Halloween mask with the design of a tiger print that was covering it partly. And a pair of eyes behind it, that were closed shut after the fall. Having placed me on top of himself to keep me safe, most of the impact with the solid concrete affected him instead.

This boy's face seems really familiar, I thought. With his ebony hair so dark and his face so beautifully white, as if a bright aura shone around him.. he looked ethereal. He seemed as if he was sleeping, and for a second I worried he had lost consciousness, so I poked his side slightly, trying to get him to move.

"Mister? Are you okay?" I asked, praying that he'd talk back. My heart did a small flip of relief when he opened a pair of deep brown eyes.

He gave me a concerned look and asked if I was hurt. Taken slightly aback by the sound of his voice, I for some reason wasn't able to find my words, so I just shook my head to let him know I was alright. He nodded, obviously relieved.

"What's your name?"

"Jennie", I replied, with the last bit of dignity I could muster after staring at him for so long. He was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen up close, and I couldn't even see his entire face.

"It's nice to meet you, Jennie." He said, massaging his back a little, but still holding his hand out for me to shake. He looked like he was in a bit of pain, but was trying his best not to show it. I, on the other hand, just wanted to figure out why he was here at all.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

"Not yet", he shrugged, showing a tiny smile.

"Well then would you be so kind and tell me what happened? And why you're here in the first place?" I questioned, growing a little annoyed with his secrecy in spite of his stupidly good-looking face.

"Oh right, sorry. I don't know how much you can remember, but this car was approaching you really fast and you were just mindlessly sitting in the middle of the street, as if waiting for it to run you over, but you didn't look like you were ready to die just yet, so I pulled you away. And then we ended up here. I didn't know if we would actually make it, to be honest." He mumbled, only now realizing the danger he had put himself into for me.

"You pulled me away?", I repeated dumbly, finally able to look into his eyes. God, I could stare into those eyes forever...
I sighed, but then the realization of what I just said came rushing over me.

"You pulled me away", I repeated more steadily. "That car was coming too fast and I... I couldn't do anything. I just froze, and if it hadn't been for you, I could've been injured so badly tonight, I could have even lost my life! Thank you."

"Hey, it really is nothing. I'm just glad you're okay", he said, trying to brush the incident off.

I only then noticed that we were still sitting on the cold ground, and people were starting to cast us weird looks.

"Well I can't just let you leave after what you did. Can I at least buy you a drink or something?" I shrugged, trying to sound composed, but my rosy cheeks gave me away in an instant. What was it about this guy that was making me so flustered..?

"I'd be glad if you did. I guess we both deserve a little treat," he said, smiling coyly.

"Great! Let's go then."