𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 ; 𝚑𝚊𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗

29

The image of the dark figure from her dreams couldn't leave her mind.

She zoned in and out as she fixed her make up in the mirror, quickly putting her cosmetics back into her bag.
"Shit did I take too long?"

The bathroom at the cafe was located at the back, near a door that led to an alley behind the building.

Hyewon quickly made her way back to where Jaemin and Jisung were when she felt the back door open.

Her hand reached into her bag, looking for some sort of weapon, but before she could do anything, the person walked right past her.

A feeling of relief washed past her as she exhaled and retracted her hand.
"Stop overthinking Hyewon."

She continued along the hallway, not expecting a hand to grab onto her forearm. It didn't register into her mind until several moments later.

Her heart skipped a beat while she slowly turned behind, coming face to face with a man who wore a mask and his cap covering his eyes.

His whole outfits only consisted of the colours black, making her mind flash back to her dreams as she was reminded of the tall dark figure.

It would usually take a few seconds to get any of her attackers in her hold and onto the ground, but this time she had anxiety built up in her, causing her to freeze.

"Shut up and follow me," the man spoke, quickly pulling Hyewon towards the back door.

She resisted as hard as she could, trying to scream for help but only panicked whimpers came out of her mouth.

The more she tried to pull away, the harder his grip was.
She shut her eyes, attempting to stop her tears from coming out, wanting to regain her composure.

Suddenly she felt the man's grip being taken off of her, along with the sound of knuckles cracking across his face.

Hyewon backed away a little, opening her eyes to see the man on the floor, his cap flung away.
"Min Kyung?!"

Donghyuck stretched his arm, eyeing the dude he just punched. "Oh you're that guy from the other day."

Min Kyung glared at him, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth as he watched Donghyuck step in front of him.

He pulled out his gun, pointing it at Min Kyung's head, making the boy freeze.
"Are you going to leave or are we going to have a problem here?"

Min Kyung clicked his tongue, scrambling to his feet and striding to the door.

He glowered at the both of them before going out of their view, trying to cover the fact that he was trembling a little after being held at gun point.

He turned back to Hyewon. "You alright?"

"Yea thanks."

He sighed, watching her rub her arm where he grabbed her.
"You could've screamed or fight back or something."

"Shut up I know," she mumbled, wondering why Min Kyung showed up so suddenly. Donghyuck had already started walking away while she was deep in thought. "Are you not coming?"

"Oh."

Hyewon picked up her bag that was still on the floor and followed him.

They walked past the two who were still bickering. "Hey Donghyuck where are y'all going you just got here?"

"I'm not hungry anymore."

_

She was in Donghyuck's car again with the same silence lingering the air. They zoomed past cars as he stepped on the exhilarator. "Where are we going?"

He didn't answer her or even spare her a glance, his eyes focused on the road ahead. Hyewon diverted her attention away from him and onto the view outside.

The calming scenery of the sunset was not enough to calm her nerves, the lump in her throat still present from what happened back at the cafe. Her mind went places as to why Min Kyung was trying to take her with him.

"Hyewon."
"Huh?"

Donghyuck finally looked at her after what seemed like a very long time. "Stop thinking about it Princess."

She silently nodded as the car came to a stop. She scanned the surroundings, not sure why they were here but Donghyuck exited the car before she could ask him anything.

Stepping out, Hyewon decided to just follow him without saying anything, watching as he got a bag out of his trunk.

They walked past rows of moss covered stones, the words engraved on them already starting to fade. The state of the graves obviously showed that no one bothered to tend to them.

However, the one the duo stopped in front of was significantly different from the rest - you could tell that it was cleaned daily and the words could be read clearly.

✾
Lee Ae Shin
Born 1976 - Died 2014
Always in our loving memories

Her heart clenched in pity as he got out a cloth and started to wipe off dust and mud that was probably splashed after the rain.

Stripping away his threatening demeanour and harsh way with words, all she could see right now was a loving son continuing to take care for his mother even after she passed. "Donghyuck-"

"You sound a lot like her," he said, not yet tearing his eyes away from his mother. Hyewon figured that was probably why he let her call him Donghyuck despite them not being close.

"It was hard without her around at first. Every single thing triggered some kind of trauma in me and it was difficult to get through my days, but i finally accepted the fact that she wasn't around anymore and just remembered the good times I had with her."

He started to put his things back into the bag, slinging it over his shoulder as he stood up. "I'm just trying to say that I hope you can come to a closure with your parents and whatever guilt you have. I'm sure it's hard for you with the nightmares and all."

Hyewon didn't know what to say. She didn't think she'd have a conversation like this with anyone, let alone with the boy who was standing in front of her.
For the first time in a long time, she felt some kind of comfort and acceptance.

"Thank you Donghyuck I really appreciate it."

He averted his gaze, feeling flustered from the genuine smile she was giving him.
"U-uh I'm not saying this because I care or anything. Just that y-you can't be distracted while we try to catch this stupid killer."

She chuckled at his stuttering. "Mhm I'm sure."

"W-whatever let's go." He strided towards the gates of the grave yard, leaving Hyewon to catch up to him.

"Hey wait for me!"