Role Model | Lee Taeyong

Ten ☻

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"DON'T GET INVOLVED IN SOMETHING YOU DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF"

Mark bites his lips, staring at the note that had suddenly appeared in his home. He didn't want to believe it was from her. It had only been an hour and she already knew. Maybe she had bugged his house and heard everything that he said out loud?

No, she didn't. If she did Mark would've noticed by now.

He really did consider backing down. It was obviously a threat, maybe against him or his family members. But at the same time, Narae would never hurt him psychically. Even if she was a serial killer on the loose.

And it seems he wasn't the only person to know that anymore, as the news spread around from who knows who and it's already on the local news. They had dubbed her the Note Killer, as she kept on leaving notes after every scene.

He also had a note. Did that mean that he would be the next murder victim?

I have to stop her before those stupid cops do. Mark thinks to himself. He wasn't a dumb boy, top of his class, to be exact. And he was proud to think that if anyone would be able to find her, it would be him. Maybe it was his ego talking, or he wasn't bluffing at all.

Mark had stopped by the school later in the day, where a crowd had already formed. He recognized some of his fellow students, watching on the sidelines as the teacher's dead body gets moved to the ambulance with a white sheet above it.

Unfortunately for him, nobody was allowed to even peek inside the crime scene. He quickly left the place after realizing he wouldn't be able to do anything there. The days went by where Mark sat in his bedroom, wasting his hours coming up with possible ways to catch her.

But each plan of his had a flaw that made it impossible to conduct. And he was close to giving up until a clue came right upon him, and he didn't even have to work for it.

Late in the night, Mark went out for a much-needed snack, as his mother was a total health nut and forbade any sort of junk food in the house. After grabbing a few snacks, he heads out of the store and walked by himself through the streets, humming along with random melodies to himself.

His hopes were already gone. He was always optimistic, and someone who tried their best at everything. But even this was out of his reach. Maybe he should've just left it to the detectives to take care of it.

"That was fucking close, Jaemin."

Just as Mark was about to head into another street he heard the voice of the girl who was always on his mind. His hand clasps over his mouth to muffle his breath as he places his back against the brick wall, listening to their conversation.

"Maybe if you didn't decide to spray paint those cop cars we wouldn't have been separated."

"Shut up, I almost got caught by them. You should be thankful I'm still here or else you would have to do the final kill instead of me."

The final kill? Mark had no idea what the two were talking about. But that wasn't even the part that confused him the most. She was working with Na Jaemin, the resident gangster at his school. That was far more shocking than her being a murderer.

"I know you missed me like crazy, babe." Mark takes a peep at the boy, who was winking at the girl. She was holding a cigarette in her mouth, her leather jacket covering her arms as the two of them leaned against a dumpster, smoking together.

Jealousy.

"I'm not your fucking babe, don't call me that." She spats at him, rolling her eyes before turning the other direction opposite to him. He only laughs. "Whatever, what do you want to talk about?"

"I want to kill that mentor that Taeyong had when he was still in high school. I want the next murder to hit him where it hurts." She says nonchalantly, taking another huff of her cancer stick before taking out another one to light.

"When?"

"Tomorrow. She works in the karate place, so she obviously knows how to fight. I'll add melatonin to her coffee, so she'll become weaker and more tired. When she's asleep, I'll slit her throat." She says.

Mark was contemplating what to do. His head was telling him to call the police. Obviously, that would be the correct thing to do in this situation. But on the other hand, he couldn't stop staring at her. She looked so pretty, so gorgeous, he couldn't look away even if he wanted to.

As he was admiring Narae, Mark didn't even notice the moment his can of soda slowly started to fall out of his plastic bag. But by the time he realized, the soda can had already fallen onto the floor and rolled onto the ground.

Shit. He thinks as Narae and Jaemin both perk up just as Mark turns his head, making them unable to see his face. He lets the bag fall to the floor as he does the first thing that comes to his mind.

Run.

It was smart because sooner or later Jaemin started chasing after him. And Jaemin was fast. He could probably beat the record of several famous racers. The chase was intense and every step Mark took matters because even one wrong step and he would be the next victim on the news.

Mark turns into a new alleyway as Jaemin traces after him, he quickly jumps the fence but not before Jaemin grabs ahold of his shoe. Jaemin's grip becomes tighter as he takes out his gun, getting ready to shoot Mark in the face.

In an instinct, Mark kicks back towards Jaemin, which kicks the gun out of his hand. Jaemin loses grip as the Canadian boy takes the chance to jump down and run away, but not before a couple of gunshots coming his way.

He didn't stop running. He couldn't feel any gunshot wounds on him, but then again he couldn't really feel anything because he had been running for his life (literally) just now.

He doesn't let himself stop running until he comes to his house, running inside and instantly locking the doors. He didn't think Jaemin or Narae saw his face. Because if they did, they would show up at his house right away and kill him.

Everything in Mark's body was telling him to hide. No, run. The note was right, if he got connected with this case he would probably end up dying sooner or later. But Mark couldn't stop himself, because what he heard them say made him want to become the hero in this story.

I have to stop her from committing that murder.