I Need You | Seonghwa

13

"You're the one behind all these 'accidents' and attacks, aren't you?"

Haerin's eyes widen when she hears these words leave San. "That's not true! I could never hurt them so badly," she blurts, pupils shaking.

"I'm certain it's you! You're not exactly good at hiding it and you keep saying and doing creepy things every time you're around Seonghwa. I'm reporting you, I don't care what you say," San argues back. He opens his phone and rushes to the calling app, ready to dial the number of the police. 

Seonghwa shuffles further away in his seat as Haerin slowly inches closer. To his confusion, she doesn't get any closer to Seonghwa, but only to San.

She begins to whisper so quietly, that even Seonghwa struggles to hear her despite being so close.

"There's no evidence. This case will go nowhere unless they find the evidence to keep it going."

The three men's eyes shoot to her face and she ignores their horrified expressions as she pulls back.

"This doesn't mean I'm admitting to anything. All the 'creepy things' you claim I do are just my way of showing how much I care for Seonghwa. I care for him more deeply than anyone would understand," she describes with an eerie calmness.

Seonghwa flinches when she glances and smirks at him.

"Let's get away from this creep before she hurts us too. We should visit Wooyoung and get more details from him. If anything happens to me, we'll be certain that she's the culprit," San spits, glaring daggers into Haerin with each and every word.

"Seonghwa? Don't let San brainwash you! Let's study together when you're back from the hospital," Haerin sweetly sings. Seonghwa's mind runs with excuses, but none seem good enough.

He can't deny it any longer. He feels incredibly unsafe around her and knows that she's capable of hurting anyone she wants. Simply being in the same area as her makes his heart beat rapidly and palms grow sweaty.

"I can't tonight but maybe another time," he offers with a smile, now feeling the danger of everything. He feels as though he should watch his words more than ever now.

"That's alright. As long as you still like me, I'll be happy. But I do hope you can decide on if you want to date me quicker," she giggles. She waves him goodbye and scowls at the others before returning to her own table.

The boys leave the lounge and head in the direction of the hospital together, Seonghwa deep in thought. 

Contrary to what Haerin believes, Seonghwa doesn't like her at all anymore. If it's true that she's the one who caused all these injuries to his friends, then he's confident that he hates her. But at this point he's way too terrified to admit to her that he would never date her in a billion years.

He wracks his brain for a way for there to be enough evidence to have this case investigated. He supposes that it'll depend on the severity and condition of Wooyoung's injury. He can only hope his friend is okay.

"That girl was Haerin, right? Everything you described to me seems to match her pretty well," Hongjoong utters. Seonghwa lifts his head from staring at the pavement and nods.

Hongjoong wraps his arm around Seonghwa's shoulder from the side in a comforting manner, but to Seonghwa it has the effect of anything but. He ignores the way his heart pounds in his chest at their proximity. Except this time, it's not accompanied by nausea. His heart flutters.

"You could see how insane she is?" Seonghwa whispers, resulting in both of the men chuckling. "I think you should still report her though. They could easily call Yunho and Yeosang's incidences natural or coincidences, but Wooyoung mentioned that he was at home and that someone broke in. That isn't something the police can ignore," Hongjoong whispers, growing more conscious of the other people walking around.

Seonghwa sighs and hangs his head down wearily. "You're right, I'll try reporting her after we meet Wooyoung."

They arrive at the hospital, meet up with Yunho, and find Wooyoung in a bed. "I was low on blood so I'm here for that reason. Oh, and the fact that all my fingers got chopped off," he nonchalantly explains.

All three men gasp and their gazes travel straight down to Wooyoung's hand. It's completely covered in bandages. 

"Someone came into my house last night, drugged me, and then I woke up without fingers on my left hand. The doctors said I was lucky and that they could reattach all my fingers so I just need to wait until it's okay again."

Seonghwa's stomach flips as Wooyoung describes more details about his injury, including how it felt and how his fingers looked on the ground beside his bed.

"She's seriously messed up," San whispers to himself. "You suspect Haerin too?" Wooyoung asks San.

"I called the police about this as soon as I got the chance but they said they couldn't find enough clues. We need a lot more evidence if we're going to get her arrested for this," Wooyoung elaborates.

The mood in the room deflates at this realisation. Seonghwa turns to San and anxiety hits him like a truck.

"San...you might be in danger then. You suspected her to her face," he worries. Wooyoung raises an eyebrow and everyone in the room looks at him with fear.

San only offers a small smile. "I'll be fine, she wouldn't do anything now that we suspect her," he dismisses.

"I still don't trust her. I'm staying over at yours tonight to keep an eye on you," Seonghwa announces. "I'll stay too."

Seonghwa whips his head around to Hongjoong, who also offers to stay over. He feels guilt chase him when he feels his heart skip a beat. He needs to focus.

"This isn't really necessary but sure," San rolls his eyes playfully.

"We should go to our next class now," San suggests. "I don't know if class should be our priority right now..." Seonghwa worries.

"There's not much else to do, is there? Let's just live our lives normally as much as we can," San beams.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong share a glance before finally agreeing and returning to their campus with San for their last class of the day.