second lead. | 정원

chapter 48.

xlviii.

Jungwon was walking aimlessly. He informed his mother and sister that he would go around exploring the mall while waiting for them to shop. He had not received any messages or calls even though he told them to phone him once they were done.

Jungwon was on the second floor and the girls were on the seventh. The male contemplated whether or not to go back to them after walking around continually for two hours. The boy approached the elevator and pressed a button, tapping his foot to the mall's tune as he waited.

His eyes wandered around before stopping at a store not too far away. It was filled with different kinds of hats and he wondered why he didn't spot this sooner. He had always wanted a beanie, it looked cool in photos and he wished to own one too.

Ditching the now opened elevator, Yang Jungwon went inside the store eyeing the hats that were displayed on the shelf. He admired all of them before going to the beanie section. Unfortunately, the choices of colors were too vibrant for his taste, and the only one that wasn't hurting his eyes were the black ones.

There were two options: a plain black beanie or the one with loser-lover writing embroidered on the front. Jungwon had his eyes set on the latter when he first saw it and he was about to take it until another hand snatched it first.

"I got the last one!" A feminine voice exclaimed as she waved the object towards a group of girls waiting outside the store.

The boy turned to look at the person, being met with a girl (probably around his age or younger) as she had her hair tied in a ponytail, a few strands framing her face. The girl giggled before averting her eyes towards Jungwon, her expression immediately switching into an unreadable one.

The girl looked away before walking toward the cashier to pay for the beanie, not sparing Yang Jungwon another glance as she approached her friends before leaving the area.

The male stood at the same spot, registering what happened a few seconds ago but he quickly shook his thoughts off. Jungwon ended up choosing the plain black beanie. It wasn't that bad, if he wanted to decorate it, he could just visit a nearby embroidery service.

He paid for the item before leaving the store and going back to the elevator he ditched. The doors soon opened and Jungwon stepped inside standing at the back corner. He waited by scrolling through his phone, not minding the people entering and leaving the medium-sized compartment.

Too emerged with his device, he did not notice a female entering the same elevator as she too, had her eyes glued on her phone trying to beat a solitaire game. Sooner or later only four passengers were left: Jungwon, her, and two others.

The two others left a few moments later, leaving the teenagers alone. The girl was located in front of Jungwon as her back was facing him. She quickly glanced at the monitor and realized her floor was arriving next. Mira exited once the doors opened, pausing her card game.

And that was when Yang Jungwon decided to look up, finding out he was on the sixth floor. He caught a glimpse of a female leaving the elevator but he only saw one-third of her figure. The automatic doors soon closed and he felt himself soaring higher.

Jungwon looked down through the glass. An event was being held on the ground floor but he didn't care too much about its content. The MC was announcing something to the audience that even he could hear from the loudspeakers. Finally reaching the seventh floor, the boy made his way to the store where he last saw his mother, only to find her not there anymore.

He peeked through the other stores at the entrances but none had the existence of a woman wearing a bright yellow dress. Mrs. Yang loved wearing eye-catching clothes. She said it would be easier to find her if they get lost.

That was a lie.

Jungwon sighed when he failed to find his mom or sister in the gigantic mall. He had sent them a message regarding their location, only to be ignored for fifteen minutes. What else was worse than to be left on read? Left on delivered.

The male went down a floor below using the escalator. He was about to call his sister, but his phone suddenly turned off before its logo appeared on the screen with a percentage bar below it. Automatic software update. Jungwon thought he had set it for tonight, so why was it updating now?

"Take me there."

An unknown voice spoke as he looked around. It sounded distant, but he heard it loud and clear. His eyes stopped at two men and a girl that was conversing at the corner, only a few people present.

The boy watched as the girl shook her head in response before taking a step back. From afar, it looked like she was getting hit on by two grown men or she was forced to do something she refused.

One thing Jungwon realized about the female was that she looked oddly familiar. His suspicions were proven right when she pointed to the left with a finger, allowing him to see her side profile as her mouth moved indicating she was talking to them.

The tall dudes stepped even closer to Jeon Mira and that was his turning point. Yang Jungwon swiftly approached her with wide steps (almost running) before grabbing her wrist and pulling her behind him. He stared down at the man in the eye even though his figure was smaller and shorter compared to the two foreign gentlemen in front of him.

"Don't disturb her," Jungwon ordered, although his demeanor was slowly dispersing from the intimidating aura they held. The two muscular men glanced at each other before looking back at Jungwon, "Excuse me?" There was an accent in the way they speak.

"Keep your distance, alright?" Aquarius boy spoke, looking over his shoulder and at Mira who was staring at him in surprise from his sudden appearance. "Is this the part where we run? Let's go—"

"No, wait, Jungwon!" Jeon Mira held him back by intertwining their arms together. She gestured towards the gentlemen, "These men are just asking for help since they couldn't speak Korean."