[Book #1 of the 'Lover Boy' series]
"Who did this to you?" Ni-ki asks, his eyes darkening. Ria tries to close the door, the boy blocking it with his foot.
"Go home, Ni-ki." She says quietly, letting out a tired sigh. Ni-ki shakes his head, pushing...
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Chapter Ten
Meanwhile..
[right after Ria left]
"Ni-ki was that really necessary?" Jay asks as he steps in front of Ni-ki, frowning at the boy. Ni-ki waves a hand at the people around him, turning away from the group. The anger that had filled him earlier was now visibly gone, his eyes now holding an unimaginable sadness.
"Whatever." He mumbles, walking in the opposite direction of Ria. The group look after him, each of them feeling helpless.
They all knew that Ria was mad at them too but all they wanted was to fix what was between her and Ni-ki, no matter what it took.
"We need to fix this." Sunoo says, his eyes still focused on the spot where Ni-ki had stood. Jungwon claps his hands, earning their attention.
"Okay, Sunoo and I will go find Ria. Jake and Heeseung, you'll go find Ni-ki. Jay and Soomin do you guys think you can get rid of these pictures?" Jungwon instructs, bumping his fist with Jake as he and Heeseung go in the direction that Ni-ki had gone in. Jay and Soomin immediately start tearing pictures off the wall, shouting at a few other kids in the hallway for help. Jungwon and Sunoo break into a slow jog, not fully knowing where Ria could be right now. The pair stop when they get outside, looking around to see if anything can give them a clue.
"Her aunt would still be home, so she couldn't go home. And there's no way she would go to Yuna's place.." Sunoo mumbles as he tries to think of his friends routine, both of them coming to a conclusion.
"The arcade!" They say at the same time, breaking into a slow jog again. There was only one way that she could have gone, the boys looking down every side street that they pass. Finally, Sunoo spots a familiar shape lying on the road a short distance away.
"Shit." Sunoo says, taking off running down the road. Jungwon follows closely behind him, his stomach dropping as he recognizes Ria's school bag. She wasn't moving, and she had zero reaction to the sound of them approaching.
"Ria!" Jungwon shouts as they approach the unconscious girl, her uniform bloodied and disheveled. There's a large cut on her cheek, her eye swollen shut with the bruise.
"I bet I know who did this." Sunoo says, ever so gently brushing Ria's hair away from her bloodied and beaten face. She was clutching her left arm close to her chest, her breathing ragged.
"We need to get her to the hospital, now." Jungwon says, lifting the girl into his arms. He looks around as Sunoo grabs her bag, nodding his head towards the security camera that sat outside of a shop nearby.
