[Hellion Brothers: Book #1] Hellion Brothers

3: A New Friend

With the wolf pin in hand, I stood by the 5th floor staircase with heart pounding. It was deafeningly silent, and the surroundings looked creepy. The whole floor wasn't even painted and electric wires dangled here and there, as if they gave up building this place even before reaching the last floor. It was perfect for a gang's meeting place, just like what Nurse Min said.

Actually, I could've just handed the pin to her since she always sees them but strangely, she wanted me to hand it to them myself. She kept on insisting that they wouldn't do anything to me, especially when they're in a good mood. But what if they weren't in a good mood?

I rubbed my temples in frustration. It's already been an hour after classes ended and it's almost sundown, but those "Hellion Brothers" still haven't appeared in their "usual meeting place." Ah, forget it. I could just leave it here for them to see.

Male voices suddenly echoed from the staircase. Holy cow. Panicking at the last moment like a chicken on fire, I entered an empty space behind a wall and stayed as quiet as possible. I secretly looked at them as they passed by, and heck, there were a lot of them. I was surprised to see that blonde guy that made me transfer seats. For some reason, my fear suddenly lessened. Well, if he's really that nice, then maybe I have a lesser chance of getting hurt, right? And so, I took a deep breath and finally went out.

I followed their voices coming from the largest room at the very end. They were laughing and teasing each other, oblivious of me slowly approaching them while seemingly glued to the wall. When I was just beside the doorway, my shoe crunched against the sand and they suddenly fell silent.

"Who's there?" someone called out. Biting my lip, I finally showed myself and bowed.

"A-annyeonghaseyo, I just wanted to return something that you misplaced." I held out the pin without letting go of the bowing position. I heard someone step forward and take the item from me.

"My pin... I didn't even realize I lost it." I was too nervous to even look up to see who it was. I quickly turned around to dash, but he caught my arm. "What's your name?"

"U-um...," I choked on my own tongue as I came face to face with the handsome boy. He was slightly smiling though I was acting rude. "Ch-cha Maeji..."

He laughed at my stuttering, "You don't have to be scared. Here," he took my hand and shook it. "I'm Kai. Nice meeting you, Maeji-sshi. Thanks for returning my pin."

"My cheek suddenly caught his attention, "Ah, what's that? You have a scratch on your face!" 

"Did you see anything else?" Tao, who was with the others at the back of the room, suddenly asked with narrowed eyes.

"A-aniyo, that was all I saw." The others, aside from the blonde boy who seemed to recognize me, kept on staring at me in curiosity. I noticed that they were different from each other, one even had rainbow hair, but undeniably handsome.

"I'm sorry, but I really have to go now. I'm sorry for bothering all of you."

"Do you want us to walk you home? It's almost dark and it's dangerous."

"Ah, don't bother yourselves. My house isn't that far anyway." I forced out a smile, bowed, and left. Fortunately, Kai didn't try to stop me anymore, but they stayed silent even until I have reached the stairs. I ran as fast as possible. Though they didn't do anything intimidating, there was something odd in the air around them. Now I understand why the other students want to stay away when even just one of them was around.

After getting out of the campus, I was finally able to breathe. The streets were already empty and quiet, and it felt strange. Maybe I wasn't just used to it because back in the city, the later the hour is, the livelier the streets become. In here, though, I was far from that type of life.

After a while of walking, several motorcycles drove past. I thought they were just normal motorists, until they turned around and parked right in my path. Five large tattooed men got off and started walking towards me. I was starting to regret that I refused Kai's offer.

"Yah, miss, you look lonely tonight, huh?"

"Ooh, a uniform. I've always liked fresh school girls." Another said while licking his lips.

"Please don't hurt me," I gulped and slowly backed away. But of course, they didn't listen and continued closing in on me while laughing maniacally. The largest man was about to grab me, but he was suddenly kicked to the side and came crashing into a lamp post. I looked up to see who it was that saved me.

"See? I told you it's dangerous." 

It was Kai.

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