Wicked Fate

TWENTYFIFTH CHAPTER

The Boy

Somewhere in her mind, Dara knew that she was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Her whole body felt hot and movements around her were swirling in her mind until an eerily recognizable picture came to her focus – a scene from somewhere she had sometimes dreamed of often.

Slowly and as she expected, the picture was not a picture she was staring at anymore but a picture she was in.

"I don't think you should be doing that" a voice came from behind her and she flinched at the familiarity of it.

"Doing what?" another voice said as she remained bent down, struggling to lift her head to finally see who was speaking.

"Messing around with her" that same familiar and reassuring voice answered and finally light came in and Dara saw that it was Ji Yong – not the doctor but the young man in uniform who was not looking at her but at somebody right above her.

"She asked for it" Bang Chul Min, one of the bullies from her year answered edgily as his hand continued to apply painful pressure to her arm, uncaring that Ji Yong, who was the notorious senior that had bombed the Science Laboratory, was the one asking him.

"I didn't see it that way" Ji Yong answered, walking nearer towards Chul Min and his group despite being on his own.

Standing his ground, Dara felt Chul Min's hold on her arm tighten but what surprised her more was to find herself in uniform.

Her dream had taken her to that day then... that day when...

"If you're thinking I'm afraid of you" Chul Min started "You're dead wrong."

"I'm not thinking anything at all" Ji Yong answered as he had gotten so near that he was only a few feet away now from Chul Min "Except that maybe you should let her go."

"And why is that?"

"Coz it would not be good for you" Ji Yong answered and with very quick movements, landed a fist at Chul Min's face, who staggered to the floor and unwillingly loosened his hold on Dara's arm.

Chul Min's friends immediately assisted him up but no one dared go near Ji Yong who was holding Dara by the shoulders now.

"Are you ok?" Ji Yong asked her and still unable to grasp or decide whether she was dreaming or not because it all felt too real, she was not immediately able to answer.

Scuffles from behind Ji Yong made her look up to see Chul Min running to take a dig at Ji and as her eyes widened in horror, the older guy had already turned as quick as a door knob and landed another fist in Chul Min's face. "I told you it won't be good for you" Ji told the younger man again "but I don't think you're really getting what I'm saying."

"What the hell are you standing there for?!?" Chul Min, his lip now bleeding, shouted to his friends.

"That's Ji Yong-sunbae man, we can't touch him" one of the other guys, Hanteuk answered shakily.

"What the –"

"You should listen to your friends coz they seem to know better than you" Ji answered and looked directly at Hanteuk "Take him home and make sure that I don't catch him or any of you trying to hurt a girl again or I'll hang all of you on top of the school building like what I did to Sungwa."

"Sorry sunbae" Hanteuk answered, helping his friend up who was raring to give a go at Ji again "Stop it man! You can't touch Ji-sunbae" he repeated to his friend and handed him to some other friends of his and explained to Ji Yong "Chul Min just transferred last week and he really doesn't know you sunbae. It won't happen again. Sorry Dara-ssi. We were trying to stop him."