≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

TWELVE | YOU MATTER TO ME

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

SANG-WOO THREW UP his forearms like an offensive lineman blocking a defensive back, but her attacker slipped to the side. He pushed the Sang-Woo's elbow down and away. Third of a second once contact was made, and Sang-Woo was slammed against the locker. The two other attackers approaching him too. Standing up she slowly got herself upright. Everything blurred for a minute, then came back into focus again. She inhaled some more and felt a little steadier.

Grabbing one of her hardbound books, she hit one of them hard on the head, so hard, he crumpled to the ground immediately. She didn't waste another second, and kicked the other in his diaphragm. At this, Sang-Woo was able to break free from his opponent's grasp and clipped him directly at his face.

Soo-Jin glanced to her right and saw two metal bars. Getting an idea, she snatched it. "Sang-Woo!"

He turned just in time to see her tossing the metal bar and he caught it with ease. The two of them then proceeded to attack the masked men with all of their might. She didn't notice that their backs were already facing each other as they try to defend themselves. It was then that Soo-Jin hit her rival's head that he dropped to the ground, unconscious. She turned her attention then to Sang-Woo who had just kicked his opponent as well when she saw the third swinging his arm to disorient her companion.

"Sang-Woo!" Without even thinking, she stepped in and let herself get struck in the face, feeling the smash of the man's knuckle reverbrate through her whole body. She grumbled, not comprehending what was then happening.

All she could remember after that was the lights suddenly came back on, her name was being called like a prayer, and Sang-Woo's worried countenance as he carried her in his arms.

WITH EVERY SWAT and pound of her metal bar, Soo-Jin searched for Minjun.

She was already panicking inside as she looked for the boy. Where are you, Minjun? Striking again another killer, she went back to the place where Deok-Su confronted her for that's where she last saw him. Reaching there, she saw nothing but only a streak of crimson on the white wall.

"Miss!"

She released a sigh of relief when she caught a glimpse of Minjun, but then furrowed her eyebrows when she noticed the blood in his hands. He swallowed. "It's not my blood, it's not mine. I tried saving -- "

But, Soo-Jin didn't let him finish and took his wrist, bringing him behind her. This time, she held him close to her. She had no plans of letting him go again.

Well, unfortunately, the other players want to.

Four of Deok-Su's goons including 212 arrived in front of her. Soo-Jin twirled the metal bar in her hands, ready to defend herself and the boy behind her. They were really determined to eliminate her.

Scowling, she waited for them to attack and as she predicted, they did. One of them lunged for her weapon, but Soo-Jin rolled her hands down and deflected him, snapping her stick up hard into the bottom of the man’s chin, popping his jaw like a rat trap. Soo-Jin then hit him in the Adams’ apple and the hooligan clutched at his throat, choking. His face turned bright red.

The other three tried to overpower her and they did. They successfully managed to make her ungrasp her weapon and strike her in her diaphragm. She doubled over and one of them struck her chin with their knee. Soo-Jin watched Minjun attempt to help her, but they pulled him away.

"No!" She shouted and using all of her strength pushed herself up. Her eyes widened when she saw them bring out the shattered bottle from earlier.

They were going to kill Minjun with it.

Just as she was about to tackle one of them, she saw someone enter the fight, striking one of them in the head with a metal bar. The newcomer continued to assault them relentlessly and eventually, Deok-Su's groupmates backed away.

"Soo-Jin!"

It was Sang-Woo.

He tossed her her metal stick and she caught it in the air, and forcing herself to fight again, she joined his side. Exchanging a glance, they nodded. Soo-Jin then swung first at their assailants and Sang-Woo followed shortly, smashing his weapon at one of them.

Soo-Jin couldn't keep up exactly what was occurring. All she knew was that Minjun was behind her and Sang-Woo, defending himself too. He was safe as long as he was with them. The former lovers worked together as they battled their way back to Gi-Hun's area.

Just as Minjun was about to jump down from the stairs to get to the foreign man, Soo-Jin and Sang-Woo caught sight of another player about to hit him. The woman was about to step in when her ex beat her to it. He let himself be clipped both in his solar plexus and cheek. She winced when she saw how hard the punch was. It tore a very small portion of his skin open, and blood oozed out from it.

Feeling someone behind her, Soo-Jin swiped her weapon, but then paused, the metal bar stopping so close at their temple.

It was the shrieking woman. Player 212.

She raised her hands in the air in immediate surrender. "I don't want to fight you!"

Glowering, Soo-Jin replied, "You really shouldn't. Go... before I change my mind."

Player 212 scrambled away and Soo-Jin retracted her attention to Sang-Woo and Minjun. The two safely got to the bottom of the stairs where the rest of their group waited and Soo-Jin rushed as well when she caught sight of Sae-Byeok running to them.

That's when she saw Deok-Su once again.

Gi-Hun unhesitatingly pushed Sae-Byeok to the floor and confronted 101 to protect her. Her bestfriend attempted to tackle him, but instead they bumped against each other. The young stepped up and booted Deok-Su's side, but another player shattered their soda bottle on her head, causing her to yell in pain. Minjun finally got to his senses and used his fists to strike her attacker. Soo-Jin got down from the platform and with all of her might, hit the head of the man.

The lights were still flashing, but the brunette was alert. Sang-Woo and Soo-Jin together protected Minjun and Sae-Byeok just as the foreign man emerged with a long iron beam, swinging it at their enemies.

"Hey, Ssangmun-dong, what are you doing?" taunted Deok-Su, his face dripping with blood. "We’re just helping cull the herd. That bitch," he pointed his knife to Soo-Jin and then to Sae-Byeok, laughing crazily. "and that one is ours to kill."

"They’re our teammates, you got that?"

Deok-Su sneered. "Teammate?"

"All of you, stop this!" bellowed someone from the top of the beds. "I’m scared!"

Soo-Jin swept her gaze up to see the old man begging for everyone to stop. It broke her heart to see him pleading. "We are all gonna die in here! Everyone, every single one of us is going to die! Please! I’m so scared! Stop this madness! If you keep this going, then we’re all going to die in here!"

As if on cue, the door alarms blared and guns were fired in the air. Soo-Jin immediately covered Minjun and Sae-Byeok's head, bringing them down. The guards had finally arrived to stop the bloodbath.

They aimed their rifles at the players, causing them to surrender and put their head behind their heads.

"Drop your weapon."

The woman gently laid her weapon down and stood up with Minjun and Sae-Byeok.

"Turn around."

They did as they were told and the brunette released a breath, relieved that the massacre was over. The announcer began to enumerate the dead players to increase the prize. She then felt one of the guards pat her down to check if she had any other weapons in her. When she was alone, she felt another red-clad watcher stand behind her.

"Soo-Jin," mentioned the guard, his voice distorted. "Is there a man named Hwang In-ho here?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, remembering Jun-Ho was one of the guards. "We don’t use our names in this place." answered she. "I'll try my best to find him for you here."

"Thank you."

It wasn't long that they were left alone and Soo-Jin patted Minjun's shoulder. "Hey, kid, we're okay. We're safe now."

"Thank you once again, miss." he smiled, laying his head down on her shoulder. The woman felt his warmth very comforting and she wrapped him in a hug. What is a boy like him doing in a place like this? She wondered.

It was then that she felt someone tightly embrace her and it took her a second to know it was Gi-Hun. "I was so worried about you, Soo-Jin. You ran off just like that."

She smiled, wrapping her arms around him as well. "It'll take a whole lot more to kill a Chang Soo-Jin." She repeated what he said earlier. She then saw a blurry figure walk away, but didn't know who it was.

They all then sat down, just absorbing the shock of what just occurred. It didn't already surprise her that the others committed murder just to win. She knew sooner or later she herself was going to do it, but will she be able to?

For Hana, you will.

She looked around to check each and every one of her teammates and noticed Sang-Woo wasn't around. Crossing her eyebrows, she turned her head to Sae-Byeok who jutted her chin to the far-away door. "He went to the bathroom."

Sighing, she left Minjun in the foreigner's care and proceeded to follow Sang-Woo to the bathroom.

As she opened the door, she saw him leaning closely to the mirror, shirtless, examining his wound. Not bothered by his bare-chested appearance, she walked over to him and placed her hands on his jaw to take a peek of his injury.

She then wordlessly took his shirt, which was hanging on other sink, and soaked a small portion of it. "Can we... you..." She croaked. "Just sit down on the floor, you giant."

He did what she ordered him, but not before mumbling, "It's not my fault you only grew enough to reach the middle shelf."

At that, she glared at him, and roughly dabbed the wet cloth at his wound, making him yelp.

She then knelt on the floor in front of him, wiping away the blood in his cheek. They were both silent, just observing each other and Soo-Jin was brought back to an evocation of memories.

Right after she and Sang-Woo were brought to the police to give a statement, she was given some medical attention, but she waved the first responders off. She just wanted them to focus on the student that was barely conscious. Relief then coursed through her when she saw cuffed assailants being ushered inside the police cars.

Cool breeze clung to her skin as she saw Sang-Woo jog towards her with an ice pack on his hand. They were both in the open park of the campus and he sat beside her on the bench. Lifting her chin with one finger, he tilted her head and gently dabbed the ice pack on her angry bruise.

She flinched, feeling the coldness seep through her skin. Shooting pain erupted from the bruised area and she gripped onto his wrist for support and comfort, hissing.

"Why did you get yourself into trouble?" he asked, lowly. His hands felt soft against her skin and he was patting the ice pack lightly. "Why did you intervene in that crime?"

"What was I supposed to do then? Keep quiet and let those people hurt that student?" She snapped, growing annoyed. "No, not happening, not even in a million years. I will not keep quiet when someone else is getting hurt."

"Even if it might kill you?"

Soo-Jin shrugged. "I'll survive. Somehow, I always do."

He sighed. "You shouldn't have stepped in though when I was about to get hit. You should've just stayed on your side. I could've handled that."

"Wow," She breathed, scoffing. The young brunette pushed his hand away from her. "Is this how you show your gratefulness? How hard is it to say 'Thank you for saving me, Soo-Jin'? Aish, men and their pride."

Sang-Woo closed his eyes, and set aside the cloth. He removed his glasses and wiped them clean before wearing it. "Look, I am very thankful for what you did, okay? It's just that... I don't like what happened to you."

"Well, deal with it." She retaliated, crossing her arms.

"Soo-Jin,"

"Yes?"

"Just be careful next time, okay?" He told her, grabbing the wet cloth again and dabbing it on her cheek. "I don't like you getting hurt."

Soo-Jin stared at him for a moment, observing how he would avoid her scrutinizing gaze. He ardently focused on her bruise, but she could feel him slightly tensing up. She started to notice the little things she hadn't noticed before like how his eyes were strong and soft at the same time. The woman didn't know why, but she felt something different. She was beginning to see him in a different view, like her perspective had changed... like she just didn't see him as a friend anymore.

"Why did you do it? Why did you help Minjun?" She softly questioned, her gentle fingers holding the cloth against his warm skin as her mind returned to the present.

He then turned his stare at her like she just grew a second head. "He was about to get hurt, Soo-Jin."

Soo-Jin swallowed. "You shouldn't have intervened."

"So, you want the kid to get hurt?"

"I just... I thought you were only playing for yourself."

"Soo-Jin," he mentioned her name, capturing her attention. There was something in his tone as if there was a struggle. She knew he didn't really like expressing his feelings. He liked keeping them to himself. That's why she always cherished the moments he opened up because she knew those were rare times. "You matter to me... and that means, everyone and everything you care about matters too."

"You let Gi-Hun almost die the previous game."

"I regret it."

Soo-Jin momentarily stopped treating his wound and dropped her hands to her lap. "I don't know if I can trust you, Sang-Woo. You just -- "

"I'll prove it."

The woman lifted her head and their eyes met. Both of them had words they wanted to say. It sat at the edge of their tongues, but all they could do was just look down and leant against each other's foreheads. They were each other's anchors in this madness and though, they don't say it, they were still deeply, madly, and truly in love with each other even after all those years.

"Why didn't we last, Soo-Jin?"

At this, the brunette didn't hold back in her answer, "We didn't work out because of your jealousy. You doubted me."

He moved away from her, his lips pursed tight. "I saw the two of you."

"He was comforting me."

"By embracing you? Holding your face so close to him?"

"That was just him comforting me, Sang-Woo. I was breaking down that time." calmly stated the brunette. "He's my bestfriend."

"Eun-Joo cheated on me with her... bestfriend, you know that. You know Gi-Hun always liked you more than a friend at that time."

Sang-Woo was afraid that Gi-Hun would suddenly take Soo-Jin away from him during that time. That's why he was always nervous whenever she and Gi-Hun were alone.

Soo-Jin scoffed. "Where were you when I needed you the most, Sang-Woo? When my world was falling apart? You weren't there." She shook her head, her eyes starting to rim with tears. "You were always busy. I know it was because your professors demanded too much. After all, we were almost graduating, but... I also needed you. Gi-Hun was there when I needed someone. He provided the comfort you couldn't give me that time."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." Sang-Woo cupped her face in his hands. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

"You doubted my love, my loyalty to you..."

He brought their foreheads together. "Let's start over again, Soo-Jin."

"I think this is a very bad timing for us to start over again, Sang-Woo. You and I can die anytime. We don't even know if we'll survive the next round."

"I'll do everything to keep us both alive."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Soo-Jin!"

The two retracted back from each other's touch, startled by the sudden presence. The woman swung her gaze to the door and saw Gi-Hun standing near it, his expression unreadable. Again, she saw a familiar glint in his eyes and recognized it as the one he had when he received the news about them being together. Heartbroken.

He swallowed, pointing his thumb to the back. "I... uh, I'm just going to go."

"No," refused both Sang-Woo and Soo-Jin, standing up. He was still shirtless and he took his shirt from his companion's hands. "We were just talking."

Gi-Hun pursed his lips as if he was biting his words. Then, he nodded. "The guards wants you two to return already."

At that, the former couple nodded and followed Gi-Hun closely. They didn't look at each other and instead just stared at the ground they were walking on. Getting emotionally attached at a time like this was dangerous, and Soo-Jin knew that. But, she couldn't help it.

That was going to be her mistake.