[ 22 ]

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO- TRY AGAIN━━━━┅━━━┅━━━━

( ⚠ THIS CHAPTER MAY BE SHOCKING TO SENSITIVE READERS. IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE INTENSE STUFF, MOVE ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER PLEASE ⚠ )

"You kissed her," Sunoo also blended into the conversation, "Did you mean it, or was all of that a big fat lie?"

Everyone was startled by Sunoo's sassy comment, causing everyone to turn their heads to Riki. All attention now focused on him.

Hyejin sobbed as tears began to form in her eyes again, which also rolled down her cheeks almost immediately. No one saw them, since it was raining hard and raindrops also rolled down her cheeks with them instead of just the tears.

Riki gulped and looked at the ground. Near his feet was a puddle of rainwater. In that puddle he could see his reflection. He looked at himself for a while before looking up again.

After 30 seconds, he still hadn't responded to Sunoo's question.

"What is it, Riki? Why are you so quiet?" Jay asked as his lips formed a smirk. "Why don't you dare to answer?"

"Probably because he didn't mean the kiss!" Jake said, knowing this would irritate Riki.

Jay and Jake were very much opposed to Riki at this point. They hadn't liked him since he arrived at school and especially not after he kissed her on the lips. Both in the gym and cafeteria.

Riki looked towards Jay and Jake, expressionless. "I did mean it-"

"Let's go Hyejin," Sunghoon interrupted Riki as he stood up and put an arm around Hyejin's shoulders, "Let's go to your favorite cafe."

Hyejin shook her head and took a step to the side, escaping from Sunghoon's arm.

Sunghoon looked the other way and gulped, knowing that his little idea was hopeless at this point.

"Why does everyone have to act like this!" Hyejin screamed out of nowhere, her voice echoing through the dark park which was still not lit and her tears rolling down her cheeks, "Why can't you all just let me live in peace? Why do you all put such enormous pressure on me?"

Everyone around her fell silent, never having seen such a Hyejin before.

Everyone knows her as the cold girl at school and when it comes to her family and sweet when it comes to her friends.

But no one knows this version of Hyejin.

Angry, upset.

Riki reached out to Hyejin and grabbed her wrist, "Hyejin, I will do anything for you, really-"

"Let go of me!" Hyejin screamed as she wriggled her wrist out of Riki's hand. "And leave me alone!"

Hyejin turned herself around and ran away, into the park, through the hard rain.

Thunder sounded.

Sunoo was startled as he covered his ears with his hands. Jungwon gave him a few pats on the back.

"I ruined everything," Riki began as he looked at his palm, with which he had just grabbed Hyejin's wrist.

There was a cut in it that was slowly bleeding. Hyejin had scraped along it with her nail.

Riki looked up. "And I'm going to make up for all the trouble."

Without anyone even having a chance to reply, Riki ran off as well. He disappeared in the same direction Hyejin went.

-

The further and longer she ran, the more exhausted she became.

She was almost at the end of the park, where the bus station was located across the busy road. That bus would allow her to go home, where she could take the rest she was craving extremely at the moment.

She panted and stopped running. She put her hands on her knees and took a few deep breaths in and out. The lights of the cars could already be seen through some of the trees.

She was close to her escape.

"Hyejin, wait!"

She quickly straightened up, turned herself around and saw Riki there coming running towards her from the dark.

Hyejin gulped and took a few steps backwards, trying to keep distance between the two of them.

"Please wait," Riki said as he stopped in his path, seeing that she was trying to create distance every time he took a step closer.

He sighed. He knew he had ruined everything.

"What do you want from me?" Hyejin asked as she crossed her arms, "You wish I had never met you, right?"

Riki gulped and bit his lower lip.

"Then go! Then go!" Hyejin shouted as her hands were clenched into a fist.

"No Hyejin, I'm not leaving. I'm not leaving until I've done the right thing. I need to apologize," Riki said as he quickly ran at her and grabbed her lower arm, without Hyejin being able to do anything at all. That's how fast he was.

Hyejin was startled by what he did and widened her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat.

"If you let me finish, we can make up between-"

Riki couldn't even finish his sentence or Hyejin was already trying to break free.

She pulled her lower arm out of Riki's strong grip with her other hand.

"I told you not to follow me!" Hyejin shouted as she finally got out of his grip and took a few steps backwards, "I want to be left alone!"

Hyejin turned herself around and ran away. After all, she was now close to her escape anyway. The bus stop could literally be seen already.

She looked over her shoulder as she ran, seeing that Riki was chasing her. Also running, but he was a lot faster than her. Hyejin quickened her footsteps and finally arrived at the busy road.

Riki stopped in his path, seeing how Hyejin crossed the busy road without even hesitating, running through all the cars.

Suddenly, a car's horn sounded loudly. Riki's eyes widened when he also heard the car's loud engine.

"Hyejin! Watch out!" Riki shouted, "HYEJIN!"

Hyejin heard the sound too, stopped in the middle of the road and saw on her right two large headlights of a car shining straight into her eyes, getting closer and closer with every second.

She heard Riki behind her yelling at her name. Hyejin looked back over her shoulder.

"HYEJIN! RUN! PLEASE HURRY-"

Bang...

Riki froze and his eyes widened when he saw that the car he heard was crashing into Hyejin.

Hyejin flew through the air, over the roof of that fast car and landed in the middle of the road a moment later.

She didn't move.

Riki ran towards her, not caring about the other cars on that road.

When he reached Hyejin's body, he collapsed on his knees and grabbed her hands.

In the middle of the road...

People across the street saw it happen and stood horrified by what had happened.

A bleeding girl who had been hit by a car and a boy who was on his knees next to it.

Riki looked at them angrily. "What are you standing there for! Call an ambulance! NOW!" He yelled at the strangers who were standing to shelter from the storm.

They all panicked hearing him yell to them.

Then he focused his attention back on Hyejin. He felt her pulse, seeing if there was still a heartbeat to be felt.

No...

Cars on the road formed traffic jams because of the accident.

Riki let tears roll down his cheeks and kissed Hyejin on her bleeding forehead. "Hang on, Hyejin. You can do this. You are strong," He whispered to Hyejin as a river of tears rolled down his cheeks and fell on his pants.

"I'm going to do so much better so I can be your everything. Just hang in there a little longer, Hyejin. I'm going to try again."

Sirens sounded in the distance. The ambulance was there.

Riki stood up and took a few steps backward. He sobbed when he saw the poor Hyejin lying there. Motionless. Breathless.

He covered his mouth with his hand, letting many more tears roll down his cheeks.

Ambulance staff ran up to the patient and quickly brought her into the ambulance. Through the open back doors of the bus, you could see them trying to save Hyejin's life by trying to give her CPR.

Riki bit his lower lip and looked at the image in front of him.

He felt a huge guilt on his shoulders.

It's all my fault. If I hadn't chased her, she wouldn't have had to go through this.

Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder. Riki was startled and turned around.

"You were with the patient," a staff member of the ambulance began, "Do you know her? If so, will you come with us to the hospital? Her condition is not good. Maybe your support will help."