2013, September

She closed her eyes and felt the air around her. She could hear the wind howling in the distance almost as if it knew her sorrows and were echoing it; she could feel the leaves of the trees dancing in the autumn air, brushing against her, bringing back memories.

Exactly how long it had been since that fateful day, she couldn't really remember, and that was okay; it saved her from certain pains. But even without remembering, there were those sorrowful memories that she couldn't escape. But today, she was finally going to try to.

Dionne opened her eyes and smiled. It was time.

She took a calm breath and walked down the road, the fallen leaves crunching beneath her feet. She reached the small intersection that separated the living from dead, and from there, she took the route towards the departed.

She scanned the headstones one by one; there were already quite a few new ones that she hadn't seen before. In fact, many had changed about the place since her last visit; even she, herself, had changed. 

Her eyes finally stopped to that one headstone she had come for. Seeing his name, the name of the man she once loved, almost brought tears to her eyes, almost; he had told her it wasn't her fault, and though she didn't believe it, she had to try to. 

She put down the flowers and wine that she had brought with her and smiled wistfully. "Oppa, are you well?" she asked. "I'm sorry I hadn't visited you in the past two years, things had been rather.. difficult." The wind blew softly, caressing her face. She could almost hear him say It's okay. You're here now. "I am," she whispered, welcoming the breeze. "I'm back now." Hopefully, I'm not the only one, she almost added but these words remained on her lips. She couldn't let herself go down that road again.

Tucking a strand of her hair on her ear, she smiled. "Don't you worry, from now on, I'll visit... " she trailed off, her eyes suddenly fixed on the bouquet of flowers just beside hers.

It wasn't the fact that someone had visited him earlier in the day that made her stop; she knew that, her brother had told her that he would. It was the flower itself that had made her stop, made her remember, and made her hope.

Her eyes darted around the place, somehow hoping that the last visitor had left a trace. Her breath hitched as she finally caught sight of what she was looking for.

Chapter 1

2011, July

Black, short mini dress with laces and frills, and a matching high-heeled boots. Dionne examined her reflection and winked at it. She was ready.

Her cellphone beeped, signaling an incoming text.

From: BAlready here @ the club w/ A and C. Where are you?

She quickly typed a reply and checked her appearance once more. Feeling satisfied, she left her room with strides so graceful and confident one would think she was a runway model. Which, in a way, she was.

Dionne was beautiful, charming and the daughter of a very wealthy business man, but she was also mischievous, cunning, and most of all, a rebel.

Ever since one of her past dates turned out to be a psycho and kidnapped her for ransom, her parents had been super strict, doubling her bodyguards in the process. Which was why she had to fake sleeping when the head maid checked up on her a while ago and which was why, when nearing the end of her hallway, she slowed her steps.

She peeked around the corner and saw four new bodyguards standing just a few feet from her, blocking the way. She straightened herself and walked slowly but purposeful. Sensing someone approached, the guards turned their heads at the same time.

Dionne smiled sweetly and gave a little wave. "Hi boys," she cooed, stopping before them. She tucked a strand of her hair and batted her eyelashes slowly. Her bodyguards gulped, trying their best to avoid looking at their mistress. Others might look pathetic at it, but Dionne knew perfectly well what she could do and how it could affect others. "You boys wouldn't mind my going out tonight, right?" she asked slowly, going for the innocent effect. "You wouldn't tell my parents, would you?"

The bodyguards looked at each other and knew they were in trouble. "But miss, you're par-"

She pursed her lips and looked at the floor. That alone sent the bodyguards in full panic mode.

They waved their hands frantically and tried to appease her by conceding. "Lead the way, miss. We'll be right behind you," one of her guards said, sighing.

"But I want to go alone," she said. "You know how bodyguards intimidate people. And that's not why I'm going to a club looking like this; I'm there to socialize." She puffed her side bangs; she was beginning to get impatient.

When the guards didn't show any sign of moving out of her way, she sighed. "You know what," she faked a smile. "Forget it. Will you just move out of the way while I'm still asking nicely?" She snapped, dropping the act. She was wasting time and she needed to move on.

When her bodyguards, clearly out of panic, didn't respond, she pushed past them. One bodyguard finally got his senses back and stopped her by grabbing her shoulder. She heaved a sigh and grabbed his arm, suddenly slamming him to the floor. The guard moaned in pain and Dionne walked away, leaving the other guards blinking in shock. Apparently, these new bodyguards hadn't been told that Dionne, despite being a spoiled brat and all, was a master of karate. What she couldn't get with her beauty, she could get with her fist, literally.

The other guards she passed- the ones who had been longer in service, even the leader called Kris, bowed before her, clearly aware of what she was capable of. She smirked and walked out of the mansion confidently like the spoiled princess she was.

"D!" her friends Aera, Belle and Circe squealed upon seeing her enter the famous 21 Club. "You finally showed up!"

"You know how my parents are. So what did I miss?"

"Not much. But now that you're here, F4's ready to party!" Belle, or better known as B, gushed.

These four young ladies had been friends since 3rd grade, having discovered their names started with the first four letters of the alphabet. It stuck so they ended up calling themselves F4 -First 4.

"Alright!" C whooped and dragged-pushed them to the dance floor.

There were many beautiful faces in the club, but these four attracted the most eyes. Some danced with them and bought them drinks, and they let them; this was what they came here for anyway, to flirt around and have fun, but never beyond.

In the middle of their dancing, B suddenly nudged Dionne, nodding to the direction of a certain table, grinning slyly at the same time.

Confused, Dionne raised an eyebrow and followed her gaze.

She was surprised at the intensity of the stare a gorgeous stranger was giving her.

“Looks like somebody’s got a crush,” B sang, dancing even more wildly.

Dionne just brushed the comment off. She wasn't really fazed by the attention; she was already used to it. But with curiosity getting the better of her, she snuck a glance at his direction, only to be greeted by an empty table. The mysterious slash gorgeous slash creepy-in-a-way stranger was gone.

The girls hit home around 2 am. Dionne thought of nothing but of lying down in her fluffy bed and going to dreamland as she walked to her room. But once she got inside, she got the surprise of her life. Her parents were sitting on her bed, brows creasing, eyes blazing and ears fuming.

Darn, she cursed inside her head. How could they be awake at this time?

Her father arose and looked at her sternly. She braced herself for the lashing out that was to come but surprisingly, none of it came. In fact, her father just looked at her. And somehow, it made everything worse; it made her sort-of guilty. She was never sort-of guilty, not even once. But now…

“Dad,” she muttered, not really knowing what else to say. She was caught, wasn’t she?

The look on her father’s face disappeared and he finally sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t what else to do with you, young lady. You’re leaving me with no other choice.”

Uh-oh, what choice? She thought in alarm.

Her mother joined her father’s side and all Dionne could notice was how weary she looked. In fact, both of her parents here. Gone was the young, blooming couple everyone had adored. Was she really that bad of a child? Probably, she answered in her head.

“We’re giving you one last chance, Dionne,” her mother said softly; not angrily or warningly like how it was always before, but softly. “Try and sneak out again, then you’re just going to have to regret it.”

With that, both her parents left her room.

“Regret it?” she echoed her mother’s words as she tossed her dress away and grabbed her lying pajamas on the floor, the ones she had shed off when hours ago. She thought of all the times they tried to control her, nothing seemed to have really stopped her from clubbing. Nah, I’m sure it’s nothing I should worry about.

With that, she flung herself on the bed and thought of sweet dreams.

The next morning was a school day and the F4 spent most of their breaks sleeping in the inside lawn of the main building, It was always a sight to behold for the students that passed them, four sleeping beauties; though it was usually the school bell that would awaken them and not the prince’s kiss.

Dionne’s parents’ words echoed in her mind as she dressed up for another night at the club. Just like the other night, she had pretended to be in deep slumber when the head maid had checked on her.

You’re leaving me with no other choice.

You’re leaving me with no other choice.

You’re leaving me with no other choice.

Ugh, stop it, she told herself. You’re going to be okay, Dionne. Since when did your parents succeed anyway? They’ve warned you a bunch of times already.

Try and sneak out again, then you’re just going to have to regret it

…you’re just going to have to regret it.

…you’re just going to have to regret it.

With one last frustrated look at her reflection, she set off for the club. To her surprise, the bodyguards that were usually at their posts were not in their places. In fact, there seemed to be no bodyguards in sight at all within the mansion.

Weird, she thought. Weirder still was when she got near the gate, all of them were there.

She scoffed. So this is what my parents thought of? To make the bodyguards take me on all at the same time? She whipped her hair to her back and strutted towards the guards confidently. Fine, whatever.

To her surprise though, they all bowed and begged. Kris, being the leader, cried, “Please Miss Dionne, you can still reverse your parents’ decision. Just don’t go out tonight.”

“Please don’t go out tonight,” the others echoed.

She raised an eyebrow at their weird behavior, but somehow moved by their gesture of concern. “Relax guys; nothing bad is going to happen.”

Kris looked at her, pleaded her with his eyes, and Dionne missed the affection that flashed on them. She waved them off and walked on. The bodyguards, defeated, parted reluctantly to make way for her.

Dionne just laughed at their weird behavior once she got inside her car.

“O-kay,” she muttered as she started the engine. “They are seriously creeping me out. I wonder what my parents told them.” Shrugging as if answering herself, she sped away towards Club 21 where her friends were waiting for her.

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of eyes was watching her from a distance.

Chapter 2

Dionne had told her friends about her parents's warning but they didn't seem to think that it was something serious.

"Wow, your parents must be really tired of you, D," Aera said, patting her shoulder.

Dionne shrugged. "When have they not? Come on, let's just dance, and drink, and have fun."

"Oooh," Belle smiled. "You just took the words out of my mouth, sister."

And dance, drink, and have fun they did, all night long.

Until...

Dionne was seated at their table while her friends were out on the dance floor. She was beat and she needed a break from dancing. So there she was, laughing over a guy's joke, when all of a sudden, she felt the seat on her other side moved. She turned to raise an eyebrow at the newcomer, but what she planned to do was forgotten when she came face to face with the darkest brown eyes she had ever seen; so dark it looked almost black. Her own eyes stared, seemingly lost at the moment.

Having lost Dionne's attention, the guy who was telling her a joke cleared his throat. Dionne jerked back to reality and turned to him. "Oh," she muttered, realizing she had forgotten about him. "Sorry Kai." She smiled at him, but Kai didn't seem to be looking at her.

Kai frowned at the newcomer, annoyed at him for suddenly taking the spotlight. "Look, buddy," he growled. "I got here first, ok —"

"Jaejoong," the newcomer brightly interrupted as if he was amused at the current situation.

"What?"

"It's Kim Jaejoong."

Dionne had witnessed this scene a bunch of times already. Usually, the new guy would be a troublemaker and the best way to deal with the situation was to leave him alone. And that's what Dionne decided.

"I'm sorry Jaejoong-ssi," Dionne said in a fake sweet voice, "but Kai and I are going to dance."

Hearing that, Kai shot Jaejoong a smug look, and stood up, taking Dionne's hand.

Jaejoong didn't seem affected; instead, he gave them both an equally fake smile and took Dionne's other wrist. "No, I believe you and I are going home."

Kai tugged at Dionne’s hand at the same time Jaejoong did. Dionne ended up half-sitting and half-standing.

“Hey! Would you guys quit it?” Dionne snapped, her temper finally shattering and just like that, the sugary façade she had been doing was gone. “If you both don’t let go of my hand right now, you’re going to regret it.”

Both held on.

“All right, you’re asking for it,” she warned, and with one flick of her wrist, she had managed to twist Kai’s arm around.

“Ow,” Kai cried. “Why am I the only one getting punished? Ow, ow, ow.”

Dionne’s eyebrows frowned. She had meant to do the same with Jaejoong but he didn’t budge. He didn’t even look like he was trying; he just looked bored in his seat, waiting for her to finally go home with him.

Dionne finally let go of Kai’s arm and pried Jaejoong’s hand away from her wrist. “Look, mister. Whoever you are, I’m not going anywhere with you.” And with that, she left the two guys and walked to the dance floor.

Kai threw Jaejoong one last angry look before stalking away himself.

Jaejoong sighed, shaking his head. “When have you become this stubborn, Dionne?”

A, B and C didn’t notice what happened so Dionne didn’t tell them when she joined them dancing. For some reason, she didn’t want them to know she had blanked off for a few seconds because of him, or mostly, she just didn’t want them to know about him, period. There was something about him that she finds wary. And it was best to avoid him, no matter how good-looking he was.

But fate seemed to think otherwise. Only a few minutes had passed when Jaejoong reappeared at her side once again. Her hand flew to her chest because of his sudden presence. She was about to yell at him when he suddenly dragged her away, so fast her friends didn’t even notice.

They were at the club hallway, on the way to the parking lot, when Dionne finally freed herself from Jaejoong’s viselike grip. For a hallway in a club, it was pretty quiet, empty and dark.

“I could sue you for harassment,” Dionne snarled as she rubbed her sore wrist; it was already red.

Jaejoong just shrugged. “Go ahead. It’s not like you stand a chance anyway. I’m your new bodyguard and your parents gave me permission to do whatever I like with you.”

Dionne’s face got red, thinking of all the possible wrong things that line meant. Seeing her reaction, Jaejoong laughed.

“What?” Dionne snapped. This guy was seriously asking for trouble.

“I don’t know why you suddenly got embarrassed. You didn’t seriously think I’d…” he trailed off, mockingly scrutinizing her from head to toe. “You know,” he finished, shrugging.

“What?” Did he just, insult her? Ouch much. No guy had ever overlooked her beauty, well maybe except for that one person, but no guy nonetheless if that one person wasn’t counted. For some reason, Dionne felt compelled to prove herself, wherever that idea came from.

“Oh really,” she said, fixing her composure and bravely taking a step forward. “You seriously don’t find me attractive in anyway?”

Jaejoong suppressed the laugh that had threatened to escape his lips. He just shrugged, waiting for whatever move Dionne planned on doing next. This was all amusing to him; what Dionne’s parents told him, at first he couldn’t believed it, but now, he was starting to consider all of them. Dionne really had changed.

Dionne took one more step, and then another until there was only as much as 3 inches of space between their faces. She had planned on baiting him with her eyes but the moment she looked at his, those plans were forgotten. What’s with him and his eyes? Dionne thought, irritated at how she was behaving. After what seemed a very long time, Jaejoong finally couldn’t help himself and burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry,” Jaejoong clutched his stomach, trying to repress his laughter. He knew what Dionne had just tried to do, but she was just too cute, he couldn’t help himself but laugh at her poor attempt of seducing him. “But you’re just not my type,” he managed to say.

Dionne blushed furiously and turned to stalk away. She had been humiliated quite enough for tonight.

“Wait,” Jaejoong called and put a hand on her shoulder.

Dionne was nothing but mad at the moment. She took his hand and made a move to body slam him on the floor like what she did with her bodyguard, but she only got to the part of taking his hand, she couldn’t lift him at all so much alone as budge him.

Jaejoong just chuckled behind her. “It’s not nice to know your trump card isn’t working anymore, is it?”

She felt like she’d been slapped. Was this what her parents had been talking about then?

But Dionne was stubborn so she tried again. But no matter what kind of pull and effort she made, she just couldn’t budge the darn guy. She was getting frustrated, and mad. And then the worst thing happened. Jaejoong spun her around by the shoulder he was holding unto and backed her up against the wall, trapping her with his arm. That never happened; she had never lost to a guy. What was happening? All her bad firsts were happening in a row.

Jaejoong smirked and looked at her helpless-stricken figure.

“I’m sorry, princess. But I’m not like other guys.”

Dionne scoffed even though she knew whatever she did now wouldn’t help her case against this guy.

“I don’t fall for your silly tricks,” he went on.

“Silly?”

Jaejoong nodded as if Dionne was crazy for not knowing how silly her ideas were. He even took one arm off the wall and began ticking his fingers off one by one. “First, I don’t fall for batting of eyelashes,” one finger ticked off, “fake sweet voices,” another one, “‘mesmerizing’ stares,” he even quoted it using only one hand because his other arm was still on the wall, preventing Dionne from escaping, “and oh yeah, that sweet smile of yours, sorry, they don’t work on me, either.” Now only one finger was not ticked off. “And lastly, of course, you can’t beat me up because, obviously, I’m better than you, much better.”

Oh, this guy was really asking for it. If only she could smash his face with her fist, but like he said, it really did look like he was better than her.

“So now, princess, if you’d let me. Just let me take you home,” Jaejoong said with one of his fake smiles, only to mock her more.

Dionne smiled as well, and who got the fakest one, who knew. “Sorry, mister. But no matter what you do, I’m not going home.” And with that, she began screaming on top of her lungs. “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp! There’s an intruder in the club!”

Jaejoong raised an eyebrow. “Intruder? You could do better than that.”

“Heeeeeeeeelp! He’s trying to rape me!”

Jaejoong raised another eyebrow, coupled with a chuckle. “Rape? Really?”

Before Dionne could yell another s.o.s. call though, Jaejoong suddenly hauled her off into his shoulder like a sack of rice.

Dionne squirmed and made all the movements she could so Jaejoong would let go of her, but the guy seemed to be made of steel. He just wouldn’t freaking budge!

They got out of the club and Dionne saw her one last chance of escaping. Unlike the dark hallway, the parking lot was well-lit. It was a joint parking lot for the club and the convenience store next door so there were quite a number of people that were milling about the place.

“Heeelp! This person is trying to kidnap me! Help!” Dionne tried again.

The people around started looking alarmed, especially the older ones. Some even dared stepping forward, blocking Jaejoong’s way.

Yes! Dionne triumphantly thought. They’ll surely help me.

Before Dionne’s ‘supposed rescuers’ could do anything though, Jaejoong smiled brightly and apologized to them, even having the ability to bow even with Dionne on his shoulder. “I’m sorry for the commotion we’re causing,” he said in the sweetest voice he could conjure. “My girlfriend is really drunk right now and she’s not making any sense. So I apologize. I really need to get her home right now or else her parents’ would kill me.” He even fake-winced at his words, making the audience believed that he was just indeed being a good boyfriend.

The audience aww-ed and ooh-ed making way for them. “What a good boyfriend you are,” an older lady said, returning Jaejoong’s smile. “Go along then, before her parents would indeed kill you.” She laughed good-naturedly.

“Thank you,” Jaejoong smiled, bowing, and then headed for his car.

“No wait!” Dionne screamed, reaching out her hands to the people. “He really is trying to kidnap me! Help meeeee!”

The older people just shook their head, tsk-ing. “Younger people should watch how much alcohol they drink these days,” one muttered.

“Kids,” another seconded.

“Noooooooo…” Dionne’s screamed died down when Jaejoong dumped her in his car’s front seat and locked the door. He appeared at the other eat in a matter of seconds and started the engine immediately. The odd thing was why is he laughing? Dionne thought.

Even as he drove, Jaejoong’s seat was shaking with laughter.

“What an actor. I hate you.” That was from Dionne, no surprise there.

This only made Jaejoong laugh more.

“Hey! Stop laughing, okay? I’m not that pathetic!”

The laughing didn’t die down and Dionne gave up. She just grumpily looked outside her side of the window and thought of ways to escape the guy.

“You know, I never said you were,” Jaejoong suddenly spoke up, and it was only then when Dionne noticed they had arrived at their gate and Jaejoong had stopped making fun of her. “I never said that you were pathetic, and I wouldn’t, not ever.” Then Jaejoong got off the car, leaving her momentarily speechless. Her car door opened and Jaejoong waited for her to get out.

Dionne looked at him, trying to figure him out. First he was laughing his head off at her, and the next moment he actually admitted that he wasn’t making fun of her and even sounded genuine. He sounded like he knew her; did she know him?

“I still hate you,” she found herself saying, and then got off the car.

Instead of laughing, Jaejoong just sighed. “You don’t,” he muttered, although he doubted she heard him.

Once inside the gate, the bodyguards formed a line and bowed as she and Jaejoong walked on. Suddenly thinking of a ‘brilliant’ idea, Dionne stopped and beamed at the guards. Jaejoong grunted and rolled his eyes, guessing what Dionne was about to do. Not again, he thought, doesn’t she ever quit?

“Do you know this person?” she jabbed a finger to her back.

The guards looked at each other warily and nodded. Of course they knew him.

“Well, I don’t like him,” Dionned said, going straight to the point. “And well, if you guys care for me like you did this early evening, you’d take care of him for me.”

The bodyguards looked at each other again, sending each a telepathic message. Either way, we’re dead. I guess it’s better at Jaejoong’s hands, at least Miss Dionne won’t think we betrayed her. So knowing they were asking for a beating, the other guards lunged towards Jaejoong. The only one who stayed back was Kris.

And in a matter of 5 minutes, yes, well, we’re not trying to exaggerate the story here so I wouldn’t say 1 minute, all the other bodyguards were down.

“Ugh, I hate you,” Dionne once again shrieked, before making a run for it while Jaejoong was not on his guard, or so she thought. Before she could flee though, Jaejoong had managed to grabbed hold of her wrist.

“Oh Dionne,” Jaejoong muttered, his breathe ragged from all the fighting. “Would you please stop it?” he murmured, his voice sounded actually tired; both from the fighting and the way she was acting. And surprising her, Jaejoong tugged at her wrist, making her spin and in one motion, she was enveloped in Jaejoong’s arms. Or to put it more accurately, Jaejoong was using her as a support. Fighting with about 20 elite bodyguards really did seem to have taken some of his strength. Or did it?

“Hey,” Dionne protested, trying to shake him off her shoulders.

And you know what, Jaejoong did let go. But only to hold both her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. Seeing Dionne’s half-annoyed, half-confused face, he smirked. “I’m sorry, Dionne, but there’s just no escaping me.”

Chapter 3

Dionne’s parents watched the commotion below from their balcony and they nodded their assent. Things were working out well.

Dionne bolted upright the moment the sun hit her face the next morning. She frowned and looked at her swept-aside curtains, wondering who in the world had done it. But more importantly, she examined herself and her blanket and her bed and her room. Something dawned on her and she heaved a sigh of relief. It had all been a dream!

Just like that, she was in a great mood, even as she got ready for school. The maids who were passing by were even shocked when she took the time to greet them in the hallway. She smiled at them and went on to descend on the grand staircase. She was at the landing at the bottom when her smile finally got wiped off her face.

“Good morning, princess,” Jaejoong said in amusement to her reaction. He raised a brow at her and asked, “What? Am I that good-looking that you should be dropping your jaw like that?”

Dionne instantly closed her mouth and stomped her way toward him. “What are you doing here?” she pointedly asked. Great mood? Already gone.

Jaejoong’s eyebrows shot up even higher. “Do you need a doctor? Because I think you might need to get yourself checked. I’m your bodyguard, remember?”

“B-bodyguard?” she repeated, her eyes widening. Oh no, just no. It wasn’t a dream, after all, darn it!

A display of emotions must have shown on Dionne’s face because Jaejoong chuckled. “Oh come on, Dionne. You really didn’t forget, did you?”

Dionne just glared at him.

“Because I still remember everything, especially the way you tried to seduce me.” At that, Jaejoong let out a laugh.

Dionne’s face flushed as red as a tomato. She clinched her fist, wanting nothing but smashing Jaejoong’s abnormally good-looking face, but before she could do so, her parents had appeared at the base of the stairs.

“Why, there you two are,” Dionne’s mom said with a smile. “Come and have your breakfast with us so you won’t be late for school.”

Two. She was referring to us both, Dionne noted. And that’s when she noticed Jaejoong was wearing their school’s uniform. You have got to be kidding me!

“What is it, honey?” her mom asked, and she realized she must have spoken out her thoughts.

Dionne gestured pointedly at Jaejoong who was standing beside her. “This. This is what is it.”

“Didn’t you want him?” It was Dionne’s father who answered.

“Want him?” She echoed in disbelief. “Why would I want someone as…” she trailed off as she looked closely at Jaejoong. Handsome, has really gorgeous eyes and nice hair, too bad he’s such a jerk! “Someone as annoying and as controlling as him?!” she finished.

“We did kind-of warned you, honey. But you still disobeyed us, we figured you wanted it,” her mom told her gently. “So you have him until you get your act straight.” And with that, her parents started for the kitchen.

Jaejoong just watched Dionne’s reaction with amusement. “Your jaw is open again,” he remarked before going to the kitchen himself.

Ugh! What a jerk.

Seeing Dionne and her parents were already discussing something she wasn’t included in, Dionne just grabbed a sandwich and a glass of juice. The remaining parties just looked at each other as she got out of the kitchen.

“Get my act straight?’ Dionne grumbled all the way to their school car. It was true that Dionne had her own car but her parents had strictly assigned her one which would send and pick her up from school. She wouldn’t have agreed with it if t weren’t for the fact that the so-called school car was a black Gallardo Lamborghini “What in the world did they mean by that anyway?” She muttered, getting inside the passenger seat. “Of course I–” Dionne forgot what she was about to say when she saw who was sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Where’s Kris?” she immediately asked when instead of her bodyguard, Jaejoong was the one beside her; not that he wasn’t her bodyguard.

Jaejoong just shrugged and turned on the engine.

“Hey! I’m asking you a question!”

Jaejoong regarded her with a Yeah-I-Heard-You look, and then returned his eyes on the road.

Dionned huffed in annoyance and sulked in her seat all the way into school. Why, out of all people in this whole darn world, did her parents have to choose this one guy? Ugh.

“Not one word from you guys,” Dionne barked at her friends the moment she saw their reaction upon seeing Jaejoong.

“But,” Belle protested.

“That’s one word!”

Aera laughed and patted Belle’s back. “Geez, Dionne. The girl just wanted to know who the guy behind your back is.”

“And you don’t?” Dionne pointed out.

“Well,” she sang. “Of course, I do! Even Circe, too, right C?” She nudged their other friend who had been quiet in the sideline. Circe smiled, shrugging. That would be a yes.

Dionne rolled her eyes at her friends and stomped her way to the building entrance all by herself. A, B and C just laughed and started interrogating Jaejoong the moment Dionne left.

“So,” Belle began. “What’s your name, pretty boy?”

“Kim Jaejoong.” A small smile.

“And who are you again?” Aera ventured.

An amused chuckle this time. “Dionne’s new bodyguard.”

The girls widened their eyes and glanced at each another. Jaejoong just eyed them, a grin plastered on his face. Really, birds of the same feather do flock together.

“Wow, her new bodyguard is,” Belle whistled, earning a whack from Circe. “What? I’m just telling the truth.”

Aera just giggled. “Well, nice to meet you, Jaejoong-ssi. I’m Aera, and this is Belle and Circe,” Aera gestured to her two other friends.

Jaejoong nodded and offered his hand. B immediately took it, earning another wallop from C and another laugh from A.

“Well then Jaejoong-ssi. As Dionne’s friend, we’d like to give you an advice,” Circe said.

Jaejoong raised an eyebrow, giving her the signal to go on.

“Dionne can be, er, quite difficult sometimes, but she’s a good girl. So take care of her well, okay?” Circe was looking at him so seriously, Jaejoong couldn’t help but smile at her genuine concern for Dionne.

“Okay.”

“Because if you don’t do your job well, you’re going to have to face my wrath,” Circe concluded putting her arms on her hips.

“And mine,” Aera echoed.

“As much as I don’t want to threaten you pretty boy, you’ll have to face mine, too, because, well, Dionne’s important to us,” Belle added.

Jaejoong grinned and raised his hands in surrender. “Alright girls, I’ll have your words eternally etched into my brain. If I fail, you can have my head.”

The bell finally rang and they all laughed. Dionne had watched their exchange from the main entrance and frowned. Even her friends were getting along with Jaejoong, what did they ever see in him?

Night passed and Dionne lost all hope of ever going to the club; not with Jaejoong standing outside her door. Yes, you read right. Kim Jaejoong had been standing for a full 3 hours outside Dionne’s door. What’s he doing there? Nothing, just standing.

Dionne sighed, letting herself fall on her bed. She was never going to get to Club 21 at this rate. Just as she was about to really give up, her phone beeped, thrice.

From: BYou are not going to believe who’s here!

She raised an eyebrow and scrolled down to the next.

From: AD! Come here right this instant!

O-kay. Something was going on. She read on to the next. Wow, even C texted. C didn’t normally text; she was more of the type to call.

From: CHe’s here, Dionne. He’s here.

That was it.

To: A, B and CWho in the world is there?

Only B replied. She figured A and C let her do it so it would be faster.

From: BWho do you miss and who do you want to see the most?

To: BNo way!

From: BWay, sister! So get your butt in here!

Dionne flung her phone to the side and thought. Jaejoong’s outside so my door is a big no. But my balcony, she mused inside her head. She went to the balcony and looked down, gulping at the height that greeted her. Her room was in the 3rd floor of the mansion so if she fell, well, let’s just say that things wouldn’t look too good for her.

“Jaejoong?” she called out, testing the waters. She heard a muffled reply that sounded like a Yeah? “I’m going to sleep now, okay? Are you sure you’re just going to stand there for the rest of the night?” She heard another Yeah. “Okay then, goodnight.”

She immediately went to her closet and grabbed the pieces of clothing that would make a long enough rope for her to climb down to. Fortunately, it took her only 3 blankets and 2 curtains to finish the job. She fastened one end to one of the wrought iron pillars and let the rest of her self-made rope fall down below. She looked back one last time before setting her mind.

There was no going back now. She had to go. Now that he was back, she had to see him.

Chapter 4

Dionne slowly and carefully lowered herself to the ground. There were no guards below because her room was at the darker part of the mansion so the only thing that she had to worry about was getting down, and now, she was almost there.

With another cautious maneuvering of herself, Dionne finally landed on her killer heels. Finally, she triumphantly thought. She straightened out her outfit -a red cocktail dress that was flow-y at the bottom, and swiped all the hair that gone to her face. She checked the surroundings and when no one seemed to be around, she clutched her purse to her chest, smiled and started walking.

Somewhere in the shadows, Dionne heard a cough, suddenly stopping her from taking the next step. She looked around in alarm, her stance that of someone ready to fight.

She heard a laugh, followed by an amused voice. “So where are you going?”

Darn, she cursed inside her head.

“So,” Jaejoong prodded. “Where to, princess?”

Think, fast, she told herself.

“Uh,” she dumbly muttered. “To the CR?” CR? Really intelligent, Dionne, she chided herself.

Jaejoong burst out laughing. “In that getup?” he asked in disbelief, stepping out of the shadows. “Ha-ha. Nice try, Dionne.”

“Really,” she insisted. “I am going to the CR.” Well, she had said it, and there was no way she was going to take it back.

“Right,” Jaejoong mocked-agreed. “Allow me then to escort you to the grand CR, seeing you had to dress yourself just to go there.” He snickered at the end of his sentence.

Dionne bit her lip, trying to stop the blush that was starting to color her cheeks. When will she stop embarrassing herself in front of this guy?

She grudgingly started walking, heading to the comfort rooms at the ground floor. Jaejoong was not making it easy; she had to find another way. So while Jaejoong was waiting for her outside, Dionne climbed through the windows. Figured, the balcony didn’t stop her, how much more the window?

She landed with a thud, breaking one of her heels. “Ugh!” She took off both her high heels and started running toward the gate, toward her car. The guards who were on duty looked at their mistress weirdly but they shrugged it off knowing Jaejoong was the one responsible for Dionne now.

Dionne got inside her car safely and she lay back on the headrest with relief. “Finally,” she exhaled.

“Finally what?” A head suddenly popped out beside the headrest which made her scream.

Jaejoong clamped his ears and rolled his eyes. “Geez, you’ll wake the whole neighborhood,” he casually remarked, as if him being inside her car was the most normal thing in the world.

“What are you doing here?!” She was still screaming.

“Oh, I don’t know, what are we doing here?” Jaejoong threw back.

“We?”

“Uh, yeah. Wherever you go, I go, remember? So tell me princess, what are you doing here?”

“Uh,” Dionne paused, struggling to come up with yet another ridiculous excuse. “Uh, I usually listen to the music in my car when I finished my business in the CR.” With that, she kicked the stereo, making it come to life.

The car suddenly rocked with Jaejoong’s laughter. When Dionne peeked at him at the backseat, he immediately closed his mouth and sat up straighter. Why? Why must he always laugh at me like that? Dionne thought to herself.

“Alright, finish your music already so we can sleep, alright?” Jaejoong said, wiping tears from his eyes. Tears were actually leaking due to laughing too much.

Dionne sighed. Help guys, she texted her friends.

3 minutes later, her phone suddenly rang.

“Hello?” Dionne said unsurely to the phone, but not before putting it on speaker. Sure she texted her friends, but she had no idea what they were planning. She only received a reply of Okay, put ur phone on speaker.

“D, it’s A. B got into an accident.”

Her heart made a nervous thud. “What?” Even Jaejoong at the backseat seemed to be seriously listening now.

“She got run over. We’re at a hospital now.”

“What?! Are you serious?” she yelled into the phone.

“Ouch, that hurts, you know. And yes, so get your butt in here.”

“Get my butt where?”

“Oh yeah,” it was suddenly C’s voice. “You know where our hospital is, bye.”

Just what are they pulling now? Dionne thought as she fumbled for her keys in her purse. When she found it, Jaejoong took it out of her hands.

“Let me drive,” he said seriously.

And she remembered why her friends called, because she asked them to rescue her. Which would mean this was all a joke, and B wasn’t really hurt. Phew, she sighed in relief, chiding herself for being dumb there for a second. She reluctantly handed over the key and transferred to the passenger seat. Jaejoong switched the ignition on and the car flew.

To: A, B and CGuys, the problem isn’t over yet. Jaejoong’s driving.

B immediately replied. Which meant she really wasn’t hurt, after all.

From: BYou know what; I’m beginning to get annoyed with pretty boy over there. doesn’t he understand the situation? You’re only going to see the love of your life.

To: BI know! He sucks. Help me. Pls.

From: BWe’re on it; just get your butt in here. asap. We don’t know if he’s still at the club.

To: BIf I don’t end up seeing him, I’m going to kill Jaejoong.

From: BWe all are. Trust me; A & C are already getting their pitchforks ready.

To: BLol.

At that moment, the car stopped and Dionne realized they were already outside the nearest hospital in the neighborhood.

“Stay here,” Dionne said and got out of the car. Okay, she didn’t really know where to go. Were her friends really inside the place? Just then, her phone beeped again. It was from A this time.

From: ARemember the beauty shop beside the hospital? We’re actually here. Teehee. B didn’t actually get run over.

I headed straight there and found my friends getting their self done: hair, nails and whatnots.

“And there I thought something really happened,” Dionne sighed, sitting at one of the empty chairs.

“Well, Jaejoong seems a really difficult guy to escape from, so you know, we needed to make it look like an emergency,” Aera shrugged.

“You can definitely get an A+ in acting, you know.”

“I know,” Aera sang, flicking her hair.

“Guys,” C interrupted. “Back to the main issue here, how do we bypass Jaejoong? For all we know, the love of Dionne’s life had disappeared from the club already.”

“You’re right. Think,” Aera said, stopped, and then snapped her fingers. “My brother!” As if that was enough of an explanation, she dialed her brother’s number and said, “I’m in C’s hospital. It’s an emergency. Hurry.” Then she turned it off.

Circe whacked Aera’s head. “A! Why’d you have to say it like that? Your brother’s going to have a heart attack.” Aw, C. Always the voice of reason of the group.

Aera rubbed her head and pouted at her. “You know that really hurts.”

“Uh-huh,” Belle muttered in the background, who was usually the receiving end of Circe’s hits.

“Guys,” it was Dionne who interrupted this time. “The love of my life, remember?”

“Right, right. Let’s wait for my brother.”

10 minutes later, Aera’s brother came and scolder her nonstop for scaring him like that, when in fact she was in the beauty shop beside the hospital and not inside the hospital itself.

“Heh,” Aera smiled sweetly at her brother. “But we really did have an emergency, Dionne’s got a stalker.”

I do? Dionne thought.

“And he’s waiting outside. He’s kind-of a psycho, you know. He keeps insisting in taking Dionne home, because of some bad spirits.”

“Bad spirits?” Her brother echoed.

“Uh-huh,” Aera went on. “He’s a nutcase, I tell you. And if you don’t help us now, Dionne might be really in danger.”

Her brother looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. “Alright, I’ll go outside and face this guy. You girls run towards your cars, okay?”

They eagerly nodded.

“Wow, A. Where did all the crazy ideas came from?” Aera just shrugged and grinned at them; Dionne just shook her head at her friend.

Jaejoong, who had no idea what was happening, got the surprise of his life when Aera’s brother approached him and blocked his view of Dionne.

“Alright, kid. There are no bad spirits now; I’ll take Dionne home, okay. So you go home, too,” Aera’s brother told him, shooing him away with his hands.

“Bad spirits?” Jaejoong repeated incredulously. What in the world is this guy talking about? And that’s when he saw the girls running to their respective cars. Dionne ran to Circe’s car since her car key was with Jaejoong.

Jaejoong just smirked and shook his head. Looks like Dionne never runs out of ideas, he thought. His worry over her friend had been for nothing.

“You know what, you’re right. Goodnight,” he told Aera’s brother and got to Dionne’s car and followed them to the club.

Jaejoong was confused. Why was Dionne so stubborn at getting to the club when there was practically nothing there that actually held meaning for her? Sure she partied, danced and drank, but he could tell from the night before that Dionne never really took those things seriously. So why was she going to all this trouble now?

His answer came when he got to the club himself.

“Are you sure he’s back?” Dionne muttered to her friends as her eyes searched the crowd. “Maybe you got it wro –” Dionne forgot her next words when her eyes finally locked into that familiar face, so familiar it made her heart ache. She had missed him, a lot.

As if fate had heard her, the object of her eyes turned her way and caught her gaze, smiling that heart-wrenchingly slow smile of his. He whispered his leave to his companions and started making his way towards Dionne.

And that was all it took for the world to disappear and the only one who was left in Dionne’s eyes was him.

“L,” she mumbled when he was close enough to hear.

“Dionne,” he greeted back. He opened his arms and beckoned her to come over. “Aren’t you going to give me a hug? We haven’t seen each other in months.”

Dionne just smiled and stepped into his embrace. She didn’t want to speak now; she didn’t want to ruin the moment. He was finally back. And that was all that mattered to her.

Jaejoong watched the scene with furrowed eyebrows. So this was who she had been going through all the trouble for. How had he not known about this? Who is he? He thought.

Chapter 5

“We’re going to dance,” Circe abruptly announced, dragging Aera and Belle with her, though they looked like they wanted to protest.

Suddenly nervous about being alone with L, Dionne shifted awkwardly and let him go. “So how are you?” she asked shyly.

Too shy, Jaejoong thought as he continued to watch them. Dionne was too wrapped up in her own little world that she didn’t really notice him who was just a few feet away from them. Who is this guy?

L gestured to himself and threw back the question. “What do you think?”

Dionne shrugged, trying her best to remain calm. It was usually the first minutes of their encounter that would send her nerves spiraling. “I’m thinking,” she tapped her chin, pretending to go over her answer, “that you had been very naughty on your stay in France. You went out with a lot of girls, didn’t you?”

L grinned, amused with her answer. “How could you tell?”

She tried to keep her expressions teasing even though his answer had affected her. Did he really go out with a lot of girls back there? “Oh, it’s written all over your face. You know, that look that says I’m-Mr.-Handsome-and-there’s-nothing-you-girls-can-do-about-it-but-swoon.”

This time, L laughed and went to pinch her cheeks. “You, cheeky little thing. There’s not even enough time to go over my school works and the other stuffs that your brother were so strict about, how could I go out with all those non-existent girls that you’re talking about?”

“Ow,” she pried L’s hands off her cheeks. “You didn’t have to do that to prove your point,” she said, rubbing it; though there was relief inside her knowing L hadn’t been dating other girls. “You’re just being mean, and speaking of my brother, where is he?” There, slowly but surely, her nervousness was slowly dissipating as they delved into familiar things.

A shrug. “Probably still in France. He loves that university of ours, while me, well I can’t get away sooner enough.”

Dionne eyed him, hope shimmering in her eyes. “Does that mean you’re going to study here again?”

“Oh, so you missed me that much, huh.” L smirked, not really answering her question. When she threw him a glare, he raised both hands and nodded, grinning. “Yep, I’m transferring back to your school. Any time this week, you’ll see me there.”

Her smile couldn’t have been wider. “That’s great!” she beamed, forgetting for a second that she was trying to act cool and all in front of him.

Before L could tease her again about being too enthusiastic over his return, a drunken guy suddenly popped out of nowhere and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Hey miss, let’s dance,” the guy slurred, his breath reeking of alcohol.

“No, thanks,” Dionne just said, shaking the guy’s hand off her shoulder. But the guy held her wrist and attempted to drag her to the dance floor.

Jaejoong tensed in his position, ready to swoop in whenever the situation needed him. But he knew Dionne could handle it, and there was L at her side, too, who, at Jaejoong’s point of view, looked like he was ready to rip the guy in pieces.

L pulled Dionne back, throwing the drunken guy a pointed glare. When he didn’t let go of Dionne’s wrist, L just turned to the bar counter and pressed a button. “Security needed at the main counter,” he calmly stated into the tiny device beside the button, but deep inside really, he could smash the guy’s face right then, right there. And no lesser than a minute, 2 bulky guys went to drag the drunken guy away.

“I just wanted a dance,” he yelled at them as he was whisked away. His voice was soon lost at the noise around them.

“Are you okay?” L asked Dionne, tilting her around so he could take a look.

She eyed him suspiciously, surprise at his actions. “Of course, I am. The guy just held my wrist, what do you think would happen?”

L looked at her with blank eyes. “Exactly, he held your wrist. And your shoulder. And let’s not even mention how he attempted to drag you against your will.”

At that, Dionne laughed. L blinked at her, his brows furrowed in annoyance. “What? I can’t care now?”

She immediately shut up. “Oh come on, I was kidding,” she nudged him. “And let’s be honest, you were exaggerating. I could have shooed him off myself.”

“I know,” L sighed. “Sorry, it’s just that your brother had been pretty clear when he said I should look out for you when he’s not around.”

“Oh,” Dionne’s smile faltered. Of course, her brother. That’s why L was so overprotective of her, because she’s his best friend’s sister, and not because he liked her. It had always been like that. Over the years that they had grown up together, she was in love with L, but L could never look at her more than a little sister. Dionne sighed, trying to ease the pang in her heart. “Well you don’t have to worry like that. My brother isn’t here. I won’t tell,” she said, trying to smile.

He looked like he wanted to take his words back, but instead, L just shook his head and said, “It’s getting late, should I take you home?”

“No, you just got here,” Dionne said. “Here as in back in Seoul. You should enjoy the night, and besides, I haven’t danced yet since I got here.” With that, she walked to the dance floor, willing herself not to look back; not wanting him to see the hurt in her eyes.

She should just dance her hurt away. Because in a minute or so, she knew her heart would take over and forget the simple fact the L wouldn’t look at her that way, and she would just continue loving him foolishly like what she had always done before.

A, B and C saw her, checked her reaction and looked at each other. They all tried to cheer her up, and she was dancing enthusiastically in no time.

Jaejoong glanced at his watch, his eyes immediately returning to Dionne after. It had been two hours since they had arrived and Dionne had been dancing nonstop; she was also a bit tipsy already. The scene a while ago had confused him, and he couldn’t really understand what was going on between Dionne and her friend. All he knew was that Dionne liked the guy, loved him even. He flinched at the thought. He really had been gone for a long time, and Dionne really had changed.

Around midnight, the girls hit their table, seemingly exhausted from all the dancing that they had been doing.

“Who’s ready to go home?” Belle asked, her breath heavy from panting, her head slumped on the table.

Aera laughed. “So the mighty Belle also has a limit huh.”

“Shut up A. I know you’re dying to just lie in your bed, too.”

“If I’m not so tired right now, I would have made C whacked you,” she slurred, either from tipsiness or sleepiness.

Circe gathered their things and waved a hand to them. “Alright, let’s go.”

As they were getting ready to leave, L appeared. “Finally, I thought you girls had no plan of going home.”

A, B and C all looked at Dionne, but the latter seemed to have already recovered from the recent event; it might have to do with the fact that she was a bit drunk and she had already forgotten about what happened. She was already smiling brightly at L, already knowing why L had approached them.

“Alright, take me home then,” she said, swaying toward him.

L shook his head at her and took her by the shoulders. “Are you girls going to be okay on your own?” L asked Dionne’s friends. They all nodded and beckoned him to go on.

Jaejoong followed silently, like the phantom bodyguard that he was.

He reached the mansion first, and so he waited at the gate, his back on its pillars. A moment later, he watched L helped Dionne out of his car. He saw her smile brightly like a child who had received her first gift as L bade her goodbye and wished her goodnight. And even as L went on his way, he noticed that Dionne’s smile wouldn’t leave her face. And for the first time, he finally admitted to himself that maybe it was wrong for him to return to Dionne’s life.

That thought though, was quickly forgotten when Dionne started walking towards the gate. She staggered forward but before she could hit the ground, Jaejoong was already there at her side, helping her.

Dionne blinked at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. Then she smiled that happy smile of her and dozed off.

Jaejoong couldn’t himself but smile sadly at her. “Dionne,” he said his voice a caress. He looked at her for one long moment, before he carefully lifted her into his arms.

Forget it Jaejoong. Just, he thought, thinking back to that moment when Dionne had seen L in the club; when her eyes was only for him, forget it.