Sora
The hallway for quiet. Way to quiet for my liking. With the power out on the university's hallway only being dimly lit by the faint moonlight coming in through the huge windows. I hid behind a corner holding my breath not daring to make a sound.
"Come out come out whatever you are my dear blood bag." A male voice said in a predatory tone.
He was getting closer by the minute and it was only a matter of time till I got caught. My heart was pounding in my chest already readying myself for the worst. Just as I thought things couldn't get any worse I suddenly felt an arm rest on my shoulder making me jump but a hand quickly covered my mouth and held me back to stop me from screaming. I struggled in the other's grass trying to break free but with no success.
' Is this really it? Am I really going to die without even graduating first?' I thought to myself.
You are probably wondering how I even got myself into this mess in the first place. Well let's start from the beginning ,shall we?
*. *. *.
23rd September, Tuesday 2025
It was a busy day in the Streets of Seoul. With some people heading for their lunch breaks ,some endlessly strolling through the city and others and during the blazing heat of the sun.
Yue lay on his bed, his grey eyes staring blankly at the ceiling of his enormous rule remembering the judge's words. 'The accused shall be granted a hundred days to do as he pleases starting on them 29th of September 2025 till 6th January 2026,thereafter the death penalty shall be ensued.'
It had been 3 years since the arrest of black sparrow a well-known anonymous serial killer mostly known for his brutal murders. After a carelessly committed murder his identity was finally revealed and Yue found himself serving a three-year sentence and now an impending death penalty. Though, despite all these the gray eyed male found himself quite accepting of the matter.
His butler Notin , a Japanese male in his mid forties, finished arranging some items into a box not quite yet sealing it up with ducktape. He had always been by the young Master's side for as long as we could remember after having served the Jeon family for over two decades.
The male had one main concern ,his home for the next 100 days after having gotten into a fight with his parents about how he will be spending the last days of his life. To him, being homeless was a much better punishment then having to attend press conference after press conference and publicly apologizing via Media to people all over the world that even give a damn about. His pride wouldn't allow it.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by his butler who held out a journal containing a bucket list of what his Master had wanted to complete before old age. Yue sat up and ran a hand through his mercy brown hair, now recalling the journal. How could he forget it? Something she had previously written in his youth before he had began his dark life. That had been something he had long since forgotten and preferably wanted to keep it that way.
The butler stayed silent before continuing, " Young master Jeon, pardon me for asking, but since the trial have you by any chance got in touch with the young mistress?"
Those words brought the male out of his world of thoughts as he recalled the title he had only ever reserved for one person, Yajima Sora. His girlfriend....though now ex-girlfriend, his property, his world, his everything! The only person who could drive him to insanity by his wild yet passionate obsession with her.
While in prison his mind would often drift to his release and how he would finally reclaim what was rightfully his, and his only. He was sure word of his impending and had reached her ears since the court verdict had been broadcast live all across the world. He just didn't know how she will react the news.
Notin took his master's silence as an answer but soon noticed his master's thoughtful face.
"Notin,I need a favour."
*. *. *.
Later at an apartment ,Sora was in a rush, trying to get ready to head to campus for her already late lecture. She stood by the toaster tying her messy hair as she waited for her toast. Her phone suddenly rang with an incoming call from Jin her Ride or die best friend.
" Kinda busy here," Sora remarked struggling with her messy shoulder length hair , having already answered the call.
" Well,I just wanted to inform you that were having a pop quiz in the next thirty minutes that's worth half our grade this semester. So you better get your sorry ass here before you get cooked." Jin remarked.
The doorbell suddenly rang bringing her back to reality.
" Look, someone's at the door. I've got to go," she said as she began heading for the door still on the phone call, " just buy me a few minutes,will you?"
She reached for the doorknob,still distracted by the call," I can't risk failing this class and-" she stopped mid sentence as her gaze finally landed on the person outside her apartment.
" Um...Sor? You still there?"
Her eyes were focused on the male Infront of her. He hadn't changed one bit.
" It's been a while, don't you think, gorgeous?" Yue remarked playfully.
" I'll .....call you later, Jin. " We're the blonde's last words before she hung up the call.
*. *. *.
Jeon Yue
It had been a while since I last saw her and God was the view worthwhile. She'd definitely changed her look. From tuning along blonde hair till shoulder length to her style not quite familiar with, but I wasn't willing to back down. My eyes ran down her body one last time before finally landing back on her face.
"I see someone has had an interesting three years; finally decided to show that figure and I'm sure it's not just for your own eyes only. Am I right?"
She looked away, not daring to meet my gaze. "Look Jean, I really don't have time for this. Us," she stated pointing from her to me, "is history. And I'd really like to keep it that way. I'm already late for my lecture as it is, so I really have to get going. I'm sorry," she concluded as she finally left.
I let out a sigh of defeat, knowing how much effort I still have to put in.
*. *. *.
Later on campus, the bell signalling the end of the lecture rang as students exited their respective lecture halls. Sora walked alongside Jin, still complaining of how much harder the test had been than she'd expected. Despite being a fourth-year student, she still hadn't got used to the pressure that came with her course.
The blonde hadn't yet mentioned her earlier encounter with the former convict. Though she hadn't shown it, seeing the male after three whole years of separation had had quite an effect on her; longing, regret and fear—was it? After word of his identity as Black Sparrow had spread, she'd suddenly felt more alone than she'd ever been. Everyone had known how inspiring the couple had been. But it was the past, and a long-gone illusion. Something she wanted to forget. The stares, whispers she'd heard as she'd walked along the hallways would always haunt her. Society, only seeing her as a killer's lover.
But the real reason she'd felt a twitch of fear when seeing him once more was because she was scared he'd find out about who she'd moved on with. Sure,Yue had never been the jealous type,but this wasn't Yue. It was someone she could barely recognize. And more unpredictable than ever.
" Um....earth to Sora. You good?" Jin inquired.
Sora just shrugged it off as fatigue from having done such an important test at such short notice. As the two headed for the cafeteria, the blonde felt someone's gaze on her,though she didn't dare look much into the matter.
*. *. *.
24th September, Wednesday
Sora
I was in my last class of the day going through my schedule of how I was going to balance both work and School. It had been a couple of days since I last volunteered at the vet clinic and I still couldn't wrap my head around how I was going to handle the whole situation.
If I squeeze in Thursday ,then I'll be able to take Friday and Sunday off and catch up on last week's lecture. Then next week's schedule will be all cleared. That should be it. I closed my notebook finally able to refocus on the lecture.
"As I conclude today's lecture, I'd also like to officially open this year's project on petcare and health that will be worth a quarter your course's grade for the year. And for this project student will be required to pair up with a fellow student in order carry it out. So for the few minutes remaining, I'll expect each of you to pair up and hand over the list of pairs. " Miss Kang concluded.
As usual,I planned to pair up with Jin when I spotted him already chatting with another classmate. Since the class only had thirty three students, I was expecting myself to be the only one left without a partner. I was already inwardly planning the layout of the entire project, when I felt a tap on my shoulder making me look up to meet the gaze of Ryder a fellow classmate well-known for his charm.
" I guess it's just the two of us left," he stated.
I looked around and noticed you are the only students left. Had my calculations been wrong? I looked back at Ryder that and noted that he seemed friendly enough. Maybe working on the project with a partner wouldn't be so bad.
*. *. *.
28th September,Sunday
It had been a couple of days since the opening of the project and things had never been better. Ryder had actually been an easier partner to work with than Sora expected. The two hard got on much better than the blonde had initially anticipated. Ryder had lived up to his name of both being charming and easily cooperative.
Sora stood at the vet clinic tending to Koda, an adult black German shepherd,as Jin chatted away on his plans for the next week. Due to the suddeness of the project, she'd had to reschedule all her plans for the week.
What hadn't gone unnoticed was how Jeon hadn't even tried to reach out even once. No calls, texts, nothing. Which wasn't like him. Sora didn't know whether to be relieved or tensed at the same time.
Her cloud of thoughts was suddenly interrupted by an excited back from Koda as the clinic's owner Miss Rue walked into the checkup room.
" I see you two are almost done here," she began
" Yep. Just have to give him a little treat before he goes for his daily walk. Then he'll be all yours ,Miss Rue," Jin stated.
The owner walked up to the dog side and set it for a bit before continuing ," A good job as always. Though I may need one of you to take this little troublemaker out for his daily wal seeing as something urgent just came up."
" No worries, I'll be more than happy to take Koda out for a walk." Sora remarked already having been so close to the pet.
She'd both be helping her boss out and finally be having some time to herself, it'd be a win-win situation.
*. *. *.
Sora
The day was sunny, a perfect time to take a dog out for a walk. As I held Koda's leash and some treats in my hand my phone pinged with a received my phone text.
Ryder: you busy?
Sora: sorta. Kinda taking Koda out for a walk
Ryder: Koda?
Sora: he's my boss's favorite dog at the clinic. Why?
Ryder: I was wondering if we could meet up to finalize the first part of the project
Sora: today?
Ryder: the earlier,the better. Don't you think?
(I thought for a while before finally replying)
Sora: um....sure. I'll meet you by the park's entrance
" Guess we're getting some extra company,Koda."
Twenty minutes later,I finally caught sight of Ryder as Koda and I arrived at the park's entrance.
"Hi. Sorry for being late because a little someone just had to get his favourite treats along the way," I explained.
Suddenly, Koda began to viciously bark at Ryder, startling the both of us. It didn't help that he had a frightening appearance with a scar run across his left eye.
" Kudo,what's wrong boy?"
The barking didn't stop and passes by was starting to stare. I quickly got down on one knee and tried to calm him down. It wasn't an easy task, but I finally got to calm down after bribing him with some treats. I rose up and apologized to Ryder.
" I just don't know what's got into him. He's always friendly to everyone. Including strangers."
" Don't mention it. I'm sure it's probably because I've still got some cat fur on me. Shall we?" He asked,gesturing on ahead.
The two of us proceeded to walk side by side as we discussed the project that eventually shifted to some small talk outside school work. He was actually pretty nice to chat with, though there was this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I couldn't seem to get rid off.
" So I was thinking,why don't we drop by the nearest cafe and grab some boba tea. My treat," he remarked.
" Trust me,I don't mind. I know that you haven't had the drink since the whole thing with Yue. But the last is the past. And some things are just worth forgetting.
He had a point. Boba tea had always been mine and Yue's favourite drink and had also been one of the reasons we'd first met. So after word of his double life as a serial killer got out,I just couldn't bring myself to taste the drink cause it would always remind me of him and that's something I just couldn't. But how had Ryder known that. The only other person besides Your and I who knew the story was Jin,but he wasn't one to just blurt stuff out to anyone. So how could Ryder have known? Weird. Something wasn't adding up, but I just didn't know what. But for now, I just had to focus on finishing the first part of the project before it's presentation.
And that's when it hit me. The presentation!! I completely forgot about that. I'd left the last parts of the report in my locker and I had to do some finishing touches that night. It was a weekend,so there was no way I could get it today. Or at least not at that time. My only shit was sneaking into school that night. How hard could it be?
Later that night,I finally managed to climb over the stone wall surrounding the University. Security wasn't that tight since only a few guards were on guard, so I easily managed to slip into the building. Once inside I hurriedly made my way to my locker at the end of the hallway where I found the papers I was looking for. But then,a chill ran down my spine as I felt a presence behind me making the hairs at the back of my next strand.
" Looking for something?" A male voice suddenly said from behind, startling me and making me turn, only to be met with the sight of a calm Ryder standing behind me. His brown eyes with a familiar warmth.
" Oh it's just you. You nearly gave me a heart attack. What are you even doing here anyway?"
" Left something in my locker,so I had to drop by to pick them up. You?"
" Same. Just didn't expect to bump into someone at such an hour ." I commented.
I wanted to ask him on what he'd forgotten in his locker, when he took a step back making the moonlight hit his face and that's when I saw it. Up there, at the corner of his face and at the front of his white shirt were fresh stains of something that resembled a think red liquid. Something like....blood? And that's when it hit me. There were no wounds on his face. No scars,cuts, nothing. So that blood definitely couldn't be his.
" You know,I just remembered. I've got to go home and feed my....dog !! Yep that's it." I said as I slowly backed up.
Without realizing it,I unconsciously walked on further before I suddenly tripped over something on the floor and landed butt- first in the ground. On looking on what I had tripped over, my body froze in place. Down there,right below my feet was a fresh corpse. And from the looks of it, it seemed to have been a male student. The corpse had a fresh bloody wound on his neck which seemed to have been slit open. And it's eyes,it's lifeless dark pupils staring back at me as though seeing through my soul.
I had to cover my mouth to stifle back a scream. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the killer was.
" Still clumsy as always I see." Ryder said,now nearly towering over me with a plastered smile on his face as he held out his hand. The cuffs of his shirt also had some traces of blood giving me all the answers I needed.
I pushed his hand away and moved back," stay away from me!" And before I knew it I was off the ground,on my feet and already making a run for it.
" Cute. The lret wants to play. You can run,but you can't hide gorgeous."
*. *. *.
And that's how I got myself into the situation back at the beginning of the story.
I continued struggling in the other's grip as I tried to mumble in their hands, " shut up dummy,it's me." Came a familiar make voice that I immediately recognized,making me calm down. He released me and I turned to see,Yue. I looked at him confused as to why he had been there.
As if reading my mind,he instinctively took out his phone and showed me his call history.
" Your fat ass,butt dialed me while I was trying to catch some sleep at the park," he remarked with a bored expression on.
I was about to argue when my mind processed his last words. I asked for his reason for sleeping at the park. His answer,he had no other place to crash seeing as no sane hotel owner or real estate salesman would rent out to a previously condemned serial killer.
Just as I wanted to inquire further,the two of us were interrupted by Ryder's distinct voice from a distance, bringing both if us back to the situation at hand.
Yue seemed to sense the dread in my gaze as he raised a brow questiongly before turning to the direction of the source of the voice then back to me.
" Calling me while on a date with my so-called replacement you got some guts." Yue said feigning a disappointed tone.
God, I feel like punching him the first right now. Even at search a situation, he's still got the nerves flirt!! In a hallway with two freaking serial killers, this is what I get for stealing that bar can be back when I was five.
" Why so quiet? Guess my effects on you is still a strong as ever. So why don't we take this out somewhere or less.... gloomy and see where the night takes us. "
Yue's flirting was cut short by a sharp flying object that hit the wall behind us. Just missing my face by an inch. And there on the wall freshly embedded lay a kunai. This finally seemed to snap the idiot out of his love bubble as the situation finally sank in.
Though I hit it well, that last near death experience had my heart thudding like crazy and send my whole mind into a frenzy.
"How fast can you run?" Yue asked.
Despite the suddenness I still honestly answered," depends on the situation. Why?"
He thought for a while before finally replying," on my cue I need you to run, and don't you dare look back."
Seeing the dire state at which things had escalated to, I didn't dare question him about the plan and just nodded. And right on his cue I quickly made a run for it in the opposite direction ignoring the nagging feeling in my heart.
*. *. *.
Jeon Yue
I slowly stepped out from my hiding spot, a hand running through my mercy brown hair and a bored expression on. I could tolerate many things but eating into my flirting time, that was crossing a territory with no return. I had heard my suspicions when I had asked Notin to keep me updated on Sora's whereabouts and found that this Ryder kid had secretly been stalking her, but I had just brushed it aside as just a childish crush. Seems I should have just stuck with my gut.
The blackhaired male seemed a little startled at my presence though he did his best hide it. I mean,I didn't earn the name Black Sparrow for nothing.
But what really got on my nerves was that stupid grin he'd previously had on when he had tried to lay his hands on what was fucking mine as I watched from The shadows. A grin I was all too ready to wipe the damn floor with. I usually know how to control my emotions but this kid had broken that last bit of self-control had been working on while serving my time in prison. Just. Fucking. Great.
*. *. *.
Meanwhile after having run for a while Sora stood finally remembering something. How was Jeon supposed to take down a killer alone while being under supervision by the police force. Without much thought the blonde rushed back to the spot where she had previously left the male bat in hand for self-defense or offense if you need to be. There she was met with the horrific site of Yue sitting on top of Ryder delivery several heavy blows to the others face. She immediately dropped the bat and rushed to his side trying to pull him off the badly bruise raven head.
" Yue,you've got to stop or you're gonna kill him!!"
Awards fell on deaf ears as the grey eyed male continued his relentless pummelling.
" JEON!!" Sora shouted.
That seemed to have an effect on him as he stopped midfist, the previous bloodlust feeling now slowly dissipating, his fists covered with traces of blood.
Ryder's limp body lay on the ground as the male slowly stood. Sora tried to feel for a pulse, but nothing.
She wanted to yell at Yue for having killed a fellow student but her eyes caught sight of some pictures that had fallen out of the corpe's body,all of her around different areas she'd frequently visited,and all at different angles making her words get caught in her throat.
That explained the feeling of being watched that she had been feeling all throughout the previous week.
'Had he really just risked his freedom to save her?' Was the question that lingered at the back of her mind. Jeon's expression had gone back to that of a bored one as he said a brief goodbye and made his way past her.
" Wait," sora called out, stopping the other in his tracks
Jeon secretly smart his face hidden by the shadows already knowing the blonde's next words.
" Yes?" He asked expectantly .
" Thanks . For everything."
" No need to thank me,just had to take care of a kid that was overstepping boundaries," he said casually.
" Still. I couldn't have managed without you, so I was thinking why don't you spend the night over at my apartment so we can talk all this through tomorrow."
Sora felt stupid for having sounded a bit desperate in her apology to the person she had hoped never to see again.
" Sure. Lead the way princess. Your personal guard at your service. Though I must warn you. This wolf's gonnaneed a little late night snack before any sleep comes along the way."
The sound of an approaching guard brought the two out of another flirting session making them agree to first get the heck out of there before someone spotted them and got them into some real trouble.
Once the guard reached the hallway, the two were already out of sight. The night guard sensing something off pointed his flashlight along the empty hallway and finally came in view with the fresh corpse. He sighed in defeat in defeat as though it had been a normal occurrence and spoke into his walkie talkie. ' kids these days.' he thought to himself.