I Like You

"James!" I called out, happily running to the very man I had the right to call my hero.

It was the weekend out and I finally got to see James again. I had never missed anyone like I missed James before. It felt strange since I barely knew him. But it felt nice in a way too.

"Hey, Hyun-Gi!" James embraced me with his arms, and I gave him a bear hug, "You missed me that much?"

"Yes! It's been five days since I last saw you." I whined, pouting my lips

"Five days isn't that long." James chuckled, "Did you say goodbye to your classmates?"

"Yes I did. I think they left already."

"But I didn't see any other cars picking up anyone. How did they leave?"

That was a good question. There was no other car parked in the parking area, nor was there a parent speaking to Miss Chan about any concerns. The parking lot area was very still, with only James and I in it.

"Maybe they left early?"

"It's 6 am right now. How could they have left earlier than this?" James asked, but I shrugged at the question.

It would've been nice to meet at least one of my friends' parents. I wanted to understand how it felt to have parents. I wanted to know how sweet a mother acted, or maybe how strict a father acted. But most of all, I wanted to see how good parents treated their kids. I had never known the true definition of what a "good parent" was, especially since mine left me to rot in the streets of the city, in a handbag!

Just then, Miss Chan walked out of the school building, holding Lee Haeyoung's hand. I couldn't help but stare in shock. It looked hilarious from afar. Miss Chan holding the hand of Lee Haeyoung? I understood that Lee Haeyoung was the menace, but treating her like a five year old was far too cruel. Lee Haeyoung had a frown plastered on her face. When she saw me with James, she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Is that your new bestie?" James asked, sarcastically

"I'd rather die than be friends with that brat." I scoffed, then stuck my tongue back at her

Miss Chan tapped her foot impatiently. It looked like she was waiting for Lee Haeyoung's parents to come. It would've been a shame if they didn't come, because that would mean that Lee Haeyoung would have to spent her whole weekend as the only student in the school. That school was huge and spooky, especially at night. I would often see shadows moving on the walls at night. I always told Bae about it, but she just told me that it was the moonlight reflecting on the trees outside. I hoped real ghosts would spook Lee Haeyoung though. Might teach her a lesson or two.

I had no idea how and why the others left so early. I woke up at four in the morning, only to find Bae gone. Her bed was neatly made, but ironically, most of her luggage was left behind. Tsuki and Yerim didn't show up for breakfast either. I assumed that they had left already. Funny how all three of them left at the same time. Maybe it was just a coincidence?

It was just me and Lee Haeyoung who had breakfast together. That horror hour I spent with her was rather haunting, but at least I made it out. Alive.

I tried my best to avoid as much conversation with her as possible, but she insisted on throwing stupid questions at me. Just to annoy me.

"Where are your friends?" She tested me at the table, loudly sipping her cereal milk.

Rule number whatever in the rule book: When eating breakfast, lunch and/or dinner at the table, you must, eat softly and neatly. No messes will be tolerated. Bae taught me that one.

"They left early." I said

"Oh? And how do you know that?" She asked

You can't see them, can you? I said in my head

"They told me that they would be leaving early for their weekend out. Their parents must be busy people." I lied, trying to end the conversation

"What a lie!" She slammed her hand on the table, scaring the milk out of me

"Lee Haeyoung, stop your nonsense." Miss Chan commanded as she sat at her own table, doing paperwork

I never said anything wrong. Even if she knew I was sort of lying, why did she care? Lee Haeyoung rolled her eyes, then carried on eating until all her cereal was done. She pushed her plate aside and eyed me carefully.

"Listen here and listen carefully." She whispered, "This isn't the school where girls like you belong. You see those girls you call your "friends"? They are not who you think they are. Once you find out their secrets, you won't like them anymore . So, I suggest you leave this school yourself, or else I will kick you out myself."

Kick me out herself? Oh, that was it! I put my spoon down and pushed my bowl aside. I then faced Lee Haeyoung with challenging eyes. If that bulldog thought it could do whatever it wanted with me, it got it all twisted. Enough was enough!

"You can try. But I won't budge."

"Oh please. Don't try to act tough now. I'm only trying to help you."

"You're not helping, you're threatening me. And if you think it's working, you better think again. Tsuki, Bae and Yerim are the nicest people I've ever met and you've been the rudest one so far. It's not my fault they like me and not you."

"Are you calling me jealous?"

"Yes. And you always will be. Once a devil, always a devil. Don't try and challenge the good people here."

She stared at me with her devil eyes. The devil is a liar, as people would say. Why did I even bother waiting for her response?

She shook her head, then sighed in defeat. I won? I finally beat the bully. I was finally victorious! Lee Haeyoung got up from her seat and took her bowl with her. Was she really defeated? I never thought I would beat her that easily. She was a tough one to beat. Or was she merely pretending?

She walked over to my side of the table. I knew it! She wasn't done with me. She was in for a fight. I lifted my spoon up and used it as my shield. Smart choice, I know.

Lee Haeyoung lifted her hand up, and I readied my spoon for defence. But, instead of her smacking the nonsense out of me, she patted my shoulder twice. Gently in fact. Then, she walked away without saying a word. Was that her way of declaring war? Because if it was, my spoon and I were ready.

Okay, maybe the spoon wasn't the wisest choice.

I wondered what she meant. That girl really wanted me gone. I had only been at the school for a week, and we barely knew each other. Why did she have to choose to bully me? Out of all people. I needed to be ready for war next week. It was going to be Kim Hyun-gi vs. Lee Haeyoung.

James and I looked at Miss Chan and Lee Haeyoung as they waited by the door together. Miss Chan was wearing a brown and orange wrap dress with black sandals. She also wore a brown cloche hat to match the outfit.

She was a true fashionista.

When Miss Chan noticed us, her dark red lips grew into a wide smile. She was always happy to see us.

"Mr. Bang! It's a pleasure to see you once again." She was walking towards us now, leaving Lee Haeyoung by the door alone.

"Hyun-gi, get in the car now." James whispered pushing me towards the car

"Wait, but Miss Chan wants to chat with--"

Before I could continue saying what I needed to say, James had already shoved me into the car. I didn't like his behaviour at all, especially since it was towards Miss Chan. He also got into the car and drove off immediately after starting it.

As we drove pass Miss Chan, she had a look of disbelief written all over her face. Not only was I embarrassed, but I felt so sorry for her.

"James, what was that for?" I questioned James.

"Uh...we have to rush home."

"Seriously? What's the rush?"

"I, um, I left food on the stove at home. I totally forgot about it."

I was too angry to even continue with that conversation. Out of all people in the world, he decided to be so ill-mannered with the nicest person. I thought I knew James better than that, but I guess I was wrong

"Hyun-gi, come on. Are you seriously going to be mad at me all the way home?" He chuckled

"Yes!" I growled, "You should've known better than to disrespect such a nice woman."

"She's not that nice."

"As if you know her at all."

"..."

I stared out the window to avoid his gaze. That might teach him to respect women more. Just because he had all the gold he needed, didn't mean that he could belittle whoever he wanted. He might as well forget making any friends with women.

The drive was long and the atmosphere between James and I was thicker than ever. The rain that poured outside was the only commotion that kept me at ease. That was, until James decided to unlock his lips.

"Did you hear about the monster on the news?"

"Mhm. Apparently it escaped." I said

"It did. It was unstoppable that time."

"You saw it leave?" I turned my gaze to him now, concerned that he might've known something

"Yeah. It was more vicious than ever. I tried to stop it, but those news reporters were in the way. I had to protect them first."

I noticed something hidden under James' sleeve as he held onto the steering wheel. I reached out and pulled the sleeve down slowly to not disturb his driving. And there it was. Three fresh scars. It was clear that those were made by claws. The monster attacked him before it escaped the forest.

"It hurt you?" I asked in disbelief

He quickly pulled his sleeve back down to hide it.

"It's nothing." He said

"Nothing? How could you say that when it almost killed you?"

"I said it's nothing, Hyun-gi." He said, gritting his teeth in anger now

"Stop pretending, James. You know how much I care about you. How can you act so stupidly by going after the monster when you knew it was more vicious than ever?!"

"I didn't go after it. I was protecting the reporters. It just gave me a little scratch."

"A scratch? That's more than a scratch. You could've died in the process!"

"That's enough, Hyun-gi!" He raised his voice at me, "I have the right to do whatever I want. I don't need you to tell me otherwise."

I didn't care how mad he was at me. All I did was care for his safety. I never wanted him to die. He was the man who saved my life when the forest hunters nearly killed me. I just wanted to repay him in as many ways as possible. Was that so wrong of me?

We finally made it into the forest. James parked his car in its usual spot. None of us said a single word ever since the argument. I wasn't mad at him. I was mad at the situation. But I knew he was mad at me. It was written all over his face.

I couldn't help but think that I was being a burden to him. All he wanted to do was capture the monster, even if it meant him dying while doing it. He didn't need anyone's permission to do anything. Not even mine. I was nothing to him. He didn't need anyone since he had a bunch of money in his bank account. I wouldn't be surprised if he kicked me out soon.

Just as I was about to get out of the car, James grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. I was startled, because I thought he was going to beat me up for disrespecting him. But, before I could scream or shout, his lips collided onto mine.

I found myself kissing an older man. I, Kim Hyun-Gi, the girl who promised to never fall in love with a man, was kissing a man twice my age. If any other man ever asked for my permission to kiss them, I would run away as fast as possible. But James didn't ask. He just did it. And without hesitation, I kissed him back.

I knew I promised that I would never have a relationship with a man from the very beginning. I thought that every man who be just like the Caretaker. But James...he was so different from that. And that made my heart skip a beat.

I had this feeling that I liked him from the very beginning.