Mysterious Man

The two pairs of eyes stared at each other in silence. Neither of them said a word yet. The mysterious man in front of Ji Soo brought up a thin grin and a satisfied look on his face.

In contrast, Ji Soo was surprised, "What did you just say?" she asked, blinking her eyes a few times.

"Joo Hyuk?"

Suzy just climbed the stairs. She was in the middle of the stairs watching the scene that made her wonder.

"What are you two doing?" asked Suzy.

Nam Joo Hyuk immediately pulled Ji Soo towards him, and Ji Soo had time to hold onto the chest of the man who had hugged her so tightly.

"Are you okay?" asked Nam Joo Hyuk.

"I'm fine, and let me go," Ji Soo immediately released the hug of the man he just knew named Joo Hyuk.

Suzy climbed the stairs, and after that, she looked alternately between Ji Soo and Nam Joo Hyuk.

"You two know each other?" asked Suzy, who somehow became very curious.

"No, we're not!" Ji Soo replied in a hurry.

"Earlier, I was very careless. And he saved me, thank you..." Ji Soo looked at the man in front of her who smirked and looked happy.

"Introduce my name is Nam Joo Hyuk," he said in a relaxed manner.

"Thank you, Mr. Nam. And sorry that I have to go back to the celebration with my friends," Ji Soo said with a bow, and after that, she left Suzy and Joo Hyuk was still at the top of the stairs.

"Uhm… is that your new target? Looks like she looks delicious," said Suzy as she watched Ji Soo's back start to drift away and blend into the crowd.

"She's mine, and you can't go near her," Joo Hyuk said with a drastically changed face.

There is no sweet smile like the one he gave Ji Soo. Just a handsome face with a flat expression and an unfriendly impression. Nam Joo Hyuk immediately descended the stairs, leaving Suzy still staring at him from the top of the stairs.

"Uhmm… very interesting? I'm so curious," thought Suzy.

Down below, the celebrations were still on, with the guests starting to look drunk from the incessant serving of drinks.

Ji Soo didn't dare to drink more. She just looked at Ara with a red face.

"Aunt Ara, stop it! You've had too much to drink," said Ji Soo trying to take Ara's drink glass.

"I'm still strong!" said Ara while straightening her body.

"How can you say strong. Just look at you, Auntie. Enough… and…"

Ji Soo stopped when Ara started to show strange signs. It can be seen from the expression on his face.

"Aunt Ara! Stop it! You can't throw up here!" Ji Soo also straightened her body and tried to resuscitate Ara, who seemed to be turning her head incoherently.

Ara covered her mouth tightly, signaling with her hand that she needed to go to the restroom.

"Oh my ..! I will wait here, and after this, we have to go home," said Ji Soo.

Ara had only taken a few steps, and she seems to be struggling to keep her balance. Making Ji Soo worried and immediately grabbed Ara's shoulders.

"Auntie, are you okay. Hhh… you're having a hard time walking," said Ji Soo was worried.

Ara just nodded her head as she patted her chest. She might say, "I'm still going strong. You don't have to worry like that, young lady."

Ara moved her shoulders cause she didn't want Ji Soo to keep holding her like a child. After that, she continued her footsteps, even though Ji Soo was still watching from a distance.

"Hh… she's old. She shouldn't drink that much,"

"Who's old?"

A man's voice made Ji Soo turn to her right side.

Just saw Gim Ho Bin smiling at her. It made her daydream involuntarily. '

"Ji Soo?" called Gim Ho Bin surprised.

"Ah, yes! Leader Gim!" Ji Soo exclaimed in a loud voice and her attitude was too formal.

"Relax, Ji Soo. You don't need to be so stiff. It's still a party atmosphere," Gim Ho Bin chuckled.

"Still, you are the leader here," Ji Soo lowered her gaze. She felt very awkward if she had to look directly at Gim Ho Bin's pair of eyes.

"How? Did you like the celebration tonight? Would you like something, food or drink?" asked Ho Bin, trying to change the topic of the conversation between the two.

"No! I mean.., I like the celebration tonight. And I can't afford to fill my full stomach. Don't force me to drink coz I can sleep on the street if I'm drunk later," Ji Soo grinned widely with a strange expression on her face.

"Oo..." Gim Ho Bin's mouth narrowed slightly. For a moment, he felt confused by Ji Soo's statement just now.

"Why would I say that, anyway?" Ji Soo thought in annoyance.

For a few seconds, they were silent and just stared at each other. The awkwardness between the two of them was unavoidable.

"You are here, Ho Bin?"

A man with jet black hair, and a characteristic vicious look in his eyes, made Ji Soo glance towards the source of the sound.

"He?" Ji Soo exclaimed suddenly.

"We meet again, Miss Ji Soo," said Nam Joo Hyuk with a big smile.

"You two know each other?" Gim Ho Bin stared alternately between Ji Soo and Nam Joo Hyuk.

"You know him?" Ji Soo asked, pointing to Nam Joo Hyuk.

"We know each other. We are friends," Nam Joo Hyuk put one hand on Gim Ho Bin's shoulder.

"Oh, Mr. Nam. You are so humble. I don't deserve to be side by side with you like this," Gim Ho Bin teased, removing Nam Joo Hyuk's hand from his shoulder, and after that, he bowed respectfully.

"Why are you so stiff? We're friends, right?" said Nam Joo Hyuk, but his gaze remained on Ji Soo.

"Looks like I have to check on my friend. Sorry, then I have to leave the two of you here immediately," Ji Soo said goodbye.

Without waiting for Gim Ho Bin to say anything, Ji Soo immediately turned her body. She immediately took millipede steps to avoid the mysterious man she had met earlier.

***

The night was getting late, making Ji Soo decide to end the celebration that night.

Luckily, Aunt Ara's partner was able to bring the drunk woman home safely.

But unlike Ji Soo. She had to walk home alone late at night, which was a dangerous thing for a young woman like her to do.

"At least someone has taken Aunt Ara home. Luckily, I was able to get out quickly. Otherwise, I could have met that strange man!" Ji Soo thought while imagining Nam Joo Hyuk's face.

"Oh my! How can Leader Gim be friends with a guy like that?" Ji Soo walked away, rubbing her shoulders.

There was an empty drink can lying not far from where Ji Soo walked. She got closer to the drink can, and because she was annoyed, she kicked it hard at random.

The empty drink can bounce far enough and hit the big bin, making a loud "knocking" sound.

"Hhh..." Ji Soo took a deep breath, slightly relieved to be able to vent her tiredness.

Ji Soo faintly hears a voice from behind a big red trash can. Like a groan that sounded scary in a night that was so quiet.

"Wh… who is that?" Ji Soo stopped her footsteps, with her gaze still fixed on the big red trash can.

A pair of hands suddenly appeared from behind a large trash can. Big hands full of dirt stains and holding the empty drink can Ji Soo kicked earlier.

Ji Soo gets scared. She gets a bad feeling when she sees the hand crushing the empty drink can so easily.