Chapter 1: It's Me To The Rescue

this scene picks up from where the last book ended, Saku Hana is in major trouble... and Kim Ji-Hoon comes to save the day

Kim Ji-Hoon has just finished his Kendo training and is now walking home... it is very late at night and he decides to take a short cut through the park. Suddenly, a middle school boy comes running from out of no where and crashes into Kim Ji-Hoon. Ji-Hoon is able to take the collision and barely budges... but the boy collapses to the ground, slightly dazed.

-Kim Ji-Hoon growls, slightly annoyed

"D****t brat, watch where the hell you are going!"

-The middle school boy shakes his head and quickly gets up

"I'm sorry!!"

"Why are you out so late anyway? And what the hell are you running from?"

"I was getting beat up by some older guys and then this girl came and told me to run... I think she is talking to them now..."

-Kim Ji-Hoon suddenly hears the commotion from somewhere, a girl yelling out and a few guys yelling as well... he face palms

"D****t... a girl trying to be Superwoman... where are you running from?"

-The boy points in the direction of the gazebo

-Kim Ji-Hoon nods and waves the boy off

"Get out of here... and never come out this late..."

-As the boy runs, Kim Ji-Hoon makes his way to the gazebo

When he gets there, he takes in the fight: Glass and... wine was scattered all over the place. There were four guys all together. The girl was on the ground... totally defeated, but still putting up a good fight... Ji-Hoon notices her disadvantages include her being semi-drunk and wearing a dress... a very... familiar dress

-Kim Ji-Hoon realizes that the girl fighting madly to protect herself is actually the one and only Saku Hana!!

-Ji-Hoon quickly jumps into the action and two of the guys... he yanks them away from Saku and throws them forward and out of the way

-Moving onto the next, Kim Ji-Hoon aims a hard kick to another guy's stomach... he ends up falling and rolling away to get to safety

-The last guy is smart enough to back up before Kim Ji-Hoon could get to him

-Kim Ji-Hoon walks forward to close the distance between him and Saku

-He notices how she is almost completely out of it, from both the wine and the beating...

-He aims a threat toward the four high school guys

"Honestly guys, don’t you have any dignity.... and for the ladies. Oh and by the way, I'll castrate you sick fuckers if you try to do this again!!!"

 

"To hell with trying to act sophisticated!!"

 

-The four guys stand up tall and face Ji-Hoon

-The first threats menacingly

"Stay out of this if you aren't supposed to be involved!"

-The second speaks up as well

"Are you related to her? Or, are you maybe, her boyfriend?"

-The third snorts

"Probably just some punk trying to be brave or save the day to get the girl! But that'll fail terribly!"

-The fourth however, stays quiet... he knows something... Finally he whispers to the others

"You guys... I don't think we should fight him... I think he might be a lot more trouble than we think..."

-The three other guys stare at him and growl together

"You wuss! Go run home if you aren't ready to fight for real!"

-The fourth guy glares at them before going off

-Kim Ji-Hoon yawns

"He was right, you know... maybe you three should go and run to your mommies as well."

-The taunt is working, as the three are getting very irritated

-Ji-Hoon continues

"You really should know who you fight... I mean, I already know that the three of you are wanna be gangsters who only have enough balls to pick a fight with a girl who they know they can wail on and then take to their house... and don't have the guts to face her boyfriend-er- savior... They know that they can't fight for jack and they always pick on people who they know can't fight them back... real punks and a disgrace to the public..."

-The three lose it and blindly charge at Kim Ji-Hoon

-Ji-Hoon, seeing how quickly the fight will end, barely makes an effort, but easily takes down all three with a measly kick here and a slightly aimed punch there

-The three run before any more damage could be taken

-Kim Ji-Hoon yells after them

"Wimpy A*s Punks!!!" 

 

"There I go losing my cool again..."

 

-He is finally able to direct his attention to the unconscious Saku Hana

Kim Ji-Hoon runs over to Saku and examines her body: Her face was a mess with a swollen eye, busted lip, a cut to one cheek, and a worrisome bruise was forming on her other cheekbone. Her arms went through hell, as it looked, with all the scratches and cuts... her legs weren't so bad, but her ankle looked swelled. The dress was in tatters... falling off of her basically. Kim Ji-Hoon shook his head at the sight. A light shower came down and it soon turned into a downpour. Gently, Kim Ji-Hoon picked up Saku Hana and began to walk towards his house. Luckily, he glanced into the gazebo and noticed her suitcase and other belongings stacked in a corner.

-Kim Ji-Hoon eyes Saku's belongings

"Why is she... staying here? What about her house?"

-A flashback shows his conversation with Saku in the hospital with Saku coldly replying to his question

"If I lose, then this drama queen won't have a house to return to..."

-Kim Ji-Hoon thinks back

"Did she lose the tennis tournament?"

-Saku suddenly moans

-Kim Ji-Hoon slightly panics when Saku starts to move around in his grip, trying to get down

"Put... me down... you jackasses!! I'll get you... so badly... if..."

"Saku, its Kim Ji-Hoon... you're okay... stop wiggling!!" 

-In the end, Saku was holding onto Kim Ji-Hoon by his neck and leaning her head against his chest

-Kim Ji-Hoon breathed in deeply

"Aish... such trouble... I'll just come back and get her things..."

Kim Ji-Hoon carried Saku Hana to his house... he set her on his couch with a blanket over her... Back into the rain, Kim Ji-Hoon walks back to retrieve her things. When Ji-Hoon gets back to his home, he is completely drenched... so before taking care of Saku, he quickly showers and changes into dry clothes.

-Kim Ji-Hoon takes Saku's things into his room... he is debating whether to look through her things to find her clothes...

"She should wear her own things, she'll be more comfortable... but then again... I'd be invading her privacy. She might not like that... so what should I do? My clothes? Wait... she's totally unconscious... so... d****t... I'll have to dress her... ugh... she'll probably kill me when she wakes up..."

-Deciding to use his clothing, Kim Ji-Hoon goes into one of his drawers and pulls out a long, button up, white t-shirt.

"I have to check her wounds anyway so..."

-He goes into his bathroom and finds an emergency aid kit

-He leaves the shirt and kit on his bed and goes back to the living room to retrieve Saku.

-Saku has thrown the blanket off and curled herself into a ball,, pulling her knees up to her chest and shivering

-Kim Ji-Hoon pauses and stares at her for a brief moment...

"She's strong... pretty too... but causes so much trouble! Whether it be fainting in the middle of the night or getting into a fight and almost getting raped... Does she know what danger is anyway?!"

-He shakes his head and gets to work...

-Lifting her up gently, Kim Ji-Hoon takes Saku into his room. Setting her on the bed, Kim Ji-Hoon, gets to work on her wounds, disinfecting them... Saku irritably whacked his hand away a few times so Kim Ji-Hoon fought with her for a few minutes before she finally gave up and let him continue to take care of her

-Kim Ji-Hoon groans

"Damn... you're an angry drunk aren't you?"

-Saku replies groggily

"I'm not that drunk..." Followed by a hiccup

"Whatever you say drunkie..."

-After Ji-Hoon took care of Saku's arms and face, he got to changing her out of her wet, and tattered, clothes

-It took a little while, but, Kim Ji-Hoon was able to get Saku to change for herself... unfortunately, she blacked out again... before buttoning the shirt up

"Aw, d****t..."

-Kim Ji-Hoon positioned Saku comfortably on the bed and started to button up the shirt, his head turned in the opposite direction

"The crap I do..."

-Ji-Hoon finished button the shirt and prepared to step back, when Saku grabbed his hand

-Ji-Hoon felt a shiver rush through him at her soft touch... he was about to pull his hand away, when he thought otherwise... He knelt down next to the bed and let Saku hold his hand...

-Saku's eyes were slightly open... and Kim Ji-Hoon couldn't help but stare right at them

-Saku softly asks

"Can you just stay... until I fall asleep...?"

-Kim Ji-Hoon nods and pulls the blanket over her

-Saku continues to hold Ji-Hoon's hand... she doesn't seem to want to sleep...

-Kim Ji-Hoon takes a deep breath and begins to hum her a lullaby... his own song

"Why am I like this? I've never done this before... do I feel sorry for her? Is this an act of sympathy? Wait, she slapped me before and caused trouble for me... why do I feel sympathetic to such a troublemaker?! Then again... she really goes through a lot... and look at her... how can I not..."

-Kim Ji-Hoon shakes his head... he can't believe how he is acting and thinking...

-He looks at Saku and sees that her eyes were just closing

-He pulls his hand out of her grip leaves the room quickly

-Sitting in the living room, Kim Ji-Hoon thinks about what is going on in his normally peaceful and organized head

"Why am I acting like this? I'm supposed to be the cold heartless guy who doesn't consider girls or cares about them... I would have done this for any other girl... I wouldn't leave them in the rain... but why am I so nervous? AISH!!" 

 

Author's Note

This manga book is one of the many where it is actually told from Kim Ji-Hoon's point of view... I planned to keep the focus more on Saku, but, come on, I have to give Ji-Hoon the spotlight at some point!