She was the only thing on his mind. All Yoosung could think about was that new member of Rika's Fundraising Association. She was all Yoosung ever wanted--someone just like Rika. He even brought this up to her.
To his delight, she wasn't scared off or disgusted. She simply said, "I can be her if you want. You can even call me Rika instead of my name if you truly wish."
Every time he'd bring it up, "Rika" would encourage it, much to the dismay of the other members of the R.F.A.
"I can prove she's Rika! I'm not crazy! Watch!"
He sent an image in the chatroom she had never seen before. It was Rika's dog before he, and later Rika, died.
"Is that Rika's dog?" the love of his life questioned.
"You knew instantly... You really are a reincarnation of Rika..."
The other members were quite concerned when the newest member agreed with the statement. She had never even heard of Rika until joining the association, not to mention she and Rika would be the around same age had she not committed suicide, thus the reincarnation theory made no sense. Unfortunately, it was not enough to sway Yoosung's mind. The members were all in dismay.
A week after she had joined the R.F.A., one of the members, 707, revealed he found the hacker that forced the new member to join the association. Less than three days ago, traces of the hacker were left in the apartment.
"Are you okay?" Jaehee Kang, the only other female in the association, questioned the woman.
"Yes."
Yoosung felt something in his chest as he read the messages. Is this what jealousy felt like? It was him who should be asking if she's okay, not Jaehee.
"I'm glad to hear that."
He gripped the phone tighter, trying his best not to throw it. If the device were to break, then all hope was lost. That was his only way to communicate with her.
"Don't freak out, but there's a bomb," Seven revealed. An audible gasp left Yoosung's lips. "If you leave or an R.F.A. member tries to enter, it will go off and everyone in that apartment will die."
"What should I do, then?" she questioned like it was a minuscule inconvenience instead of a life-threatening situation.
"Do not leave under any circumstances. I'll fix the problem as fast as possible."
Instead of relief that his lover was in good hands, Yoosung couldn't help but feel attacked. Why didn't Seven request his help? Did he not think Yoosung was capable of being her hero? Did he consider Yoosung to be too weak?
As soon as Seven left the chatroom, Yoosung opened the private message section and texted her.
"I heard what happened. Are you alright?"
"Just like I told Jaehee, yes, I'm fine."
"This is all V's fault!"
"How so?"
"This is a time of great emergency and where is he? Not in the chatrooms, that's for sure! It's irresponsible!"
"Oh."
"Don't worry, I'll get the address to Rika's apartment and I'll come to save you!"
"My hero."
As fast as he could, Yoosung sprinted to get his sneakers on and drove to Seven's apartment. He may not know where his soulmate was staying, but he knew where someone who did was. He pounded on the door.
"Luciel! Luciel, I know you can hear me! Open this door, you know I can't speak Arabic!"
"That's exactly why I have it as a security measure in the first place. Not many people in South Korea know Arabic," he spoke from the security camera. "If it was a commonly spoken language, like Korean or English, then it wouldn't be secure, would it?"
"Just let me in!"
"Ugh, fine. Give me a second."
When he heard the sound of the locks click open, he made his way to the basement where Seven was coding, surrounded by empty bags of chips and tipped over soda cans.
"I need Rika's address," Yoosung demanded.
"What? No," Seven responded, staring at his computer screen as he hacked or coded (Yoosung couldn't tell which one it was).
"Please!" Yoosung begged. "I can't lose her like I lost Rika!"
"Yoosung, calm down," Seven spoke, but the distressed college student wouldn't hear it. "Look, I'll call V and--"
"No!" Yoosung interrupted. "If you don't give me the address I-I'll destroy all your laptops and computers!" He picked up a nearby laptop Seven was not using and held it above his head. He was crying and not thinking clearly. "I can't trust anyone in the R.F.A. who can move on after losing Rika! If I can't save that girl stuck in Rika's apartment, then no one else will!"
"Yoosung, you read the chatroom," Seven said, standing up and slowly approaching the manic man, "if you go there, both you and she will die!"
"I don't believe you!" Yoosung spat. "You couldn't save Rika, so what makes you think you can save her!?"
Defeated, Seven sighed. "Hold on, I'm going to call V." He grabbed his phone and left the room. Taking the opportunity, Yoosung scrambled into Seven's computer where he found C.C.T.V. footage. There, plain as day, in black and white with a layer of static, he saw a woman laying on a sofa, texting on her phone.
His heart practically beat out of his chest. He knew that was her with no other pieces of evidence other than a strong gut feeling. He clicked on random things until he was able to find G.P.S. coordinates. He grabbed the closest writing utensil and some paper with some information he didn't really care about, wrote the numbers down, then left the apartment as fast as he could.
He was heavy breathing at this point, starting the car with shaky hands as he punched the numbers into the G.P.S., then sped out of the parking lot. He was finally going to see her. He was so happy, he could cry.
At a red light, his phone started going off. He glanced from the road to the screen every time it vibrated to see what was going on. It was a chatroom between Seven and the woman he was about to see.
"YOOSUNG. HE WAS JUST HERE. NOW HE'S GONE."
"Oh?"
"LISTEN TO ME, IF YOU SEE HIM, TEXT ME."
"Even if he's not at my apartment?"
"ESPECIALLY IF HE'S NOT AT YOUR APARTMENT. THAT MEANS I HAVE TIME TO STOP HIM."
Yoosung gritted his teeth. How dare Seven try to stop him from seeing his true love's face! He drove faster, ignoring stop signs and red lights. Not even the law would stop him from seeing her. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to touch her, he wanted to spend his whole life with her, regardless of if his life would end from some made-up bomb.
"Your destination is on the right," the computer alerted.
Yoosung immediately swerved to the side of the road instead of the designated parking area and ran into the complex. He mumbled the number of the apartment until he found it, but he had a problem--he didn't have the numbers to the passcode. Panicking, he saw that there was a window he was able to get into. He punched a hole and climbed in, disregarding his bleeding knuckles and glass on the floor.
He stepped into her small kitchen, "Your knight in shining armor is here to save you!"
His bride to be turned the corner, holding a baseball bat in her hand. "Yoosung? Did you... break the window?"
He laughed, "How else was I supposed to get in? I didn't know the code!" She dropped the bat, terrified. He approached her, cupping her face in his hands. He started to cry, "Y-You don't look like Rika... not what I expected at all, but you're safe and that's all that matters!"
"Yoosung..." He grabbed her wrists, pinning her against the archway that was the entrance to the kitchen. His grip was strong and she was unable to get herself free.
He laid his forehead against hers. "I'll keep you safe. I won't let you leave like Rika... not again... not ever!"
"Unknown presence detected. Self-destruction will occur in ten... nine... eight..."
She gulped, "The bomb Seven warned us about... it's going to go off if you don't get out of here!"
"Don't you see, baby? There is no bomb! It's all an elaborate ruse to keep me away from you!" He took her hands in his and got on one knee. "I love you. I want you to be mine... forever!"
She opened her mouth. Nothing came out. Their worlds went white. Yoosung got his wish--the rest of his life was spent with the woman he loved.