Keifer's POV
The surroundings I passed were all farmland. I didn't know exactly where I was, but I knew I was getting close to Jay-jay. I saw a few houses here and there, but they were scarce. I was driving so fast that the roar of my car's engine was deafening.
My speed ranged from 100 to 120 kilometers per hour. Whoever kidnapped Jay was clever enough to take her far away. Even if she tried to escape, they'd catch her quickly.
It didn't take long before I saw the old building. It had three floors, and the paint was extremely faded. The building's name was erased—only the word "coop" remained.
I stopped the car just a few meters away. They can't see me right away I quickly got out, taking large strides toward the building.
I immediately spotted two men smoking at the entrance of the building.
They hadn't even gotten up properly when I slammed one of their heads against the wall. The other one quickly stepped back, but I didn't let him get away. I grabbed him by the neck and pulled his face close to mine.
"Where the fvck is my girlfriend?" I said with a growling voice.
"S-s-s-she's o-o-on the..." He couldn't finish what he was about to say because of my grip on his throat, so he just pointed to the third floor.
I let him go, but not before landing a solid punch on his face. I walked inside the building. I immediately searched for the stairs to the second and third floors.
As I was heading up, I ran into a familiar face. Before he could even scream, I kicked him hard in the chest.
I'm not sure about his name, but I know he's from that stupid Alphabet Gang.
The gang that uses letters for codenames. They looked like fools, that's why Yuri called them the Alphabet Gang. Their group had been gone for a while now—I thought we'd already defeated them.
There were probably only a few of them left now, since there weren't many scattered around the building. I went straight to the third floor.Even as I was climbing the stairs, I could already hear laughter.
I listened closely to figure out where it was coming from. Through an open door, I saw Jay-jay tied to a chair, blindfolded. She was at the far end of the room, and since everyone's attention was on her, no one noticed me.
It seemed like she was the one they were laughing at. I took advantage of the situation. I looked around at all of them, noting their positions. I counted how many there were.
"Girl..." one of them said. "...Everyone in the groups around here already knows you're Keifer's girlfriend. So why should we believe you?"
Looks like that part's my fault. I always told people she's my girlfriend, even though we weren't really official yet.
Nice job, Keifer. But she's definitely going to be my girlfriend anyway. I just said it early so everyone knows she's mine. So no one else would dare make a move on her.
Actually, I could already announce that she's my wife. She's my soon-to-be wife.
But that might be a little too much, and Jay might get mad.
Let's stick with "girlfriend" for now.
"We were never together..." she said. "...Because he just used me."
It felt like I got punched in the gut when she said that. But I realized my mistake. I knew it hurt her, but it hurt me too. It hurt me that I had to hurt her.
No worries... She's still mine. I'll make sure of that.
"He only used me to get back at my brother." she breathed out. "...Stupid me, I fell right into his trap."
"Ouch." someone commented.
"What did Keifer do to you?" one of them asked.
She shook her head, as if she wasn't ready to tell the whole story. I didn't move. I wanted to hear what she'd say.
But I was a little confused. Why did these idiots seem so interested in her story? It's like they forgot they were kidnappers and she was their hostage. Turns out these guys were a bunch of gossips.
"He made me fall for him! He was a total player, and when I finally fell, he said—just kidding!"
she snapped. "...Good thing my coconut didn't crack. Bataan almost fell."
It's not a joke and I'm not a player.
"That a$$hole's the worst! Such a jerk!" one of them commented again.
I raised an eyebrow. Wow—these guys were really getting into this.
Each one started throwing in their own take on Jay's story. One of them even cursed me out—which really pissed me off. It turned into some kind of storytelling session and now they were all on Jay-jay's side.
I didn't really want to interrupt their little session... But we have to leave now.
"Nice story." I interrupted them.
I saw the alarm on their faces. Everyone scrambled to their feet and got ready.
I was right. There really weren't that many of them now, not like before. The alphabet wasn't even complete anymore.
I even saw their leader—what was his codename again? Z?—standing next to Jay-jay. His fists were clenched. Looked like he was furious with us... or with me.
I think he was extremely pissed because we called them the ALPHABET GANG. Their group didn't really have a name. But thanks to Yuri, Felix, and C-in teasing them, they got called "Alphabet" and were even serenaded with the ABCD song.
I looked at Jay-jay. She seemed a bit tense but not scared. Maybe she recognized me.
"That was a heartwarming story. There's just one part missing."
Because you didn't know the part that I fvcking fell in love with you.
It was so easy. This group was way weaker than before. On top of that, they moved recklessly without any strategy. They kept cursing at me as they charged. I grabbed one of them and flipped him into the air. He hit the ground hard.
The others tried to get back up and fight me again. I twisted one guy's arm and kicked another in the knee, probably breaking a bone. Soon, most of them were either down or too scared to attack. He probably broke a bone. Almost no one was attacking anymore—they looked like they were about to give up— until a fist landed right on my face.
It made me so damn angry. Someone actually managed to land a punch.
"You bastard!" Z shouted at me.
"You never learn," I said while rubbing the spot on my jaw where he hit me. "...I already knocked you down once, and here you are again."
He smirked. "So what?!"
I gave him a deadly glare. Still cocky, even though he's the only one left standing against me. All his men were already down. No wonder they dragged Jay-jay into this. Because from the start, they never stood a chance against me. They kidnapped her thinking I would surrender. He involved the girl I love.
"You dragged the girl—!"
I almost said the girl I love.
"Shut up!" someone yelled behind me.
I spun around just in time to avoid the attack and pushed the guy face-first into the ground. I'd already sensed him sneaking up behind me. No wonder Z had the guts to keep fighting me.
The one who tried to ambush me hit the ground hard. So did the knife in his hand—he was probably trying to stab me with it.
Z looked shocked and panicked. Suddenly, the guy I had pushed stood up and grabbed the knife.
I thought he was coming back for me, but he turned in a different direction.
He was heading for... NO!
"Now, A!" Z shouted.
A raised the knife, aiming it at Jay-jay. Blood rushed through my veins. My feet moved on their own to get to her and stop him. His knife was inches away from Jay before I grabbed his wrist and wouldn't let go.
But right after that, something sharp stabbed into my right side.
I tightened my grip on A's wrist, then turned to look behind me. Z was grinning smugly at me, like he was saying I'd lost.
I quickly grabbed his wrist—the one he used to drive the knife into me. Pain surged through my nerves, but I couldn't shout. Jay couldn't hear me suffering.
I slowly stepped back, pulling them away from her. Z pressed the knife in deeper, while A tried to free his hand.
When I got enough distance, A suddenly punched me in the chest with one hand. I let go, and he took that chance to try stabbing me too. Everything happened so fast.
I grabbed Z by the collar with one hand and yanked him toward me, using him as a shield.
I saw exactly how hard the blow hit him. It's my turn to smirk back at him. He may have had the upper hand earlier, but that's not happening again.
He fell to the floor and looked at A—whose face was filled with horror. I grabbed A by the neck and choked him until he lost consciousness.
I had no intention of killing him. I wanted him to suffer and carry the guilt of what he did to his own friend for the rest of his life.
I'm not that evil.
Z's knife was still stuck in my side. I couldn't pull it out because I knew the blood would surely gush out then. Jay-jay hates the sight of blood. She might panic if she sees me like this.
I slowly walked toward her. My side throbbed with every step. I grimaced in pain.
"W-who's there?" Jay-jay asked, sounding scared. "...W-what's h-happening? Where's K-Keifer?"
Hey... it's me.
I couldn't speak because of the pain. I forced myself to get to her quickly. I needed to check if they had hurt her.
"W-who are you?" she asked again. "...A-Are you Keifer? Say something."
I stopped in front of her, breathing heavily from the pain. I looked her over— there were no signs that they had seriously hurt her. Maybe just a few small bruises.
She kept trying to free herself from the ropes tying her up. I was about to help her, but then my eyes landed on her lips.
I remembered the harshness the last time I kissed her. I wanted to apologize to her for having to do that. There were so many things I wanted to say. But I had to save them for later. She couldn't know just yet.
Her cheeks had a few little bruises and some dirt. I smiled bitterly. Sorry for making you suffer like this.
I held her cheek. She immediately turned away, probably out of fear.
"Damn it! Stay away! Don't touch me!" she shouted while pulling her face away.
I bit my lip to hold back my laugh. She just said a profanity.
"Keifer!" she called. "...Help me!"
My smile faded and I stepped closer to her, but she only moved farther away.
I'm here...
She was on the verge of tears— I could tell by the way her lips trembled. I wanted her to feel safe, to know she was protected. But somehow, my eyes remained focused on her lips.
It was like a magnet pulling me. The next thing I knew, our lips are being lock together.
I badly miss kissing her.
For a while I can feel that she felt protection and relax. She stop moving as if she's figuring out who I was.
It's me... The man that you love. You're safe now. No one will hurt you now. I will protect you no matter what.
I pulled away to catch our breath. But to my surprise, I saw the tears welling up in her eyes.
"Don't... please," she begged. "...Have mercy on me."
Maybe she didn't recognize me. I stood up, about to remove her blindfold, but a sudden stab of pain hit my side, followed by blood starting to flow. I had no choice but to pull out the knife still embedded in me.
I staggered back from the pain. I took several deep breaths before trying again to pull the knife out. My hands trembled from the effort, and the blade wouldn't budge. I knew I needed to call our friends.
I dropped to my knees from the weakness. I tried to stand, and only then did I realize I had wandered far from where Jay-jay was.
I took a deep breath. I tightened my grip on the knife's handle. One heavy, deep breath— then I used all my strength to pull it from my side.
I almost screamed from the pain, but I couldn't stop myself from collapsing to the floor. It made a loud thud. I quickly stood back up, even though my body didn't want to move anymore.
I looked at Jay and was just about to approach her when—
"JAY-JAY!"
I looked toward the entrance. Percy was rushing in straight to her. Behind him was all of Section E, now turning their eyes to me.
I signaled them to go to Jay-jay. I forced myself to walk away. She can't see me like this. I hadn't gotten far when my legs gave out and I sat down.
"Keifer..." It was Eren, trying to help me. Josh came over too, both of them trying to pull me closer to the nearest wall. They leaned me against it.
"Let me see your wound," Josh said, but I pushed his hand away.
"Don't. She doesn't have to know."
"You're badly wounded, Keifer. You can't hide that from her," said Yuri.
I saw they had already freed her from the chair. She couldn't see me like this.
I tried to stand, but I was already struggling. I was starting to feel dizzy from the blood loss. Eren helped me up. Josh did the same. I saw Jay-jay right away— she clearly wanted to come to me.
Don't!
You can't come near me. You don't like blood. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable because of me.
She didn't move from where she stood. I forced myself to walk while Eren and Josh kept helping me. Even when we reached outside, they were still holding me up.
They loaded me into Yuri's car. I saw Jay-jay get into Percy's car. I couldn't help but look at her as she looked at us. There was sadness in her eyes.
I'm so sorry, Jay.
What matters most to me is that you're safe. It doesn't matter if you remember me or not. I'll endure all the wounds. I won't let them hurt you ever again.
Their car drove away, and all I could do was watch.
"Keifer! Give me your car keys, I'll drive," Felix said.
I handed him the keys. Yuri took the driver's seat, and the others— Ci-N, Eren, and Josh— climbed into the back.
"We'll take you to the hospital," Yuri said as he started the engine.
I couldn't even reply. All I could think about was how to make sure this never happens again. Looks like I have to take down every gang or group I've fought with—send a message.
I was starting to feel cold. I didn't know if it was because of the car's air conditioning. My eyelids were falling on their own.
"Keifer!" Yuri called me, but I couldn't respond.
My body was automatically dragging me to sleep. No matter how hard I tried to open my eyes, I still felt extremely sleepy. I could hear Yuri and C-in, but I couldn't understand what they were saying.
My vision was all blurred. I didn't know what was happening around me, but I could feel them carrying me somewhere. It took a while before I realized I was already lying on something soft.
There were also lights moving in front of me— or maybe it was me who was moving.
Everything slowly faded into darkness, and the only thing left in my mind was Jay-jay and the sadness in her eyes.
I don't know how long I had been unconscious, but I woke up to the sound of multiple voices. They sounded like they were talking, but I could only understand a few of them.
"Kuya said Jay-jay's okay." It was Felix.
"What's the problem with that Alphabet group anyway?" It was Calix, and he sounded pissed.
"I don't know… We just have to make sure this doesn't happen again," Yuri said.
That's right. I have to make sure that this won't happen again.
I opened my eyes and looked at all of them. Some of them went silent upon seeing I was awake.
"Keifer… are you feeling anything?" Yuri asked as he walked to my bedside.
"J-Jay-jay?"
"She's fine. She might have gone home already." It was Felix who answered.
Suddenly, someone jumped on the foot of my bed. It was C-in, all smiles.
"Time to fight again?" he asked.
David grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away from my bed. I tried to sit up, but my wound immediately throbbed in pain.
"Easy… They said your wound was deep and you lost a lot of blood," Eman said as he gently pushed me back down.
"I-I have to make sure this doesn't happen again. I have to send threats to the other groups," I said.
I noticed them exchanging glances. Some looked confused while others had that mocking expression—like they didn't believe me.
"You're so confusing. You pushed Jay-jay away, and now you're risking your life for her," Mayo said while shaking his head.
"What's really the problem?" Kit asked, looking worried. "...If you're angry, you can take it out on us instead. Don't take it out on Jay."
"Did something happen that we don't know about?" Rory asked.
I shook my head. "It was all about the plan."
"Plan our ass! We're not stupid! We know you already stopped!" It was Denzel.
"So what now? What's your next move?" Drew asked.
I breathed heavily. I tried to clear my thoughts. I only had one thing in my mind.
"Protect Jay-jay. Send warnings to those who try to touch her," I said with authority.
"You're really confusing, Keifer. But whatever this is, if it's for Jay-jay…" David said.
All of them nodded and said the same thing— For Jay-jay, for her safety.