Without taking another moment to think about it, Haewon turned and attempted to run away.
But firm hands came around her waist and pulled her backward. Haewon cried out, but it only made the men laugh in unison.
Annoyed now, Haewon forgot all about her safety as she put her self-defense lessons into practice and fought off the guy holding her. But before she could free herself completely, the next guy grabbed her hair.
"A feisty bitch like you needs to be taught a lesson!" The one she had fought off cussed; furious with her now, he slapped her hard across the face.
Haewon staggered back and fell on the floor, feeling faint now, and for the first time that night, she felt the cold hands of terror grip her heart as she realized that she might not be able to defend herself. She cried softly as she prayed that someone would come to her rescue.
"Crying now? You can't talk anymore? Go on. Why don't you tell us more about trouble?" The first attacker taunted as he knelt in front of her and grabbed her hair, making pain shoot through her already sore scalp.
"Get away from her!" Haewon heard someone say from behind her, and she turned to see who her savior was to be sure he had what it took to save her.
"And if we don't?" One of them asked, and before Haewon could blink, her savior had made his move and knocked down the two others.
Seeing this, the assailant kneeling beside her quickly let go of her hair and fled, and the two others scampered away after him like dogs with tails tucked between their legs.
Haewon stared at her savior with dazed eyes. Although from his appearance, she could tell he was a teenager around her age and possibly a high schooler, she was certain she had never seen him before. What was more surprising was that he looked like he was Korean, just like her.
He walked up to her and looked down at her, "Are you okay?" He asked as he offered a hand to her.
Haewon took his hand, and he pulled her up, "Thanks to you, I'm fine," Haewon said with a wince. The bastard had hit her hard.
"You should be more careful," Jake advised as he looked down the road while Haewon frowned when she realized they had taken her phone.
"My phone is gone," She said, struggling not to cry.
This experience had reinforced her principle. She was never going to go out at night or go partying for any reason.
This was all Charlotte's fault. She regretted agreeing to go to this stupid party with Charlotte. She couldn't believe that Charlotte had deserted her and made her go through such an ordeal.
"If you need to make a phone call, you can use mine," Jake offered as he extended his phone to her, and she took it gratefully.
Jake watched as she dialed Selena's number and moved away from him to speak with her when she received the call.
"Thanks," Haewon said as she returned the phone to him after she was done.
"I suppose you don't live around here. Were you here for Sandra's party?" Jake asked, and she looked at him curiously.
"You know Sandra?" Haewon asked curiously.
"Yeah. Is someone coming to pick you up or what? I'm not sure it's safe to leave you alone here," Jake said, and Haewon nodded.
"I'm sure they won't come back. You don't have to worry about me. My elder sister is coming over. You can leave," Haewon said, and Jake looked at her hesitantly.
"I will wait," He said and dipped his hands in his pocket.
He was curious to see Selena up close. According to his grandmother, she would have been his step-sister had his mother not abandoned him just so she could be married to Selena's father. He wanted to see what was so special about her that had made his mother choose her and her father over him.
"I'm Haewon," Haewon offered after the silence between them had dragged on for some time, and Jake glanced at her and gave her a nod but said nothing.
Haewon looked at him, hoping he would introduce himself, but he kept mute as he stood beside her, looking all around them.
"I'm Sandra's classmate. How do you know her?" Haewon asked curiously.
She usually wasn't the chatty type or one to want to talk to strangers, but since he was being kind to her, she felt she needed to fill the silence.
Jake shrugged, "I just do," He said, making it clear he didn't intend to say more than that.
"You are Korean, right? You didn't tell me your name," Haewon reminded him.
He turned to tell her not to worry about his name, but before he could say anything, Selena arrived with Ivy in the front seat.
"You scared the hell out of me, Kiddo! Are you alright? What happened?" Selena asked as she hopped out of the car with Ivy.
"I'm fine," Haewon said, feeling embarrassed as Selena ran her hands over her while Jake watched Selena.
"No, you are not. Your cheek looks red, and your hair is all over the place," Ivy said with a frown, and hearing this, Haewon tried to adjust her hair, feeling embarrassed that she had been looking so rough in front of her savior.
"We should call the police," Ivy suggested.
"I don't think that would be necessary. They're long gone. Thanks to him, I'm fine," Haewon said with a smile, drawing their attention to Jake since it seemed they had missed him.
Selena looked at Jake, "Thanks for saving my kid sister."
"Thank you so much. We would have been in no little trouble had any major harm been done to her," Ivy said, and Selena nodded in agreement.
"It's not a big deal. I did what I had to do. I should go now. I'm running late," Jake said, and as he turned to leave, Selena stopped him.
"What's your name? I'd love to thank you…"
"It's not necessary," Jake cut her off and walked away before either of them could say another word to him.
"He might have saved you, but he is rude," Ivy said with disapproval while Selena returned her attention to Haewon.
"Get into the car, let's go home, and then you can tell us all that happened," Selena said as she held open the passenger door for Haewon to get in and went around to get into her seat.
Ahead of them, Jake walked slowly, and when the car drove past him, he stopped walking and returned in the direction he had come from.
He walked into an alley and saw the three guys from earlier gathered there, "You did great," He said as he dipped his hands into his pocket and gave them an envelope containing some money, and they gave him her phone.
"Don't forget to call us if you have another job," Their leader said with a grin on his face, but Jake walked away without saying another word to them.