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178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpAOI5pYPd
HOSEOK
I stared down at the concrete, my lungs refusing to take in new air. As I desperately willed my body to inhale, I could still feel Jei's boot print in my chest. The taste of metal lingered on my tongue.
I should've expected this.
When Jei ran his mouth about absolutely nothing, I should've known he was just running the time until we reached his friends in an alley where they waited for us.
One of them kicked me in the stomach right before pushing my face into the ground. Jei's two minions grabbed each of my arms and forced me on my stomach. I struggled against them as much as I could but couldn't manage to get loose.
"Rumors of your appearance reached my brother." Jei said. "He's been keeping an eye out for you."
There was a sharp click I recognized as the sound of a pocket knife flicking out. Again, I tried my luck at shaking myself loose from their hold but to no avail.
"I might not understand a lot of my brother's decisions, but I'm gonna bet I know him well enough to know that he'd want his favorite pet back. And I can't have that now, can I?" The two guys holding me lifted my shirt. The early evening air left a chill on my back, which was more a response to my current demise. "If anyone finds you dead with your ink still intact it'll start an unnecessary war. But, if your snake head is missing, they'll know you're not worth avenging."
"You bastard!" I growled while struggling pointlessly.
"My boys here thought I should kill you first so there'd be no struggle. But, nah." He let out a creepy chuckle that sounded inches from my ear. "I want you to feel this."
A searing pain ripped into my back.
"AH!" My voice broke.
It scorched hotter with every second that passed; with every sawing motion. And Jei made sure to cut slowly. I let out a pained snarl and continued to struggle against them, but all I could do was listen unwillingly to Jei's wicked cackle.
"Careful, this is a delicate procedure! Wouldn't wanna cut too deep!" He laughed.
I swore into the concrete as the two men forced me down harder.
"I'll have to keep this as a souven-"
The sound of metal clattering on the ground replaced his words. My arms were suddenly released. One man fell face first into the ground next to me.
"Who's this bitch?" I heard Jei say right before I got up and turned around.
"Noona!" I sighed in relief seeing Heejae. The woman paced around Jei like a wolf focused on its prey.
Jei jumped for his knife but Heejae slammed her knee into his head first before kicking the knife away. One of the other men came at her, a fist ready to swing. The woman dodged two jabs and ducked under a hook, ending up behind him. When he turned, she jumped at him, kicked off his thigh and wrapped her legs around his neck. Swinging her weight downward, she threw the man to the ground. With herself on top, she hammered her fist into his dazed face.
As she did this the second of the men ran past her to escape, only to be met with a precise kick to the chest by a man the piece of trash had been too panicked to notice. The stranger rolled around gasping for air.
Uncle Kwangsoo continued forward, his posture and pace unfazed by the situation. He helped me up and assisted me to the car waiting at the end of the alley. The engine was on.
"Heejae!" My uncle called as he settled me into the back seat. His goal was only me but I wasn't against letting Noona smack them around a bit.
He closed the door, muffling the voice of Jei's angry profanities. The crazy man refused to let Heejae leave after crashing his party. Exhausted, I rested my head on the window as I watched, my breath fogging up the cold glass.
Jei was much taller and heavier which would leave Heejae at a disadvantage. However, the fearlessly savage woman was quick and hard to corner or pin down.
She dodged and slipped out of Jei's many attempts to keep her still. Instead of challenging the force of his weight she used it against him to throw him off balance. One thing my uncle made sure of was to strengthen her endurance. It took more energy to miss than to hit. And Jei was missing a lot. I couldn't hear his breathing but it looked labored. His reactions were getting slower.
Finally, he ran clumsily toward her. She swung a punch too widely giving him an easy dodge but I knew it was intentional. At the right moment when only one of his feet was grounded, Heejae swept it up. Jei crashed on his butt. As he frantically tried to get back up, the woman swung her leg around. Her shin smashing into his face.
Jei was down.
Heejae turned and ran toward us. As soon as she got in the car, my uncle sped off down the road. The last image I saw of Jei was him screaming, stumbling to get back on his feet.
"Sorry." The woman in the passenger seat panted. "That was a stubborn one."
"As long as you're both alright." Uncle Kwangsoo looked into the rear-view mirror at me, his eyes questioning my well-being.
"As opposed to what he planned, I'm fricken spectacular." I chuckled weakly.
When we finally arrived through the gates, I had never felt so relieved to be home. It had been a long time since I last experienced the uncertainty of returning. I don't miss it.
In the house, Yoongi had been reading on one of the sofas in the living room. He looked up assessing the damaged state I was in.
"Hm. You're not dead."
I scoffed. "So, he does look on the bright side."
A door in the house swung open but I didn't see it. I only saw Yurim rush out. Her eyes wide and red, searching for us as though she'd been waiting. When she examined the cuts and bruises on my face, she looked horrified, as though her worst fears had been met. I smiled, moved by how worried she had been.
A flashback of our kiss involuntarily replayed in my head. It was a dangerous thing to dwell on but I was happy to relive a good moment after the nightmare that just occurred.
"Hoseok-ah!"
Yurim ran toward me with her arms wide open. I took her in gladly until she squeezed me where Jei had cut me. I flinched away with a groan. She gasped and retracted her arms, afraid of what she'd done.
"I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?" She raised her palms toward me. I cringed seeing my blood on her hands. When she noticed it too, she gasped again. "Hoseok-ah you're..." Her voice shook then walked around me.
"I'll be okay."
"You're bleeding! Mr. Jung, he's bleeding! What do we do?"
"He'll be fine, Yurim." My uncle led her by her shoulders with a calm voice. "It's nothing Heejae can't patch up. But when it's all done, he'll need a fresh change of clothes. Could I put you in charge of finding him something?"
"Okay." My best friend nodded as though in a trance. She was trying not to freak out.
"On that note," Heejae chimed in with a medical kit. "Let's get you stitched up. Hey, you, sulky guy. Mind helping us out?" She asked Yoongi. Noona led the way toward the glass doors leading to the back porch.
The quiet boy hesitated. I don't know what he was weighing out but he finally set his book down and followed silently.
178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCllv9lIdc
YOONGI
There was a set of steps at the edge of the deck where we sat. Hoseok sat on a lower step than me and...whatsherface — the woman I hadn't met. The injured boy was on his second bottle of soju in hopes it would dampen the pain of what was to come.
The back of Hoseok's gray shirt was soaked with blood. A trail seemed to have dripped downwards from a bigger splotch. When the woman next to me lifted the shirt off of him, I cringed at the sight. A patch of skin had folded back on itself, exposing raw and bloody flesh.
Under the smudged blood on the rest of his back, I could see a massive tattoo of a snake. Its body curled and looped. Two Chinese characters were inked into empty spaces next to it. One meant, mind and the other, strategy. The snake's head would've been where the cut skin used to be.
"I'm assuming we're keeping the skin?" The woman asked, examining the damage.
Hoseok chugged the remainder of his drink. "I dunno. Maybe it'd be better if we finished the job."
"Don't say that. It could come in handy someday. With a missing head, they're sure to treat you like shit."
"At least I'd be out. For good." He slurred.
The woman sanitized a curved needle and fastened a wire to it. She was really going to stitch all that up herself? For a brief moment I wondered why they wouldn't just bring him to the hospital. But I guessed the tattoo could raise some questions.
Without warning, she punctured his skin.
Hoseok inhaled sharply and reduced an outburst of pain to a mere groan, the muscles in his body tensed all around. Drops of blood were squeezed out and proceeded to drip down. I soaked them up with a towel quickly, a water bottle also at the ready.
My job was to clean the wound when it got too messy for her to see what she was doing. The towel was specifically for catching the bloody downpours, since Mr. Jung had an obsessive need to keep the stone steps clean.
The substitute nurse pulled the loose wire through, squeezing the separated skins together.
"Fuck!" He hissed.
"That's the spirit," the woman flashed a crooked smile. "Water."
I jumped into action a beat late, too distracted by the gross but fascinating procedure. I trickled water over the problem area, catching it with the towel before it dripped to the bottom of his back.
"I need another drink."
"Your uncle said only two, you know that."
"Yeah well, if I pass out, carry me in, will you?" He sucked in another breath as another hole was punctured.
I caught a glimpse of the woman's face. An empathetic smile dawned on her features. It didn't seem like a face she made often.
"How did you learn how to do this?" I asked curiously. At the same time, I noticed a tattoo behind her ear. Silhouettes of three little birds flying merrily, their wings slightly translucent.
"I looked it up when I was kid."
"What, just for fun?"
"No." She answered, focused on her task. Hoseok still growled and groaned. "I cut myself up pretty bad one day. Didn't tell my dad about it since he had more that enough financial worries. I didn't wanna make it worse with a trip to the doctor's office."
"How old were you?"
"Thirteen."
"Didn't it hurt?"
"The hell d'you think?" Hoseok interjected, vexed.
"Getting cut up in the first place hurt too." She shrugged. "And I figured, if I could keep my head when that happened, I could find a way to endure fixing it too."
I scoffed but out of amazement. She sounded like a teenaged badass.
A thirteen-year-old sewing her own wound. And I'm guessing she didn't have anything to numb the pain either. It takes grit to do a thing like that. I endured some injuries in my life but never did I need to sew up my own wounds, much less at such a young age.
"Water." Again, I leaned forward to rinse the blood.
"It came in handy later when I joined up with some people."
"Like...a gang? The same one?" I pointed at Hoseok.
"Oh, no. Hell no! In fact, we didn't even view ourselves as a gang. It was more like a sanctuary to me. A group dedicated to helping women and children who were struggling or at the mercy of the assholes running the streets. Like the loan sharks that gave my dad grief." The woman paused. Her eyes looked as though her memories were whipping through her mind. "He knew someone there and handed me over — gave me away — said I'd be better off with them. I didn't want to leave him, so one day I snuck back home." She sighed. "But he was gone."
"'Gone?'"
"Well, his body was still there but essentially, yes, he was gone. Water." I rinsed the bloody area again, though deep in thought. "I guess he couldn't pay his debts and decided to go out his own way."
Hoseok's pained noises seemed to die down.
"So, how'd you end up here?" I asked.
She chuckled, reminiscent. "The Flock, as we called ourselves," my eyes shifted to the spot behind her ear again. The tattoo made a little more sense, "operated outside the law. We took from people to provide for our own. I saw Hoseok's uncle one day. He looked wealthy so I tried to rob him. He caught me of course. But instead of reporting me, he offered me an opportunity. To provide for people without stealing, without depending on anyone but myself. At the time, I'd been in with the Flock for six years but somehow I never got used to taking from people. It never sat well with me. It took me a while but I finally took him up on his offer. Now I'm here.
And my work here is done." She clipped the wire, leaving an almost full circle of stitches. Once more, I rinsed and patted him dry.
"Why does he get the short version? While I had to hear about every single one of your escapades? Hm?" Hoseok said.
"Whatever, you love my stories. And besides, you needed something to distract you from the pain." She covered the patch up with some gauze and medical tape in case it leaked.
"You're right. Trading one pain for another usually works." He winced while standing.
"This rascal..." The woman muttered but couldn't hold back a smile.
178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09BfDCKBKV
YURIM
It didn't take long to find a change of clothes. After my antsy parade in and out of Hoseok's room, Mr. Jung insisted I wash up since I wouldn't be leaving.
Concerned that Jei and his friends might still be roaming the streets, he insisted we stay the night and head back to our homes in the morning when it's safer. He called both our houses to notify our families that we'd be sleeping over. I imagined my dad wasn't easy to convince. Mr. Jung did admit to sharing a less worrisome story.
Now, after throwing on some of Hoseok's clothes, I paced the living room and dining area. All I could see was Heejae and Yoongi's backs. The woman's hands seemed to be hard at work.
He must've been in pain.
It was probably best that I couldn't see Hoseok from here. After feeling the sticky spot of blood on his shirt, I dread to think what was under there.
I knew it wasn't a good idea to leave him with Jei.
"Yurim?"
I looked and found Mr. Jung in the kitchen, cooking.
"Do you mind setting the table?" He asked with a gentle smile.
"Sure." I nodded. Though, I know he was just giving me something to do instead of worrying. I was grateful.
When the rest came in, the man in the kitchen briefed Yoongi on our sleeping arrangement. Yoongi observed my apparel as though making the connection. At the same time, the bloody towel in his hand caught my eye. I shifted my gaze to Hoseok, half afraid of what I might find. Luckily, the injury was covered with gauze. Still, my eyes spilled over his bare back. This was the first time I had seen Hoseok's tattoo up close.
Heejae took care of the bloody towel and shirt and bid a quick goodbye, saying she needed to get back to her 'birds'. I frowned, confused. I hadn't taken her for a bird person.
After everyone took their turns to wash up, we finally sat to eat dinner.
It wasn't a very social meal as I and Yoongi tended to avoid each other, despite being neighbors. Hoseok, who sat across from us next to his uncle, was void of energy — not to mention tipsy — and didn't help the silence. Mr. Jung seemed like a man with a preference for quiet, so he was at ease.
A deep yawn from Hoseok earned looks from both me and his uncle.
"You don't have to finish your food." The man said. "If you're tired you should head to bed."
"And miss this riveting discussion?"
"You should rest." I insisted gently. Hoseok looked at me and gave a deep sigh. He began to lean back in his chair but thought twice about it.
"I guess you're right. Where am I sleeping?" He yawned again.
"You can use my bed so Yurim can get your room. I can sleep in my office. Yoongi, I hope you don't mind sleeping on the sofa."
Yoongi tilted his head and shrugged with food in his mouth. It was his, where else am I gonna go face.
"You really don't have to go through any trouble. You both should sleep in your own beds. We weren't even supposed to be here." I said apologetically. Yoongi scoffed and I instantly shot a narrowed glare at him.
"So, you're saying you'll sleep with me in the living room?" Yoongi challenged.
I blinked at him, at a loss for words. It's not like I wanted to. It just seemed like the thing to say when you're intruding in someone's home. And why did he have to say it like that?!
I jumped when Hoseok slammed his fist on the table. His eyes peered murderously at Yoongi. "Ya! Do you wanna die?"
"Hoseok-ah!" I pleaded for him to calm down. However, Mr. Jung seemed unconcerned with the display.
"It's really okay. I've fallen asleep in my office a lot. It's no trouble," the kind man assured me. "I should also mention that I promised your father you'd get your privacy."
"Oh." Embarrassed, I dropped my eyes down to my food. Of course, he'd make that request.
178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNa9IN0TptI
I dove face first into bed, my body sinking into its soft covers. The events of the day, including the awkward dinner, were enough to knock a girl out.
For the first time in hours today, I checked my phone. I winced seeing eight missed calls from dad and two from mom.
I also got a few texts from Minju. After finding out that I'd be sleeping over, she couldn't wait to tell her friends that I was staying with an ex-gang member. Apparently, that fact gave me popularity points. She also expressed the injustice surrounding the fact that I had escaped chores.
Seokjin messaged me too but I wasn't as excited to respond.
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4:58pm
Hey! How did the study session go?
4:58pm
I'm sorry I couldn't make it. My dad's being difficult again.
6:03pm
I hope you're enjoying your Friday!
8:21pm
You must be resting after cramming. Goodnight and sweet dreams!
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How could I answer without mentioning Yoongi? And if I mentioned Yoongi, would he want to know what other unexpected things happened today? It was too much to explain, but if I left it all out, it would feel like I'm trying to hide something.
Was I?
My thumbs hovered over the keyboard on my screen. I bit my lip and stared at the wall, as though I'd find the answer I needed there. With an anxious sigh, I decided to leave it for tomorrow.
After calling dad back and responding to my sister's texts, I stopped to check the time. My eyes almost jumped out of its sockets. It was nearly midnight! The past couple of hours felt like only a few minutes.
I finally turned the lights out and curled up in bed.
I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, but sleep seemed far away. Instead, the familiar smell of Hoseok filled my nose, bringing me back to what happened earlier today.
It was strange.
Though, I was unsure of what I found strange exactly. The memory of that kiss played over and over again and I still didn't fully understand what I thought about it. Other than the fact that we had no choice in the matter. But there was something else, otherwise it wouldn't have bothered me so long after the fact.
A gust of air burst from my lips. My stubborn need to analyze was going to make me restless. Frustrated, I folded the blanket down far from my face and lay on my back. That way I couldn't smell him.
Suddenly, there came two soft raps on the door.
I shot up and stared in anticipation at it. The sound was so quiet that I wasn't sure if I had just imagined it. So, I waited.
Surely enough it happened again. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
For a moment, I considered ignoring it. But as this was Hoseok's room, it was likely he was in need of something. And per my father's request, the door was locked.
With a deep breath, I walked over and answered the door.
The windows on the bedroom walls had shone enough light to see the familiar shape of him. My chest sizzled with annoyance, though the movement within it was skittish.
"What do you want?"
"Let's go." The boy stood there in his white t-shirt and ripped jeans, nodding toward who-knows-where.
"What?"
"The backyard."
"It's past midnight!" I whispered.
"It won't be long. Make sure to close the back door." Yoongi turned and headed out the glass doors without another word. I stood dumbfounded for a good five seconds before following him.
Annoyed, I stalked to the back of the house. Once I saw what was back there, I stopped dead in my tracks in the middle of the deck.
Neatly cut flower bushes lined throughout in perfect symmetry. A stone path cut through the middle, straight to a traditional structure — though not without a bridge in between. Surrounding the structure and running under the bridge was a little causeway of water. The moonlight glittered on it and made the white flowers glow. Outdoor lights lined the walkway and sitting areas tucked within the flowery hedges. It was like walking into a historical drama!
"It's beautiful." I said, mesmerized.
"It's not so bad during the day either."
I surveyed the building across from us. The dark beams reminded me of coffee beans. The walls were a creamy beige like the light foam on a cappuccino.
"This whole time and I hadn't even noticed."
"Yeah, well, you seemed worried. Possessed, even."
"I was not." I denied, embarrassed. And then I looked at him with a puzzled brow. "Hold on. Why did you wait 'til now to show me?" His eyes swiftly cut toward the building across us.
"Besides the fact that you were shooting daggers at me at dinner today?" Yoongi scoffed before slipping his hands into his pockets. The garden lights reflected in his eyes, resembling burning embers. A stray breeze swept the hair off his forehead, his shirt flapped gracefully around his waist. He shrugged, "you didn't see it. I thought you might want to and I couldn't sleep anyway, so..."
Something warm prickled under my skin. He thought about me?
I wasn't sure how much time had passed since he stopped talking but apparently, I must've been staring because he gave me a defensive look.
"W-what?" He said, warily. It was probably the first time I'd seen him look so nervous. Nervous or not, when he looked at me, I refused to share a lengthy glance.
I shook my head as I thought aloud. "I'm just realizing how random you can be."
Eager to explore and to put distance between us, I strolled down the steps and onto the bridge. It was so tiny that one could cross it in just four strides.
Slowly, I turned in place, viewing everything from my new perspective. Here I could see tiered stone fountains at the corners of the water way. I made a mental note to ask Hoseok if his uncle was a secret romantic.
"What do you mean?"
From the corner of my eye, Yoongi followed at a relaxed pace. Even though the hair on my arms were perfectly capable of sensing his approach on its own — and with that annoyingly aloof temperament of his.
"Like this morning with Jin." My eye twitched as I recalled his rudeness. "Walking away like that..." I heard his aggravated sigh come from behind me before he appeared on my other side. His shoulder brushed mine as it did this morning. Straightening my posture, I crossed my arms firmly.
"Are you saying you wanted me to stay with you?"
I nearly choked on the air. "I...well, y-you—" I stopped for a deep breath and started again. "I just thought you could've made an effort to be nice. Like he did."
"Maybe he was just trying to look good in front of you." Yoongi mumbled.
"That's not who he is!" I defended. "He's genuine and kind — tries to understand people — helps you see things in a different light. He even tried to be friends with Namjoon before. If that doesn't speak for him, I don't know what does."
The leaves and flowers around us rustled in the silence Yoongi left. It was deafening compared to the spiel I went on. Sneakily, I shifted my eyes toward him where he just stared deeply into the water. His mind seemingly engrossed in his thoughts. I wondered what he could possibly be thinking but my imagination was insufficient for that kind of feat.
"Sorry." He said, barely a whisper.
My jaw dropped, eyes bugging out at him without shame. I certainly didn't have the imagination to predict that!
Yoongi. Min Yoongi. Just apologized — to me. I watched him carefully to see if he'd retract it or claim it as a bad joke. But his face remained solemn and unparted from the water.
In that instant I felt as though whatever tension I had been holding onto retreated. My rigid shoulders rested before dropping my hands in the big pockets of my borrowed sweatpants.
"I'm sorry for snapping at you today. And...for the daggers." I rolled my eyes with a permissive nod. Yoongi searched my face for a second. It was a soft, inquiring look which struck me dumb as he'd never met my eyes with anything more than indifference.
It was fascinating. Instead of furrowed brows, they were raised in the middle. His eyes weren't hard and unforgiving but they actually had a hint of vulnerability.
And then...
He smiled.
A smile. And it wasn't done bitterly nor was it an accessory for insult. This time it was clean, weightless — real. The cheerful rarity enveloped me in warmth. I hadn't even noticed when I smiled back, but I was beaming.
"I guess we've been out long enough."
"Mm," I nodded in agreement.
Jubilantly, I led the way back toward the house. Except I had idiotically forgotten I was wearing a boot and tripped.
I gasped. My heart leapt up my throat as I saw the stone path zooming in closer. A strong tug on my elbow reversed my fall. The next thing I knew, I could feel Yoongi's breath on my face.
Like only an idiot could, I stared at him in shock. The brown of his eyes was just as clear as the coffee beams of the neighboring building. A microscopic mark, which I had never seen before, sat just to the right of his nose. His lips were dangerously close and parted, his teeth peeking out ever so slightly.
After the initial realization of the meager inches between our faces, I then registered how close the rest of us were. Close, was an understatement. My face was blazing, my heart speeding out of control.
Willing strength back into my legs, I hastily gained my footing and peeled myself out of his arms.
"Th-th-the stone!" I hopped backwards and pointed hysterically at the ground between us. "It-it-it's uneven! Be careful, y-you might trip, okay? Okay, let's go." I turned on my heel immediately, refusing to look at him and stomped toward the house. My hasty steps matching the rapid beating in my chest.
Stupid boot! Stupid stones! I hate you!
As we arrived on the deck, he spoke.
"W-why don't you go in first?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I think I'll hang out here for a bit more."
Too disconcerted to investigate his reason, I nodded stiffly and entered the house. I made a beeline for Hoseok's room. After securing the door I dove under the covers, writhing in embarrassment. Every time I attempted to lay still it only magnified the buzzing under my skin.
Incessant replays burrowed down on my memory of his face. The feeling of his breath on my cheek. The fleeting moment when his eyes flickered at my...my...
My heart jolted against my chest. I groaned into the pillow.
No... I resisted, shaken. It was just something unexpected, something unusual — like kissing Hoseok! You're just a little rattled, that's all!178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmto0BTcRv
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**Author's Note**
So I thought I'd share a little outline I made of the Jung residence. I had a hard time visualizing the same layout while writing and kept changing details of the house so I stopped and made this diagram to help keep the image in my head consistent.
178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnFEdx5qlL
