Jinsol knew for sure that meeting the seven boys had turned her life upside down. She couldn’t recall a time in which she had even thought about the possibility of skipping a single class, or going out during week days, or spending the night at someone else’s house. Someone different than Youngjae, she meant. It’s not like her parents didn’t let her, but she was fine going out only during the weekends.

She wasn’t that much of a social person either. She had friends, and they were nice, and she trusted them, but after experiencing a ‘friendship’ such as Namjoon’s had made her realize that everything back then was too superficial.

“You shaved?” Jinsol asked when Jin opened the door. His hair was wet, and his face looked as fresh as before. She had been visiting Jin every day since Taehyung let her know about him, taking food with her so he could eat, and some books, because she guessed he got lonely and bored during the day.

He nodded happily. “I look a thousand times better like this, right?”

“Yeah. Bruises and cuts don’t suit you.” Jin chuckled as he opened the door and let her in. He was drying his hair with a towel. “There’s hot water here?” Jinsol asked curiously. It surprised her that there was even a bathroom there, but of course, some people lived under those conditions. She wasn’t the one to judge.

“No,” Jin shook his head as he spoke, “but the water was still nice. And my body still feels uneasy, but the cold water feels good on my sore muscles.”

“That’s good,” Jinsol made her way to the small table that Taehyung had put there, and she took the lunch boxes out of her backpack. Her mom had been nice enough to cook for her, mainly because, a few days before, she had found Jinsol cooking early in the morning. She didn’t ask anything, but when Jinsol woke up, she smelled the food and went back to sleep a few hours more.

“You cooked all that?” Jin peeked curiously behind her. He was tip-toeing like a little kid, even though he was as tall as Namjoon, which meant he was at least 10 cm taller than her.

“Mom did,” she confessed.

“Tae said he’d come later today,” Jin announced, and Jinsol turned to face him, and she found herself startled at his strong gaze. He walked a step back, giving her some space, but his chocolate-brown eyes were still sparkling in front of her, the corner of his lips slightly curved. “If you leave, I’ll have to eat alone.”

She blinked in surprise. He was pouting and smiling, all at the same time.

“I-I think I can stay for a while,” she stuttered, looking away from him and focusing on the food.

“I’ll help you with that,” he said, taking the box from her hand, flashing her another shy smile. She went straight to the books as she tried to avoid him. “Those are for me?” he raised an eyebrow.

“I thought they might help you while you’re alone,” she shrugged.

He smiled thankfully. “I’ll make sure I read them well.”

There weren’t chairs on the table, so they both went straight to the room and sat on the bed, eating carefully. As they ate, Jin tried to keep a conversation going, and it wasn’t hard, because Jin and Jinsol were pretty similar. They were both calm, and easy-going. And Jinsol realized she had more in common with him than she did with anyone else. It wasn’t awkward as she had expected it, and she was honestly relieved that he didn’t mention anything about him liking her. She really wasn’t ready to give him an answer yet. He had experienced something incredibly scary, and it didn’t seem fair to say ‘No, I like your younger brother’. That just didn’t sound right.

“Here, have some,” he said, putting some meat and rice on her bowl. She accepted the food thankfully, and bowed at him slightly. When they finished their bowls, Jin told Jinsol he’d take care of washing them. She insisted that she would do it, but he didn’t let her, saying that she had done enough.

“Tell me about the boys,” he said, “How are they doing?”

“Well, you can say they’re fine,” she thought about it, trying to find the right words, “but they’re still having a hard time. Don’t you think you should meet them soon?” she came closer to him, inspecting his face carefully. The bruises were healing, and he didn’t look half as bad as before. The cut on his lip was beginning to cicatrize, and the pain was slowly leaving his body.

“How are the other bruises?” she asked. He lifted up his shirt just enough for her to check. That was the worst bruise, but it was healing too. “You look so much better. I think I’ve done a good job,” she flattered herself, trying to make space for a more serious question. “How about going to this week’s Cypher?” she asked happily. He raised both eyebrows in total surprise.

“You know about Namjoon and Yoongi’s Cyphers? Did I tell you that?”

“You didn’t!” she felt the heat in her cheeks because of the slight reference to his diary, “it was a coincidence actually,” she explained. “That would be a good surprise, don’t you think?”

She hurried up excitedly to school. She was slowly getting used to those lonely streets. This time, Jin actually offered to walk her. He was slowly getting better, but she refused, because she knew resting was still a better option for him. When she was about to get out of those streets, she