"Hi, mom."

"Jihye! My baby, I miss you so much already!"

Jihye smiled as she folded her laundry and spoke to her mother on the phone. It had only been 2 weeks since she moved into her own apartment in Seoul and her parents were acting like she moved all the way across the world.

"Mom, you only live an hour away. You and dad should visit whenever you feel like it," she sighed as she folded her last shirt. 

"Oh sweetie, if we visited you whenever we felt like it we'd be there every day!" Jihye cringed at the thought, but she loved her parents too much to tell her mom that that would be overkill.

"Okay, well, maybe not whenever you feel like it. Just call me if you're going to visit, okay?"

Her mother hummed in response before gasping like she had remembered something. "How's that cute boyfriend of yours?"

"Hee Jun? He's cheesier than ever. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to move closer to where he lives, huh?" 

"Nonsense! If anything you should've already moved in together!" Jihye frowned. "Mom! That's a huge step in life, you know I love Hee Jun but moving in? I'm only a high school senior." 

"But you've been dating for 3 years now. I trust him, your father trusts him, what's not to love about moving in with your boyfriend? If you know what I mean," her mother chuckled over the phone. 

"Mom!" Jihye blushed and started fanning herself even though her mom couldn't see that she was blushing. "I'm just stating a fact." 

"Yeah well even if you were I'm still not ready for that, okay? I'll talk to him about it but I want to wait," Jihye said as she plopped onto the couch. 

"Honey? Come on we're going to be late for dinner!"

Jihye smiled when she heard her dad's voice. "Mom, put dad on the phone."

"Oh of course. Honey! Jihye wants to talk to you!" She heard some shuffling and mumbling before hearing her dad's voice on the phone. "Jihye! How are you doing my princess?"

"Hi dad, I'm doing fine so far. Just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you guys." Her dad laughed and it turned into something that sounded like a fake cry. "I thought we were the ones who missed you."

"Just because I moved out doesn't mean I don't miss you guys. Especially your home cooked meals.. I haven't had the time to cook for myself since I got here." 

"Hm, if your mother and I have time this weekend we'll cook for you and take them over to your apartment, how does that sound?" 

"That sounds amazing. I've only been eating out for two weeks but I'm getting so tired of it." Her dad chuckled over the phone again before Jihye heard her mother telling him they were going to be late. 

"Hey, I was the one telling you we're going to be late," her dad huffed. "We'll talk to you soon, okay Jihye? Take care of yourself, focus on your studies, don't get distracted by your boyfriend too much," her dad rambled into the phone. 

Jihye rolled her eyes but laughed at how ridiculous he sounded. "Okay dad, don't worry. Have fun at your dinner, or wherever you're going?" 

"Of course darling!" Her mother yelled into the phone. "We love you!" And with that, they hung up. Jihye took a deep breath and stretched before sitting lifelessly on the couch. It was already Sunday night and she didn't have any plans. She thought about calling Hee Jun, but they had seen each other non-stop for the past two weeks since she moved here and she didn't want to be too clingy or dependent on him. 

"Maybe... I should try cooking for myself tonight," she wondered. She wasn't the worst cook ever, but she also wasn't as good a cook as her father was. He had taught her everything she knew about anything food related.

She groaned before finally deciding that that was her plan for the night and rolled off of the couch. When she opened her refrigerator, she realized she had no ingredients at all. The contents in her fridge consisted of 3 water bottles, a to-go box from last night's dinner, ketchup packets, and some chicken nuggets. "Wow, the variety!" She sarcastically said to herself. 

She picked up her phone and searched for the nearest convenience store since she still wasn't very familiar with the area. When the search was done, she found that the nearest store was 0.7 miles away. It was a walkable distance so she wouldn't have to take a taxi or anything. She made a list of ingredients, took her phone, wallet, and apartment keys before stepping out into the night atmosphere. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact that Seoul's streets were still pretty populated at night, so when she saw that the whole street right outside of her building was flooded with people, she gasped. "Is there an event going on or something?" 

Even though the streets were crowded, Jihye made it to the convenience store in no time. The old lady at the cash register looked up and smiled at her before going back to the book she was reading. Just then, she got a text. 

1 message from Hee Jun

She bit her lip as she opened the message. She just wanted a little time to wander around Seoul without anyone to guide her. She loved Hee Jun with all her heart but she willed her self to become more independent, that's the entire reason she had moved to Seoul.

Because her parents were so loving, she had never really experienced being independent. Even when she had her own job back home, her parents would still pay for everything for her. She couldn't take the fact that they had such good hearts as her parents, and she didn't want them to keep on giving her everything like she deserved the world.

6:24pm
Hi baby, date night tonight? 

JIhye sighed as she typed back a response. As much as she loved the idea of kissing and cuddling with Hee Jun all night, she willed herself to say no. 

6:25pm
Hm, raincheck? I just want to explore the city a little bit on my own tonight.

6:26pm
Jihye, Seoul can be dangerous at night sometimes! Let me come with you.

"Tch, such a worrywart," she chuckled as she replied. 

6:26pm
I will be fine, okay? I promise I'll call you if anything happens. But nothing will.

6:26pm
I just wanted to hold you tonight, why are you doing this to me?

6:27pm
Tomorrow is a new day, we can be with each other all we want. Just let me explore a little, yeah? 

Thinking about cuddling all night with her boyfriend was making her feel warm in fuzzy inside, and she was starting to change her mind. "Maybe I should just stay in with him tonight..." 

6:28pm
... Fine, but I'm warning you, tomorrow is going to be full of all things cheesy since you're neglecting me like this.

She read his text in his voice and laughed before replying.

6:28pm
Okay baby, I love you.

She knew that italicizing the word baby would totally throw him off. 

6:29pm
Why would you tease me like that?? I'll see you tomorrow, tease. I love you, more than anything. 

Jihye shuddered when she read his text. How could a text send such chills down her spine? The good kind of chills. She pocketed her phone before browsing the store to get the ingredients she needed. As soon as she was done, she paid for her groceries and left. 

She looked up at the city sky and bright lights and smiled. Now this is my kind of lifestyle. She walked back to her apartment to put away the groceries and decided to save them to make dinner for both Hee Jun and herself the next day. "I guess one more day of eating out can't hurt."

Exiting her apartment again, she quickly googled to see where the best BBQ place was. 2.2 miles away was a 4 and a 1/2 star BBQ restaurant. Jihye did a little happy dance and quickly called for a taxi, not wanting to walk that far and back. 

+++++

"Hello miss, table for one?" 

Jihye smiled and nodded at the receptionist as she was handed a menu that listed the different kinds of meat. Her stomach growled just looking at it. 

10 minutes later, Jihye was seated alone at a grill as she waited for her meal to come. 

"This one's on me, boys! I hit the jackpot earlier this week!" A voice suddenly echoed through the room. It was hard not to look up since he was so obnoxiously loud, but Jihye's phone rang before her curiosity got the best of her. Without even looking at the caller ID, she answered.

"Hello?" 

"Baaaaaby," Hee Jun's voice rang into her ear. 

"Oh not you again," she teased. 

"Don't play hard to get, you know you love me."

"I do," she answered matter-of-factly. 

"Wow, practicing for our wedding day already, huh?" 

"This is why I can't say nice things to you," she rolled her eyes. Hee Jun must've heard all the clattering of the noise of the restaurant. "Are you eating out?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm at this BBQ place that's rated like, 4 and a 1/2 stars. Can you believe it? I can't wait to taste the food!" was beginning to water again. 

"You went to a 4 and a 1/2 star BBQ place without me? Jihye! Where is the love here??" She laughed at how childish and whiny he sounded. Her waiter approached her table with her various types of meat and side dishes and she was so excited.

"I gotta go, Hee Jun, my food's here!" 

"But baby you should've invited me!" He whined again. "I love you!" She said into the phone before hanging up and putting it back in her bag. 

"Thank you," she smiled at her waiter before her lips. Just looking at all the food was making water. She put 10 pieces of meat onto the grill and patiently, or more like impatiently waited so she could flip them over. She sighed and her legs were doing that thing there she would get so impatient it started shaking. 

"Calm down Jihye, people are going to think you haven't eaten for weeks," she chided herself. 

"Wait, Jihye?" A voice called out to her, but she hadn't even noticed. She was too busy staring at the grilling meat. 

 

Yixing awkwardly walked by Jihye's (or at least who he thought was Jihye) and bent down to get a better look. It was definitely her.. but she didn't seem to hear him when he called her name. 

"Uh, Jihye?" By now, Yixing had gotten so close that he was only a foot away from her face. She looked up, having finally heard his voice calling her. "Oh-" she held her chest. "Oh my god, don't scare me like that!" 

Yixing rubbed the nape of his neck and apologized. "Sorry, I didn't think I was scaring you. I called you when I was just standing over there as well." He gestured to where he was just a few seconds earlier and she let out a laugh. 

"I'm sorry, I'm just- I'm pretty focused my food. I'm really impatient." 

"Ah, I see. I understand, I'm impatient when it comes to food as well," he smiled. Jihye eyed him suspiciously. "Are you sure you're not just agreeing with me so I don't look stupid for saying I get impatient about food?"

Yixing's eyes widened and he started to profusely apologize, thinking he had really offended her. His actions made Jihye a little uncomfortable, she wasn't really being serious. Did he really believe that she meant that or was he just teasing her? 

"No, uh Yixing I was kidding," she tried really hard to stifle a giggle that was just about to fall out of . He looked at her with incredulous eyes. "Are you sure? I really didn't mean to offend you in anyway!" He frowned. 

"No seriously, you didn't do anything wrong! I like to tease people, remember?" Yixing nodded, and his face turned into one of recognition. "Right, you told me that last time." 

Looking at his face, Jihye really couldn't stop laughing. He looked so innocent and sort of dumbfounded, but she found it charming. Either that, or he was just a really  good actor. Yixing starting laughing along as well, but if he was being honest he was only laughing because she was. She was pretty when she laughed, he noted to himself. 

"Wait so, what are you doing here alone? I'm surprised you're not with Hee Jun," Yixing said. Jihye flipped the meat on the grill and then looked at him. "Ah, Hee Jun? We spend basically every hour with each other, I kind of just wanted to explore a little without him fretting about me every 5 seconds. He's the biggest worrywart you will ever meet."

Yixing nodded in acknowledgment. "I see. But explore? Did you just move here?"

"Yeah, I got an apartment just a couple miles away from here. I've been going to Seoulite High for four years, but I used to live an hour away with my parents. Taking the subway all the way to and from school got a little tiring so I decided to move a lot closer." 

"That makes sense," he said as he nodded again. Jihye noticed that he seemed kind of stiff and she commented while tending to the food on the grill. "You're kind of like a robot." 

"Huh?" Yixing didn't really know what to say to that. "Um, thanks?"

She couldn't get enough of his personality, it was very entertaining. "No, I just mean, you're not uncomfortable are you? Are you waiting for someone?" He shook his head. "No, I was actually just really hungry, and I live half a mile from here, I come here all the time."

Jihye nodded and put a piece of meat in , marveling at the taste. "Well no wonder you come here all the time, this meat is amazing! " She had practically forgotten Yixing was there as soon as the next piece of meat was in . This place had 4 and a 1/2 stars for a reason. 

"Hyung!" 

Yixing looked up to see the boys he had encountered at the convenience store earlier in the week. "Oh, hi!" He smiled and waved at them. When Jihye was done munching on the meat, she added more to the grill. She hadn't even noticed the boys approaching until she looked up to talk to Yixing some more but saw that his head was turned and he was smiling and waving. When she followed his line of sight, she saw two of the three boys she had seen that day they dumped Yixing's things and stole his wallet. Her temper was starting to get the best of her just looking at them, but before she could say anything remotely rude, they spoke. 

"Hi hyung, never thought we'd see you here," the tall boy commented. 

"Oh I come here all the time," Yixing explained. "It's one of my favorite BBQ places." 

The other lanky boy nodded. "It's really good to see you again hyung." Yixing nodded in agreement. "Oh, and about earlier this week when we asked you for help, we're sorry we left when you were trying to help, turned out our mom had just been across the street in the end."

Listening to all this bull going on, Jihye narrowed her eyes. Did they think they could just come up to Yixing again and try to con him? She swore she could just--

"Oh, that's good! And no problem. But I seem to have lost my wallet that day, which was a little sad. I think I left it at the counter when I went to go find your mom for you, did you guys happen to see it?"

The lanky boy pretended to think about it, but shook his head in the end. "No hyung, I don't think I saw it. What kind of wallet was it?" He tried to hold in his laughter. 

The taller boy subtly used his elbow to jab his friend's ribs from behind, but he was laughing as well. 

"Ah, it was Louis Vuitton. That's why I'm so bummed about losing it. I hope some bad guy didn't take it." Jihye's eye twitched. She didn't think she could take this much longer. Someone's was about to be handed to them tonight. She glared at the back of their skulls and wished she was anywhere but next to those lying thieves. 

"I hope whoever took his wallet rots," Jihye commented, and the two boys along with Yixing stared at her. 

"You're on a date hyung?" The tall boy eyed Jihye. More like he looked her up and down. Yixing shook his head. "No, this isn't a date, this is my friend Jihye. Jihye these are some freshman that go to our high school." 

Jihye forced a smile onto her face and she swore she could feel her muscles constricting. 

"She's hot," the lanky boy commented. Coming from that boy's mouth, Jihye had honestly never felt so offended in her life. If she was being completely honest, after he had said that, she felt so dirty. It's like something viler came out of his mouth instead of just 'she's hot.' Jihye gulped and felt a lot more uncomfortable. 

She fully expected Yixing to scold the boy for sounding so inappropriate, but instead, he corrected them. 

"Uh I don't think you mean to say 'hot,'" Yixing said, using air quotes. "I think you mean to say 'beautiful.'" He genuinely smiled at Jihye. 

Jihye froze when the boy spoke up again. "Yes of course hyung, that's what I meant. She's beautiful." 

Jihye didn't have to hear it again to know that his connotation of the word was vastly different from they way Yixing had said it. She started getting nervous and wished that Hee Jun was there in that moment to back hand these fools. But she was also boiling with anger. It was taking her every ounce of power in her body not to get up and slap the crap out of the both of them. She knew their real intentions about everything, and she couldn't even expose them. She felt frozen. 

The boys went back to talking to Yixing. "Actually hyung, we came to ask a favor of you." 

Yixing nodded, telling them to go ahead and ask. The taller boy's acting skills were superb when he had requested that Yixing pay for their group's meal, since all of them apparently 'forgot their wallets' because they came 'straight from academy.' 

Yixing listened carefully while they told their carefully laid out story, and by the time they were done telling it, he didn't even hesitate in saying yes. Jihye gawped at his very fast answer. 

"Hyung, you're the best! We thought we were doomed until we saw you, so we had to try and ask." The lankier boy looked as happy as ever and he hugged Yixing, while Yixing just patted his back. "Don't worry about it, a sunbae should look out for his hoobaes, right?" 

Jihye's grip on the tongs she was holding to pick up the meat tightened, and in a split second, they instantly broke in half from the force she was putting on it. All three of them looked over at her once again, Yixing looked more surprised than ever. 

"Jihye are you okay?" 

Jihye snapped out of her angry trance when she saw Yixing's face, but when she looked over at the two boys she grit her teeth. Yixing took his credit card out of his pocket and Jihye frowned. He didn't even have a wallet at the moment and stuffed his important cards in his pocket where they could fall out?

She grabbed Yixing's wrist and looked at the boys. "Actually, I was thinking I would pay for the boys' meal. They seem nice enough." She wanted to gag even saying the word nice about these devils from hell. 

The boys nudged each other and smirked, but Jihye caught it all. She smiled sweetly, but when one of the boys extended their hand, obviously wanting the card, she stood up. "That's okay, I'll go pay up front for you guys." She shrugged, and just before she passed them, she saw that their faces had fallen a little. Obviously if they had taken Yixing's card they would've used it for more than just the meal. 

"Jihye, it's really fine, you just met them, you don't have to pay for them!" Yixing called after her. "It's alright Yixing, it's the least I can do for these cute little boys," she said as she harshly pinched both of their cheeks. They wailed in pain for a couple seconds before she smiled smugly and let go. 

Yixing stayed at the table, and when he was out of their sight, Jihye turned around to face the two boys who were still following her back to their table. "Alright you little s," she glared at the two boys who now looked genuinely surprised.

"I know how evil all of you really are, and don't think I don't. I don't bluff," she smirked as she turned around to keep on walking. Not knowing why the kept following, the two boys looked at each other with worried looks. 

When they reached the table, she looked at them again. She tried not to make it look like she wanted to kill them right then and there, but it was hard when they were such terrible human beings. "You try and take advantage of Yixing or anyone else ever again and you're dead, you got that? Yixing might be naive enough to believe every word that comes out of your filthy mouth, but I'm not like that. I see right through you." 

She slammed her hand down on the table full of young looking boys who eyed her up and down just like the other two did. Now she felt like taking 8 showers when she got home. 

"Hi boys, you all thought your little plan would work right? Well you better take your own ing check since I know you have enough money to pay for your dinner."

The chubby boy at the table gasped. "We really don't have money! Why are you being such a ?!" 

Jihye's gaze snapped towards the chubby boy. "You do not want to mess with me, ." She couldn't believe how many profanities she spoke tonight, but they were used for the right people.

She scanned their table and saw Yixing's wallet. Without saying a word, she innocently grabbed the wallet and hung it front of their faces. "Oh, it would be a shame if your precious hyung knew how deceiving you really are." 

The boys tried to grab it away but she stuffed it in her back pocket. "Touch me there and I will scream bloody murder," she threatened. At that point, the boys backed off a little, but still looked extremely peeved. 

"This is called karma, learn your lesson well boys!" 

The tall boy grabbed her wrist. "C'mon beautiful you can't just leave us here with no money to pay for our meal," he smirked. Did he think he was cute? She ripped her wrist upwards and out of his grasp, also smacking his chin and nose in the process. "Oops." 

All the boys looked like they wanted to hurt her, but they also looked afraid. She could see it in their eyes. She turned around to walk back to her table but stopped when she realized she hadn't tied the loose ends. 

"If I ever see you doing something like this at school or anywhere, you better ing hope you can take what'll come." And with that, she turned around, taking Yixing's wallet out of her pocket and holding it in her hands. 

When her table was in sight again, she breathed a sigh of relief. But then she saw Yixing, looking at the menu like a normal person. When she reached the table, he looked up at her and smiled brightly. "Hey, thanks for paying for them, they're really nice boys."

Maybe she was just beyond exhausted from going through all that, or maybe she just hated to see Yixing be so naive, but when he said that, she snapped. 

She threw his wallet into his lap and grabbed her things. Yixing looked confused. "Wait, you had my wallet too? Why didn't you just give it to me when you gave me my other stuff last time?" He looked at her curiously. 

Jihye willed herself not to yell in his face. He didn't deserve that, yet, at the same time, he really did. She sat down and glared at Yixing. Without yelling, even though she wanted to, she spoke to him.

"Yixing are you kidding me?"

Yixing still seemed very clueless, and she felt like she wanted to scream. She scoffed at him and he looked a little hurt. "You are so naive." Yixing blinked at her before shifting uncomfortably. "I-- what?"

"Yixing, how could you let those boys do that to you? Are you really that dense?" She looked at him, desperately searching for an answer, hoping he would just tell her that he was messing with them as well, or something along those lines.

"Jihye, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying, I can't believe you let people take advantage of you like that. Y- you are irritating the absolute hell out of me," she spoke harshly. Now she could really see the hurt in his eyes. But Jihye was so distraught by this whole evening that she couldn't even bring herself to speak. Yixing was so kind, so innocent, and so charming, it hurt her a lot to see that some people as simple-minded as those boys could easily take advantage of him. 

Without saying another word, because she couldn't open without the fear of crying, she left money on the table, grabbed all her things and left the restaurant. 

Yixing was left sitting at her table, he was still dumbfounded about anything she was trying to say. And why she had said such harsh things to him. The only thing he knew for sure was that he had done something very wrong. Apparently. 

---

A/N: Woo! This was a super long chapter! I was going to split it into two parts but I couldn't do it to where it would cut off nicely. SO here is our super long Chapter 2! Let me know what you guys think, I really appreciate comments, they keep me motivated!
Our poor Yixing :( He is honestly the sweetest person ever. 

Also, if you're wondering who Hee Jun is, or you want to put a face to his name, he is Oh Hee Jun from KNK! 

Xoxo, 
Mae