The Next Day

Awoken by my phone notification, I groggily reached for my phone, silently cursing whoever it was that woke me up.

"Hey Hyun-Ae, meet us at the zoo today at 10. Don't even think about running away!" It read.

I sighed and looked at the time. It was 8.

Aish, the zoo? Well it shouldn't be that bad. I haven't been there for a while so it will be fun to see the animals.

Man but what about the attention that they will most likely attract? The last thing I want is glares from people.

It's okay Hyun-Ae. Just one day with them and it will be over and I can ask them to leave me alone.

Just One Day.

I slowly got up out of bed and headed to my bathroom to get ready for the day. I had decided to go casual, as always, wearing my comfy jeans and a baggy shirt that would not make me hot throughout the day.

After taking a shower and getting dressed I headed out my door and started to walk to the bus.

The bus quickly picked me up and 30 minutes later I arrived at the front entrance.

As I stepped out of the bus, I noticed that there was a big group of people standing around the main gate.

I started to walk towards the unusual cluster of people when I noticed what they were standing around.

Really? Like, all they are doing is standing and girls are freaking out about them. Aigoo...This is going to be a very long day.

I tried to walk around the group of people when I was suddenly shoved to the ground.

I looked up to see that a group of girls had pushed me out of the way in order to get closer to them.

Damn, take about rude.

I was about to get up when a hand was reached out in front of me.

I glanced up to see that it was Jin who was trying to help me.

Wow he is here literally almost every time I fall. It's like he has a radar or something.

I readily accepted his help and I slowly got up and started to brush off the dirt on my knees.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I am good. Just remind me not to be around a group of girls freaking out over you guys and I will be fine."

He started laughing at my comment. This brought the attention of the girls onto the two of us, creating glares towards me.

I knew this was going to happen. I knew it!

"Hyun-Ae! " I turned around to see Taehyung running towards Jin and I, the others following closely behind.

I have to admit...they are all good looking but I just don't know if it is enough to drool over them for that. Hell, they don't even know that one of them is a major douchebag.

"Hi guys," I whispered to all of them, suddenly embarrassed to be standing by them.

"Aww, don't be nervous Hyun-Ae," Jimin said while sneakily wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "We don't bite."

Lies. Total lies.

I looked at each of them and I noticed that most of them were smiling at me except for two.

Well if it isn't Mr. Douchebag and his sidekick Mr. Cooties. God, I swear if they try something today...

"So what do you guys want to see first?" Jin asked all of us, interrupting my thoughts.

"I want to see the horses!" J-Hope said.

"There are no horses at the zoo, Hoseok. Maybe ponies but those are for the younger kids." Namjoon stated. 

"Still..." he trailed off pouting at the statement.

"How about looking at the monkeys first?" Taehyung suggested. "And then we can go from there? They are right in front of the zoo anyways," he decided. We nodded in agreement. 

We started walking towards the entrance when I realized that Jimin still had his arm around me. 

Okay, time to move.

I tried to sneak out from under him when he just gripped my shoulder even tighter than before. 

"What?" He asked. "You don't want to walk next to me? I am so hurt Hyun-Ae!" He whined, bringing his face closer to mine.

"Y-yah," I attempted to say.

He cracked up at my reaction.

"You really don't like people do you? Or is it just me? Or do you not like talking to guys?" he questioned. What is this, 20 questions?

I exhaled sharply, not willing to answer his questions. 

"Okay, don't talk to me. But I will get something out of you, even if I have to hold onto you like this all day~" he teased. 

I tried to break away from his grasp again but he wouldn't let go. Giving up, I just walked beside him.

After we bought our tickets we went to the monkey exhibit first. 

"Wow, look at them!" Taehyung exclaimed.

"Daebak," Jimin said, with his arm still around me. 

"They look like Namjoon, just so blank all the time," J-hope teased.

"I do not look like that!" Namjoon retorted.

"You so do! Especially with your shaved head! You could be related!" Jimin added. He walked up to the cage that they were inside, dragging me with him. 

"Did you guys miss your brother? We brought him back for you," he told them as a few of them stared at him blankly. 

"Stop it," Namjoon said, hitting his arm, causing a yelp.

At Jimin's reaction the monkeys quickly scattered into a corner.

"Aish, now they are afraid of us. Way to go Jimin!" J-hope said.

"It's not my fault! Blame Namjoon!" Jimin whined.

"Okay, let's go before they start throwing their feces at us or something," Namjoon said.

"Do they really do that?" Jungkook spoke up for the first time today.

"Yes, haven't you seen the videos before?" Taehyung said. Jungkook shook his head. 

As Taehyung preceded to show him the monkey videos, we continued to walk.

"Wow they are so hot!" someone said behind us. Here we go...again.

"Yah, who is that with them? She looks like a loser," someone said. Are they talking about me?

"Look at her cling onto that guy. She is probably sleeping with him," a person whispered not so quietly. I started to turn red at the comments.

"How much do you want to bet that she is doing it for money? Or just to get some because she can't otherwise?" I started to tear up. 

"Totally, she is-"

"Hey you," one of the guys said turning around to look at the punks. I looked up to see that it was Yoongi, of all people that was calling them out. 

"Why don't you guys just go somewhere else if you are going to be rude. What did she do to you huh? Or do you guys just have fun picking on others?" I stared at him in shock. I glanced back to see that the girls were frozen in place and they started to turn red.

"Don't talk about her like that again, got it?" he asserted, turning back around and resuming walking. 

I was in shock. Yoongi did that, for me? Why? I thought he hated me. 

Confused, I continued to walk with the members. 

"Are you okay?" Jimin asked, looking at me with worry.

"Y-yeah," I responded. "I try to let people like that not get to me so I am okay." He shook his head.

"Well, if Yoongi hadn't stepped in I was about to. They were pissing me off as well," he said. I turned to face him.

"W-why? It wasn't like they were talking bad about you guys," I trailed off. 

He came to halt, stopping me with him. He FINALLY let go of me and turned me to face me. 

"Why are you always like this Hyun-Ae?" he asked.

"L-like what?" I asked, confused.

"Always getting down on yourself, or letting others talk bad about you. From what I see you are not a bad person, the opposite in fact." he said. 

"I don't know why you don't like to hang around others or why you are continuously alone all the time but from what I hear from the others about you, you are a good person."

I started to tear up, a mixture of the words the girls said before and what he was saying to me now.

"I know they weren't talking about me but I was going to stand up for you. They were being annoying and they had no right to say anything like that about you.

"So don't think that you don't have the right to talk back to them. Obviously even Yoongi realized how ridiculous they were and jumped in to defend you and he rarely does that for anyone. So if anyone talks about you like that again, we will come beat them up for you got that?" he finished. 

I began to cry. 

"B-but why," I managed to say between my sniffling. "I hardly know you guys and you don't know me that well. I don't see what the point is to do that for someone as little as me."

As I wiping the tears from my eyes, I felt him pull me into a hug. Shocked, I stood completely still with my hands still covering my face. 

"Well, it seems like you have an effect on us, Hyun-Ae. Heck, we barely met you a few days ago and it already feels like we have known you for longer. Even if you barely talk. Like at all," he said laughing. 

I started to laugh at his comment.  

 "Okay, can you stop crying now? People are starting to look at us like I hit you or something." he said, pulling me away from him as I was still laughing.

"Omo! Look I made you laugh!" he said, making me laugh even harder.

"Thank you Jimin," I said with a huge smile. 

Maybe these guys aren't so bad after all...

"What are friends for?" he responded, giving me an equally big smile, while rubbing the top of my head, messing up my hair. 

"Okay! Enough sentimental crap and let's catch up with the others!" he said, dragging me along with him.

After searching for a bit, we had found them near the panther exhibit.

"Where were you guys?" Jin asked. 

"Nowhere," Jimin said. "Just talking about some things," he said, looking at me giving me a wink.

"Well you guys missed the panther staring at Jungkook. It was like he was trying to communicate with him or something." Taehyung said laughing.

"Shut up!" Jungkook responded. "More like he wanted to eat me..."

The rest of us started laughing at him as well. 

"Okay! To the next exhibit!" Jin yelled.

"Woo!" we all said in response. 

As they walked ahead, I noticed that Yoongi was also not with us. I looked around to see him standing at the Koala exhibit.

I cut away from the group and walked over to him, to see him staring with his head tilted at the Koala sleeping, as if trying to study it.

"Yoongi?" I said, sneaking up behind him. 

He turned around and looked at me. 

"What," he responded crassily, turning back towards his furry friend.

"Thank you for earlier," I whispered, embarrassed to thank him. 

After a moment of silence he spoke up.

"I-it wasn't for you," he responded, running his hand through his hair. "They were being annoying and I hate annoying girls." 

Omo, trying to play it cool? 

"Okay, okay. Well thank you nonetheless," I said and I could see that he was embarrassed. 

I looked back at the koala with him. 

"He looks like you," I said.

"How so?" 

"He sleeps all day and his hair is gray, like yours," I said. He started to laugh.

"I do not sleep all day," he retorted.

"Well you do in our Psychology class. That is the only thing I have ever seen you do," I told him. 

"If the teacher wasn't so boring maybe I wouldn't be sleeping." he said.

I laughed at his comment. 

"He does look like me doesn't he? I wish I could just be lazy and lay around all day like this fellow. That and eat all day. My two favorite things," he said. 

"Me too, Yoongi. Me too," I agreed. 

We both started to smile at each other. 

Okay, Mr. Douchebag. Maybe you aren't such a face after all. 

"We should catch up with the others," he said.

"Yeah. They probably think that you are torturing me or something," I responded, laughing.

"Probably."

After searching around for them, we easily spotted them by the big group of girls surrounding them at the tiger exhibit. 

"You guys just keep on disappearing!" J-Hope said. 

"Stop leaving without us!" Taehyung said.

"Let's go get some food. I am starving." Namjoon said, changing the topic. 

"Oh look the food court!" Jimin said, running ahead of us.

"Yah! Wait for me!" J-hope said running after him.

As I started to walk behind them, I was suddenly pulled back by someone.

I turned around to see that Taehyung was holding onto my arm. 

"Hmm?" I said, confused.

"So," he started, drawing out the word. "We aren't as bad as you thought huh?" he asked.

"I didn't-"

"Yes you did! You probably thought we were all stuck up or something!" he accused. I looked away in response.

He is totally right. 

"I knew it!" 

"Yeah, yeah. So what? You thought I was mean before you met me," I told him.

"Y-yeah but-"

"Well, both of our views have changed now haven't they?" I said, cutting him off.

He grinned in response.

"So are you going to spend more time with us now?" he asked. I looked at him. 

"Why-"

"We all like you Hyun-Ae. Well, all of us except Jungkook, but he will warm up to you. That boy and his phobia of girls is almost incurable." he said.

"I don't know," I said quietly.

"Why not? You seem to like spending time with us, what is stopping you? My blackmail? Because I already deleted it~" he teased.

"What!? You already deleted it!" I said. 

"Of course. Right after I sent it to you, I made sure you got it and got rid of it, knowing that you would come because you wouldn't want to be a laughing stock," he said. 

I hit him.

"Ow! What was that for!"

"That was for deceiving me!" I said. "For forcing me to come today!"

"Well you had fun anyways right?" He said, oblivious to the pain he has caused me. I brought my two fingers up to my head in frustration.

"Soo...are you going to hang out with us again?" he pestered. 

"Like I said, I don't know," I said, sighing. 

"Is it because of what those girls said earlier? Because don't worry we won't let anyone say that about you. Hell, I will kick some people's asses." he said. I chuckled in response.

"Thank you, but no that is not it," I said. 

"I have had...an issue with friends in the past and it has kind of traumatized me. It hurt me so much to the point where I have had a problem trusting people like before," I told him. 

He looked at me, surprised by what I said. 

"Well, you don't have to worry about that with us," someone said behind me.

I turned around to see the rest of the guys standing behind us. 

"How long-" 

"So he had blackmail on you? Damn, Taehyung! I would have wanted to see it!" J-hope said. 

"Exactly, why I deleted it," Taehyung said, waving his phone at him.

"So is that why you don't hang out with others Hyun-Ae? Because of what some friends did to you in the past?" Jin asked me. I shook my head in response. 

"Well they must have been major s," Yoongi said.

"Do they still live around here? Should we go beat them up?" Jimin asked. 

"Let me go get my bat! Let's go break some windows!" J-Hope joined in. 

"Obviously, we care about you already Hyun-Ae," Namjoon said. "These idiots don't go beating up people for no reason." 

"What idiots?! You are the worst of us all!" Taehyung said. 

"No, I am just a klutz. There is a difference," he said.

"Bull huh!" Jimin said. 

"So what do you say Hyun-Ae?" Jin asked me, making all the others turn to look at me.

"Will you hang out with us from now on?" He asked.

I looked at all of them to see the smiles on their faces, beaming brightly. I couldn't help but smile in response to them. 

Knowing them a little better now, even if I said no, I feel like that they would still pester me until I did. Dang it, there goes my idea of being left alone after one day with them.

"Okay, but no hurting people! I don't want to be associated with gangsters!" I told them. 

They all cheered in response and came running at me in a huge hug. 

"Nah, don't worry. We couldn't beat up anyone if we wanted to," J-Hope said.

"Especially Jungkook, this guy couldn't even touch a butterfly," Jimin teased. 

"Y-yes I can!" Jungkook whined.

"Okay, now let's finally go get some food before I starve!" Jin called out to us. 

"Ne!" We yelled after him walking together to the food court. 

As I stood there watching them walk away from me, I felt something that I haven't felt in a long time. Something that I know these guys will bring to me everyday, even if we go through hard times. 

Happiness.