Chapter 6 - Knight In Shining Armour or Goddess?

 

Soojin and Jungkook managed to make their way onto a city bus that would take them back to the Bangtan HQ. They found a spot for two luckily, and squeezed into the spot uncomfortably. With a huff of exhaustion, Soojin settled herself and looked over to Jungkook. His injuries looked painful, but for some reason he wasn’t showing the pain. Soojin frowned at this.

 

“If it hurts you don’t have to hide it.”

 

Jungkook turned his head to her. “Huh? Oh, that’s not it.” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly which Soojin found oddly new about him. “I’ve just gotten used to the pain.” His words replayed in sync with hers. Soojin understood what he meant all too well. She remembered telling him almost the exact same thing earlier that day at her apartment before she jumped. So he gets it. I’m not the only weird one.

 

There was silence for a minute, and Jungkook felt stupid for even mentioning something that sounded depressing. She’s laughing on the inside… bet. He gritted his teeth at the idea.

 

Soojin blinked at him before finally talking. “Good. Then that means I can sleep.” Without asking, she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.  “Tell me if it hurts, and I’ll get off.”

 

Jungkook paused his breathing rhythm, and looked down at Soojin’s head. The weight did put pressure on one of his bruises, but he wouldn’t dare admit it. A soft smile flew across his face realizing that’s why she did it.

 

“As if,” he mumbled softly not wanting to interrupt her dazing. Jungkook rested his head on his hand, and watched the city go by while drifting off to sleep himself.

 

The bus lurched forward waking Jungkook. His blurry vision took a few seconds to clear before realizing where he was. He looked down and saw that Soojin was knocked out, and still sleeping on his shoulder which had gone numb. He scoffed with amusement at the sight, and then realized that he had fallen asleep on her head. Jungkook’s ears turned red which he found odd, and tried to shake the idiotic emotion away. People around them smiled at the sight as if Soojin and him were a couple.

 

“Wait, erm that’s not right…” he grumbled in embarrassment. Too tired to try to address the correct situation, Jungkook looked down at his watched and realized it was 3am.

 

“, we missed our stop.”

 

20 minutes later, Jungkook was nudging Soojin awake. “Hey, sleepy the drawf. Wake up.”

 

“Huh?” Soojin mumbled rubbing her eyes.

 

“We missed our stop, but now we’re here,” he told her standing up from his seat. Soojin got onto her wobbling feet, and stuck out her arm with her eyes still closed.

 

Jungkook blinked in confusion at this. “What do you need?”

 

A sigh escaped her lips instead of an answer as Soojin forcefully wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she put her arm around his waist. “You’re still injured,” she mumbled directing him off the bus while people gave cheeky smiles at this. Soojin didn’t realize this, but Jungkook did which made him try to pull away.

 

“Yah, I’m fine now.”

 

Her face went straight as she poked him in the side. “Ouch! That ing hur-” He stopped mid sentence as she rolled her eyes and continued helping him.

 

Jungkook grumbled aloud. “I’m only bruised. It’s not like I have a broken leg.”

 

“Do you want me to test that and kick it?”

 

“Wait no.”

 

“Okay then keep quiet and just let me help you. It’s not a bad thing for a person to accept help every once and awhile.” Soojin spoke as if the words were just a breath of air moving wind, but Jungkook felt like a goddess had just spoken to him…. Or at least someone who cared about his well being honestly. This is weird.

 

Before they reached the HQ, Soojin decided to stop by a clinic to grab a few things for “herself.” Jungkook had refused that he needed anything so she declared that earlier during the fight, she had gotten a cut on her hand. Jungkook didn’t believe her, but what could he do? Stop her?

 

Soojin exited the clinic with a plastic bag in one hand, and two drinks in the other.

 

“Here.” She extended her arm offering one of the drinks to him.

 

“What’s this for?” He asked taking one. Jungkook decided that he wasn’t going to reject a drink because he was actually pretty thirsty.

 

“Letting me sleep on your shoulder on the bus. It felt nice.”

 

Jungkook looked to Soojin surprised at her blunt answer. “Oh…”

 

She noticed the awkward tone in his voice, and laughed to herself. “Don’t take it weirdly. I’m just repaying you for letting me use you as a pillow.”

 

“Oh that’s great. I’m glad I was a good pillow.”

 

“Actually you kept fidgeting because of your bruise, but it’s whatever,” she said taking a sip of the cold coffee.

 

“You knew?!”

 

She scoffed a smile. “I watched you get beat up; Of course I knew you had a bruise there,” Soojin admitted.

 

“You’re cruel,” Jungkook grumbled popping the cap of the soda can.

 

“At least it’s an upgrade from ,” she mumbled softly.

 

He looked over at Soojin apologetically. “Oh, sorry about those times… I’m a brat sometimes without a reason.”

 

“Are you really sorry? Or just feeling guilty?...” Her voice trailed off.

 

Soojin’s question pierced him. Was he really sorry? Why couldn’t he tell? It’s hard to understand myself these days, but I do know that I felt bad when calling her a … that’s for certain.

 

Jungkook looked over to her with sincerity. “I think I am. For some reason, I’ve been struggling with identifying my reasons for things, but I’m pretty sure I am sorry. I hope you can at least accept that in some way.”

 

“I’ll accept it. Under one condition.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“Let me apply some of this stuff to your injuries,” Soojin said with a large convincing grin, holding up the bag. “If you don’t, your flawless skin might scar.”

 

Jungkook rubbed his temples. “Ugh fine… Only because you called my skin flawless though.”

 

“Ha I’ve found a way to win over the Kookie,” she announced victoriously while opening the peroxide. “It might sting a little, but don’t be a baby.”

 

A soaked cotton ball was gently pressed against his arm causing him to wince. Soojin clicked her tongue. “Don’t move or else it will hurt more.” Her eyes focused on his arm, forgetting where she was which Jungkook took notice of. Once Soojin was absorbed in something, she didn’t acknowledge the people around her which Jungkook found comforting about the girl.

 

He was shocked at himself for staring when she interrupted his daze. “Okay, lift up your shirt now.”

 

“What?” Jungkook coughed abruptly.

 

“Lift up your shirt dummy,” she said once again. “There’s blood soaking through which means that you got hurt pretty badly under there.”

 

A smirk danced onto Jungkook’s face. “We haven’t even reached base one yet and you’re already jumping at me?” He lifted his eyebrow as a taunt, and Soojin scrunched her brows while pursing her lips.

 

“I thought base one was when you saw me in my towel as I got out of the shower,” she said causing the corners of to pull upwards out of amusement.  

 

He laughed genuinely to himself. “Touche,” he admitted while pulling up the side of his shirt revealing a cut along his toned muscles. Soojin softly smiled after hearing his laugh, and then set back to work.

 

Jungkook had always been used to woman touching him. Actually, it was something he enjoyed; He was a man of course. It was normal. The feeling of a woman touching his bare skin didn’t bother him anymore. So Jungkook found it weird when he felt Soojin’s small hand placed on his chest steadying her applications of the medicine. His heart began to race, and blood started to rush to his head.

 

What the hell? Why am I all jittery like a little boy all of the sudden… If Jungkook hadn’t felt embarrassed about his childish reactions, he surely did now when he looked down and saw Soojin’s ears had turned red. A smile played onto his lips.

 

“Okay, there you go,” she said quickly shoving the medical items back into the plastic bag. “Your friends can do the rest.” Soojin cleared , and looked down the street to distract her thoughts. He’s really fit for someone who gets beat up all the time…

 

“How’d you get beat up in the first place?” Soojin finally asked not being able to hold back the curiousity.

 

Jungkook had just finished up placing the large bandage over his side cut as he looked to her. “Oh right. Funny thing actually…” He bashfully mumbled while ruffling his hair. “I was looking around for you… There were a few things you said that had confused me.”

 

Soojin couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Is that why he had been so close to where I was eating? “Oh you mean my speech earlier? You came all the way here for that?” She asked. “What about it?”

 

There was a voice telling Jungkook to just forget it all together and say he had forgotten, but he needed to know. “This might sound stupid, but why did you look disappointed in me when you left?... You looked to Jimin with hate, but I only felt guilty when I met your eyes meaning you were disappointed in me. Did you still have something to believe in me about?”

 

For a split second, Jungkook swore he saw a gleam of hope flash in Soojin’s eyes. Her lips smiled softly while she began to swing her legs from the bench they were sitting on.

 

“You care about people right?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You have people you care about correct?” Soojin asked turning to meet his gaze with a smile.

 

Jungkook suddenly regretted asking her a question. “Sure I do,” he told her straightening himself.

 

“Yeah I saw that in you from the start.” Jungkook paused with his closed off emotions at the sound of this. “From breaking your friend out of jail to giving that random girl in bed with my roommate a shirt to cover up, and then to being able to take extreme measures against a stranger to protect the ones you love most… That’s why I was disappointed in you. I saw that sincerity in you from the start so watching you treat me like trash hurt. I felt like I wasn’t a worthy person of your respect I guess,” she admitted with a half smile half frown. “I wouldn’t know for sure though… I’m often confusing to people and even to myself sometimes.”

 

His breath was steady as he listened to Soojin’s explanation. Her words felt like a soothing antidote to his confusion. “I see…”

 

Something clicked in his thought process. “Wait… How’d you see all of tha-”

 

“Hacker remember?” She smiled placing her chin in between her index and thumb cutely.

 

“You’re kinda weird Na Soojin. It’s almost cut-,” Jungkook said.

 

An elbow to the stomach didn’t allow him to finish his sentence. “Oof,” he grunted leaning over. “Okay that was fair.” Jungkook grunted before laughing.

 

Soojin laughed at his reaction and smacked his the back of head upwards. “Come on. Let’s get you back. I can’t let an injured person go home alone this late at night.”

 

“Oh how nice of you,” Jungkook mocked standing up to follow her. “You must be my knight in shining armour.”

 

“Hmm how about goddess instead?”

 

Jungkook rolled his eyes with an annoyed smile, and Soojin laughed. “Sure, why not.”