There's a start for everything. And for every start, there's an end, but apparently, there's still a long way to go to get there. I found myself walking through the damp, outer city roads, kicking a rock to keep me entertained. I breathed in the familiar, musky scent that always seemed to cover the neighborhood (maybe it was just me). The smell of smoke mingled in the air and stung my nose. Out of habit, my nose scrunched up. I filled my lungs with oxygen and held it as I walked through onlookers who puffed up clouds of smoke. They laughed as I kept my head low and minded my own business. I heard a low whistle seep through the lips of one of the men, "well, aren't you a beauty?" I heard him stand up from his makeshift chair and make his way towards me with his gang hyping him up with loud bangs and high pitched whistles, "what's your name sweet heart?" he inquired, catching up to me.

    I released the breath that I was holding and kept my head low, hoping he'd leave if ignored. The strong scent of his cologne still lingered around me (thank heavens he didn't smell like cigarettes) after I managed to ignore him for, maybe, five minutes. I rolled my eyes, "are we going to your place?" I felt his breath near my ear as he spoke and I shivered.

    "Leave me alone." I managed to speak up, "I'm not interested." I heard him chuckle, clearly not caring whether I was or wasn't interested. I felt long fingers wrap around my wrist, grip sturdy. I kept walking, trying not to give him the satisfaction of being noticed, but stopped as he pulled me towards him. I stared at his hand wrapped snuggly on my arm as it came into view, "let go."

    "Not gonna happen," his other hand found it's way to my chin and he lifted my head up to look at him, "I'll have you know that I don't take no for an answer." Now that I saw him, I knew he wasn't from here. Not that he looked different, he was still a person, but he just doesn't seem like he'd belong here.

    I scoffed, "You do look the type," I pulled back my arm, touching the place his hands had been, "starting today, you should get used to it, though." I resumed my steps with his still stubbornly following mine.

    "As expected from the one and only Jennie Kim." I stopped to a halt and looked him dead in the eye. Maybe it was my imagination, but did he gulp a little?

    "How'd you know my name? And if you knew it already, why'd you ask earlier?" His posture became relaxed while he placed his hands in his pockets.

    "How wouldn't I? You're pretty famous in our school," he shifted his weight on to the other leg before continuing, "I asked because we haven't met."
 
    I cocked an eyebrow up and placed my arms over my chest, "and you think hitting on me even though we 'haven't met' was the better choice?" I looked behind him to look at his buddies. Most were watching while some couldn't seem to care.

    "Oh, so it would've been fine if we formally met each other? Ok, well, hey there. My name is Taeyong. What about you, doll-face?" he placed his palm out in front of me, expecting me to take it.

    "Well, some people call me Jennie, but you can call me-"

    "Anytime?"

    "no, never," I turned my heel to continue walking, "I hope we never see eachother again, Taeyong."

    "Don't miss me too much," He yelled after me. I rolled my eyes again, swearing that I could actually see my brain from doing it so much.

    Reaching the doorstep to the place I called home, I opened the unlocked door silently. At first, I couldn't get used to the door always being unlocked, seeing the danger in it. I managed to convince them to at least lock it when no one's home and at night. It was weird to me how much trust they put on our neighborhood and how much I needed to convince them to lock the doors for their safety, "I'm home."

    "Is Lisa with you?" Mrs. M, or as I've called her for the past few years, Mom asked from the dining table.

    "She isn't back yet?" I questioned. She left school much earlier than I did.

    "Nope, Thought she was with you?" This wasn't odd behavior for Lisa, but usually she'd tell me, at least.

    I sighed, "Hopefully she's with Rosie or Jisoo."

    "Hopefully," she shrugged. Lisa's mom was always as chill as Antarctica, but I've seen her bad side. It's hotter than hell.

    "Call me if you need anything," I replied quickly, running up the stairs to my room. I heard her mumble an 'ok' as she completely immersed herself on the show she was watching. Mr. M, or Dad, wasn't home so I assumed he was doing one if his deals somewhere. Yep, he still dealt with that kind of business. He explained to me that he knew it was illegal, but it brought in so much money that he couldn't resist. Everything we have now was because of the money he earned from his business and he says that he doesn't regret an ounce of it. He made it a point to emphasize that he doesn't use any of his products, just deals them. He sells to junkies, not become one.

    I couldn't care less what he did as long as he was safe. Whenever he'd leave, I'd tell him to be careful... I would hate to have my father figure die the way my actual father did. He promised me his safety and I made it a habit to wait for him until he gets home. I also made it a habit to say goodbye to everyone before they leave. I had always regretted not having done so for my father, it might've even caused a trauma for me. Being able to say goodbye just gives me a sense of security. I know it's stupid, but it's one way I live my life.

    "Jen!" I heard footsteps stomping up the stairs. My door slammed open right after and I faced Lisa, hair messed up, neck tie hung loosely and breathes heavy.

    "Liz, are you ok?" she slammed the door behind her and jumped on my bed, "what's up?"

    "I was with Rosé earlier when we almost got robbed," I gave her an unimpressed look, "and shanked." I held her shoulders and inspected her body for any wounds.

    "Is Rosie ok!?" I panicked.

    "Yeah," she smiled, "we taught that guy a lesson."

    I hit her left arm, causing her to groan, "Lisa, you scared me."

    "At least I know you care," she shrugged, "anyway, I got this neat necklace off of him."

    "You beat up a thief, stole his necklace-"

    "And some cash," she added as I paused to look at her.

    "- and some cash since he was gonna steal from you. Don't you find that quite ironic?"

    "He deserved it anyway!" She pouted and crossed her arms, "he got pretty close to actually stabbing Chae, ya'know."

    I patted her head, "If so, you did well."

    "Really?"

    "Really."

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• We'll see more of Taeyong later. I was thinking of turning him into a lovesick puppy later on or something, but that's for the future. Comments are appreciated!! Share this story with your Jennie/Jenyong fanatics guys!! (lol you don't have to do that)

- Author