"Hey, honey, you wanna play with us?"

   Natsuki ignored the catcall, and tried walking quicker. The group of boys still followed her easily, calling out horrible and rude things to her. Drunk bastards.

   "Come on, sweetie pie, you know you want some of this!"

   "Hey, you need a place to sleep tonight?"

   Natsuki wanted to run, but she felt so scared, she could barely move her legs.

   She heard pounding footsteps, and realized seconds too late that the drunk boys were tired of playing around with her. They were serious. They ran towards her and, before she could run away, they grabbed her. One man held each of her arms, another grabbed her by the waist.

   "She's not that much to look at, to be honest." The man who held her waist said, the smell of strong alcohol wafting out from his breath. Natsuki cringed. "Then let go of me and find another to !" She yelled angrily. They all laughed.

   "But she's got cheek. I like the wilder ones. They're much more fun after they're tamed." More laughter.

   "Seems like she's a . This will be fun, won't it fellas?" Another jeered. Natsuki shivered.

   She started twisting around and screaming, but one quickly clapped a smelly hand over , and she couldn't break free from the ones holding her arms to use self-defense. She was trapped.

   Oh my god, she thought desperately, tears in her eyes. Oh my god, Yoochun, somebody, please! Save me!

   She heard the pounding of footsteps, and a figure shadowed in the darkness of the evening sky stepped forward. "Let her go. Now." The person said angrily. That voice sounded familiar.

   "Huh~~?" A man said. "You in' retard, ya wanna fight? We just wanna have some fun with this chick, that's all."

   "Bastards, I'll kill you!" The figure said, and leapt at him. The men all left the shaking Natsuki to attack the figure, but it was obvious the figure was the better fighter. He weaved in and out of the blows, dodging attacks to hit them in the face, the stomach, wherever he could reach. It didn't take long before all the drunkards were groaning in pain on the ground.

   The figure advanced on Natsuki, who was so scared of what had just happened she had collapsed onto the ground.

   "Are you okay?" Kim Jaejoong asked her.

   Natsuki opened , but nothing came out. Only a sob broke from her lips.

   "Can you stand?" Natsuki couldn't move or say anything to respond. Tears dripped down her cheeks, and her shoulders shook.

   Jaejoong sighed, and she felt the ground come away beneath her. Jaejoong had picked her up bridal-style and was carrying her as though she weighed nothing.

   "You're not heavy, you know." Jaejoong said suddenly, as though he could read her mind. She had in fact been wondering whether to tell Jaejoong to put her down or not. "I've carried somebody way heavier than you. You're light as a feather."

   "Who?" Natsuki finally managed to whisper, clutching his shirt and crying into it. She sniffed, curious despite herself.

   There was a moment of silence. "It was Yunho." Jaejoong finally said. "Two years ago. He was too eager to fight a gang of drug dealers. He's always too eager to fight, that stupid kid. He barged in without a plan or backup, thought he could take them all on. Well, he got stabbed."

   Natsuki gasped, and Jaejoong chuckled. "It wasn't vital, don't worry, but he couldn't move. Once I found out he was at their base I followed him."

   "Weren't you scared?" Natsuki whispered. "You didn't have any backup either."

   Jaejoong looked surprised she was so into his story. "Nah, unlike Yunho I've had the experience. I fought my way past all of them, and made sure the guy who stabbed Yunho got the most beats. When I found him bleeding on the floor, there was no way to phone an ambulance, so I picked him up and carried him to a hospital."

   "Why did you do that?"

   "Because he's my friend, that's why. I don't have much friends, so when I make one, I always make sure I keep them. He pulled through all right, that's what counts."

   Natsuki fell silent. She was so surprised to see this kind of Jaejoong, so gentle and.....manly. She clutched his shirt tighter.

   "You must have been scared." He told her quietly.

   "I was. Thank you for saving me."

   "No problem," he muttered gruffly. If Natsuki could see in the dark, she would have seen his face turn cherry red, and his heart started to beat double time.

   There was a couple moments of silence as they walked nearer to her house.

   "Hey....."

   Natsuki realized he was talking to her. "Yes?"

   "Well.....um...." Jaejoong's voice was thick with embarassment as he struggled to find the right words to say. "Listen....I....uh......about today.....sorry I yelled at you. And nearly hit you."

   Natsuki was shocked. He was apologizing to her?

   He wasn't done. "And sorry about punching Yoochun. I dunno why I did that, but I apologized to him, and now I gotta apologize to you. I know you kinda like him, although thinking about that pisses me off for some reason."

   Was there a meaning behind those words he just spoke? A meaning he himself may not even know he said?

   "And sorry for kidnapping you and acting like an to you. If you want, you could--you know--hit me or something."

   Natsuki suddenly laughed.

   "What? What was so funny?" Jaejoong asked, startled.

   "Nothing." Natsuki giggled. "Violence isn't always the answer to dealing with things, you know."

   "It's not?"

   "No!" Natsuki was exasperated now. "Jeesus, Jaejoong. If there were more people like you in the world, we'll all die from war."

   "What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded.

   "Nothing, you're just stupid." Natsuki laughed. Jaejoong didn't like being called stupid, but seeing her in the darkness, snuggling into his arms, he couldn't find the words to say anything back.

   Jaejoong stopped in front of her apartment door. "So, um, maybe I'll see you tomorrow." He said, embarassed.

   "Sure. I'll see you and Yoochun and the others tomorrow. But I gotta go to school first."

   There was a moment of silence.

   "Jaejoong...."

   "Yeah?"

   "You can put me down now."

   "Oh! R-right!" Jaejoong gently let go of her, and she smiled at him. He felt his heart stop at her smile.

   "Thanks again. You know, when you don't get pissed off and swear at me, you're actually kind of sweet. Well, goodnight."

   She disappeared inside.

   Jaejoong watched her go.

   She thanked him. And she thought he was SWEET.

   A broad smile lit up his face, and he ran to the nearby park, jumping and hollering for joy. She thanked him. She thought he was sweet.

   "I'll never be pissed off at her ever again!" He whispered happily to himself. "And I'll never swear at her again!"

   He collapsed on a park bench. He couldn't stop smiling.

   She smiled for him.