The sound of wheels against the rough ground of the skatepark screeched at my ears but it didn’t feel too bad. In fact, the more you listened to it, the more it’d appear as a nice and relaxing sound. People were cheering, there was music and there was graffiti on almost every surface. The place was colorful and brought out this weird feeling within me which I couldn’t tell what.

“What do you think?” Yoongi proudly asked me, expectantly peeking into my eyes, searching for answers.

I shrugged, “It’s, uh, really… cool?”

“Really? That’s all?” he raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean, it’s a really nice place but… why would you bring me here?”

He poked his index finger against my forehead, “Because you gotta chill. You’re going to get wrinkles if you don’t stop furrowing your eyebrows.”

At the mention of that, I felt my face relax.

“This place is where I come to distress. You, Haesoo, need to get some of that. You’ve been so stressed and upset at your family issues and bullying issues that I doubt you’re getting enough rest at night.”

He was right. I wasn’t sleeping well.

“I know you still don’t know much about me but trust me, I know you well. You don’t have to know how. It’s not something to worry about anyway. But I want the same for you. I want you to know me and accept me as a friend because that’s what I’m going to be from now on.”

He continued, “This skatepark is a part of my life that I want you to know besides my piercings and tattoos. I want to be friends with you. I want to help you with your problems and make it better. I want to be there for you. Here, you’ll meet many friends that will care about you. Do you trust me?”

I slowly nodded, still not able to absorb it all. What was he, a boy I just met, doing all this for? There had to be a motive. It was all too much to absorb. There was no reason for him to want to help me wordlessly. And how did he know so much about me if I hadn’t said anything to him? It was all really weird and I couldn’t help but doubt him.

But his tone and voice said something. I felt like I could trust him, despite the little bit of doubt within.

But, anyway, he smiled at my reply.

“Come with me,” he slipped his hand into mine, “I’ve got some people to introduce you to.”

Still feeling quite taken aback by the holding of hands, which I’ve never done with anyone else, and especially not with a guy, I blindly followed Yoongi to wherever he was bringing me to.

He brought me to a group of males that had their bodies covered with tattoos and piercings. And I realised how Yoongi suddenly appeared like them too, except with fewer tattoos.

“This is our rap monster, Namjoon. This is our man, Zico. This guy’s Hoseok, call him Hobi. This is Kyung and that guy’s Lee Minhyuk,” Yoongi pointed to the five of them one by one.

I carefully took it in, hoping that I wouldn’t forget their names. It was easier said than done because the moment I met their eyes, I almost choked. All of them had a scary and serious look on their face, scrutinizing me. Except the guy named Kyung. He looked quite comical if you really stare at his face. Nonetheless, they were looking me up and down and I felt uncomfortable.

Yoongi pointed at me and told them, “Her name’s Haesoo and you might or might not see her a whole lot more with us now. Isn’t that so?”

Yoongi turned to me with a hopeful look and my eyes widened. I wasn’t expecting that.

“Y-yeah, I guess…” I trailed off, unsure.

“I doubt she wants to,” Kyung joked at Minhyuk but he definitely knew I heard it.

Namjoon took out another cigarette and put it to his lips after he crushed the one from before that he’d been on. He took another one out and offered it to me but I quickly refused. So far, it didn’t seem like my type of place with the cigarettes and all. Minhyuk took it instead and started smoking. The smoke was quite overwhelming but I calmly watched as they took the puffs like it was nothing. But I didn’t comment.

I averted me eyes and stared at the ground instead. If it wasn’t for the music, it would have probably been more awkward.

Zico bent down and peeked at my eyes and followed when I tried to look away.

“Maybe she’ll make up her mind about that if we show her some of what we’ve got,” he smirked and Yoongi pushed me down gently to sit on the floor.

Wait what? What did he mean?

I was still confused and unsure as to how I should react with these people. I had never associated myself with people like Zico or Namjoon. They all looked like the people my mother used to warn me about but up close, I didn’t see anything wrong. Yet, I was wary.

My eyes followed the six figures. They went to the side near the edge of what I recognize