Pushing his bike with one hand, Hoseok and you walked side by side down the street. It was already pitch dark outside, just like you said, so he decided to ditch the face mask. The weather dropped significantly since earlier, and he could see faint white vapor escaping your lips as you spoke. You had your SnapBack on, and he smiled at your flushed cheeks under the hood of your hoodie when you occasionally turned to him as you walked. He didn't know if it was because of the cold or something else, but it seemed like you were walking a lot closer towards him than usual with your arms brushing against each other's frequently---not that he minded, not at all. He fought the urge wrap his arm around your shoulder. 

"That was a lot of skinship back there with Sandy, you know?" You scoffed and pointed out. "Are you even suppose to do that? Like do your managers allow you to do that? I mean what if another one of your fans saw that? Aren't you afraid of being torn into pieces by the over obsessed ones? You should probably be more careful," you glanced up at him and said. 

Your tone was nonchalant, but Hoseok raised an eyebrow. Why would you care who he did skinship with? Unless... 

"Are you jealous?" He smirked and countered. 

"WHAT?!" You jumped at his comment and half yelled. "No I'm not!! Why would I be jealous?!" You barely took a breath as you continued quickly, "You know, for one thing, I'm used to skinship and stuff. I mean I did that all the time in the States with friends, so I don't care if someone did more or less of it with me. And besides San's like my best best friend, so since she's happy about it, I'm happy for her! Why would I be jealous of her?!" You finished your statement with a scoff. 

Hoseok chuckled silently. Yep, he concluded from your long rant, definitely jealous. Some say that an envious woman is one of the most terrifying things in world, but he found your reaction unbelievably cute as he glanced at your slight pout under the dim streetlight. "Well, for your information," he said, "it's called fan service." Catching your confused look, he looked forward and continued with a shrug, "you know, like doing things for the fans to make them happy and stuff. Skinship is like the biggest part of fan service, although it happens the least frequent." He took a breath, "and yes, as long as it's a fan, the company doesn't care." 

"Pfffff, well that explains a lot," you immediately remarked, making him glance at you. 

Is that relief he saw on your face? 

Something warm and fuzzy was growing in Hoseok's chest. 

"You see, that's yet another reason why I'm not jealous," you continued, still not looking at him as you waved your hands around to emphasize your point. "I'm not even an ARMY, so of course I don't mind not getting a fan service or whatever it's called. Sandy, on the other hand, is probably going to have a hard time sleeping tonight for all the attention you have her," you chuckled. "Did I tell you about that time when we ran into Jungkook in the convenient store after your concert? She was-"

You suddenly broke off as a strong gush of wind blew from the back. Hissing, you hunched over, and Hoseok could see you shiver and grimace from the sudden cold. 

As if on instinct, he grabbed your arm and pulled you towards him. The movement was so abrupt that he heard you gasp at the sudden impact against his chest as he swung one arm around your back and held you firmly. Turning quickly so his back was against the wind and shielding you from the cold, his heart knocked against his ribcage fast and loud as Hoseok wrapped you in his embrace. Heat was rising to his face, and he panted a bit as he set his head in the crook of your neck. 

Yo, what the are you doing?! A voice in his head scolded, aren't you scared that someone's going to recognize you? If that happens, this will be on the national news by the morning!

Shut up, will you?! He scoffed back, do you think I care about that right now? All he could think about was your scent and the heat radiating from your petite frame as he closed his eyes, relishing the moment. 

"Yah, what are you doing?" He was surprised he could still hear your mutter over his own deafening heartbeat. "I said I wasn't jealous, Hoseok-ah. Why are you hugging me? Is this considered a fan service or something?" 

Even though you sounded skeptical and confused, he was beyond relieved that your didn't push away. He in a breath and smile as he heard himself say, 

"Yeah, hugs are considered fan service. But they're not when I give them to you, okay?" 

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Rrrrrraaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!" You growled in frustration as you kicked at the blanket on top of you. Thrashing around in bed, your mind was driving you crazy as it refused to stay quiet. 

It was another night with annoying insomnia, which had been happening more frequently since that hug Hoseok gave you more than two weeks ago. For some reason the moment you closed your eyes all you could think of was your face against his warm chest, his arm wrapped securely around your back, and his breath blowing softly next to your ear. 

Why did it bother me so much anyway? You sat up in your bed and blew at your bangs. I'm definitely not a stranger to hugs! 

You dragged yourself out of bed to your desk and opened your laptop. Since there was pretty much no way you would be sleeping peacefully tonight, you might as well get some schoolwork done. Midterm exams were coming up, and you already got the list of things you needed to study for. Clicking open your email account, you scrolled to find the email that had the information and opened it:

To: ________02@ sopa. org
From: G11SAO@ sopa. org
Subject: Semester 1 Exam Topics

In-class tests
Korean: write a five-paragraph commentary on the give passage extracted from the novel you are currently studying
English: use all vocabulary from chapter 1-4 to write a paragraph on any topic
Math: study all notes and handouts on functions, matrix, logarithm, coordinate-graphs, and preliminary algebra
Lyrics-writing: write original lyric to a given tune

External tests
Sciences: conduct an experiment and write a lab report on salt hydration
Makeup & Styling: design a conceptual facial makeup for both male and female, completed with sketches and photographed models of both as well as a rationale about your designs
Dance: choreograph a one-minute-minimum routine to a song of your choice

If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to discuss it with your teacher or councilor. Please study promptly and good luck!

Best regards,

Grade 11 Student Academic Office

You were about to look away and get out your sketchbook and earphones when you caught sight of the email after this one. Something tugged at your heart as you clicked on the recipient.

Your heart dropped as you exhaled in disappointment. There's still no reply.

Even though you highly doubted he'd ever contact you again, you still found yourself typing away:

To: SeVenD@ gmail. com
From: ________02@ sopa. org
Subject: email number 34

You know, you can just take one minute of your day to give me a reply, right? I really, really am sorry for what happened, and I'd do whatever to make it up for you guys if you would just contact me. Please SeVen, it's been two years.

I miss you guys. So much.

M. S.

You closed your eyes and clicked "send".