Chorim had been cooped up inside for a few days due to her cold worsening. Well, ‘cooped up’. She was actually having a great time staying at home and not having to worry about her appearance even if she was constantly blowing her nose and sniffling. She took a brief glimpse out of the window and coincidentally spotted Jungha in the driveway pulling two huge cardboard boxes full of flattened cardboard boxes behind her. However, as she was dragging them, one of her hands slipped and she fell onto the asphalt on her knees. Chorim immediately ran outside despite her slobby state and went down the stairs to help Jungha up.
“Oh Chorim! Thank you dear.” Jungha meekly smiled at her as she dusted the dirt off her pants, “My age must be getting to me.”
“You have to be more careful. Where are you taking these anyway?” Chorim asked, quickily neatening her appearance as best she can. It was useless though. If someone who knew Chorim were to spot her now, she would be in big trouble.
“Ah, these boxes. I heard the dry cleaners just down the road is moving. I thought they might need some cardboard boxes and we have plenty!” Jungha warmly laughed. Chorim smiled and nodded. She wasn’t one bit surprised by Jungha’s kindness.
“I can do it for you. Please go inside and rest.” Chorim said as she pulled the cardboard boxes over.
“No, I can’t let you do that.”
“I insist! Don't worry!” Chorim smiled brightly at her to assure her.
“Are you sure?” Jungha asked, still a little concerned. Jungha didn't know of Chorim's strength, thinking she was a frail and weak girl when she was actually the exact opposite. Chorim reassured her and turned her away to make sure she would go back inside. Chorim looked at her awful outfit and then ran her hand through her greasy and tangled hair. Before she was ready to leave, she had to run back upstairs to grab a hair tie to put her hair up into a bun and her cherry blossom face mask.

As she was dragging the boxes along up a slight hill, Chorim continuously questioned what Jungha was thinking when she thought she could do this herself when Chorim was clearly struggling. Chorim ended up carrying one box with one of her arms and dragging the other box on the floor with her other arm. Only a few more blocks left… Chorim heard someone shout “MISS!” from behind her but ignored it, thinking it wasn’t for her. She then felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around to be greeted by a tall guy with short black hair. Well, it was probably more appropriate to refer to him as a boy at this point. He was in his school uniform and had chunky headphones hanging around his neck. He was without a doubt a pretty boy and looked like the type to be street casted by major idol agencies. He held up two pieces of flattened cardboard boxes in the air with a big grin on his face.
“These fell out.” He said as he tried to put them back into the box for her. Chorim didn’t say anything and just nodded slightly to thank him. He suddenly bent over and lifted up the box she was dragging on the floor.
“I’ll help you carry it.” He smiled charmingly at her, “Where are you taking them?”
“To the dry cleaners down the road...” Chorim said reluctantly and then pointed in the direction.
“Oh okay. That’s not too far away.” The boy cheerfully responded. As they were walking in silence, Chorim glanced at the boy who was a giant compared to her. Geez, what are they feeding kids these days? She could tell from his appearance that he must have come from quite a prestigious school, from the well-fitted navy blazer with an emblem on it to his expensive looking shoes. She just assumed he must have been in high school but it was hard to tell. Back in her days spent at a state high school, the uniforms were always ill-fitting and dull, and there were no guys who looked after themselves like the boy who was walking aside her. His hair was styled too nicely for a student who was heading to school. Chorim’s other problem with him was that he was too bright and cheerful for the morning when she was feeling dead and empty inside as always.

When they arrived at the store, the middle-aged lady who Chorim assumed was the owner gave the boy undivided attention as soon as he entered the store and put the box down onto the floor.
“Omo, what is this!? Thank you so much.” The middle-aged lady cackled, “Such a handsome kid. So thoughtful as well.”  She practically ignored Chorim who had also just placed the box down behind the boy.
“Oh, no, I was just helping this sister here. The boxes are hers.” The boy stood back and respectfully gestured towards Chorim standing behind him. The lady’s expression soured when she took a look at Chorim who was wearing her cherry blossom face mask and had strands of hair falling out of her messy bun.
“They are from Ms Jungha from two blocks away.” Chorim said and then bowed to the lady.
“I see. Thanks.” The lady curtly said to Chorim before returning her attention to the boy, “So how old are you? Shall I introduce to my daughter? She’s in high school too!” The lady dotingly patted the boy’s arm. She seemed to recognise the uniform and was very excited. Chorim clenched her jaw, trying her best not to lose her cool from being so blatantly ignored. B*tch, I will…
“Well, we must get going now. It was nice meeting you.” The boy unexpectedly said and bowed to the lady. Chorim was surprised when he started gently leading her out of the store with him by her shoulder.
“I’m sorry. Because of me, you had to experience something so uncomfortable.” The boy apologised to her. Um...okay... Chorim didn’t know how to respond to him and just stood there awkwardly. She didn't really interact with high school students that often now that she was in college.
“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.” Chorim said and then patted the boy’s shoulder, “Thank you for helping me out. Have a good day then.” What a good kid, not discriminating by appearance.
“Here, please take this.” He took out his wallet and with a caring smile, gave her a 50000 Won note. Chorim looked at the money in her hand with a weirded out expression. Why’s he giving me money…?
“Wait, WAIT, wait, wait,” Chorim held a hand up and looked him in the eyes with a raised brow, “I’m not homeless...if that’s what you’re thinking.” Chorim let out a brief laugh, trying to hide the fact that she was offended. Well, she couldn’t blame him considering the state she was in and the fact that she was dragging cardboard boxes around. She could tell that it was exactly what the boy had been thinking from his surprised expression. Assuming he only had good intentions, she gave the money back to him and was ready to forgive him as soon as would begin apologising profusely. To her surprise, he looked at her doe-eyed, gently put the money in her hand and cupped it with his freakishly large hand and patted her shoulder as if he was comforting her.
“It’s okay. You worked hard today.” He bent over until their faces were leveled and held a fist up in the space between them, “Fighting!”
Fighting? FIGHTING!? Chorim stood still with her hands on her hips, trying to contain the growing rage in her, and stared at the ground at a loss for words.
“Look here kid...” Without another word, the boy bowed to her and started walking away, quite satisfied with himself for doing a good deed (or so he thought) so early in the day. Chorim looked on, completely baffled. Wait, is this really happening right now?
“YAH! SON OF A…” Chorim pulled her face mask to her chin so her voice was clearer, “I’M NOT HOMELESS!” The boy didn’t stop walking but he did turn around and put two fists up in the air in an encouraging manner with a bright smile on his face. At this point, she wasn’t sure if he was just a genuinely nice but unintentionally rude kid or he was doing it on purpose to piss her off.

~

Chorim stormed up the stairs, disgruntled by her encounter with Yoongi in front of the apartment. It was just one rude encounter after another this morning for Chorim. First, the b*tch at the dry cleaners, then the high school kid and finally, Yoongi. As soon as she got home and closed the door behind her, she heard a loud thump from outside. What was that??? She turned around and cautiously opened the door again. WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT THE FU… Chorim hid behind her door and stared at Hoseok’s motionless body on the ground in awe. She even slapped herself to make sure she wasn’t imagining things but was greatly disappointed when she realised she was indeed not hallucinating. WHY THE IS HOSEOK HERE? AND WHY IS HE DEAD? Chorim gulped and inched towards Hoseok. She poked his arm and was half-glad and half-worried that he remained motionless. Well, I can’t leave him here...I need to move him somewhere… She carefully tiptoed to his head to pull his arms up and started dragging him across the ground.

Jimin was happily reading webtoons on his phone (which was all he had been doing since he woke up not too long ago) when he heard someone unlocking the door. He thought it was Taehyung but to his surprise, it was Chorim...dragging in a body.
“Yo Cho - what in tHE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?” Jimin stood up on the couch and pressed his back against the wall, “DID YOU KILL SOMEONE?” He exclaimed, appalled by what he was seeing.
“Sssssshhhhhhhhhh, quiet down, will you?” Chorim urgently hushed him as she dragged Hoseok inside and laid him on the ground in the middle of the lounge area, “He’s a friend of mine.” Chorim rushed over to the couch to grab a pillow to put under Hoseok’s head.
“You killed your friend!?”
“No you idiot!” Chorim snapped at Jimin, “He passed out!” She was too busy thinking of what to do to properly explain to him what was going on. Well, even Chorim didn’t know what was going on herself but she knew with certainty that Hoseok being anywhere near this place was only bad news for her. Whilst Chorim was deep in thought and Jimin was hyperventilating on the couch, Hoseok started moving his fingers. SH*T, SH*T, SH*T. Chorim dragged Jimin to the door and aggressively whispered to him, “Don’t let him know that I live next door okay? Don’t even mention my name. Just say you found him on the streets or something.”
“I thought you said he was your friend…” Jimin narrowed his eyes in suspicion, still not convinced that she didn't actually this 'friend' of hers.
“Just do as I tell you!” Chorim hissed before disappearing. Confused, Jimin closed the door behind him and walked over to Hoseok who was now trying to force his eyes open.
“Oh, you’re awake.” Hoseok heard as he met with the blurry sight of someone hovering over his head. He got on up on his elbows and pulled himself up.
“Where am I?” Hoseok held his head with his hand to recover from being slightly dizzy.
“Ah, aahhha good question.” Jimin said as he tried to quickly think of what to say, “You passed out just outside so I dragged you in here to...um…” Yeah Chorim, why the would anyone drag someone who is passed out up a flight of stairs and into their home? “To make sure you were safe. It’s only been a few minutes though. Are you feeling alright?”
“A few minutes?” Hoseok questioned, a bit surprised. Jimin nodded slowly and then stood up to avoid getting caught. Jimin was an awful liar because he could never control the rapid movement of his eyes every time he was nervous.
“Do you need some water? Food?” Jimin stared at the fridge for a lot longer than Hoseok expected, “Nope, nevermind food. There weren’t any leftovers from last night, sorry.”
“That’s alright.” Hoseok answered right away. Their conversation had already gotten off to a weirdly polite start. Hoseok blankly stared at the floor, trying to recall what happened. Did I really just pass out? I was following...the cherry blossom girl… He forced himself to stand up and then formally bowed to Jimin.
“Thank you so much for helping me. What was your name?”
“Um...Jimin.” He said, wondering if revealing his name was the right thing to do.
“Jimin, I will make sure I return the favour as soon as I can.”
“Nah...it’s...it’s fine...you don’t have to…” Jimin said, struggling to figure out how he should respond to Chorim’s apparent friend who was otherwise a complete stranger to him. Please don’t come back. He started assuring himself that he would never help Chorim with something so suspicious ever again. In a very confused state, Hoseok bowed and bid Jimin farewell at the door. He had only taken a few steps before abruptly stopping in front of Chorim’s apartment and tilted his head at it, having some sort of Déjà vu experience. He turned to Jimin who was anxiously watching him from behind.
“About the girl who lives here…” Hoseok pointed to the door.
“It’s a guy.” Jimin blurted out.
“A guy?”
Jimin had to take a long pause in order to think about what he was going to say to continue his awful lie. He wasn't even sure how saying it was a guy would help but it just came out so suddenly. Hoseok began to feel weirded out by Jimin's blank expression and long pause.
“Yeah, just one guy lives there. He’s very scary. I wouldn't bother him if I were you.” Jimin said, trying to keep a very serious face on.
“Oh...okay. Thank you once again.” Hoseok bowed for what was probably the millionth time that day and made his way down the stairs.

I’m so sure it was a girl though?

BONUS:
As soon as Hoseok was out of sight, Jimin knocked on Chorim's door and said, “He's gone.” The door immediately swung open, missing Jimin by a small gap, and Chorim stepped outside. The whole time Jimin was dealing with Hoseok, she was freaking out inside her own apartment about Hoseok's sudden appearance. Her main concerns were whether or not he knew she lived there and the reason as to why he was there out of all places. Chorim put a hand on Jimin's shoulder and gave him the thumbs up despite his highly irritated expression.
 

A/N: Forever we are young.