RapMon smiled. “I think so too. Where do we meet?” Jeongmin tried to remember.

“Maybe at the gas station” RapMon voiced. “Because I work there”

“Oooh it can be that too”

“Yerin”J-Hope smiled sheepishly at Yerin and jerked his head to Jeongmin. “Go on tell him”

“Tell him what?” Yerin got what J-Hope was trying to tell but pretended not to understand. “Or you want me to tell him?” J-Hope wiggled his eyebrows.

“No! I’ll tell him”

“Tell me what, Yerin?” Jeongmin asked. Her face turned red as cherry and bit her lips. “Actually I’m going out with Taehyung”  

“Seriously! Woah!” Jeongmin found himself was clapping to congratulate them. “So I was right when I said he’s your boyfriend?”

“He just confessed recently” Yerin sat across him. “I don’t want to talk about it”

“Come on. How did he confess?” Jeongmin was eager to know and excited for her.

“Yerin woudn’t let us know too” RapMon sipped on his coffee. “Maybe it’s too cheesy that she doesn’t want to talk about” Jeongmin laughed. RapMon nodded.

“Oppa” Yerin pouted. “Okay okay” Jeongmin cleared his throat.  “So what you want to talk about, Yerin? Everything is okay while I’m gone, right?”

                Yerin continued to stared at his mug. “Why?”

“Excuse me?” Jeongmin asked back and followed her eyes. “Why do you order this?” she asked. “You’re not too stressed, are you?”

“What? No. Of course, not” he chuckled. “I’m fine, Yerin. Don’t worry” he recalled where he found the gun in his bedroom. “You okay, oppa?” she noticed the gap. “Yeah sure” he mustered a smile. “If you want to talk to me, go on”                

                Jeongmin smiled. “That’s so kind of you”

“But if you don’t want to tell, I don’t mind” she replied. Jeongmin just smiled in reply. *She shouldn’t know about this*

“Yerin” he took her hand and held onto it. She felt his cold as ice hands. She looked at him, worried. He smiled. “Be careful, okay?”

                She heaved a sigh before nodded. “You too, oppa” A set of footsteps arranged their way towards them. They lifted up their gaze to see V with Jeongmin’s meal. His eyes caught both of them holding hands. Jeongmin smiled and released her hands quickly.

“Thank you, Taehyungie” Jeogmin took his meal from the tray. Yerin met eyes with V. She smiled sheepishly.

“I heard you’re going out with Yerin” Jeongmin glanced at V. V who was staring at Yerin, flitted his eyes to Jeongmin. “Nae”

“You better take care of her” “I’ll make sure that’s the main-“ “No I mean seriously” Jeongmin eye contact turned serious. Yerin felt the tense air.

“Yerin” V called, not leaving his eyes from Jeongmin. “Can you leave us alone for a while?”

                Her view ran from Jeongmin and V after one another. “You two are not going to punch, right?”

“No” Jeongmin smiled to her. “Why would I hurt someone that you love?”

                She paused but then stood slowly, leaving to talk. Yerin watched from afar V took her place across Jeongmin. The two started to chit chat about something serious.

“I’m telling you this because I trust you, Tae” Jeongmin started to reveal the story about how he found a gun in his room the other day. “As my cousin, I’m scared someone might try to kill her. So I hope you understand my concern. I’m not available around her all the time. I always spend my time outstation. You and your friends always spend your time with her so I really hope all of you can take care of her”

                After a while, V nodded. “I-We will not let her get hurt. I promise”

*             *             *

                V, Jimin and Yerin were standing out of the already closed café. Yesung locked the door.

“Good luck on your blind date, boss” Jimin teased. “Yah!” Yesung pretended to smack him as Jimin quickly covered his head. Yerin smirked.

“All of you had work hard. Get a good rest, okay?” Yesung voiced. “You too, boss” V bowed. They bowed as Yesung left.

“Let’s go eat!” Jimin punched the air. “Nah you two go ahead” Yerin replied. “Come on, Yerin” “Nah it’s okay. You boys go enjoy yourselves” She met eyes with V.

“Oh” V just remembered something. “You want to go there”

                She nodded.

“Where you going, Yerin?” Jimin asked. “I’m going to the police station for a while” she answered. “Oh it’s about your accident” “Yes”

“Let me go with you” V offered. “No no it’s okay. I’m just going there for a bit then I’ll head straight home. We’ll meet tomorrow at that place, okay?”

“If you say so” Jimin replied. “Be careful”

“Yeah sure” she nodded to assure them. “Bye see you tomorrow” she waved and walked backward. Jimin and V waved back. Yerin turned and walked the opposite way.

“Wait!” someone pulled her hand and spun her around. V pulled her into a quick kiss before letting her go. “Bye” he waved with a smile and joined Jimin.

“This guy” Yerin smiled with her face that already turned red.

*             *             *

                Yerin stepped into the police station. The cold air from the air conditioner pierced her warm skin. She looked around the station. Some officers were still on duty. Beside the entrane door of the police station, a drunk lad leaned helplessly on the chairs. Yerin walked towards the main desk.

“Excuse me, sir” she called. A male officer lifted his gaze to meet hers. He greeted her with a smile. “Yes? How can I help you miss?”

“Can you” she quickly searched for the cut out of newspaper about her car accident. She held it to him.

                The officer received the sheet and eyed it. His eyebrows furrowed, struggling to analyze the already faded words of the newspaper.

“Oh this accident” he stated. “You know about it, officer?!” she was shocked. For the first time, someone knew about the car accident on one glance at the paper. “Yes” he nodded. “You too ask about this accident?” he returned the paper.

                Yerin had furrowed her eyebrows. “You mean?”

“This morning, a gentleman asked about it too. The accident. He seems to know a lot about the accident” “What?! Who?!” Yerin hurried him to answer, without her even realizing. “How does he looks like? Can u please explain his looks?”  

“Oh right!” the officer’s face lit up as something came into his mind. He bent over to search at the drawers below his desk. “Here” he held a piece of paper torn from a notebook to her. “He left his phone number in case we found any more info regarding the accident”

                The piece of paper was stare by Yerin for seconds. She held out her trembling hands and received the sheet carefully as if it was the thinnest object on earth.

“Maybe you can meet up with that man and he may share info with out about the accident” the officer voiced. “Nae” she answered a bit later. She bowed. “I’ll take my leave then. Thank you” she took the newspaper cut out and walked out of the police station.

 

                Yerin dragged her feet on the pavement, eyes glued to the set of number written neatly on the piece of paper.  Her mind tried to interpret data she just received. Her steps stopped. “Maybe it Jeongmin oppa” There was a tick-tock silence.

“Aish! I’m just gonna call this person!” she took out her phone and dialed the number. Her fingers stopped. She was stunted. “It can’t be” She redialed, making sure she typed in the right number.

                Her eyes stared at the words on the screen. Her lips trembled, her legs became wobbly than she couldn’t stand. A mixture of angry, shock and melancholy shook her entire being. Yerin flopped onto the ground. And stayed. Some passerby stopped. “Child, you okay?” some ahjumma asked and shook her shoulder. Yerin won’t budge a bit.  Her lips mumbled undefined words.

*             *             *

| I’m not joining all of you today. I’m so sorry. I’ve already inform the others too. So have fun with them, arasso? |                From: Yoongi oppa

                Yerin put her phone away. She was heading towards their usual place, beside the river. *Oh! Yoongi oppa said he’s heading home the other day*

                Her grip on the piece of paper tighter. She stormed toward their meeting place as the memory from yesterday lit up her anger once again.

“Yerin” J-Hope and the rest were already there. She arrived last. Yerin ignored him. She darted towards RapMon and V who were joking around. At the sight of her, both of them stopped playing.

                She glared at RapMon and stood before him. All of them notice her anger mood.

“Yerin, what’s wrong?” he asked and glanced at V. V shrugged. Yerin gritted her teeth. “Why are you at the police station yesterday?!” she swallowed back the lump.