There were no texts to greet Seung Hee the next morning. Disappointed, she went to the kitchen to make toast. Then she remembered Yoongi. Did she have to make some for him, too? Did he even like toast? She decided against it and made her breakfast.

 

Last night had been the first time she slept on the couch. Yoongi of course slept in his room and the couch was just as comfortable as the bed.

 

She spread a thick layer of Nutella on her toast and took a bite – delicious.

 

"Aren't you worried about getting fat?” asked Yoongi, coming in.

 

"Oh, you're up.”

 

"Yah!” he snapped. “I'm older! Greet me properly!”

 

She bowed her head. “Good morning.”

 

"Humph. And why don't I have food?”

 

"What do you want?”

 

Before Seung Hee could react, Yoongi grabbed her toast and took a bite.

 

“This is pretty good,” he said.

 

"That's mine!” she protested.

 

He shrugged and took another bite.

 

"And I already ate some!.”

 

He shrugged again and ate the rest of it. “Make me more.”

 

Starting to get a bit annoyed, Seung Hee put some bread in the toaster.

 

"We need to talk,” said Yoongi.

 

"About what?”

 

"About you living in my house.”

 

"I can move out if it bothers you-”

 

"No!” he cried loudly. Then he cleared his throat, embarrassed, and said in an authoritative tone, “I have rules – rules you must obey as long as you live here.”

 

"Look, I'm not messing this place up or-”

 

"Shut up.” He cleared his throat again. “I have written up a contract.”

 

"A contract?!” she yelled.

 

"Don't shout. Yes, a contract, because if you're going to live here we need to be clear about the rules.”

 

"When did you write this up?” she asked, knowing he couldn't have done it last night because he was too tired.

"You don't need to know,” he replied. “Actually, it's not really a contract, just a set of rules but you have to sign it.”

He put a typed piece of paper on the table and Seung Hee knew for sure that he had done it a long time ago. She took it and with each rule she read, she began to feel more and more that Yoongi was a weird and controlling psycho.

 

#1 Lee Seung Hee will always be home before 6:30 PM and cannot return later without Min Yoongi's permission and must provide clear info where she is going and who she is going with.

 

#2 Lee Seung Hee will be in charge of cooking, cleaning, laundry, and will do anything else required by Min Yoongi.

 

#3 Lee Seung Hee cannot bring friends to Min Yoongi's house without permission.

 

#4 Lee Seung Hee will live in Min Yoongi's apartment permanently without any more talk about moving out.

 

#5 Lee Seung Hee will not reveal anything to reporters, teachers, friends (other than Choi Ha Na) or classmates.

 

#6 Lee Seung Hee cannot visit the BTS dorm without Min Yoongi's permission except for real emergencies.

 

#7 Lee Seung Hee will not do anything that may affect Min Yoongi's image.

a) no drinking

b) no smoking

c) no drugs

d) no expulsion

e) no vandalism

f) no flunking tests or exams

g) no stealing

h) no meeting boys

I) no cheating on Min Yoongi

 

#8 Under no circumstances is a male person authorized in Min Yoongi's apartment without the presence and permission of Min Yoongi.

 

#9 Lee Seung Hee will not stalk anyone from BTS and/or give any information regarding BTS to fans and/or post anything related to BTS on the internet.

 

#10 Min Yoongi may add as many more rules as he wants.

 

"You're crazy,” said Seung Hee when she finished reading. Yoongi pulled a pen from his pocket and scribbled something on the page.

 

#11 Lee Seung Hee will always remember that Min Yoongi is older and will always speak politely and respectfully.

 

"Yah!" cried Seung Hee, and he scribbled another rule.

 

#12 Lee Seung Hee will come if Min Yoongi tells her to no matter where she is or what she is doing.

 

"Do you want to die?” she asked him, and Yoongi tapped her sharply on the head.

 

"You call that speaking politely and respectfully?” he demanded, and shoved the pen into her hand. “Now sign.”

 

Was he being serious? Seung Hee didn't know him well enough to tell – but if he was being for real then he was insane. She took a deep breath and said, “I don't agree to all the terms.”

 

"Do you know what will happen to you if you violate these rules? I will send you to an orphanage.”

 

"I'm too old for that!"

 

"Then I'll lock you up in a cupboard.”

 

Seung Hee was pretty sure that he wouldn't, but he was an unpredictable guy...

 

"Let's negotiate,” she said. “Ok, for the first rule, I agree to letting you know where I am but my curfew is midnight.”

 

Yoongi snorted. “What are you, Cinderella? No, your curfew is six-thirty.”

 

"Eleven,” bargained Seung Hee.

 

"Seven-thirty.”

 

"Ten.”

 

"Nine-thirty.”

 

"Done.”

 

Yoongi blinked in surprise at her sudden settlement and she wrote the new time on the paper.

 

"Why should I do all the housework?” she asked, moving on to the next rule.

 

"You wanna stay here for free, then?”

 

"Point taken. But this part about me doing anything you ask me to… I'll only do it if it's reasonable.”

 

"Such as?”

 

"Cooking, stuff like that. Or shopping.”

 

"No kisses?” said Yoongi, grinning slyly.

 

"I have a new rule,” said Seung Hee, and wrote it.

 

#13 Min Yoongi will not have any physical contact with Lee Seung Hee.

 

"You can cross that out,” he said. “I'm not attracted to you anyway – and you're just a kid.”

 

"No,” she said. “I'm not taking any chances.”

 

"Yah, what do you think I am? A wolf?”

 

"No, a man.”

 

"Unbelievable,” he huffed. “Fine, think that way.”

 

He snatched the paper away and she cried, “We're not done! And I haven't

signed it!”

 

"It has your handwriting all over it! That's enough of a signature!”

 

He stormed out and she yelled after him, “But we still need to negotiate!”

 

No answer – just his bedroom door slamming shut.

 

How annoying! He was the one behaving childishly, not her – he should be the one referred to as 'kid'! And because of him, her Sunday morning mood was ruined! Wait, she could call Jungkook, it's been a really long time since they talked properly. She dialed his number and he picked up with a cry of, “Seung Hee!”

 

Oh, it was so good to hear his voice again.

 

"What happened?” he asked.

 

"I miss you,” she said truthfully.

 

"Me too!” he exclaimed. “Hey, are you free tonight?”

 

"I think so.”

 

"Great! I'm booking you from seven onwards – after seven you have to see me!”

 

"Are we going to hang out somewhere?” asked Seung Hee eagerly. “I really miss those days.”

 

"So do I. You've been too busy for me because of school.”

 

"I'm sorry...”

 

"You can pay me back tonight!”

 

"Yes! Tonight will be my treat!

 

"I didn't mean it that way, but ok. You better keep your words because we're going to a really expensive place.”

 

They laughed, and Seung Hee quickly said goodbye when Yoongi stomped into view.

 

"Are you going now?” she asked.

 

"I have a job, you know. You expect me to babysit you all day or something?”

 

"Yah!”

 

He tapped her sharply on the head. “How many times have I told you not to say 'yah' to me?”

 

She grinned. “You're so grumpy.”

 

"Aish, look at you – are you so happy that I'm leaving?”

 

She nodded.

 

"At least you're being honest about it. I hate it when people say things they don't mean.” His expression softened. “Don't study too hard, kid.”

 

He patted her head and Seung Hee stiffened, her heart beginning to beat faster.

 

Yoongi left, and she watched him go, confused. Why did she like him patting her head? It felt nice – in fact, she liked it more than she should. And what was even worse was that she was wondering when he would be back – no, hoping that he would come back soon.

 

* * * *

Seung Hee was all distracted while she had dinner with Jungkook. She should have been laughing at the stories he told, enjoying the food – after all, she didn't go to an Italian restaurant every day, right? She should have been only thinking of the person in front of her, but her thoughts kept drifting off to Yoongi. For that brief moment when his features had softened, he had seemed really sweet…

 

"- can you believe it?” Jungkook finished his story and looked at her expectantly.

 

"Oh,” she said quickly, having no idea what he was going on about. “That's amazing!”

 

He sighed. “I knew it,” he said. “You're not listening to me.”

 

"I-”

 

"So what's bothering you?” he asked.

 

"Huh?” she said, guilt flooding her.

 

"Come on, it's written all over your face. Let me guess – friends? School? Yoongi?”

 

That last thing he said was so unexpected that her expression flickered – oh, no! It wasn't like she could tell Jungkook about it – he was Yoongi's friend.

 

"I was right, then” said Jungkook. “It is Yoongi. Is he being mean to you again?”

 

"No!” she cried, a little too loudly.

 

"Then what is it?”

 

"Um, well...”

 

"Tell me.”

 

Seung Hee looked at him, and his warm chocolate eyes pulled out the truth.

 

"I'm confused,” she confessed. “Sometimes he is really mean, but he can be so nice, too. Sometimes, I – oh, never mind.”

 

"Seung Hee-"

 

"Can we go now?” she said desperately – she could not tell him, she could not take the chance that Yoongi might hear about it. And above all, she could not let Jungkook think that she was starting to like Yoongi – she didn't like him, but things like that could be misinterpreted, right? She really didn't like him, but he wasn't as bad as he was in the beginning.

 

Jungkook gave in, knowing that she wasn't ready to tell him, and they got in the car he began to drive to Yoongi's apartment building. They sat in silence for a while, and it was broken by Seung Hee.

 

"I almost forgot to tell you,” she said. “Those texts that you send me every day really give me strength. I really love them – but why haven't you told me that it was you? Whenever I called you by your name, you would insist that you weren't Jungkook. I knew it was you, though.”

 

"What are you talking about?” said Jungkook, frowning slightly. “I haven't sent you a text in weeks.”

 

As though to prove his point, Seung Hee's phone beeped and she had a new message from the unknown sender.

 

WHY aren't you at home?!! demanded the text. Seung Hee quickly checked to see where Jungkook's phone was. It was on the dashboard, in plain sight. The sender really wasn't Jungkook…

 

But if it wasn't Jungkook, who was it?

 

Seung Hee had leaned on those texts and they were a source of comfort and excitement to her, but that was when she had thought that it was Jungkook. Except now it turned out that it wasn't Jungkook, and that was creepy. Who else could know the things about her that the sender did? The sender had known exactly when she was returning to school, and even what she was eating for breakfast.

 

Jungkook got a bad feeling about the whole situation. Please don't let it be what he thought it was…

 

"So,” he said, trying to keep his tone casual. “These texts… what kind are they?”

 

"Just… pleasant ones,” she answered, sounding a bit nervous. “Casual.”

 

She was lying. Hardly one minute ago, she had told him that they had given her strength.

 

"You shouldn't chat with strangers,” he said. “Do you have any idea who it could be?”

 

"No,” she whispered. “I think… I should stop responding to the texts – I don't know who they're from and… it's kind of creepy...”

 

"What is?”

 

"That sender seemed to know a lot about me. He knew when I was going back to school and he even knew that I like Chocos for breakfast! You don't know that, right? So how come he does?”

 

That bit of information confirmed his suspicions about who was sending her texts. It didn't make sense, though. Why would Yoongi even bother? A ball formed in Jungkook's throat and his stomach clenched. What was Yoongi playing at? They were in the same team and he trusted Yoongi, but this was going too far.

 

"Jungkook," said Seung Hee. “Are you ok?”

 

He wanted to tell her to block the texter's number, not to reply and that it

was a crazy stalker – but he couldn't.

 

"I think you should be a bit more careful from now on,” he said.

 

"Should I not reply at all?”

 

"You can,” he said (why did he say that?!!!). “But please be careful about what you say and don't believe all the things he tells you.”

 

She nodded. “All right. To be honest, I really like a mysterious person sending me texts – it's exciting!”

 

He forced himself to smile – would she still find it exciting if she knew who it was?

 

"Just be careful and don't get hurt,” was all he could say before she got out in front of the apartment building.

 

"Bye, Jungkook!” she called. “And thank you for your advice.”

 

He waved and watched her walk into the building before he drove to the dorm. His blood was boiling – how dare Yoongi mess around with Seung Hee? He drove a little bit faster than usual and ran into the dorm.

 

Yoongi was on the couch next to Namjoon, music sheets everywhere, and he was saying, “After the rap, we need something soothing – Jimin could just hum for three beats and -”

 

Jungkook hauled him to his feet, and he did not seem the least bit surprised. In fact, he asked almost lazily, “What?”

 

Namjoon leapt up. "Jungkook, calm down, what-”

 

That made Jungkook even madder and he grabbed Yoongi by the front of his shirt. “Stop playing with her!”

 

Yoongi was unperturbed.

 

"Who said I was playing?” he said, still in that lazy tone but eyes sharp.

 

Jungkook went limp; his grip on Yoongi slackened. “Are you being sincere?”

 

"You know me,” said Yoongi, suddenly serious. “I don't do things that I don't mean.”

 

Jungkook's aggressiveness came back.

 

"Who do you think you are?” he demanded. “She'll never even look at you.”

 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that.” Yoongi detached Jungkook's hands from his shirt and smoothed it. “Let me remind you that she is my wife.”

 

Jungkook laughed bitterly. “Since when have you been like that? Just this morning, you were complaining about what a brat she is! You said you didn't care!”

 

"I care now – and I'm taking her.”

 

"You can't take what will never be yours .”

 

Yoongi was about to punch the youngest member when Namjoon tore them apart.

 

"Knock it off!” he shouted. “Is she a thing to be passed between you? You can't claim someone like that!”

 

"Yeah,” said Jungkook. “She won't even look at you.”

 

"If you ever hurt her,” threatened Yoongi. “I'll make you pay.”

 

"Me? You're the one who makes her cry!”

 

Namjoon pushed them both apart again and demanded, “How can you fight over a girl? We're a family!”

 

They both struggled out of his grasp and were about to fight when Seokjin, Jimin, and Hoseok, attracted by the commotion, grabbed Jungkook and carried him to his room and locked the door behind them.

 

Namjoon turned upon Yoongi. “Don't break the team over this. You were about to hit him!"

 

"He started it.”

 

"That's no reason to beat him up!" yelled Namjoon.

 

Yoongi rolled his eyes and Namjoon grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. “And don't scare her away.”

 

"What do you mean?” said Yoongi.

 

"Don't do something you'll regret later, because I might not be able to help you with that.”

 

"I don't know what you're talking about.” Yoongi set his mouth in a stubborn line. “Since when have you nagged so much? You think you can tell me what to do just because you're the leader?”

 

A shadow crossed Namjoon's face. “I'm not going to argue over this. Either take my advice or don't take it.”

 

Namjoon pushed past him, bumping him purposefully on the shoulder. Taehyung appeared behind him and slapped his back.

 

"So whatcha gonna do now?” asked Taehyung. “If you don't watch out, your wife is going to be stolen by our maknae.”

 

"You think I care?” Yoongi shook off Taehyung's hand and stomped to his room.

 

Taehyung sighed and shouted after him, “Isn't that why you two got in a fight? Honestly, can you stick to one version because I'm getting confused over here!”

---