That gif isn't mine.

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"Back off."

She tried not to cower in fear, but she could feel her courage desintegrate as her back hit the brick wall of the five-story building rising behind her. The man facing her chuckled menacingly and flashed a smirk that reflected off the streetlight.

How could she be so ignorant? No matter how many times she had been warned not to wander these alleys at night, here she was in the sketchiest part of the neighbourhood - about to be mugged. The shadowy figure closed the distance between them and roughly grabbed a fistful of her hair, his stubby nails scratching the skin by her ear. With his other greasy hand, he reached into her pocket in an attempt to grab her wallet.

She reacted. Her knee automatically connected with his crotch. He groaned and removed his hand from her pocket, but the other stayed tangled in her hair. He growled and mercilessly threw her to the ground with a thud.

She groaned in pain and tried to right her spinning vision. She could hear her assailant approaching again...

"Leave her alone!"

The deep, familar voice and the sound of fist hitting face interrupted her thoughts. The mugger grunted and stumbled backward, his attacker hidden by the shadows.

"You little piece of sh-" He was cut off by another blow to his head. The thief was only on the ground for a second before jumping up and slamming his knee into her saviour's stomach. He groaned but landed a third blow, and a fourth.

She coughed and closed her eyes. Her head was spinning from the impact it made with the sidewalk and the sounds of their grunts and yelling ringing in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, wanting the pain to go away, wanting everything to just go away. She heard feet coming closer to her head and braced herself, but she needn't worry.

"I said - " Wham. Another punch. "Leave her alone!"

The familiarity of his voice instantly registered in her brain and she felt a wave of relief rush over her. She her back, attempting to see what was going on, but the harsh light of the streetlamp made it difficult.

Soon, the voices and the repeated sound of skin colliding with skin subsided. The night was still again, except for his panting. She made a small noise and he was instantly by her side.

"Are you alright?"

"Bang... how did you find me here?" She struggled to her feet with his help. Her vision swam for a moment and he gripped onto her shoulders worriedly, but she shook her head. "I'm okay."

"I called your phone but you didn't answer, and you weren't at the apartment. I got worried and went looking for you."

"And you found me. My hero." She smiled at him but he couldn't shake his concerned expression. His fingers carefully brushed her hair behind her ears. She winced as he made contact with the scratches that were already bruising over. Yong Guk sighed and shifted his attention to her hands, frowning at the scratches littering her palms.

Despite the circumstances, she wanted to photograph that moment. The orange street lights reflected off his silvery blonde hair spectacularly. She noticed he was still dressed in what looked like his stage outfit - he must not have changed before he left. The shadows were accentuating his muscles perfectly; the whole sight was almost breathtaking. Yong Guk's hands moved from hers to lightly trail down her sides, checking for more injuries.

Something caught her eye. She grasped his face with her hands and pulled his gaze up so she could get a better look at his face. "You're bleeding..."

"It's fine. I want to make sure you're alright."

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." He sighed. "You're extremely lucky I got here when I did."

"He just wanted my wallet. If I hadn't reacted and kneed him everything would have been alright."

"You don't know that. What if he took your wallet and decided he wasn't done? What then? What if he had seriously injured you, or worse. What if he had-" He couldn't bring himself to say it. "No. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something bad ever happened to you."

She smiled a little and wrapped her arms around his waist in a small hug. He winced at the contact with his injuries but still returned it, burying his face in her hair and taking a deep breath.

"Promise me you'll be more careful. If you have to come through here after dark, promise me you'll tell me so I know where you are. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I promise, Bang."

Yong Guk exhaled in relief and pulled back to plant a small, protective kiss on her lips. He had always been her hero  - always showing up at the perfect moment and saving her from another situation she had managed to land herself in. He kissed her one more time before gently taking her hand in his and leading them back towards the main road.

"Let's go home."