Two days later, Yoongi stood outside of a rundown apartment block on the wrong end of town. “This is where she lives?” he asked himself as he once again checked the address she had given him on the map on his phone. “It matches.” He said with a sigh as he called her. “Hey, I think I’m outside your place.” He said when she answered his call. “Oh, I think I can see you.” She said. “Look up.” he looked up and saw her head poking out from one of the windows. She leant out and waved down to him. “Third floor!” she said before hanging up. He sighed and slipped his now fixed phone back into his pocket before making his way into the building.

“I can’t believe she's been living somewhere like this.” He mumbled to himself, frowning at the dilapidated building as he made his way up to the third floor, trying his best to ignore the unidentified stains on the stairs and walls. He knocked on her door and she smiled brightly at him as she opened it. “Hey, thanks for agreeing to help.” She said as she moved aside to let him in. The apartment was small. There was one large room which functioned as the kitchen, living room and bedroom. A door was on the far wall which he assumed led into her bathroom. “The van is already downstairs.” She said. “I’ve already moved some of my things into it, but there's a few things I’m going to need your help with.” She said indicating the boxes that littered the small space.

He nodded, “Let’s get started.” He said as he grabbed the nearest box and headed out of the apartment, with her right behind him. She unlocked a white van and they started loading up her things. He was surprised by how little she seemed to own. It took them much less time than he anticipated to clear out the small space. He sat in his car behind the van and waited whilst she returned the keys to the landlord who looked one drink away from passing out even though it was barely past noon. “Thank god she’s getting out of here. This neighbourhood is far too dangerous for a girl living alone.” He mumbled to himself before she ran up to his car.

“Ready to go?” she asked. He nodded, more than happy to get out of the dingy neighbourhood. She jumped into the van and took off, him following closely behind her.

When she pulled over the van, Yoongi had to suppress the urge to curse. The neighbourhood she had stopped in was only a step above the one she had just left. She looked at him, as if sensing his uneasiness as he took off his sunglasses, critically surveying the building in front of them. “I know it’s not that much better, but at least it’s a little better.” she said, suddenly feeling a little ashamed. She knew purely from the fact that Yoongi not only dressed well, but by the fact that he owned a club that he was not short on money. Comparing that with her own living situation suddenly made her self-conscious. “Doesn’t it make you nervous to live alone?” he asked, a note of concern in his voice. She nodded, “Sometimes, like two weeks ago, my neighbour got busted for selling drugs out of his apartment, it was crazy, that’s why I finally moved. Where I grew up, there was nothing like this. I grew up in a tiny town on the coast, I only came to Seoul about a year ago. I’ve been working at a little café and I pick up some singing jobs here and there for some extra money.” She said with a shrug. “I know this neighbourhood isn’t perfect, but it’s at least a little better.” She said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

He nodded, not wanting to make her feel any worse. “It looks better here.” He said, giving her a weak, half smile. She smiled back at him. “Yeah… come on. We should make a start.” She said as she moved to the back of the van and unlocked the door. He helped her move her things up to her new apartment, once again struck by how little she owned. He was happy to see that although the outside of the apartment building didn’t look much better than where she had moved from, the inside was much better. Unlike her old apartment, this building had been renovated after it had been built, the inside looking somewhat modern.

Her new apartment had a tiny living room and kitchen, a bathroom, a separate bedroom and a balcony for her to dry her clothes. It was a little bigger than her old place, and the inside was clean and looked like it had been well looked after. It put his mind at ease, but only a little. Even though the apartment itself was better, the area itself was still quite dangerous, and he couldn’t fight the small seed of worry from blooming inside of him. Once they moved all of her things into the apartment, she ran downstairs to a small convenience store and bought them some drinks and snacks. “Sorry its nothing more special. I promise I’ll buy you a meal to thank you.” She said as she ate the snacks she had bought. He shook his head. “Its fine.” He said as he took a large gulp of water.

The two of them were sweating from the exertion of moving her things. “I’ll need to find that fan.” She mumbled to herself as she scanned the boxes. “Ah! There it is.” She said as she stood up and grabbed one of the boxes. She used her key to slice through the tape and started taking out the pieces of the dismantled fan. “Do you know how to assemble that?” he asked as he watched her carefully lay out the pieces. “I should be able to work it out.” She said. “If not, I’m gonna be in big trouble because I’ve got a bed to assemble.” She said with a laugh as she pointed to a flatpack box that was lying in her bedroom.

“I can help.” He said, barely believing his own words. She looked up at him in surprise. “Really?” she asked. He nodded, “Why not?” he said as he picked himself up and wandered into her bedroom. He carefully opened up the box and got to work building her bed. Her mattress was propped up against the wall beside him. She appeared in the room a short time later, plugging in the fan to help cool him down whilst he worked.

Once they finished building her bed, they gave each other a grin, proud of their handiwork. “We make a good team.” She said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. He nodded in agreement, “Yeah, we do.” He said. A sudden thought hit her, “Hey, is the mark gone?” she asked. They both looked at their wrists but the mark was still there. They both sighed, Soo Jin feeling guilty that he had helped her so much but the mark still remained on both their wrists. “Hey, it’s almost dinnertime, how about we go eat something?” she suggested. “I don’t have anything here so I can’t cook for you, so let’s go grab something?”

Yoongi nodded, feeling hungry after all the work they had done. “Sounds good, let’s go.” He said. She locked up the apartment and they went out to look for somewhere to eat. Yoongi made a note of her address in his phone, just in case he ever needed to know it in the future.

They found a small chicken restaurant and went inside. They made their order and Yoongi surprised her by paying. “Wait, I’m supposed to be treating you for helping me!” she protested. “Don’t worry about it.” He said as he took his card back and slipped it into his wallet. They took a seat and waited for their food. He didn’t know why he felt so protective over her, but seeing how she lived made him want to look after her. “So you said earlier that you have a job in a cafe?” he asked, slightly surprised by his own curiosity. “Yeah, it’s not too far away from my new place. I should be able to walk there now instead of getting the bus. I also sing at bars sometimes to make some extra money.” He nodded at her words, his curiosity about her only growing.

“Have you sang at my place a lot?” he asked. “Only a few times. I'd never seen you there before until the other night.” She said. He nodded in understanding. “I only go there when I feel like it. I own the place, but I don’t run it directly. My friend Seokjin runs it.” He said as their food arrived. “Ah, that’s right! He’s the one that I always deal with when I go there to sing.” She said as she started eating. “We’ve been friends for years, and he’s better at that sort of thing than I am.” He said. “Then why did you open a club?” she asked curiously. He shrugged. “I like music but a music store just seemed too boring.” He said making her chuckle.

Their conversation flowed easily as they ate. They stayed in the restaurant long after they finished eating. Eventually, their conversation returned to the contract that lingered between them. “Do you think there's a way for us to trick it?” she asked as she looked at the mark, which now didn’t bother her as much as it had before. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Well, could we set up a situation for you to save me? Should I go start a fight with some drunk guys then you can jump in and save me or something?” she suggested. He chuckled at her words, “I like that you're being creative, but let’s not throw you into danger when we have no guarantee that it would work.” He said. She nodded, “Okay, I’ll keep thinking.” She said as she returned his smile.

They slowly made their way back to her apartment and stopped outside of her building. “Thanks again for helping me. And I’m sorry… you know, that we still have the marks.” She said, her tone apologetic. He waved off her apology. “Don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault. We’ll work it out somehow.” He said. She smiled at him, thankful that his hostility from their first meeting seemed to have completely disappeared. “You should go back up and keep sorting out your place. Don’t forget to lock your door and windows.” He reminded her. She chuckled at his words, his concern completely at odds with his behaviour from when they had first met. “Don’t worry. I can look after myself.” She said with a smile. “Thanks again.” she said as she headed into her apartment.

Yoongi waited until she was safely inside before he got into his car. When he arrived home, he was still thinking about her. “I hate that she's staying there.” he muttered to himself. “It’s not a safe place for a girl.” He muttered. “She said that she's working in a café but that can’t pay much.” He said as he started pacing around his living room. “There must be a way I can help her…” he continued pacing for some time until an idea hit him. “I know what I can do.” He quickly grabbed his laptop and started typing, hoping she would agree to his plan.