“Good morning, gorgeous!” Joy patted your shoulder.

You were already in your class, sitting in your usual spot and saved a sit for Joy. Sungjae usually sat with his circle of friends at the back. Seeing him being so popular, both among girls and guys made you slightly jealous. Sometimes you wondered if you and Joy should have your own circle of friends like Sungjae instead of it being just the two of you.

“How are things at the new house?” Joy sat down and took out her notebook along with a couple of research books. “Everything’s good?”

Your mind wandered off to Jiyong. You left him some breakfast, hoping in a way it would appease him but he didn’t look entertained or grateful when you left this morning.

Maybe he finds it annoying? Or maybe he just doesn’t like toasts?

“All good- yeah.” You didn’t mean to lie to Joy but to tell her that you were living alone with a guy? Joy would flip out. She was sort of traditional in that sense.

“Listen, I was thinking of hanging out at your place today after class. Sungjae has basketball practice and I got nothing going on. Maybe you and I can just relax and chill?”

“Oh. Sorry, I would love to have you at my house but I got work today, remember?” That was partly true. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to have Joy at your house, but you weren’t sure if Jiyong would be okay with it.

He wasn’t pleased to see you in his house yesterday and you don’t think having friends hanging out at your place would be a good idea. At least not too soon.

The class soon started after Miss Lee Sunmi walked in. She was the most beautiful creature you have ever laid your eyes on, in your opinion. Everything about her was graceful. Sometimes you wondered how could she stay beautiful effortlessly all the time?

Perhaps that was why she was teaching a theory subject rather than a practical one. Students, mostly male students would do their best to ace her subject in order to impress her. You were no different too. She was one of your favourite lecturers.

You wrote down every single key point that came out from Miss Lee’s mouth and made sure to elaborate a little on your notes. You weren’t exactly what they call a fast learner, but you sure worked hard in your studies. Joy, however, was different. She was born smart. Her IQ, without a doubt surpassed yours but never once she condescended you or belittled you. That was what you love about Joy. Humble Joy. Sungjae on the other hand, his head was often in the clouds. He played a lot too but he was smart. Smart but lazy.

“It’s called Art Nouveau.” Joy whispered as she tapped your note.

She noticed that you blanked out for a while, trying to process what Miss Lee was talking about.

“Oh, thanks.” Quickly you jolted it down, not wanting to miss any more points that you already had. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

“You can have my notes if you want.”

“Maybe later? I can compare to see if I missed anything else. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

History of Art ended at 2PM, just after lunch. Both you and Joy headed for the cafeteria, leaving Sungjae behind with his friends. Your stomach had been growling for the past few hours while you were in Miss Lee’s class and you mentally cursed whoever made your class schedule. Why couldn’t they just end the class at 1PM?

“I could eat three burgers in a row.” Joy groaned as she handed a tray to you.

“You could eat a horse.” You chuckled.

Joy nodded her head in agreement. She loved eating but she never gained any weight. Which made you feel slightly jealous. Sungjae was jealous too, he was convinced that Joy loved eating and food more than she loved him. Maybe he was right but you wouldn’t about to agree in front of him.

“Hey, have you tried contacting Seunghyun sunbae-nim?” You asked as the two of you sat down at an empty table, nearby the window.

It was raining outside. The trees were rustling violently against each other; as if they were whispering something in a language only they would know. It had been raining a lot lately but you loved it. Rainy days were the best. You just love how the earth smelled like after the rain, how breezy and windy it can be and how calming and peaceful you could feel when it rained.

Your bestfriend tilted her head in curiosity. “No. Why?”

You popped a grape into your mouth. “I’m just wondering if I could have his number? I think I’ve accidentally deleted his—either that or I just forgot to save his number before this.”

“I think you just forgot to save his number.” Joy shook her head. “You’ve been dealing with him for a while now, you should at least have his number on your phone.”

“I know, I know.” You felt guilty. Seunghyun had been a huge help to you in finding a house. The least you could do was to save his number. "Do you know the name of the owner of the house that I'm stayin in? I can't seem to remember it."

“Why do you need to contact him? Is there something wrong with the house?” She was looking through her contacts, looking for Seunghyun’s number and sent it to you. "I think Seunghyun sunbaenim mentioned the name Kwon Jiyong? Why?"

You phone beeped, indicating that it received a text. “Thanks. I'm just asking. Curiousity, you know.”

“You’re most welcome. So, why do you need to contact him?”

“No—“ Another lie to your bestfriend. “I just have some questions for him about the house. Like, when will the owner be back or what not to do.. You know, just the basic stuffs. It might seems insignificant but you never know.”

Your best friend just nodded her head, half-buying what you said. “Or maybe you’ve developed a crush on him? That’s why you want his number?”

“Okay, now you’re just being ridiculous.” The both of you laughed.

Oh how you wished it was only because of a crush and not about the owner of the house that wanted you out.

Finally you got into your shift that night. After doing some assignments with Joy after lunch, you headed to your workplace and stayed there for a while before getting into your shift. It was a family restaurant; different kinds of customers came there. You could say that a lot of them were high school students. The price there wasn't expensive, it was affordable and the owner of the restaurant was friendly too.

The restaurant was nicely decorated. It was nothing too fancy, just a simple lantern decorations on the ceilings, polished wooden floor and wooden tables and chairs. There was one section where customers could sit on the floor if they wanted too. The walls were decorated with vintage photographs. There were photos of the old customers when they were young, some you recognized, and some you didn’t.

“How’s study getting on?” An old couple asked as you took their order.

You just smiled at the sweet couple. “It’s wonderful! I’m doing my best to keep up with the classes!”

They were Mr. and Mrs. Son. The two of them had been coming to this restaurant since they were high school sweethearts and their photos were up on the wall, along with the others. Loyal customers.

“Kids nowadays are very smart! Your parents are so lucky to have you.” There was a tiny bit tinge of sadness in Mrs. Son’s voice.

“You can adopt me too if you want.” You laughed, trying to brighten up the mood.

Mr. and Mrs. Son didn’t have any children. They couldn’t conceive but their love, as far as you’ve seen since you’ve worked there were as fiery as ever.

“Oh, I do think of you as my child.” Mrs. Son’s face lit up.

“Well, this child of yours will be back with your order soon!” You winked at the old couple, making them laugh in delight before heading back into the kitchen.

“_____, the order for table 13 is up!” Your co-worker, Lee Joon informed you as he placed the food on the counter for you to pick up.

“Got it!” Without wasting a single second, you picked up the food and headed for the table 13 to give them what they’ve been waiting for.

Things were hectic for a brief while but you managed to pull through. Waitressing wasn’t an easy job but the payment you were getting certainly worth of what you had to go through. Hyuna, another one of your co-worker was on the verge of collapsing. Dinnertime was always busy.

“How do you still manage to stand, _____?” She slumped against the wall in the pantry. “I almost died.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Hyuna.” You just laughed.

One thing you love about Hyuna was that she managed to make a drama out of the littlest thing. In a good way. She was sort of a drama queen but not the type that would create drama over big things. As much as she was a drama queen, Hyuna was matured too.

“Take five, girls. Let me handle this.” Seungho, a male co-worker patted Hyuna’s shoulder. Seungho was always there to save the day. You rarely see him take a break.

Feeling bad that he was working hard at this while you were just taking a break, you set back to work. Hyuna didn't mind the break. She needed it.

As far as you knew, she had two more different jobs. Modelling during the day, tutoring somewhere in the evening and at night, waitressing. Every single day. It must be really tiring for her.

You continued your work for another couple of hours and the customers were starting to leave. But Mr. and Mrs. Son were still there.

You walked over to them, wanting to pick up their empty plates when Mrs. Son suddenly grabbed your hand. You felt a piece of paper slid onto your palm.

“Take it.” Mrs. Son balled your hand into a fist. “It’s from us.” She smiled.

You looked back and forth between her and her husband. If it was what you think if was, you couldn’t possible accept it. But before you could refuse, Mr. Son took your hand into his.

“You have been very kind towards us. We don’t have a child, at least, let us treat you like ours.”

The way he looked at you was how your father would look at you. With softness in that strong gaze, his touch felt protective and his kind face full of hope.

“Thank you.” A warm smile escaped from your lips.

“Alright, darling, we’re going to head home first.” Mrs. Son said as she stood up, followed by her husband. You gave both of them a light squeeze on their hand and picked up their plates, heading back into the kitchen.

When you came out again, you saw a man, bumped hard into Mrs. Son that she fell back. The man, instead of apologizing, scolded the old couple and just walked off to the cashier to pay.

“Hey!” You called him. “Hey, you, man with the grey suit!”

Mr. Son shook his head, not wanting any trouble but you wouldn’t have it.

“Hey, I’m talking to you!” Finally the man turned to look at you. You were standing close enough to smell the alcohol reeking from him.

“What do you want?” He slurred, annoyed.

“Apologize to her.” You jerked your chin towards Mrs. Son who was struggling to stand now. Hyuna had to rush to her side and help her up while her husband slung her arm over his shoulder.

The drunken man spit on the ground, shoved his hands into his pockets and took a step towards you. “What if I don’t want to? It wasn’t my fault that she was in the way. Old people should have just stayed at home.”

“I don’t care what you say because clearly, people with your kind of mindset is the worst. But apologize to her! She fell!”

“She’s not my mom so why should I care?”

“It’s alright, _____. I’m fine…” Mrs. Son shaky voice said.

Clearly she was not alright. She was an old woman. Old people could have gotten injured just as easily as babies. They were fragile beings and they needed to be taken care of gently, treated fairly and full of loving, not being pushed around and stepped on like they were toys.

“No, it’s not fine, Mrs. Son. This man pushed you, accidentally or not, he has to apologize. If he’s a decent human being that is.” You didn’t know why you said that, because obviously he was not a decent human being. Anyone would have apologized without even being told to but this man in front of you wouldn’t even apologize even though you’ve told him to.

Hearing your harsh words, his blood boiled inside. He raised his hand to hit you but was stopped by Seungho. “You’re not going to hurt anyone here. You’ve done enough damage. So get lost and don’t ever come here again.” He shoved the man’s hand away roughly, that he almost stumbled.

“You’re messing with the wrong person kid.” The man said, his eyes locked on you as he left.

When he was finally out of sight, Seungho turned to you and flicked your forehead. “That’s your punishment for scaring some of the customers here and creating a scene.”

Seungho was in charged in here. Whatever happened in the restaurant was his responsibility. He had to take care of things when it got out of hand. One thing you’ve noticed about him was that he was never hard on anyone, if anything he handled it nice and easy instead of scolding. He had that brotherly personality to him and you liked it. It was always comfortable with him.

“Yeah, okay.” You muttered as you turned to face the Son couple. “Are you alright, Mrs. Son?” She was now sitting on the chair. Her husband’s hands were placed gently on her shoulders.

“I am alright, dear…” She replied softly.

Mr. Son cleared his throat. “You could have gotten hit, child.”

True but you couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. It had always been in you to say something when you see injustice.

“I’ll call a cab for you.” You offered the couple. “To a hospital that is. You need to check if there’s anything wrong with you.”

Mrs. Son was about to protest but Seungho cut her. “No need. I’ll drive you. It’s almost closing time anyway.” There was only a group of college students, almost finishing their food and a family left in the restaurant.

Seungho turned his attention to you and Hyuna. “You can handle it from here right?”

“Absolutely, sir.” Hyuna saluted him playfully. She wished the couple well and headed back into the kitchen.

You gave a gentle squeeze on Mrs. Son hand and smiled at her, before the family called you, asking for a bill.

Soon enough, the restaurant was empty, leaving only you, Hyuna and Lee Joon to close up. The three of you cleaned the place up, did the dishes and arranged the chairs. When it was done, Lee Joon double-checked everything that was done and locked up the door. The three of you walked together along the empty street until you’ve reached a junction.

Lee Joon and Hyuna were neighbours so they were heading the same way. You were living in the other direction. The two of them insisted on accompanying you but you refused them. It was already late and their houses weren’t in your direction, it would be a bother to them to go back and forth just to keep you company.

“I’ll be fine.” You assured them. Hyuna wasn’t convinced. She was still worried about the incident that happened in the restaurant with the drunken guy. “I’ll text you when I got home. Will that put your mind at ease?”

“You got my number in there?” Lee Joon asked. “Just give me a call if anything happens okay?”

Lee Joon was Hyuna’s friend. He was very talkative and friendly but when it came to work, he was very serious and wouldn’t mess around. You could tell that he was very protective over the people he knew too. It was easy to get along with Lee Joon despite the fact that he had only been working at the restaurant for a week.

“You have to text me okay? So that I know you’re home safely.”

Even though you were just co-workers, Hyuna had always been looking out for you. She was just really kind towards people and wouldn’t even hurt a single ant. That was Hyuna. She worked days and night to sustain her life but you knew what she really wanted to be was a model. Probably why she took up any modeling commissions. She always said to start small first, and then she’ll build her career up.

“Alright,” With that, the three of you part ways.

The streetlights were dim and the street was quiet. Of course, people would have gone to sleep at this hour of night.

Your walk was peaceful until you heard a scraping sound of footsteps behind you. When you turned your head to see, no one was there. Blood rushing through your veins and you felt your heard pumping loudly.

Instead of stopping, you walked faster, almost a jog and you could the footsteps fasten their pace too.

“Almost there…” Panic started to rise up in you.

You were already in front of your house when someone grabbed you by your arm and spun you around roughly that you lost your balance. Before you know it, a pang of pain stung your face and you felt pressure on top of you.

It was the drunken man.

He’d waited until you’ve finished your shift and followed you home.

“YOU! UGH GET OFF ME!” You tried to push him off you but he was stronger.

He had both of your hands above your head and leaned in closer. “You humiliated me in front of people.” He was slurring his words.

“I SAID GET OFF ME—“ He slapped you.

You managed to slip one of your hands from his grip and started to push him away but to no avail, he wouldn’t budge.

Tears started to pool in your eyes, threatening to escape.

When he saw that desperate, scared look on your face, he laughed, clearly enjoying this sight of you. He his lips, eyeing every inch of you hungrily. “Maybe I’ll forgive you if you just keep quiet.” He growled when you squirmed violently underneath him, doing your best to escape from him. When he started to dive into you, that was when you yelled again.

“He-HELP!” Was all you could managed.

You waited for the ugly to come but it never did. The pressure on top of you was no longer there and your hands were free.

One minute the guy was on top of you and he was thrown off you, the next. What just happened?

You propped yourself up on your elbows and saw another person standing. His back was turned against you as he faced your assaulter. “What do you think you’re doing?” His voice was husky, as if he had just woken up from a sleep.

The drunken man, annoyed at the fact that someone else was in the way of him preying got up and dashed towards the other guy like a mad bull. Swiftly, the guy dodged his attack and the man fell down next to you.

You quickly scrambled to your feet and got a better view of your savior.

“Jiyong?”

“Call the police.” Said he.

The drunken man, got back to his feet and you moved next to Jiyong, refused to make yourself a victim to him again. You dialed for the police while Jiyong handled the man. The man was throwing punches at Jiyong but he only dodged them by retreating until his back met with the his house gate, only then did Jiyong gave the man a punch in the face and good kick in the guts. Which resulted in the man passing out.

Jiyong sat down on the ground as he leaned against the gate. He looked up at you, slightly annoyed that there was this mess in front of his house. “Have you called the police?”

“Yes…” You breathed.

“Good. I’ll only stay here until I hear their sirens. After that, you handle it.” There was no room for arguments in his tone.

He really did stay with you until he heard the sirens and then, he went inside the house. The police came and you gave a statement on what happened. You’ve left the part where Jiyong came to help you out at his request. They were surprised that you knocked the drunken man out. You just said that he must have been really drunk, that was why it was easy to knock him out.

After that, they were gone, taking the drunken man along with them and you entered your house. Jiyong was there in the living room, looking at you with his sharp eyes, his lips were a frown of disapproval.

“Thank you…” You swallowed.

“You’re welcome. Make sure this doesn’t happen again.” His tone was remote, he didn’t so much look at you when he walked pass you and into his room.

You heard a click as soon as he closed his door. He locked it. You were tired and shaken up and having to face Jiyong’s attitude didn’t really help your cause. Feeling thirsty, you headed for the kitchen and that was when you saw it. The breakfast you’ve made for him remained untouched on the tabletop. That was when the tears fell. He really disliked you that much. The sooner you moved out of his house, the better.

Authors's note: 
Hi, hello!
I know there's a little section underneath there for the author's thoughts/notes, 
but I feel more comfortable writing it here instead of in that section.
I just want to apologize for the late updates. I've been busy with moving and unpacking and of course,
trying to keep up with my classes again. Now that things are steady again, I am able to write in peace.
How do you like this chapter so far? Let me know in the comment sections! 

So, thank you and have a nice day, lovelies!