In Circle of Coincidence

The way he looked at her, the way he voiced her name, the way he held her, Jung Eunji was in a real trouble when Bang Yongguk enveloped her in an unexpected yet oddly warm hug. Her brain failed to proceed what was happening. They did not know each other, well, they did-years ago when they promoted a same school uniform brand, but it wasn’t well enough to explain why he suddenly appeared in front of her, in the middle of night, called her name, pulled her body to a dark alley, and hugged her.

“Yong… guk-ssi?” she whispered, finally found her voice and recognition of the familiar face. Oh Lord, she almost forgot his name. Yes, it’s Yongguk-ssi, he’s not a sunbae, she clearly noted, and obviously he’s not an oppa despite looking older than her. And yes, it’s the so called Bang Yongguk, the leader of the used to be infamous idol, B.A.P.

“Ssshh, just a moment,” he replied quietly as he placed his index finger on top of his own lips. His move was quick, and it’s a bit later when Eunji recognized his gesture as a protective instinct. He pulled her body a bit farther to the darker side of the alley and hid them, trapping her body between a damp wall on her back and his tall figure. He leaned down, head touching hers as he rested his left arm on the wall, hiding her face from whatever it was on the other side. Their eyes matched, despite having limited light she could recognize his gaze, his worried gaze. “Just a moment,” he repeated, not explaining.

Eunji was though quick to realize they might be in a tight situation. Reporters, her first guess. And she wished it was really them, as thinking about stalkers was quite frightening especially with recent not-so-pleasant news that circulating around her group. So, she decided to remind quiet and trust him.

But it was more difficult than what she thought. He was strange to her knowledge, Eunji certainly didn’t have much information about this man except all the news that sometimes caught her attention, only sometimes like some management dispute, canceled concerts, panic disorder, hiatus, contract termination, what else, her head was trying to look for blur pictures, to her surprise, there were more than she expected. Oh and one more, military service.

Why? What is he doing here?

She looked up at him although he wasn’t watching, his eyes were glued to the street where the light came from, seemingly checking the situation. Yongguk was in all black from head to toe, completed with a dark cap, from this sight only she could tell the male’s clothes preference, yes, dark and black, even his backpack was also black. He was surely tall per her note, and despite the dim light she could still see his strong features, his masculine jawlines, his fine lips, and his intimidating stare.

What am I doing?

Immediately lowering her gaze, Eunji quietly scolded herself, being utterly inappropriate in this weird situation. Her eyes were now matched his chest which covered in a black t-shirt and doubled by an ed black softball jacket. Something felt strange as she could feel her chest tightened, her heart beat a bit too fast than usual. It should be the sudden peculiar situation, absolutely not because of his chest.

“I’m sorry, just a moment,” again he repeated.

Yes, yes, she was waiting patiently, or at least trying to as now her heart seemed to start mocking her with a weirdly too fast rhythm. And his voice, she wanted to protest when he whispered at her with his utterly-disturbing-husky voice. She didn’t know why, or not care why, but it was making her uncomfortable and she didn’t like it. No, not that she blamed him for having that type of voice, but whispering on her ears was the least she needed in time like this.

“That’s him,” he muttered and suddenly moved his body to the side, attempting to completely cover her petite figure from the brighter side of the alley. His abrupt move almost making her losing balance that she immediately grabbed his jacket for a support and he pulled her body to his chest in a reflex.

“Sorry,” he whispered again, and Eunji really wanted to stop him from muttering anything.

“It’s okay, keep that for later,” finally she worded, making sure her voice was composed and undisturbed.

They waited in silence. She thought silence was better, but now that her head perfectly rested on his chest, Eunji could hear how his heart beat and dared to say it’s as messy as hers, and it obviously wasn’t a good news to her. They’re panicking, she quickly reasoned, there was no other explanation. Just now his strong arms tightened the hold on her shoulder, she didn’t know why he did that, it didn’t seem necessary, but she didn’t complain. Again, he’s also panicking, she assumed, and it’s easier that way.

“Do you live around here?” he asked quietly.

What is it now? Does he try a conversation? To ease her anxiety?

She made a short nod.

“He might be still around,” he added, his voice was filled with worry.

“What did you see exactly?” Eunji finally asked, losing her patience. She looked up to seek for the answer and just as soon he gazed down, matching their eye level.

They were so close that both could feel each other’s breath, and dared to guess he too realized how dangerous their current proximity was. He should have released her body, it’s been awhile, it should be safe already. But he remained in his position and Eunji really wanted to protest.

“A guy with a camera, a professional one,” he replied, still gazing at her eyes.

His answer quickly took her attention. Without her realized, Eunji just clutched tight his jacket, suddenly feeling more nervous. “A reporter?” mumbled her with a weak voice.

“I’m not sure,” he replied, and exhaling quietly. “I saw him tailing you behind, I was surprised you didn’t even notice,” Yongguk added.

The last comment was not necessary, the male too realized just now. He shouldn’t have mentioned that. Her eyes glanced at him irritatingly, his sentence was clearly made with sarcasm and Eunji perfectly received it.

“He was behind me, how did I see that?”

See, yes, his comment was not needed. It’s pretty obvious she’s not happy with the remark.

Sighing, he released his arms from her shoulder, giving her a space from him. “I see you wearing a watch on your wrist, can’t you tell how late it is to be out alone?” oh his voice just didn’t sound as calm as before.

“Excuse me, Yongguk-ssi, are you just mad at me?”

“I am not,” he heaved, throwing his gaze. It’s getting pretty clear now that he’s the opposite of what he said. Inhaling, he then gazed down at her again, “it’s just, you should know how dangerous it is. People know you, Eunji-ssi,” he added, and it definitely wasn’t helping.

“Well, at least it won’t harm you if you just let it be.”

“Are you being serious?”

“My house is near, even if he took couple of my pictures I would arrive home in seconds, and it’s not like I was doing something worth news.”

“And what if he’s not a reporter. What if he prints your pictures and put it on his wall for his own collection? Have you ever thought about it?”

“I … ” she couldn’t reply back. What he just said hit her really hard that Eunji couldn’t find her voice. Her hands were trembling as she pictured printed images of her on someone’s wall, and suddenly feeling disgusted her body stunned in silence. It’s not the first time she heard something disgusting like this, especially working in this industry. Stalkers, maniacs, crazy fans were everywhere, it’s not like she didn’t care about it, but the more attention she put on the subject the scarier the following imagination was. And she chose to put it aside.

He realized it a bit late, but when he did, Yongguk learned that he was being harsh to the female. It wasn’t certain either why he suddenly getting all frustrated over her reply. He was always gentle with people but seeing the way she took the situation for granted surely was the least he could expect. Or maybe, it wasn’t what he actually had seen. She looked pretty flustered right now.

“I’m sorry,” he softened his voice and leaned close, “I saw he had something on his chest, I think it’s his identification card, he must be a reporter,” added him, trying to help her ease her anxiety.

Eunji looked up, looking for the truth, and he nodded confirming. That’s when she finally breathed, her eyes closed feeling a bit loosened.

“What I want to say is that you should be really careful, Eunji-ssi. No matter how close your house is, how brave you are, it’s still too late to go alone, at least bring someone with you,” he kindly followed with better wording. Eunji could do nothing but nod agreeing.

Yongguk soon took off his jacket and gave it to her. “Change your jacket with this, he probably wouldn’t realize that you change clothes, just in case he’s still around,” the male suggested. A smile formed on his lips, petite but friendly enough.

Eunji didn’t say anything and quietly accepted the offer. When she took off her jacket, he offer