It was just an ordinary day for Hongjoong, he finished his last class for the day, and since he had to go buy some groceries for his place he bid his friends farewell, he walked off campus holding his backpack tightly, for some reason that whole day since he woke up, up until then he kept having a bad feeling, it was as if something would go wrong, so he was being extra careful.

He listed everything in his head that he needed to get, he was spacing out trying to recall everything as he got closer to the shop, he didn’t even realize he bumped into someone until he got pulled back which caused him to fall on his , he frowned and looked who pulled him, he saw two guys, they looked like thugs, and to say he wasn’t scared would be a lie, they were big and they really just looked menacing.

“Oi small fry, don’t you have something to say” one of them let out with a grunt, Hongjoong couldn’t find his words, nor could he find his voice.

“Look Won the cat got his tongue” the other chimed in with a smirk.

“He’s a pretty one isn’t he,” the first one said as he crouched down to Hongjoong and tapped his cheek a little, Hongjoong felt sick, just who gave him the permission to touch him? Who did this guy think he was?

Before Hongjoong could say anything the two men dragged him into the alleyway behind the grocer and they started harassing him even more, the more fear he felt the more his voice disappeared, he felt frustrated and violated, and when he finally couldn’t take it anymore almost like magic he screamed.

It was probably the loudest noise he ever made in his whole life and he really didn’t expect much from his scream, he just hoped that it would scare the two enough to let them run off but instead one of them punched him through the face to shut him up.

But there were hurried footsteps, almost as if someone was rushing to his rescue, and he wasn’t wrong, the moment the guy’s fist made contact with Hongjoong’s cheek one of them went flying, Hongjoong knew in this world there was no such thing as superpowers so he knew it wasn’t him that sent him flying.

When he opened his eyes properly and took a look he saw a man, the guy was towering over the two, he looked intimidating as well, maybe even more so than the two who harassed him, the man had a muscular build, it looked like he could possibly break the two easily if he wanted.

The man had a lot of piercings and a lot of tattoos, and for Hongjoong his heart was beating so fast that all the sound just got drowned out by his heartbeat, even when the newcomer crouched in front of him and spoke to him he didn’t hear anything he just couldn’t breathe.

The newcomer took Hongjoong’s hand and gently patted it, trying to calm the boy down, he felt horrible, he probably didn’t help the boy in the panicked state at all, he probably just made it worse by jumping in like that, but when he heard Hongjoong’s scream he somehow found himself running.

Once he got Hongjoong calmed down he sent the boy a small smile, Hongjoong was a bit surprised the man really didn’t seem as intimidating anymore.

“Are you okay now?” he asked and Hongjoong nodded a little.

“Oh uhm I’m Taehwan and you are?” the man asked as he got up reaching out to help Hongjoong to his feet.

“H-Hongjoong, I’m Hongjoong” the boy stuttered out.

“Well nice to meet you Hongjoong, were you on your way to the shop?” the man asked, he was scared that he freaked Hongjoong out a bit too much and he didn’t want to make the boy even more scared than he already was since you could still see the boy trembling, so he hoped that if he tried having a conversation with him it would help.

“Yeah… I had to go buy some food but now…” the boy didn’t continue but Taehwan understood.

“Hmm I get it, are you hungry right now?” the small boy nodded a bit.

“Let me treat you to a meal, I didn’t help you much, I only made you more scared so think of it as me making it up to you” 

Hongjoong wanted to say no but the man really was just too intimidating to do that so in the end, he agreed.

They walked to a nearby ramen house and as they were walking everyone stared at them, Hongjoong was a little banged up, you could see he was involved in a fight of sorts and Taehwan looking the way he did, really didn’t help at all.

They ordered their food and ate in silence, it was suffocating for them and for everyone in the building.

“Uh Taehwan-ssi thank you for helping me out back there, if you didn’t arrive, i-i really don’t know what I would’ve done” Hongjoong finally said breaking the silence.

“Ah it’s okay, did you get hurt badly, your lips a bit busted and it seems like your cheek is bruising,” Taehwan said in a concerned tone.

“Really?” Hongjoong asked and touched his cheek only to flinch almost instantly.

“I didn’t even realize, I knew he his me but other than that everything is a blur” Hongjoong admitted.

“Hmm I can imagine, it must’ve been really scary” 

“It really was, but then again if I mention any of this to my friends” Hongjoong could already see it, it would a literal nightmare.

“Are they protective?” Taehwan asked him and Hongjoong nodded,

“A little, like I’m the oldest among us all but somehow they all baby me” 

“I mean you’re pocket-sized I can’t blame them”

“Taehwan-ssi, you are a giant, you really can’t tell me I’m pocket-sized because I might just be the normal height you know”

“Hongjoong-Ssi regardless of your height you are pocket-sized to me,” Taehwan said with a small smile, Hongjoong wasn’t sure why but whenever the man smiled he really liked it.

“How tall are you?” Hongjoong asked with a pout.

“I’m 196 Cm” Hongjoong’s face fell almost instantly, it was unfair… why did he get to be this tall.

“What’s with that face?” 

“It’s just not fair at all” Hongjoong mumbled and continued eating, Taehwan almost laughed at the boy’s response but he kept it together quite well.

“Are you still going to the shop after this?” Taehwan asked and Hongjoong shook his head.

“No… I just want to go sleep honestly it’s been a scary and tiring day” Hongjoong admitted.

“I can imagine, let me take you home, you never know when those two will return with back up” 

“Are you sure Taehwan-ssi? Won’t it be an inconvenience?” the man shook his head reassuring the boy that it would be fine. 

Hongjoong thanked him and once they paid the bill they left together, Taehwan drove Hongjoong home, and once he dropped the boy off he made sure that no one followed them and then left.

On the drive back to his place something kept Taehwan a little occupied, the boy looked familiar, he looked like his boss’s son but then again he could be mistaken as all the photos he had ever seen of the boy were when he was young.

He shook the thoughts away and when he got home he was greeted by his co-workers who lived with him.

Hongjoong laid on his bed after washing up and treating the wound on his face, the scene of Taehwan entering the alley kept replaying in his mind, he came in such a rush and then stayed for such a long time just to make sure that he would be okay and then even bought him lunch and brought him all the way home.

Hongjoong found himself smiling a little, he picked up his phone and their goodbye played in his head.

The moment he got out of the car, he felt like he didn’t really want to say goodbye forever.

“C-can I get your number Taehwan-ssi? I want to treat you to a meal to thank you for everything” Hongjoong asked as he held his phone to the man.

In the end, he got Taehwan’s number and he really wanted to text him but then he was also a little scared, what if he found him annoying? 

So just before going to bed Hongjoong gathered all his courage and sent a message to him.

“Taehwan-ssi this is Hongjoong, once again thank you for today and I hope you get some good sleep tonight” and so he placed his phone on charge and cuddled into the blanket and drifted off to sleep.