‘’Thank you, please come again!’‘

    The young woman behind the counter bowed at her costumer, a smile on her pink lips. Her unnatural blue streaks fell onto her face. That was the issue with her hair, it was often uncontrollable. She turned around and leaned against the counter, only to see her petite friend, Ji Yunhee smiling at her.

    ‘’What?’‘ Youngmin asked.

    ‘’You’re so flustered,’‘ Yunhee replied.

    Youngmin rolled her china blue eyes, ‘’gee. Thanks.’‘

    Yunhee pat ‘s shoulder, ‘’no problem, hun.’‘

    The conversation died, and Youngmin took a wet cloth to clean the tables. She heard the ringing of the door, indicating a costumer. Yunhee would take care of it, she thought completely focussed in her work. She heard her friends’ perky voice in the background and smiled. It was nice to work with someone you knew very well. Work was less dull when they shared shifts. But, Youngmin would work later than Yunhee, because Yunhee lived halfway across town, while Youngmin lived a couple blocks down.

    ‘’Are you almost done?’‘ Yunhee complained when the costumer left, leaving the restaurant dead again.

    ‘’Almost,’‘ Youngmin replied.

    ‘’Good,’‘ Yunhee took off her apron, ‘’because I have to leave.’‘

    Youngmin felt a chill run down her spine. She hated to be left alone in such circumstances. The chef left early with a cold, so Youngmin would be alone to lock up. Yunhee noticed her friends’ anxiety and smiled wryly.

    ‘’Are you scared?’‘ Yunhee mocked.

    ‘’No!’‘ The white haired waitress flushed. ‘’Of course not,’‘ she specified.

    Yunhee snorted, ‘’as if! You’ll be fine. You can even lock the door after I leave. I doubt anyone else will bother coming here so late.’‘

    And with a final wave over the shoulder, Yunhee left. Youngmin quickly locked the door behind her. She wasn’t scared. She was just... nervous.

    That same night, there was a festival in the middle of town. Everyone would be having a great time watching fireworks and getting drunk on Sake. Youngmin wasn’t afraid of getting robbed; she was more afraid of drunks. They disgusted Youngmin beyond belief.
    
Ignoring the screams of joy from outside, she started cleaning the dishes. Oddly enough, the screams started to make Youngmin feel more comfortable. She was aware of people being outside, which worked like security. A smile placed itself on her lips.

    Suddenly, silence.

    The smile disappeared and her shoulders tensed up. Why was it suddenly silent? Youngmin put down the cloth and went over to the windows to close the curtains. The street was empty. She tugged violently on the white curtains, making them fall before her. She paused at the door. Should she turn the OPEN sign to CLOSED? Honestly, she just wanted to go home, leaving the dishes unwashed and the greaser on.

    No. She couldn’t do that. Not only would the greaser burn down the restaurant during the night, she could get fired. But... the kitchen was so dark. It made Youngmin’s arms get goos bumps all over her arms and legs. The hair on the back of her neck stood up when she heard a noise from outside. She yelped and quickly ran to the counter, almost catching her foot on a chair while doing so.

    Outside was a man. He had clearly seen her, because he was looking at her under the hood on his head. Youngmin’s heart worked on overtime and she felt tears sting her eyes. He was just standing there. Looking right at her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he lifted a hand to knock on the window. He pointed to the sign as if asked ‘’aren’t you supposed to be opened?’‘.

    Youngmin managed to get herself onto her feet. She narrowed her eyes. Lying to him would be a bad idea, since the hours were written on a piece of paper on the door. But, he frightened her, even if this man looked completely sober. Youngmin decided to let him in.

    Hands clenched into fists, she crept towards the door, not taking her eyes off the hooded man for one moment. Relax, she told herself. What if he just wants some coffee? the voice in the back of her mind whispered frightened.

    The other voice snorted, what if he’s a ?

    Youngmin stopped in front of the door, her hand on the lock. Looks like we’re about to find out.

    She twisted the lock.

    He walked in, a smile crept on his lips.

    ‘’Can I help you, sir?’‘ She whispered.

    ‘’Yes, actually,’‘ he said.

    Still watching him, Youngmin made her way behind the counted. The man followed and sat at one of the benches, his hands folded on the counter. She waited. He said nothing. After moments of silence, the man pulled a menu from the rack and looked inside of it. Youngmin picked up the cloth and continued the dishes, nervous about her back being turned to him.

    ‘’Coffee,’‘ he ordered.

    Youngmin's shoulders tensed for the slightest moment and let the cloth fall out of her hands. Without words, she poured him coffee and placed it in front of him. She felt slightly embarrassed by her hands; they had been shaking the entire time.

    The man seemed to be enjoying her fright, ‘’do I scare you?’‘ he sipped his coffee.

    Youngmin opened to speak, but men stumbling in the restaurant cut her words before she could speak them.

    ‘’Hey!’‘ One yelled out, clearly drunk.

    His friends stood close to him, snickering and pushing him forward. They were drunk, too. Some more than other’s.

    , Youngmin cursed. She had forgotten to lock the door after letting the man in.

    ‘’Can I help you?’‘ She asked in a monotone voice.

    ‘’Oh yeah,’‘ one laughed.

    The man just silently sipped his coffee.

    One of the drunks stumbled towards the counter, ‘’hey beautiful. What’s your name?’‘

    Youngmin bit her lip from replying sarcastically. The last thing she needed right now was a fight.

    ‘’If you don’t want anything,’‘ she started, narrowing her eyes, ‘’I’ll have to ask you to leave.’‘

    The drunks laughed. Loudly. They clearly didn’t care if they got kicked out. People on the street looked in curiously, still talking loudly. Youngmin couldn’t hear any of it. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears. She was scared.

    ‘’Please leave,’‘ she said.

    The men couldn’t stop laughing. They leaned against each other and the tables for support.

    ‘’See, guys!’‘ One stuttered, ‘’she said please!’‘

    Youngmin felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment. The man - who might as well just been a ghost - coughed, causing the drunks to take notice of him for the first time.

    ‘’Didja say something?’‘ One asked, not laughing anymore.

    The man stayed silent for a moment, as if thinking about the situation. ‘’No.’‘

    ’‘He said something,’‘ one complained.

    ‘’I heard it, too!’‘

    ’‘,’‘ the one that seemed to be the leader in all this approached the man.

    ‘’Get out,’‘ Youngmin watched the scene in horror. ‘’Or I’ll call the police.’‘

    The leader stopped dead in his tracks. Had Youngmin just convinced him to leave? Maybe he would be too scared of going to prison, that he’d take his friends and leave.

    Of course not.

    ‘’Call the police?’‘ His lips curved upwards in a cruel smirk. ‘’Good luck doing that with your arms tied up, cupcake.’‘

    Youngmin gasped when she felt strong hands grab her arms and pulled them behind her back. The man pulled her close and placed a hand over before she could scream. With the expression the mysterious man had not seen this coming and was trying to think up a solution to the situation. One of the drunks fumbled with the lock and pulled down the curtain. 

    The leader pushed the hooded man from his seat, causing him to stumble backwards, but not fall.

    ‘’Look,’‘ he started, his voice reasonable yet stern. ‘’Why don’t you boys just leave. This isn’t worth getting in trouble for.’‘

    Without hesitation, the leader swung his fist. The punch was slightly clumsy, but powerful. Luckily the mystery man avoided it, but didn’t fight back. The leader’s friends cheered him on while Youngmin struggled against the drunk that held her back. Her screams were muffled against his hand.

    ‘’Look,’‘ the man was clearly annoyed, ‘’I do not want to hurt you! Why don’t you just leav-‘’

    A punch got him straight in the face, causing him the stumble back against a table, hit his head against it and fall to the ground. Youngmin felt her heart drop when he didn’t get up.

    ‘’!’‘ The leader high fived his friends and smirked at Youngmin.

    For a single second, Youngmin felt the hand around her wrist untighten. That second was all she needed. She shook herself out of his grasp and ran into the kitchen, the man right on her heels. A sick idea came to mind, as she turned the corner. The drunk man stumbled at her and she quickly hopped out of the way, her back against the wall.

    The man dove right into the fryer. His screams of agony were probably heard all over Korea when his face and hands collided with the bubbling grease. He pushed himself off as quickly as he could, and he stumbled into his friends that had rushed to the scene. They screamed, too and stumbled out of the kitchen. All but one. He looked at Youngmin with murderous eyes. She heard the front door unlock as the drunks stumbled out. Now, the only people left were Youngmin, the burnt man (who had now fell into complete silence), the mysterious man and the angry drunk.

    For a moment, his angry eyes looked away and he briskly grabbed the meat cleaver from the counter. He approached Youngmin swiftly, not like in the horror movies she had watched in the past where the murderers would take their time. There was nowhere for her to run.

    The first hit was against her leg, and it was clumsy. Youngmin’s face twisted in pain, but she let no scream out. This angered the man more.

    The second hit was against her arm, which she raised to protect her face. It had simply glided against her skin. Blood ran down her arm to her elbow.

    A smile placed itself on the mans’ lips when she looked at him, tears stained her face.

    ‘’Say goodnight,’‘ he muttered, the cleaver raised for a nice shot to the skull.

    It missed.

    Instead of it colliding against her face, it fell limply on her lap. The man fell to the ground soundlessly.

    Behind him stood his saviour.

    The mysterious man, his hood down, now. Youngmin felt her heart stop when he walked into view.

    ‘’You’re...’‘ Youngmin pointed numbly at the man, her hand shaking. ‘’You’re Yoochun.’‘

    The man silently checked the man, to make sure he was out. When he was sure, he kneeled down in front on Youngmin.

    ‘’Are you okay?’‘ His voice was tense.

    That’s when Youngmin burst into hysterical tears, completely ignoring his question. She covered her face, embarrassed by her tears. Yoochun pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and called for help.


    It took all her strength to pull herself up and limp out of the restaurant. Yoochun helped her by carrying most of her weight. The hysterical sobs stopped when they got outside, where a crowd had formed and the police had arrived.

    ‘’There are two men in there,’‘ Yoochun explained to the police. ‘’One is severely burnt while one is just knocked out.’‘

    The police nodded and rushed inside soon followed by the paramedics. They pulled Yoochun aside for him to explain what happened, which made Youngmin feel quite nervous. When the police dragged out the men, she looked away. The burnt one was conscious and yelling out things that were completely uncomprehensible. He was rushed to the hospital, while the other was pushed into a cop car, handcuffs around his wrist.

    ‘’You’re going to be fine,’‘ the man smiled at me. ‘’Do you feel alright? Or do you think you’ll need to take a trip to the hospital?’‘

    ’‘I’d feel better if she went to get herself checked,’‘ Yoochun approached the paramedic.

    He stayed quiet and looked at Youngmin, ‘’it’s her choice...’‘

    ’‘I’ll go with you,’‘ Yoochun offered.

    Youngmin felt her pulse quicken. Not only had she been a huge fan of TVXQ, Yoochun was her favourite.

    ‘’Just to be safe,’‘ she replied softly.

    The ride to the hospital was silent. Yoochun was making calls. Mostly telling people where he was going, and reassuring them he was fine. When he hung up, the paramedic fixed the little cut on his forehead. People stared when we made our way through the lobby and went towards the front desk.

    ‘’Could we have a doctor look up this young lady for a brief moment?’‘ The paramedic asked the young woman behind the counter. She smiled and pointed towards the end of the hall.

    ‘’Get seated in room 15,’‘ she said. ‘’A doctor will be in shortly.’‘

    The room was white, and made Youngmin feel nervous. Yoochun on the other hand looked completely at ease. Of course he was. He wasn’t in a room alone with his favourite singer.

    ‘’You’re Yoochun,’‘ Youngmin stated dumbly.

    A smile touched his lips, ‘’yup.’‘

    ’‘And you’re in TVXQ,’‘ she confirmed.

    ‘’Yup,’‘ he repeated.

    Youngmin just nodded and looked away, not knowing what to say next. Luckily, he broke the silence.

    ‘’Do you feel okay?’‘ He was standing now.

    ‘’I guess,’‘ she replied, looking down. She wouldn’t admit that she felt completely terrified.

    Yoochun pretended to believe her and looked at her, pain in his eyes. ‘’I’m sorry.’‘

    She was stunned. Why was he saying he was sorry? He hadn’t done anything to her. He had saved her. ‘’What?’‘

    ’‘I’m sorry-‘’

    She cut him off, ‘’I know what you said. Why did you say it?’‘

    He shrugged, ‘’I should have fought back immediately, and not try to reason with him.’‘ He grazed her arm, causing shivers to run through her entire body. ‘’If I would have acted sooner,’‘ he mumbled, ‘’maybe this wouldn’t have happened.’‘ Yoochun gestured to her cuts, and to his own.

    Youngmin was shocked, and she just stared at him, her jaw clenched. She looked away when her eyes started to sting with tears.

    ‘’What’s wrong?’‘ He sounded tense, now.

    Youngmin didn’t reply. The bed creaked when Yoochun sat next to her, causing her ti drop her eyes and fiddle with her fingers. He waited and kept on staring.

    ‘’I guess I’m -‘’ Youngmin felt heat rise to her neck. Her voice sounded odd to her own ears. ‘’I’m shocked that you’re apologizing so intensely.’‘

    ’‘It’s my fault -‘’    

    Youngmin stood up, cutting him off before he could continue. ‘’It’s so not!’‘ She snapped. ‘’If it’s anyone’s, it’s my fault! You got hurt protecting me!’‘

    Yoochun just looked at her, and he did something she didn’t think he’d do.

    He laughed.

    ‘’Look at us,’‘ he threw his head back. ‘’We’re blaming each other for what happened tonight, while it wasn’t really any of our faults.’‘ He smiled and pulled Youngmin back on the bed. ‘’I’m just sorry I didn’t fight back earlier.’‘

    ’‘And I’m sorry I forgot to lock the door behind you,’‘ she mumbled.

    Yoochun smiled at her and took her hand in his, ‘’apology accepted.’‘

    The young woman repeated his words and looked into his eyes. They were dark brown compared to her light blue eyes. A smile touched his lips as he leaned in slowly, Youngmin barely took a notice to it until he was only a couple inches from her face.

    They heard footsteps and pulled away. A young woman walked in, a smile plastered on her lips. She looked more like a super model with her long brown hair clear of any tangles and perfect face and figure.

    ‘’Hello, darling,’‘ she stood in front of Youngmin, hands on her hips. ‘’I was told you had a little accident.’‘

    She motioned for Yoochun to move away and sit down on the chair. Youngmin smiled meekly at the woman, ‘’yeah.’‘

    The entire process went quickly. The doctor - who’s name was Kim Sunhi - checked her wounds and asked her a couple questions.

    ‘’No trauma, no sign of any kind of psychological damage... You’ll be fine,’‘ she smiled at Yoochun, ‘’no need to worry.’‘

    Yoochun’s face flushed.

    The kind doctor brought us to the front door and bowed, then scurried away to help another person. Youngmin just realized now that Yoochun was talking on his cell phone.

    ‘’I’m fine,’‘ he said. ‘’I’m just going to walk Youngmin home... Youngmin. A girl. You don’t know her.’‘ For a moment, his cheeks flushed and he muttered something in the phone. ‘’Goodbye,’‘ he hung up.

    ‘’Who was that?’‘ Youngmin asked curiously.

    ‘’Changmin,’‘ he explained, putting his hand on the small of her back.

    Youngmin nodded. This is actually Yoochun. Yoochun from DBSK. She felt excitement bubble inside of her, and was secretly glad the walk was a long one. They spoke of non-important things, laughed and enjoyed the night air. The streets were still crowded with people having a good time, not even realizing Yoochun was beyond them.

    Sadly enough, the walk had to end. Yoochun and Youngmin stood awkwardly at the door of her apartment.

    ‘’Thank you,’‘ Youngmin bowed.

    Yoochun gave her a weak smile and didn’t reply.

    ‘’Well,’‘ she started, feeling a tightened feeling in . ‘’I should go inside...’‘ She trailed off.

    Yoochun looked at her for the first time in what seemed like centuries. The way he looked at her sent chills down her spine. Without explanation, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Youngmin gasped, but let herself be held, wrapping her arms around his neck in return.

    They stayed like that for a while. Yoochun would move his arm to her hair. Youngmin un tensed with every . He pulled away to look at her, his eyes odd.

    ‘’Eum,’‘ Youngmin bit her lip.

    ‘’Yes?’‘

    She didn’t know what to say and felt slightly stupid. Yoochun smiled and finally spoke.

    ‘’I like you,’‘ he said bluntly. ‘’You have personality. And the way you stood up to those guys was amazing.’‘

    Youngmin’s entire was face red now, and she very well knew it.

    ‘’Do you like me?’‘ He asked.

    She closed her eyes, wishing would let the words come out. When it wouldn’t let her, she simply nodded, her eyes still closed.

    She opened them up wide when she felt a pair of lips press themselves against hers. Her hands slid down her his shoulders and soon enough, she moved her lips against his.

    Perfect bliss.

    To her dismay, he pulled away. ‘’Then what?’‘ He mumbled.

    ‘’I...’‘ she bit her lip. ‘’You chose!’‘

    Yoochun chuckled, taking her hand in his. He sure was smooth, Youngmin noted.

    ‘’Want to go out tomorrow night?’‘ He smiled, ‘’maybe we could...’‘

    Youngmin waited eagerly.

    ‘’We could see if things could work,’‘ his smile had a hint of shyness.

    For the first time in her life, Youngmin felt the shyness rush out of her body.

    ‘’Yes.’‘

    He looked pleased, ‘’tomorrow. I’ll pick you up here.’‘

    Youngmin nodded and smiled at him. They kissed one last time and he waited for Youngmin to go in her apartment before leaving.

    When she saw his silhouette vanish in the night, she let out a very loud scream. Happiness. She picked up her puppy and danced around.

    ‘’Shut the up!’‘ A neighbor yelled, causing her to purse her lips together, then burst into a fit of giggling. 

    Yoochun. Handsome. Strong. Talented.

    Her savior.