[8] "do you know who i am?"

»  Why is it that I’m always seeing Hayoung? This isn’t supposed to be happening right now. Jongin shrugs in his seat as he waits for his order, looking out the window to observe the citizens. He watches Hayoung go around the tables with various drinks, placing the correct order down on each table.

As she makes his way towards him, he quickly looks away and pretends he wasn’t staring. “Here you go, your hot chocolate,” Hayoung smiles courteously as she places his drink down, “Do you need anything else?” He shakes his head and smiles, inhaling, “It’s alright. Thank you.” He picks up his cup and blows gently before taking a sip, the corner of his eye watching her walk towards the back.

He stayed there for a good couple hours, lounging and keeping to himself. He’s actually gotten some girls approach him as well, but brushed them off quite coldly.

“Hey there,” A girl smiles as she sits across from him, placing her elbow on the table with her hand cupping her face. She blinks cutely a few times to grab his attention, but he just stares at her blankly. He sighs deeply as this has been the third girl.

“Um, hi,” He mutters as he looks out the window, watching a few kids run by. Isn’t it late for them to be out? He shakes his head and looks back at the girl who’s chattering away.

Hayoung stretches her arms as she stands behind the counter, bowing to the customers who are leaving. “Hayoung, your shift is almost over,” Her manager announces as he passes a rag to her. She nods and takes the rag, starting to clean up the open tables.

“Um, yeah, nice talking to you,” Jongin sighs as he scratches his head, “I think I’m going to go now. Have a nice evening.” He stands up and starts walking towards the cashier to pay for his order. “Thank you, have a nice night!” The cashier cheerfully says as she bows, showing an eyesmile. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and starts walking towards the door slowly.

“Hey, Hayoung! Want to hang out with us later on?” A guy around their age winks as his friends laugh. The female blinks as she wipes down the table Jongin sat at, shaking her head, “No thanks. I have to go home later…”

The guy smirks and stands up, placing his hand on the side of her waist, “How about I take her home?” Hayoung immediately slaps his hand away with the rag and stares at him, “Get away from me, you delinquent.” His friends stop laughing and stare at the lead male. His eyes turn dark as he clenches his jaw, “You’re really going to say that, huh?”

“She has every right to,” Jongin hisses as he walks slowly towards the scene, his footsteps echoing as the café was slightly empty. Workers stare worriedly at their co-worker, hoping she’ll be safe. “Who the hell are you?” The guy glares at the male and clenches his fist.

“You don’t need to know,” Jongin beams as he stands in front of Hayoung. Suddenly, the female is brought back to the scene earlier in the day. She stares at his now familiar back and gulps, standing up straight. She knows what this guy has done in the past—he picked too much fights and went to prison a few times. Hayoung immediately tugs on his sleeve and whispers, “It’s okay, Jongin. I’ll be fine.”

He turns his head around and stares at her, “You always say that, but in reality, you’re not.” He turns back and stares at his now enemy, “If you dare touch her ever again, you watch it. Do you know who I am?” The male’s friends stand up and stand behind their leader.

The male lets out a breathy laugh and raises an eyebrow, “And do you know who I am?” Jongin leans forward slightly and looks at him straight in the eye, “No, but what’s important is that I’m a bodyguard. Do you know what happens when you’re a bodyguard? They’re affiliated with the prison guards and do you know what happens when you get into trouble with a bodyguard? Jail.” The male’s eyes widen as he puffs his chest out, smirking soon afterwards, “Look, I just want to hang out with Hayoung, what’s so wrong with that?”

Jongin closes his eyes and shakes his head, holding the bridge of his nose with his fingers, “She wouldn’t want to hang out with fools like you.”

“Jongin,” Hayoung murmurs as she tugs on his sleeve again while hiding her lips. She became so worried for him and she didn’t want any fights going on—especially in the café. However, she felt protected—something she hasn’t felt in a long time. She admired Jongin’s help, but at the same time, she has to stand up for herself. “L-Let’s just stop this okay?” She says out loud as she walks over to stand in between them, “I just don’t want to hang out with you, okay? N-Now, if you keep causing trouble like this, I will kick you out and report you.” The male stares at her and clicks his tongue, signaling his friends to start leaving, “Whatever. I’ll catch you next time.”

Watching the group leave, Jongin looks at her from the back, sighing quietly, “Are you okay?” Hayoung hangs her head down slightly and turns around, “Thanks—but you really—‘”

“I had to,” He cuts her off and takes a deep breath, “May I—walk you home?” What are you doing? Why are you doing this? He wanted to mentally slap himself on the face and take back the offer he just said. He knew right away that he was going to be rejected.

“Um…Sure,” Hayoung smiles lightly as she starts wiping down a table, “You can wait for me outside while I finish up.” Something in her heart was telling her to let him and the word just blurted out of . Jongin’s eyes widen in happiness as he nods, trying to contain his win, “Alright. I’ll meet you outside.”

-

Hayoung walks out of the café with her backpack on, her hands pulling out of the hair that was trapped. She finds Jongin leaning against the wall with one foot propped on the wall while his hands were in his pockets. “Jongin?” She greets shyly as he immediately looks up at her, a bright smile showing. “Hello, Hayoung,” He walks towards her and bows slightly, his hand reaching out towards the direction, “Go ahead and lead the way.”

In the first few minutes of the walk, only the rushing wind could be heard with the accompaniment of papers rustling and tins rolling past. Jongin takes a deep breath and continues walking with his hands stuffed in his pockets still. He needed to think of something quick before his whole new friendship could disappear.

“Why?” Hayoung  blurts out softly as she holds onto her backpack straps, glancing to her left to see Jongin, “Why did you want to walk me home?” Jongin scratches the back of his head with his left hand and laughs quietly, “Well—um—‘” He tries to think of a good reason, but he sighs in defeat, “Honestly, I just want to know you more.” Hayoung smiles warmly to herself, feeling quite honored that someone wanted to know her more. She hasn’t had a lot of friends since last year and from all the events happening.

“Then how about we learn about each other more then,” Hayoung offers as she tilts her head to the side while looking at the other. With her smile brightly shining at him, Jongin lets out a shy chuckle, “Of course. Let’s see…When’s your birthday?”

Throughout their walk, they both couldn’t help but walk even slower back to Hayoung’s house. They’ve been going back and forth with questions, knowing any basic information in their lives. However, they didn’t go too deep into each other’s stories. They knew privacy and Jongin wanted to take things slow with her for now.

They finally reached Hayoung’s house and she bows deeply, inhaling with a smile, “Thank you, Jongin. I really appreciate it.” He shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck, “No problem. And look, you should give Sehun a chance. At least let him buy you the glasses. He keeps bugging me about wanting to do something for you.”

Hayoung purses her lips and looks to the side, nodding as she rocks back and forth with the heels of her feet, “I’ll think about it. Stay safe, Jongin. Good night.” She opens the door and waves before closing the door behind her.

As she enters the house, her older brother sits on the chair as he faces the door, a visible grin spreading across his face, “So, you’re with Jongin now?”

“B-Be quiet! He offered to walk me home,” She mutters as she starts walking up the stairs. “Whoa, hold up,” Jimin stands up and grabs her wrist, letting out a small chuckle, “I’m your older brother here! Give me the details!” Hayoung clears and turns her neck around to face him, “We just wanted to walk me home, that’s all.”

“Well, as your older brother, I’m gonna have a talk with him,” Jimin grins as he releases her wrist, crossing his arms. “Hey! It’s not that serious!” She blushes lightly and starts racing up the stairs, “Don’t do anything!”

Jimin teases and starts walking towards the door, “I should get Jongin—‘”

“Nooooo!” She sings as she races back down the stairs, grabbing his arm. Jimin laughs and ruffles her hair, “I’m just kidding. Just get some rest, alright? It’ll be hard for you to wake up tomorrow.”