Chapter 11

Jeon Jungkook

Han led me back inside the bar, and it took all of five seconds before Taehyung was at my side whistling.

“Damn, Jungkookie, I think you took that promise to get pissed a little too seriously.”

I rolled my eyes and said to Han, “This is my friend Taehyung. Taehyung, this is Hana.”

That was for calling me Golden Boy.

Her head swung around to face me and asked, “Are you looking to get in another fight tonight?”

Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes sparkling.

“No, I just like seeing you angry.” She pressed her lips together and glared, but a smile was poking through within a few second. God, when she looked at me like that I forgot completely about the splitting pain in my head.

When I turned back to Taehyung, he was looking between Han and me, grinning. “You bastard, did you know all four commitments in one go?”

I was still leaning on Han, a little because I needed to and a lot because I wanted to. Her face angled up to mine and she asked, “What is he talking about?”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s drunk.”

I, on the other hand, had sobered up completely. I tried not to look disappointed as I removed my arm from around her shoulder.

“Thanks, Han. I’m good now.”

All I wanted to do was to get home and take a long, cold shower, followed by a really hot one to ease the stiffness in my back and arms.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked. Her hands came to rest on her hips…hips that I’d held in my hands before this all went down.

“I’m just going to head home and get cleaned up.”

Taehyung said, “Uh, Jungkook, you live at least twenty minutes away and your face is leaking. I think we should get you cleaned up here.”

Han’s fingers found my chin, and she drew my face down towards hers. “I’m going to go get a first aid kit. Don’t you dare leave.”

I was too tired to argue, so Han disappeared, and Taehyung led me toward the bathroom at the back of the bar.

“Damn, Jungkook. Who knew you liked the feisty ones?”

I wasn’t sure if I liked the “feisty ones” but I liked her. A lot.

There was an obnoxiously long line for the toilet, and everyone was either too drunk or too rude to care that I was bleeding. I leaned against the back wall, tilted my head back against the brick, and closed my eyes. In a shocking turn of events, Taehyung kept his mouth shut until Han returned.

She said, “Bad news. Our first aid kit is pretty much empty.”

I opened my eyes and focused on her. Shoving off the wall, I swayed slightly. Han caught one arm, while Taehyung caught the other.

“I’ll catch a cab home,” I said. That was a lie. I didn’t have the cash for that, but it would make them happy. 

Han scoffed, “Good luck finding a cab in this neighbourhood.”

Taehyung offered to run to the drugstore and buy some stuff, but I insisted it was too much trouble. 

“Really. guys, I’m fine. I’ll splash my face with some water, and then head home. It’s not a big deal. I feel fine.” I moved toward the toilet, but Han darted around me and placed a hand on my chest.

She was chewing on her bottom lip, wrestling with something. Her lips pulled in a straight line, and she looked up at me. “We’ll go to my place. It’s only a few blocks from here.”

I didn’t have to see Taehyung to know he was grinning behind me as he said, “That sounds like a great idea!”

I brought my hand up and covered hers that rested on my chest.

“Han, I’m okay, really.”

She glared at me, and I got the feeling that she was rarely told the word no. With her hand on my chest and mine on hers, I was all too aware of how much my body wanted to say yes.

My brain knew better.

She stepped closer to me and lowered her voice. “Listen, Golden Boy, I’m trying this new thing where I don’t act like a raging all the time. That means when a guy gets his kicked for me, I have to show a little compassion. It doesn’t come easy to me, so help me out.”

Huh.

One day…we’d known each other for one day, and she’d already picked up on the fact that I had difficulty saying no to people, especially people that needed my help.

I was supposed to do something out of character, though most of the things I did tonight were a little out of character. And it wasn’t like I didn’t try to say no.

“Okay,” I sighed. “But only if you take back the part about me getting my kicked.”

She laughed. “All right, I’ll give you that. But I totally softened him up for you.”

“Yeah, remind me not to make you mad when you’re smoking. Actually even better. Don’t smoke. It’s bad for your health and your lungs and your voice.”

She locked eyes with me with an unreadable face. 

There was a moment of awkward silence where we’d both already agreed, but neither of us stepped back or stopped touching the other. After a few seconds, she cleared , and her hand dropped from my chest.

I said good-bye to Taehyung, and ignored the thumbs-up he gave me over Han’s head. I waited while she slipped on a coat and grabbed her things. She explained to one one of the other bartenders what had happened. I thought maybe they wouldn’t let her leave, but after a short conversation, she was back at my side and ready to go.

She smiled up at me, and I was ne