He looks down at me with his dark brown eyes. The only light is from a nearby streetlight, so I can barely make out the outline of his body. He puts his hand on my cheek and wipes my tears away with his thumb. I look up at him and reality strikes me.

Why is he here?! Why can’t he just leave me alone?!

I slap his hand away from me and stand up. I turn around and start walking away when I hear his voice.

“You know you can’t keep shutting people out like this. People will help you if you let them.” Jungkook says.

I stop, clench my fists and turn around. I slowly start walking and then running towards him, aiming to punch him in the face. As soon as I reach Jungkook I raise my hand and form a fist. I swing at him and before I know it he catches my hand and pulls me close. I yank my wrist from his grip and start punching his chest, but my arms feel like Jell-O and I begin to lose control. He embraces me and I give up. My arms go limp and fall to my side as I cry into Jungkook’s shoulder. I feel one hand on my lower back and the other on the top of my head. He doesn’t say anything and I continue sobbing.

Eomma I miss you so much. If you were here I would be crying into your shoulder.

“Eomma. Eomma.” I yell out as I cry.

“Shh. It’s okay, Nari. It’s okay,” Jungkook says. “You’re safe with me. I know you miss her. Just let it all out. Don’t keep it in any longer.”

I do let it out. After a good thirty minutes, I stop crying and both Jungkook and I stand in silence. He my head softly and I rest my head on his shoulder. He smells good, like fresh linen and a hint of cologne. I lift my arms up and wrap them around his neck. We stand like that for a few minutes before Jungkook breaks the silence.

“We should probably get you back home before it’s too late.” He says.

I look up at him and nod my head. He lets go of me and I run to get my bag that I had dropped on the ground. When I walk back over to him, he smiles and we both start walking out of the park.

“So… I have no idea where we are.” I say as I wipe my tears with my sleeve.

Jungkook chuckles and looks at the street signs. “Where do you live?”

I hesitate for a moment but then realize that I’m never going to get home unless Jungkook takes me there. “Um… 325 Shinmullo… drive?” I question myself because the addresses are different from America.

Jungkook laughs again. “I think I know where that is.”

We walk along the streets with a streetlight every few blocks. I get closer to Jungkook because of my fear of the dark. He doesn’t seem to notice so I breathe a sigh of relief. We walk in silence for a while and then I reach into my bag and take out my headphones. I plug them into my phone and scroll through my songs.

“Whenever I’m sad, I listen to this band.” I say to Jungkook. He turns his head to face me. I continue.

“Well, actually, there’s a song that fits all of my moods. I feel calm when I listen to them. I don’t know why but I guess… they make me feel… better about myself.” I pause for a second and then reach for an earbud and stick it into my ear. Then I grab the other one and reach up and put it into Jungkook’s ear. I pick a song and click play. As soon as the song starts I feel Jungkook’s muscles tense. I turn to him and ask if he’s okay. He nods his head and we continue walking.

“Ni kkumeul ttaraga like breaker, buseojindaedo oh better. Ni kkumeul ttaraga like breaker, muneojindaedo oh dwiro daranajima never…” The guy who is singing is my favorite. His voice is soothing when he sings. It almost…

Melts my heart.

I stop walking. Jungkook stops and turns around.

“Your voice,” I say. “Your voice sounds like his voice.”

Jungkook stares at me and nods his head. My body starts to shake all over as I try to figure out who this person is in front of me. I take out my earbud and back away from him. I can’t make out what expression he has on his face, but I don’t want to know. Then I remember what Ji Ae told me earlier today.

“But then the boys started having insane crazy schedules and all, and… Well you know how that life is.” She said.

“You’re… You’re one of these members?” I ask him.

“Oh… Ne.” Jungkook replies.

I stare blankly at him.

All of this time. All of this time I have been listening to BTS but I never bothered to look the members up. How stupid of me. Jungkook is one of these people? He is famous?! Wait… Ji Ae’s comment earlier… is BamBam famous too?!

“I was going to tell you,” Jungkook says. “But you made it kind of hard to do that.”

“Ne...” I reply.

He wraps up the headphones and gives them to me. I grab them and put them into my bag.

We start walking in silence again until we reach my neighborhood.

“Okay, thanks for everything, see you later.” I say quickly as I try to shoo him away.

“You live in this neighborhood?” Jungkook asks.

“Me? Ne. Now go on before I punch you.” I threaten him.

“C’mon now. I walked you all the way home. Don’t I deserve to see your house?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yah!” I yell.

I try to push him away but he walks past me into my neighborhood. I give up and catch up to him. After a few minutes we arrive at Aunt and Uncle Lee’s house. I turn to him as he gazes at the mansion.

“Daebak.” Jungkook whispers.

I can’t help but laugh at his comment. He looks at me and smiles.

“Well, I’m off then.” He says.

“Wait.” I say as he starts to leave. He turns back to face me. The moon shines on his face, which makes him look paler than usual. I look at his jawline, his broad shoulders, his eyes, and then his lips. They look soft.

What are you doing?! Stop thinking like this and get on with it!

I shake the thought out of my mind and meet his eyes. “I want to thank you. For earlier.”

“Don’t mention it. If you ever need anyone’s help, or a shoulder to cry on, just let me know.” Jungkook says.

He takes my phone and puts in his number. Then we say goodbye and I walk inside. As soon as I enter I hear my Aunt and Uncle having an argument in the other room. They start yelling and cursing at each other for being so careless.

Careless? About what?

The door loudly shuts behind me. I hurry and start up the stairs when the voices stop.

“Song Nari Yeong! Dear is that you?” My Aunt asks.

“Where is that little ?!” I hear my Uncle scream.

Uh-oh. This can’t be good.

I try to walk up the stairs quietly so I can slip into my room unnoticed. I am on the fifth or sixth step when I feel someone grab the back of my shirt and yank me back. I trip and fall back onto the stairs and then slide down onto the floor. I hear my Aunt scream while my Uncle towers over me. He sways back and forth, his tie loose and crooked and his white button up shirt ed and stained. He bends down and I scrunch my nose. My Uncle reeks of liquor and soju. As I stare at him in disbelief, he stands up again and pulls me off of the ground.

“You ungrateful wench!” He booms. “I take you in after your mother’s death and this is how you thank me?!”

I scream as he grabs his half empty beer bottle and throws it on the ground in front of me. The green glass splatters into a million pieces onto the floor which reminds me of unwanted memories. I look from the ground back up to my Uncle.

“Stop it, Uncle. You’re drunk.” I say to him as he walks away.

My Aunt gasps and covers as my Uncle turns back around, eyes blazing.

“What did you just say to me?” He asks.

I stand my ground and say nothing. He stumbles towards me and slaps me square on the face. My face gets knocked to the right and my left cheek starts to burn. Then my Uncle picks me up by my shirt and throws me down. My body slams against the stairs and my head hits the railing. The last thing I hear is my Aunt screaming and crying for my Uncle to stop.