Golden ◂ NCT Jaemin

23 ◂ Sweater

Seonghwa ☆

◂ 23 ▸

"I can be your boyfriend," Seonghwa offered politely as he took Jie's bag and went ahead, held the door for her.

She smiled. "Woah," she pushed out in surprise. "I'm honoured that the great Park Seonghwa would sacrifice himself for me," she joked.

She stepped past him and out of the bar, keys in her hands.

"I'm serious and you know that," he retorted, keeping his eyes on her. "Some of these guys - they won't accept a no unless you are clear about it. I don't want them to target you."

"Pretending to be your girlfriend won't help. It's not like they care," she said as she watched him leave the establishment. He stood next to her, waited patiently for her to lock the door.

"You could at least give it a try," he urged. His deep voice blended in smoothly with the clinking of the keys that Jie turned in the lock. "This area is trashy and so are the people in it."

She hummed. "I'll take good care of myself," she reassured him as she put the keys in her beg. "Isn't that enough?"

"No," Seonghwa declined quickly. "You need to at least promise to call me if you need help." 

She took a deep breath as she buried her hands in the pockets of the sweater she was wearing. As she inhaled, the familiar scent of his perfume filled her lungs. It stained the air around her, made her feel surprisingly comfortable. 

Eyes on Seonghwa, she easily spotted his worry. He wasn't exactly wrong to feel this way, yet it bothered her when he kept his eyes on her like this. 

"Okay," she gave in eventually. "I promise." 

"What do you promise?" Jaemin asked as he walked up to them. He stopped next to Jie, effortlessly attracting the two co-workers' attention.

Seonghwa frowned at the younger boy and moved a little closer to Jie who quickly noticed his cautious glare. She pulled at the back of his jacket, telling him to stop.

"To call Seonghwa when a customer harasses me again," she explained to Jaemin, then turned to the oldest of the three with a smile. "He's a friend."

"I know," Seonghwa said but added a mumbled, "I still don't like him."

Which Jaemin chose to ignore. Instead, he focused his attention on Jie. 

"'Again'?" he questioned. "Whose sweater is that?" 

Jie looked down, pulled at its hem to adjust its position. "Seonghwa's," she said before she looked up and added, "A customer spilt a drink on my blouse." 

Even after that, the mood remained tense. Seonghwa never took his eyes off Jaemin and Jaemin was indecisive whether or not he should glare at him or her. 

"You two should really get along," Jie noted. 

Rolling his eyes, Jaemin turned away from them and towards his car. 
"I came to pick you up." 

Jie hummed, smiling in appreciation. "Thanks."

"Do you mind if your friend comes along?" he then asked. "I feel like we should talk." 

Which seemed to surprise Jie more than Seonghwa since he kept a straight face and barely even reacted at all. He merely looked at her to see her reaction. 

Figuring she wouldn't understand what was going on for now anyway, she just shrugged. 

"Sure," she agreed. Seeing the two boys hesitate, she then decided to just let them be. She walked towards the car, opened the door on the passenger side and slipped in.