Yoongi was quite skillful when it came to throwing punches. His boxing training paid off very well in these type of situations. Even though it was one against roughly 12 people, he was doing pretty good.
He knew all the right places he had to hit to eliminate his opponents. A broken nose, a firm kick in the privates or a steady blow right between the shoulder blades and they were knocked out for a good amount of time. Yoongi was a good fighter, there was no denying that, but this was not a movie. In reality, it did not occur that one man won against 12.
"You mother fucking bastard, how dare you lay a finger on me, huh?" the man with the bleeding nose yelled, grabbing Yoongi by the collar and throwing a punch at his face.
And so Yoongi was receiving harsh blows from left and right. His lip and eyebrow were busted open. Jangmi was panicking as she watched Yoongi stumble to the ground. Her hands were so sweaty and shaky that she struggled to hold her phone as she dialed the emergency number. But before she could hit the call button, the sound of sirens echoed in the night air. The police must be on patrol again. Thank god.
The havoc died down within seconds as the men scurried away hastily. They made sure to spat out vicious threats, to clarify that none had won the fight yet. Yoongi got up from the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood before he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Jangmi stared at him in disbelief as he walked to her as if nothing had just happened, taking her hand. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were a mess, covered in blood and dirt. Despite the state his face was in, he looked so unfazed and unaffected that it completely unsettled Jangmi.
Yoongi called the elevator, still holding Jangmi's hand loosely in his. It was not of the romantic sort of hand holding. He hadn't intertwined their fingers or anything, he had rather clasped his fingers around her hand like a cuff. Yet, it made her feel safe. She knew he would protect her at all cost after what she had witnessed tonight. Not knowing how to process this revelation or how to categorize it, she blanked it out in her mind for the time being.
The elevator arrived and they got in. Yoongi let go of her hand as he leaned his back against the elevator wall, closing his eyes to rest for a brief moment. He hadn't expected to get into a fight after his 8 hour shift.
Jangmi leaned against the wall opposite to him, observing him quietly.
"Quit staring already" he murmured, without opening his eyes. Baffled, Jangmi cleared her throat.
"I wasn't staring" she intervened, cheeks burning red.
"Are you okay?" he then asked in a calm voice, eyes still shut.
Why was he asking about her when he was the one who had gotten beaten up?
"I am fine" she answered, "But that doesn't matter, are you ok-"
"Your hands are still shaking" he said. Looking down at your trembling fingers, you bit your bottom lip. How did he know?
"Does your ankle hurt? You must have gotten your cast removed only recently" he went on. Jangmi's heart sank.
"Yoongi" she softly said, making his eyes flutter open slowly. Their eyes met.
Before Jangmi could say anything, the elevator stopped with a ping sound, the doors sliding open.
The both of them stayed still for a moment, waiting for the other to say something. But as none of them spoke, Yoongi stepped out of the elevator. Jangmi followed.
Taking out his keys, Yoongi was about to unlock his door when he felt two arms snake around his waist from behind. Freezing on the spot, Yoongi halted in his actions.
Jangmi hugged him tightly, the side of her face flush against his back.
"Yoongi thank you so much" she said, her trembling voice cracking in the end. Yoongi's heart clenched painfully, as he felt overwhelmed. Memories flooded his mind and he found it hard to stay connected to reality. Jangmi's weak arms wrapped around his torso triggered an avalanche inside of him to break loose, causing him to shut down instantaneously.
His breathing got heavy and his ears were ringing. He wanted to push her away and escape her embrace, but he felt unable to move.
Meanwhile, Jangmi felt Yoongi tense up underneath her touch. Sensing his discomfort, she immediately let go of him, snapping out of the sentiment that had engulfed her in the spur of the moment.
"I-I am sorry" she stammered, ashamed. Yoongi still was frozen, failing to register her words.
"Yoongi" she called out to him, noticing he was absent-minded. Finally snapping back to reality, he turned around facing her.
"Huh?" he asked, sounding confused. For the first time Jangmi could read a different feeling other than rage or disinterest in his face. Vulnerability. His dark brown orbs holding a pure almost childish look.
"You are bleeding" Jangmi pointed out.
"It's no big deal, I can take care of it" he said.
"Are you sure? Let me help you at least" she offered, feeling truly guilty. Yoongi exhaled slowly. He was so exhausted.
"I have had enough of you for today, just leave me alone and I will be fine" he suddenly snapped, his gaze hardening again as his demeanor darkened, turning back to his usual self. Jangmi felt a chill go down her spine as she firsthand experienced this transition in Yoongi. Feeling hurt by his words, she felt at a loss for words.
"Okay" she almost inaudibly said, turning her gaze down to the ground in shame. Yoongi watched her, feeling his chest tighten. Jangmi hesitantly turned to her door, clumsily taking our her keys from her purse and unlocking her door. She went inside without glancing at Yoongi once, shutting the door and locking it again from the inside. Yoongi felt at ease, knowing she had locked her door and was safe inside her apartment.
Getting into his own apartment, he headed straight for the bathroom. Stripping off his clothes, he turned on the shower and sat in the tub, letting the water rain down on him to cool off his head. The open cuts on his face burned like hell with the contact of water, but he couldn't care less. He was more shaken up by the fact that Jangmi had held him rather than having gotten beaten into a pulp. Sadly, he was more used to fights than he was to affection - at least since then. Since she had left.
Meanwhile, next door, Jangmi had crawled into her bed without changing her clothes. She felt empty inside as she buried her face in her duvet, tears burning in her eyes.
Why did he always make her feel so little?
Pressing his eyes shut, Yoongi could still feel her arms around his waist, her face against his back. Clenching his fists, he felt his chin tremble, tears forming in his eyes.
Why was it so hard to forget?
*A/N this chapter gave me the chills. Hope you are enjoying this novel so far :) I will try to post again on the weekend!
