Remember me || JHS ||

8.

Hobi POV:

I knock on my boss's door and wait for him to answer before I enter.

He is sitting at a large desk, which is full of papers, his reading glasses on his nose and a document still in his hand.

As I enter he looks up and pushes his glasses down on his nose.

"Oh Hoseok my dear, what can I do for you?" he gives me a smile and with a motion of his hand tells me to take a seat on the chair across from him.

I sit down and explain to him that an friend of mine has just come into the café, that she is not feeling very well and that I would like to accompany her home.

He nods his head in understanding, then looks at his watch and then at our shift schedule.

"I don't think there's a problem, don't worry, you don't have to make up the work time, just make sure she's feeling better. If not, just call and I'll give you the time off."

I stand up and bow slightly. "Thank you, that's very kind. I'll be going now then."

He nods and turns his attention back to his papers.

I grab my things and head to Yn's table.

Arrived, I sit down with her and examine her.

Her face has become even paler than before and she is trembling.

I pack her food and coffee into a brown paper bag, which I fetched from the counter, and help her up.

YN POV:

After wrapping up my food, he helps me stand up, says goodbye to his colleagues with a wave, and leads me out the door of the café.

"Hoseok, what are you doing?" "I'm taking you home." Comes back a short reply. "I can walk by myself" I say and stubbornly stand still.

He laughs, "Don't be a child, I'll take you home. I don't want anything else to happen to you because you might tip over in the street."

"You don't even know where I live. How do you know we don't have to drive?" I ask him.

"I've seen you walk a few times, that's how I know. And as for where you live, you'll have to tell me now, willy-nilly."

No longer having the strength to argue further, I just nod and let him drag me along.

-

"Over there, the white house. That's where we have to go." I point weakly with my index finger to the house, he nods and pulls me along.

Arriving in front of the door, he wants to let go of me so that I can dig my key out of my pocket. However, he tightens his grip again as I slump down a bit.

He helps me up the stairs to my apartment. In front of my apartment, he sits me down on the stairs and takes off my shoes.

I hand him the key and he unlocks the door, helps me take off my jacket and leads me to my sofa.

After putting a blanket over me, he turns on the heat and walks into my kitchen.

He puts a glass in front of me and looks for something in his backpack, he finds it and puts a tablet next to the water glass.

"A headache tablet, take it. I'll make you soup."

He walks back toward my kitchen and I hear him opening and closing cabinets, probably looking for a pot.

It's not long before my eyelids grow heavy and I can't keep them open. I drift off into a dreamless sleep and the noises slowly fade away.

I wake up to someone shaking me by the shoulder. At first I am confused, why do I have to get up, do I have a lecture? But who would wake me up?

I open my eyes and am first confused when I see Hoseok smiling at me.

"Yn, I made you soup. Eat before it gets cold." He says as he hands me a bowl and a spoon. I mumble a thank you and start slurping my soup.

The taste is familiar, but I know I've never eaten anything like it.

"Do you like it?" he looks at me expectantly. In response, I give him a nod and he starts to smile.

"I used to make the soup for my best friend when she was sick." He tells me joyfully, but his smile falls, however I don't have the nerve to ask him why it makes him sad.

As soon as I finish eating, I put the bowl on my table and my gaze falls on the umbrella still leaning against the wall next to my door." Your umbrella is next to the door, you can take it later. Thanks again." He just nods.

I fumble at my clothes for my cell phone but can't find it, Hoseok seems to have noticed that I'm looking for something and looks at me questioningly.

"Hoseok can you hand me my bag please?" He is about to stand up when he pauses. "Yn, can you please not call me Hoseok? It feels kind of weird."

I look at him in wonder. "And what else should I call you? Oppa, maybe? "His cheeks turn slightly red and he quickly shakes his head. "No, just call me by my nickname, Hobi."

Since I still don't really have the strength to say anything against it, I just nod. He smiles and then turns around to get me my bag.

He hands it to me, I fish out my phone and drop the bag on the floor, the attachment for MiCha slips out, but I don't care.

While I'm looking for messages from SooHyun, Hobi's eyes fall on the stack of papers. He bends down and pulls it out of my pocket.

I don't even notice him flipping through it and then looking at me in disbelief. "Yn?" I hum in response, but don't look at him.

"What is that?" He asks in a serious voice, holding the paper under my nose. My heart stops for a moment, but I don't let it show. "Oh this? This is an essay from MiCha." I say, trying to sound normal.

"And why did you have it?" "She left it and I, as her friend, took it to give it to her." I see doubt in his eyes and he scrutinizes my face for a moment, trying to find a hint that I'm lying.

He nods slightly and places the essay on the table between us.

"Yn, let me give you some advice. No matter how much someone asks you to do something, first consider if that person would do it for you." I want to retort something but he keeps talking. "I don't care if that was the truth just now or not. I just want to urge you not to believe MiCha too much. You don't know who she is."

"Oh and you know her better or what?" I get angry, how dare he talk bad about my friend.

"Yn, it's just a good advice." He puts his hand on mine, which is actually a reassuring gesture but I panic, it feels like I know him but at the same time he's a complete stranger. A stranger who is sitting in my apartment right now, who is telling me to stay away from my friend, a stranger with whom I have been forced into a group activity.

I pull my hand away and slide further back against the back of my sofa.

There's a brief look of pain on his face but it's gone as quickly as it came.

"I'm going to go now, write to me about the group work."

"Hoseok..." He turns to me and looks at me with raised eyebrows.

"Um, Hobi..." I can't believe it, now I'm doing him the favor of calling him by his nickname. "Don't forget your umbrella and get home safely."

He smiles and calls out a bye to me, then takes the umbrella and leaves my apartment.

I called him Hobi and it doesn't feel weird, more familiar, as if I've always done it. ....strange .