Her Astronaut

no. 1

The cool night air nipped at Nova's nose, eliciting a sigh of frustration.

Growing up in the desert of the American Southwest made her more susceptible to the cold. Thankfully, her warm, cozy layers made the cold weather more bearable.

It didn't mean she had to enjoy it, though.

"Nova, my love, this is NYC. Not the Arctic." teased Jo Yeong, the off-duty bodyguard who walked alongside her.

His entire appearance was the complete antithesis of Nova's. While she was cozy and bundled, he was dressed to impress. He wore black trousers that fit his body like a glove, fashion-forward combat boots, and a simple black leather coat. It may have been fur-lined, but it was still a fraction of the layers of what Nova had on.

Then there was Nova with a beanie covering her head and not a speck of makeup except sunscreen. On the other hand, Yeong had subtle makeup, and half of his shoulder-length hair was pulled up into a messy man bun.

"Desert rat here, okay?" she smacked his shoulder before returning her focus to the sidewalk.

Thanks to a lull in their schedule, the two friends chose to walk through the streets of NYC. Taking in the sights before the crowds would descend into the city for the upcoming NYE celebrations in two days. Both were in town for the same event: j-hope's performance at Rockin' New Years.

Nova Kim had accepted a job as a travel manager for BigHit Music earlier in the year. Her expertise in event planning and people management came in handy when their two groups, TXT and the global sensation BTS, had schedules in the United States. Although there was an open invitation for her to work out of Seoul, she had settled on focusing on the events in the States for the two K-pop groups.

For now.

Yeong was initially hired by an outside company as a contract employee in the spring as artist security for BTS' Las Vegas concerts. Once that contract was finished, he was quickly hired as a full-time employee through HYBE. He had left quite the impression on not just management but the artists themselves. Recently back into civilian life after five years serving in the special forces of the South Korean military, he was still pinching himself at how this job opportunity practically fell into his lap.

Among other things.

With both of them being employed by the same company, they found themselves working together more often than not. But their relationship went beyond work.

Yeong had become one of Nova's closest confidants, and vice versa: there were no romantic entanglements, just pure friendship with the deepest level of trust. Yeong had protected and watched over Nova during one of her most vulnerable moments while she was privy to the closely guarded secrets surrounding his personal life.

Besides, they didn't bat for the same team.

"Elmo is glaring at me," Yeong whispered, grabbing Nova's elbow to position himself between her and the sketchy street performer.

Nova couldn't help but snort. "It's a rite of passage, dude. Welcome to NYC." She shrugged her shoulders, trying to suppress a laugh.

Yeong picked up the pace and pulled Nova closer as they worked through the crowd. Turning his head toward her, he smirked, deciding to tease his friend.

Although he spent most of his teenage years in the States, Yeong grew up accustomed to South Korean winters. This also included the better part of six different winters participating in multi-day outdoor training and marches while he was enlisted. Anything above freezing was enjoyable to him.

"Dude, this is balmy. I could sunbathe in it," he smirked.

"Be my guest." She glanced at him with an unimpressed side-eye. "Feel free to freeze your balls on the rooftop patio of our hotel while I cozy up under the covers and finally defeat the fucking Lurking Steel Titan. God damn oversized worm."