Let Me Protect You (Sahyo)

Chapter 7

“What the hell, Park.” It was the first thing she heard when she stepped into the waiting room. Momo stood up, rounding the coffee table to her. “Why are you so drenched?”

Jihyo didn’t realise how cold she was until the strong air-conditioning in the lounge hit her. She was shivering uncontrollably at that point, her lips a pale blue. The shoulder pads in her blazer were weighted down with the rainwater it had soaked up, and her hair was flat against her head.

“Rain.” She stated blankly, relenting when Momo shot her a warning look. “Fine, I’ll be more careful next time, Momo-ah, I was just busy holding the umbrella for Sana.”

“You better be.” Momo patted a seat next to the heater. “You can sit here and warm up while we wait for Sana. Take off your blazer if it's wet.”

It was. It was so soaked in rain that it actually weighed down on her shoulders. She did as told, moving herself next to the toasty warmth of the heater. There was a trail of rainwater where she walked, starkly contrasted against the carpet of the room. She peeled the blazer off herself, flinching when the air-conditioner oscillated towards her in that same moment, draping it against the other side of the radiator and hoping that it would dry before the show ended.

“Nice.” Jihyo snapped her head at the older girl’s remark, following her intent gaze down to her own torso. The white shirt she wore under her blazer was nearly translucent in the light since it was wet through, making the outline of her toned stomach visible against the material.

“You fucking pervert. Get that smirk off your face.” Jihyo let out a shriek, winding her arms around her torso for as much coverage she could give herself as possible. Momo was lucky there wasn’t anything around in their vicinity that she could launch at her.

“I’m just saying, you’ve got nice abs.” Her voice dripped with sleaziness, unsympathetic to the way the younger woman was ready to curl into a ball and die of embarrassment from all the eyes suddenly on her. “Besides, it's all girls in here, there’s no need to be shy.”

Park sent death glares her way, sitting herself far back in the seat Hirai reserved for her, and tried her best not to think about how ‘it’s all girls in here, no need to be shy’ was literally the furthest thing from reality in her eyes.

The few of them sat in silence in the room, watching the monitor and the soft speakers broadcast the show live, with an unspoken wish for it to finish soon just so that the day could end quicker.

“Jihyo, wake up.” There was a light tap on her shoulder, and she was up with a startle. Sana was looking down at her where she was hunched in on herself against the heater, her arms still wound snuggly around herself.

“Sana-sshi, what are you doing here, what time is it?” She rubbed at her puffy eyes, disorientated.

“Time for dinner.” Sana replied, turning to accept the more comfortable set of clothes to change into from Momo. “And also, why didn’t you tell me you were caught in the rain earlier? We could’ve taken shelter indoors sooner.”

“I didn’t even realise myself.” She said sheepishly, reaching for her blazer without taking her other hand away from her still rather see-through shirt.

“This is what I mean when I say that you don’t give a shit about yourself, Jihyo.” The words were sharp, thrown out at her like knives. As soon as the words left her mouth, Sana stilled, closing her eyes for just a moment to regain her composure. She swallowed around nothing, softening her tone before continuing.

“Please just remember to take care of yourself and don’t let people around you worry.” Jihyo would not look her in the eyes, busying her hands with smoothing out the wrinkles on her blazer. It wasn’t guilt that was holding her back, but the way those initial words still stung a little. She gave an almost imperceptible nod just as a resort for the older girl to let the matter go, but the tension still hung in between them in a precarious balance.