Reserved [Book V]

Trigger

Monday.

Areum surmised she was the only person in the room who wanted the clock hung on the wall, right above the whiteboard, to stop ticking. She wanted people to slow down, moments to pause, words of her professor to stay still midair so she could have more minutes to think and more seconds to devise an escape plan.

Areum bowed and shook her head, eyes shut tight. None of it was happening. She and Hongbin had won against Hakyeon, Jaehwan and Wonshik, and Hongbin's girlfriend would be invited later for Chinese hotpot. Stuff went according to planned and her three oldest brothers had been convinced that she would be perfectly fine without a person watching over her.

But just as Areum snapped back to reality and her professor announced dismissal, the little vision of what she wished for was gone with the wind. She and Hongbin were losers and besides not getting hotpot for dinner, she would be meeting whoever Jaehwan had talked to today.

The very instant her second brother told them about this... person – Areum thought 'bodyguard' or 'protector dude' was rude and inappropriate – her mind worked a hundred miles per hour. How did Jaehwan find him? Where did Jaehwan find him? How did they know each other? What kind of black magic did her brother practice just to persuade this guy to do the job?

There were too many questions and Jaehwan answered too few of them, and it definitely did not help with Hakyeon and Wonshik being too satisfied with the idea that Areum could only ask too little. She didn't even know the person's name, Jaehwan claiming it would be a better introduction if she found that out herself. He said it would be something to talk about, something other than the fact that if Areum didn't find a quick reason to ditch this meeting, she would be asking the same questions she asked her brother.

Her siblings' protectiveness had gone a mile too long.

She went out of the room with heavy feet and a poem in hand, a new piece she would submit to Luna. The only relief Areum had for the next few minutes came when her bad eyes spotted a blurry Do Kyung-soo clad in one of his sweaters, black and red plaid. He smiled as he noticed her presence, cute and all, sight going down to the paper she was holding.

"You're here." He began.

Areum returned the smile, something a bit too delightful caused by her situation. Everything had turned cold thanks to her overprotective brothers, something similar to winter, and only Kyungsoo was spring. Coincidental, yes, because her new chunk of poetry was about spring and Areum wished it wasn't Monday yet so she could write about spring and Kyungsoo instead of just spring.

"I was waiting for you." Kyungsoo added and Areum felt her ears heat up. Thankfully, her hair was down and the boy wouldn't suspect a thing. "Is that your new poem?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Why were you waiting? Luna only posts my work on Tuesdays."

"I was hungry." His laugh was awkward and Areum just wanted to grin from ear to ear when his hand flew up his nape, eyes not able to focus on hers. "Uh... are you hungry, too? Meals are more enjoyable with company."

That was it. Areum would collapse in a millisecond if she didn't give herself a minute to relax. She had always been like this whenever Kyungsoo stated something sweet or asked her to accompany him so in attempt to not screw up anything, Areum smiled and said her carefully chosen words.

"I'll get back to you on that. Just let me pass this poem first." She spun on her heel in a jiffy when Kyungsoo nodded and Areum hurriedly entered the office, approaching Luna's desk.

Luna was talking on her phone and gestured for Areum to sit down, which she did and while the older girl signaled to give her a second, Areum pulled her own phone out and sent a text to Jaehwan.