Reserved [Book V]

Orders

My weekend should be filled with studying and my fingers tapping repeatedly on either my laptop or typewriter. Instead, I'm out of my pajamas, vexed with whatever's going to happen today. I should be feeding Nog in two hours. Instead, I told one of my brothers to do it for me. I should be writing a new poem. Instead, I'm writing here because of my worries, just like I always do.

It shouldn't be this way. My weekends should be weekends I like, days I can relax without anything clouding my head. I shouldn't be thinking of explaining why he dragged me out of the gym without saying anything clear. I shouldn't even be thinking of explaining myself to anybody, and yet here I am, composing paragraphs upon paragraphs of justification instead of rhyming lines.

And I should, most of all, know what my brothers had gotten me into. But he didn't seem like he would answer any of my questions like he should. Ridiculous it is to think that I should read the situation like a first-grader's work of poetry, but I'm most clueless, and I shouldn't be.

***

Zitao was given an address and he knew it was more convenient. Picking Areum up from home would be better in both parts than meeting her someplace else in town, for he was told about an unlucky incident one night wherein she was chased down by street thugs while waiting for a bus.

If he was a street thug himself and happened to spot her in the same situation, he wouldn't think twice about victimizing the girl. Areum was the perfect target; flimsy, holds her stuff too close to her body, eyes everywhere when a stranger is near. Zitao reckoned that what attracted those men most of all, Areum's a pretty face. Hadn't Zitao been familiar with bad news of harassment on TV, he'd stupidly think that her wallet was the only thing they were after.

Jaehwan – sort of – hired him to prevent that from ever happening. If she's hurt in any way, Zitao is dead meat.

At first he thought it'd be a pain in the neck but as it turned out, he might've been wrong. He had no idea if Areum's just naïve or naturally submissive, but she hadn't went against what he says and the process works. There was this certain pattern: she'd protest but would let him get his way nonetheless, just like the time she obliged to going out of the gym and leaving Kyungsoo, even if she obviously wanted to stay.

Zitao, admittedly, felt like a winner, not because Areum's letting him drag her around but because that PE day, having Areum seemed like a competition between him and Kyungsoo. The shorter guy is his friend – or former friend, whatever the case is – but Zitao is Zitao, and Zitao, if challenged, never backs down. Kyungsoo likes the girl, fine, but Zitao had a huge debt to pay. If Areum is safe and the price for that is Kyungsoo's pain, then so be it.

The slightly younger boy would still do what he was supposed to do.

He parked the shining black car in front of the apartment building before typing on his phone. Zitao stepped out of the vehicle and leaned on the door after closing it, hands in either pocket while he waited for Areum to come down.

It wasn't difficult to spot her behind the glass doors, mainly because there weren't many people at all and she was the lone one with her head down. Areum came out of the building and smiled as a greeting, only to meet a less-than-happy Zitao, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at her from head to toe.

"What the hell are you wearing?" He asked, a little crease on his forehead forming. Areum's smile melted right away and she looked down at her outfit; a large black tank top, blue jeans and loafers.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked meekly. "I didn't wear a jacket anymore. The weather's nice."

"Change out of the denim." He ordered. Her frown got visible and visible by the second.