promised - kim namjoon

four

"Namjoon," Tsai sighed, looking at the grey haired boy next to her, "don't smoke when you're around me."

Namjoon was in the middle of lighting a cigarette when Tsai spoke to him. The two of them were standing outside of the subway station, two weeks after their meetup at the coffee shop (Tsai refused to call it a date, so Namjoon just rolled his eyes and said it was a friendly meetup. The air was crisp and cold and Tsai was buried underneath three layers of sweaters and a coat, but she could still feel the freezing air around her. 

"Why can't I smoke?" Namjoon asked, his lighter already in his hand, "it's cold as hell out here."

"Namjoon, if you're cold, pull your scarf over your face more and put your hands in your pockets," Tsai rolled her eyes. "Just don't smoke, please, it makes me feel sick and my lungs hurt."

The subway train pulls up in front of the two of them and Namjoon subconsciously puts an arm out in front of Tsai since they were right behind the safety line for the train. He knew it was her first time on this subway since she came to Taiwan, so he didn't exactly know what to expect from Tsai while they were traveling. 

Tsai and Namjoon sat next to each other once the train's doors opened. A older man also walked into the train behind them. The man was white and large and chubby and his face looked dirty, his teeth a disgusting shade of yellow. He smelled of smoke and garbage, and wore a simple black T-Shirt and jeans despite the cold.

The man seated himself on the left of Tsai in the empty seat, and immediately scanned her body with his eyes before coughing harshly and looking in front of him.

"You see him?" Tsai said in Korean, "If you keep smoking, you'll end up looking like him. Do you want that?"

"White people age and look old by the time they're twenty," Namjoon joked, resulting in Tsai gasping and slapping his arm roughly.

"What's your name?" The man asked Tsai, his yellow teeth pulled into a smile. Tsai innocently looked at the ground and tried to hold in her laughter.

"S-Sorry," She said in a soft tone, "I do not speak English."

Namjoon covered his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from laughing out loud at the man, but his chuckle managed to slip out.

"It's alright, pretty girl," the man laughed, "you just need to be pretty and everything works out."

Tsai gagged a little and the man took it as a giggle, since he patted her thigh before looking away for a minute. 

Namjoon scanned Tsai's body and how close she was to him before whispering in her ear: "Sit closer to me, that man is undressing you with his eyes."

Tsai looked up and saw the old man looking her up and down as Namjoon protectively put an arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer so the man would get the idea they were together in a way. Tsai scoffed, looking at Namjoon.

"You act as if you're different than him. Aren't you doing the same?" Tsai muttered to Namjoon. She quietly thanked God that she could speak Korean.

"Don't compare me to him, that's such an insult," Namjoon retorted. "Besides, would you rather me look you up and down, or this man?"

Tsai stayed silent, and Namjoon hummed, knowing Tsai had chosen him over the gross man on her left. "I won't stay like this for long, just for the train ride to my work place. Deal?"

Tsai quickly nodded as the man coughed roughly again, and she moved as close as she could to Namjoon, as the man spat onto the floor. Namjoon looked away, and Tsai closed her eyes, praying that the train ride would come to an end soon.