The Hidden Treasure

~14~

Jinjoo was surprised to see a "Closed" sign on the door, Hyejin chatting with a stranger, and two other strangers giggling and talking in the manga corner.

"Hyejin, what's with the sign on the door?" She laid her bag on the counter and walked over to the girl she considered as her own.

"Ah, Auntie Jinjoo, I have someone I want you to meet." She stood and walked over beside her aunt. "This is my old friend from highschool, Kim Namjoon. He's been coming here for a little bit, but he used the name Kim Taehyung instead."

"That's actually me!" Taehyung perked up and raised a hand in his corner.

Jinjoo looked back at him and then looked at the man who stood up from the overstuffed chair. "Hello, my name is Kim Namjoon and I am an old friend of Hyejin's. It's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed respectfully to the older woman and Hyejin smiled at his politeness.

"Nice to meet you," Jinjoo said skeptically.

Hyejin heard the off tone of her voice and she tried to smooth things over quickly. "Ah, he had seen my class picture on the wall behind the counter during his first visit and was a bit embarrassed to let his real identity be known. You see, um, he's an idol rapper of a pretty popular group." Hyejin cleared her throat and smiled nervously. Jinjoo didn't care one ounce for K-Pop and would not be more impressed by Namjoon's current job description.

"Mm. I see. You still could have used your real name. What's the point in hiding from her?" Jinjoo did not trust someone who would hide their identity for no good reason.

Taehyung and Megan were eavesdropping from their corner and Taehyung frowned slightly. "I don't think she likes him."

"Maybe she needs time to warm up to him, don't you think?" Megan kept her eyes glued to the situation in the opposite corner and chewed on her bottom lip. Hyejin had actually looked really happy while she was talking to her old friend. However, she considered Jinjoo to be her adoptive mom, so in theory the older woman could easily put a stop to whatever was transpiring a few moments ago.

"Namjoon is not just an idol rapper. There's so much more than just that to this guy. I really admire him and look up to him." Taehyung felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like confrontation and tense situations.

"Auntie, my friend here and I were going to go get some coffee and catch up with each other. I'll help you open up before I go though." She smiled warmly at the older woman who had yet to take her eyes off the young man in front of her. Suddenly, she jerked her gaze to Hyejin and smiled tightly.

"It's fine. I can handle it. You've already cleaned, right?"

"Pretty much. I don't think it really needs anything else." Hyejin kept her face bright in hopes of thawing out her cold aunt with her smile.

"Hm. I've seen a lot of articles about crazy fans. Do they follow you a lot?" She kept her narrow eyed gaze on Namjoon, making him fidget slightly in his place.

"No, ma'am. Not really." He ducked his head and found it hard to stay strong under the intense gaze of this woman. In his heart he knew she was just looking out for Hyejin's best interest considering she was her aunt, but he found it very hard to not get offended at her judgmental attitude towards him when she really didn't know him at all.

Taehyung sighed in the back corner. Megan looked over at him and frowned. "What's the matter," she whispered.

"I can see it on his face. He's a bit...how would you say it...perturbed? He hates being judged for his career. Oh man." He rested on his knees and laid one hand on the floor beside him with his other hand covering his mouth. He really hated situations like this.