Anchorage › Bae Jinyoung

e i g h t

"This was... actually nice. Thank you for the afternoon."

Their little ice cream hang out lasted longer than either of them expected. As Jiho and Jinyoung sat together, enjoying their delicious cold treat, they chatted about anything that happened. While the high school lass was hesitant to tell Jinyoung anything about the happenings at school in fear he'd tell Jihoon, the idol did most of the talking. It was a pleasant surprise to see the depicted, quiet boy talking so much to her about the adventures with his members.

And to make it slightly better, Jinyoung made sure to avoid talking about her brother, as he knew well about the tension between them. Jiho highly appreciated it.

But now, they knew they had to stop chatting when they noticed the skies above them changing colors; orange and pink hues greeting them gradually.

It's kind of amazing that, for once, Jiho didn't want to rush straight home.

"I should start getting home before it gets too dark," Jiho uttered, suddenly feeling sheepish in the idol's presence. "Seriously, thank you for buying. If we... ever get to meet again, I'll pay for the next one."

"You don't have to." Jinyoung rubbed the nape of his neck, looking just as shy as Jiho felt. He looked as if he want to say something to her, so she looked up at him expectedly. "I can take you home."

This brought a million emotions to the poor girl. She tried to find the right words to say at the moment. She was torn from allowing this or to send him on his own way.

What was with this sudden selfishness?

"But it's not that far," Jiho replied. "I can walk home just fine..."

"Still, I think I would regret it if I don't see you home safely..."

Jiho felt weak for the boy. He was just worried. It wouldn't hurt if they walked together, right? Just as she was about to agree to his terms, an older woman had popped out of seemingly nowhere. Once Jinyoung saw her, a look of bewilderment crossed his face. "Dahee-noona!" He burst out.

The younger stared at the woman that approached them. This Dahee looked like she was suppressing something, but who was Jiho to say when she only just met her. And judging how Jinyoung was acting this way, she must be someone he knows well.

Jiho quickly bowed to the woman. "Oh, ah, hello," she greeted her in a soft voice, quite caught off by the intense gaze Dahee was giving her. Now that she was really staring at her, she recognized her as someone she had seen at YMC Entertainment. "I'm Park Ji--"

"I know," Dahee interjected before Jiho could finish her introduction. "You're Jihoon's sister. Hi." After saying that, she turned towards Jinyoung. Jiho only blew up her cheeks and watched the woman staring at Jinyoung intensely.

"I was, well, looking for you because you were taking so long. It's time to go back. You have practice to attend." Dahee said calmly, ignoring the look Jiho was giving her.

Ah, so Jinyoung has practice, Jiho thought to herself. She gulped and piped up, "You should get going then. I wouldn't want you to be late."

"B-But, it isn't until an hour," Jinyoung answered with a small frown. He turned towards the older girl, his expression somewhat filled with fright. "I-I'm sorry, noona, but could you allow me to walk Jiho-yah home?"

Dahee held a stern expression. "I don't know about you, but I think you've been gone long enough."

Yikes.

"Jinyoung," Jiho murmured, reaching over to pat the boy's shoulder for reassurance. "I'll really be fine. I've walked through here plenty of times, I'll be home safe before you know it."