•••
I just look at him and smile. Then we decide that it's finally time go to sleep. But we cannot fall asleep, both of us, so we decide to watch a movie which is when we finally fall asleep.
•••
A couple months later
Tomorrow finally the summer break starts and I'm done with 10th year of school, just two more left. I was actually supposed to be in the 11th year but I started school a year late.
Next day, after school
I leave school a little happy and Yoongi is waiting for me. He says, "Well...now it's a few months off again, right??" I say, "Mhm. But I want to go to 12th grade, not 11th grade. What should I do??" Yoongi hands me an ice cream and says, "Well...you know, it's possible to skip a grade during the summer." I say, "I know. But I'm not smart enough." Yoongi says, "I can help you." I ask, "Really??" Yoongi nods.
At the end of the summer
I walk into the vice principal's office and say, "Hello, Teacher Kim. You called." She says, "Well, yeah. I've been compiling the results, and...they're positive. You're going to 12th grade." I ask, "Seriously??Thanks a lot." She says, "Well...so. You already know everything, what, where, and how. Then I'll see you in a week." I nod.
I leave the school and Yoongi, who's waiting for me there, says, "Well. Thank you." Yoongi says, "You did it." I say, "We did it. Thanks." Yoongi says, "Well. Now you owe me fifteen lunch boxes." I ask, "Wait, are you serious??" Yoongi says, "Absolutely. I teach you, you feed me." I say, "Okay. You're disgusting. Let's go."
I push him away weakly, smile, and run away, saying, "But then you have to catch me first." Yoongi starts running after me and asks, "Are you challenging me??" I say, "No, I'm training you." Yoongi says, "You don't need to train me. I'm fine." I say, "Lazy ass."Yoongi says, "That's a misnomer. I'd rather say - brilliant and smart and handsome guy who doesn't like being active..." I say, "Egoistic." He smirks and then we go to eat.
About a week later
I'm walking home from a late night walk, it's about 11pm. I'm walking down a small, narrow street when I hear a voice behind me saying: "Hello, sweetheart." I pick up the pace, but the voice says: "So, where are you running to, sweetheart??"
I want to walk even faster, but I notice that there's a dead end at the end of the street...the street ends there, because there's a big brick wall in front of me. I stop at the wall and the owner of the voice comes up to me. It's a drunk man with a bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He drops the bottle and cigarette and pushes me against the wall.
I feel his breath on my face, it smells of alcohol and cigarettes. I don't say anything because I'm scared. He puts his hand under my sweater, saying: "Let's play, sweetheart?? Don't worry, you'll like it." I try to push him away from me, but he's strong. He presses his face against mine, trying to kiss me, but I turn my face away.
He says, "Come on, come on. Don't fight back." He grabs my face with one hand and turns it to his. He says, "Come on, honey. Want to have some fun?? I promise you'll enjoy it." He tries to shove his hand under my shirt, but I knee him in the crotch and start to run away. But he grabs my hair and pulls it, saying, "Not so fast, little bitch. You're going to stay here and satisfy me."He pushes me back against the wall and grabs my face, trying to kiss me. I spit in his face, he wipes the saliva and slaps me across the face. I clutch my cheek in pain. He opens his pants with one hand and is about to take them off when suddenly someone pulls him away from me. I don't dare move yet and my eyes are tightly closed, I hear the drunkard say: "What the hell??"
Then I hear someone punch the drunkard in the face and start: "Get out of here before I call the police. Get out." Then I hear quick footsteps moving away. The owner of the voice comes up to me and hugs me, saying: "Min Jee. Min Jee. Everything is okay now." I open my eyes and there's Yoongi standing. I look at him and hug him tightly. I don't even notice at what moment, but I start to cry. He strokes my hair and says: "That's it, that's it. He's already gone."I say: "Thank you." He ends the hug and takes my face in his hands. He says: "Never say thank you for things like that." Then he wipes my tears and says, "Let's go. I'll walk you home." I nodded and started to calm down.
At home
Yoongi sits me down and makes me some tea. I tell him and then he asks, "How are you feeling??" I mumble, "Better. Thank you." Yoongi sits down next to me, hugs me and says, "Remember. You don't say thank you for things like that." Then he picks up the phone and orders food. While we wait for the food, Yoongi says, "Min Jee, this is why I DON'T WANT you to walk around at night. If you want to go somewhere, text me. I'll go with you."
I look at him and ask, "Don't you have anything better to do with your life than take care of a minor, bored child??" Yoongi asks, "Are you saying you're a child??" I say, "Well I mean....I guess. But don't you have a job or college or something??"
Yoongi replies, "Well, I work part-time at a recording studio. And I compose in my free time. But it's nothing serious." I say, "Wait, what?? You have to show me your compositions." Yoongi says, "No. They're not good." I say, "I don't believe you." He sighs.
A few days later
My classes are over and I pull out my phone, about to call Yoongi, but then I hear someone come up to me and say, "Did you miss me??" I look up and there's Yoongi standing there with a sweet smile. I smile too and hug him. Then I say, "Of course, oppa. How can you not miss me??"
He hugs me back and then says, "You were definitely going to call me, right?? You don't have any other friends." I say, "Ouch. But yeah, I was just going to call you." He laughs and I say, "Okayy, oppa. Now we're going to have three weeks off. Do you have any plans for next week??"He sighs and says, "That's why I'm here. You said several times that you wanted to see what I do in my free time." I smile and ask, "Seriously, oppa?? Yes. Finally." He takes my backpack from me and puts it on his back. I smile and say, "Thank you, oppa. You're such a gentleman." He smiles back.
Later, after we've put our stuff away in my apartment and I've changed, we walk to some abandoned area in the middle of Seoul. I ask Yoongi, "What are we doing here?? I didn't even know places like this existed."
There are collapsed and demolished houses here with smashed windows and graffiti on the walls. Yoongi looks at me and says, "You'll see in a moment. But you have to promise that what you see here today will stay just between us."
I say, "I promise. Who would I tell?? You're my only friend." He nods. Then we turn around behind a building. There's a door. Yoongi stops and pulls out his key. The door is already unlocked and we go inside. Then we go down some stairs. He looks at me and then opens a door in front of us. And what I see is completely unexpected. What I would not have expected from such a place.
