SAVE ME | TaeJin

The beggar

Jin's POV

"Thank you" I said as I bowed to show my respect towards my elder. He was the owner of the grocery shop and he was so kind to let me have a free lettuce. I've been shopping here for almost three years. I know his daughters and his wife and he had even invited me over for dinner once. 

He smiled at me and I turned my back to exit his shop. I walked down the busy road to find my next destination. I was planning on making something special to treat myself since it was my birthday today. My next stop was a butcher shop. I've always hated that word, butcher. It was so dark, gruesome and distasteful. But a man's got to eat.

I entered the butcher shop and waved to a new employee. I approached him introduced myself. I smiled at him and lifted my hand towards him for a hand shake. "Hi, my name is Jin." He looked back at me and shook my hand. "I'm Xiumin!" He smiled back at me with his bright and rich smile. "Is Mr. Kim here?" I asked while looking around in an attempt to spot him. "No, my dad is sick so my brother took over until he gets better". I was shocked because I always remembered Mr. Kim as a man full with energy. On top of that, I've never met Xiumin before because he was studying abroad. "I'm sorry to hear that, I hope he gets well soon." I looked around again, trying to spot his brother now.

"Jin!" I heard a man calling my name. I turned around only to see Kai running towards me and hugging me tightly. "Hey Kai! How are you? It's been so long" I hugged him back for about ten seconds before we broke the hug and stared at each other. It's been almost two years since me and Kai broke up but we didn't make it awkward and we kept talking to each other. I may had lost a lover but I kept a friend.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father Kai. I hope it's not something serious" I said as I grabbed his hand and held it tight. He put his other hand on top of mine and patted it. "Nah, just old-people problems" I chuckled at his joke and I let go of his hand.

"So, what brings you here?" Kai asked while getting behind the meat counter. "I decided to treat myself with something special today." Kai looked at me and then after about five seconds his eyes opened wide. "Xiumin!" he yelled. "What is the date today?". After a few seconds of silence, his brother answered him question, "Fourth of December". In an instant, Kai jumped from behind the counter and landed on my arms. He hugged me tighter than before, to a point that it was hard to breath. "Happy birthday Jinnie!", he kissed my cheek and broke the hug. My cheeks turned bright red and my body temperature rose. Kai noticed and his teased me, "You are still shy I see. Well, some things never change I guess.", he winked at me and he went back behind the counter.

"How may I assist you sir?" Kai said in a formal way which made me giggle."I want five steaks and..." I paused while think my next ingredient. "And 500g chicken bites!" I smiled at him while he walked towards where the steaks were. "Coming up!". I waited for about two minutes before he had my order ready. 

"Thanks Kai" I said while headed for his brother who had the job of the cashier. "We should go out and catch up someday" he said. I looked back at him over my shoulder, "You have my number" and smiled.

I arrived at the cash register and got my wallet out. Xiumin lifted his hand up and pushed my wallet away. "It's on the house, Kai's orders" I smiled and looked back to thank Kai but he was gone. "It was nice meeting you Xiumin." He bowed and he returned the complement. "Have a nice day" I said before stepping out of the shop.

I was almost ready but dinner can't be complete without dessert. I was already carrying two bags with each of my hands. For a moment I regretted not taking the car but it was a nice day to walk. The pastry shop I usually shop from, was far from here so I started walking faster than before.

I was about halfway there when I decided to text Kai. I got my phone out of my back pocket and scrolled through my contact list to find his name. When I finally found it, I tapped it and started writing a text. I looked at the text twice before sending it. "Thanks for the meat Kai, It was nice seeing you again ^_^". When I was sure that it was not too forward and also not too prude, I pressed send.

It was long until he replied back, saying "My pleasure, you can make it up to me if you want." My cheeks blushed again. "What do you have in mind?" I asked. In only a few seconds my phone beeped. I looked at his reply which said "You can make it up to me over dinner ;)". I thought about it and just texted back "Maybe". I arrived at the pastry shop and I placed my phone back into my back pocket.

On my way in, I noticed a homeless person sitting on the side of the building, on the cold hard ground. His face was hidden between his legs and he had his arms reaching forward. He was silently begging for someone to help him get through the day. He seemed young, on his early twenties maybe. I couldn't see his face but his body was really thin , probably from starvation. I usually give a little something to homeless people but today I was shopping with my credit card mostly so I didn't have change on me.

I walked inside the building and walked towards the register. "Hello Rose" I smiled at the young cashier. "Good morning Jin!" She smiled back at me and bowed. "How can I help?" she asked while getting ready to fulfill my request. "Do you have birthday cakes?" I asked while looking at a colorful display of macaroons. "Yes! Follow me." I followed her to a nearby fridge. "Which one would you like?". I stared at the cakes, through the glass door, to see which one I liked better. After about two minutes of internal conflict, I finally decided. "I'll take the pink one!" I said bombastically. "Which one?" she asked and looked back at me. "The bigger one of course!" I laughed at my own joke and she laughed because of my ridiculous laughter.

She got the cake out of the fridge and placed it inside a cute black box and tied a pink ribbon around it. "Rose?", the young woman looked at me, waiting for a question. "What do you know about that homeless boy outside?", she thought about it and then explained. "His name is Taehyung. He was a costumer here back when he was a kid but something happened and his life went downhill. I'm not sure what exactly happened but he was a really nice boy." My heart ached at the sob story. "Would you like birthday candle with the cake?" I giggled at her question. "No thanks, I'm pretty sure I know how old I am!" I laughed at my own joke again. "Oh is this for you? Happy birthday then!!!" she gave me a hug and stepped back. "It must be hard to spend your birthday alone." I looked away to hold in a tear that was about to run down my cheek. When I succeed, I looked back at her. "Life happens I guess." I smiled and she smiled back. "Cash or credit?" she asked while typing the price on the register. "Credit." I replied. "Can you give me five  of those macaroons too please?" I said while pointing at the macaroon display. "The pink ones?" she asked and chuckled. "That should be obvious by now." I laughed too. She gave me the plastic bag that contained the two boxes and I left after saying goodbye.

On my way out I slowly approached the young beggar. "Excuse me young man." he reacted to the sound of my voice and slowly lifted his head up. I saw his face and I was dumbfounded. He was beautiful like an angel. "Y-Yes sir?" his reply was weak and his voice was hoarse and deep and beautiful but also tired. I got one box out of the plastic bag and gave it to him. "This is for you" I said.  He started shaking and tears started falling down. "T-Thank you sir, thank you so mu-much." I bent my knees to get closer to him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and patted him on the back. "Please enjoy them." He couldn't reply because of his sobs and tears and heavy breaths. I thought that nobody gave him any attention. I got up and walked away before I started crying too.

I walked away after I made sure that he enjoyed what I gave him. He ate them with a lion's appetite. I felt sad for him while walking away. I felt my phone buzzing within my pocket so I grabbed it only to see a message from my bank. I was disappointing that no one from my family texted me to say happy birthday but the day was still young. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back startled and scared. I let out a shriek but calmed down after I saw who it was.

"You scared me..." I said to him. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to alarm you." he was talking to me but his head was down and his eyes were avoiding eye contact. He reached his hand forward in an attempt to give me something. "Y-You dropped this sir." he said with a soft and calm but deep voice. To my surprise, I saw my wallet resting on his hands. "Thank you very much, you just saved me big time!", he seemed to be afraid to say something. "What is your name?" I asked while placing my hand on his shoulder. He looked up, still avoiding eye contact, "T-Taehyung, but my friends call me..." he paused. "Used to call me Tae." I saw him ready to cry so I pulled him into a hug. "I'm Seokjin but people call me Jin." He didn't say anything, his was crying and his tears were soaking my shirt. "I'm your friend now, can I call you Tae?" I said while breaking the hug. 

For the first time he got his head all the way up and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were puffy and red from crying. "Thank you Jin" he bowed and went back to his spot and continued enjoying the treats I bought for him. I felt emotionally unstable so I decided to give up on walking and called a cab home.