Love Beneath The Stars

Chapter One

I was enjoying another blissful Saturday morning, listening to the birds chirp outside my window, drinking my cup of coffee, and finding comfort on my couch. As I found myself drifting off into my fantasyland my phone began to ring, alerting me to it. I picked up my phone to look at the caller ID, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my friend Seokjin was calling. I answered the incoming call.

"Jinnie!" I screeched, practically jumping with joy. I heard him chuckle softly, his voice sounding different on the phone, more raspy.

"Hey, princess! You seem happy that I called. I was just thinking about you, and I wanted to make sure you had something to eat for breakfast." He responded, his voice mellow. A smile instantly appearing on my face, listening to his kind-heartedness. The two of us are very close friends, we live exactly 10 minutes from each other, by car that is. I will occasionally make the trip to his house to hang out. As we talked I got the idea of making him breakfast, he has always made sure to check in on me because he knows I'm not the best at taking care of myself. I wanted to treat him for always being so caring.

"I haven't had anything yet, but I was wondering if maybe today I could make you breakfast!" I said, my smile growing as I hatched my plan. I heard him let out a sigh of happiness.

"That is the cutest request I have ever heard." He replied, giggling.

"Hehe, I wanted to treat you! What do you say?" I asked, charmingly.

"I say that sounds delightful, my darling. I'll be over soon!" He replied, sounding super happy about my brilliant idea. Patting myself on the back for this one, I thought.

"Yay! Please drive safe, Jinnie!" I said, cheerfully. 

"Thank you, y/n. Don't worry I will be safe. Bye!" He said as he hung up the call. I smiled to myself, making my way to the kitchen. Seokjin has 6 other roommates, my other friends. I've just known Seokjin the longest, so in a way, I care for him the most. It's always been that way, he has always been my best friend. 

"Time to get started on breakfast! What should I make?" I said to myself as I was dancing around the kitchen in contentment. I decided to make him pancakes, if I know anything about my best friend it's that he loves his pancakes. I got out a bowl and the pancake mix. I read the instructions and added an equal amount of water and pancake mix. I whisked it together and put my frying pan on the stove, turning the stove onto a medium heat. I poured my batter in and watched the pancake cook, flipping it over when the side was a golden brown. As I was pressing the pancake down into the pan, the doorbell rang. I hurried over to the door and opened it with a smile on my face.

"Hey, bestie!" I grinned, reaching up to give him a hug. He's much taller than I am, so I have to reach up high in order to give him hugs. We hugged for a moment, he smelled of cologne. He hugged me with one arm and pet my head after we broke the hug.

"Hi, y/n! How's my sweet little girl?" He asked, soothingly. One of his hands was behind his back, holding something.

"I'm doing very well! Whatcha got there?" I asked, curiously. I tried to take a peak at what he was hiding and he giggled, bringing out the bouquet of flowers. They were a beautiful assortment of colours. I smiled in awe of the adorable gift.

"Awww, Jinnie!! Thank you! I love them!" I said, looking at the pretty flowers. I gingerly took them from him, holding them up to my nose. The aroma fills my senses, making me smile. 

"I'm glad you like them!" He replied, looking down at me with a cute smile. We made our way to the kitchen and I started to look for a vase to put the flowers in. I found a vase with a pretty detail painted on the sides. I filled it halfway with water and placed the flowers inside. I went back to the stove to check on the pancakes. As I was cooking I looked over to see Seokjin watching me intently. 

"Hehe, why are you staring?" I asked giggling. He smiled and let out a happy sigh.

"You're adorable." He replied, making me blush. I shook my head and smiled. A few minutes went by, which was enough time for me to finish cooking all the pancakes we would need for breakfast. I got out the whipped cream, maple syrup, strawberries, and blueberries for the toppings. We sat down at the table and started eating. 

"These are delicious! Thank you so much." He gushed. The comment made me smile and feel more confident in my cooking.

"I'm glad you think so! I'll cook for you more often if you would like." I proposed, earning a nod of approval from him. Once we finished breakfast I began to do the dishes, but he stopped me and said he would take care of it. I shrugged and went to sit on the couch, watching him clean up. A thought dawning on me as I peacefully sat there admiring him. He finished the dishes and came to sit beside me, his hand reaching up as he tucked some of my hair behind my ear. My cheeks burned up as he did, making him chuckle. He kissed the side of my head sweetly and rested his head on my shoulder. The doorbell rang again, I sprung up from the couch and went to the door. I looked through the peephole and saw my brother, Elijah. I also saw my beloved dog, Crystal. I opened the door and kindly greeted my brother. 

"Hey, long time no see. Crystal missed you a lot." Elijah said as he entered my apartment. I smiled and bent down to pet Crystal, who was happy to see me. She's a husky-german shepherd mix she has, big ears, a beautiful coat of fur, and is very energetic. My brother and I share her because she's the last thing we have from our parents house after they basically abandoned us. Seokjin came up from behind me, smiling at Elijah.

"Hi, Elijah. How are you?" He asked.

"I'm doing okay, things are stressful at the moment because I currently am unemployed and need money." Elijah responded, sounding worried.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm sure there's a job somewhere you can easily get." Seokjin reassured.

"Yeah, I bet there is! But, things are tough though, dude." Elijah informed. Seokjin nodded and bent over to pet Crystal as well.

"There's something I need to tell you, Maddie. Don't freak out." Elijah said with caution. I stood up and looked at him with a worried look on my face.

"Okay, what is it?" I asked, cautiously. 

"They found out where I live. I have nowhere to go." He replied, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. My eyes went wide, my palms felt sweaty as I grew anxious for the safety of my brother. I walked up to him and gave him a reassuring hug.

"How?! I thought we were being more careful this time. You can stay here, okay?" I said with concern. Elijah nodded and put his head down on my shoulder as we hugged. So, you see, our parents run this company. They are always away on business trips, which is why they never had time for us. But, that's not the only thing, a rival business company wants to control my family's business. My parents refused and now that company is furious with them, not long after they found out that my brother and I lived with them. That's one of the reasons why my brother and I left, we're in hiding. They've been searching for us for three years without being able to find us, until today. I have been afraid for my life ever since I left my hometown with my brother. We're also hiding from our mother, my father passed away on the day my brother and I left. Our mother has also been looking for us because I committed a crime that day; murder. That day we left, I had to care for my brother, he's younger than me and so I've been his guardian. Seokjin and my other friends don't really know the whole story, but they do know the most important parts. Seokjin found me the day my brother and I were found the first time, he took us in and cared for us. We've been best friends ever since. It's been five years since the accident. Three years ago we were found by that company my parents had a dispute with and it wasn't pretty. We were beaten half to death and left in an alleyway to die. Seokjin looked at Elijah and put his head down.

"I'm sorry they found you again, I promised I would protect the both of you and that's what I'm going to do. You're my family." He said, concerned. I nodded and thanked him. I broke the hug with my brother and smiled at him, softly. Jin left shortly after, leaving me, my brother and our dog at my apartment.