Save Me Break Me || MYG

The Memories Sixty Three - Cross Necklace

My whole body throbbed with unceasing pain. I was physically, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually drained from the battle of wits and muscle power that happened a while ago. For the nth time I underestimated that girl's physical capabilities. For the nth time, she proved that looks can be very deceiving.

I still feel some resentment towards Jungkook for taking Mia's side even if I was the one who was more reasonable, not to mention fully battered and sore from head to toe. He knew I was pissed, but it did make sense. If we drive Mia home, we may not have a chance to see our dealer because we were running out of time, thanks to Mia's superb delaying tactics. This could be our only chance.

Now, we sat on the far end inside a cozy diner, not even bothering to speak to each other. Mia was smiling like she won the lottery. Jungkook was preoccupied with Migi's goody bag, intentionally avoiding my eyes.

I rested my elbow on the table, propped my cheek onto my knuckles while my other hand held a packet of Migi's snack, pressing on it to let him lick it all away.

"Yoongi, stop sulking. I'm telling you, l can help, I can feel it." Mia cooed, her eyes shining like a million stars.

"You're not even supposed to be here. How will I explain to your dad if something happens to you?" I sighed. I was already defeated the moment she stepped out of the trunk and begged for me to trust her intuition. They way here eyes glistened with admirable determination swallowed me whole. How was I supposed to say no?

She let her cold fingers brush against my cheek, a way for her to calm my nerves, she discovered only recently. "Just trust me. I know what I'm doing. Okay?"

I open my mouth to reason out but the sudden intrusion of the waitress caused me to click my tongue and bite my tongue out of frustration. She came with our tray of endless french fries and three huge burgers, and a pitcher of soda. As soon as she set the tray down, I pushed it to the young ones.

"I know you're starving." They started stuffing their watering mouths with food without wasting time. We hadn't had dinner before we left, and the sounds of their angry tummies made me so uncomfortable.

When Mia noticed I wasn't eating, she waved a single fried potato stick in front of my face. "Eat."

"I'm already full just seeing you eat well. Go on, don't worry about me."

She did not remove her hand, so I was obliged to bite on it to get her to continue eating.

Checking my watch, we were an hour early than the designated meet up time. I fumbled for my phone to check any messages, only a bunch from the five others who waited for us, Jin on standby just in case things go messy, he will call his uncle right away.

After they swiped clean the entire tray, the waitress came to hand me the bill. Instead of seeing the total amount to pay, an urgent message was written in perfect calligraphy,

Just play along. Say you're twenty bucks short. I'll meet you inside the kitchen

Butternut

I looked up at the waitress whose eyebrows were raised as she anticipated, and said "Uh... We're twenty bucks short."

"Wait, I have-" I was anxious and sweating despite the cold, thinking Jungkook was to bring out his wallet. How will I let him know that this was all staged? But when he reached for all of his pockets, his wallet cannot be found. I felt my shoulders relax as I sighed. This might be the only time I was grateful that he didn't have money with him.

"Uh... We're twenty bucks short." Jungkook repeated what I just said.

"Oh, so you think you can just eat and make a run for it? Get in the kitchen! You pay us by washing the dishes. Scoot!" she said, grabbing us by our arms and shoving us into the back of the diner.

"What about our cat? Animals aren't allowed in the kitchen, right?" Mia asked as soon as we entered the tiny space, worried about where the waitress would take Migi.

"You're gonna have to talk to the owner first," she said as she pushed us inside a small room just behind the work area. For a small and busy diner, their kitchen was admirably clean, completely spotless, even the sink with stacks of plates and utensils was unbelievable glistening and free from food particles.

The tiny hairs on my arms stood up as the air became heavier inside the tiny, dark room. I grabbed the nearest hand I could hold on to, preparing myself to run just in something bad happened. The soft yellow glow of the lamp allowed our eyes to adjust well, letting our curious eyes wander across the small space which only had an office table and a couple of wooden chairs.

The glare of the light shone behind the person sitting on the table, making his silhoutte frightening and his face undiscernable, but I was able to identify the glistening silver chain around his neck. It was the necklace I was supposed to purchase.

He pushed himself off from his sitting position, slowly stepping towards us, his arms still folded over his chest.

"I never imagined meeting you again under such circumstances, Mia."

My mind was telling me to run, but my whole body was frozen, my breathing halted. Out of instinct, I placed Migi in Mia's arms as yanked her behind me, ready to fight whoever the owner of this haunting voice.

But instead of getting behind me, she pushed passed the barricade that Jungkook and I made infront of her, sauntering forward as if in a trance.

"Mia-" We tried to grab her, but her languid movements was affecting us tremendously, the way her footsteps echoed around the room like it was the only sound that mattered, even each swish of Migi's tail as his mom came closer to the unknown being rendered us hypnotized, dumbly standing with eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

The towering male in front raised his hand for the girl to take, but she stood at a good arm's length, hugging the cat in her arms tightly.

"I know you..." she whispered so softly, her voice shaky.

He chuckled, "I'm glad you still do. Although, isn't it dangerous for a young girl such as yourself to wander around in the dead of the night?"

Why can't we move? I got a glimpse of Jungkook, his eyes rapidly switching from the towering male to the fearless girl who kept moving upfront, clearly unable to command his body to move.

For a second there Jungkook and I thought she was going to turn around and run. Instead, she rushed to him, crushing against his chest as if he was her whole world, her safe haven, her home.