Romancing the Tome

Part 3

Yoongi skids into view, smacking a tree branch into place. "Take that!" he yells, then notices the spot where your car used to be. "Oh."

"Oh?" you blurt, whirling around.

"It looks... as though your car has been stolen, Y/N."

Your vision turns red. "You think?" you cry out, stomping over to poke him hard in the chest.

Yoongi winces and rubs the spot. "Ouch, that's going to bruise."

"I'll tell you what's about to be bruised, Min Yoongi," you growl, "if you don't find my car in exactly twenty seconds!"

"That's... a specific amount of time."

"YOONGI."

"Okay, okay," he hastens, unzipping his backpack. "Calm down, I'll just call for help. We can file a police report about the car and be back in no time." Yoongi flashes a smile, pulling out his phone. "It was probably a ranger. You're not really supposed to park on these back roads, you know –"

"Yoongi, I am going to kill you."

"– okay, clearly you didn't know." Yoongi squints, lifting his cell phone overhead. "Only problem is... there doesn't seem to be service..."

Slowly, you lower your face to your palms. Right now, you're so fucking angry there's no point in yelling because it wouldn't be coherent. Standing with your face in your hands, a tiny bubble of doubt begins to enter your thoughts. If the rangers were on the mountain, shooting at you, it wouldn't make sense that they also towed your car.

"Yoongi," you say, looking up.

Yoongi pauses before turning and to your satisfaction, he seems nervous. "Yes?"

"My purse was in my car," you say. "Along with my keys. Right now, I have nothing but..." You fish around in your pockets. "Twenty dollars and some Chapstick to my name. What do you have?"

Yoongi pats his bag. "I have a spare change of clothes, a first-aid kit, my wallet, keys, cell phone, charger, some brushes, water, a Swiss Army knife, a translation book, some bug spray and..." He frowns. "I think I also have a deck of cards."

You choose to gloss over this. "Okay," you say, starting in the direction of the Interstate. "What about this? We walk until you get service, and then we call the police."

"Sure." Yoongi nods, falling into step alongside you. "Even if we don't get service by the Interstate – these mountain roads can be bad – there's a motel we can stay at less than a half-mile up the road. Worst case scenario."

Lips thinning, you nod. "Fine," you say. "I hope you know that you're paying, should it come to that."

"Splitsies?'

"No. You're paying."

Yoongi laughs beneath his breath. "I know, I'm kidding. I'm also sorry," he adds, a bit quieter.

Taken aback, you glance sideways. "You are?"

"Yeah, I am." Appearing contrite, Yoongi slips both hands under the straps of his backpack. "I should have – well, I should have considered the possibility someone would be following."

Gravel crunches as you walk towards the Interstate. Silence falls between you, allowing your thoughts to wander.

You keep overthinking the events of tonight, considering them as a part of a larger picture. Yoongi mentioned having a partner before, one who screwed him over and stole his work. He also mentioned being paranoid about anyone seeing his work. The cherry on top is he didn't seem surprised when your car was stolen, only disappointed for not having realized the possibility.