ATEEZ Imagines

San ✦ Fox Guardian

Published: July 16, 2020
Rewritten: April 5, 2023

Word count: 7,481

DO NOT read or interact if you're under 14

You stepped out onto the back porch, resting your hands against the wooden railing as you admired the green, mossy trees surrounding the quaint cottage you called home.
You'd been living there with your aunt since you were a baby. She took you in after your parents passed away and raised you as her own. You made it a point to thank her often for that, always grateful for having her around.
You lived quite a ways from town, but you didn't mind it. Living in a cozy cottage situated in a wooded area was nice, though it had its downsides, one being your lack of social skills. You never went to a public school, nor did you have the opportunity to make friends so you could be a tad awkward at times, not having much practice talking to other people.

You raised the mug in your hand to your lips taking a sip of tea, letting out a sigh afterwards. Your nails unconsciously picked at the paint that was slowly peeling from the wooden porch rails, making a mental note to repaint it when summer rolled back around.
A sudden rustling sound came from somewhere in the trees, making you snap your head towards it and forgetting about the peeling paint.
Out of curiosity you stepped off the porch and walked towards the edge of the woods, peering past the trees towering over the property. The noise sounded like it was pretty close. Just then, your eyes caught movement in the leaves not far from the base of a nearby tree. Taking a tentative step forward, you peeked around the evergreen to see if you could spot the thing that was skittering about the forest floor.

"Y/n!" You heard your aunt's voice.
You stepped away from the tree line, turning towards the house. "Yes?
"I need you to go get some groceries from town today."
"Okay."
With your curiosity long gone, you turned around and set off back towards the house to get ready for the journey to the market.

Your aunt gave you plenty of cash for groceries along with a list of items. Since you walked to town on foot, you couldn't pick up many things, just whatever you could fit in a large tote bag plus what you could carry in your arms. The trip to the grocery store takes roughly fifteen minutes. It's not too terrible of a walk, plus, there's a little trail from your past grocery trips so you don't lose your way.
Your boots crunched against the dried up and fallen leaves scattered along the forest floor as you trekked towards the store. Fall had just started and while some trees still sported their green foliage, others had started shedding theirs. Most walks were spent admiring the scenery around you, just as you were then.

Upon arriving to town, you headed straight to the grocery store and went down the list, grabbing all the items scribbled on the paper.
While at the checkout the cashier, Jongho, gave you a pleasant smile.
"Y/n, you're back."
"Yep. It's time for my regular grocery run."
"I'm glad you always come to my register. It makes me feel special."
"That's because you are."
"You know, Yunho over there at register two has told me he hopes you go to his checkout line sometime. But I told him, tough luck, you only check out with me." He puffed out his chest proudly.
"Jongho." You laughed, shaking your head.
"Seriously though, I think Yunho has a crush on you."
"Oh." Your cheeks became warm as you glanced over at this Yunho guy.
He stood at his register glancing around and brushing his blonde hair back away from his face. He turned his head a little, making eye contact with you before hurriedly turning around.
"Ah." You muttered, turning back to the cashier. "Are you sure?"
"A hundred percent. He's super obvious about it." Jongho chuckled before giving you your total.
You dug around in your pocket and handed him some cash to pay for your items.
"Are you interested in him? I can totally hook you up." He told you as he counted out your change.
"He's really cute and seems like a sweet guy, but I just don't know about getting into a relationship. I'm just some hermit that lives in the woods." You gave a depreciating laugh.
"No you're not."
"Maybe next time." You patted Jongho on the shoulder and started loading your groceries into the large bag your aunt sent with you.
"You know, if you had a car it would be much easier for you to get those home. Plus you could get way more groceries."
"Yeah but you know how my aunt is about vehicles."
He nodded understandingly.
"Bye Jongho. See you next time." You waved as you headed out of the store and started your journey back home.
Since Jongho brought it up, you did wonder why your aunt wouldn't buy a car. She's always said they're too much trouble to deal with which you found to be suspicious. But now wasn't the time to be worrying about that.