you keep me sane, you keep me safe

chapter one - meeting you

I was hurrying into the small convenience store to quickly get some kimchi stew when I nearly stumbled into someone. Giving a short bow, I squeezed past the stranger and entered the store, going straight to the counter where a well-known face already smiled at me.
"Ah, Ahjumma, I'll have the usual!"
"Mi-Sunie, shouldn't you start cooking for yourself already? You will never find a nice man like this!"
I just laughed at her remark and took a seat at the counter, patiently waiting for the delicious food she was preparing in the small, open kitchen.
"It's gotten extremely cold outside, Ahjumma, be careful on your way home later. You absolutely cannot get a cold, because I wouldn't know what to eat then! Ah, Ahjumma! Your kimchi stew will be the first thing I'm eating today, it better be as delicious as always.", I said to her, cheeky smile on my face.
"Ya, Mi-Sun! You really need to start taking care of your eating schedule! Other than that you should also respect your elders a little more!", she replied chuckling.
The strong scent of freshly cooked food flooded my nostrils as Ahjumma placed the bowl full of kimchi stew in front of me. I could literally feel my mouth water as I watched the broth still boiling a little. I thanked her and started digging in, slurping sounds escaping my mouth, as I took the first noodles in.
This felt like kimchi-heaven!
Quietly slurping on my food, the man I nearly tackled down before arrived at the counter too. He sat down a few seats away from me, careful not to make eye contact. He almost seemed a little too careful with his surroundings, kinda like a criminal would've if he'd been scared of getting caught by the police. Face covered with a mask, muffled words of his reached Ahjumma, who seemed to have understood what he wanted, starting to prepare immediately.
The kind of annoyingly curious person I am, I couldn't help but take a few glances at him while still being occupied with my food. To my own defence he was definitely acting weird, not being able to keep his eyes open fully, body wavering as if he couldn't hold himself up.
"Sir, are you perhaps not feeling well?", I asked, concern coating my voice.
"Feeling fine.", a deep raspy voice answered a little too fast.
He was clearly one hundred percent not feeling well at all, but if Mr. I don't want anybody's help said so, I wouldn't bother him for even a second more.
Turning to my still steaming food again, I thought about the term papers I had to submit to my English professor next week. Sighing I took a sip of the broth. Touching my temples, chuckling quietly, I told myself not to be concerned about that now, that shall be a problem for my future self. Relaxation slowly crawling back, I started to hum the melody of a possible song of mine that had been stuck in my head for at least 2 weeks now. However I sadly wasn't able to scribble any notes regarding that to paper, because every time I tried to, I magically lost everything concerning this particular beat.
Lost in thought, I didn't notice how and when Mr.Stubborn left his seat, but I was once again the only one at Ahjumma's counter. Having finished my bowl, I thanked her again leaving some money for her and making my way to the exit.
Stepping outside, I could feel the cold wind on my face. I rubbed my hands in attempt to keep them warm, as I started to walk not wanting to stay in front of the shop any longer and get home even later. Not that anyone would be waiting for me, but I prefer the coziness of my apartment over this excruciating cold.
It had already gotten dark out and even if I had never been a scaredy cat, walking home in the dark was never a pleasant thing. Much to my surprise, two Blocks from Ahjumma's Store, in an alley, I could see a pile of clothing laying on the pavement. A little shiver ran down my spine because it was needed to walk past that in order to continue walking home. What if someone comes jumping out of that, I mean, why would anyone leaves this weird pile over here? Might just be trash bags though, but narrow alleys are always were shit goes down in movies.
Maybe the kids in this neighbourhood found it awfully funny to screw with the people walking by, that they've come up with some weird kind of prank, jumping out of that thing, scaring the elders. Or some dimwit left his trash on the sidewalk. That would've probably been the nicest thing in this current situation, and I was not even up for that much.
The closer I got, the more it stopped looking like said weird pile of clothing but rather like a rolled up human being. I stopped just inches away from this thing and gulped as my vision could register clearly what was right in front of me. It was a human being! A black mask covered the face, but it was still recognisable as a male's. He wore a somehow familiar coat too and that's when it hit me. It was Mr.Stubborn!
I quickly got down to check on him, but not having any medical skills I could only diagnose his unconsciousness, which made me panic. While taking out my phone and calling for an ambulance my hands started shaking uncontrollably and the feeling of helplessness slowly washed over me. What if he needed medication immediately, otherwise he'd not even make it until the ambulance arrived?
Telling the ambulance where to find us, I sat down next to him, trying to lift him up a bit and put his head on my lap, so that he at least not had to stay in the dirt. Still shaking I searched his pockets for any valuable information, medication, anything that could help at this moment. A wallet, a phone and some headphones were all I could find. But before even getting the chance to take a look at those I could hear the sirens of the ambulance, getting nearer every second until they finally arrived. Two paramedics got out of the truck asking me what has happened. Giving them a quick recap of my last few minutes, they take Mr.Stubborn into their care.
"Ah, Mrs.Park, we will bring him to the nearest hospital now. He seems to just be exhausted, probably overworked himself a little. You are allowed keep him company on his ride back, he will surely want to see a familiar face when he gets conscious again." Frowning I looked at the paramedic.
"Thank you for your offer, but unfortunately he's just an acquaintance I came across while walking home! I'm sure, there will be someone else there when he wakes up. I'll leave him in your care. Have a good night."
And without any further disturbances I arrived home. Kicking the shoes off my feet and slipping out of the thick, grey coat, I sighed deeply. I would've lied if I said I wasn't concerned for his health. He looked very pale even back in Ahjumma's store, maybe I could have prevented this whole situation if I had been just a little more persistent.
I got pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a phone ring, a ringtone escaping that didn't sound familiar at all. I rummaged through the pockets of my coat just to find Mr.Stubborn's phone, as well as his wallet and, as expected, the headphones too. Fridge, I had totally forgotten about those!
Getting fully dressed again, I cursed at myself for not thinking about his belongings and having to go to the hospital to give them back. Luckily it wasn't possible to lose ones own head. Arriving in the hospital 20 minutes later, I stopped at the info-counter. I took out his wallet and searched for anything to confirm his identity. Finding needed document I started talking to the lady behind the desk.
"Excuse me, where can I find Mr. Min Yoongi?"
"Room 2673, left corridor."
"Ah, Thank you Mrs."
I took off, when the unfamiliar ringtone started again. I answered the phone, still walking to his room.
"Hel-"
"YA SUGA, WH-.. wait, who's this?", a man's voice roared through the phone, confusion clearly swinging within his last words.
"Ah, I'm sorry for the inconvenience! My name is Park Mi-Sun, I found your friend unconscious in an alley and called an ambulance. I will send you the location of the hospital he's currently in, immediately.", I answered calmly, as I arrived at his room and opened the door slowly.
"Oh god, yes, please do so! I have to apologise for him though! Someone will be there shortly!"
"Don't worry too much, the doctors said it's probably due to exhaustion. He will be fine again soon."
"Again, thank you so much. I will tell the manager now, see you in a bit."

With that, the line was dead. I sent him our current location and slipped Mr.Stubborn's phone back into my pockets, walking towards his bed where he seemed to be fast asleep. Not wearing a mask anymore, I could finally get a glimpse of his face and dear, he was beautiful!
You could clearly see that he was worn out and exhausted by the dark circles shown on his face, but that didn't change the fact that his features where rather soft.
I sat down on a chair next to his bed, to have a closer look at his face, when he suddenly wrinkled his nose and winced in pain, putting a hand on his head. He inhaled sharply. Instinctively I reached out and put my cold hand onto his forehead in exchange for his. He hummed under my touch and his facial features seemed to relax a little. I started humming the melody from before in attempt to calm him down a little more which also seemed to work, as his breath steadied again. Slowly taking my hand away, reaching into my pockets to return his belongings, he quietly murmurs something that I wasn't able to understand. But I didn't bother to ask for him to repeat it either. I had already involved myself enough at this point, no need to stretch it out even further.
As soon as I stopped humming for him and stood up, his hand reached out and searched for mine.
"Don't leave me. Don't stop."
Chuckling a little at this unexpected turn of events and his childlike behaviour, I obediently sat down and hummed again. I took his hand in mine, slightly stroking him. Fate must have kissed me today, as this was the first time that actual lyrics hit me.
"please get a hold of me
before this darkness.
it's taking my soul now,
already too deep."
I quietly sang to him, still holding his hand in mine, as the door flung open.
"Suga-hyung!", I heard a male voice call for the guy in front of me, while entering the dark hospital room followed by a few more people. I quickly let go of his hand, hoping that me holding it in the first place stayed unnoticed to them. I rose from the chair turning to their direction as I slightly brushed over my clothes to even them out a little.
"Good evening, you must be the one I spoke to earlier.", I greeted, giving a little bow as I talked to him. He just nodded, a little smile forming on his lips. I smiled back at him and the rest of the group and explained what has happened so far. They all listened cautiously and gave a few nods here and there.
"We really have to thank you Mrs..?" the Phone-Guy asked.
"Ah, it's Park Mi-Sun! But Mi-Sun is fine, really. Leave the Mrs. out, it makes me feel really old." I quickly answered him. He chuckled lightly and nodded. He couldn't have been younger than me, but despite that fact he was way too polite.
"By the way, I'm Kim Namjoon. Namjoon is fine. You must be quiet tired! We will be watching over him from now on, so no worries." He had walked towards Mr.Stubborn and sat down on the chair next to him. One could clearly see the worry in his eyes, paired with a slight hint of exhaustion.
"Namjoon-ssi, I will be leaving then! Please take care of yourself, too. Yoongi-ssi will surely be fine again quickly. Don't worry too much, the wrinkles on your forehead will stay like this, if you hold that expression for too long!"
He looked at me a little perplexed, mouth slightly open. He clearly wanted to say something but ended up chuckling again, showing his dimples. He stood up from the chair, not without taking a last glance at his, supposed, dear friend and walked me to the door.
"Should one of the staff members drop you off somewhere? It has gotten quiet late and a girl shouldn't walk home alone at this time of the day."
I politely declined his offer and took off, as I didn't want to make any inconveniences for anybody. This whole evening was eventful enough, so cooling my head and calming down by walking home wouldn't hurt. Just as I was leaving the building I could hear someone call my name from afar. I turned around to see Namjoon slightly jogging my direction, holding a piece of paper in his hand. He stopped right in front of me and held the paper up.
"I know it's very rude to eavesdrop, but I heard you sing in Hyungs room before and thought I should give you this."
I took the piece of paper out of his hand and scanned it's contents, still a little flustered that he actually heard me sing.
"You don't have to come! It's just that I..." He stopped, as if he was searching for the right words.
"To be honest, I have never heard a voice like yours and it would be a waste to not share it with more people."
I smiled brightly at him. I have never had someone compliment me on my voice, which might also be because I never really sang in public. I felt more comfortable to keep this a little private, same as my love for composing. I mainly did it out of joy and it was not near professional, but I loved it dearly.
The note he handed over had some dates for auditions at BigHit Entertainment in handwritten letters scribbled on it, it clearly looked like they were recruiting for a new girl group. Mi-Sun from a few years ago, not really sure what to do with her life and feeling kind of lost in adolescence, would have absolutely agreed to go right on the spot. Sadly, that was not the case at this particular moment in life. I had started studying to become an english teacher a while ago, which my family much appreciated after my rebellious youth and I was way too far into it to throw it away on a whim.
Without taking a further look onto the paper, I thanked him for his heartwarming compliment and finally took off, not without taking a last glance at the window of Mr.Stubborn's room.