The Siren's Song

Chapter 3- quiet time

(Y/N) POV:

The encounter with Kim Seokjin leaves me flustered, even as we head home and in the safety of our car and the four walls allows the other two to tease and prod me for questions- curiosity alight in their voices.

"(Y/N) was the last one of the three of us I'd imagined would interact with a stranger!" Mi-sun unnie says after she swallows a mouthful of ice-cream, waving her spoon around for emphasis, bright eyes sharply looking at me.

I duck my head into my shoulders, trying to make myself look smaller, a less visible target to her very direct verbal observations.

"She doesn't even talk much. Even though after the third century mark- we can learn to control our ability seeping into our voices. And he was very handsome too!" she muses, going from one train of thought to the other, face adorned with a thoughtful expression, lips curving up as her eyes undoubtedly bring the image of him back to mind.

The comment makes me roll my eyes at her. Because of course Mi-sun unnie focuses on that, and even though she's telling no lies, I find it amusing that she doesn't take actions into consideration much.

But then again, how is she to know he stopped me from becoming publicly embarrassed and injured? Now that would be hard to explain.

But then Habaek oppa speaks up, voice musing as he nudges me slightly from where I'm leaning against him.

"What did he mean he's glad he got there on time?" he questions, shifting slightly so I have to move and unwillingly trail my eyes to his- where his eyes shine with curiosity and apprehension, the beginning of concern seeping through.

"He..." I pause, fiddling with the hem of the t-shirt I've stolen of his, playing with the well-worn, smoothened fabric.

"He..." he prompts, urging me to finish the sentence.

"He stopped me from falling over and helped me pick up the snacks." I mumble.

And I get two very distinctly different reactions.

Next to me Habaek oppa's eyes are wide when I dare a glance and with ever gentle hands he cups my face, thumb rubbing across the high of my cheeks.

"And you're fine? You're not hurt right? You're not hiding an injury?" he asks, fretting in his sweet usual way.

I shake my head, smiling up at him in reassurance.

And on the sofa over Mi-sun unnie is awwing and then sighing dreamily.

"What a man. Such chivalry. Sounds like a gentleman." She muses, spoon tapping against her lips as her eyes snag onto mine and she smiles softly after her initial gushing has abated.

But she's not wrong. 

He was gentlemanly. And the kindness in his words that had followed, the transition from first asserting I was fine, then slightly teasing and then to reassuring and careful- all of them giving me slight glimpses into his personality of someone who appeared to be compassionate and kind.

It's something new. Refreshing to see someone interact with me not because of the magnetic pull that comes with being a siren, but impossibly for seeing me as me. Something that hasn't happened in a long time. A rare enough occurrence that it drifts back to my mind as I nestle down under the blankets as I go to bed- his soft words and gentle presence constantly playing in my mind as a loop.

He had been different that was for sure.

But I was also extremely sure that Seoul was a big city, and as such it wasn't likely we'd meet again. We'd parted today as strangers, today had been an incident where someone had shown me again just how kind humans could be.