granite. (jikook)

two.

jimin

the boy quickly skidded to the counter. you could notice the faint blush in his cheeks if you pay attention.

i could barely hide my smile. the way he stares was way too obvious.

unbelievable.

all of them, here i thought he was somewhat different from the rest, but it was the same pattern. first, they stare, then they struggle to talk. then comes the bad attempt to contact me. some has the guts to, some don't.

he belongs to the latter.

he'd probably give up. or if he still has the balls to approach an attractive stranger, he might.

although obviously i would turn him down.

maybe i won't come back here. if i do, he might bother me again and it would end up bad. sheesh, here i thought there won't be any koreans here.

the coffee was good though, it was pretty tempting to try their sweets, but it'll be too messy.

quickly, i dusted off my big cardigan and stood up. i wasn't able to read much of my book.

the boy was still staring and it was hard trying to avoid eye contact.

please don't follow me. please don't follow me. please don't—

"hey!"

crap.

"um... hey?"

he was running after me as though i walked very far, which wasn't the case. i only took at least 4 steps until he called after me.

so looks like i was wrong about him, he did have guts.

he was panting, then he raised a hand up as we both waited for his breath to catch up to him. the words were already behind me in preparation to reject him.

"do you— do you live somewhere nearby?"

my heart stopped. is he going to walk me home? what for? didn't he have work? isn't that his priority?

"are you asking permission to walk me home?" he looked at me guilty as if i caught him doing a crime.

strange. even though there were people all around us, the sound of his swallowing was clear as day. his heart was beating so hard it was almost as if the distance between us was short.

i sighed. "i'm sorry, but i have to refuse."

i rejected him as straightforward and politely as i could, he would certainly stop there.

i turned away from the boy until a hand grabbed my wrist, it didn't hurt but it caught me by surprise. his grip wasn't suffocating and painful, it was gentle and careful, he was scared to hurt me. this boy is getting stranger by the minute.

but that's what he is, a boy. younger than me, more immature. childlike.

"please let go." thankfully, he was quick to do so and mumbled sorry all over again.

i grimaced. "didn't i already tell you no?"

he looked down and play with the rocks on the road. isn't this kid supposed to be prioritizing his job? what is going on in his head?

he was somewhat different. caring and considerate, but also persistent and pushy. an odd mix.

i figured, i might as well give him a chance if he's an exception to the rest.

i exhaled. "fine, but what about your job?"

he gave me a toothy smile, one that crinkled his eyes to the point that they disappeared. just like mine did. "it's all good, my boss isn't really that strict and i'll tell him an excuse later. he can't really afford to lose another employee."

you are... something. i almost whispered out loud. i rubbed my forehead and told him to follow after me.

a weird thing about him, rather than asking for my number like any sane person in the 21st century, he chose to walk me home.

but he's a kid. the logical part of my brain slithered in. he'll be hard to take care of. to manage.

maybe i could use some hard work? take things roughly for some time.

"so can i ask your name?"

his warm voice behind me took me by surprise and i flinched a little.

"why do you need to know my name?"

he rolled his eyes childishly. "if i'm going to know where you live, might as well ask for your name, right? we're taking this backwards."

he's definitely... different.

i sighed through my nose. if this keeps going on, i'll definitely have a hard time. but saying no seemed so impossible.

"park jimin. and you?"

he smiled again. "jeon jungkook."