Angel With a Shotgun- Pentagon Yang Hongseok

7

Maya

As I take off my apron, I take a look at the door, almost expecting Hongseok to be standing there. I sigh, hanging it up on the hook by the door leading to the kitchen, "Mrs. Han, I am leaving the shop for the evening."
"Alright, Maya, be safe!" she comes into the front area of the shop and gives me a slight hug. I hug her back, but quickly let go, smiling.  Just as I had grabbed my bag from the hooks on the wall, Hongseok came running around the corner. He opens the door quickly, being out of breath as he carefully leans on the door.
"Whoa, are you okay?" Mrs. Han runs over to him, grasping his shoulder and arm to help him up. He sits on one of the chairs closest to the door. Almost instinctively, I grab a cup and put water into it, and hand it to him. He takes it gratefully and gulps the water down, almost as if he was dying of thirst.
"Are you okay, Hongseok?" I ask, kneeling down to be at eye-level with him.
"Yeah, just-" he groans as he cradles his side. I take a knee and look up at him, Hongseok nodding as if he knew what I needed to do. I carefully place my hands on his sides, gently moving them down to his ribs when he winces.
"I think there could be some bruising in this region," I state as if I were a doctor, gently grazing my fingers over his ribs. Maybe I should study that major, considering that I have no clue what I want to do with my life.
"I am going to walk you home, then I will ice the bruises," he remarked, not caring that the bruising was swelling up and hissed when standing up.
"Can you even walk?" Mrs. Han questioned, raising an eyebrow as he takes a step.
"I am thankful for your concern, Mrs. Han, but I believe I will be alright, " Hongseok walks to the door. "Are you coming?" I stood from my kneeling position on the floor, brushing off my knees.
"I guess I am, " I let out a small chuckle, walking to the hooks on the wall by the kitchen. "Give me one second." I run to the kitchen, grabbing a plastic bag from under the counter and filling it with ice from the freezer. Coming back out of the kitchen, I grab my small purse and the bag of ice.
"Hongseok," I stick my hand out with the ice bag. "Ice your side."
"I don't need it," Hongseok sighs, looking down at me.
"And the hisses when you stood up said otherwise, Hongseok," I keep my hand out before he takes it.
"Fine, if it helps you sleep at night," He places it on his side.
"Let's go then," I smile, gently taking his arm around my shoulders.

The silent walk back to the building was something that I would do again. It wasn't awkward, but just enough for me. We had started walking along the Han River when Hongseok struck up a conversation.
"How come you moved to Seoul? Or, well, further into Asia? Wouldn't a person want to be free within a different place?" He sighs. "Although I wanted to, I never got the chance."
"I came from Thailand, so one of the most polluted countries in Asia. The chance for me to be able to move further across the world than I did would've been torture while alone," I look down.
"May I ask why you're alone?"
I proceed to look down at the ground again as we walk, "I am an orphan. My parents died last year. I had finished high school early, compared to others where I lived while working to support myself in other aspects of my life. A drunk driver hit them and I didn't want to be reminded about their death, so I moved."
His hand moves to my cheek, wiping a tear that had escaped my eye. I stopped walking while continuously supporting Hongseok's body. Looking up at him, I can see his eyes are softened compared to the sharp looks he had in them when he arrived at the bakery.
"You alright?" He looks me over.
"Yeah, can we just sit by the river for a few minutes?" He nods, helping me get readjusted to his height and weight.

Sitting down on the closest bench, I stare out onto the water that flowed beneath the bridge in front of the two of us.
"You know, I care about you, right?" I questioned him, sighing a small bit. "Even after only a few hours. How is it even possible?"
"I think you just actually care," he teases.
"No way, why should I care about you?"
"Maybe because you love me," he had joked but moved my face to face him with his finger. My breath hitches in my throat, looking Hongseok directly in the eyes. He started to lean in, but I was frozen. Stopping literal millimeters from my face, he looks at me.
"You're not scared?"
"Why should I be?"
"I'm not a nice guy, Maya."