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Chapter 18

Locked Up Heart

Standing alone at the shelf quivering was Gayoung, unsure of what to do. Her heart was beating fast as she stared intently at the storage room. She was cursing herself internally in fury for trying to be productive and trying to restock the shelves without Yeona by her side.
Yeona had been commanded angrily by Yoongi to clean up the mess that Yoongi claimed she had made. Although Yeona threw a tantrum and stood firm to the fact that she did not make the mess in the storage room, she still cleaned it up. Initially, Yeona asked Gayoung to clean the room with her but Yoongi said that Gayoung should not be helping her clean up her mess.
Therefore, Yeona and Gayoung agreed that Gayoung would stand outside and wait until Yeona was done cleaning up. However, Gayoung and her idiotic ass decided to be productive this once and do her job without Yeona by her side. Now, she was spaced out, terrified and alone.
Just then, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She flinched and turned around to see Hoseok looking at her with the utmost amount of concern in his eyes. Her body loosened up a bit but was still tense. Her gaze lowered and saw him wearing the same canary sneakers. She smiled.

"Hey, you alright?"

He asked, his eyes sparkling with concern as he stared into her eyes. Gayoung found her heart increasingly beating faster as she tried to calm herself down.

"Yeah, I'm fine!"

She said cheerfully, a bit too loud as she forced a smile. Seeing her forced and fake smile, Hoseok could not help but press his lips together and sigh.

"Listen, if anything is bothering you, just tell me if you're comfortable. I know we aren't that close but I want to help,"

He muttered, his eyes shining with sincerity as Gayoung felt a mix of emotions. The way he looked at her made her want to trust him. However,  she questioned his intentions, just like she always had with everyone. She hated herself for it but since that incident, she could not trust anyone.

"Why? Why do you want to help me?"

She asked, her voice cracking just like her heart, cracked and broken. Hoseok looked at her with pity in his eyes before smiling softly.

"Because ever since I saw you, you seemed different,"

They both stared at each other for a while, hearts racing wildly. Time seemed to have frozen and it seemed as if they were the only ones in the building. His words felt warm and truthful to Gayoung, warming up her heart which she had locked away in a small icy chest a long time ago. However, the chains were kept locked. She still had her doubts.
Clearing his throat to break the awkward silence looming over them, Hoseok looked around awkwardly with his lips pressed together. He scratched his nape in a fluster as his face grew red.

"Ice cream, perhaps?"

She nodded.