WORDS. |Kim Seungmin

Fourteen.

It's been more than three hours since Aria texted Seungmin to meet her at the café. The boy said that he would be there soon but he never showed up. Aria's eyes never left the door as they were preparing to close the café. She was worried cause he didn't reply to her texts after that.

"He's not a kid, Aria." Changbin huffed.

"Not only kids get in trouble or bad situations, Changbin." She said, placing the chair she was cleaning in its place again. "Besides, you know he can't talk. What if som-"

"He still can communicate." Changbin cut her words. He crossed his arms to his chest and cocked an eyebrow. "Be honest with me. What is it?"

He exposed her. Yes, she was worried cause she couldn't contact him for hours but that wasn't the only thing occupying her mind. His last words were roaming there too. Is he really a Punished? If he's a Punished, was he punished because he did something bad, like a crime? Or it was just a mistake like the one her brother did? If he's a bad guy, was it okay for her to befriend him?

"Nothing." That was all she said to her friend who sighed in frustration. He knew there was more. He knew she was hiding something and he was afraid that she might end up being hurt.

"As you wish." He said and walked to the switches to flip them close.

Aria quickly grabbed her bag from behind the counter and sprinted outside the café. Changbin made sure everything was secure before he shuts the doors and lock them. The two friends were about to walk towards Changbin's car when Changbin caught something at the corner of his eyes.

"Aria, Aria." He called his friend shaking her arm.

Aria who was looking down to her feet startled but looked up at her friend with confusion. That confusion didn't last for long once she realized why Changbin was calling her like that.

Across the road, there was him, running frantically towards where they were standing. She watched him running at his full speed. Finally, he reached them and tried to stop himself but his speed wasn't helping, which ended in him tripping over his own legs. Before the boy falls down to meet the concrete ground, Changbin's hands caught him. The boy was a mess. He was panting and his chest was going up and down crazily. His hair was going in every direction and he was sweating. Indeed, he was running for a long distance.

"What? What happened?" Aria panicked. She moved closer to him and without her realizing it, her hand was patting his shoulder.

"Dude, are you okay?" Changbin asked, still supporting him.

Seungmin nodded. He was still panting. His legs were still wobbling. He was still a mess but he could straighten up and catch his breath. The boy gulped hardly a few times before he pulls his phone and taps something. Few seconds and Aria's phone dinged.

"I'm so sorry. Something came up and I couldn't make it at the right time." The message displayed on Aria's phone read.

"It's okay! As long as you are fine." Aria said. She was still looking at the boy with concern while patting his shoulder. She didn't notice the smirk forming on Changbin's face.

"Well," Changbin said clapping his hands together after he let go of the boy. "I have to go get some groceries for mom." He looked at Seungmin. "You can take her home, right?" Seungmin nodded. "Great!" Changbin cheered then inched towards Seungmin. "You'd better drop her home safely cause her brother is scary and I'm a boxer." He whispered.

Seungmin was taken aback for a second but eventually, he nodded at the boy. Changbin waved at the two of them and then walked to his car which pulled away in a minute.

Aria and Seungmin looked at each other awkwardly before Aria clears her throat. "Let's go." She said. Seungmin nodded at her.

Seungmin started walking followed by Aria. She was relieved that the boy was okay but she was still busy thinking of what might have made him late for their meeting.

She was walking beside him but slightly behind. He was walking slowly with his head dropped down. Maybe he felt guilty. His locks were now neat again without even sorting them. Somehow, they found their own way to their right places. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his shorts. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt that again made Aria question the temperature of his body. It was a hot summer night!

Aria stopped once she noticed the boy stopping ahead of her. She lifted her head to find that they already arrived at the bus stop. Seungmin checked the time through his watch on his left wrist while still tucking his right into his pocket.

Soon the bus arrived and the two partners hopped in. The ride was silent but never boring. At least to Aria. It was comforting somehow. The questions that were running through her head all day were replaced with only one question.

How can someone's presence be that soothing?

A tug on Aria's arm brought her back from daydreaming about the boy sitting next to her. She shoved her head to the right to find that it was Seungmin. They arrived at their stop but she didn't notice that.

Embarrassed by her attitude, she jumped to her feet and sprinted to the door followed by Seungmin who was chuckling silently. They both got off and resumed walking towards the neighborhood.

Aria started pouting when she saw her house from far. She didn't want to part ways yet. Although she didn't say a single word since they left the café, she wanted to stay with him for more. They made it to her front gate and stopped with an audible sigh from Aria.

Aria lifted her head to look at him and was about to talk when she finally realized it. They were at her house's gate.

"How do you know where I live?" She questioned with a scrunched-up face.

The boy furrowed his brows before he pulls his phone out to send her a message. "I'm your neighbor, Aria! I literally live next door." It read.

"Wait! You knew that I was your neighbor?" She asked. He nodded. "Since when?"

"Since the day I moved here." He typed. "I told you that I have nothing to do except watching."

She read the message and lifted her head to look at him, not expecting to see that cocky smirk he was having.

Shit!

He was really dangerous, to her heart.