Neighborly [Seo Changbin + FemReader]

[2.1] Seo Changbin

"Your dad didn't show up?" I asked the boy cautiously as we started walking toward the entrance of our apartment building.

He sniffled, wiping his nose with his wet sleeve, and said, "I don't know why mom thinks today would be any different than all the other times he's promised things and not done them."

The way it sounded, either that was a really shit home situation for this kid or his parents weren't together anymore. He said his mother was working late, so I assumed he would be by himself until she got home. I knew I shouldn't interfere, but when I looked at his face again and saw the marks on them, I didn't want to leave this kid alone for who knows how many hours.

"What's the story on that?" I asked, pointing to the high cheek bruise and busted lip.

Hesitation was written all over his features, but I waited him out. He finally opened up as I closed the umbrella, and we walked through the lobby to the elevator bank. "Some of the other kids make fun of the fact that my parents are divorced and I've got a deadbeat dad. When they saw me waiting after school by the fence, they started talking bad about my dad. I can ignore that because what they say is usually true. But, when they started saying stuff about my mom, I shoved the closest one away from me. Two of them backed me up against the fence and started hitting me. They got a few punches to my face before someone yelled and they ran off. I didn't wait for whoever yelled and went in the opposite direction and took the long way home. It started raining when I was about 6 blocks away, so I ran the rest of the way. And here we are."

The elevator dinged to note its arrival and the doors slid open. We both stepped into the elevator with a couple more people who had been waiting nearby. I reached forward to press floor number 12 right after he pressed 11. I looked down at the boy and stuck my hand out to him.

"I'm Mr. Seo. I live on the floor above you. What's your name?"

The boy looked at my hand and then up at me, a smile playing on his lips. He took my hand and shook it. "My name is Yu-Jin. Nice to meet you, Mr. Seo."

"How late is your mom going to be?"

"I think she said that she'll be home close to 8. She has to wait for a different bus when she works late. And I was supposed to be with dad until then, so she's not expecting me to be home by myself." He shrugged, but something about his body language held disappointment and a little sadness. I knew what that looked like.

"I'm going to order some takeout for dinner and maybe play some video games if you're not wanting to be by yourself." I threw out there to see if he was all stranger danger or not. "And that's totally up to whether your mom would be okay with it or not. I swear I'm not a creep."

I could see the wheels in his little brain turning, and he laughed. "Sure, but I need to stop by my place and change clothes and leave her a note. Can I leave her your number?"

I fished a business card that JYP had made for each of 3RACHA out of my wallet and handed it to him. "You can leave that for her to call when she gets home."

The elevator had stopped a few times, but he started moving toward the front as we approached the 11th floor. He said, "Okay. What's your apartment number?"

"1217."

He nodded and smiled. "Hey, you're the apartment right above ours. I'll be there in like... 10 minutes. Is that okay?"

"Okay. Sounds good," I said as he exited the elevator.

When the doors slid closed, I could have swallowed my fist. What the hell am I doing?