ALWAYS You: Swan's Shadow [YOONGI] (Book 3)

Chapter 29 [Seokjin's Story]

Little did Yoongi, Namjoon and Hoseok know, the chicken place they went to was famous for another reason. 

You see, legend has it that a worldwide handsome boy worked there. Females of all ages and species flock there for a chance to lay their eyes on him. 

"O-op-pa," a girl stuttered at the door, "I wrote a letter for you. I hope you can accept this." She extended her arms out. Pinched between her fingers, a love letter riddled in cute stickers adorned the envelope. The chicken shop just opened, and behind her was already a queue of girls, all waiting for a middle schooler called Kim Seokjin. 

Rightly so, Seokjin was too stunning to be human. His bed of hair ruffled at the right angles. His skin was smooth and pale. His eyes glistening. His broad shoulders carried his quiet personality. At the same time, he carried a teasing personality just for his fans. 

Seokjin stood at the door. Every month, the best employee award went to him for the amount of business he got for the owner. Seokjin didn't even need to do anything, he could just stand there and the chicken shop would be a million dollar success.

Seeing his fangirls as soon as he pull the shutters up was no longer a rare sight. He grinned, soaking in the celebrity lifestyle that he has gotten used to. He revelled in the spotlight, giving the time of day to each and every one of his girls the attention with no discrimination. 

He accepted the letter, making sure to brush his fingers against the girl's skin. "Of course," his eyes squinted over to her name badge perched neatly on her school blazer, "Dasom-ssi."

Dasom fainted. Seokjin knew her name. 

At the back of the queue, Yoongi, Namjoon and Hoseok, tutted in annoyance at the high pitched screams of the girls around them.  

At long last, for what seemed like years and their intestines shrivelling into famine, they arrived at the front. 

"Well this is interesting," Seokjin beamed, "my first fanboys!" 

"Don't talk. Three buckets of chicken. We're starving!" Yoongi ordered, pushing past the bewildered Seokjin who, for some odd reason, felt rejected for the first time. 

The three starving boys plopped down at a table. They were surrounded by tables and tables of school girls who weren't even there to eat. The walls were adorned with scrawny handwriting from Seokjin's girls with 'I love you's', 'hwaiting!' and 'oppa, marry me!'  

"I don't get many guys in here." Seokjin strolled up to them with their buckets; he was eager to make conversation with the three boys who devoured their buckets so fast you'd think they haven't eaten for days. 

Hoseok popped his head up from his bucket. "Haven't seen a testicle for a long time, have you? If your chicken place isn't the closest to the rehab centre, there's no way you'd catch us queuing  with those sasaengs of yours." 

Seokjin's eyebrow rose. "Ooo you guys just came out of the rehab centre?" Like a giddy school girl himself, he tippy tapped to an empty seat at their table and threw himself down. "What'd you guys do wrong? Caught stealing? Beat up the security guard at the mall?"

"Drugzzz." Namjoon muffled with a chicken leg in his mouth. Barbeque sauce dripped from the side of his lips. His voice sounding like he was high on chicken.

"Running away from annoying females." Yoongi deadpanned, chuckling at the whole ordeal where Hoseok's motorbike rammed into his hammock in the forest, then getting themselves purposefully arrested to avoid Bora at Namjoon's gas station. 

"Can't say that I relate." Seokjin tutted. He spread his arms wide, tilted his head back with a full grin slapped on his face. "You gotta bathe in the glory of the female attention to keep yourself young."

Disgusted looks plaster Namjoon, Yoongi and Hoseok's faces. 

"OPPA!" 

"Yes?" Seokjin jerked his head towards the direction of the voice.

The doors flew open.

Bora strolled in, her hips pelted out and knocking Seokjin off his seat. He was flabbergasted. By the time he caught himself, he was shocked to find Bora fawning herself over Yoongi. She didn't even bat an eyelid towards him. 

Well, that's a first. 

"I'm Kim Seok-"

"I got here as soon as I can, Yoongi oppa!" Bora whined, dabbing his chicken lips with a tissue. She ranted away about how she missed him so much, that she was so worried about him getting arrested, the list goes on. 

Hoseok and Namjoon snickered, seeing Seokjin's perplexed expression that there was actually a female in this world who ignored him.

"Trust me, you don't want this one." Yoongi deadpanned, waving his chicken around, but the boys caught on. 

Now it was Bora's turn who was confused. She finally realised the other three sitting at the table. 

"Oh! New friends?" Bora asked.

Yoongi opened his mouth to answer-

"New friends!" Seokjin declared first, raising a paper cup of Cola as a way to ask if he was accepted. 

The silence at the table was heavy. 

"Hey pretty boy," Yoongi said, "I don't think you know what being friends with us mean. Our lives are nothing like yours. You wear pressed trousers, we wear criminal records. Your knives are for plastic surgery, our knives are for maim and kill."

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that I'm a natural, plastic surgery isn't in my dictionary." Seokjin shrugged, making Yoongi roll his eyes. 

"Plus pretty boys can have criminal records too. Pretty boys like to play with knives, just like you big bad boys." Seokjin sang, whipping out an intricately designed blade from the pocket of his neatly ironed pants. The blade screamed sexy and custom-made. It sat perfectly in Seokjin's delicate hands as if the knife and owner compliment each other. "I once went into the rehab centre for possession of knives, believe it or not."

"Knives." Yoongi repeated, "careful now, that's plural, right there."

Seokjin grinned. "I like to collect switchblades! Weird habit of mine. I was searched by the popo and got done for possession." 

"So pretty boys like you get searched too, huh?" Hoseok deadpanned.

Yoongi took Seokjin's switchblade into his hands, spinning it, examining it like a new toy. 

"Uh huh. Although I'm quite certain that the lady popo only searched me to feel my butt." 

A wave of sniggers circled the table. 

"Where'd you get your switchblades? This one's quite the looker." Yoongi sighed, tracing the pads of his fingers on the surface of the blade. 

"I'll show you one day!" Seokjin chimed, happy that someone shares the same interest as him. 

Yoongi darted his eyes up to Seokjin, watching the boy carefully. Yoongi definitely found him interesting, and a part of him definitely wanted to see if Seokjin is made of flowers. Strangely, however, even though Seokjin seemed so different to himself on the surface, Yoongi got a feeling that they were alike in many ways. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was telling him that Kim Seokjin was going to be one of his brothers through thick and thin.

"Free chicken for life?" Yoongi asked, a smile slowly forming at the corner of his lips.

Seokjin's face lit up. He's accepting me as a friend!

"And queue jump!" Seokjin beamed.

Their cups are raised. It was certified. Another member joins their little gang.