The Safe Side

CHAPTER SIX

I sigh, tapping my fingers against the food court counter as I wait impatiently for my food. Everyone keeps staring at me, and it's making me more than a little uncomfortable.

I mean, I get it. Behind me stands the epitome of masculine beauty, and its not every day that such a handsome male specimen waltz's into the mall with a gun strapped to him. Especially here in Korea.

Interestingly enough, despite South Korea's strict gun control laws, no one says a word to Jimin about his weapon. But everyone is looking. And the way that he glares at everyone isn't helping matters.

With an extremely annoyed countenance, the man on register duty takes my cash. And when I grab my food, making my way to one of the only unoccupied tables left, Jimin follows. He glares daggers at every passerby.

He doesn't relax, even once we are seated.

"So, " I begin, stirring my noodles lazily. "I know that you're supposed to keep me safe and all, but could you maybe avoid being so obvious about it. Everyone is staring. I don't particularly care for being the center of attention."

At least he has the decency to look sheepish about it.

"Hey!" I exclaim abruptly, "I have an idea! Why don't we pretend to be on a date! That's what they do in movies right?"

Freezing in response, Jimin begins to blush.

"D-don't tease me like that!" He stammers pitifully. "I'm a professional!"

I laugh, amused by his reaction. Who would have thought? This man that, until only too recently, I was deathly terrified of is actually just a giant teddy bear. And an adorable one at that.

And yet, he definitely did kill a man when we met. He's probably killed many more before that too. I shouldn't allow myself to feel so at ease around him.

I always did have an unhealthy case of curiosity, unfortunately, and the claims that these men laid forth have brought me no small amount of it. It can't be true. It's downright impossible.

And yet Yoongi seems genuinely convinced of his own statements. At the very least, being confident enough to agree to meet me here in public says something.

But how exactly am I supposed to know what I looked like as a baby anyway? Eomma doesn't really have any baby photos of me. Truthfully, the youngest I've seen myself in any of our family photos is actually probably closer to ten years of age.

She's always claimed that all of our earlier photos got lost in the move, but what if she's been lying to me all this time?

Did she lie about the huge gap in my memory too?

Because it isn't just the photos that are missing. Growing up, I've always accepted everything my mother told me at face value. So when she told me at eleven years old that I'd lost my memory due to an accident, I believed her.

Of course, waking up in the hospital had validated her statement just as much as the doctors had. Doubting Eomma has got to be the silliest thing I've ever done.

"You didn't order me anything?" Yoongi whines, suddenly seating himself before us. He hefts up and onto the table one of the biggest scrapbooks I've ever seen. "Rude much?"

Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black.

I frown, not really feeling enough of any friendly sort of camaraderie that would allow me to enjoy the irony of his words. I'm sure to many, Min Yoongi is a man with many charms. I, on the other hand, find him to be oddly annoying.

"I'm sorry, " I deadpan.

"Wow!" Yoongi replies, amused by my snark. "You really are amazing, you know that? Lying right to my face like that? Just, wow."

I really just want to wipe that smirk off of his face.

"Anyway, I brought you those pictures I told you about." He says, opening the cover of the massive tome before us. "There's a shit ton here. There's even a couple of family photos."

He flips through the pages with familiar ease, leading me to believe that this isn't the first time he's gone through this book. In some ways, this supposed brother of mine is surprisingly tender. I wonder how many nights he sat alone in his room, flipping through this book of memories.

"Ah!" He exclaims, pointing to a particular photo. "This one here has all of us."

And indeed it does. There before me is an old photo featuring two chubby-faced children and a set of adults. Of course, I recognize nobody in this photo aside from Eomma. But the point is that she is there. I'd know that gentle smile anywhere.

"And this one, " Yoongi says, pointing to yet another photo. "This is when you and Jimin were about eight years old I wanna say."

This time, it is undeniably myself in the photo. I am wearing am ecstatic smile in the photo, whilst pulling on Jimin's cheeks. And there's no mistaking that face, it's definitely Jimin. 

I frown, puzzled by all of it. It's very hard to deny Yoongi's evidence. Growling in frustration, I grab my hair by the roots.

"This just doesn't make sense, " I say. I am exasperated, and have no clue what to say or think.

Meanwhile, Yoongi watches me with patiently sympathetic eyes. "It's fine that you don't remember us, none of us are angry." He states suddenly, throwing me off guard. "In fact, we're all so happy to see you again. I promise you, for whatever my promise is worth, that we really just want to keep you safe and get you back home with mom."

He takes a deep breath, loosening his tie as he does so. "These people, the one's now hunting you, are very dangerous." He tells me firmly. "And there's more. Just like Jimin, Jin, and I, the people who will try to kill you are-"

"Hey! Boss man! Didn't you say you were hungry?" Jimin blurts loudly.

Standing from his seat quickly, Jimin then leans over. Nearly hauling Yoongi from his seat entirely, he pulls, dragging him towards the food court's plethora of options.

My mind is in turmoil, but one thing is clear to me as I watch the two playfully interact. I don't think these people are a danger to me.