The Gangleader's Sister

Chapter 13

Hyunjin wasn't running so fast that I couldn't keep up, but your girl isn't the athletic type, so I was panting pretty hard. I slowed to a walk and as I passed a corner, someone grabbed me from behind. I instinctively screamed and stomped on their foot as I elbowed their gut. Once they released me, I turned around to find Hyunjin hopping on one foot while he held his stomach.

"Damn, princess. Maybe you won't need those self-defense classes after all." He gave me a smile, or at least he tried to. I could see pain all over his face.

"Hey, it's not my fault. How was I supposed to know you weren't one of the people after me? It wasn't a smart decision, Jinnie," I tried to hold in my laughter at him, but miserably failed when he fell over from hopping on the one foot.

"Yeah yeah, just help me up, would you?" He extended his arms to me, and I pulled with all my strength, somehow managing to get him up. "I guess this can count as you catching me, so are you ready for some kimchi?"

"Yes! All that running made me even more hungry! But I hope it's closeby. My feet hurt."

"Well you're in luck because we happen to be standing right outside the shop." He opened the door of the shop we were in front of, and the aroma of the kimchi filled my nose and made my mouth start to water. I told Hyunjin what I wanted and he went to go order. I sat down on a bench as I waited, but then I saw a familiar face walking toward me.

"Rae? Hey, what's up?" Jaemin stopped at the bench to talk to me.

"Oh, I'm uh, on a date." I smiled awkwardly.

"Really? Well good luck! Also, Nuri told me about Jeju, I'd love to go! Just let me know when it is and I'll be there!"

"Okay, sounds good, Jaemin!"

I saw Hyunjin start walking back as he eyed up Jaemin. "Hey, princess, our food will be ready in about 10 minutes. Who's this?" I silently giggled at the jealousy that I heard in his voice.

"HI, I'm Na Jaemin, a friend from school, and hopefully Nuri's boyfriend once I confess." He nervously scratched the back of his neck and looked down as he said the last part.

"You're going to confess?! Oh my god, Jaemin! Tell me what you need, I'll do anything to help you and Nuri! She's so going to say yes!" I was beyond excited for one of my best friends.

Jaemin chuckled at me being excited for one of my best friends. "Okay, I'll take you up on that. I was actually thinking about doing it at Jeju-"

"That's perfect! It's so romantic! You two will be so cute together! She's probably going to faint. Oh my gosh, I sound like Nuri. Somebody stop me." I finally stopped talking and gave the two boys an innocent smile.

There was an awkward silence as we all just kind of stared at each other. I heard Hyunjin clear his throat. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Jaemin. I'm Hyunjin. I'll also be going to Jeju with you, so is my friend Jisung."

"Oh cool, I won't be the only guy! I can't wait to go and hang out with you guys, but I have to go now, my mom wants me home to do some chores. I'll see you guys later, have fun tonight!" Jaemin waved bye as he left the shop.

"I think that is the most excited I've seen you since we met." Hyunjin smiled at me as he sat down next to me.

"Well, yeah! One of my two best friends is about to get a boyfriend, and I might be able to help with it!" I leaned my head on his shoulder as we waited for the food. Hyunjin didn't waste any time in sliding his arm around my waist as he leaned his head on mine, and pulled me closer.

After a few more minutes of us just enjoying the other's company, our food was ready. Hyunjin got the bag of food with one hand, then grabbed my hand with his free one. We walked out of the shop and down the street. I didn't know where he was taking me, but once we entered a park and stopped at the playground, I just became straight-up confused.

"Umm, Hyunjin? What are we doing here?" He only smiled down at me and led me to the swings, motioning for me to get on. Once I did, he took out one of the boxes of kimchi and handed it to me with some chopsticks. He pulled out a second box and more chopsticks for himself as he sat on the swing next to me. We both started eating after I thanked him for the food, and slowly swung in the swings as we ate in a comfortable silence.

"So, I know you probably don't want to talk about this right now," I looked up and met his eyes as he continued speaking in a soft voice. "But are you okay? A lot has happened recently, and I just want to make sure you're okay. I care about you, princess. We all care about you. And Chan, he-"

"Please, just stop, Hyunjin." My voice was small as I tried to keep it from cracking. I could feel the tears starting to form in my eyes and the lump in my throat. A lot has happened in such a short amount of time. In one day, my safety was threatened twice. I found out my brother is in a gang, along with Changbin and Jisung, two of my closest friends besides Mina and Nuri. A lot has happened, and honestly I'm not okay, but I don't know how to talk about it. I want to tell Hyunjin, I just don't want to end up a crying mess because what if he thinks I'm overreacting.

"I'm sorry, princess. I shouldn't have brought it up. Chan was just worried." His voice brought me out of my thoughts as he looked down to his empty bowl then over to mine. "Hey, let's go somewhere else, yeah?" He stood up, grabbed my empty bowl from my hands and threw our trash away, then came back and pulled me up from my swing.

I could feel him looking at me for a little bit before I felt him step closer and pull me into hm for a hug. His arms wrapped around my body and gave me comfort, and I didn't hesitate to return the gesture. I laid my head on his chest as I breathed in his scent, then felt his head on top of mine. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but it was perfect.

I felt him loosen his hold on me as he rubbed my back a little before pulling back and looking at my face. "Princess, I don't want you telling Chan that I almost made you cry on our first date otherwise he might actually kill me," his words made me smile. "So let's keep going? There's somewhere I want to take you." He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips as he placed a soft kiss on my knuckles.

As we started walking, I felt like we were being watched again. I turned to look around, and this time, I found someone in a dark hoodie with the hood up and a mask over their face watching us.

I stopped in my place, and when Hyunjin noticed, he turned around then looked to where I was staring. "Shit."