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𝕾𝖎𝖝

CHAEYOUNG WAS DOING chores around her apartment when she heard a knock at the front door. She went to the door to open it and saw Jungkook standing in front of her. A look of confusion on her face. "Jungkook? What are you doing here?"

"Can I come inside? I need to speak with you about something." Jungkook asked her. She thought for a second before she stepped aside to let him enter her apartment. She shut the door once he was inside.

"I need you to come with me," Jungkook said.

"What is this all about?" Chaeyoung said, even more confused than before.

"I'll explain everything later, but right now, you need to come with me." Jungkook looked her straight in the eyes and she somehow trusted him. She let out a small nod.

"Do you know how to use a gun?"

She shook her head. "I've never even held one."

"Well, you must know how to use one if your life was threatened. I'll show you the basics later. You might as well keep one close at hand. Just in case." He handed her a pistol.

"Well, this is great." She murmured, refusing to let herself imagine a "just in case" scenario.

Jungkook grabbed her hand, leading her out of the apartment.

They were walking down when Jungkook suddenly pulled them back against the wall. Jungkook peeked and saw men with guns, roaming around the front of the building. Chaeyoung could hear heavy footsteps coming closer and closer. Her heart was racing.

A man appeared all of a sudden around the corner. Jungkook instinctively grabbed his arm and twisted it, smashing his face into the wall. The man slumped to the ground.

"What was that noise?"

Jungkook peeked again. Two men walking towards their direction. Jungkook turned around to look at Chaeyoung, "Stay close behind me."

One man lunged at him, fist drawn back, ready for the punch. Jungkook raised his foot and kicked towards the man's stomach. His kick had sent him flying backwards, down the stairs.

The other man pulled a knife out from under his jacket. He lunged forward with his knife. Jungkook dodged the knife, then clasped his hand over the other man's wrist.

Jungkook gave the man's wrist a sudden jerk and the knife fell out of his hand. Jungkook caught the flying knife in mid-air with his other hand, thrusting toward the man's abdomen.

He grabbed Chaeyoung's hand again; and together they ran toward the motorcycle. Jungkook threw a leg over. "Climb aboard."

"Sorry but I do not have helmets with me now," he added.

Chaeyoung heard a painful groan behind her. She saw one man standing up. Looking back at him, she knew he was having the same thoughts as her. "I don't think we should be worried about that."

Chaeyoung hopped on his motorcycle and hugged him as tight as possible. She felt nervous, very nervous. The engine roared to life and they were off. She gasped and clung tighter, the air whipping her hair.

They managed to get out of the city, enough so the men are no longer chasing after them. He turned the motorcycle around and parked it on the grass from the side of the road.

"Why are we stopping?" She asked.

Jungkook climbed off the motorcycle and left her sitting there, watching him.

"We ran out of gas. I think it would be a good idea if we leave the motorcycle here. They can track down the motorcycle but they will not find us if we go far from here."

Suddenly, an old truck pulled over to the side and honked, grabbing their attention. Chaeyoung hopped off the motorcycle and walked over to the truck. Jungkook followed along behind her. The owner of the car was, unfortunately, a Japanese old man. Chaeyoung wished she would taken classes to learn different languages.

"Is there something wrong?"

"My wife and I were on our way for our trip, but our car broke down. We need a place to stay for a while until our car is fixed." Jungkook spoke in Japanese, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to convince the man.

Chaeyoung turned to look up at him, quite surprised to hear him talk in Japanese.

"Oh my, that must be terrible. You're welcome to stay at my place. My wife and I owned a small ryokan, but it is far from here. I was delivering products. Will that okay with the two of you?"

"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu (Thank you very much)," Jungkook thanked and bowed. Jungkook pushed Chaeyoung lightly, signaling her to hop on the truck trunk.

They arrived at the ryokan late at night. They went inside the ryokan where Masao introduced his wife, Fuyu.

"Welcome to our ryokan! You must be the newlyweds that my husband told me about earlier on the phone. Now I know that you two must be exhausted after that long ride. Your room will be down the hall. And here are the yukatas for you two to change into." Fuyu placed the folded yukatas onto Jungkook's hands. Jungkook bowed down to show his gratitude.

Fuyu smiled, "You two make such a perfect couple. We will leave you two alone then." Jungkook gave a faint smile and said nothing. Masao wrapped his arm around her and giggled. Together, they turned around and went to their own room.

Chaeyoung turned to face Jungkook. "What was all that about?"

"I told them that we're a happily married couple that just happen to have a car problem on our road trip."

She asked with a confused frown, "Why did you tell them that we are married?"

"If we do not act like a married couple, then they will ask more questions and be suspicious of us." He explained, walking towards their room. Jungkook slid the shoji screen door back. Soft candlelight lit the small room whose floors were covered by tatami mat. Chaeyoung entered the room after him and looked around the room. In the corner of the room were a closet for futon sleeping quilts to be placed into the tatami mat floor for sleeping. One short, squat plain wooden table near the wall with two sitting cushions.

Jungkook handed her a yukata, "You can change in there." He motioned to the space behind the curtain. Inside the alcove, she slipped out of her clothes and donned a blue-and-white cotton yukata. When she emerged, she saw Jungkook sitting on the cushion while trying to wrap the old dirty cloth around his wound.

Chaeyoung grabbed his wrist to stop him, "Reusing a dirty cloth will increase the risk for infection and slow down the healing process."

Jungkook stared at Chaeyoung for a second or two then let out a faint smile, "I guess I have to get a new one."

"I will ask Fuyu if there is a first-aid kit and I will then clean your wound again." Chaeyoung came back a couple of minutes later with a first-aid kit in her hand. She opened up the kit and took out what she needed—bandages, gauze, tape, and alcohol. She could feel him tense as she dabbed the alcohol on his wound. She took a quick glance at him before she continues to clean, "Thank you for saving me back there." She did not expect to meet him under any circumstances after that day she treated his wound.

Jungkook shrugged it off like it is not a big deal. "You saved me before as well."

"How did you find out about those men coming after me?" Chaeyoung asked.

"After the attack, we tracked them down. Few of the men spotted lurking around your place, so I had this feeling that something bad is going to happen."

Chaeyoung started cleaning the detritus of used first-aid supplies on the table as Jungkook got up and put his yukata back on. "You are right about that part at least."

Chaeyoung got the sleeping futon out and made a bed. She watched him curiously as he headed for the door. Wondering where he was planning to go, she asked him.

Jungkook turned to face her, tucking a handgun into his gray and white stripped hakama pants over his dark blue yukata. "I will be on the lookout. Get some rest."

"Why do you need to be on the lookout? We are so far away. They will not find us that easily."

"I tend to get suspicious when strangers are being overly nice." Jungkoo explained more, "People do not just give out foods and places for strangers to sleep with nothing in return."

Chaeyoung frowned, "You are suspicious of Masao and Fuyu?" She scoffed at his suspicion. "They are just being good citizens, helping people in need."

"You've tried to be a good citizen and look how that ended up for you."

Chaeyoung opened her mouth as if to answer, but then thought better of it and closed it without uttering a sound.

There was a pause before she speaks again, "If you are going to stay up and watch, then I will too."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Let's sleep then. End of our discussion. You need rest too." Chaeyoung laid down a futon on the mat, almost close besides her futon.

Chaeyoung laid down on her futon and curled up with the blanket around her, her back facing him.

Jungkook sighed, "Does it look like I have a choice?"

"Nope." Chaeyoung made sure to pop the 'p' sound at the end.

Jungkook let out a chuckle, amusement touching the corner of his lips. "Oh, so now you want to play that wife role."

Not looking back at him, Chaeyoung threw a pillow towards his direction. With a grin, Jungkook leaned forward and blew out the candle flame. The darkness of the room closed in around them.

Jungkook lay down on his back, placing his handgun beside his pillow. He clasped his hands behind his head, his eyes stared into the darkness.

Chaeyoung closed her eyes, trying to sleep. Rolled to one side and then to the other side. She groaned, looking up at the ceiling.

"Jungkook?" she whispered. "Are you still awake?" When Jungkook did not answer, she resettled herself in the futon. That gentle movement of air as she rearranged her sheet wafted a scent of strawberry lotion his way.

"Have you ever had a hard time sleeping on a bed that is not your own?" When Chaeyoung received no response from him, she sighed to herself. She closed her eyes, trying to sleep once again.

Chaeyoung heard a movement and suddenly, she felt a body slide under her blanket. Jungkook casually put the blanket over the both of them as he cuddled her closely from behind. He proved that indeed two people could fit on a small futon. His body felt warm as his chest was pressing up against her back. She turned slowly to face him, his breath tickling her face.

Jungkook shifted his arms slowly so that one arm casually pulled the two bodies closer. This action made Chaeyoung gently grip on his cotton fabric of his yukata, which he found absolute adorable.

"Better?" he whispered.

Chaeyoung suddenly felt safe with his arm around her. She smiled in the dark and whispered back, "Better."