"So that is all, do you understand? If you need me to explain it again, I always can."

"No, I got it. Thanks, Jimin!" Eunha smiled at Park Jimin, her co-worker, whom Ms. Nam had mentioned before. Jimin had arrived at 1 pm sharp and Ms. Nam had left to get the hot chocolates she'd promised Eunha right away. Though Ms. Nam had told Eunha to start working tomorrow, she'd insisted on working from today. Eunha figured she didn't have anything better to do anyway so she might as well keep herself occupied and not dwell on negative thoughts and feelings.

A friendly conversation with Jimin had revealed to Eunha that he was a business major student and was one year older than her. Jimin was a handsome brunette with a stunning smile and a kind personality. He had explained to Eunha about all the sections of books in the store and everything she needed to do as Ms. Nam's assistant.

"No worries!" Jimin nodded, considerately. He had feline eyes that almost disappeared when he smiled, a small nose, and plump lips that seemed to be covered in Vaseline. "Then I'll get to work. I need to recheck the list of our orders for the next month to make sure we didn't miss anything." Jimin smiled. Eunha could practically feel the 'good boy' energy radiating off him.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" She suggested as Jimin walked to the counter and took his seat on the office chair behind it. Eunha followed behind him like a young child following her mother around.

"You don't have to feel pressured to do something," Jimin responded with a light-hearted chuckle. "As Ms. Nam said, you're like a guest here today, you'll be the employee from tomorrow." His eyes shifted to the papers on the counter as he began to rummage through them, Eunha assumed, finding the order list.

"That's kind of her, but I just wanted to be of some use since I'm already here." Eunha insisted, sending a hesitant smile Jimin's way. She hoped he didn't misunderstand her persistence.

"Ah, here it is!" Jimin suddenly chirped, having found the order list. Then he moved his focus back to Eunha, who stood a few feet away from the counter, looking like a high schooler waiting for the announcement of her detention. Jimin didn't understand why she looked so troubled but he found it cute. He assumed she was just timid, or perhaps, she was socially anxious.

"Well, in that case..." Jimin trailed off, thinking of a task to give Eunha, as his eyes danced around the store before ending up on her skinny figure again without an answer. It didn't help that Ms. Nam was a workaholic who did most of the work herself so there was hardly anything left for Eunha to do for the day. Jimin glanced at the mess of papers in front of him and an idea clicked in his mind. "How about you put all these files in that drawer over there for me?" It was minor, but it was something to do at least.

Eunha's eyes followed Jimin's small finger towards the budget pedestal drawer behind his seat, next to the wall. She quickly let out an 'okay' and started to assemble the files in the form of one pile. Picking up the pile, she made her way behind the chair and reached out for the drawer but halted. She didn't know which drawer to put the papers in.

"It's the middle one," Jimin answered without turning around before she could even ask.

"Thank you." Eunha finished the task and lingered there awkwardly.

"For what?" Asked Jimin while he double-checked the list in his hand. He hadn't looked up from it even once and Eunha felt bad for continuously disturbing his focus.

"Uh, for telling me which drawer it was,"

"What do you mean? I was supposed to tell you that, it's your first time here," Jimin chuckled, turning around to glance at Eunha.

"Ah, right." Eunha rubbed her arm, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"So cute." He giggled to himself as he turned back around and continued working.

Eunha's phone dinged. In a flash, she fished it out of her trenchcoat's pocket in the false hope that the text was from Taehyung, but just as usual, she was met with familiar disappointment. It was some ridiculous ad that Eunha was the least interested in. She opened her chat box just to check if Taehyung had responded to her previous texts and she had accidentally missed it.

No replies. No callbacks. Eunha felt an ache in the back of her throat. This was the normal. She was used to Taehyung going MIA for days, and sometimes even weeks. Taehyung never called Eunha and Eunha couldn't stop worrying about him. Sometimes, she didn't know why she kept hoping he'd be the first one to contact her. He never did.

When will you stop being so self-centered, Taehyung? She sighed. Hoping that he was alright and hadn't gotten into any fights, she lazily stuffed her phone back into her pocket. She also hoped that Taehyung hadn't found Jungkook. She didn't even want to imagine how that would end.

The thought of Jungkook made her blood boil. His betrayal was fresh in her mind like an open wound. She couldn't believe how gullible she had been. Putting her faith in a mere stranger like that, how laughable, Eunha criticized herself. She was always like that, so kind that she forgot to be clever.

This is the universe's sign. Let's not trust anybody this year.

Eunha stayed oblivious to the entrance of a person in the bookstore as she was too busy vowing to herself to not trust strangers anymore. She only snapped out of it when she heard Jimin's sweet voice greet somebody in a cheerful tone.

Wondering if Ms. Nam was back, Eunha turned to look at the person but it was not Ms. Nam, but a man. Eunha's eyes widened at the sight of the painfully familiar guy, dressed in black leather.

"...snowing really heavy outside...would you mind if I stay in here...the blizzard has stopped?..." Eunha could see the guy's lips move but her heated mind was zoning in and out on his words. Eunha knew why. Those clothes and hair. That lean figure. That bag. She clenched her fists, letting out a shaky breath. She could recognize that bag anywhere. It was Taehyung's, but the man standing mere steps away from her wasn't Taehyung, but Jeon Jungkook, the traitor.

"Oh, yes, sure. You can stay here." Jimin consented and Jungkook brightened up, thanking him with a respectful bow. He looked so innocent that it made Eunha's nose flare up with rage. "I wonder if Ms. Nam had an umbrella with her-" Jimin added to himself but was cut off by Eunha.

"JEON JUNGKOOK." She roared through a clenched jaw. Both Jungkook and Jimin jumped in surprise. Jungkook, who hadn't noticed Eunha standing behind Jimin at first, finally saw her as Jimin turned around to also look at Eunha with his hand over his heart. An audible gasp escaped his mouth as his heart thumped against his ribcage.

This was bad.

"Eunha?" Jungkook blanched. His previous smile faded as his face contorted into a horrified expression as if he'd seen death in the face.

"There you are, you bastard! You won't get away this time!" Eunha snarled before she charged at him.

His doe eyes widened until they were two little circles, and before Eunha knew it, Jungkook had dashed out of the bookstore.

~~~

The heavy snowfall blinded Eunha's vision. The blizzard was nothing Eunha had expected to occur that day, but so was coming across Jungkook. Shrugging off the cold, she pushed her wet hair (due to the snow) out of her eyes as she chased down Jungkook.

"Run for your life, you slimy son of a lying prick!" She yelled over at him as she pushed past random strangers on the street, receiving profanities in return. Jungkook ran like there was no tomorrow. He hadn't expected the universe to be this cruel to him. You rob someone's house and end up bumping into them in the next few hours? What were the odds?

Jungkook was a fast runner, but despite her feeble figure, Eunha was doing an incredible job at keeping up with him. The fact only made his heart thump louder in his ears. With squinted eyes, he sprinted down the street and tried to blend in with the crowd of people to hide from Eunha's view, but she had hawk eyes that never left Jungkook's figure even when she bumped into an older man and crashed down. A stinging pain spread in her knee, connoting that she had injured it, but she ignored it and bravely jumped onto her feet again, continuing her hunt for the brunette boy.

Jungkook changed directions multiple times and ran and ran as if his life depended on it. He didn't know how long he'd been running, but he was astonished at the fact that Eunha never lost him. She was still running after him, despite her bleeding knee.

That was one determined woman!

"I'm going to kill you, Jeon Jungkook!" He could hear Eunha's voice behind him in the distance. Although the chances of Eunha actually attempting his murder were close to none, it still made Jungkook's fight or flight senses stir up. But his body was reaching its limit. His legs hurt, and the humidity in the air made it hard for him to breathe. He panted as he rubbed his right eye, in which a snowflake had landed. Distracted by his itching eyes, Jungkook turned around the corner of the street and almost knocked over a little kid but he stopped himself at the last moment and ended up tripping over his own feet. The woman next to the kid gasped and dropped her umbrella as she rushed to pick up the child, who had started crying due to the shock, in her arms. She started shouting at Jungkook for being reckless as he got up to his feet and aggressively bowed to the woman, apologizing more than once.

He peeked back to see that Eunha had already caught up to him. No, she was too close. She was closing the distance between them even faster now that he was standing still. In a few more strides, she'd get him. Jungkook panicked. He needed to get away quickly, but the child's mother was not having it. She grabbed Jungkook by the collar and continued yelling at him for ruining her day and almost getting her kid hurt.

"I'm sorry, miss, but I really need to go right now! Please, let go of me this instant!" Jungkook exclaimed, forcefully jerking her hand off him. The lady proceeded to cuss him out but Jungkook didn't care. Eunha was close by. He was freaking out. He turned his head to look at the road on his left. It was the quickest way to get far away from Eunha.

Without thinking twice, Jungkook stumbled towards the road in an attempt to cross it and build up the distance between him and the girl again. In his desperation to run away, he didn't even check the road for any incoming vehicles. He did not notice the car speeding towards him as he stepped onto the road, his eyes fixed on the other side of it. The snow fell at a much faster pace now, making it hard for him to see. A shrill horn pierced the air through the thick snowfall and a few people gasped.

It all happened like a miracle. A delicate hand grabbed the back of Jungkook's black leather jacket and yanked him back right before the car sped past them like death. The pull from Eunha made Jungkook lose his balance and he fell, dragging her along with him. Jungkook yelped as Eunha accidentally elbowed him in the stomach as she fell over him.

"Oh my God, what were you doing? Do you have a death wish?!" She screeched as she straightened up and stared at Jungkook, wide-eyed. Jungkook was still panting as his mind tried to register what had happened. He was about to get hit by a car and Eunha had saved him by preventing that.

"Who the heck drives like that in such bad weather anyway," Eunha huffed, pushing her hair behind her ears as she grimaced in the direction the car had gone before shifting her gaze towards Jungkook again.

"Are you alright?"

Jungkook blinked. Eunha sat between his legs, covered in snow from head to toe with an injured knee. The same girl that was furious and was threatening to murder him a moment ago was asking him if he was alright. Moreover, the genuine concern on her face made Jungkook feel surprised and dazed. The only thing he'd expected from Eunha was a slap to his face. Concern was the last thing he'd expected from her after betraying her trust.

But Eunha's chocolate eyes were so sincere that the gravity of the situation finally dawned on Jungkook. He could have quite literally died. Eunha saved him. She saved his life. If she hadn't pulled him back at the right moment, he might have been in a hospital bed right now, fighting for his life, or worse, he might have been in a morgue, dead and forgotten.

"I almost...died." A weak whisper left Jungkook's quivering blue lips. Eunha could see his whole body shaking because of the cold. She was freezing too, and they were both so out of breath. People gave them bizarre looks as they passed them by, rushing to their destinations, while they sat on the snow-covered sidewalk like they were the only people on earth.

"Yes, you almost did, you absolute fool!" Eunha scolded. "Who goes running onto the road like that?"

"You saved me." Jungkook pressed his lips together in sync with his eyebrows, looking up at Eunha with a mixture of guilt and gratitude.

"Yes, I did," Eunha affirmed, leaning back from Jungkook. Then her expression contorted into the maddest Jungkook had ever seen and he knew what was coming his way.

"I did it so that I could kill you myself!" Eunha seethed as she raised her hand, and there it was.

The slap that Jungkook had expected landed straight on his right cheek.

________________

A/N: Did you know dolphins sleep with one eye open? ಠಿ⁠_⁠ಠ