Soo Emi

"I have a gift for you!" I cheer and searched through my suitcase. "A thank you gift, I suppose."

"A gift? No need!" Joon's mother tries to deny my gesture. "You've given enough for my son."

I pull out my blue sweater from awhile ago and hand it to her.

"For the cold days." I smile. "Or cold nights."

Her eyes began to sparkle and she brings me into yet another tight hug.

"Bless your beautiful soul." She laughs through her light tears.

°

Joon and his mother's house was the size of my old bedroom.

One bigger room, which is the living room/kitchen. Two really small rooms, almost the size of a walk-in closet, which were the bedrooms. The toilet and shower were provided by the building across from them, which was a rundown motel.

They can't afford to actually live in that motel and the bathroom they were able to manage, costs them some money every month.

Joon used to work in the motel, but the motel didn't need extra help anymore and cut him off.

Joon's mother made me stay in Joon's room because she doesn't want me to catch the cold she has now.

"Thank you so much, Joon." I thank him for the millionth time. "I'm so grateful for this."

He smiles gently. "It's no problem, Emi."

As night came along, I bonded with Joon and his mother. They told me about their situation and why they're stuck like this.

Joon's father was the only one who worked because the mother was never in a good enough condition for a job.

His father worked to keep a house over his family's head and food on the table.

But, he passed 2 years ago from a sickness and the family became hopeless. They got kicked out of their
home and been in this place ever since.

I wanted to constantly hug Joon and his mother as they told the story. I can't imagine what they must've felt through these years.

But, despite their situation, they've been positive. They pray for better days and warmer nights.

It gave me courage.

I don't need money.

I need hope.

°

Joon's mother was asleep and it was just me and Joon in his room.

"Joon?" I quietly call him.

He hummed in response.

"Could you turn around?" I requested, shyly.

"Alright." He turned his back towards me and continued to play with his hair.

I quickly take off my pantsuit and changed into a horror and some sweatpants.

"Ok, I'm done."

"Alrighty. I'm going to head to bed now." Joon scoots over to the cardboard on the ground and lays down.

"Why are you sleeping there?" I pat his leg.

"I'll let you sleep on the mattress." He yawns.

"Absolutely not. You worked hard for that mattress." I object, tugging on his leg. "I deserve to be sleeping on the ground. Come on, move."

Joon props himself on his elbows. "You're the guest, Emi. Besides, no one deserves to sleep on the concrete."

"Please, Joon. I don't want to be that kind of guest." I move off the mattress and laid next to him on the cardboard.

He moves a hair out of my face and smiles. "You're sweet, Emi."

"You're way sweeter." I giggle.

He gets up and laid down on the thin mattress.

"If you have any back problems tomorrow, tell me. I know how to massage well. And are you cold? If you get too cold, I have some jackets over there. And if you get scared-"

"I'll be alright, Joon." I assure him with a laugh.

I take off my glasses and placed them next to my head.

"You look nice without your glasses, Emi." Joon comments.

Thoughts about Hoseok come to mind and I cringe.

"Oh- I'm sorry, was that weird?" Joon covered his mouth. "You still look beautiful with glasses! I just- I-I just wanted-"

"No, no, it's not you. Just something about Hoseok. Thank you, though."

"Oh..."

"Good night, Joon."

"Sweet dreams, Emi."

°

I wake up just fine.

My head was a bit tense from sleeping without a pillow and my back was sore from the hard ground.

Nothing that stretching can't fix, though.

I notice Joon still sleeping, so I quickly slipped on my only pairs of jeans.

I comb my hair through with my fingers and dug in my suitcase for a bra.

I pull out a white bra with lacy straps.

Namjoon is no joke.

I hold it up towards the light and panicked.

"It's see through." I quietly complain. "What kind of bra is made to be see through? I mean, it's not that anyone is going to see, but still!"

Ok, ok, I need to stop getting worked up for a bra.

"Emi?" A raspy voice calls from behind.

I turn around and see Joon sitting up.

I immediately throw the bra back in my suitcase.

"Go-Good morning, Joon!" I nervously laugh. "Did you sleep well? Is your back ok? Want water?"

He chuckles. "It's ok. You don't have to hide those things from me. I've seen bras before. Besides, I'm not a perv."

I force myself to laugh, turning beet red.

°

"How do you look for jobs?" I ask Joon.

"You find them on posters usually. You know those papers that are attached to the wooden poles or something?"

I nod. "Interesting."

We wave goodbye to Joon's mother before leaving the alleyway to go job searching.

Joon's going to show me his morning routine.

We walk around the town, in search for some job opportunities.

I pull up my hood and covered my face as much as possible.

Last thing I want is news coverage on me.

I spit paparazzi from afar and I hide behind Joon.

"They won't recognize you?" Joon whispers.

"Hopefully not." I grip his sweater.

His arm hangs around my shoulders and he holds me closer to him, blocking my face.

"You'll be safe with me." He whispers against my hair. "I won't let them get to you."

We walk past the cameras smoothly with no attention at all. I sigh in relief.

"So, do you always do cleaning jobs?" I ask Joon.

He shrugs. "It really depends. Lately, I've been doing plumbing, fixing, and building....those pay well."

"Oh." I grimace at the thought of cleaning a dirty toilet. "I don't know if I can do that right away."

"You don't always have to clean, you know. There's a lot of different opportunities. You just have to find it."

After a few minutes of walking around, we come across a wooden street pole with a lot of papers attached to it.

"Hmm, let's see." Joon examines the job offers.

I follow him.

"Lost Dog...Lost Cat....Lost Hamster? Really." Joon reads them off. "Who loses a hamster in this town?"

"No jobs?"

He shakes his head.

Joon turns away, but I rip the "Lost Dog" and "Lost Cat" papers off.

"Why are you taking those?" Joon questions me.

"We'll be walking around the streets often. You never know, we'll probably see a lost animal."

"That's so smart!" He gasps.

"And look!" I hold the paper to his face. "$100 and &75!"

°

The sun soon went to sleep and nighttime came around.

Joon and I had luck finding jobs.

We walk back to Joon's home with our feet sore and exhausted.

Before we enter the house, we hear barking.

A dog runs right through our feet and into the room.

Joon's mom screams.

"I'M ALLERGIC TO DOGS!" She screams and jumps around.

Joon runs inside and holds the small dog in his arms. He was about to take it outside, but I stop him.

"Hey! I think the dog fits the description!" I yell out.

"Description?" Joon furrows his brows.

"Looks like we're getting $100!"