"Here are the hangers," Jimin walked into their sunny bedroom holding an armful of clothing hangers. Izzy was finally getting around to putting her clothes in the closet.

"Thanks," Izzy smiled at him and took the hangers from Jimin's hands before dumping them on her bed where her clothes lay in a heap. She began to sift through the pile, seeing what needed to be hung up while she tried to pretend like Jimin hovering in the room wasn't making her nervous.

"Izz?" He called out after a few minutes.
"Yeah?" She turned to face him, holding a familiar turquoise jacket in her hands.
"Do you have to go to work today? I mean, are you okay after the thing with your parents? Are you well enough for it?" Between the gentle hand he placed on her arm and the genuinely worried gaze he held her under, Izzy nearly melted.

"I'll be fine, Jimin, honestly," she laughed a bit awkwardly, nervous from the close proximity. He looked at her a moment longer, scanning her face to make sure that she was in fact okay enough to go to work. He nodded hesitantly and pulled himself away.

"Alright," he smiled, "Well let's at least finish hanging up your stuff before you go." Izzy nodded silently, the turquoise jacket clutched tightly to her chest.

Together, Jimin and Izzy went about hanging up her clothes, moving silently between the pile of clothing on the bed and the open closet. The heap on the bed began to dwindle and Izzy found herself standing at the closet with Jimin beside her as they simultaneously reached to put up a hanger. With both hangers safely in the closet, Izzy paused, staring down at her bare feet. Jimin didn't move either, his eyes were locked on the side of her face and she could feel his warm breath blowing against her hair.

"Jimin?" Izzy whispered so softly that her voice was barely heard.
"Yeah?" His voice was not much stronger than hers.
"Thank you," her grateful eyes turned to look up at him.
"For what?" Jimin looked genuinely confused by her gratitude.
"Everything," she breathed. "I would have frozen in that railway station if you hadn't given me your jacket. You kept trying to talk to me even though I was so cold to you in the beginning. You got me out of a drug-filled apartment. You took me in when I hit rock bottom. You rescued me from my parents that night. And you actually care about me," her eyes were staring to water and Izzy tried desperately to keep the tears from falling.
"You took care of me from the very first day we met, and I don't think I ever thanked you for that, Jimin." She looked up into his wonderful eyes, "So thank you." Not even a fraction of a second managed to pass by before she was in his arms, pressed against his body in a tight hug.

"God Izzy," he breathed into her hair, his voice sounded shaky, as if he was on the verge of crying himself.
"You never have to thank me for any of that. I care about you—you know I do—and I would to it all again in a heartbeat," he swallowed thickly and held her even closer.
"I don't think you understand how fully you have me wrapped around your fingers. Just say the word and I'll come running to you." Izzy dug her face into the crook of his neck, and he let her tears drop onto his skin.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that you're actually trying to make me cry," she laughed weakly.
"Never," Jimin stated firmly, his fingers running gently through the tangled strands of her hair. "You know, I'm really proud of you," he spoke softly.
"Why?" Izzy looked up at him with a tiny crease between her eyebrows.
"Because you've been clean for nearly a week now," he stated proudly and grinned at her.
"I have?" Izzy was amazed that he had kept track of this when she hadn't.
"Yes," he nodded, "I know it's hard to get clean, we all watched Namjoon struggle to do it. But he made it and so will you," he grinned happily down at Izzy and hugged her even closer. They stood for a minute in their comfortable  embrace, neither one said a word.

"I have to go to work," Izzy mumbled, making Jimin groan and tighten his arms around her.
"Way to ruin the moment, Izz," he grumbled into her hair. She laughed at his grumpy state; the tears had finally stopped.

"I'm sorry. But if I don't leave by 12:30 then I'll be late for the afternoon shift."

He sighed in frustration, "Alright, fine. But you come straight home when your shift ends, okay?" Jimin pulled her to an arms distance, looking her straight in the eye.

Izzy smiled gently, "Okay."

They pulled away from each other and Izzy tugged on a pair of boots as Jimin leaned against the closet door frame. He reached up and wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she pulled the turquoise jacket around her shoulders. Izzy shot him one more smile and walked out of the sunny bedroom, out of the apartment, and into the city.

The air outside was cold and Izzy pulled the jacket tighter around herself. That worn jacket smelled like Jimin and felt like he was holding her again, and she loved that feeling. The snow from a couple days ago had been washed away by rain, leaving behind a grimy, wet mush that sloshed underneath her boots. The weather wasn't exactly pleasant but Izzy walked with a smile on her face. She was happy and nothing could ruin it.

Soon enough Izzy pushed open the glass door to the Horseshoe Cafe. Mrs. Lee was nowhere to be seen but that woman was always all over the place so Izzy didn't think much of it. She replaced her jacket with a black apron and tied the strings around her waist before going to work. The cafe had a steady supply of stressed out college students who needed a place to work and eat at the same time, so there was always plenty of costumers who needed to be served. Izzy was behind the counter, she'd just finished brewing a fresh pot of coffee when the kitchen door was flung open.

"No! No!" Mrs. Lee shouted as she stormed out of the kitchen. "I won't put up with this anymore! I've given you so many chances," she yelled at someone through the open kitchen door. Everyone in the cafe was watching the scene unfold with weary eyes. A lot of the customers were regulars and they knew as well as Izzy did that Mrs. Lee wasn't one to get angry. She was fast-paced and intense but she was not an angry person.

"Why can't you just do as I tell you for once and turn you life around? You don't have to live like this! Why? Why do you do these things?" The older woman's face was turning red from her screams.
"And you come crawling back here expecting me to take you in with open arms. And I used to. I forgave you and turned a blind eye far too many times! But not anymore. No, I won't have it. Get out," she trust a sharp finger at the door, "And don't come back."

The mystery person who was taking the verbal beating suddenly stepped into the main room of the cafe. Izzy nearly dropped the coffee pot she held.

"I mean it, Youngkyun. Go now," Mrs. Lee hissed at him.

He looked the same. Everything from the scuffed sneakers to the old sweatshirt he wore. But he wasn't the same person Izzy had met all those years ago. She knew things now. She knew about the gambling ring, the drugs, and how he took advantage of people who just needed a bit of help in life. He took advantage of her boys and she was pissed at him for it.

"Mrs. Lee, are you alright?" The older woman swung around, started to see Izzy there. Youngkyun was a bit slower to react, but the second his ears recognized her voice a wicked grin spread over his face.

"Yes dear, I'm fin—"

"Well, I certainly didn't expect to see you here,"  Youngkyun cut in. "But I can't deny that I'm glad I found you," he took one long step in Izzy's direction. Suddenly his eyes sobered up, in a split second he was all business. "You're coming back with me, Izzy. And I won't take no for an answer."

Izzy swallowed down her nervousness, "No. Get lost Youngkyun." His dark eyes flickered down to the turquoise jacket that rested behind the counter, his greasy hair swung into his eyes like it always did.

"I see you're still hanging around those boys," he sneered at her.

Izzy paled, "How did you know that?" Her throat felt tight. It was getting harder to breathe. Izzy hadn't seen him since the day she took her stuff back. It was impossible for him to know who she spent time with. So the question was: how did he? Izzy's head was spinning.

"I know a lot of things, Sweet Cheeks. And trust me when I say that I'll get to you one way or another." With one last smirk Youngkyun stomped through the cafe and slammed past the glass door.

The thoughts in Izzy's head buzzed around like locusts as they beat against the insides of her skull. She couldn't think straight or even breathe properly. Why was he at the cafe? How did he know Mrs. Lee? And how in the hell did he know that she was with the boys? She was so tangled in her messy mind that she didn't hear the shaky voice that called to her.

"Izzy? Izzy!" Mrs. Lee placed a gentle hand in Izzy's arm, startling her out of her jumbled thoughts.
"I'm closing the shop down for the day, I think we've both had enough stress," the woman informed her, looking far older and more exhausted than she usually did.
"Go home Izzy, rest. God knows we both need it today." Neither one of them asked how the other knew Youngkyun, and both were grateful for it. They both knew damn well that there was never a good reason for getting mixed up with him.

The cafe had already been cleared of any customers, so with numb hands Izzy untied the knot of her apron, placed it on the counter, and walked stiffly out of the front door. Izzy walked mindlessly through the city, not paying any attention to where she was going. But when she passed a familiar convenience store her mind clicked and her feet moved on their own. Soon enough Izzy stood at the foot of that run down old building, staring blankly up at the crumbling stone. Jimin had told her to come straight home. Mrs. Lee had told her to go home and rest. So why in the hell had she come here? This was bad, she shouldn't do this.

Her trembling finger crashed down on the call button for apartment 3F.

"Who is it?" The old speaker cracked annoyingly but Izzy recognized that shrill voice.

"Hey Cassie."

"Hey girly! Come on up!"

The door buzzed open and Izzy pried it open, eliciting a rusty creek from the old hinges. Her soggy, boot-clad feet marched numbly up the steps until she stood in front of a peeling red door. If she was able to think straight, Izzy would have sprinted out of that building. But she wasn't thinking straight, and at that moment all she needed was to relax her mind and take the edge off. Izzy rapped her knuckles against the splintered wood.

She needed to forget. Just for a little while.

Authors Note:
Hello hello! This note has no real purpose, I just wanted to recommend a song to you guys. The song is Reunion by Paradise Fears and it gave me the inspiration for this chapter title ☺️