𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦
―𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴
❧

With fatigue following you each step you took, the caramel macchiato was probably the only reason why you haven't fallen asleep on the spot. Today's work was tiring. Aside from being assigned to orient some of the local and foreign tourist who came to the gallery, your boss decided to leave in some extra paper work on your desk just before you clocked out.

Thankfully, work was done and traffic was not that bad either. You sighed in relief, key in hand as you were prepared to finally land on the soft cushions of your bed or maybe just end up on the couch if you were too lazy.

Thump..thump..thump

Someone clearly must be having a tantrum upstairs in order to make that much of a noise coming from the staircases. "He could've closed the door," you muttered, grabbing the handle to close the entrance.

You thought of Taehyung, the one living two floors above you and also a famous celebrity. Not that you were surprised actually, there were lots of well known people found in the building you reside in.

It's just that you haven't been caught up to the latest news about idols. It was only after a lot of teasing and squealing from your dark haired friend was when you came to know of his profession.

Pretty sure you've seen him on the television at least once, all thanks to the ever so cheerful Iseul who was never left out when it came to showbiz gossip or anything that has to do with the world and your other dear friend Ria, a producer from BigHit Entertainment. But who has time for the entertainment industry when you're too busy keeping yourself alive and healthy?

A loud cry pulled you out of your thoughts. Was that an infant or an adult? You didn't know but they sounded terrified. The urge to take a look overcame you, curiosity rushing through your veins (a bad habit, no doubt).

You took cautious steps to check whatever was happening and that never prepared you for the sight that you saw. There standing in front of you was Taehyung who looked just as concerned as you were but what caught your attention the most was the bruised woman holding her child asking for help.

"Oh my god..."

—

It seemed as if time went by like a flash and now here you were sitting on your neighbor's couch while tending to the unknown woman's wounds. Taehyung was pacing back and forth the living room, although he stopped once in a while to check on the baby sleeping in his bedroom.

"T-thank you," said the woman gratefully once you've bandaged her cuts and bruises all up. "Do you think you're ready to talk now ma'am?" the blue haired idol asked, taking a seat in front of you two. She nodded.

She fidgeted for a while then took a deep breath as she started to explain how she ended up in this situation.

"M-my husband, the baby's father, is a bad man. He was never like this in the first place when we started seeing each other but marriage changed him. Like other common stories you've heard in the news, he started beating me up when he drank too much. He wo-would bring over his friends and make jokes and touch me. I h-had to make sure Hana was locked in her room, sleeping peacefully. I wanted—no, I needed to get away from him. As soon as I got the chance to be alone, I immediately got the divorce papers. Today was the day that I presented him the papers. He was livid. I c-couldn't understand! He didn't love me nor my child so why couldn't he let me go?"

Her body trembled, tears cascading as she choked down on a sob. Your heart ached, the story feeling all too familiar, old wounds stinging and begging to be opened once again. You looked over at Taehyung, his lips kept into a straight line, face almost blank if it weren't for the blazing emotion present in his eyes.

She continued. "He threatened to kill me and I was so so scared. The next thing I knew was that I was running to get Hana and left our unit. I no longer waited for the elevators but I realized that he would come down running after me so I ran upstairs. A-and I'm so grateful for y-your help..."

"We could assist you to the police. I know people who could help," Taehyung offered when he deemed that the woman has calmed down. "That would be lovely but h-he has a lot of connections underground, too much power for one man. High chances that he could pull some strings even in the police force," she said.

You sent a Taehyung a look. "Then what do you plan to do now?"

—

"I don't know if I can do this Minji," the idol sighed, exasperated. Both of you were talking by the kitchen. The woman who introduced herself as Haera and her daugher Hana were resting in Taehyung's guestroom as of now.

"Then what should we do Taehyung? She said the police won't be able to help! And that he's also after Hana," you retorted. He didn't say anything for a while. You knew it was a hard decision for someone like him. An idol. Someone who had the world's attention all wrapped around his finger.

"I can't possibly take care of a child. I may be on a three month break but you know the media will still be looking after me. It could ruin my career! Or worse, expose the child to a world she's nowhere near ready for," was what he said. He stared at you for a good minute.

"What happens if we fail to keep in touch with Haera and she leaves the kid with us for good?"

You set your gaze on the way to his bedroom door, thinking about the other two lives sleeping for what seemed their first in weeks. Then an idea popped up. An idea you would've never considered, knowing full well of your personality and lifestyle.

"You know, I could help you take care of the child."