Jung Soo Ah's Pov

Yoongi's hand was around my waist, and I found myself holding onto him. When I recognized we were too close, I quickly stepped away from him and smacked my elbow against the wall.

I was ready to yell, "Ouch," but I held it in. No need to embarrass myself again. I chose not to bother Yoongi and decided to open the pantry myself.

"Are you really going to open it by yourself?" he exclaimed. I gave a brave little nod, even though, deep down, I was afraid and thought it was ridiculous of me to behave in such a way. What if there's a thief in there? What if he whacks me with a rod? What am I even thinking? I need to stop watching thriller dramas at night.

I held the knob of the door and felt my hand shiver a little. I opened it slowly, to find no one inside. The glass jar was broken, and flour was sprinkled all around the floor.

"There are footprint in the flour," I said. Yoongi squatted down and looked around. He peeped his head behind the door as I did the same.

"Soo Ah, it's a chick," he said. It startled me to death, but I was relieved to learn that it was just a tiny chick and not a thief or murderer. It hid behind the door, chirping.

He scooped that tiny chick up in his hand. Its entire body was covered with white flour. It fiddled with its body a little, dusting out the flour from it and revealing its yellow feather. It had some pink patches of skin, too, where feathers were yet to grow on its little body.

"Yoongi, it's adorable." I grinned at him.

He patted the small chick's head and asked, "How did it even get in here?"

"I am confused about that, too. I'll inform Grandma later," I said.

I took a big porcelain bowl and gestured for him to put that chick into it. "Can you help me give a bath and take off your shirt?"

"What did you just say? why would I do that?" he shouted.

"To help me, obviously," I replied.

"What's wrong?" I questioned and looked at him, who seemed perplexed. After a second, it dawned on me what I requested from him.

"Wait! That came out wrong. I meant I need your help bathing the chick and I don't want to get your shirt dirty. I'm poor, remember? I can't pay for it if it gets ruined." I spoke those final words even more loudly.

"You need to learn to speak clearly. I thought you were hitting on me. "

"I'm not interested in you to like that," I snapped.

I clenched my fists, trying to calm down. How could he think like that? I would've smacked him if he wasn't Hoseok's friend. But, it was my fault that I messed up with the words. Fine, I'll let it go.

I found Yoongi peering at me and thinking. I ignored him and took a medium-sized rectangular container from the cabinet to fill it with water. I turned on the sink's faucet.

"Yoongi, aren't you going to help me?" I asked, when I felt him striding toward me. I moved back in bafflement and got my hand hit by the refrigerator behind me.

"Not again," I shrieked, and I massaged my hand to subdue the pain.

"Soo Ah," he called me out. He squeezed me between him and the refrigerator.

I swayed my legs to walk sideways while staring at him, but I stopped as he reached for my face and lightly brushed my cheek. His black hair brushed my face as he moved closer. We were so close that it tickled me and made my cheeks turn red. I started to sweat and felt hot all over, like grilled pineapple. What is the matter with him?

"Yoongi, what are you doing?" I toned down my voice, unable to talk.

"I brushed off the flour on your face."

"Huh? "

"Why are you blushing? Didn't you say you weren't interested in me?" he questioned me.

"I'm not," I said quickly and found him giggling for the first time since I met him. He moved back, letting me breathe freely. When he was near, I felt suffocated.

"I believe you. And I didn't mean to upset you. It's normal to respond like that when someone says something unclear. You probably think badly of me now," he said, his gaze dropping to the floor. "I just wanted to wipe off the flour. I love your cooking...except for You Tiao," he said those final words in a low voice.

I shook my head to calm down.

"Thank you for clearing that up. Try dipping You Tiao in soy milk. It tastes better," I said, walking toward the sink to find the container overflowing. I closed the faucet and made sure the water was in the right temperature.

"Can a chick take a bath?" I questioned him.

"We will do it since it's covered in flour," he said, taking the chick out of the bowl and dropping it in the water. Both of us checked to make sure the water was at the proper temperature again. Its body wriggled, splattering water. I then pulled out a cloth and patted the wet chick dry.

"Why is it chirping continuously? Did we do something wrong?" I was troubled about that.

"It's probably hungry."

"How about we go out to buy some groceries, and you can also take a look around?" I suggested it to him.

"Let's take this chick with us. We can't leave it alone, as Hazel is here," he said.

We took a basket and put on a blanket. Yoongi dropped the chick inside it. We were both walking toward the market, and suddenly, he halted his steps in front of a fruit shop.

"Let's buy some mandarins. It looks fresh," he exclaimed like a kid.

We both sat on wooden chairs alongside the Liangma River. The turquoise-blue water was festooned with little ducks paddling around. Dried leaves were scattered on the water, making it pretty to picture.

"Do you want some mandarin?" Yoongi asked, stuffing his mouth with a piece already. He looked truly happy, savoring the taste of it.

I forwarded my hand, and he kept a mandarin.

I took it and threw it into the river.

"Soo Ah! Why did you fling it into the river? I apologized to you already for making you upset."

"Yoongi!"

"I should have worked on my lawsuit instead of helping you," he yelled.

Thank you so much for supporting me so far. Hope the chapter was good.

- Shin Haari