You, Again | jhs

15. Smartass Sidekick

As they ate in silence, Namjoon raised his eyebrows when he spotted an odd necklace Hana was wearing around her neck. He then furrowed as he thought that the pendant looked somewhat familiar, but he just couldn't ring a bell on it.

"Are you going to eat that. If you're full I can help you—"

Immediately, the boy lifted his share of bingsu high up, away from the pouting girl. "You're such a pig."

"I'm your pig though." Hana fluttered her eyelashes, and grumbled childishly when Namjoon's face morphed into a look of disgust while pushing her face away from him.

Still, Namjoon ended up sharing his dessert with his best friend one minute later, unable to stand the pout on her face. As he scooped another mouthful of the shaved ice, the pendant Hana was wearing glimmered briefly when the light reflected on the piece, making him to stare at the accessory again.

The sun-shaped pendant was made of pure silver, with its sunrays twirling inwards slightly at the ends. Adorned in the middle was a blood red ruby gemstone.

"Where did you get that?" Namjoon pointed at the necklace, eyebrows scrunching together as he continued to brainstorm.

Hana's hand instinctively shot up to touch the pendant. "Oh, this? It's a gift as protection."

Truth to be told, the necklace was given by Hoseok when she visited him and the boys that day. He insisted her to wear it after the alleyway incident, claiming that the necklace would work as a charm to rid off low-tier vampires who seemingly loved to attack her for a taste of her blood.

Hana could never forget the tiny frown on his face when he showed her the necklace in his room. The vampire had a distant and empty gaze while staring at the piece hesitantly, and it made her wonder whether this simple looking jewellery held another painful backstory.

Anyhow, he gave it to her, flashing her a breathtakingly radiant smile that masked the sadness in his eyes as he offered her the piece before helping her to wear it. The other vampires living in the same penthouse had shocked looks plastered on their faces when they saw the necklace as well, and the subtle worried glances directed at Hoseok definitely didn't go unnoticed by the human girl.

"Protection? From what?" Namjoon had already finished the last bit of the cold dessert when he replied.

"I don't know. Anything, I guess." Hana shrugged dismissively, but it only piqued the boy's suspicions even more.

"Who gave it to you?" Namjoon questioned slowly, eyes set on the girl who had gulped nervously at how intimidating he was. "Answer me."

"P-prof Jung." Hana squeaked out, and she flinched when the spoon held in Namjoon's grasp fell onto the ground.

"What the hell?" Namjoon exasperated. "Since when did you two get so close with each other? And you never bothered to tell me!"

Hana patted his tensed shoulders. "Joonie, calm down."

"He's a man, Hana. A man you barely know and you accept a gift from a stranger? Who knows whether there is a hidden camera installed in the pendant!" Namjoon rambled out.

At this point, Hana felt horrible and guilty to be keeping her best friend in the dark over the events happening recently. Not even once did she inform him about the attacks, as she had promised not to reveal the friendly vampires' real identities to anyone.

"I can assure you that there is no hidden camera or whatnots in here, okay? Just trust me." Hana's fingers fiddled with the pendant absentmindedly. "And, Prof Jung is no longer a stranger to me anymore. We became friends ever since the day he sent me home. Maybe we can all meet up and let you two know each other better?"

"No thanks." Namjoon rejected instantly.

"But Joonie—"

Their eyes diverted towards Hana's phone which was ringing on the coffee table simultaneously. Namjoon swore his eyebrows were about to fly away out of astonishment when he saw Hoseok's name displayed on the screen, further agitating him over being clueless on the situation.

Grabbing her phone hastily, Hana stood up from her seat. "I'll be right back."

When the girl left the living room to speak in private, Namjoon took out his phone and began to hunt for a certain textbook which had multiple illustrations to help students in understanding Korean History better. His eyes widened when he finally spotted the familiar sun-shaped pendant in the e-book, his jaw dropping when he realized that it was a pattern dedicated and loved by the King Lee Hyeon.

"Why would she have it? Think, Namjoon!" The boy mumbled to himself as he read the passage next to the illustration of the King seated on his majestic throne with the sun pattern drawn at the back on the wall.

Confusion invaded his mind when he realized that there was only one short paragraph to describe the King.

"What are you reading?" Hana's voice made the boy jump in the air, and he cursed when his phone nearly slipped out of his hand. "Woah, sorry for startling you."

"Why do you have the King Lee Hyeon's emblem?" Namjoon blurted out straightaway, but the girl simply returned him a baffled look.

"King Lee Hyeon? Why would I have the his emblem?" Hana shot back, and her eyes trailed after where Namjoon was pointing. "This... is his emblem?"

"Yes, Hana. Take a look at the diagram yourself." Namjoon shoved his phone at her.

Hana's heart stopped when she saw the sun. "Maybe it's just coincidence."

"The silver and the gem look real so I doubt it's a fake from some random store. And if it's from an authentic seller then I don't think the government will allow an emblem dedicated to a past King to be used so simply as a jewellery design." Namjoon reasoned, and took a step closer at his friend. "Are you hiding anything from me?"

"No." Hana whispered out her answer, eyes not daring enough to look at her friend directly.

"You're lying." Namjoon frowned, feeling hurt that his friend was not being truthful with him. "I'm your best friend, Moon Hana. If you need my help, I'll always be here for you but firstly, you have to be honest with me. But, you know what?"

Hana glanced at his saddened gaze with guilt. "What?"

"Because I'm your friend, I'll also respect your decision of keeping the secret from me." Namjoon smiled softly, and pulled her into an embrace in which she gladly accepted. "You're a reckless idiot. And a reckless idiot definitely needs a smartass sidekick to rule the world."

"Dumbass, you mean." Hana giggled, smacking his back playfully before detaching themselves. "I truly don't deserve someone like you as my best friend, Joonie. But I promise, when the timing is right, I'll tell you everything."

"You better." Namjoon ruffled her hair to tease her. "So, is Prof Jung having the hots for you or something?"

Hearing that, Hana nearly choked on her spit. "What the hell?!"

"He called you earlier." Namjoon wiggled his eyebrows, and a loud laugh escaped from him as he ran away with her chasing after him.

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some wholesome friendship i need irl  😔

thx for reading! ;>

Next update : 5/5/2021 (Wednesday)