The Hidden Treasure

~6~

The weekend arrived with perfectly sunny, spring weather. The cherry blossoms had begun to bloom and people were beginning to spend more time outside.

Which of course meant fewer customers.

Hyejin sighed in boredom. She sat behind the counter and looked around the shop. She has done all the cleaning, put all the returned books back in their homes, and emptied the donation box.

She placed the money in a small safe in the back office. Regular customers donated quite frequently to help keep the shop running. There wasn't much overhead, as Jinjoo donated her time. The only real bills they had were utilities. Hyejin had been able to buy the little building outright with the money her parents had set aside for her, so there was no rent. Her parents had left her so well off, that if she lived conservatively and didn't go on a shopping binge, she would probably be alright for the rest of her life.

She looked over at the overstuffed chair in the reading corner. She smiled as she imagined her father still sitting there, book in hand. It was days like today that she missed her parents the most. When the weather was nice like today's, she and her parents would always do something outside, even if it was just to take a walk around their neighborhood. She felt overwhelmed by the wave of nostalgia and decided to get a breath of fresh air. Maybe it would help stop her impending tears.

She flung open the front door to the shop and stood there with her eyes closed, letting the warm spring breeze wash over her. Taking a few deep breaths, she stood there for a moment before opening her eyes.

That's when she saw him. She screamed from being startled and jumped back into the shop, hand clutching her heart.

Namjoon stood there with a smirk that was hidden by the mask across the lower portion of his face. He had walked up to the shop just as she had opened the door and closed her eyes. He was simply admiring the view when she had opened her eyes and became startled.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry for scaring you," he said, trying not to laugh. She was the same Hyejin.

"No, no! It's okay. I...I had my eyes closed like some idiot." She laughed nervously and held the door in place for him as he walked in.

"Welcome to The Hidden Treasure! How can I help you today," she said with a bright smile, having recovered.

He smiled under his mask again and looked at her over his shoulder. "I'm returning a book."

"Oh? Alright then! Is this your first time? I don't believe I've seen you here before," she said, as she passed him and walked over to the tall counter.

He followed her slowly and nodded. "Yes. Well, my second time actually. I got this book last time," he said, waving the book in the air slightly.

"Oh, right," she laughed softly. She leaned over behind the counter and pulled out the old leather book, laying it on the top of the counter. "What was the name?" She scanned the most recent page of the book, quickly familiarizing herself with the names that had books checked out.

"Kim," he hesitated a second before reluctantly finishing the name he had given the first time. "Taehyung." He still couldn't believe he had used V's name. However, he felt fully justified because he didn't really want her knowing he was her old high school arch rival.

"Ah....yes, here you are! How was the book?"

Namjoon was feeling a bit feisty today. "Actually, it put me to sleep." It really had put Taehyung to sleep. He smirked again, still thankful that she couldn't see it.

"Oh? Hm...I guess I should move this guy to the bedtime stories section, huh?"

They both laughed and he watched as she crossed his name off the list.