reef knot

eighteen

"Oh, this?" Taehyung grins proudly, looking down to stare at the mistletoe that's just above his crotch. "Isn't it clever?"

"Not really," I bite back a smile while plopping down onto the cushions beside him. He looks ridiculous.

"Hey, I need to go somewhere," Yoongi interrupts our conversation, already sliding on his boots by the front door. "I'll be back by midnight," he promises, heading out the door before Taehyung and I can stop him.

;;

"Sorry for coming here so late and asking to have that for free," Yoongi apologizes to the owner of the bubble tea shop, turning to glance at the Baekhyun standee sitting by the doorway.

"Nah, it's okay," the old man grins a toothless smile, sliding an EXO CD across the counter. "You can have this for free too."

Yoongi widens his eyes, immediately shaking his head 'no'. "I can't take everything for free!"

However, the man shakes his head, placing the disk into Yoongi's hands. "As long as your girlfriend is happy," he insists.

Yoongi bites back a shy smile. The shop must have a lot of customers coming to get merchandise for their EXO-L girlfriends on a regular basis. "Thanks so much," Yoongi bows respectfully, stuffing the CD into his back pocket.

"Get home safely," the old man beams as Yoongi grabs the Baekhyun standee, tucking it horizontally under his armpit as he swings past the metal shutters and out the store.

However, the moment he steps out onto the pavement, a pair of headlights flash in front of him, and he instinctively places his free hand in front of his face to shield his eyes from the sudden brightness.

"Min Yoongi!" a vaguely familiar voice exclaims, and Yoongi peels an eye open to see Jackson and his gang, each of them with a motorcycle by their side. "I've finally found you."

Yoongi clenches his teeth. Though Hoseok and Namjoon have already come to terms with him, it seems the rest of Jung Minho's men still bear a grudge against him for beating them up the other time.

"What do you want?" Yoongi snaps, defensively shifting the standee such that it's safely tucked behind his back.

Jackson smiles menacingly, and the rest of the men follow. "You know what I want."

Yoongi ignores him, turning and starting to walk down the street. However, it appears the men refuse to let him go that easily.

Mark starts running towards the green-haired boy, attempting to attack him from behind. Thankfully, Yoongi hears his footsteps and swings around before Mark can even lay a finger on him, hitting him away with the standee.

"Don't you dare fucking dodge!" Jackson demands as he watches Mark stumble at least five meters backward from the impact.

"Or what?" Yoongi challenges.

"Or I'll have to invite your girlfriend over for tea," Jackson smirks. "She always goes to that kindergarten near her mansion in the morning to volunteer as a teacher, am I right? Sunshine Kindergarten. Park. Ji. Young."

Yoongi clenches his teeth, nostrils flaring in fury. He dashes across the street, dropping the standee to the side as he grabs Jackson by the collar, almost lifting the boy off his feet.

"Don't you dare fucking touch her," the green-haired boy warns, only to see Jackson's smirk widen into a smug smile.

"That will depend on your performance tonight," he winks cheekily. "If you obediently let me beat you up, I'll leave her alone."