Jiyeon POV
I sat at the sushi restaurant, my heart racing. Hyungwon sat coolly across from me, so I tried to calm myself down.
'He's just a guy... my heart shouldn't race this much...'
I looked at the menu, picking out what I would eat for the day. Should I order garlic edamame? Maybe not, I didn't want my breath to smell just in case....
"What are you thinking of getting?" Hyungwon asked, his piercing eyes looking up from his menu. I hid behind my menu to escape his gaze.
"I don't know." I replied. "Definitely sushi though."
Hyungwon chuckled.
"Order whatever you want, it's my treat after all." He said.
I found myself blushing even more at anything he said.
We sat silently as we decided what to order. I picked a couple of rolls and set down my menu, finally coming up with the courage to face to him directly.
"So, you really like sharks?" Hyungwon asked, looking me directly in the eyes. He was able to find a topic of conversation quicker than I could.
I nodded enthusiastically, "If I hadn't joined the FB-" I stopped myself, coughing to pretend I had something stuck in my throat.
'Get it together Jiyeon!'
I had almost blown my cover again.
"I mean I did join a Facebook group about sharks, so I know a thing or two. I think I was a shark in a past life."
'Nailed it!'
"Oh, okay." Hyungwon nodded, none the wiser to my true identity. "So what kind of shark do you think you were?"
"That's easy." I laughed. "I'm a bit of a loner, I do things my own way, very independent. I'm totally a Great White Shark."
"So the strongest shark there is?" Hyungwon chuckled, "Very humble."
"Well actually there is a better shark." I said, sitting up straighter and leaning over the table. I always got really excited when talking about sharks. "The Mako shark is a smaller and stronger version of the Great White. It's the fastest species of shark in the world, extremely deadly. Some people can be tricked because it's actually kind of cute until it opens its mouth, then it looks freaky. All of this in a small package."
Hyungwon nodded along, "So then what shark would I be?"
I racked my mind of the catalog of sharks. "Well... you're a tall guy, big without the danger. You're like a Whale shark."
"Whale?!" He took that as an offense, his eyes widened.
I laughed out loud, finding his expression funny. His face softened as he watched me laugh, "They're, like, the prettiest shark there is. It's a compliment."
Hyungwon chuckled, taking a sip of his water. "Well, good."
"Now Goblin Sharks, those are ugly." I laughed.
[A/N: I recommend you do not googling them, lol]
Hyungwon seemed to spot the bruise that had formed on my fist.
"I guess I should thank you again for saving me from that shark..." Hyungwon said. He grabbed onto my hand, bringing it close to his face so he could examine the bruise. "Why would a shark be that close to the beach? It's crazy..."
"I know why." I replied, feeling proud to have knowledge about this, "Sharks will follow prey close to the shore in order to trap them. So a Hammerhead shark that eats smaller fish, since they have small mouths for a shark, will try to follow a fish up to the sand. When the fish has now where to go, they attack. It was probably following a fish when it saw us."
Hyungwon nodded, "You're actually pretty smart."
I scoffed, "What, you think a bodyguard can't be smart?"
"I mean..." Hyungwon laughed, "Usually they're just big and strong, but you're actually small and smart."
I blushed just as the waiter came over and took out order.
"Wait, aren't you shark girl?" The waiter asked in English, pointed at me after taking down our order. Hyungwon confusedly looked between the two of us.
"Huh?" I asked, looking up at him. He was a native, a largely built Hawaiian man with tribal tattoos to match.
"You're the one that punched the shark, right?" He smiled. "I'd recognize you any day."
"Well, I am." I smiled, "Were you at the beach?"
He shook his head, "No, but I wish. You're the first girl I have ever heard of that has punched a shark on this beach. Really impressive!"
"Thank you!" I smiled. "So then... if you weren't there, how did you know...?"
"Instagram." The guy laughed, pulling out his phone. "This girl posted about it. You're lucky she was there."
He showed me a picture on his phone. It was Lily! She was posing like an idiot by the shore, trying to get her butt and boobs in the same picture somehow. But in the background of the picture was the lifeguard ship dropping off Hyungwon and I. In the next slide was a rather unflattering zoomed-in picture of Hyungwon and I getting off the boat. (Part of Lily's flat ass was still obstructing the picture) Hair was stuck to my face and I was partially blinking.
'Seriously? This is how the world is seeing me? In the background of an Instagram butt pic?'
I looked down from the image to see Lily had posted some drawn-out bullshit caption underneath the post. It read: Today I realized just how fleeting life is. While spending an amazing day with these new guys I met, our friends were almost attacked by a shark. Luckily, our socially inept female acquaintance was able to punch the shark and save the day. If not for me sharing my knowledge about sharks, they might not be alive today. #yolo
'What the fuck?! She's such a liar!'
If I could find her and beat her ass, I would.
"Anyway, the picture is going viral around here, everyone knows who you are." He smiled before going off to put in our order.
I was happy people were finding out about my feat of strength. But that could potentially be a bad thing. If the photo went viral around the world then fans might figure out what hotel we were staying at.
What an absolute nightmare.
But I decided to deal with that issue later. For now I was going to enjoy my time with Hyungwon.
"What did he say?" Hyungwon asked once the waiter was gone.
"He knows I am the girl that punched the shark." I smiled.
"Was he flirting with you?" Hyungwon asked, brows knotted as he looked after the waiter.
"No." I laughed. But then again, I wasn't really equipped with the radar that could tell when guys were trying to flit. Most of the time it went way over my head. So I might have been wrong, there was really no way to tell.
"Good." Hyungwon huffed, "This is our date, no one flirts with you while I'm around."
'You'd be surprised.'
I brushed my hair behind my ear and took a sip of my drink, trying to think of what to talk about next to change the subject. As much as Hyungwon seemed to change for the better after confessing to me today, conversation still didn't flow easily between us.
Still, the night seemed to go by quickly.
I sighed after finishing off my meal, feeling full and tired. I patted my stomach, feeling completely satiated.
"Well, I guess we should head back..." Hyungwon muttered, looking sad that the date was over.
I nodded, "Yeah..." I stared at my empty plate and the check that was paid for, "Thanks for the meal!"
"No problem." Hyungwon smirked, standing up. I stood up too and followed him out of the restaurant.
"So, listen..." I started to say, wanting to address this whole situation before it got out of hand. Having two guys in the group have a crush on me was going to end badly one way or another. I needed to let them both know I wasn't interested in a relationship. Besides I'd be returning to the FBI eventually. I couldn't let myself be weighed down by love in Korea because I would just have to leave.
But before I could say anything else I bumped into someone on the way out the door. There was a shuffle of groups, a large one coming in and another leaving.
"Sorry." I said, looking to see a familiar face hiding behind a black hat.
"It's okay." Changkyun was trying to change his voice and hide behind the brim of a hat. But I recognized him immediately.
"What are you doing here?" Hyungwon asked, eyes narrowed. He wasn't fooled by Changkyun's disguise either. I noticed Wonho emerged out of hiding too. He was blending into the crowd of people that dispersed once they were seated at a table or out the door.
"We..." Changkyun said, blushing madly. He was obviously at a loss for words, I stared at him expectantly waiting for what he had to say next.
"We were picking up food!" Wonho cut in, patting Changkyun on the back. "We started craving Sushi, too. You inspired us!"
I nodded, "Well, enjoy the food." I smiled, Hyungwon and I walking out of the restaurant.
Once we were in the clear I heard Hyungwon mutter behind me. "They were totally following us."
"Yep." I nodded.
But I had noticed the two tailing us back at the hotel. I knew all along they were stalking us. What kind of FBI agent would I be if I couldn't pick up on something like that? I thought it was cute more than anything else. Just brothers looking after each other. So I decided to let them think they had fooled us and got into the car to go back to the hotel.
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Hey! With Monsta X's American tour officially ending, I wanted to know if you guys had any stories of running into them? And for those of us that haven't had the pleasure of meeting Monsta X, I want to start a discussion of what we each deem as acceptable behavior when running into kpop idols. There have been a lot of videos of creepy fan behaviors towards Monsta X that happened in America and I'm curious about what you all think of these instances of crazy fans.
Personally I'm such a shy person that if I saw Monsta X on the street in real life I probably wouldn't have the guts to approach them! I might take a picture, maybe, but would not want them to see me taking it. Because at the end of the day, idols are people too that just need a break sometimes.
Thanks for reading!