"Hey, why don't we watch more Family Feud in honor of my amazing cooking skills?" Jimin asks, giving me a sly smile. Before I can reply, he runs to my room to open the TV.

I huff a breath before getting some water. As I walk towards my room I hear an rushed voice trying to talk about the loud scene around them. As I walk in I ask, "why are you watching the news?"

His eyes are squinted, head tilted, looking confused at the screen. "I think...I think I recognize that guy."

I look at the reporter, whose shiny black hair falls to his shoulder, sharp eyes the color of grass. I look back at Jimin, who has gone pale.

He points suddenly at the screen eyes dark with anger. "He's part of the Sparked Mafia! He was one of the toughest ones!"

My heart slows down at the mention of the malicious group, time seeming to slow down as my mind whirls to all the times they've given me nightmares.

Those Sparked Mafia goons...are disguised as regular people?

I pay close attention to the way he talks, his demeanor, but there's nothing off-putting about him. Meaning that if I come face-to-face with one of the Sparked Mafia camouflaged, I would have no idea I was in danger.

I shiver.

"Kyung Mi, I swear I won't let you get hurt again. I swear. I'll protect you." I turn to look at Jimin, whose steely gaze and determined eyes let me know I have someone here to keep me from that danger.

Eyes watering, I hobble in a daze over to where he is sitting on my bed, climb onto it, and cling onto him. He recovers quickly from the shock of contact by pulling his arms around me and returning the embrace.

"Thank you, Jimin." I whisper.

He places his chin on the top of my head and I snuggle my face deeper into his chest. "I don't want you to worry anymore, Kyung Mi. Please just be happy; I'll take care of the rest."

+++

When my body wakes up, it takes me a second to take in my surroundings before I do anything. I'm laying in the middle of my bed, blanket around me. The smell of my dad's special homemade Korean food reaches my nose, and I find myself questioning if he's here.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I open my eyes and remove myself from my warm place in bed and make my way to the kitchen.

Jimin is standing at the stove, apron on, in the middle of stirring between a pot and pan, occasionally tasting his food and adding extra seasoning.

I watch him for a couple of minutes in awe before he speaks.

"Are you going to gawk at my titillating cooking skills or are you gonna help me?" He asks casually, breaking me from my spell.

I squint my eyes before walking towards him. "Titillating? Who do you think you are that I'd swoon over any skill that you possess?"

He looks over at me with an angelically happy face before it shifting into a cocky one with his smirk. "Park-freaking-Jimin, obviously."

I roll my eyes and look around for something to throw at him, before realizing the fire hazard associated considering he is at the stove.

"I don't appreciate the egotistical façade, so you can just drop it now." I tell him before walking towards the sink to help with the dishes.

"Oh, it's not a façade, sweetie, and once this meal is ready you'll realize that it's perfectly justified."

"Lord, why don't you just marry yourself already? You're worse than Narcissus himself."

He grins. "If I married myself no one else would have the opportunity of being with me."

"The opportunity? You mean the punishment." I mutter.

He chuckles before I hear the stove clicking off and him appearing right behind me. Putting his hands on my respective arms, he addresses me with a gentle voice. "You can stop now, Kyung Mi. I'll wash them."

Perfectly aware of our intimate position (I can literally feel the warmth of his chest radiating off of him), I make sure to make my voice doesn't match my nervous body.

"No, Jimin-"

"I was joking when I asked you to help. I promised you a meal the day you got this apartment, and I'm fulfilling that today."

My heart warms not just at the memory, but that he remembered it. It's been so long since he made that promise, and I thought for sure it was going to be an empty one.

"Okay." I cede, secretly living for the fact that he wants to handle everything for me.

I opt to watch him work his magic from a stool placed behind the marble island he's working in front of. "I hoped you'd be asleep for a little longer, so that you could wake up to a ready meal, but here we are." He says, cutting up veggies.

I can't help but smile at his comment, secretly overjoyed that he was thinking of me in such a kind way. "Yeah, I'm a little confused, when did I fall asleep?"

His cheeks visibly redden and I notice his actions slow a little, as if he feels pressure for being put on the spot. "When you were, uh, in my...arms."

I can't help but let out a "pfft!" at his discomfort and the awkwardness of the sentence's delivery. His brows furrow.

"What's so funny?"

I smile and shake my head, looking at him with a new sense of comfort.

"Nothing, Jimin."