"So... where are we going?".

"We go wherever the wind leads us. Maybe we'll eventually reach a clothing shop wonderland where everything will be made for you, who knows?".

"... You're being sarcastic, right?".

"... I am. In-yeop recommended a shop earlier, I'm not very knowledgeable about where to go for men clothes so I'm blindly trusting him the same way you're blindly trusting me right now. I'm honestly just hoping for the best at the moment".

Seokjin's lips pinch lightly at my words and we both decide to remain silent, our eyes gazing towards the bus' window in front of us to see as the buildings go by at a quick pace to take us closer to our destination.

Today wasn't such a bad day if I think back to how fast it went by.

After Seokjin and Seo-joon left the office after their secret conversation, there was a weird atmosphere that settled over our heads. The doctor became slightly overprotective towards me during the first few hours and Seokjin was strangely distant and silent compared to last night, but after a while, the both of them seemingly relaxed enough for me to breathe easier.

I have no idea what happened in there, but if one thing was obvious to me, it's that Seokjin was incredibly insulted that In-yeop had even dared say that the two of them were in love. The man would frown whenever the kid would get close to him and it took me giving him tasks once in a while just to give my new housemate a break.

"You must have been very bored today, I'm sorry I couldn't give you more attention. It was busier than I expected, there usually isn't so many people coming in during Wednesdays" I eventually speak up and he hums softly with a shrug.

"It's fine, you warned me yesterday that strangers aren't welcome here, the first customers must have noticed me and gossiped, which made them all curious. I did feel too many eyes glancing my way today, I felt a bit uncomfortable so I went to Seo-joon's office for some peace and quiet near the end" he answers and I nod my head, so that's where he was.

"I see. That was nice of him to offer. I wish they wouldn't act so uncivilized whenever someone they don't know comes here, I'm sorry you had to get a taste of it so soon".

He smiles and glances at me before staring back at the front. "Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault".

Silence resumes but it doesn't feel uncomfortable, the empty bus, if not for the two of us and the driver giving a comfortable ambiance, it feels good after having been forced to take part in too many conversations all day.

When we reach our stop, I press on the red button to make the driver slow down to a halt and then carefully step down the few stairs leading out of the bus until I'm standing on the sidewalk, Seokjin behind me and curiously gazing at the surrounding buildings.

I take out my phone to stare at the map again, because this isn't a part of the town I'm really used to, and when I situate myself and our destination, I point in the right direction before we resume our walk side by side in a continued silence.

It's weird to spend time with someone I don't know like this, but it feels strangely right in a way that I've never felt before, I don't know how to feel about it because before coming to this town, the taste of social interactions I was allowed wasn't of the good kind.

My life was a literal hell every single day, but ever since I've been here, I've been allowed a pace of life that really pleases me and I'm thankful that it's even possible because quite honestly, it doesn't make sense that they've never found me despite all this time.

Sometimes, I feel like I've relaxed too much, it's making me feel more comfortable about going around on my own and I fear that it will turn against me when I expect it the least one day.

If they find me, there's no telling what will happen and it worries me that I might have put Seokjin in danger too by taking him in, but at the same time, they probably would've made themselves known to me already if they really wanted to find me, so I want to hope that they finally gave up.

That sure would be nice.

I suddenly lose my balance after my foot hits a bump and a hand grabs my arm immediately to steady me before I fall, the heat of his palm almost burning against my skin before I look up to the man who stares at me with surprised orbs.

"Are you okay?" he asks me once he's released me and I nervously scratch my thumb as a weird feeling crawls into my soul, something alike to me missing his touch. "Yeah, sorry and... thank you. I was lost in thoughts so I didn't look where I was walking, that's my bad".

He stares at me a bit longer, like he's trying to find some kind of information through my eyes, and it's incredibly unconvinced that he nods in response before looking away.

I don't think much of his reaction and begin walking again, the shop we're heading to not so far anymore and Seokjin follows, his eyes wandering to the area around us to scan any suspicious presence before relaxing just a little, hearing about the people tailing me is really putting him on edge.

"This should be the one" I state when the right building comes within sight, and after he makes a soft sound in acknowledgment, we walk across the street when it's safe to do so to make our way over.

Once in front of the shop, I open the door and let the man walk inside first - I do need to insist a few times until he relents - and once in the little lobby, we're greeted with a regular looking store that seems to offer a wide range of clothes of different styles, though it's nothing fancy.

I can see that this place will go easy on my wallet and I'm thankful, because I always thought In-yeop was the kind to spend a lot on his clothes, so something lets me know that him sending us here was thought through more deeply than I initially thought.

A young man notices us and walks over with a formal smile. "Hi there, can I help you with something today?" he says to my intention only, like Seokjin doesn't exist at all, which, I won't lie, kind of insults me.

"We're here to get him clothes, a few outfits along with, well... underwear and socks and all that" I let out the end awkwardly, because gosh, it feels wrong to buy someone I barely know underwear but he needs them, he can't possibly wear the same ones forever.

Seokjin blinks a smile away when he notices a blush crawling to my cheeks and clears his throat to get the employee's attention, which barely works when the young man struggles hiding a mean frown, which he tries to hide by looking the other way.

"Right, well have a look around then. Underwear can be found there, pants are lined up on that wall and the rest you can find everywhere else, I'm sure you can handle it without me" is his answer and then he's gone.

"Wow... what a good help" I mumble lowly with a huff, eyes glaring at his back as he takes off to play on his phone behind the desk instead of doing his job, this gives me flashbacks to when I first got here and the gentle old woman had taken me shopping for clothes, because just like Seokjin, I had absolutely nothing back then either.

The employees wanted nothing to do with me and finding my size had been a game of trial and error, because I didn't know what actually fitted me and no one seemed interested to help, I can even clearly remember the ongoing sale of that day and how we were denied it because the clothes were for a 'stranger' and hence didn't apply.

We had to remove a few pieces from the purchased pile and granny had felt so bad about it, as if it was her fault that I couldn't be treated like a decent human.

For him to be treated the same way too... it pisses me off.

"It's okay, Y/N, let's just have a look around on our own" Seokjin murmurs when he senses my body heat increase, the peaceful homely scent that is mine taking on a sour note because of my anger, he feels torn between being happy that I care so much and feeling bad that he appears unworthy of common respect in a kid's eyes even if he knows it's not his fault, he did nothing wrong to deserve that treatment.

I nod my head, a small promise to myself to put that kid back in his place if I ever hear him say anything wrong, and when Seokjin gently makes a side-step to block the sight of the desk area, I need a few seconds to focus back to the current task, which is to get this tall man some needed clothes.

I sigh and bring my gaze the other way to take in the many aisles, what should we start with? Pants? T-shirts? What does he want to wear?

There are so many possibilities and to start from zero is more overwhelming than I thought it would be, I've never really liked shopping to begin with but with the way we were welcomed on top of it all... I already feel like leaving and we haven't even begun yet.

"Let's begin with this section, maybe we can find a few simple shirts I could wear first" Seokjin offers when he sees me frozen in place, my frown looking incredibly uncomfortable to his eyes, and when I glance to the area he points at, I make my way to it without waiting, I need to busy myself with something before anxiety hits me in the chest with a painful slap.

I grab a random top and lift it up in front of him to have an idea of the size before grabbing a bigger one, he doesn't look like it but I think we're going to have to buy him clothes in the bigger sizes, it must be the shoulders since they are on the larger side.

Seokjin patiently waits as he gazes down at me, everything I'm doing affecting his heart in ways he had never felt before, in ways none of his brothers could ever cause, and he doesn't reject the thoughts and reflections this brings him, he accepts them in fully as they are because Seo-joon's words did not fall on deaf ears with him.

The warning does not go forgotten, and no matter how he wishes the opposite would be easier for everyone, he can't lie to himself - leaving his star-mate behind is not an option.

He needs to make me leave earth with him, there's no other way. Losing what we can become forever will crush him in ways he cannot even imagine and he's not sure he could survive the heartbreak, he does not want to live the rest of his life in regrets.

Unaware of his inner musings, I hum as I hold one shirt in front of him one more time and then nod to myself with satisfaction, we've got ourselves a winner here.

I sneaked a look at the prices while searching through the different sizes and as I thought, they really aren't expensive so that's great, I'll be able to buy him a bit more than I had initially planned.

"Okay, I think I know which one will fit you now so how about I follow you while you search for what you'd like? I might not be able to buy everything you find to your liking but... if we go for five different shirts and... maybe three pairs of pants, that would be enough, right?" I ask him with a light nervous tone to my voice, I really don't want him to think that I'm being cheap right now but it is a lot of money.

Seokjin's eyes widen and I can see the exact moment it seems to finally cross his mind that he does not own the money for what we came here to buy.

"Oh my gosh, Y/N, are you really okay with that? We can go with less, I can handle two outfits while I try to find a way to make money myself, you don't have to get me so much" he exclaims in a whisper, panicked eyes meeting mine because he really hadn't realized until now, it causes a grin to force itself out of me and I back away while giggling, oh man.

"Don't tell me you spent the whole day thinking that you were going to buy clothes with money that you don't even have, Seokjin? Now that's just funny, you're so silly" I let out with a hand covering my mouth as I giggle the nerves away, and the simple sound of it makes Seokjin melt like the sweetest candies of his homeland.

He stares at me in a bashful daze, his eyes unable to look away even when his brain starts warning him that more than that and he'll start looking like a creep, but when all I do in response is to pat his arm with another giggle before moving forward to begin searching through the different clothes, he can only follow behind with a light heart, because he made me laugh, he made me smile.

Together, we manage to get him a few selections to try first, just so he can have an idea of how comfortable they are and when we make our way to the changing rooms area, I motion for him to go in while I lean against the wall nearby, phone pulled out of my pocket to find messages from the group chat I have with In-yeop and Seo-joon.

THE CLINIC'S SUPERHEROES' SECRET CHAT

Yeoppie:
So how is it going, Y/N?
Have you made it to the shop?

Super Pirate Boss:
You're going to make him pay you back for those clothes, right?
Don't buy him too much, he doesn't deserve it
You know what? Just send me that receipt when you're done, I'll transfer you the money
You shouldn't have to pay for that guy

Yeoppie:
Oh! So generous, boss!
Can you transfer some money to me too? I need to buy a new coat and some shoes for my sister
🥺

Super Pirate Boss:
... sure, send me the receipt too
You've made working fun these last years so it's the least I can do
But don't make this into a habit!

Yeoppie:
You're the best whoa!!!!
Thank you hyung! I love you <3

Super Pirate Boss:
😮‍💨😮‍💨
Please let us know how it's going when you see this, Y/N

I chuckle to myself with a shake of the head, these two...

Beautiful Swan:
Thank you for the offer, Seo-joon, but I'm going to be fine
Shopping is going well, but the employee is just as bad as I remember them being towards strangers
It's the only thing that makes me hate their smiles when they see me
I just don't get how they can smile like that when they treated me the same way before

Super Pirate Boss:
I know that doesn't excuse their behaviour Y/N, but they've gone through a lot
They lost a lot of families and loved ones due to strangers, this town is terrified of the unknown because of that day
Just bear with it for a while, I'll see how we can make them accept Seokjin
Maybe he can work with us at the clinic? I'll talk about it with him tomorrow

I start typing in something but Seo-joon is faster than I am when he sends something else first.

Super Pirate Boss:
And send me that receipt, it's an order
I'll ask the kid who works at the shop how much it cost you if you don't, In-yeop told me where you went

Damn it.

Beautiful Swan:
Yes sir 🫡

Yeoppie:
🤪🤪

The sound of a door unlocking and I raise my eyes, expecting Seokjin to be done trying one of the outfits by now, and indeed, when I see him walking out of the small room in some nice fitted jeans with a loose light pink fuzzy sweater, my brain stops functioning.

How does one manage to go from looking like a sexy handsome to looking like a cuddly bear? How does that work? How does one do that?

"How is it? Does it look weird?" he asks me hesitantly when I have yet to show a reaction and it takes me all my willpower to clear my throat with a shake of the head. "Not weird, no. It looks good on you Seokjin, is it comfortable?".

He perks up at my comment and quickly nods with a happy smile. "It is! It's warm and soft, I love it".

I hum and hide a tiny smile by motioning my chin back to the changing room. "Good, go ahead and try the others then, let me know if anything's too small or too big, I'll go and get another size for you".

His lips purse into a shy smile and he nods his head before going back behind the closed door like demanded, eager to receive more compliments from me if he can help it, he didn't know it would feel that good to receive them from his star-mate but he can already tell that he's going to get addicted to this feeling.

Once safe from his staring, I bring a hand to my heart and exhale softly, a light pat to my chest to try and get my pulse to calm down. Why do I feel like that with him? I've never felt this way with anyone so why does he suddenly appear into my life with this... power over my heart?

It's like receiving a warm shower of belonging that washes all over my soul whenever he comes near and I don't know how to process it properly, even In-yeop and Seo-joon don't bring me such warmth quite the way Seokjin does.

Could that explain why I offered to take him in so easily? Me of all people? I should be wary due to my past, yet here I am, making sure that this man has everything he needs after meeting him out of nowhere outside the previous evening.

Is that normal? Or am I simply biased because that's how I was treated when I met granny the first time?

That must be it, I'm simply looking for a way to thank her for all that she's done for me by giving back in the same way, that's all this is. I shouldn't be looking for fish where there's no water.

Seokjin steps out of the changing room another time and when I look up to see what he chose this time, I snort and shake my head immediately. "Nuh huh, no. I'm not buying that".

Confused, Seokjin steps forward to fit within the mirror on the wall and upon seeing his reflection, he gasps before running back with the door slammed shut behind him. "Why did the neckline have to go so low?! It didn't look that bad before I put it on!" he exclaims in embarrassment, something that makes me laugh.

"You would gather even more attention if you wore that, that's for sure" I tease him lightly, which earns me a scoff, that will never happen as long as he has a say over the matter. "It should be burned and discarded forever".

"Do that when you have money of your own, I'm not spending money on something ugly".

"... It's a good thing that I'm handsome then".

I huff. "I see you're just like In-yeop. Do you also kiss your biceps when you get dressed in the morning? Because he's apparently made that into a routine when he wakes up and he says everyone should do the same".

"I hate to say it but... he's right, and you'd agree too if you touched my biceps, they deserve every kisses they receive even if they all come from me. Do you want to touch? They're pretty nice, you can even drop a kiss if you want".

"No thank you. I'll go walk around and see if we can get you some more things to try so continue indulging yourself in your fantasies if you want, as long as you keep trying on more clothes, I don't want us to spend all the evening here".

"Awww, it was worth a try".

I shake my head at his unexpected flirty side and decide to tune out his next words for my peace of mind. I thought one person like In-yeop was enough for a lifetime and here I go ending up with another one with a terribly high self-esteem in my immediate environment.

Was he serious when he offered me to touch and drop a kiss on his biceps or did he surprise himself as well by saying that?

I don't know if it was just really brave of him to say such daring words or if it's the kind of thing that comes easy to him, but I somehow get the feeling that the next time he'll walk out of that changing room, there will be a shy pink hiding somewhere on his skin and that thought makes me chuckle to myself.

I grab a hoodie and lift it up in front of my eyes, a smile forcing itself over my lips before I hum softly while hooking it over my arm, he'd look good in that one too, it's got a boyish look that would suit him well.

I guess it's not such a bad thing to be confident to that extent from time to time, and compared to a lot of people, he has the looks that go with it so... I'll leave it be for now.

It does make things more entertaining as I currently find myself enjoying doing something that I normally don't like right now and I can't help but wonder that maybe he was sent to me by granny.

Maybe she sent me someone who can help me walk out of my comfort zone without overthinking about everything all the time, someone who can bring some more light into my life without needing to try too hard.

"Y/N? Where are you?" I hear Seokjin call me with a anxious voice and my soul itches to join back with him to reassure him, such a weird thing that is. I wish I could explain this feeling or at least know why it's happening with him, but for now, I can only go with the flow.

"I'm here, Seokjin, I found some things that I think you'll like, give me a second" I answer before sighing lightly while searching for his size for another piece that I found.

Whether it's granny or some trick from fate, I still can't allow myself to bring my guard down. I know that my hell is not over and the more I indulge myself in this happiness, the more painful it will burn me when it gets ripped away without warning.

It's not a matter of 'if', it's a matter of 'when', and I can only pray that Seokjin will not be pulled into this matter because of me.

He needs to go back home, I can't get in the way of that.

---

Alright, so like I said recently on my wall, this is the last update for When I'm with you! I hope you enjoyed the four first chapters!

I'll take the week to get back into Uncontrolled, so maybe don't expect a chapter this week as I will be doing light edits (probably) and just getting back in the flow of the story. I hope to see you guys there!