Chapter 2

***A/N TW abusive ex interaction.

Noon was slowly drawing near, YN kept staring at the clock, wishing for it to move faster. It had been a while since she was actually excited to go on a date with someone. She had gotten ready as fast as she could, knowing the part that would take the longest would be choosing something to wear. She had finally decided on her black jeans and a white blouse with her favorite Doc Marten boots. She could hear her mom's voice saying what she was wearing wasn't as feminine as it should be for a first date but she went with it rather than wearing the casual black dress she contemplated. If she was being honest with herself, she felt more comfortable in black and her Docs gave her more confidence than her high heels ever did.

After more waiting, it was finally five minutes before the meeting time. She didn't want to look over-eager to see JK again so she slowly got her stuff together and gave Lola her favorite treat before walking out the door at 12:00 pm on the dot. As she walked downstairs and out the apartment doors she looked towards the park area and saw someone waiting there. Nervously she continued her walk over and gave a small wave to JK when he looked at her.

"Wow, you look nice," he said as he looked her up and down.

"Thanks, you lean up pretty nicely yourself" she responded while looking him over. She was slightly jealous at how amazing he looked in casual black jeans, a black t-shirt, and black combat boots. Although she had to admit he certainly looked good enough to eat.

JK chuckled "Well, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I haven't eaten yet today. What are you thinking you want?"

"Honestly it doesn't really matter, I'll eat just about anything."

"Any allergies that I should be aware of?"

"Not even a little. Do you have any food allergies?"

"Unfortunately, almonds and coconut try to make me meet my maker. Luckily though I have an Epi-pen just in case."

"That's good to know, so nothing with almond or coconut, that shouldn't be to difficult."

"You know what, how about sushi? It's my favorite."

"Sounds perfect," he said and reaches for her hand. She lets him lead her over to the car that is parked close by. He opens the door for her and she slides in. Once he sits in the driver's side he searches for the nearest sushi restaurant and they are off. YN sighs happily and stares out the window watching the scenery pass when she feels a hand on top of hers. She looks over at JK questioningly.

"Is this ok?" he asks "It's ok if it's not."

"No, it's ok" she flips her hand over and laces her fingers with his. She couldn't explain the feelings she had but she felt safe with him. Like she had known him for years rather than just mere hours. She tried to rein in the romantic thoughts and be realistic, knowing she will probably have lunch with him and then likely never see him again. However, this didn't keep her from daydreaming and wishing he was from her city. She looked back out the window and noticed that they had already arrived at the restaurant. JK lets go of her hand and opens his door, as she goes to do the same it opened and his smiling face appeared.

"You really didn't think I would make you open your own door now did you?" He asked reaching out with his hand once again.

She giggled and let him help her out. Once they walked in they were seated at one of the tables. While they were looking over the menus they made small talk until the waiter arrived for their orders. The more they talked the more she found herself liking this man. It made her nervous and excited at the same time. She wanted to desperately know what he was thinking and if he was having a good time. With the smile that was on his face though, she safely assumed that he was having fun. They talked about so much during lunch, their families, their hometowns, and what they liked to do in their free time. They were similar in many ways and just different enough to keep the conversation interesting. The food came and went. They continued talking until JK looked down again at his phone going off. He grabs it and looks over at her.

"Just a minute, I really have to take this. It's one of the friends that I came with." He said as he walks away and out the front of the building.

YN smiles to herself and begins staring off into space. She's perfectly content, that is until she hears a voice that she really rather not ever hear again.

"YN, I thought that was you," Mark said derisively. He looks at her table since the food had been picked up a while ago and only saw the two water glasses, "Waiting for someone?" as he then slides into the chair that JK had vacated.

"What do you want Mark? I told you I didn't want anything to do with you anymore. I'm here with someone, so please just leave." She told him. She sat up straighter and looked directly into his eyes. Gone were the days that this man would make her cower. All the nights he was drunk, yelling at her, throwing things, ripping apart her self-esteem, she would not allow him to make her feel any less. She looked around for JK and didn't see him anywhere so she went to stand up.

"Where do you think you're going? I'm just trying to have a simple conversation. I haven't seen you since you broke up with me out of nowhere like a psycho." He said and grabbed a hold of her wrist.

"Mark, let go of me. What I do now, is none of your business. You're purposefully making a scene. Leave me alone." She replies. She tries to pull away but Mark stood up and came closer while still gripping her arm. It was becoming painful and she knew it would likely bruise. She wasn't unfamiliar with this behavior, Mark would grab and squeeze painfully when he was angry or teasing her. He did it to make her feel weak, always saying that he could easily squeeze harder and really hurt her. So she did what she always did, she froze. She wanted to get out of his grip but she knew the more she tried the worse it was going to get.

"Mark, I'm really here with someone and he will be back in just a minute. You really should just let me go."

"No, you hateful bitch. You left me when I needed you the most. You knew I was depressed, you knew I was still hurting but you left me anyways. It's your fault I lost my job. I couldn't go to work because I was drunk all the time because of the pain. I'm going to losing my house because of you too. So sit the fuck down and talk to me, it's the least you can do." He was so close to her face that she had to turn her head away from his foul breath.

"Mark...."

"Sir, you need to let her go right now," JK stated, YN breathed a sigh of relief. Thankful that he hadn't left her, she looked at his face and could see the anger there. Terrified that this would turn into a brawl, her thought process was interrupted by Mark yelling.

"Who the hell are you dude. She's mine, don't tell me what to do." Mark yanked YN closer to him and she bumped into the table, spilling the water glasses and tripping as she did so.

"That's enough, let her go and I won't call the cops." JK was furious now, he could see the pain and discomfort on YN's face. He was only gone for a few minutes to answer the stupid phone and tell Namjoon that he was just out getting something to eat and that he would be back for rehearsals later. When he came back in and caught the last bit of what the man was saying to YN and the scene unfolding before him, he knew he had to intervene. "I'm not going to ask again. Let her go."

Mark noticed the JK had clenched his fists and that he was sizing him up. Mark knew he would most likely lose this fight if it came to one.

"Fine, you can have the skank for now." He said shoving YN into JK. "But I will have you back, one way or another." He turns around and walks out of the building.

JK looks down into YN's eyes and sees the unshed tears. She's holding her battered wrist close to her body while wiping away the water on her pants. So he pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey, it's ok, I'm here." He whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry that asshole touched you. Let me take you home"

All YN could do was nod her consent. She was shocked at Mark's outburst, but she was more upset at the fact that he went for her weak hand. She had just gotten surgery on her wrist before they broke up. It was one of the catalysts for why they did in the first place. She began to realize how much he didn't care when he made no effort to see her after her surgery, especially under the circumstances where her grandfather had passed away the day before she went under. Leaving her in pain with her heartbroken, luckily her family was there to help her through it but her relationship with Mark was broken beyond repair.

The pain in her wrist brought her back to the present, JK had put his arm around her while guiding her back over to the car and he helped her sit down. He closed her door and climbed in the other side and they drove back to her apartment in silence. When they pulled up in front of the building they sat there for another minute. Neither of them knowing exactly what to do.

"Do you want to come up to the apartment?" YN asked. "I really um, don't want to be alone right now. It's alright to say no, that was a lot of drama for a first date, and I...."

JK interrupted her before she could continue "Yeah, yeah I'll come up. And don't worry, it's ok, I'm just sorry it happened to begin with. It wasn't your fault."

"Thank you," She says and smiles at him, thankful that he understands. They get out of the car and head up to her apartment.