stuck with you; knj (ambw)

Chapter 5

Iris POV

Iris has tried everything.

She used water, makeup removal wipes, rubbing alcohol, you name it. But nothing removed the red heart on her skin.

It can't be real.

That's what she told herself. But at the same time, she knew it had to be.

Why else did she feel sparks when she touched him?  Why else has she been feeling extremely lethargic over the past two days? Why else won't the heart on her wrist disappear no matter what the fuck she scrubs it with?

Namjoon is her soulmate.

She cried, she's not ashamed to admit it.

Iris never wanted a soulmate. She never wanted to randomly meet a stranger she had to be dependent on for the rest of her life. Oh, and fall in love with.

The whole thing just never made sense to her. And yet, here she is.

But the thing about Iris is that she's extremely stubborn. And unfortunately for Namjoon, this means that she purposely avoided him until she had absolutely no choice.

Right now, she can barely walk, let alone function like a normal person. No matter how much she nourishes her body with food and water, she just feels herself getting worse.

And it's then, only then, that she decides she needs to find him.

But before she does that, she takes some time to think about her strategy. She only has so much energy left and she doesn't want to waste it.

His accent and his strange behavior leads her to believe that he is a tourist. And since he was at the library she went to, he must be staying in a hotel close by.

She uses her phone to do some research about hotels in Manhattan. Then she picks out a few she thinks he is most likely to be in, saving the addresses in her notes.

"Let's do this." She mumbles to herself, getting up from the couch. The task is way more energy consuming than it used to be, but Iris can't complain. She did it to herself.

Now it's up to her to find one man in this huge city. She has a feeling this is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Namjoon POV

"I swear, I've looked everywhere." Namjoon explains to his bandmates exasperatedly.

The six of them are on a FaceTime call with their leader, listening to him explain the predicament he found himself in.

"I went back to the library and waited there for hours. Then I visited some stores in the area. It's like she disappeared off the face of the Earth." Namjoon sighs, disappointment evident in his voice.

"I think it's pretty clear she doesn't want to be found." Taehyung notes. "But why?"

"I don't know." The purple haired man shrugs dejectedly. "Maybe I'm too ugly so she got scared and ran away."

His words make the rest of the members burst into laughter. Even Namjoon himself lets out a chuckle at the ridiculousness of that statement.

"You're very handsome, Namjoon. Don't say that." Although Jin knows Namjoon is joking, his words have a hint of seriousness to them.

"Hey, coming from Mr. Worldwide Handsome, that's a huge compliment." Jimin smiles. "It has to be true, hyung."

Namjoon shakes his head, a small smile on his lips. But it quickly fades. "No, but really guys, I feel awful."

If Namjoon didn't know any better, he would think he had come down with the flu. His entire body aches, he is pretty sure he is running a slight fever and he has no desire to get up at all or do anything.

He hasn't left his bed all day.

"If you feel sick then she probably does too." Yoongi reasons. "She'll come looking for you eventually."

"Hyung's right." Hoseok agrees. "It's just a matter of time."

Just then, there is a knock at his door.

Namjoon furrows his eyebrows in confusion. He's pretty sure he left the 'do not disturb' sign on his door so it can't be the cleaning person.

"Uh, I didn't order any room service!" He calls out. That's the only other reason he could think of for someone to be at his door.

"It's not-" He hears someone begin talking on the other side of the door but they quickly stop themselves. Then they speak again. "It's me, Iris."

Namjoon's eyes widen.

"Uh guys, I gotta go."

Iris POV

Iris was right.

Trying to find this man was definitely like looking for a needle in a damn haystack.

She has already walked into 5 different hotels, each one telling her that they don't have a Kim Namjoon staying there.

And now she's down to the last one on her list. If this doesn't work, she has no idea what she's going to do.

She walks in, approaching the front desk. "Hi, do you have anyone by the name of Namjoon staying here? He's my soulmate and I'm looking for him." She shows the woman the heart on her wrist as a little bit of proof.

"I'll check for you, give me one second ma'am." The woman smiles pleasantly at her before typing some things into her computer.

"Namjoon Kim?" She asks a few moments later. "Is that who you're looking for?"

"Uh, yes. Yes I am." Iris feels the relief flowing through her when she finally hears his name. He's here.

"Perfect." The woman chirps. "He's in room 317."

"Thank you so much." Iris smiles genuinely at the woman.

"No problem, ma'am."

After her conversation ends, Iris makes her way to the elevator as quickly as possible. She pushes the button for the third floor once she gets inside, starting to feel anxious and impatient all at the same time.

She has no idea what's going to happen when they see each other. Iris just hopes he's not too upset with her for avoiding him.

When she finally arrives at the 3rd floor, she steps out of the elevator and follows the signs on the wall towards the room she is looking for. And soon enough, she finds herself standing right outside the door of room 317.

C'mon Iris, you can do this.

She lifts her hand up to the door, swiftly knocking.

There is no response for a few moments. Iris is about to knock again when she finally hears a voice.

"Uh, I didn't order any room service!"

"I'm not-" She stops herself, letting out a heavy sigh.

"It's me, Iris."