The Rules

Chapter 9

It was about 6 pm and there was a knock at the apartment door.  Hobi opened it to Ami holding a large tray of food.   "Ami!  It's so good to see you, come in!"   He grabbed the tray from her as she took off her jacket and shoes.  She placed the black key card on the table by the front door and followed him into the kitchen.  "Hey guys, good to see you." she smiled as she rounded the corner.    The guys were genuinely happy to see her, and she could feel it.

"What did you bring us?"  Jungkook was peeking under the cover of the tray. "It smells really good."

"Ahh... I made dumplings, I hope you like them."  She took the cover off and placed the tray on the table and sat down at the table with an exhausted smile, "Dig in if you are hungry."  Everyone came and sat down grabbing and fighting for the delicious food.

"You didn't have to make this much, but I'm glad you did.." Jin said as he shoved two more dumplings into his mouth.

"Well, it's just my way to say thank you for everything you all did for me... the doctor, the food, your kindness, all of it.  It was appreciated more than you know."  With that last sentence she looked over at Namjoon, and he glanced back at her.  She smiled and looked back at the group and watched them devour the food.  It felt good to make something people appreciated, it was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Tae asked as he dished up his third helping.

"Oh, believe me, I ate enough as I was making them today." She laughed, patting her stomach.  "Quality control, you know.  I hadn't made them in a long time, so I wanted to make sure they tasted right.  It is an old family recipe..."  She trailed off and instinctively rubbed her gold necklace.

The guys continued eating and talking over each other, but her pause wasn't lost on Yoongi or Namjoon. 

They spent their time eating, telling stories, and laughing. Ami hadn't felt so included in a long time.  Finally, it was time for the movie so they moved to the living room.  They had prepared for it by filling it full of pillows, blankets, and loads of popcorn and drinks.

"You guys go all out, I'm impressed!" Ami said, picking a comfortable spot in the corner of a couch.   The guys filled in, claiming their spots around the room.  Namjoon ended up sitting next to Ami on the couch and Jimin flipped off the lights and they started the movie.

While the movie was playing Namjoon was keeping an eye on Ami out of the corner of his eye.  She was mindlessly rubbing her healing palm and arm while she watched.  The bandages had come off and there were just faint red marks left to heal. 

"How is your arm feeling?  Does it still bother you?" Namjoon leaned over and whispered in her ear without taking his eyes off the TV.

Ami leaned into him and replied in kind, "It's getting better, but it still aches sometimes.  It's just the healing process, sometimes things just take longer to heal than you want."  

Namjoon paused, thought about what she said, and then said low enough just for her to hear,  "Sometimes things that we want to heal need help from something more than we can provide ourselves."

It felt like an arrow went straight into her heart.  Tears welled up in Ami's eyes.  Her chest tightened while she fought back a full-blown breakdown.  She had spent so many years building up her walls to keep her emotions safe so she could move forward, showing everyone she was strong and capable of handling anything.   This boy had just blown a hole through walls with a simple sentence, years worth of feelings started to flood in and she couldn't push her feelings down anymore.  Being back in the place she grew up, reconnecting with old friends, was too much to keep down anymore.