Catch The Stars

Chapter 10

"Oh, yeah sure," Jennie says when Namjoon glances at her, walking over to pick up all the bags at once but failed miserably. Namjoon laughs and takes two bags each from her hands, waving at her grandma before he turns to walk.

"How many people live in your house?"

"Just my parents and me," He says and smiles at the confused look Jennie gives. "They do this all the time. My mom gives her homemade butter and cheese because aunt Youngja doesn't have any cattle and in return we basically raid her garden."

"These tiny bags probably didn't even hurt her garden." Jennie chuckles. "I swear she could feed the entire village with everything she grows back there."

Namjoon laughs but he stops when they walk through the gate and he spots two old men walking towards them. His smile fades and he suddenly puts a ridiculous amount of space between him and Jennie, ignoring her confused look.

They both stop to bow when the old men walk past them and suddenly Jennie understands what Namjoon was doing; the men turn to give them curious and mildly judging looks.

Because Namjoon is a guy from the village and Jennie is a stranger from the city.

It doesn't look good.

"I'm sorry," Namjoon says once they're out of sight, walking closer to her again. "I know it's ridiculous but you can't imagine how fast rumors spread around here."

Jennie feels a weird sort of anger flare in her chest. "But we were just walking together."

"Not in their eyes." Namjoon scoffs, a shadow crossing his face. "We might as well have been holding hands or something. They're all just... completely crazy."

"That's fucking stupid," Jennie mutters. "What century do we live in again?"

Namjoon chuckles, some of the humour back in his eyes. "This village is always like, 100 years behind the normal world, so just do the math yourself. I can't wait to get out of here."

The last part is so quiet Jennie isn't sure if she was meant to hear it or not. "You're leaving?"

Namjoon freezes for a second before he clears his throat and puts on another smile. "I'm definitely not staying here forever. They'll get me married to a little girl and then I won't have a chance of getting out at all."

"They, as in your family?"

"Yeah," He says, his smile turning infinitely bitter. "They've been pestering me about getting married for the past two years. Preferably to someone from the village."

"Seriously?" Jennie tightens her grip on the bags, waiting for Namjoon to open up a gate in front of them since both her hands are full.

He hums. "I grew up with these people, you know? Just the thought of marrying Y/n makes me sick. She's like my sister for god's sake." Namjoon jumps in surprise when Jennie trips over her feet when she hears the name. "Jesus, you okay?"

"Yes!" Jennie rushes out. "They want you to marry Y/n?"

"Yes." He sighs. "Of course it's never going to happen. It's just what our parents want. I already made it clear that I'm not interested. I think they're slowly starting to accept it."

Jennie clears her throat, trying to calm her racing heart. "And... does Y/n feel that way too?"

She nods her head. "You should've seen her. She was ready to fight people when they brought the subject up. But Y/n doesn't want to get married, anyway. I don't know what it is with her. She's never shown interest in anyone, really."

Jennie just silently nods her head, not really knowing what she's supposed to say. "Well, fuck. That's just crazy. I'm sorry you have to put up with nonsense like that."