A Modest Proposal (Kim Namjoon/ BTS) (#SerendipityAwards)

28. Soulmate

"Our fingers align,

As they intertwine,

You break my heart wide open~"

The minutes felt like hours as the van whizzed down the roads of Seoul, Namjoon's jaw ticking anxiously and his head counting down the seconds until the vehicle would pull up on the curb outside Ji Ah's apartment complex. So Min couldn't be sure if the videographer had indeed returned home but somehow, the rapper knew that that was exactly where his girlfriend was likely to be. He was still trying to fathom what was happening; it all felt like a horribly convoluted labyrinth he couldn't find his way out of. Ji Ah had just taken off without an explanation and this tugged at his heartstrings in agony. To say he was confused and upset would be a massive and absolutely humorous understatement. But Namjoon didn't feel like laughing.

The high-rise towered before him as the van halted to a stop, Sejin twisting in the driver's seat to face the rapper. "You sure you want to do this? You could be overreacting," he stated in the usual calm demeanor he exhibited effortlessly and Namjoon was almost envious. He was also aware that his manager had a point, that it was more than possible Ji Ah had been summoned away on some work-related business or maybe Ah Ra had needed her sister.

But then he recollected the videographer's wild eyes last night, the urgency with which she had gripped him, the desperation with which she had kissed him as if committing the shape of his lips to memory. And something was wrong. Namjoon could feel it.

"I'll be back in a while," he replied tersely and watched Sejin let out a sigh. "Don't wait for me. I'll figure out a way to get back." Namjoon already knew he would be calling him or perhaps Seokjin to pick him up. He had a desolate intuition that Ji Ah wouldn't be offering to drive him to the dorm tonight. What did that say about this situation?

Something I definitely don't want to know.

Sliding out of the car, he pulled his jacket tighter around his frame and strode the few steps to the revolving doors of the complex. The interior was dim and quiet, the blinking lights of the elevator beckoning him towards the carriage, the air heavy with a silent melancholy and each step that Namjoon took made him feel like he was walking into something he would never return unaltered from. After tonight, something would definitely change.

This conviction was only strengthened when the elevator doors dinged open on Ji Ah's floor and when his raps on her door were answered instantly. For a second, he had feared the videographer wouldn't answer, but she had. And Namjoon didn't know if he should be relieved or terrified. Ji Ah greeted him with a pallid smile, letting him in wordlessly and the rapper was the first to break the silence.

"Why did you leave without a word?" he asked as soon as the door had slammed shut. A twinge of sorrow glinted in Ji Ah's eyes but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"And hello to you too," she teased, but there was no mistaking the quiver in her voice. The living room was bathed in a bright hue and the couch gleamed in the light as Ji Ah motioned for him to take a seat. He did as he was told, unable to relax and a pressing sensation-sorrow?-loomed over him. "How was the concert? I'm hearing a lot of people bawled their eyes out including you guys."

Namjoon didn't miss the way her eyes flitted over the room, refusing to meet his, didn't miss the clothes she had donned, clothes which suggested she was going somewhere. "Ji Ah," he interceded quietly and her eyes sagged in defeat, as if knowing she couldn't divert his attention anymore. "What the hell is going on? Why are you dressed like you're about to go somewhere at this time of night?" He sounded rougher than he had meant to but the videographer didn't wince.