G E N I U S | k.nj

Twenty eight | 스물 여덟

For a moment the silence just hung, the low hum of Jin who remained very confused on the other line was all that filled the heavy atmosphere. "Hello? You there?"

Both of you just looked at each other, Namjoon concerned that you were half tempted to reply and make everything even worse than it already was. Before either of you spoke, Namjoon was already assessing all of the awful scenarios in his head, and what exactly the appropriate way to react was considering each of your mouths stayed open in some inexplicable awkwardness. You blinked, before reaching to terminate the conversation and ultimately leaving Jin in the dark; it was highly likely he might call back in five minutes or so to query the lack of reply, but before that even became a possibility Namjoon put the device on silent without needing the be asked.

The mobile was tucked back safely into his back pocket, as he finally shut his mouth and let a minute cough force it's way from his throat. "I can explain-"
"Wait." You stated, soon turning around and letting Namjoon hover dismally in the kitchen as you disappeared into the living room - you were going back to Jackson and he couldn't feel more horrified.

He listened for the few ambiguous murmurs he could make out, then a stern, "Jackson, you need to leave, now." The reason behind it was unclear, but he trusted you and waited for whatever you had decided, and everything took a dramatic turn for the better the moment he'd seen the male toddling towards the front door with a relatively unbalanced step; what made it even sweeter was the way Namjoon could see every inch of his tired and bewildered face being shoved out of his house - something long overdue.

A slam of the door later, he emerged rather cautiously from the kitchen to address your furrowed face, thinking it would be unwise to bring anything up before you permitted it. So he waited, patiently enough, for you to approach him once more, and with that you'd delivered the softest expression he'd ever had the pleasure to witness. If the warmth of your smile was anything to go by, you weren't as mad as initially believed, and that was a huge weight off of Namjoon's shoulders.

"I'm not angry... I'm just... Exhausted?" You weren't quite sure yourself, so in an attempt to muster these feelings from wherever they were hiding, you ruffled you hair up to be messier than when you'd first woken up, generating wide eyes from Namjoon as he watched on.

Seconds later, your hands had journeyed to the front of your face, shielding any potential emotions that would seemingly be better off masked - the last time you'd revealed such feelings you were essentially rejected, be it misinterpreted for drunk behaviour or not. Namjoon could only remain a helpless bystander, standing awkwardly still as he hovered by your side, not knowing when he should speak, or if he was even allowed to.

Amongst the achingly painful silence, Namjoon just had to interrupt, everything was too stifling for him to just sit back and comply - made even harder by the way his body was refusing to conceal the way he was feeling.

"I-it wasn't entirely Jin's idea."

Oh dear. Although Namjoon clearly hadn't registered what he was supposed to say, probably something along the lines of the fact it was entirely Jin's idea, to dig him out of the hole he'd got himself into, but this news was something beyond anything you'd even considered. To allow something like that to cross your mind was to deny the truth, and to throw some blind faith right where you didn't need it.

Hearing this did not settle your mind, however, instead you found it poor wording that was only going to send you into a spiral of lies you'd fabricated yourself - all because of one stupid sentence that fell from Namjoon's lips.

Speaking of lips, it wasn't fair that his seemed so out of reach. Maybe you just needed one action and you could tick it off and feel comfortable at that, realise that everything was just some prolonged miscommunication between the both of you, at least then all this tension would subside; but obviously that wasn't meant to be, so all you could offer for clarification was to ask the man himself.