Not My Bias - An Im Jaebeom (JB) Fanfic

Beggin' On My Knees - Chapter 31

⊱ ♫ ────── ⋆Jaebeom⋆ ────── ♫ ⊰

Our last night in Houston was tense. We were all thinking about the LA show and how I was going to fulfill my promise to our fans. From the other room, I could hear Mark talking with his dad on the phone.

"I know you expected me to stay with you and Mom tomorrow night, but something came up and I really need to be with the rest of the guys," he was explaining.

Without hearing the other end of the conversation, I could tell by Mark's response that his dad was concerned and was trying to find out the reason for this change from how he'd always done things every other time we'd been to town for an event.

"No, nothing's wrong. You don't need to worry. It's a good thing," he was trying to reassure Papa Tuan. He continued, "You know how Jaebeom has been doing surprise announcements throughout the tour? It's dealing with that, and we have a lot to prepare for as a group. I probably won't be able to meet up with you until after the second show either, but I'll make up for it as I'll get to spend Christmas with you all instead. Okay?"

As Mark joined the rest of us in the living area of the hotel suite, he smiled reassuringly at me and Sharay. His smile, however, didn't reach his eyes. We were all feeling anxious about how the announcement that I was dating would go over the following night. We knew his parents would be supportive and could keep a secret, but there was always an entourage of Mark's "friends" trying to muscle in on things and it would be difficult to explain to Papa and Mama Tuan why they needed to be excluded. This was easier under the circumstance.

Now that I fully understood English, I had gone back through the Snapchat posts from our FLY tour in LA and realized that Mark's friends were not necessarily ones who could be trusted. I wouldn't go so far as to say they were snakes, like some Ahgases did, but I was also aware that even unintentional comments and posts could undermine what we had planned. There was no sense not being cautions. Wisdom dictated that we learn from past events so as to avoid any possible repeats.

We were schedule to depart from Houston early in the morning and get to LA mid morning. We'd been to the same venue several times before so didn't need as much prep time as we were familiar with the layout and all there. We'd do a single dry run of everything in the early afternoon; everything except our closing remarks. Those we would run through at the hotel away from staff and possible outsiders.

As we wrapped up the evening, I walked Sharay back to the suite she was sharing with her mom and Daniel. I entered her room to give her a quick hug and kiss goodnight since we would be traveling separately tomorrow. I hoped we'd be able to travel together starting tomorrow evening, but Sharay's comment that she would not stand in the way of my career if the fans didn't accept our dating, loomed large. Until now I was able to put it from my mind. As the hours and minutes ticked by though, I became acutely aware that this may be the last time she would mine before she cut ties with me "for my own good."

As I held onto her, like she was a life line, and I a drowning man, I spotted Daniel standing in the doorway of his bedroom. He was looking at us with fierce determination written all over his face. As Sharay turned to head to bed, Daniel called out to me.

"Jaebeom Hyung, can we talk a moment?"

༺ ¤○•° Sharay °•○¤ ༻

The venue in LA was buzzing. The fans here seemed more down to earth. I assumed it was because it was Mark's hometown and they felt a special kinship with GOT7 because of that.