Snow White & the 7 Idols

Chapter 8

When we arrived at the house, everyone got out quickly while the driver relaxed into his seat. Abby was trying her best to contain her excitement while Aaron just stared at the mansion.

"If there's a bit of a language barrier, just let me know and I'll translate for you," Namjoon offered my friends.

"I can too. My Korean is as good as your English, you know," I teased him. He smiled and took my hand in his.

"I know," he smiled before he led me inside. The guys weren't all in the living room like last time.

"They're here!" Namjoon shouted across the house in Korean. It was interesting to watch as they all came from different places to meet us in the living room. Suga was already on the couch and walked up while staring at my hand in Namjoon's. I quickly let go and looked down as I blushed. Namjoon glanced at me before looking at Suga.

"Yah, Namjoon. This isn't being careful," Yoongi said to him in Korean.

"It's only us here, relax," Namjoon replied.

"Namjoon's girlfriend, how are you?" JungKook said to me in Korean as he smiled mischievously. My eyes widened as I looked at Namjoon, but he didn't correct him.

"Oh, Laine!" Jin smiled excitedly at me.

"Hi, I'm Abby... Laine's friend," Abby introduced herself excitedly.

"Aaron," he said simply. The boys introduced themselves before Jin grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the table in the living room. He sat me down on the floor at the table before he disappeared around the corner. Namjoon sat next to me while Abby and Aaron sat across from me. Jin set the bottles of soju on the table before passing around plastic cups. Everyone was excited as we jumped into the first drinking game. Abby has to take a shot first. After her, was Aaron, and then me. I took my own shots this time. We continued playing and drinking until I was starting to feel tipsy. Abby was already drunk. The guys eventually dropped the games and settled for conversations. Suga sat quietly as he sipped his soju. His eyes on me didn't go unnoticed.

"Don't worry about him," Namjoon tried to assure me. We stuck to Korean for the most part except to translate things to Abby and Aaron.

"JungKook called me your girlfriend, and you didn't correct him," I mentioned. He smirked at me.

"I didn't want to," he replied before kissing my cheek. My face heated as the guys all happened to see him do it. They all 'ooh-ed' before they began picking fun at us. Aaron looked pissed but defeated as he took another shot, and Abby just looked excited.

"Oppa," I said out of habit in warning as I faced him.

"Oppa?" Hoseok said as he smiled mischievously.

"Oppa," JungKook mocked me.

"Oppa?" Yoongi repeated as he looked at us. He sighed before he stood and left the room. The mood turned tense as the guys stopped to watch him leave.

"This is a bad idea," I whispered to Namjoon in English before I stood and followed Yoongi out of the room. I found him out in the backyard, sitting on a lawn chair.

"Yoongi," I called him.

"We're not that close for you to drop honorifics," he said back to me without looking at me. I apologized before I sat in the chair next to him.

"Why are you upset?" I flat out asked. He glanced at me before he sighed.

"Do you know how long it took us to get to where we are today? Of course you don't, you're not a fan. We debuted six years ago. Our popularity only rose in the last few years. The system that we work in is fragile. It took us years to get here. It only takes one scandal to ruin it all. One of our juniors just got kicked out of his group from a rumor of drug use. He's never tested positive in his life. Namjoon is the most mature out of all of us, and right now, he's making stupid decisions with you. Do you get it now?" He asked.

"I didn't know things would turn out this way, but I like Namjoon," I admitted. He sighed as he stood up.

"Half of the world likes him. You're not special," he retorted before he left. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. He was right though. I wasn't special.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" I heard Namjoon ask from behind me.

"I just needed to get some air," I lied. He must not have seen Suga on his way back in. "Namjoon, we need to talk," I sighed as he came to sit next to me.

"We can't keep hanging out like this. You're not thinking about your band mates. I don't know exactly what we are, but it can't continue. I'm not worth ruining your career over," I tried to explain without looking at him. He sighed before he knelt in front of me.

"Do you know what an idol's life consist of? We practice dancing, practice singing, practice rapping, we diet, we workout, we starve ourselves, we don't even sleep most days just to be perfect, we can't drink, we can't curse, we have to stream live every so often and be cute and lovable and keep up appearances. Do you think that's fun? Yes, I love the guys, but I'm also their parent. With you, I can be myself and relax. We didn't meet in the most orthodox way, but I like you... a lot. And the guys love me so they understand. It won't be easy, but I want to stay with you," he said, making me meet his eye. I sighed and tried to hold back. It was so hard for me to say no to him. I liked him a lot too, but I couldn't ignore what Yoongi said.

"We can't," I breathed as I stood. Namjoon stood with me before his hands held my face still as he kissed me. It was a tender, heartbreaking kiss that set my heart on fire. My hands rested at his hips as I kissed him back. He broke the kiss first and sighed as he rested his forehead against mine.

"I still better be your oppa," he joked lightly. I chuckled as a tear fell from my eye. He brushed the tear away easily with his thumb before he pulled me into a hug. I didn't hesitate to wrap my arms around him too.

"We'll figure something out," he promised.