Accidentally Assisting

Chapter 13 - What do you think, Rose?

Then, Jungkook enters, and somehow, I can't help but feel a little flustered by his presence in my room. He never comes to mine, and I usually avoid his. Since we're already together all the time, we need some boundaries. Our rooms are like our little islands of privacy where we can hide from the rest of the world. This has always been like an unspoken pact between us.

So why is he here now?

Did I do something wrong?

No. I recognize the look on his face when I've made a mistake, and this is not the look that's on his face now.

"Hey," he says softly. I notice that he's holding something behind his back, but I can't discern what it is exactly.

"Hey," I mumble. "Did something happen? Do you need my help?"

Incredible how I go into assistant mode directly now. Taking care of Jungkook has become instinctive for me.

Instead of answering my question, his eyes wander around my room while he steps closer to the bed I'm sitting on. "You decorated."

"Well, yeah." I scratch my head, not sure how to react to that. "This is my home, so I didn't want it to look like a hotel room."

Then, I can't hold my curiosity any longer, and I point to the object he's still hiding behind his back. "What have you got there?"

He smiles slightly at that before handing the object to me. Confused, I look down at it. It's a plushie. A BTS21 plushie.

"Why... why do you carry Koya around with you?" I ask slowly.

He sits down next to me on the bed, and I silently curse at him for doing that. How am I supposed to think clearly when he's this close to me?

Our eyes meet. "It's for you."

"Oh?" I look from him to the plushie before hugging it. Koya's so soft! And cute. Frankly, I've always wanted to buy one of the BTS21 plushies, but I was scared it might make me look unprofessional since my boss helped to design them. "Thank you, oppa, but why?"

"You told me you didn't wish to go the therapist," he explains calmly. "And I respect that choice. More than anyone, I know what it's like when people make decisions for you without your consent. I don't want you to feel belittled, so I'm trying to help some other way.

But you getting startled at everything, crying for nothing, and now the nightmares... you've got to admit there's something wrong here, Rose."

Of course, he overheard what I told Jimin this morning. This guy really has some super-sensitive hearing.

And the thing is Jungkook's right. Yes, I never was the bravest person, but it didn't use to be this bad. I didn't use to get scared and nervous at everything, and I never had nightmares. Something is wrong.

As I just stare down at Koya, Jungkook carries on: "In the beginning, I was offended, because I suspected you were acting this way because you didn't feel comfortable here, in my home. But then I understood. It's because of the man, right? The man you saw die."

This time, I force myself to look at him. "Yeah," I whisper hoarsely. "Subconsciously, he has affected me much more than I've ever expected."

We're both silent a while. Then, I ask hesitantly: "You really won't force me to go to the therapist?"

Right away, he shakes his head. "Of course not." He chuckles sarcastically. "I think we can both agree I already control enough aspects of your life. This aspect, however, is yours. It's not my choice to make."