Still I Rise - BTS/OT7

23 - Too Close To Home

"How so?" Namjoon asked as he poured another shot for the both of them. Yoongi let out a slight chuckle.

"I would have thought she would've reacted like a typical woman, ya know? Start crying and freaking out," Yoongi shared, noticing the confused look on Namjoon's face. "I know," he chuckled. "I should've known that that wouldn't be the case... especially not with how tough all the women are at the club. You know, sometimes they scare me more than Ganghan," he admitted. The two friends laughed together and enjoyed the brief silence that followed.

Yoongi knew that all the women he had worked with were tough. Even though he worried about Charlie often, he would constantly need to remind himself that she could handle a hell of a lot more than he gave her credit for.

"You should go talk to her," Namjoon suggested. He walked back to the empty chair and sat down, patting Yoongi's shoulder. The leader looked over at him, knowing that he was right. "She may not act like it all the time, but she does respect you. Hearing some encouraging words from her boss would really help her right now."

"You're probably right, as always," Yoongi muttered. He watched as Namjoon held out his glass, causing Yoongi to tap his own against it before they both finished off their drinks. "We have a lot of work to do, so go get some rest Joon."

Namjoon nodded before patting Yoongi's knee, taking his glass and heading out of the office. Yoongi took a deep breath and followed, heading towards Charlie's room. He wasn't sure if she would actually be there, but he figured her room would be the best place to start. When he knocked, he heard someone calling out on the other side as the door opened. Charlie stood there, hair slightly damp and looking much more comfortable than she was earlier today.

"Hi," Yoongi said.

"Umm hi," Charlie nervously replied. "Did you want to come in?" He could hear the hesitation in her voice and he didn't blame her. The last time they had a real conversation was during their heated, and very loud argument.

"No need. I uhh, I just wanted to tell you... what you did tonight..." He paused trying to find the right words. "I'm... I'm proud of you Charlie." He watched as a pleased smile appeared on her face. "You were calm, and you focused on how to get Taehyung and yourself out of there safely. You did good, kid." Yoongi finally let himself smile as Charlie's widened at the compliment.

"Thanks Yoongi," she said shyly.

"Well, I will let you go to sleep, we have a lot to talk about in the morning," he said. Yoongi walked away, happy that the awkward conversation was over. Namjoon always tried to push him to share his thoughts with the other members, let them know they were valued in order to build up their bond and keep their team strong. Yoongi credited Namjoon for how close all the members truly were because if it wasn't for him, he doesn't know if Bangtan would've become the empire that it was today.

Charlie stood in the doorway, her smiling growing even bigger as Yoongi walked away. Hearing those words from him was exactly what she needed right now. Jungkook had reassured her so many times that what happened was not her fault, but hearing directly from Yoongi that he was proud of her... that was on a completely different level. She closed her door and climbed in her bed, letting the events from today fade away.

~☾~

1 week later

"How long do I have to just sit around?" Taehyung whined as Charlie placed a bowl full of popcorn down on the coffee table and sat down next to him.

"Jin's doing another check-up again today to make sure you're cleared for work, so until then, you're stuck with us and we're watching movies," Charlie told him while Hoseok chuckled from the other side of Taehyung.