"If I can stop one heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one life the aching
Or cool one pain..."
Namjoon's spoon vaguely whirls inside the porcelain bowl as he continues to relish every single word of Emily Dickinson in a feeble tone.
"...Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again
I shall not live in vain..."
The ladle in your hand joins the looping soup swirls as you finish the remaining lines of that profound poem.
Namjoon's surprise swamped gaze hoists up from the bowl, "You read Emily Dickinson? Wow, that's a pleasant surprise, she is one of my favourite poets since high school."
"Not very often, but I do whenever I feel kinda low, I tend to seek solace in her words in such hard times." You pour a bowl of Kongnamul Guk for yourself and proceed to fill another bowl for Jungkook who is furiously kicking the shit out of someone in his PSP console, beside you.
"True! Her words pierce through my heart and comfort my soul. My favourite piece of Emily is a poem called 'I'm nobody! Who are you?' " His eyes shine with a glint of light like a teen boy unboxing his Christmas gift
"I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you - Nobody - too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise - you know!
the congenial hint of satire here never fails to crack me up!"
You mirror his enthusiasm since you got a rare soul with whom you can talk about your favourite poet for hours and years.
"How dreary - to be - Somebody!
How public - like a frog -
To tell one's name - the livelong June -
To an admiring Bog!
as a guy under public scrutiny almost every day of life, the way she playfully hauls the reader into a neighbourly conspiracy of anonymity never ceases to win my heart." This time he finishes the remaining verse and his dimples greet you as he throws a warm smile at you.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN ME YOU STUPID SEAGULL! I'M JEON JUNGKOOK! HAHAHAHA..." Jungkook's holler of victory shatters the peaceful ambience and disperses the poetic aura suffused in the air.
A sigh of disappointment departs Namjoon's nostrils.
But you couldn't conceal the strong hue of dismay in your eyes, your piercing gaze halts over Jungkook's side profile for compressed minutes and successfully hauls his attention towards you.
"What?" he asks in a demanding tone.
"Like for a minute or something, can you kindly stop being a synonym for disappointment, Mr Jeon?" Your daring gaze pierces through him.
"Ya! Just because I don't care about those boring poems, you think I'm stupid? Well, then let me test your intelligence now! Tell me, what language do people living in the centre of the earth speaks?" the drama queen living inside his head rent-free pops out to appease his ego by proving you wrong, he slams his console over the table and peers at your stone face.
"Jungkooka, first of all, no human can survive there, its around 5430 degrees Celsius in there which is too hot for human survival, which nullifies your question_"
"CORE-EAN!" Jungkook says loudly like a military commander and proudly sips his boba tea, leaving you both in a baffled state.
"But Jungk_" Namjoon tries to explain the mad man in a delicate tone.
"It's CORE-EAN, case closed!" once again he yells lordly, sounding like a high court judge concluding a case.
"Ahh, seems like someone is hanging out with Jin Hyung way too much!" Namjoon shakes his head in a defeated state and throws a pathetic gaze at Jungkook.
"Disappointed, but not surprised, to begin with, I didn't expect much from the guy who scored 3 out of 100 in his English paper." You continue to devour the Salmon bulgogi.
"One more, one more time if you drag my mark sheet into any conversation, that will be the last day for you on earth." Jungkook's knife stabs the soft fillet with added intensity.
"Quit it guys, for once act like adults! I wish momma Jeon was here to handle you kids, also what's happening in the office Jungkooka, why no one is home on a weekend and how did you guys end up together here?" he racks several questions while scrolling through something in his phone.
Quickly Jungkook's eyes send signals in your direction, notifying that he will take care of the questions and you shall keep yourself engaged with alluring foods on the table.
"Well, dad and Junghyun Hyung left home early since they had a board meeting and mom left a few hours ago as she was supposed to sign some important papers today. She asked me to convey her apologies to you, seems like we're having some bad blood with Goenka groups regarding our company shares, they all are pretty worked up since morning. And us_" he steals a glance at you and continues,
"There was a family get-together last night, so I crashed here after party. This morning I asked her to bring the schedule details and remaining collaboration related documents home as my head was tattered into bits by last night's hangover and momma asked her to join us for lunch, I wanted to discuss few things with you regarding our upcoming collaboration and momma was cooking your favourite Kalguksu so I just felt like inviting you over for lunch." Jungkook leaves you in awe with his flawless white lies and coolly continues to munch on a pickled radish, to conceal any trace of suspicion you shift your eyes over the lace of olive linen gown which Jungkook's mom lent you this morning.
"I see, so what's the matter with the Goenka group? At this point, they seem like your rivals more than partners!"
"Hmm, I don't know much about the issues going on in office but it seems like they're cornering my position as a board member since I'm inactive with business-related activities, I exactly don't know the reason behind it, but they seem to be threatened by my existence as an heir in the company. One thing is comprehensible Hyung, they're single-minded about discarding me from the company." He lethargically explains like he is talking about some third person living in his neighbourhood.
After that, you three continue to finish the meal with dainty chats about a few doleful poems and loud victory howls.
You raise up from the table with empty plates and bowls, though maids in floral white uniforms are waiting behind those shut closed, huge wooden doors of this privy chamber, concealing your presence in the Idol's house, your desi self greatly induces you to do the task yourself. You wait for the men to leave the table and once they leave you to request the only old lady who is specially assigned to attend you since morning, to stay put and carry the empty vessels to the dishwasher.
"You could've asked me for help" closing the dishwasher door with an audible thud your head hoists up in surprise and the crown of your head dashes against Namjoon's soft palm which is acting as a barrier between your head and the sharp edge of the kitchen cupboard waiting to stab your skull.
"My god, Namjoonshi! Is your hand, okay?" you examine the hand that saved your head with utmost concern.
"Absolutely fine, don't worry! You could've asked me for help, why are you struggling alone?" his throbbing hand casually tumbles down and his eyes meet your gawky gaze.
"Ahh...well..." while trying to construct a reason which will make sense, your eyes halt over the freshly formed bruise over his loosely dangling hand.
You swiftly turn towards the refrigerator and fetch an ice cube and stride back towards him. Taking his bruised hand in your hand, you delicately rub the crisp cube over the crimson swelling. In the absolute tranquilness, you could feel the feeble rhythm of his heart on his wrist.
"So, what's the status of your healing process? he asks in a gentle tone.
Your puzzled stare shifts from his hand and meets his dragon eyes, and slowly your lips bend into a warm smile as the realization sinks in. A feeble nod of your head subtly notifies your state.
"How is your mental health y/n-shi?"
"Better than before." The genuineness in your voice effaces his worries.
"...Or help one fainting robin
Unto her nest again
I shall not live in vain..."
His other hand tugs a swaying strand of hair behind your ears as he recites the lines in a husky voice, audible enough for you who is staring at his face with moist eyes and for Jungkook who is standing behind the pillar clutching Namjoon's phone that is trembling in silent mode.
_
A/N:
* Italics - Conversation in Korean
*Aphrodite - Greek goddess, goddess of beauty, love, and sex.
*Lakshmi- Indian goddess, goddess of beauty, wealth, and prosperity.
*Noona- Elder sister
_
"So, when are you guys planning to release your next album?" the pretty interviewer continues to shoot her question to BTS with her unwavering plastic smile.
"Long time no see" Medusa appears at your side with a warm greeting, Mina and Naeyon standing behind her greets you with a subtle smile except Jun Pyo who is beaming at you.
You greet all of them with a sweet smile and your smile stretches a bit wider while greeting Jun Pyo. His young, innocent face reminds you of your little cousin.
"Hi noona, how...you..." Jun Pyo struggles with English words, inducing a ripple of laughter from his friends.
"It's okay Jun Pyo, you can talk to me in Korean. I understand pretty well, it's just that I can't answer back in Korean." You assure the young boy who looks way too younger than his age.
"That's fine, I too understand English quite well!" his gleaming eyes reveal his enthusiasm.
"Then that day you remained silent despite understanding our conversation about your looks?" Mina's pale face looks even paler and Medusa's entire face is smeared with the hue of apology.
"Yeah...what can I say about it, it was your opinions, it's not like I can brawl with you people or something. Haha..." you try to fake a synthetic laugh to ease off the situation.
"But noona, you listened to what I said that day right, when I saw you for the first time you reminded me of an Indian painting displayed in our national museum. Everything about you is pretty and perfect, so ignore that jerk Eun-woo's words and don't take any of it to your heart, he is famous for being a jackass since high school!" with his tender heart you can also see the way he is infatuated with India and Indians.
Mina's face says things that she couldn't voice out as guilt is choking her throat.
"Kindly accept our apologies too, we shouldn't have behaved like that on your face. We didn't mean t_"
"Nah!" you intercept Naeyon's apology, "It's okay, please don't feel bad about it. It's not like you guys bitched about me, you guys were stating the obvious facts, so why would you apologize for that? Please don't!"
Your self-esteem yearns to slap yourself until your cheek rips off for letting yourself down in front of these people but your heart knows that those words are not just bluff to appease them but they are actually stemming up from the insecurities engulfing your mind.
To conceal the internal pain clutching your heart, you excuse yourself and walk towards the BTS who are dispersing from the interview for their refreshment break, Jungkook is struggling with his tie, a lollipop is occupying his loud-mouth.
"Here, let me help you!" without waiting for his consent you seize his satin tie, he also gets busy with twisting his candy instead of resisting.
"Hyung, who is that female?" Jimin enquires Suga who is busily texting someone.
"She is Naeyon, currently working as a stylist for TXT's Yeonjun." Manager Sejin keeps it precise.
"Oh! she is kinda pretty. When I was small_"
"Was?" Jungkook sarcastically snorts at his Hyung.
"Jungkooka, you often say that you will even die for me right, but if you talk about my height one more time, it might happen for real today!" Jimin says with a sickeningly sweet smile.
"Well, Naeyon has a good body, but I find Mina prettier than Naeyon in terms of facial features. She is petite and cute." Taehyung joins the conversation of young blood adults.
"What are you guys even talking about, both of them are nothing more than a mannequin in front of Medusa, she is the living definition of a Greek goddess. If I get a chance, I would officially change her name to Aphrodite!" Hoseok, the discreet fan of Medusa opposes both of them.
"Exactly, no one can be compared with Medusa in that aspect, she is an absolute eye candy!" Jimin accedes to the comment about his stylist's ethereal beauty, who is right now busy with getting his costume from the designer for the next shoot.
Usually, they tend to converse in English when you're around them, but today they intentionally chose to converse in Korean to keep the content of their discussion off-limits for you, without knowing the actual truth.
Though you endeavour to feel happy for Medusa for securing the title of goddess among the Bangtan Boys, a huge blob of envy corrupts your thoughts. An unutterable ache penetrates your heart every time the topic of beauty joins the chat. You always wanted to get rid of that obnoxious feel, but it seems to possess an untamable power, which has the trait to use your insecurities to manipulate and torment your mind.
"Seriously guys, then what about my manager-nim from India?" Jungkook's voice sounds like an echo of a celestial announcement and hauls your attention from the toxic thoughts smothering your mind,
"What do you think Namjoon Hyung?" he decides to drag Namjoon into the conversation for whatever dissembled reason he has in mind, but his eyes continue to linger over your face and your eyes protest to shift away from his undone tie.
"Me?" Namjoon takes a quick sip from his Tequila flask,
"I prefer Lakshmi over Aphrodite!"