╰─▸ ❝ @[chapter six] has
. . . . logged on
NAMJOON COULDN'T HELP BUT FEEL BAD ALL NIGHT AND DAY. The weight on his chest being for too heavy for him to comfortably sleep at night. The feeling that he had offended her and ruined things made it difficult to find a good position to sleep in.
The next morning he sits under the warm water of his shower, running his fingers through his hair with his eyes closed while water pours down on his face. All he can really think about is how he'd apologize to Rose after work if she was even there on the corner when he passed by.
Namjoon's mornings we're quiet as always. He started his mornings with a shower if he hadn't one the previous night. Then he'd get dressed, today it was brown slacks and a beige crewneck sweater. He pushed up his sleeves to his elbows, exposing his forearms, mostly out of habit.
Breakfast consisted of a bowl of cereal as that was the only thing he could make without completely burning down his home.
He had no pets to feed or keep him company, no other people to wake up to and say good morning. He was simply alone, every morning, every night. And Namjoon never noticed how much he hated it until recently.
When he got to his office, he sat at his desk and sighed, long and dreadfully. Normally he would turn on his computer and get to work immediately. He has meetings and clients but all he can think about is how much he hurt Rose.
There was a careful knock on the door. The person behind the door didn't wait for him to answer before pushing open the door. Namjoon sat up straight in his chair and leaned against his desk, watching Jin, his co-worker, and another architect.
"You okay, Joon? You didn't say hi to anyone when you came in." Jin raised a brow at him, his plushy lips pursing softly with concern. Namjoon always said hi to whoever crossed his path on his way to his office, but he had been completely silent that morning uncharacteristically. It was strange.
But Namjoon simply smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, I just have a lot on my mind. It's all good. Don't we have to go to that construction site down in lower Manhattan?" They had to check the progression of a building being made. It was one of the first construction of such a big project that would rely solely on solar energy. There would be a garden on the roof of the building, by design, the building would have ledges where birds can build their nests.
Jin nodded. "Yep, at 3 so no need to rush. The others are in the kitchen." He pointed behind him before leaving the room, closing the door behind himself to go grab a cup of coffee.
Namjoon figured that he needed to get his head in the game. There was nothing he could do about it right now. He was at work and he needed to keep his head straight.
Maybe a cup of coffee would help.
Namjoon walks into the kitchen to see the others lounging around with their cups of coffee. Jin was in the middle of making a cup of his own when he had come in, gaining the attention of Taehyung and Hoseok.
"You good, man? You didn't say anything this morning." Taehyung asked with a curious gaze. Namjoon grabbed one of the travel cups beside the coffee maker and grabbed the pot from the stand it sat on. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a busy morning."
Taehyung hummed and shrugged before continuing on with the conversation he was having with Hoseok. "But yeah, there's been a lot more hookers on the corners. I just think it's weird. Like- why sleep with someone who's had the whole city sleep with them? You have no idea what STDs they have."
Namjoon bit his tongue softly, dragging it across his inner cheek at his words.
"Yeah, I mean, I don't mind a woman having a few bodies, whatever, but that many? And making a job out of it? That seems like overkill." Hoseok added on, pouting softly.
"Have you ever thought that a lot of them are just trying to survive?" Namjoon couldn't help but say. He couldn't possibly let them go on like this. It was insensitive, more than that it was rather misogynistic, talking down on a mostly female-dominated industry, shaming those who go into that line of work without ever considering why they were there.
They all look at Namjoon, confused by his sudden outburst.
Taehyung scoffed. "Calm down, it's not that big of a deal. We were just saying-"
"But you shouldn't be." The man cut him off. "It's rude and insensitive. A lot of them don't even want to be there, in that position. So what if they have sex with multiple people, just leave them alone." Namjoon didn't bother with his coffee, abandoning the cup on the counter as he walked back to his office, leaving the 3 other men standing in the kitchen confused.
"What's his deal?"
×
Namjoon picked up some flowers from the store on his way back from work, some red roses to present to her once he saw her again. The lady behind the counter had asked him if it was for his wife or girlfriend and Namjoon simply blushed, shaking his head. "No, just for a friend."
"Awfully romantic flowers for a friend."
They sat in the passenger seat, awaiting the moment they've been placed in the hands of their receiver. Namjoon was far too busy looking out of the window for Rose on her normal corner.
And he saw her, just as ethereal as ever, standing under a street light. She was bent over next to the window of a car with a smile on her plump lips. She stood up and waved goodbye to the person sitting in the passenger seat and the moment he was gone, her smile completely vanished from her features. It was almost sad how convincing her smiles were, years of practice has perfected it.
From across the street, she had seen Namjoon's car and scoffed, turning her back to him as she walked back to stand alone on the corner. He felt bad, but he was going to properly apologize. Namjoon put his car into park and cut the engine before grabbing the roses.
Rose kept her head down, staring at her heels as if they were made of gold. She ran her hands down her latex-clad hips and cleared her throat as she listened to Namjoon approach.
She saw his leather dress shoes first and finally, her eyes trailed up his body. It was almost as if she forgot how large he was compared to her, even will her heels, she was still shorter than him.
Namjoon reached behind his head and scratched the back of his neck with his left hand while the other held on to the roses behind his back. "I know you're mad at me, rightfully so, but I wanted to say that I'm sorry and I really meant no disrespect." He chewed softly on his cheek as he pulled the roses from behind his back. His normally honey cheeks were colored a blush pink as he offered the blood, red flowers to her. "I got you roses. I am really sorry, I understand that this is your job and I understand that I have no right to interfere."
Rose hated that she thought he was cute. Red looked good on him. She looked down at the fresh roses in his large hand and sighed softly. "Fine." She took them from him and held them in her arms. "I'll forgive you but don't do that shit again. I don't need you here trying to 'save' me, okay?"
He nods. "Of course, I understand. I won't cross that boundary again." Namjoon wanted to be as respectful as possible. There was so much he could do wrong as a man. She didn't want a savior, a hero, or a knight to slay her dragons.
In all honesty, she still didn't even trust him to be her friend. It was dangerous for her to even be standing alone on the street with him and she wouldn't be caught dead in an enclosed room with him. It was basic instinct. How could she possibly trust being alone in a room with him? After being abused by men all her life, how could she possibly trust them?
Roses or not, that didn't change anything.
"Do you want me to take you down to the subway again? It's really cold out here." As if to prove his point, he let out a sigh, and his breath formed into translucent clouds in front of his face. It was extremely cold out and her toes and fingers were struggling to remain functioning.
She was only wearing a tight, red, latex dress, no jacket, nothing, only that to keep her warm.
"I think I'll just walk tonight, but thanks for the offer," Rose told him with a small smile. She pats his shoulder softly and began on her way down the sidewalk to get home.
"Wait, wait!" Namjoon perked up suddenly. Rose tensed, her heart jumped in her chest in fear that he may harm her. She's learned that men don't take lightly to rejection. She's been slapped and called a slut for not giving a man her number before. That wasn't even the extent of it.
When she turned around, Namjoon had already rushed back to his car. He was halfway inside, fumbling around as he looks for something. He finally came back out with a denim cloth in his hands and jogged back over.
"Here. I know it won't keep you warm but hopefully, it'll help." Namjoon took the jacket in his hands and put it over her shoulders. He was standing awfully close, looking down at her with soft eyes. His hands still held the jacket, though it was already over her shoulders.
Namjoon let go of her when he noticed that she was trying to wiggle her way out of his hold. He took a step back. "Sorry. Please get home safe, Rose. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Namjoon began walking back to his car to go home.
Rose stood there on the sidewalk, watching as he started up his vehicle and drove away. She took the jacket he had given her and slid her arms into the sleeves and held the roses to her chest.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to befriend him. But Rose had to remember to be careful, she can't let her guard down too quickly.
*.✧ Kᴀʏs Eɴᴅɪɴɢ Nᴏᴛᴇs
I haven't drawn in a while and I'm trying to get better at it. I started yesterday but I decided that everyday I'll draw someone in it's entirety and eventually I'll get better at it. Today, I drew Yoongi
I haven't finished it and it's a little wonky but I'll fix it.
Hopefully this exercise will get me back into the groove of things and get better at drawing people.
Thank you all for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed and I wish you all a wonderful day/night.
사랑해
~Kay (っ.❛ ᴗ ❛.)っ