Tuesday
Through the night Hoseok moved around in his sleep quite a bit. I woke up a few times to find him rubbing his chest. I fell asleep as soon as I woke up, however, due to my tiredness.
By the time morning came we were both sprawled out. Hoseok looked a mess as he raised his head and squinted at me. I tiredly looked around, noticing both my legs were somehow across his stomach and I was sideways.
"Oh sorry" I mumbled tiredly, about to move off of him but he grabbed on to my legs and hugged them.
"Mhm, don't move. Your legs are so warm." He plopped his head back on the pillow and let out a low groan.
What's the time? Did we oversleep?" I tried to move but he had a strong hold on me.
"Huh? I dono." Hoseok shifted. Then, suddenly I felt a rubbing between my legs against my shorts.
Hoseok, nooo. Not here." I hit his arm only for him to look up at me cheekily, "Alright, alright. Calm down." He gave a tired smile and let my legs go.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes before reaching for my phone and checking the time.
"It's 8. We should probably get ready before people start arriving."
Hoseok agreed, getting up somewhat reluctantly. We packed up the futons, then the two of us headed downstairs to the showers. He grabbed a change of clothes from his bag in the practice room. I'd brought mine from my office so we each went our separate ways.
The women's changing rooms weren't terrible considering how old the building was. Though, they were mostly unused as far as I knew. Seeing as there weren't any female idols under the agency, it was left to the odd female staff member such as myself.
After washing up, I changed into the black pleated skirt, stockings and jumper that I'd pre-packed. Now feeling fresh, I stepped back out to find Hoseok and the others in the practice room. Seeing as they were all gathered around in a semicircle, having a meeting with their choreographer, I decided to take a seat on the couch. That's when Sejin approached me and asked if I would help him head out and pick up lunch for the team.
Of course, I was more than happy to tag along with him and lend a hand. So, the two of us left the agency and drove over to a deli style café that was by the market. We struggled a little to find parking but, eventually found a spot in a car park right by the café. As the two of us waited for the order to be made I gazed over the massive headboard above the counter. It was a menu, all the different sandwiches and meats listed sounded absolutely scrumptious.
Sejin cleared his throat, grabbing my attention before making it a point to thank me for the help. Mentioning that it was appreciated at such a stressful time. For him and the boys too. I brushed it off, saying it was no big deal. I wondered if he knew the true extent of that stress. He was their manager... he must've known.
As soon as our order was ready the two of us packed it into the boot of the car and drove back to the agency. Sejin parks by the outside door that leads straight down to the practice room and the two of us begin to unload the bags our delicious lunch was in. I followed down the stairs behind the manger, taking care seeing as our hands were full. We walked around the edge of the room so as not to get in the way of the boys' dance routine.
It wasn't until I'd set down the white plastic bags and boxes that I glanced over to the boys, excited to see their happy faces at the arrival of food. But, what I saw wasn't what I'd expected. Instead, it became apparent that there was a weird tension in the air.
Tae grimaced. Jiminie was trying to console him about something. Joon was standing to the side, watching the two, looking concerned. Jin also seemed on edge, agitated, perhaps at how the discussion was unfolding. Then, there was Yoongi and Hoseok off to the side, working through the choreography together, appearing to try and continue despite the others.
The odd one out was Jungkook, solemn expression as he watched on from a distance. His gaze shifted over to me, took a pause, and then he came over. I plopped down onto the couch beside the table and Jungkook sat next to me, sighing heavily before leaning into the comfort of the cushion.
"Noona, can I stay at yours tonight?" He slowly tilted his head to look at me. It felt like he was at a loss of some sort.
"Yeah. Of course. We can talk later too, if you want." I shifted my hand to cling to the sleeve of his jumper, fumbling the soft material between my fingers. It was subtle, no one around us would notice. Just then, Joon approached. Looking between the two of us for a moment before addressing me.
"Jia, can I ask you a favour?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Do you think you could manage the club tonight? There aren't any events, it'll be a quiet night. Just need someone there to supervise and make sure opening is sorted."
"Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll take care of it."
"Thanks, you are such a sweetheart."
After Joon left, Jungkook gave a strained smile before getting up and heading to practice too.
Seeing as I was now responsible for making sure the club opened smoothly I decided to grab a sandwich from the lunch spread and head back. I said a quick bye to the boys when there was a small break between the choreo in which they waved me off. Then, I went up to my office, grabbed my things and walked back to the club.
As soon as I returned home, I climbed the stairs to put my bag away and ate my sandwich. The meat between the bread rolls tasted as good as it looked. I hoped it might even be good enough to put the boys in a better mood than I'd seen them in earlier. As worrying as it was, when we are at the agency like that and there are staff around, it makes it harder for me to be so openly affectionate with them.
We'd never blatantly talked about whether putting space in public was necessary, but I don't think we needed to mention it out loud. I'd always been adept at reading the air and situations. Scandals were the last thing they needed. On top of that, at the mention of their fans last night by Hobi, it'd acted as a reminder. A reminder that they were gaining popularity and that their every move would only come under more scrutiny as it went up.
Being a staff member helped, to anyone on the outside it would be easy enough to write off being seen together as work related. A tense feeling sat in my chest. Sasseangs, the one who'd gotten too close. The one things hadn't ended well for. I also had a responsibility to be more careful. I never wanted that to happen again.
I slipped out of my thoughts as I finished off my sandwich and headed downstairs to start preparing the club for opening.
As I reached the basement bar, I spotted Yu and Koh behind it. But, then a girl sitting at the bar who was in convo with them caught my attention. As she turned to see what had grabbed the boys attention I was shocked to see Mimi.
"Oh my god! Mimi, what're you doing here?"
"Jia? What?! Same question?!" She leapt up from the chair and hugged me.
"I uh, work here." I struggled to explain but, as her arms wrapped around me I relaxed. It was so nice to see her, but damn I was really caught off guard by it.
"Jia, you know my girlfriend?" Yu asked. As Mimi and I pulled out of our hug I looked over to see the brothers, Yu grinning and Koh looking dumbfounded.
"Yu! Why didn't you tell me Jia worked with you?!" She accused before turning to me, grabbing my hand and leading me closer to the bar.
"How was I supposed to know?!" He shot back, shaking his head in an attempt to defend himself.
"Ohhh. Wait. I have it." Koh exclaimed. Expression turning smug.
"Huh? What're you talking about?" I asked.
"You go to the same school! That's how you know each other." Koh states confidently. I had to stifle a giggle.
"Well, not exactly. Jia and I used to work at the same club." Mimi corrected him. Yu turned to look at her, blinking a few times.
"That was a long time ago, it must've been well before you two met right?" I asked. Mimi nodded.
"Right, Yu and I met around the time I quit." She said.
"Oh, that's okay then I guess." Yu shrugged it off, quick to regain his smile.
"So um. Sorry to cut to the chase here but, Joon asked me to get everything organised for tonight," the boys nodded as I went on, "Are you two working this bar tonight? And, by any chance have either of you checked the books to see if we need to open the VIP bar tonight?"
They both told me there weren't any VIPs scheduled tonight and that they had the bar under control. On top of that, Mimi had recently been hired and tonight was her first night. The brothers were going to show her the ropes. With it being a Tuesday night, and, having them both present meant she'd have an easy time learning.
A few of the other floor staff members came over, on hearing that I was helping they let me know that all of the cleaning and equipment sound-checks had nearly been done.
I left Mimi and the boys to do their thing and went to go and find Grey and the security staff. A few of them including Grey had been huddled around the front desk, talking with our front desk girl, Lucy.
After speaking with them, everything was in order by opening time. I helped Lucy out at the front desk for a little while. At first things were slow, not picking up until about an hour later. After the small rush it was just after 9 pm. I headed out to the floor to take a look, stopping by the bar to check on Mimi. It made me smile, seeing that she was having such a good time with the boys behind the bar. I was a little surprised to see her there, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.
I ran around for another hour, checking sound and things behind the stage. That's when I saw Jungkook slip through the door.
"Jungkook!" I called out to him, stepping away from the lighting switch board and turning to wave him over.
"Ah. There you are. Wow. You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?" He laughed briefly, stopping in front of me.
"Yeah, of course. What was I supposed to do?" I joked. He gave a small bemused shake of his head, settling his gaze on me fondly.
"I'm gonna head up first and take a shower." He said.
"Okay, I'm nearly finished so I'll be up soon." I smiled. Pleased to hear he wouldn't have to wait long for me, he went on his way.
Just like I'd promised him, I went around to make sure that all the staff were able to close by themselves, and then, I headed upstairs. What a night. It'd been more tiering than I'd thought. Who knew so much went into managing the club. No wonder Joon always had Hobi running around helping him.
I went straight into the bathroom and took a quick shower, threw on the oversized T-shirt I'd left on the sink counter and then went to my room.
As I stepped in I saw Jungkook sitting cross-legged in the middle of my bed, his arms limply resting in his lap and his head down.
"Koo, you ready for bed? Sorry I took so long.." The softness of the sheets touched the back of my thighs as I sat on the edge of the bed. As he peered up to look at me I noticed his eyes puffed a little under the plimbs and knew something was wrong.
"It's okay, you didn't ta-" I cut him off as I learnt to cup his cheeks.
"What happened? Is everything okay?" He froze at my movement but then relaxed as I ran my thumbs over his cheeks. His brows furrowed, he looked pained.
"Ah. Everything is just a mess right now." His voice strained. I'd never seen him look so troubled, like he was on the verge of tears.
"Are you talking about earlier today..?" I asked, shifting to prop myself up against my pillow. As Jungkook went to answer I gently pulled him closer, resting his head on my chest.
"Mm. Part of it, yeah. But..." I felt his warm breath through the fabric of my shirt as he spoke, his hair tickling my chin as I rested it on his head.
"After what happened on the weekend, things are falling apart. Tae Hyung, he's struggling the most," Jungkook went on, voice biting back emotion. Shaking a little. I run my hands through his thick hair to try and sooth him.
"Jiminie Hyung is trying to.... Help. Joon Hyung is cracking from the stress. There more I just-" Jungkook finally broke. He buried his face into my chest, faint sobs muffled by the fabric. My heart hurts at seeing him like this, so vulnerable, so sad.
"Ahh, Jungkookie." I whisper softly, running my hands through this hair and placing kiss after kiss on his head. "I know.. I know.." I went on, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me. I needed to be strong for him right now.
"I just-" he said through sobs, "don't wanna see my Hyung's hurting like this anymore," I felt a damper collecting through my shirt as he burrows his face impossibly closer.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and held him tightly to me. I didn't want to see them hurting either, and that's all I'd been seeing lately. I know exactly how he feels.
I didn't know what to say so I just stayed quiet, after a while Jungkook regained himself, lifting his hand to rub at his eyes. He was still not looking up at me. It must've been hard for him to cry like that in front of me, I knew Jungkook wasn't the type to do so lightly.
We lay there in silence, me still soothingly running my hands through the thick dark strands of his hair. A deep breath left his soft perky lips and he closed his eyes, wrapping an arm around me to hold me as closely as I was him.
I let myself relax, the weight and warmth of his muscular body curled up at my side. The weight of his head resting on my chest, the tickle of his breath and the dampness on my shirt. My eyes were heavy with exhaustion. I didn't have answers of how to fix this but it was becoming more and more apparent that something needed to be done.