Half past six. Thirty minutes before the boutique announced it was closing. All of them – except the staff who were on their off day – were still there.
Seokjin was at the counter, watching Namjoon walk back and forth with a phone in his hand, attaching and detaching from his ear. Hoseok leaned by the wall, watching his assistant entertaining the baby with Taehyung; his lips curved downwards.
When the time reached six past forty-five, Jisoo decided to go home. Still wanting to stay with the rest of the staff at the boutique, her older brother asked Jungkook to send her home and he obeyed. Finally, both of them checked out of their shift of the day.
Namjoon took off his spectacles, placed them on the counter, and pinched his nose bridge. “He didn’t pick up his phone,” he said, trying to stay calm but he couldn’t.
There were no words spoken, just sighs.
Hoseok was relieved they had Jiah. She did so much that admiring and thanking her was not enough. The baby might have cried the whole day if it was Wheein looking after him. The view of her playing with the baby looked so heavenly and satisfying that he couldn't look away and didn't want to stop staring. In awe, to the point he didn’t realize Yoongi was calling for him.
He only stopped when Jiah said, “Hoseok? Don’t you hear Yoongi calling you?”
Flustered, he immediately changed his view to Yoongi. The man arched his eyebrows and, glanced between him and his assistant. The man in a denim jacket rolled his shoulder before shoving his hands in his pocket. “I want you and Jiah to come with me to the mall tomorrow,” he said. He looked at Namjoon over his shoulder. He added, “If this has settled.”
Hoseok asked, “What for?”
Namjoon was talking in the corner at that time, hissing and whispering, sighing and rubbing his face. Seokjin kept watching him.
Feigning ignorance of the background, Yoongi said, “We need suits for the occasion.”
The red-haired man's eyebrows narrowed. “Suits? We have tons of fashionable clothes here.”
“But do you see suits?”
“Hyung, I –”
“I’ve gone through the guest list. There’ll be journalists and reporters there. That bastard’s whole family is gonna be there too. New names. They might drag you around again, to introduce you to them.”
“So?”
“You need to look presentable,” Yoongi said. “At least, when the news reaches Amber, we assure her that we're doing well. I don’t want to get her Facetime reprimanding me and Seokjin.”
“Amber isn’t the kind who would reprimand someone easily though,” Hoseok said.
“That says you,” Seokjin butted in this time. “We’re just preparing for what could happen if she comes back sooner."
Hoseok’s attention returned to Yoongi. “What color did you pick?”
“Dunno. That’s why I want Jiah to come with us. She has better creativity in this.”
Jiah’s eyes widened. Both hands held the bouncing baby on her lap. “Me?”
Yoongi flashed a light smile.
“But… Jiah’s supposed to have her day off tomorrow,” Hoseok reminded.
“I know. It will be spent on shopping with us.”
Hoseok held the urge to roll his eyes. He thought Yoongi sounded like an aunt who was excited about their child’s wedding gown and tuxedo. If he supported Jiah and let her have her way, Yoongi certainly wouldn't take it – considering his resemblance to Seokjin's usual attitude that day.
He ended up having the same thought as Seokjin. Which quirky demon had possessed Yoongi that day? But seeing the way he was talking at this moment, he might have used up his energy from being eccentric.
Thank God, the quirky demon is leaving!
“Hey, can I go?” Seokjin asked out of the blue.
Whirling around to face the older man, Yoongi asked, “What do you mean?”
“I’ll go with Jiah and Hoseok instead.” Yoongi stared at him, eyebrows and eyes narrowed. As if he was ignoring the stare, Seokjin added, “Just tell me which mall and store it is.”
The way Yoongi stared at Seokjin – the suspicion – told him something. Soon, the curly-haired man blinked away the stare, trying to appear indifferent as he said, “Sure!”
Hoseok wondered what Yoongi was thinking.
Suddenly, there came a silhouette sprinting through the display and stopping at the entrance. A man with disheveled hair, a baby carrier over his shoulders to his chest, huffing and puffing. The baby’s plump lips seemed to resemble his father. But the father’s eyes were bigger than the baby's, so he might resemble the mother.
“Sol!” The man strode to where the baby and Jiah were. He whispered apologies to the confused baby. Taking the baby from her, Hoseok swore he saw a brim of tears pooling up. Then, the man faced Namjoon and said, “Namjoon, thank you.”
Hoseok looked at Namjoon. He was tucking his lips in, revealing two hollows on his cheeks as he sucked them. His nostrils flared as both of his hands slowly rested on his hips. It confirmed that the stranger was the baby’s father and how much Namjoon’s frustrations had been bottled up.
Taehyung who had been sitting beside Jiah, passed the baby to her. His lips curved downward, eyes widened as he was aware of Namjoon’s frustration.
“I-I know. I know you’re mad. I’ve… I’ve troubled you enough.”
“You don’t trouble me enough,” Namjoon said, controlling his tone as if he was aware the baby must not know he was mad. “You’ve troubled me more than enough, Niel Ahn.”
“Man, I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. I have… I freaked out. M-My fiancée was in…,” Niel stuttered.
Namjoon remained quiet, staring at him. A few moments later, he exhaled a sigh. He placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder and patted it. Nodded his head as if he knew what happened.
Seokjin interfered, “You need to pay Jiah for babysitting your son.” Niel looked at him. “That girl over there,” he said with an index finger pointed at the woman, which got her flustered.
Niel found his wallet in his trousers' back pocket. “How much –”
Frantically, Jiah waved her hands as she spoke, “Hey, hey, hey! It’s okay. I don’t need payment!”
“But Sol has been –”
“No, no. I don’t want anything from you. I love kids so, this is nothing,” she said.
Niel sank his knees to the ground. His baby was already in his arms. He bowed to her many times as he burst into tears. ‘Thank you’s spilled from his mouth.
It didn’t take him a moment until Namjoon forced him up, patting his back, and spoke a few words that were only known to both of them. Finally, he sent his friend out after another round of ‘thank you’ for Seokjin, Taehyung, and Yoongi.
Niel could be seen kissing Sol’s chubby cheeks as they made their way out of the premise’s external area.
“What’s with him?” Seokjin asked Namjoon.
A sigh escaped Namjoon’s nose as he leaned on the counter. “He got a girl pregnant. Their families found out and kicked them out. Both of them have no money. Niel made a bad decision by getting involved with a loan shark. And that put both of them in trouble,” Namjoon explained. “It’s been so long since I had the feeling to kick his ass.”
None of them asked any more questions after that. However, Hoseok could have sworn he – yet again – caught Seokjin staring at Jiah, eyes twinkling. A soft smile curved on his lips soon. Hoseok changed his view to Jiah, yet she wasn’t even looking back at him but chatting to Taehyung about Sol.
Something was suspicious about the way Seokjin stared and he couldn’t deny he hated that feeling. Uneasy. Nevertheless, he gave a deep sigh and shifted his attention elsewhere.
Everyone went home and Hoseok's sleepless night came to an end.
**********
They promised to meet at the boutique before leaving for the mall. Yoongi, who was back to his usual nonchalance, told them the location he had booked for suits. After lunch, they headed to the mall.
None of them expected the unusual awkwardness.
Nothing but the souls of three humans and silence filled the white Hyundai Kona 2018. The owner of the car seemed to have forgotten the stereo’s existence. The USB stick that might have contained songs, stuck in the port seemed useless.
The journey to the mall felt like ten hours long and Hoseok could have cursed at Yoongi for agreeing with Seokjin’s idea. If only Yoongi was the one in the driver’s seat, he wouldn’t mind. Having Seokjin unusually quiet throughout the journey made him restless.
Through the rearview mirror, he saw Jiah resting her elbow on the door’s armrest. Her chin on her palm, her fingers curled beneath her small lips. Fluffy cheeks, rounded tip nose, curled eyelashes. No excessive makeup hid her natural beauty. Also, he couldn’t help but notice her thin upper lips and fuller lower lips. Rosy red, glossy, soft, slowly smiling –
Thump thump! Thump thump! Thump thump!
He had subconsciously sucked his bottom lips.
A slap from his hand struck one of his cheeks. It resonated in the quiet car, catching the attention of the front seaters. Jiah looked over her shoulders with arched eyebrows while Seokjin looked at him through the back rearview mirror.
“What’s wrong?” Seokjin asked.
Hoseok stiffened and said, “N-nothing.” He ran his gaze out of the window. “Nothing.”
“You slapped yourself.”
"I was sleepy.”
Seokjin was turning the steering wheel when he said, “You can’t sleep. We’re almost there.”
“I know.”
“Good.” Then, the older one returned his focus to the road.
The short answer was so not ‘Kim Seokjin.’ But it seemed much better that way. He didn’t have the energy to fight with him. He returned to look at Jiah through the mirror.
‘You’re weird,’ he thought to himself.