"I already know what I want."
You scanned the sad faces of the expectant crowd standing just in front of you. Your aunt's hand was covering her mouth, and she was trembling, silently waiting for you to continue. Namjoon was only a couple of feet away from her, his body heaving with every breath that he took. With every breath he drew, he was getting closer to just crumbling to the ground.
Both of them looked up at you with expectant eyes and waited for you to say something. You quietly sighed and pushed a few stray locks of hair out of your eyes. You opened your mouth to speak and watched their expressions change.
"I want to be as far away from you, this company, and this city that I can get," you spat, turning toward your aunt. "You're going to have to find another heir, because it's sure as hell not going to be me."
The shock on your aunt's face should have made you feel something, but it didn't. It was like there was fire flowing through your veins in place of your blood, numbing your sense of emotion. You had never felt this way before.
"You don't--you can't mean that! I haven't been able to see you in a decade!" Your aunt stuttered, pushing Mark and Yugyeom out of her way. "You can't leave! You're the only family that I have left!"
Oh, of course I am.
"I wonder why that is," you scathingly mused, tilting your head and giving her a devilish smile. "You paid my family three million dollars to forget about me. What makes you think that I owe you anything?"
Your aunt silently stared at you, her mouth wide open and her eyes teary. She covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head, unable to respond. She quickly turned away from you and walked to the other corner of the roof. Even though her hand was covering her mouth, you could still hear her muffled sobs.
Why? Why don't I feel bad?
You carefully jumped down from the wall you had been standing on top of, stumbling just a tiny bit as your feet hit the ground. You quickly steadied yourself and turned towards the door, not wanting to waste any more of your time. Before you could get very far, you felt a hand rest itself on your shoulder, causing you to jump.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Jaebum asked, turning you around to face himself. "Don't tell me you thought that you would be able to leave, just like that."
"Please don't do this. I don't want to hurt you," you said, defensively holding out one hand and placing the other on your holstered gun. "Just let me go."
"You don't have it in you. You're too sweet," Jaebum chuckled madly, closing the distance between the two of you and grabbing your wrist. "Now, you're going to come with me, and you will apologize to your aunt and make everything right again."
"I'm going to have to ask you to let go of her before I do something I might regret."
You turned to look over your shoulder and saw Namjoon pointing his gun square at Jaebum, the four other boys standing just behind him, also ready to fire. Jaebum glared at the man, his grip on your wrist tightening to the point where it began to hurt.
"Stay out of this, Namjoon," Jaebum barked, shielding you from his line of sight. "You have no business being here anymore. At least Jiyong and Youngbae understood that."
Jiyong left?!
You turned your head from side to side, trying to find the two men. Your heart sank in your chest when you realized that you couldn't see either of them. Jaebum grabbed hold of your chin, forcing you to keep your head still.
"We're not leaving until you let go of her. I'm not afraid to shoot," Namjoon threatened, stepping forward. "She doesn't seem too thrilled about how you're holding her right now."
"You don't scare me, Namjoon," Jaebum chuckled darkly, scanning him up and down. "Jin didn't, either."
"So, you're the bastard that murdered Jin," Namjoon spat angrily, moving his finger over the trigger as his eyes darkened. "You're going to regret that."
"I wouldn't risk it, your girlfriend is a little bit close to me for it to be a clean shot," Jaebum said, pulling you uncomfortably close to him. "You might end up hitting her on accident."
The boys glared angrily at each other, both of them waiting for the other one to make a move. Jaebum's hand slowly and stealthily trailed down to his holster, where his gun was resting. You could feel your heart practically cracking your ribs because it was beating so harshly in your chest.
Someone's going to get hurt, and it might be me.
"Jaebum, let go of her."
Your aunt stepped forward, pushing past Mark and Yugyeom, who were both still trying to comfort her. She gazed at you for a moment, then looked up at Jaebum, who still had a death-grip on your wrist.
"Can't you tell? She doesn't want to be here anymore," your aunt said, somehow keeping her voice steady. "There's no point in forcing her to stay."
"What the hell?! You've worked so hard just to get her here, and now--"
"Don't argue with me," your aunt snapped, her voice cold and emotionless despite her teary eyes. "You know better than that."
"If you let go of her, I'll think twice about sending this next bullet through your skull," Namjoon threatened, slyly trying to convince him. "You might get lucky."
After a moment, Jaebum angrily sighed and let go of your wrist. You immediately pulled it close to you and backed away before he could grab hold of you again. He looked down at you and opened his mouth to say something.
"You know where the door is, then," he said, crossing his arms over his chest and slowly walking over to join your aunt. "You're perfectly capable of showing yourself out."
You carefully nodded, trying to calm yourself down after what just happened. After you adjusted your glasses, you slowly trodded off towards the door. You wrapped your arms around yourself, finally realizing how cold it was outside.
You paused just in front of the door and reached out to grab the handle. You felt something drape loosely around your shoulders, and you jumped in response. Before you knew it, you were turned around with your gun in your hand.
"Relax, Princess," Namjoon cooed, immediately pulling away from you and holding his hands up in the air. "It's just me. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."
"I'm sorry. It was instinct," You apologized, slowly sliding your gun into the holster. "What do you want?"
"You looked cold, so I thought I would give you my jacket," Namjoon smiled, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "You can keep it for as long as you'd like."
"Thank you for the jacket, but what are you talking about?" You asked, furrowing your eyebrows. "What do you mean 'we'?"
"We can escort you out if you're okay with that," Namjoon offered, politely bowing his head and holding out his hand to you. "You shouldn't have to walk out of here alone."
You paused for a second to think and crossed your arms over the top of your chest, trying to keep yourself from drowning in the big, warm jacket. Namjoon looked up and gave you a small, cute smile. You couldn't help but smile back.
I guess it couldn't hurt.
"Thank you, Namjoon," you said, reaching out and placing your hand in his. "I would like that very much."
"I was hoping that's what you were going to say," Namjoon chuckled, giving your hand a reassuring squeeze as he pulled you closer to himself. "Another second, and I would have carried you out of here myself."
You smiled and blushed at his honesty, glad that he was in a somewhat good mood. He wrapped his arm around you, pulling you even closer to him. He leaned down and subtly placed his lips on your cheek, making sure that everyone on the rooftop could see. Namjoon slowly pulled away, brushing a lock of hair out of your eyes, causing you to blush even more.
"Hoseok, why don't you lead the way?" Namjoon asked, looking over his shoulder at the group of boys waiting just behind him. "I have something I want to say before we leave."
Hoseok obediently nodded and walked over toward the door, the other boys following after him. Namjoon squeezed your hand, and you both stepped forward, turning your back on your aunt and her men. Side-by-side, you walked up to the door into the building. You stepped into the hallway, the door slowly closing behind you.
"If I ever find any of you stepping outside of the Gyeonggi area, I'll have your heads," Namjoon calmly threatened over his shoulder, keeping his arm wrapped protectively around you. "In fact, if I even hear any of your names again, I'll dispose of all of you myself."
The door slammed shut, cutting you off from the outside world. Not one of the boys said anything, leaving the hallway eerily silent. You slowly stopped shivering as you stood there, glad to finally be out of the cold night air.
"Well, we should get going," Namjoon said, confidently breaking the silence. "I want to get back to Daegu before sunrise."
"Let's see if the elevators are working again," Yoongi suggested, briskly moving forward despite his crutches. "I don't think I'll be able to make it down the stairs like this. Hell, I could hardly make it up."
"I don't think I can, either," Taehyung agreed, brushing the hair out of his eyes. "I might trip and fall again."
That would be funny, if not for the circumstances.
"The warning lights aren't on anymore, so it's worth a shot," Hoseok reasoned, holding his chin in his hands. "I bet we did a number on the surrounding power grid and caused a few reports of power failure. There's a possibility it might be fixed by now."
Everyone nodded in agreement and headed towards the elevator. Namjoon kept his arm wrapped protectively around you as he pulled you along. The both of you walked just behind the rest of the group as if Namjoon wanted to keep you away from the others.
Once you were in front of the elevators, Taehyung leaned forward and tapped the button, hoping for a response. After waiting a second, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He moved from elevator shaft to elevator shaft, furiously pushing each of the buttons and hoping for a response.
He stopped at the last elevator, hesitantly pressing the button. Just like the others, nothing happened. He turned away from the elevator, his head in his hands as he realized he was going to have to go down the stairs and risk falling. Then, almost as if on cue, you watched button light up and heard a whirring noise in response. Taehyung gratefully smiled to himself, glad that neither he nor Yoongi would have to take the stairs again.
"I don't think we'll all be able to fit in the elevator at once," Jungkook said, watching the numbers as the elevator slowly climbed to the top of the building. "Someone's probably going to have to stay behind and go down to the lobby on their own."
"Nobody should be left alone, not under the current circumstances," Hoseok argued, shaking his head. "We're not safe until we get out of the building and back to Daegu."
"Yoongi and Taehyung deserve to get down to the lobby first, and then a few more people can probably fit in the elevator with them," Namjoon reasoned. "If there's a problem, (Y/N) and I can wait for the second trip."
"Besides, I have something I want to talk to you about," Namjoon quietly whispered into your ear.
"Alone."
Both Jungkook and Hoseok looked from Namjoon to you, each of them raising an eyebrow. Taehyung crossed his arms over his chest and gave you a concerned look. Yoongi looked over at you for a split second before his eyes flickered away, but you could still sense the uneasiness in his eyes.
Why are they so worried?
"That's okay with me," you said, trying to convince the other boys with a smile. "You deserve to go first."
Yoongi opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, the doors to the elevator slowly slid open. The four boys watched the doors open, but none of them moved.
"I think it's only going to fit four of us at once," Hoseok said, running his hand through his hair. "I bet we could have gotten everyone in one trip if it weren't for you two." He motioned to Taehyung and Yoongi, who were standing just behind him.
"Well, there's no use in just standing around," Yoongi said, slowly moving into the elevator. "We're wasting time as it is."
Hoseok and Taehyung reluctantly followed after him, piling into the elevator. You looked over your shoulder and noticed that Jungkook was still standing in the hall. His eyes flickered over to you, and before you knew it, his hand was on your shoulder and his mouth close to your ear.
"Please, stay safe," he whispered, barely audible, even to you. "If he tries to hurt you again, I swear to you that I'll kill him."
Namjoon wouldn't try to hurt me, would he?
Before you could say anything, he briskly walked away, joining the three other boys. Namjoon looked from Jungkook to you with a confused look, which you tried to ignore. He squeezed your waist, trying to get your attention, but you didn't turn your head.
What if he tries to hurt me?
"Princess. Princess. (Y/N)."
Once inside the elevator, Jungkook lightly tapped the button for the bottom floor. He kept eye contact with you until the doors closed, and you couldn't see him anymore.
As soon as the doors were closed, Namjoon stepped away from you. You looked up and watched as he turned away from you, crossing his arms over his chest. You reached out and placed your hand on his shoulder, hoping to grab his attention.
"Namjoon, what's wr--"
"What the hell did he say?" Namjoon growled over his shoulder. "And why was it so important to you?!"
"What are you talking about?" You asked, pulling your hand away from him.
Is he jealous?
"Just now, Jungkook whispered something into your ear, didn't he?!" Namjoon asked, angrily forcing his hand through his hair. "What did he tell you, (Y/N)? Why was it so important?!"
"Please, just calm down," you begged, slowly backing away from him and defensively holding your hands up. "He didn't say anything important."
"It wasn't important?!" Namjoon asked, turning toward you and throwing his hands up in the air. "Then why the hell didn't you look away from him?!"
"Please, I--"
"Then why did you ignore me?" He asked, his voice cracking as he threw his arms down to his sides. "Why did you ignore me?"
You stared up at him, completely silent. You could feel the tears start to well in your eyes, but you couldn't do anything. You blinked, causing a single tear to fall from down your cheek. You shook your head at yourself and covered your eyes.
Because I'm afraid.
"Dammit, (Y/N)," Namjoon murmured, rushing forward. He wrapped his arms around you and pressed your head into his chest, holding you tightly against him. You pulled away for a second, only to wrap your arms around his neck.
"I can't continue to hurt you like this," Namjoon sighed, his warm breath hitting the nape of your neck. "I can't do this to you anymore."
Your back hit the wall, causing you to jump. Before you knew what was happening, Namjoon gruffly pressed his lips into yours. You melted into the kiss, your entire body going limp, and your arms leaving his neck. Namjoon pulled away first, almost reluctantly. A part of you wanted to bite one of his lips, just to keep him from pulling away.
"I hate this feeling," Namjoon sighed, letting go of you and leaning against the wall beside you. "I can't imagine how you must feel. I don't know how to make it up to you, either."
"W-What do you mean?" You asked faintly, your voice finally returning to you.
"Everything that's happened to you--how do you deal with it?" He asked, rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand. "I mean, you gave up almost everything. Your family, your friends, your life--anything of value."
"I-I'm not sure," you stuttered, adjusting your glasses and pushing your hair out of your eyes. "I just find a way to keep myself from overthinking and making everything worse."
Namjoon reached over to you, his hand finding yours. You gave his hand a tight squeeze and let your head gently rest on top of his shoulder. He leaned down and tenderly planted a kiss on top of your forehead.
"I don't know what we're going to do," you said, shaking your head. "I don't know what I'm going to do," you corrected yourself.
"Well, if it means anything, you can always--"
Before Namjoon could finish talking, the elevator gave off a shrill, high-pitched note. You both looked away from each other and focused on the doors that were sliding open. Soon enough, the doors were wide open, revealing a smiling Jungkook.
As soon as Namjoon saw him, his grip on your hand tightened. You giggled sweetly, turning to him and teasingly rolling your eyes at him. He furiously turned away from you, his cheeks burning red but still keeping a tight hold on your hand.
"There you two are," Jungkook beamed, stepping forward to catch the elevator door. "You hadn't come down yet, and we were starting to get worried. Hoseok had me come up and get you, just in case you were in trouble."
"We were only talking," you calmly explained. "I guess we just lost track of time. We didn't mean to make you worry about us."
"But, we need to get going," Jungkook said, running his hand through his hair. "We don't know how much time we have left, and Yoongi is getting antsy."
You pushed yourself off of the wall and tried to walk over to the elevator, but Namjoon wouldn't budge. You looked over your shoulder to see him with his free arm crossed defensively over his chest, his cheeks still beet red as if he were pouting.
"Namjoon, we need to go now," you gently chided, trying to pull him along. "We can't stay here forever."
He silently nodded and stepped away from the wall, his face returning to its normal color. He casually wrapped his arm around you, letting go of your hand. Together, you stepped into the elevator, both of you standing just opposite Jungkook. The doors closed and the elevator lurched into motion.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what were you talking about?" Jungkook asked, leaning against the railing.
"Nothing important," Namjoon said, dismissing his question with a wave of his hand. "But, I have something that I need to ask."
"What is it?" Jungkook asked with wide eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.
He's going to ask about what Jungkook said to me.
"I, um, want to know--I want to know how Jin died," Namjoon stuttered, lowering his gaze to his feet. "You were there, weren't you?"
Wait, what?!
Your heart sank in your chest as you looked over at Jungkook. His eyes met yours, and you could see the look of reluctance in his eyes. He opened his mouth to answer Namjoon, but no words came out.
"Jin died after Jaebum shot him in the side," Jungkook said, moving his eyes down to stare at his feet. "I would have stayed with him, but they were chasing me down and trying to kill me too."
"You weren't there the moment he died, then?" Namjoon asked, nervously running his hand through his hair. "I was hoping he might have said something to you. Before he, you know, died."
Jungkook crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, clearly uncomfortable talking about it. He looked up at you for help, then lowered his gaze to his feet.
"I-I was there when he died," you timidly murmured, drawing the attention away from Jungkook. "I tried to help him, but there was nothing that I could do. It was too late."
Both of the boys were silent, waiting for you to say something more. Neither of them looked away from their feet, both too afraid to look anywhere else. You took a deep breath, then continued.
"There was a lot of blood, and he was hurt pretty badly," you said, stiffly scratching the back of your neck. "But it was like Jin gave up on himself. It was like he knew he was about to die, no matter what I tried to do."
You looked up and noticed that there were five watchful pairs of eyes gazing directly at you, waiting for you to continue. No one had noticed that the elevator doors were now open, and you were now down at the lobby.
"He, uh, made me promise to take care of myself and make the right choices," you whispered, somewhat embarrassed that his last words were only about you. "And that was it."
All of the boys were completely silent. Most of them were either teary-eyed or covering their eyes so you couldn't see them. After a solid minute of silence, Hoseok dried his eyes and sniffed loudly, drawing your attention to him.
"Yah, that sounds like Jin alright," he sadly chuckled. "Even when he's the one in trouble, he's always worried about others. He didn't say anything about us, did he?"
"Not that I can remember," you said, sadly shaking your head in response, sending a few tears flying from your cheeks. "I-I'm truly sorry. That's not fair to any of you."
They lost one of their best friends. One of them.
"That's alright," Namjoon cooed, giving you a comforting squeeze. "You've been going through quite a rollercoaster for the past few weeks. You don't need to blame yourself for this."
Why shouldn't I? He was a part of your family before he even knew that I existed!
"There's no point in getting upset over it, either," Hoseok said, lightly punching your shoulder. "I'm sure that Jin had his reasons."
But I'm the reason he's dead.
"Besides, Jin will be watching over us," Taehyung murmured confidently, drying his tears, but politely holding the elevator door open for you. "I just know it."
I don't want to burden you anymore. You've all had it hard, too.
You gave him a genuine smile before Namjoon carefully whisked you out of the elevator shaft. You walked with him through the lobby, the boys following close behind you. He pushed the door open, and the two of you stepped out into the cold air of the night.
"Taehyung, where did we park again?" Namjoon asked over his shoulder, unconsciously letting go of you. "I don't remember what street it was."
I should tell him.
"Um, Namjoon--"
"I'm not sure either. I think we parked three streets that way," Taehyung said, scratching his head and pointing what he thought was the way. "We were only a couple of blocks away, weren't we?"
"Namjoon, I need to tell you--"
"You're sure we have enough room in the van to fit everyone, right?" Hoseok asked. "All six of us?"
"Namjoon, please, I--"
"Hang on just a second, Princess," Namjoon said, looking at you out of the corner of his eyes and tenderly patting your head. "Give me just another minute to--"
"I don't think I should go with you."
You immediately clamped your hand over your mouth, shocked at yourself. Namjoon silently stared at you with wide eyes. The other boys continued talking as if they hadn't noticed that you said anything in the first place.
"You're not coming with us?" He asked after a moment, his voice cracking. "Why not?"
"I don't want to cause you any more trouble," you said, shaking your head and slowly backing away from him. "I've already done enough. I've caused two people to become severely injured, and another one to die."
"You act like those are the only things you've done!" Namjoon argued, aggressively stepping forward. "You remember that one night when you were playing that game of pool with Taehyung? We haven't enjoyed ourselves like that in a long time!"
"That doesn't mean anything!" You said, turning away from him and crossing your arms over your chest. "What about you? What have I done for you, Namjoon?!"
"What did you do for me?" Namjoon chuckled, his anger vanishing almost completely. "I can't believe you don't fucking know what you've done."
He stepped forward, placing his hand on your shoulder. He slowly turned you around so that you were facing him again. You stared right into his eyes as he slowly lowered his lips until they were less than inches away from yours.
"You gave me a chance to fall in love."
You leaned forward, pressing your lips to his. Namjoon jumped, taken aback that you were the one to make the first move. After a second, he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer, deepening the kiss. Neither of you pulled away until you were out of breath.
You quickly covered your face in shame, desperately hoping that none of the other boys had seen you kissing. Luckily, they were still talking and trying to figure out where they had parked. After he caught his breath, Namjoon chuckled sadly and ran his hand through his hair.
"You don't have to come with us if you don't want to," he said, leaning against the wall of a nearby building and facing the empty street. "But I want you to know that you will always have a home with us."
You silently nodded, crossing your arms over top of your chest. You leaned against the wall just beside Namjoon and stared at the boys, who were still talking.
"Where are you going to go?" Namjoon asked. "I was going to ask you earlier; before we were interrupted. You're going to need enough money for a plane ticket if you want to get back to your family in America."
"I don't know that I want to go back," you shook your head. "I can't help feeling betrayed by them."
"Then you don't have anywhere to go, do you?" Namjoon asked, reaching into his back pocket. "You're going to be the death of me, Princess."
"I don't want to cause you any more trouble," you defended, shrinking away from him. "I've already done enough. I can't continue to hurt you like this."
"Stop it. You're beginning to sound like me," he chuckled sadly, pulling a wallet out of his pocket. "If you want to stay in Korea, then I can easily find you a place to stay."
Namjoon leaned over and casually placed a 50,000 won bill in your open hand. He slid his wallet back into his pocket and looked at you expectantly. You hesitantly looked up at him and held out the bill.
"Why do I need this?" You asked, trying to give him back the bill.
"That should be enough money to get you out of here and to the Uijeongbu district, plus a little bit more," he said, reaching forward and closing your fingers around the bill himself. "I have some friends that live there."
"What do I do when I get there?" You asked, pushing yourself off of the wall and shoving your hands into the jacket pockets. "I don't know where to go, or who I'm looking for."
"Don't worry about that--I can call Baekhyun and Chanyeol and make sure they're both there to pick you up," Namjoon said, dismissing your worries with a wave of his hand. "You should arrive there at about sunrise."
"Hey, Namjoon! Are you ready to go yet?!" Taehyung yelled, impatiently tapping his foot. "It's getting cold, and people are starting to wake up. We need to go before we get into some serious trouble."
You looked out at the street, and noticed that he was right. Two or three cars had roared to life and were making their way down the street. You could see one person walking down the opposite side of the street, a briefcase resting in their hand.
I didn't know that people could get themselves up this early.
"Shit, we need to leave," Namjoon said, pushing himself off of the wall and patting his pockets. "Um, Princess?"
"Do you want your jacket back?" You asked, letting the sleeves slide off of your shoulders. The cold air hit your skin, causing you to shiver. Namjoon sighed and pulled the jacket up so that it was covering you again. He reached down and zipped up the jacket, then gently patted your head.
"You should keep it," he said, giving you a cute smile. "It'll keep you warm until you get to Uijeongbu. Besides, it looks better on you, anyway. But I want to tell you something."
"Thank you," you smiled, gratefully pushing your hands back into the warm pockets. "What is it you want to tell me?"
Namjoon wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close to him. He buried his face deep in the crook of your neck, and you wrapped your arms around him. He brought his lips down to your ear, and you could feel his breath hit the back of your neck.
"Thank you. For everything."
He tried to pull away, but you only squeezed him tighter. As much as you didn't want to, you pulled away from each other. Namjoon slowly took his arms away from you and reluctantly stepped away. You wiped the tears from your eyes and looked up at him.
"Take care of yourself, okay?" He said, lightly stroking your cheek. "Since I won't be there watch over you. We've got to get back to Daegu."
You nodded and gave him a weak smile, finally realizing that you might never see him again. He turned away from you and walked over to Hoseok, lightly patting him on the shoulder. They began walking away, the other boys following after them.
"Let's go find the van," Namjoon said, leading the boys away. "I can't wait to get back home."
You watched as the boys got farther and farther away from you. A part of you expected one of them to look back, and you were somewhat disappointed when they kept on walking. It was as if they didn't notice that you weren't there.
It's better this way.
"Goodbye, BTS," you murmured, still wiping tears from your eyes. "Goodbye, Namjoon."
I have to go find a bus station. I want to get to Uijeongbu before morning.
You turned around and started walking the opposite way. You hid your chin inside the jacket, shielding it from the cold air. It wasn't until then that you realized how cold your legs were compared to the rest of your body. Namjoon had kindly given you his jacket, but there was nothing for the rest of you.
What a wonderful clothing choice, Mark.
You scooted over so that you were closer to the buildings, hoping that they would block out some of the window. Unluckily for you, they didn't help very much. You sighed in defeat, but continued walking. After all, you could always get different clothes later.
I wonder what Baekhyun and Chanyeol look--
"(Y/N)!!"
Before you could finish your thought, you felt your legs give out from under you, something heavy falling on top of you. You hit the cold, hard pavement, causing a jolt of pain to go through your head. You heard a loud sniffling noise, as if someone were crying. You looked up and noticed that you were resting underneath Jungkook, who appeared to be a crying mess.
"You can't leave, (Y/N)! You just can't!" He whined, burying his head in your chest. "Please, you have to come with us! You can't leave!"
"You're c-c-crushing me!" You sputtered, desperately trying to wriggle out from underneath him. "I c-can't b-breathe!"
"Jungkook, get off of her!" Hoseok yelled, practically tearing the two of you apart. Jungkook flew backwards, landing on his butt just a few feet away from you. "You could have hurt her! What's gotten into you?!"
You stared at Jungkook while slowly bringing yourself to your feet. As your eyes met, you could see the mixture of sorrow and fear that masked his usual happiness. Almost like a child would, he quickly looked away as if he were embarrassed to be seen like this. You furrowed your eyebrows and carefully inched forward, holding out your hand to him.
"Jungkook?"
"What the fucking hell are you doing?!" Namjoon barked, coming to a screeching halt just behind Jungkook. "What's wrong with you?!"
"She has to come with us--she has to!" Jungkook said, crawling forward and recklessly bowling you over a second time. "I'm not going to leave without her!"
Hoseok tried to separate the two of you again, but Jungkook held tightly into you. His tears ran down his cheeks and onto the jacket as he hugged you tightly. You could feel the tears running down your cheeks as you tried your best to comfort the boy and find out what was wrong.
"She has to come with us! I'm not stupid, Namjoon! None of us are stupid!" He cried, his voice gaining strength as he latched onto you. "Even Jin was smart enough to know!"
"Know what?" Namjoon asked, throwing his hands up in the air. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
"I can see it in your eyes, Namjoon! And I can see it in your eyes, too," Jungkook said, squeezing you tighter. "Whenever you see each other, your eyes lighten up and you both seem so happy! You really like each other! You really do!"
You looked up at Namjoon, who was looking down at his feet as if he were ashamed. He tilted his head up, and your eyes met. He quickly looked the other way, causing an aching sensation in your heart. Hoseok was now looking from you to Namjoon in confusion, as if he was unsure how to react.
"You could make each other really happy! I just know it," Jungkook bawled, breaking the silence. "So why does she have to go away? Why are you letting her go away when you could both be so happy together?!"
"She doesn't want to come with us, Jungkook," Namjoon said, very matter-of-factly. "I'm also thinking that it might not be best for her to stay with us."
"You're just afraid of letting her love you back!" Jungkook argued, angrily shaking his head. "You can't just send her away! You need each other!"
"Jungkook--can you please get off of me?" You chuckled, trying to pull away from him. He only tightened his grip on you, making it impossible for you escape.
"I can't! If I let you go, then you might try to run away again!" He said, shaking his head. "I can't let you do that to Namjoon! I can't let you do that to yourself! You need him, and he needs you!"
"Jungkook, you need to let go of her," Namjoon commanded, running his hand through his hair. "You're being unreasonable."
Jungkook looked up at you, his eyes teary. You could feel your heart sink in your chest as your eyes met. He gave you a quick squeeze then loosened his grip on you, but he didn't take his arms away. He looked over his shoulder at Namjoon, who was now standing just beside Hoseok. Yoongi and Taehyung were only a few paces away.
"I'm not letting go of her until you promise that she's coming with us," Jungkook threatened, pressing your head into his chest. "I'm not going to let you give up on each other!"
Namjoon ran his hand through his hair again and placed his other hand on his hip. He looked from you to Jungkook, then back to you again. Hoseok tapped him on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear, then pointed out to the street, as if to remind him that was almost morning. Yoongi and Taehyung finally shuffled up and joined the group, intent on listening.
"Well, I haven't called Baekhyun yet, and I think I understand what you're saying, Jungkook," Namjoon reasoned. "But that's not up to me."
All five pairs of eyes came to rest on you. They eagerly stared you down, waiting for your response. You could feel your heartbeat increase as you tried to shy away from them, but Jungkook held you in steady in your place.
"I didn't know that you wanted me to stay so badly," you nervously chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Are you sure it's okay if I come with you? I don't want to trouble you."
"Oh my god, stop being so damn humble!" Yoongi yelled, angrily clacking one of his canes against the ground. "I mean, look at what we've done! We're sev--I mean--five rag-tag boys, and we've practically destroyed your life!"
Thanks for the reminder.
"This is the least we can do for you," Hoseok interjected, drawing your attention over to him. "If anything, we'd love it if you could come back to the safehouse. It's so much nicer when you're there."
"Now, I can promise you a roof over your head, food to eat, and a fashionable wardrobe, but I want you to be sure this is what you want," Namjoon said, holding up his hands. "It's not going to be all butterflies and unicorns when we get back."
"Right. It's quiet now, but we're still a powerful gang," Taehyung said. "It can get violent sometimes. We've tried to keep as much of that away from you as possible, but our plans weren't exactly bulletproof."
"It's going to be dangerous for you if you want to stay with us," Namjoon continued, intently staring at you. "Essentially, it'll be like you're a part of the gang--even though I'm against it."
So that's why he didn't want me to come along. He was worried about me.
"It's not the best option in the world, but we'll do our best to keep you safe," Hoseok promised. "We're going to have to give you some proper safety training if you want to stay with us. It might take you a little bit of time to get accustomed to our way of living."
"So, it's up to you, Princess," Namjoon said, giving you a weak smile. "You can come with us, or I can call Baekhyun."
What do I want to do?
Jungkook slowly let go of you and crawled away, intently watching you as he dried his eyes. You paused for a second to think, and then looked up at Namjoon, a smile on your face. He smiled back at you, already sure of your answer.
"What kind of safety training did you have in mind?"
* * * *
You remembered almost nothing about the ride back to Daegu. You were so tired that you ended up falling asleep with your head resting on Namjoon's lap. He chuckled and gently kissed you on the forehead, but other than that, left you undisturbed.
At one point, he woke you up, but only to take you from the van into the house. One of you must have said something, because you remember him chuckling as he carried you up the stairs. When you woke up the next morning, you found that you were in an unfamiliar room of the house. It didn't take you long to notice that Namjoon was laying right beside you, still sleeping.
"Namjoon!" You whispered, poking him in the nose. His face twitched in response, but he didn't make any other efforts to move. "Namjoon! Wake up!"
You sighed and rolled your eyes, realizing that you weren't getting anywhere. After waiting a moment, you reached out and gently stroked the side of his face, earning a sexy groan from him.
"Joonie, if you wake up, I promise I'll give you a kiss," you whispered into his ear, hoping that would be enough to wake him.
Before you could react, he reached up and grabbed your wrist, pulling your hand away from his face. Without looking, he leaned forward, groggily pressing his lips into yours. You giggled, causing him to groan one more time before he pulled away from you.
He opened one of his eyelids and gave you a cheeky smile. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close, eliminating any space that was once between you.
"You were awake the whole time, weren't you?" You asked, trying to pull away from him. "That wasn't very nice."
"I'm sorry, Princess," he said, casually ruffling your hair. "Can you find it in your heart to ever forgive me?"
"I'll think about it," you joked, rolling your eyes at him. "It might take me a while."
"I didn't wake you up, did I?" He asked, planting a kiss at the base of your neck. "Did you sleep okay?"
"I slept just fine. You didn't wake me," You said, looking him up and down. "But where the hell are we? And more importantly, where is your shirt?"
"We're in my room. My shirt is somewhere over that way," he said, motioning to the corner of the room with his head. "I thought you might want to spend the night with me, and you were already asleep, so I brought you in myself. I hope you don't mind."
"I don't mind, Joonie," you chuckled, burying your face in his chest. "Do you know what time it is?"
"I think it's almost noon. I don't think anyone else is awake, though," he said, stroking your hair. "We could go downstairs and find out for certain."
"I'm too tired to move," you whined, curling up into a ball. "Let's just stay here until somebody comes and gets us."
"I was thinking the same thing," Namjoon chuckled, giving you a squeeze. "But, there is something I have to tell you."
"What is it, Namjoon?"
He smiled down at you, causing you to blush a light pink. He planted a gentle kiss on your forehead, and let his head rest in the crook of your neck. You smiled to yourself, already knowing what he was going to say.
"I love you, Princess."