After going over her schedule, Nari decided to work on some music for...well, work. She plugged in her earbuds and turned on some of Yiruma's music. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the wall. Her hands drifted upwards as if they were resting on a keyboard and her fingers began mimicking the movements she would be making if she were seated at a piano right this minute. No one else was in the lobby and she was relaxed but a bit cautious too. She knew her method of learning new music was unconventional and probably a bit weird. Ever so often she would crack open one eye and scan the room before closing it again.
She was so engrossed in her music she did not notice someone barge in through the front doors, rolling a bicycle beside them. The man blindly glanced around the lobby, quickly going towards a long hallway, not really paying any attention to his surroundings. Suddenly, a movement caught his eye and he stopped, looking towards the wall where a young woman was seated, fingers waving in the air as if she were tickling someone. The man smirked behind his mask before gently pulling it down. He softly leaned his bike up against the wall and snuck over to her. Squatting down he rested his elbows on his knees and his grin could no longer be contained. It spread across his face like melted chocolate across a strawberry.
He waited and watched as her face showed emotion and joy while her fingers kept wiggling in the air. When one hand came close to his eye, almost jabbing it, he leaned back quickly, almost falling backwards, and stared in disbelief at her. "Yah!" he exclaimed loudly in an effort to bypass the earbuds, causing her fingers to freeze and her eyes to shoot open.
"AAAAHH," she shouted, scrambling to get her earbuds out of her ears. They flew every whichaway, flying up and smacking her in the eye. "Ouch!" She groaned and slung the offending earbuds down to wherever they wanted to land and rubbed her now injured eye, while staring at her new company with the other.
"Can I help you?" She grimaced and reached down to her purse, scrambling through it to find a tissue to catch the tears now pouring from her eye.
She glanced back up at the man who was now smirking and trying to cover his grin, but his eyes were laughing just the same. "Who are..." she asked before suddenly realizing she was face to face with a member of BTS. "Wait...I met you at the fansign. Right? Taekook? No...that's not right...that's a ship Nana was sailing or something." She mumbled to herself and thought hard.
"Taehyung," came his deep chuckling voice, causing her to look back at him with realization.
"Yes!" She clapped her hands together and pointed at him. "Taehyung! V! Yes! Ahhh...thank you, it was going to drive me crazy. My name is Nari, by the way." She laughed and relaxed against the back of her seat before immediately leaning forward again. "Why are you down in front of me," she said skeptically.
"I was watching your fingers putting a curse on this building," he said with a deep frown on his face.
She stared back, her own expression confused. "Huh?"
He stood up, laughter pouring out from his lungs. "I'm kidding, but what were you doing? It looked hilarious, and I'm sorry if that offends you." He folded his arms and rested his weight on one leg, his other slightly out to the side. He was eyeing her suspiciously and yet the sparkle in his eyes betrayed his true intentions.
"Ah, um...I was learning some new piano music." She blushed and leaned over to pick up her rudely discarded earbuds. A hand snatched them up quicker than hers and held them out to her.
"Are you playing for a concert or something? Or just for personal enjoyment," smiled Taehyung as she sheepishly took the earbuds from his hand.
"I play for a local coffee cafe. I'm their pianist. It's a part time job while I'm in university." She wiped her stinging eye once more and as the tearing had stopped, she dropped the wadded up tissue into her purse.
"A cafe? Which one? Is it near here? Maybe I've been there!"
"Really? I don't know my way around Seoul yet but it's called The Cup Holder." She smiled as she felt proud of her little part time job.
"The Cup Holder?" He seemed to ponder for a moment and then looked like he recognized the name. He snapped his fingers and smiled. "Nope. Never heard of it."
Nari laughed and shrugged. "Well, it is kinda small. It's got a great atmosphere though, and I'm not just saying that because I play the piano there every night."
"Every night?"
Just then some people came walking around the corner. Nari looked over and saw her sister, very excited, practically hanging off of Jimin's arm. She laughed and opened her arms, only to have her sister fling herself onto her.
"Eonnie! Thank you so much," the young girl whispered. As she released Nari, she finally laid eyes on Taehyung and her eyes grew wide and her hands flew up to her mouth. "Taeeeehyuuung," she whispered like any good fangirl would when suddenly coming face to face with her second bias.
"Hello," he waved, grinning widely.
Nana hid her face into Nari's shoulder and whispered, "Am I dreaming? Two members in one day?" Nari just smiled and patted her back.
She looked up at Jimin and bowed her head in gratitude. "Thank you for giving this memory to my sister. I think she'll remember it forever," she grinned.
Jimin couldn't take his eyes off of her and it took a moment for him to regain the use of his mouth. "Ah, sure. Not a problem. Taehyung-ah, weren't you headed somewhere?" He had seen Taehyung and Nari talking and it made him feel a bit prickly, not to mention a tad bit grumpy, but he was the master of hiding his true feelings and this moment would prove to be no exception.
At least he thought he was the master of deception.
Taehyung had taken quick note of Jimin's smile going sour when he saw Taehyung talking with Nari. He also noted that Jimin had not removed his eyes from Nari and it was almost like the night of the fansign.
Jimin has a crush!
The realization came over him like the rising sun over the city of Seoul. His mouth twitched as it fought off a smirk and he shrugged. "I just got here a few minutes ago. I'm heading to the practice room." He knew his cue to leave and he turned to Nari and smiled sweetly, making sure Jimin could see his face very well. Time for an experiment. "Ah, Nari, it was lovely to meet you. Perhaps I can come by and hear you play sometime?" He glanced over to Jimin's face growing redder and his eyes colder. He smirked and looked back at Nari as if he was expecting her to answer him.
"Hm? Oh, um, sure! Stop by anytime. You can be my guest." She smiled warmly and waved goodbye.
Taehyung turned to leave, taking control of his bicycle once again. He brushed past Jimin, a soft snicker escaping his lips as he did so.
Jimin rolled his eyes to follow Taehyung's retreating back and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He looked back up at the two girls looking at him and smiled. "I'm glad to have met you, Nana, and it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to see you again as well, Nari."
Nana smiled widely but noticed his eyes were not on her but on her sister. She bit back her grin and nodded. "Thank you again, Jimin! And please let Taehyung know I'm grateful he kept my sister company for a bit!" The girls bowed their thanks and the staff member let them out through the front exit.
Jimin watched them walk off into the dimming light of the evening and he quickly turned on his heel. He took a deep breath and marched straight to the practice room.
* * *
"So was it everything you hoped it would be and more," teased Nari.
Nana giggled, her bright mood refusing to be squelched. "Yes, it very much was. I had a wonderful time, though it was awfully short." She bounced along next to her sister. "I wish you would have come with me though." She spoke softly and held her sister's arm, squeezing it gently as she spoke.
"Nana, we talked about that. It worked out for the best." Nari smiled and patted her sister's hands which were wrapped around her arm.
"I think he wished you would have been back there too," whispered Nana, looking up at her sister's face for any hint she might give.
"Me? Why me? I'm not his fan. Plus, I've already met him once at the fansign and he kinda creeped me out. Taehyung had to pry our hands off-"
"Tae?! Pried your hands apart?! Hahahahaha! Eonnie! You do know Taehyung!" Nana cackled with delight and pinched her sister's arm roughly.
"Ouch! What was that for," protested Nari, rubbing the new sore spot on her arm.
"You have met Taehyung and he spent time talking to you!" Her voice lowered as she went on to talk to herself. "Did Jimin see that? He looked ticked...maybe he's jealous? Of what, though? Why was he staring hard at you?" She rattled off her questions in a way no one in their right mind could keep up with.
"What in the world are you talking about, Nana? Hang on, Mom's calling." She interrupted herself because her phone was buzzing impatiently. "Yes, Mom? Yes, we're on our way to the cafe. Yes, there's some shops around it. Are you sure? Alright. See you there." She tucked her phone away into her coat pocket and filled Nana in on the details of her call. "Mom is going to meet us at the cafe. There's some shopping she wants to do for you so you'll have to go with her. But I will come to the hotel when you get done and when I'm done also."
"Aww man, I was hoping to hear you play. I've missed you playing at home for endless hours."
The girls walked to the proper bus stop in amicable silence; Nana still quietly fangirling over meeting her ultimate bias and her bias wrecker. Nana laughed as she watched her sister try to process and memorize everything that had happened or was said by the two men. "You better write down everything before you forget it." She squeezed her sister in a side hug before they stepped onto the bus.
"I know, right?! Still, didn't you notice Jimin looking at you a lot? What happened at that fansign that you aren't telling me, eonnie?" Nana parked herself in the seat next to the window and turned sideways to face her perplexed sister.
"The fansign? Nothing happened." She shrugged and leaned closer to Nari as a large man squeezed by them, making his way to the back of the bus.
Nana smirked and leaned closer to her sister's ear. "I think something happened for him."
Nari gave her sister a weird look and shook her head. "That's a silly train of thought you have going there, Nana. Let's not get lost in fantasy world, ok?" She scoffed and shook her head. "As if I would ever get involved with some K-Pop idol," she murmured under her breath.
Nana simply shrugged and looked out her window, watching the city go by in a blur.
* * *
Jimin stood outside the practice room door, his hand hovering over the knob. Why was he so jealous? What did he have to be jealous about anyway? Not like he was actually involved with Nari. Taehyung was always super friendly anyway; he usually meant nothing by it. This situation was probably no different. However, Jimin couldn't shake this sour mood he had now. He should be happy he just saw the object of his...his what? Obsession? Affection? He sputtered and laughed at his ridiculous thoughts. Get real, Park Jimin.
"Are you going to stand there all day having your own internal conversation with yourself or are you going to actually walk into the room?"
Jimin looked over and smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, hyung," he said, looking back at the knob. He really didn't want to go in there. He would have to focus so much on keeping his sour attitude under wraps, he would probably screw up every dance he attempted tonight.
Yoongi sighed and shoved his hand between Jimin and the door, jerking the knob and flinging open the door. "Well, wasn't that difficult?" He watched as Jimin hesitated to go through the door. He rolled his eyes and got behind the boy, planting his hands flat on Jimin's back. He firmly shoved Jimin into the room, smirking as the younger man stumbled a bit.
"Hyung!"
"You were being slow. For once I'm in a hurry. Oh the irony of it all." He snickered and winked at Jimin as he went to drop his stuff in the corner.
"Alright! We're all here!" J-Hope clapped his hands loudly. "Okay. We're starting with..." He proceeded to ramble off a list of ten numbers they would be practicing.
"Hyuuuuung," whined Jungkook, "why ten? It's already so late." He frowned and pouted cutely, hoping his maknae powers hadn't lost their effect just yet.
J-Hope walked over with a sad frown on his face. "Awww, Kookie, are you too tired to practice tonight?" He laid his hands on the maknae's shoulders as Jungkook sadly nodded will still pouting.
J-Hope clicked his tongue and shook his head. "That's too bad. But you're so sweet!" He giggled and pinched Jungkook's cheeks. "Now, be good and go turn on the first selection up on the computer." He smiled devilishly at Jungkook who merely hung his head, accepting his defeat and now in full doubt of his aegyo abilities.
Jimin giggled a bit and slipped off his jacket. He saw Taehyung walk up to him and he swallowed down the grumpy words that began dancing around his tongue.
"Jimin-ah!" He clapped his friend on the back and the pair walked to their spots. "So the sisters..." he winked at Jimin and then waggled his eyebrows up and down. He was determined to make Jimin talk about what he was feeling earlier.
Jimin gave him a look that told him that it wasn't a topic up for discussion right now. Taehyung grinned and shrugged. "Later, okay?" Taehyung winked again and the dance began.
"Jimin! You're in the wrong spot!"
"Ouch! That's my foot!
"Chim! Get outta the way!
"PAAAAAARK JIMIIIIIIIIIN!"
Jimin stared in horror at J-Hope's triangle-shaped mouth. The older member stalked right up to him and poked him in the forehead. "Go home."
"Hyung?" Jimin felt like he was back in school getting sent to the principal's office.
"Hyung," mocked J-Hope in a high-pitched voice. "Jimin, you're worse than Namjoon and Jin right now!"
"HEY," came the collective protest from the two members who had just been mentioned.
"No offense, hyung, Joon-ah," smiled J-Hope to the two members, who merely nodded and waved it off.
"We're just happy that someone else is worse than us for once," they giggled, nudging each other with their elbows.
"Seriously, Jimin, go home. You're not here. You're somewhere else a thousand kilometers away." J-Hope smiled sadly as he watched Jimin's face change from confusion to disappointment. "Just...take the night off."
"Hyung, I'll focus. I promise. I'm staying. You can't make me go home." The room fell silent as everyone sensed a new tension. A battle of the wills was happening.
"Jimin, you bruised Jungkook's shin, jabbed Jin in the eye, smacked the back of Namjoon's head, and stomped right on my foot! I mean, I do only walk on the bottom of it, but it still hurts!"
"Hyung! I won't mess up again! I'm not going home!" Jimin's nostrils flared as his heart raced. He had never stood up to his hyungs like this before.
J-Hope frowned even deeper and turned away for a moment. He rubbed his face with his hands and then spun around to face Jimin. "Fine. But one more mishap and you're out, you got that? You're no good to us when you don't have your head here." He stalked over to the computer and cued up the next song.
Everyone watched with apprehension as the two got to their spots. The music blared and bodies began moving. True to his word, Jimin executed every move from then on out perfectly. A little too perfectly.
"Jimin, you're lacking emotion. Remember to feel the music and the lyrics, okay?" J-Hope was simply reminding him of something he had done a million times to everyone before. This time it just hit Jimin wrong.
"Can't I do anything right for you tonight," shot Jimin, irritation flashing in his eyes.
J-Hope stared in disbelief. He had never seen Jimin fly off the handle like that. "Home. Now," he whispered.
Jimin hung his head and sighed deeply. He threw his hands up in the air and stomped over to the corner, all eyes following him. He grabbed his jacket and bag and then rushed out of the room. He felt stifled and angry.
J-Hope looked at Taehyung, who smiled a small smile and nodded in understanding. He ran over to the corner and grabbed his own things, hurrying out the door behind Jimin.
"Alright everyone, what songs do you need more practice on," asked J-Hope softly, still staring at the closing door.
* * *
"Jimin! Wait up!" Taehyung ran up behind his friend, slinging an arm around Jimin's shoulders as was his habit. His arm was shrugged off and Jimin simply shook his head. Taehyung pursed his lips together and nodded slowly in understanding.
"Jimin, what's going on," he said softly. "What's on your mind?"
Jimin shook his head again. "I just need to clear my head. I need to relax." He really just needed to forget the image of Taehyung and Nari smiling at each other. That would help his mood tremendously.
"Relax? Well, hey. I just learned of a new coffee cafe. Want to try it out?" Taehyung watched Jimin's face hopefully. Maybe if he was faced with her he might talk about why seeing her always shook him up so much.
Jimin frowned. "Coffee? This late?"
"Get decaf. C'mon," urged Taehyung, shaking Jimin's shoulder slightly.
Jimin sighed and dropped his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Fine. I'll go. Where is this place? It better not be far."
"I have no idea. I'll have to look it up," laughed Taehyung, putting his arm back around his friend and feeling Jimin lean into him a bit. He smiled victoriously and the two walked in tandem out into the darkened streets of Seoul.