Everyone gathered in the main dining hall. Jin had ordered the chefs to prepare a four course meal for Nara's arrival. In the meantime, you were all sitting in the dining room, getting to know one another.
And it was incredibly uncomfortable.
"It's a pleasure to see you, as always, Nara." Jin said with his usual warm smile. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"It's Jimin's birthday in a few days."she said. "I know he usually plans parties for everyone else, but I wanted to do something special for him."
Jimin looked down at his drink, his lips flat. You'd never seen him so reserved. He almost seemed angry. You couldn't figure out why, really. Nara was sweet. She seemed so delicate in so many ways. Not in a bad sense, or a weak sense, but in a beautiful sense. Her voice was soft and airy, her style was clean and lovely, and her mannerisms were so friendly and even shy.
When Jimin introduced her to you as his fiancée, you admit that you had mixed feelings about it. Especially seeing his solemn reaction to her presence. Maybe she was cruel, arrogant, or bossy, and that's why he didn't seem to like her. But after talking with her on the way back from the lake, you realize she was none of those things.
So what was his problem?
Namjoon, Jin, Taehyung, and Nara kept the conversation going. Jungkook – quiet as always – sat across from Jimin and Nara, eyeing them both.
"[Y/N]," Jin said. "How did you like the lake?"
You paused. Before you could open your mouth to speak, Jimin answered.
"Ahh, wouldn't you know it? The silly girl didn't tell me she couldn't swim. I ended up having to rescue her."
He gave his usual flirtatious grin and puffed his chest a little.
Nara gave a weak smile. "It was good you were there, then."
Your heart sank for her. You could tell she was hurt by the warm way he was treating you, even if there was nothing going on between you both. You'd be hurt too if your fiancée was spending time alone with another woman. You would have never gone out on the boat with him if he had mentioned Nara.
Your eyes wandered around the room until they settled on Jungkook. You held your breath. If he stared any harder into you, fire would shoot from his eyes. His face was hard and focused.
Geez. What was with him?
Appetizers were brought out first. Conversation switched from the lake and Nara's arrival to current events. Jungkook detoured from his death stare into you and finally joined the conversation. They started talking about some famous painter you had never heard of.
"I heard he'll be at the faire out here in a couple weeks." Nara said, nibbling on a strawberry. "I'm jealous of all the people that will get to see his art in person."
"Jimin should be able to take you."Jin said. "Right?"
Jimin gave a nervous laugh. "My schedule is a bit tight then, but maybe."
He didn't make eye contact with her when he said it. With another weak smile, she hunched her shoulders a little and nodded.
"I'm free in a couple weeks,"Jungkook piped in. "If Jimin has other things he finds more important, I can take you."
He smiled at her. It was just a sweet and adorable smile. He never gave you that kind of smile.
"That's not what I said," Jimin said.
Jungkook pursed his lips and shrugged."My offer still stands."
The second course was a fish stew. You would have been completely fine with the idea if it weren't for the fish eye floating around in your bowl. Staring at you. You couldn't help but stare back.
Jin caught your face and leaned over."You're supposed to eat it."
"I can't eat it when it's watching me."
He chuckled. "Want to switch bowls?"
Before you could answer, he took your bowl and gave you his, which was fish-eye free. You smiled and thanked him.
Apparently in the midst of your fish eye distraction, Jungkook and Jimin had gotten into a heated debate about... cheese?
"I'm telling you, jack and swiss makes a much better grilled cheese than plain cheddar." Jimin said.
"And I'm telling you, you're wrong."
"That's your problem, Jungkook. You fail to appreciate variety."
"And you don't appreciate tradition."
You looked at Nara. She was just as confused as you were.
Namjoon stirred his soup, his eyebrow raised. "You can just use all three cheeses..."
"No," Jimin and Jungkook said at the same time.
Jin slurped his soup, amused.
You turned to Taehyung sitting next to you. "Are they always like this?"
He nodded. "Always."
"Why?"
Jimin stood from his chair. "Let's settle this right now. Before the main course."
Jungkook stood up as well. "No problem. Name the event. I can beat you at it."
"Guys," Jin said, coughing. "Knock it off."
"Yeah, sit down." Taehyung agreed.
"Nara can determine the winner."Jungkook said.
Jimin nodded. "Fine by me."
Nara, on the other hand, looked uneasy. "Um... I really don't think –"
"Jin? Are you okay?"
At the sound of Namjoon's question,everyone looked at Jin. His face was red and sweating. He was still coughing.
He fell from his chair, unconscious.