"Seriously, Namjoon, we don't really need your help. You should go in and talk with Mom and Dad," Areum said.
"But we're making lunch for them."
"You're not helping much," Areum grumbled under her breath. I chuckled and continued to slice vegetables. She sighed, and finally said with a shrug, "I guess you could turn on the grill - we're ready to cook the meat."
"Okay," Namjoon said. At Areum's shriek, I turned around to see 10 centimeters of flame blasting from the grill. I ran over, but Namjoon had shut the heat off before I got close enough to do it myself. Areum and I looked at each other, then at him.
"What did you do?" Areum asked, crossing her arms.
"I just turned it on! Really!" Namjoon protested, looking at the grill in confusion. I bent closer to examine it as Areum started in on a lecture.
"This isn't our house, you can't go around breaking everything! You need to be careful, seriously, or you're going-"
I turned the dial, and the flames leapt up again. I quickly switched it off, and looked at the others with a shocked little laugh. "I think it's broken?"
Areum came over and turned the switch as well. She laughed and turned to us when no flames appeared. "You guys just don't understand machines," she said.
I rolled my eyes. "Just please keep an eye on that thing. I still think it's unreliable."
While Areum grabbed the plate of meat and I returned to my vegetables, Namjoon looked around, seeming to be at a loss. "Is there anything else I can do to help?"
Gently placing the meat on the grill, Areum said, "No, not really. Just go enjoy Mom and Dad's company."
"If you want to do something productive before you sit down," I added, "you could load up your bag into the car. The keys are in the front pocket of my backpack."
Namjoon nodded, and padded out of the kitchen. I looked over at Areum, wondering if it was okay to talk about last night - she'd started crying about Seulgi, and fallen asleep before she was able to rejoin her family and spend time with them.
"I can tell what you're thinking," she said. "I'm fine. I just get lonely sometimes."
"I understand that completely," I said.
"When you have someone, you forget how much it sucks to be single," Areum said, flipping the sizzling bits of meat. The savory aroma was making me so hungry; I popped a bit of the pepper I'd been cutting into my mouth.
"True," I agreed. "Flying solo isn't a big deal, but it's the little things that get you. You know, like eating dinner alone, or not having anyone to message and say 'goodnight' before you go to sleep."
Namjoon stuck his head into the kitchen. "Where's your backpack, Chunhwa?"
I pointed at the kitchen table. "In one of the chairs."
"Oh, thanks," Namjoon said.
"Although, there are worse things than being single," Areum continued as Namjoon started digging through my backpack.
"Oh yes," I agreed. "A certain Buttface comes to mind."
"As exes go, he's certainly an example of a worst case scenario."
Namjoon finally found the keys, and looked up to interject. "So is this whole 'face' nickname thing something you do to everybody who annoys you?"
"Not everyone, or you'd have had a nickname a long time ago," I said, gesturing at him with the vegetable I was holding. "But if something about a person suggests a 'face' name, I give them one whether they irritate me or not."
"I've only heard about Buttface," Areum said. "What are some of the others?"
"Well, I called this one guy 'Creepface' - I thought he could be a suspect, but he turned out to be in jail. And then in my head, I called Hajun 'Heart-eyes face.' I didn't tell him, but sometimes he looked like an absolute facsimile of that emoji." I chuckled at the good memory, and looked at Areum. "That's about it, except for a few names for friends that you don't know."
"Should I put my bag in the trunk?" Namjoon asked as he headed toward the front door.
"Sure," I called, then lowered my voice to a normal volume. "Areum, I'm done with the vegetables. Do you have a pan for them?"
"In the cupboard."
Throwing the vegetables in the pan for stir-frying, I asked Areum about her job and listened to both her words and tone. I was glad to hear the happiness in her voice when she talked about her work - the end of her and Seulgi's relationship had been tough for her, but she was doing well.
Which reminded me, I really should've called Seulgi. I was mad at him, but he was still my brother, and he probably wasn't having an easy time of it either. Especially since it was his fault.
"What about you? Did your internship end well?" Areum asked, taking the first lot of meat off the grill.
Other than the part where I found out about the threatening caller? But she didn't need to know about that, and I didn't want her worrying about me; I was doing enough worrying for all the contacts in my phone, combined. "Yes, my boss said he was satisfied with my work and that he'd be willing to give me good references. I'm looking forward to being back at the small offices of the university paper, though."
"That's good."
Namjoon walked back in, holding up the keys. "Where do you want these?"
I looked up from scraping vegetable scraps from the cutting board into the pan. "I'll take them; I'm going to load up my stuff in a few minutes." As I reached out, Namjoon raised his arm, dangling the keys above my reach.
I crossed my arms. "Really."
He chuckled and gave me the keys. "Sorry."
"Just go talk to your parents," I said, giving him a little shove. He left the kitchen, and I pocketed the keys. "Areum, what else can I do?"
"The vegetables are all prepared for cooking?"
"Yes," I said.
"If you get the rice started, I should be able to finish everything else. Go ahead and pack your car."
"Thanks, Areum." After doing as she'd asked, I walked down the hall to our room. As I passed the family room, I heard the low tones of Namjoon and his parents' conversations, and I smiled.
Stuffing my extra shoes into the duffel bag, I looked at the damp pair of jeans I'd hung over the door because a certain someone had pushed me into the water. I would have to throw them in loose.
As I slid my laptop and notebooks into my backpack, I thought about what the black notebook held - my theories and thoughts on the disappearance.
Stop. The police have all the information I've come up with, and there's nothing else that can be done about it. Listen to Namjoon just this once, I lectured myself as I picked up my backpack, my duffel bag, and the pair of jeans. Toting them to the car, I opened up the back and noticed that Namjoon and I both had black duffel bags.
Mine had a mesh pocket on the side, though, so they were different. I made a mental note of that and went back to help get dinner on. After dinner, we'd leave - far too soon for my taste.
*
"But I still think the remix is more interesting-" Namjoon interrupted Chunhwa's argument by skipping to the next song, a replay of one that had annoyed her to no end.
Namjoon laughed as Chunhwa reached over toward his phone, and his hand moved to shelter the device. "You said I could pick the music," he said.
Chunhwa's hand returned to the steering wheel, her forefingers tapping irritatedly. "I didn't know you'd be playing such weird-ass songs."
"Okay, okay, I'll try to stop choosing the ones you wouldn't like." As he scrolled through the music on his phone and adjusted its volume, Namjoon suddenly thought of something. He looked over at Chunhwa. "Just double checking - your whole falling-asleep-in-the-car thing is only when you're a passenger, right?"
She laughed. "That would probably have been a good thing to ask me before we were almost done with the drive, Namjoon."
Namjoon shrugged; he'd been a bit preoccupied with thoughts of upcoming events. "Well, I didn't think of it before now."
"In answer to your question - yes, I only doze off when I am not driving. And if for some reason I start getting sleepy, I'll pull over and let you drive for a while."
"Um..."
Namjoon scrunched up his face as Chunhwa looked over. "What?" she asked.
"Well, I don't exactly have a license," Namjoon said sheepishly.
"What!?" She laughed at his reluctant nod. "You're what, two or three years older than me?"
"Oh hush."
"Is that why you picked me up in a cab when my car broke down?"
"Well yeah. It's really not that funny, you know."
She chuckled again, putting on the turn signal. "We've got to stop for gas now, okay?"
"Sure." As they slowed down, Namjoon pulled a mask over his mouth and nose - he wasn't really worried about being recognized, but it never hurt to be safe. He shut off the music to save battery and watched Chunhwa pull smoothly into the gas station.
While she was outside paying for the gas, he received a message from the manager. You're on your way back? And having a safe trip?
Yes, I'm about an hour away, Namjoon replied.
Back to the grind of schedules. But at least his trip had been nice.
This was what normal people did, wasn't it? Saw their families, thought of 'long trips' as two or three hours by car, and talked with their friends about stupid, inconsequential stuff like whether a certain remix was better than the original song or not.
He jumped when Chunhwa knocked on the window, and heard her muted laughter before she said, "Hey, stranger. Can you pop the gas cap for me? The switch is on the driver's side door."
Namjoon unbuckled and leaned over, looking at the panel.
"It's not by the window switches, it's further down," she said, her voice muffled by the glass. Namjoon found the switch and pulled it, and Chunhwa gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks!"
"No problem," Namjoon said, but she probably didn't hear him as she was moving to pump the gas.
Namjoon leaned his head against the glass, and pulled a book out of his bag. Reading until Chunhwa joined him, he settled into a more comfortable position.
As they pulled onto the road, Chunhwa said, "How about we listen to the radio for a while. You know, so your phone doesn't die."
Namjoon grinned at her transparency. "You mean so you don't have to listen to what I pick."
She chuckled, checking traffic over her shoulder. "It's not that I don't like it, Namjoon, I just... my brain gets tired of too much new music."
Switching on the radio, Namjoon looked out the window. "That's fine." He listened to the popular tunes and watched the urban scenery flashing by, filling the rest of the drive with comfortable intervals of conversation and silence.
As he directed Chunhwa the rest of the way to the dorm, Namjoon felt the relaxation he'd gained over the weekend draining off, and struggled to keep it. If he could just keep a piece of the vacation's peace, just a pearl of the contentment, the stress wouldn't be as hard to bear.
"Here we go," Chunhwa said, pulling over to the curb.
"Thank you for the ride," Namjoon said, opening the door and uncurling his long legs onto the pavement.
"It's no trouble." Popping the trunk, she leaned over to see his face, and waved. "Good luck, Namjoon. Thanks for the advice - I'll try to take it."
Namjoon smiled and waved back. "Goodbye," he said, shutting the door and walking back to get his duffel bag. Feeling for it in the darkness - the trunk lights were out, of course - he lifted it out and shut the car door, watching Chunhwa drive away once the locks had clicked.
Walking into the dorm, Namjoon plunked the bag down next to his shoes and set off to see if any of the other members were home. Fortunately for the sake of his peace and quiet, most of the members seemed to be busy practicing or working in the studio, or something. Walking into his room, he surprised Jungkook, who was playing a computer game. Namjoon sat down and watched as the maknae finished the round. When the game was over, Jungkook turned to him. "You're back! Did you borrow that black beanie of mine?"
Namjoon blinked, having expected something more along the lines of 'How was your trip?' He wrinkled his brow, trying to remember. "I don't know, did I?" As Jungkook laughed, Namjoon asked, "Don't you have like twelve black beanies?"
Jungkook shrugged, standing up from the chair. "I'll just check your bag."
"It's in the entryway." As Jungkook sauntered away, Namjoon thought. "I do seem to remember putting a black beanie in there, but I thought it was mine," he called after the maknae. He headed for the kitchen to get a glass of water, and a snack if he could find it.
"Um, hyung???" Namjoon raised his brow at the amount of question in the words, and walked toward Jungkook. When he arrived in the entryway, he saw Jungkook standing over the unzipped duffel bag, eyes wide and fastened on the black item dangling from his hand by a strap.
Namjoon's eyes widened. "Where did you get that?" He walked over and knelt by the bag; one glance showed him that the clothes inside weren't his. Putting his hand to his head, Namjoon pulled his phone out of his pocket and called quickly.
"Hi, Chunhwa? Please tell me you haven't opened your bag yet?"
***
A/N: I FINALLY updated. I'm sorry about the unannounced 'hiatus' - I had finals, and then to tell the truth I was being unmotivated and lazy. But I've finally updated and I have a very good idea of what needs to happen in the next few chapters.
I'm going to be editing, by the way, so sorry if you get a lot of notifications; I'm not sure whether the small changes I'm planning to make will trigger the notifs or not.
Also, do you guys remember in the beginning of the story when Namjoon was unexpectedly good at ice skating? I had to have that in for the plot, but I figured nobody would believe it, of course. But yo! Did you see the behind-the-scenes for the winter Olympics Run episode? Namjoon said he'd skated when he was younger, and that the only exercise he was good at was skating! I was shook.
Congratulations to BTS on winning Top Social Artist at the BBMAs! And thank you to all the ARMYs who were voting with so much dedication - we were able to help our boys win :) All the English interviews were just so... extra, for lack of a better word? (Cringe, amazing, adorable?)
Thank you to everyone who has not rightfully abandoned this infrequently-updated story. New goal: Update often enough that I don't need a monster A/N in each chapter ;) Thank you so much for 1K reads!!!! <3