Namjoon swirled around on his chair. He'd been doing it for 10 minutes and his parents were getting worried. They had called on him for dinner but he didn't seem to hear them. When his dad went to check on him and saw the scene, he quietly called his wife over. Their young son was pouting, a pencil above his ear, and his feet spread out as the chair spun around.
"We should say something, right?" his dad asked.
"He's always like this when he's thinking." his mom answered.
"Yea, but it never passes 5 minutes. It must be a song."
"Or it's a girl." she emphasized, knowing exactly what she's talking about. She dragged her husband out to the kitchen.
"Girl? You mean Y/N?"
"There's never going to be anyone else on his mind."
"But she hates him, right? I mean I love our son dearly, but if I were in her shoes, I would never speak to him again."
"Fate is a funny thing." she hummed. "Let's ask him at dinner."
"Ask me what?" His parents both jumped at the sound of his deep voice. They were met with his confused and innocent gaze when they turned around.
His mother began. "Oh nothing much-"
"Are you writing a song for Y/N?" his dad asked. That made his mom gasped and elbowed her husband in the stomach. "You were thinking it too!" he whined.
"You didn't have to put our son on the spot like that though."
"Of course I did, I'm his dad. And his happiness comes first."
"But so does his privacy!"
"You said you wanted to ask him at dinner!" The volume of their voices continued and Namjoon sighed. His parents hardly ever fought and when they do, it was always trivial things.
"Enough." he said loudly, "I'll tell you the truth." They all moved to the dinner table, the food was already prepared. "Yes, I'm writing a song for Y/N."
"But all of your songs are essentially about her, why are you struggling this time?" his mom asked, placing a hand on his.
"I've been keeping this from you guys but Y/N and I are on good terms now. I think. She's not annoyed at my presence at least. We're starting slowly again."
"So you're like dating?"
"Not exactly. I think there was a non-verbal agreement between of us to just be friends for now. It's a good start that could blossom into something I've always dream of. At least for me, that's what I'm hoping for. For Y/N, I just want her to be happy."
"What's the song for, then?" his dad asked.
"There's a dance coming up, I wanted to use the song to ask her to be my date." Namjoon answered proudly. His mom leaned her head on propped elbows.
"How romantic. I wish your dad would do something like that for me." she sighed. Her husband looked very offended.
"Hey, I washed my socks today. And I got you some eggs without being asked." he whined. His mother laughed and got up to kiss her husband on the cheek.
"I know. Thank you, honey. I love you very much." she said. Namjoon watched them in awe. Domesticated life was never something he wanted when he was younger, but while he was away and missing you, having a simple life seemed like a privilege that he might not have. He wondered what kind of future the two of you would have, but he knew for sure his love for you would remain the same.
Across the street, your mom and you were also having a quiet dinner. Well it was only quiet because you were staring off into space while playing with your chopsticks and your mother had been watching you this whole time. There was clutter in your mind. Between the threats So Min made and your weird relationship with Namjoon, it was too much for you to handle. You can't protect one without hurting the other.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" your mom finally asked. The sound of her voice made you jump.
"Um, yeah, there's just a big test coming up, that's all." you lied.
"And I heard Tzuyu's mom talking about the senior dance, are you going?"
"Tzuyu is making me since it's the last one before graduation. We're going dress shopping this weekend."
"Do you have a date?"
"Oh no, not you too. I don't need a date eomma." you groaned.
She laughed, but it faded. "I know. I know you well. And I know you're going to give out second chances. Just please be careful."
"Eomma." you whispered, glancing up at her. Of course she would find out eventually. You felt guilty for not telling her. It wasn't because you didn't trust her, but you weren't sure where things would go and you didn't want to get your own hopes up. She gave a soft but stern smile.
"It's okay. I'm not mad. I knew this day would come. Fate is a funny thing."
"I'll be careful, I won't be naive like last time."
"Sweetie, you were never naive. And he wasn't cruel either. You two were just too young to admit that connection. I'm still livid with him, but his mom and I have started talking again recently. And we've both noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere, its lighter, happier. I just want you to be happy, that's all."
"I know, eomma. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetie." You two went back to eating, chatting about her work and chatting about Tzuyu's love life. She works at a publishing firm, perhaps that's where your love for writing and reading comes from. When you were little, she would bring home new children book and read them to you every night. Thinking about it, if you were to move to the States for school, she would be all alone and you couldn't handle that thought. But she reassured multiple times that she would be okay.
After helping her clean the dishes, you went back to your room to do homework. Just then, your phone rang. It was an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Thank god you answered, I wasn't sure if you would." the voice said, he chuckled.
"You called me with the thought that I wouldn't pick up?"
"I'll take my chances." he answered.
"How did you get my number anyways?"
"Taehyung gave it to me. He was quite confused about why I didn't ask you for it." Namjoon explained.
"Why didn't you?" you asked curiously.
"Honestly, there have been many things that I didn't do and I regret them dearly."
"Like what?"
"Not telling you I love you the second I saw you. Not fighting for you when you were with Taehyung. Not asking you to be my girlfriend. I'm sure you would have said no, but I still should have tried. Now I'm not saying I'm not happy with how things turn out. I'm so thankful that we can be like this again, talking. I'll cherish every second of it."
You were glad he couldn't see you because what he said made your cheeks red. He just said he wanted to ask you to be his girlfriend. You didn't think he would be this serious about you. I wouldn't have said no, you wanted to tell him. But you were too shy to say it. "Why are you calling me?" you asked instead. And it sounded too harsh, you mentally slapped yourself for that.
"Oh." he said, signs of sadness in his voice. "I miss you."
"You dork. You saw me five hours ago and we had lunch together." you laughed.
"I wouldn't call having our backs facing each other having lunch together." Since neither of you wanted to draw unnecessary attention to yourselves, that was the only way to be near each other. It wasn't the best. Namjoon wanted more, of course, he wants to always hold you in public. But being near you in enough. And now, you two have found a space to talk to each other. It was a good start. After a few hours of talking about nothing and everything, it was time to sleep.
"Good night, Y/N. I love you." he said.
You got flustered and hung up. But you texted him 'good night'. Namjoon grinned widely and slept very well that night.