"So...how did it go?"
You shrieked and jumped a foot in the air, scared by the voice in front of the door. After your talk with the boys, you decided to walk home. It was only lunchtime, so it was still daylight outside, and you wanted the fifteen minutes to yourself, to think about what you were feeling.
When you opened the door to your apartment, all four of your members were standing at the door with big smiles on their faces, eager to know how your talk with your soulmates went.
You gave them a sheepish smile, to which they all huffed, shoulders drooping in disappointment. "I chickened out."
"True to your name as always I see, dear chickie."
You smacked Chanmi upside the head. "It's short for chickpea, dimwit, not chicken."
Your best friend just shrugged, sending you a smug smile. "If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck..."
"Ok you two, fight on your own time. Tell us what happened Y/N-ie," Minji said, pulling you towards the couches.
You told them everything that happened, choosing to leave out the part where Jimin held you. You weren't sure why, but it felt too personal and intimate to share, even with your members.
"Despite not telling them the whole truth, I'm still really proud of you for opening up to them Y/N." Nayoung looked at you, face shining with pride. "I know how hard it is for you to talk about your family, but the fact that you still told these boys so quickly after meeting them is a big deal. It took you months to even tell us."
"Exactly, and don't worry about not telling them the whole truth about Lee. I get why you had reservations, maybe one day you'll feel comfortable enough to open up to them," Chanmi called from the kitchen, where she sat eating her lunch.
You knew that day would never come if you could help it, but you nodded anyway, not wanting to start an argument.
"So what's the plan now? Meet up with them once a week? Have them come here?" Jaehwa asked, protective instincts kicking into overdrive.
"I'm not sure yet. I think I'll let them take the lead on this. I don't really know how this soulmate thing works," you shrugged nonchalantly, walking towards the kitchen to grab a plate of food. You were starving.
"Our little baby finally has a boyfriend! Wait no, seven boyfriends!" Minji squealed.
"Unnie," Nayoung groaned from her seat next to the eldest. "Stop squealing like a pig, you're hurting my ears." Minji ignored the girl, too exhilarated to care.
"Wow seven boyfriends...sounds like a lot," Jaehwa chimed in, an eyebrow raised in displeasure. The idea of having to make sure not one, but seven boys were treating her youngest member properly wasn't Jaehwa's definition of a good time.
"Yeah, a lot of fun," Chanmi said, a smirk playing on her lips. "Just imagine how big their d-"
You reached over the island to slap your hand over her mouth before the crude thought escaped it.
"They are not my boyfriends," you hissed through clenched teeth. "No one will be imagining anything."
Chanmi hummed, "Say what you want, but we both know which music video is at the top of your most viewed list." A blush rose up your neck and cheeks.
Before you could fight back with a snarky comment, Nayoung intervened. "Chanmi stop taunting her and go to the studio. You have a solo song to write."
"Yes ma'am," she said with a salute, rising from her seat and walking out of the common space.
Just when you thought you were in the clear, Chanmi stuck her head back in from the hallway and sang, "Nae pi ttam nunmul~"
With a battle cry, you ran to chase after her.
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Over the next week and a half, you found yourself getting to know the boys more and more. The night after you'd met them at their apartment, Namjoon had added you to a group chat, claiming it would be easier to make plans this way. The maknaes had seen this as an opportunity to talk to you all day, everyday, and as a result, you were always getting spammed with text messages.
Although you acted as if the barrage of messages annoyed you, you actually really enjoyed it. The boys all sent you selcas everyday, Seokjin especially making sure to send two. You learned a lot about them through your text conversations. Seokjin loved cooking and playing the guitar, treating your eyes and ears with pictures of a new dish he tried out or the chords of a charting song. Yoongi usually sent you comic book recommendations or a new song he was listening to. You received videos from Hoseok and Jimin, usually of dance covers, with an occasional cameo from Jeongguk. Hoseok also sent an inspiring quote every morning when he woke up, and Jimin always sent a video of him retelling a moment from his day every night before he went to bed. Namjoon usually sent you book recommendations or snippets of songs he was working on. Jeongguk and Taehyung were the most inconsistent, attachments ranging from their art, to the scenery, to random memes they found on social media.
On this particular evening, you were laying in your bed looking at a painting Taehyung sent you when Nayoung knocked on your door.
"Hey chickpea, I'm thinking about going to the bookstore, wanna come with?"
You stood up, pulling on a hoodie and grabbing your mask. "Sure, I'm bored anyways."
Nayoung spent the whole bus ride chatting about the new song she was writing, and helping you brainstorm choreography ideas for the track.
Once you reached the bookstore, Nayoung grabbed your hand and led you straight to the English section.
"What are we doing here unnie?" you asked, curiously.
"I'm getting some work books for Jaehwa. Her English is atrocious and she has to at least try and be fluent before the next comeback's English interviews."
You and Nayoung were the most fluent English speakers in your group. Although the other three members worked really hard, you couldn't help but agree that Jaehwa needed a little extra attention.
As Nayoung rifled through the shelves, pulling out adequate books, you just stood and watched. You always loved the smell of bookstores, something about the sweet scent of paper and ink fascinated you. There were thousands of books in this store, but each one was unique and told it's own story.
"Y/N?" you heard a voice call from behind you.
Nayoung and you turned around to see who it was, confused since your masks and hoods should help hide your identity.
"I thought I recognized that hoodie!" the male said, pulling his own mask below his chin to expose a pair of deep dimples.
"Oh Namjoon, what are you doing here?" you asked with a kind smile. You certainly didn't expect to see one of your soulmates at a bookstore in Gangnam, although it was pleasant surprise.
"I came to get a book for Jimin as a birthday gift. He's really been into reading comics lately, but he doesn't have any so he sneaks into Yoongi hyung's room to steal one of his. I figured I should get him a set of his own before he dies at the hands of hyung," the tall man before you laughed, prompting a giggle from you as well. "How about you? What brings you here?"
You gasped. For a second, you were so invested in Namjoon that you'd forgotten you were here with someone else. "This is Nayoung unnie, our leader! We came to get one of our members an English book to help her learn."
Nayoung and Namjoon bowed to each other, introducing themselves.
The former placed a hand on your elbow to grab your attention. "Hey Y/N-ie, I'll be right back ok? I'm going to go get a Korean novel for Minji unnie."
"Oh, I'll come with," you said, oblivious to her sneaky plan.
"No, it's alright! You stay here and keep Namjoon-ssi company, I'll be right back!"
With that, Nayoung gave the man one more bow before walking away, sending you a sly wink.
"You said Jimin's birthday was coming up soon?" Although you knew his birthday was in a few weeks, you still inquired, wanting to avoid an awkward silence between you both.
"Yes, October 13th. Actually, we were going to ask you later but since I have you here I'll just do it now. We are planning a surprise party for Jiminie, would you like to come? It's just going to be the rest of the boys, and you can bring your members as well if you'd like," Namjoon suggested.
The boys (minus Jimin) hadn't discussed extending the invitation to your members, but he'd panicked, afraid you'd turn him down. He was sure his soulmates would understand the minor change in plans.
You gave Namjoon a big smile, "I love surprise parties! We do them for our members every year. I'd love to come! I should start looking for gifts soon then, I wonder what he'd like..." you trailed off, realizing you were rambling.
A flush rose in your cheeks as you gave him an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry, I tend to talk too much when I'm excited."
Namjoon leaned in a bit to meet you at eye level, and said in a soft voice, "I don't mind. I'm glad to see you're comfortable around me now." He gave you a fond smile before straightening his back again.
Your eyes widened and you felt your cheeks heat up again, for a totally different reason this time.
Your savior, Nayoung returned at this very moment, preventing you from making a bigger fool out of yourself. "Ready to go chickpea?"
You heard a snort from the man in front of you. "Chickpea?"
"Yup all ready to go!" you declared, grabbing Nayoung's arm. "Goodbye!"
Nayoung stumbled behind you as you began to march purposefully towards the checkout counter, calling out a 'goodbye' over her shoulder.
You heard Namjoon's laugh from behind you as he responded with a farewell of his own.
"What was all that about? Your face is as red as a tomato," Nayoung commented.
You groaned, "Nothing. Just clear your schedule for the 13th. There's no way I'm going to that party alone."
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Hello lovelies!
With school starting soon I know I'll start to get really busy, so I'm trying to write and upload more frequently now so we can move along and get to one of the first main plot points. So stay tuned for more chapters!
I don't have a question this time, since I just uploaded the previous chapter this morning.
I hope you all had a great day!
XOXO