Anna had spent some time trying to think of things she could do for her soulmates. After she found out about the ridiculous amount of money they had given her, they had discussed it. The boys had insisted that to them it was only a small amount of money. Jungkook had mentioned how she had left most of her belongings behind. She argued that she wasn't paying any rent, or for anything, at the moment. Also, she had always lived frugally so she had an adequate amount in her savings.
Since it was one against seven, Anna eventually gave in and instead decided that she would just have to pay them back in a different way. However, she soon realised that this wouldn't be an easy task. First, she thought she could do all the house chores. As her soulmates worked long hours, they must not have the time or the energy to keep up with the cleaning. Alas, Anna hadn't considered that they already had a solution for this in place, as she discovered they had a cleaner who came once a week.
Her next idea was cooking. Home-cooked meals seemed to be a rarity for the boys and Anna considered herself a semi-decent cook. She just needed to ask Jin or Yoongi if they had any recipes she could follow, as she hadn't cooked many Korean dishes before. In the meantime, she hoped they would like the dishes she was used to. Wait, don't they have special diet plans?
-
It was Wednesday and Anna was not so patiently waiting for Namjoon to come home so that they could go on their bike ride, just the two of them. That morning Anna had been to her third Korean lesson. Tom had scheduled her to come in every weekday morning for the next two weeks. After that Anna wasn't sure what her schedule would be, as BTS had their last concerts in Japan as well as Jungkook's birthday. When she got back Anna had changed into her cycling clothes so that she would be ready whenever Namjoon finished work.
Although she knew she should go over this morning's lesson, as she didn't know if she would have time later, instead she sprawled across her bed. Her head was still spinning with Korean. So, Anna did something that had become a rare occurrence since discovering BTS, she turned on some music that wasn't theirs.
Singing was a release for Anna. She often played music just so she could sing her heart out. As much as she loved BTS's songs, and of course, she tried her best to sing along to them, she still struggled with the Korean pronunciations. Although she had seen an improvement after she started learning Korean, frustratingly for Anna, it wasn't enough for her to be able to sing a whole song or even entire verses. Therefore, when it got to the point where she needed a good singing session, she had to turn to songs in English.
This was how Namjoon found her; lying on her bed, wearing sports clothes, passionately singing along to the loud music that was playing. She was so lost in the music that she didn't even notice him standing in her doorway. He smiled fondly at her. Although a small part of him felt like he was intruding by watching her, he also couldn't bear to leave. He felt happy, and also relieved, to see his new soulmate this way. As the leader Namjoon was often at work more than the others and he had been worrying whether Anna had been settling in okay. It was nice to see her relaxed enough to feel free to be herself in their home.
When a new song came on, he vaguely recognised it as an old Eminem song featuring Rihanna. However, Namjoon was shocked that when it got to the rap verse Anna joined in. Although her breathing needed work, she had a good sense of rhythm and feeling. It was a whole new side of Anna. When the song finished Namjoon couldn't help but clap and cheer, which startled Anna out of her singing trance.
"Whoa! Anna, that was awesome! You didn't say you could rap as well?"
"What? Oh, umm, I can't really, just that one song."
"You don't know any other raps?"
"No... before BTS I didn't really listen to rap."
By this time Anna was sitting cross-legged on the bed. Namjoon walked over and perched on the edge in front of her.
"What kind of music did you listen to?"
"Umm... well back then I used to say I listen to pretty much anything apart from rap, but honestly I listen to a lot of soundtracks. So, generally I don't listen to a lot of music by one artist. Other than that, I would say alternative rock pop? Imagine Dragons, Panic at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, stuff like that?"
"Wow. How did you end up liking our music then?"
"Good question... I guess you guys were too cute for me to resist."
Namjoon chuckled at her teasing.
"Okay. Are you ready to go?"
"Yep!"
Once Anna had grabbed her bag, she turned to see Namjoon holding his hand out to her. It was still strange for Anna that she had someone who wanted to hold her hand. Although she had gotten better with physical contact with her soulmates, sometimes she still found herself holding back from initiating it. If she allowed herself, Anna would probably spend every minute she could cuddle up to one of her soulmates. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel that they would end up finding her too clingy and annoying. As Namjoon's large warm hand enveloped Anna's, she wished that he would never let go.
As Anna expected they spent the afternoon cycling along the Han river. It was well known that Namjoon enjoyed riding along the river whenever he got the chance. It was peaceful. At some point, they stopped and just sat on the ground next to each other to admire the scenery.
"I feel kinda bad that I've been in Korea for just over a week now and this is the first time I've really been out and seen... anything."
"Didn't you go exploring the other day? You went shopping after your lesson."
"I wouldn't say I went exploring. It was a focused mission, purely to buy things I needed. I didn't look around the city or anything. Honestly, it was one of the scariest things I've ever done."
"Scarier than moving across the world?"
A small smile graced Anna's lips as she gazed out at the river.
"But I didn't move across the world alone. I had faith that my seven soulmates would look after me."
When her hand was engulfed in a larger one, Anna looked up at Namjoon. He had a serious expression on his face, and she was sure her heart skipped a heart as he regarded her so intently.
"We will. I will."
It was possible that Anna stopped breathing when Namjoon's other hand came up to caress her cheek.
"You can trust me to look after you. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy."
For a moment Anna wondered if she was dreaming. Those were the kind of words that appeared in fictional romances or dreams. She never ever thought that she would hear such words spoken directly to her.
Overwhelmed, Anna's vision blurred with tears which she rapidly blinked away. As a few escaped and rolled down her cheek, Namjoon's thumb was waiting to brush them away. During her loss of vision, he had leaned in closer and now Namjoon's face was just inches away from Anna's.
"Breathe."
Anna took a deep shuddering breath and Namjoon smiled gently at her. He's so handsome. While tended to use words such as pretty, stunning or gorgeous to describe the other members of BTS. She had always regarded Namjoon as the most handsome. While the others could look more boyish, especially with what she would always describe as their Bieber hairstyles, Namjoon was all man.
Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears as he moved even closer to her. She felt a flash of panic, or possibly excitement before Namjoon placed a kiss on her forehead. Then he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. Anna didn't know whether to be grateful or frustrated that her soulmates were so respectful of her. Either way, at that moment she decided to take full advantage of the embrace and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
The pair stayed like that for a while. Eventually, Namjoon stated that they should start heading back if they wanted to make it in time for dinner. Anna had never disliked a bike so much as at the moment, as it kept her at a distance from her soulmate. However, it wasn't long before they were back home, hands entwined as they walked through the door. Anna tugged on his hand to stop him in the entranceway.
"I had fun today."
Before she had time to think about it and chicken out, Anna stretched up and gave Namjoon a kiss on the cheek. As she pulled away, she looked down feeling her cheeks heat up at her boldness and she shyly whispered to him.
"Thank you."
Before he could react, they were interrupted.
"Perfect timing! You guys just made it back in time for dinner!"