Monday
Yoongi had already left this morning. I tried to persuade him to let me cook him breakfast but he was adamant he couldn't be late for whatever it was he rushed off to do.
I'd checked my phone to see a message from the newly crowned ice prince himself.
JK: Meet me out the front of campus studios at 10 am.
I didn't have class until after lunch but, part of me wanted to text back something along the lines of 'screw off' with a smiley face emoji for dramatic effect. But, the only reason he was asking to meet was because of that assignment we had. I would prefer to get it done sooner than later.
I reluctantly got up and went to shower. He really could have just asked nicely… I didn't get why he was being so mean these days. Maybe it was just hormones like Jimin and Tae had theorised. Maybe I'd try and get a bit more out of him today. But, at the same time, I didn't want to rock the boat. Too much had happened lately and I didn't want to stress myself or anyone else out further.
I stopped at a cafe along the way and got two freshly squeezed orange juices. It wasn't my usual but this fresh sunny weather was giving me fruity tingle vibes. The campus has always been lush but this time of year it was undeniably stunning, the way the wind rustles the leaves. Every breath I take as I stroll through the campus filled my senses with subtle garden aromas.
Jungkook was leaned up against the brick wall of the building, eyes searching the paths until he spotted me. Despite the slight biting of his lip, he appeared indifferent as I approached.
"The teacher said we could use a room to work on our assignment. Let's go" He turned on his heels abruptly before I even had the chance to say hello. I kept silent and followed behind him, I watched the back of his head look both ways as he read the numbers on the doors. Finally, he stopped at number 13 and used a key he had in hand to open it.
I followed him inside. The room looked identical to the one the rappers used. Jungkook sat down at the computer and turned it on so I set my backpack down on the couch then pulled up a seat beside him.
"Here, this is for you" I set the extra drink I had been holding on the desk. "Oh… Thanks…" he glanced down at it, seeming caught off guard.
I gave a tiny nod, sipping at my juice quietly. Jungkook opened up the production software on the computer before taking a sip too.
"So… How are we going to do this?" He asked, swivelling around to face me but leaning into the side of his chair and staring off into the distance. I could tell he felt awkward.
"If you want, I already have a song I've been working on. We could just finish that and submit it. Would save us time." I suggested. I'd been thinking about it since we got assigned the project but hadn't had a chance to tell him until now.
"That could work. Do you have it here?" Jungkook nodded along, supposedly open to the idea.
"Yeah. It's on my laptop." I moved to grab it from my bag and unfolded it up on the desk in front of us. Jungkook sat quietly as I opened up the lyric file along with a beat that I'd been fiddling around with arrangements on.
"I began writing it as a group song but it could be rearranged" I pressed play on the beat with the lyrics pulled up. Jungkook recited them out aloud against the beat a few times to try and get a feel for it. His voice sounded so nice on it.
"You wrote all this yourself?" He turned to look at me after getting about halfway through.
"Uh. Yeah," I answered, unsure if he was liking it or not. "Okay. It's good. Let's work on it a bit more and submit it for our assignment" he finally said.
I gave a tiny smile, it was only for a second but he returned it. The rest of our morning was spent putting together what would be our class project. There were moments I felt like nothing had changed between us. But, he still held his distance. I tried my best to ignore it but there was no denying things weren't the same. I chose not to bring up anything about why he was acting cold, I didn't want to ruin our collaboration. It could always wait for another time.
I sat by myself on a campus bench and ate a salad for lunch. I got a text from Joon asking if I could work the bar tonight so I accepted. After that, it was off to language class.
As I strolled in I saw Tae and Jimin settled in the spot we'd sat in our last class. But, they weren't alone. A blonde and a brunette girl, the ones I vaguely recalled from last week were seated beside them too.
I could see the boys looked uncomfortable as I got closer. The giggles and cute hair flips were a dead giveaway that they were flirting with my besties. Tae went wide-eyed as he saw me slide into the aisle towards them.
"Ahh excuse me, you're in my seat" I tapped the brunette on the shoulder. She tilted her head back to glare at me. "Oh. There aren't exactly reserved seats so, I'm sure you can find another" She whirled back around to talk to Jimin but he wasn't paying attention to her. Instead, he looked up at me, offering me a cheeky smile.
Fuck this. I nudged past the girl and plopped right down into Jimins lap then turned and stared at her.
"Do I need to make myself any clearer? Get lost, he's taken." I felt Jimin burst into a little chuckle before wrapping his arms around me and poking his head over my shoulder.
"Sorry, you should probably find somewhere else to sit. This one doesn't play nice with others" He started bouncing me on his knee as though appeasing a child. The girl scoffed before getting up and storming off with her friend. I glared her down the entire time. Tae was awestruck, it was only after the fact that he cracked into laughter.
"What did I just witness" he sighed as he settled down. I slipped back into my seat between them and started taking my stuff out of my bag.
"You could've just stayed on my lap" Jimin mused. "Shh. You're trying to make me suffer today, Huh?" I snorted. "I've never seen you that jealous before. I like it. I might have to start flirting with other girls on purpose" Jimin giggled, casually tumbling into my shoulder as he did.
"It's funny. Everyone thinks Jimin is an angel. If only they knew how wrong they were" Tae smiled. I agreed, it couldn't be further from the truth.
The class passed by, I planned to meet up with Jimin and Tae later tonight at the club. After leaving them I went back to my new place. As I wandered in and up the stairs, I heard some commotion coming from the basement where the stage and main area of the club was. It was presumably some staff setting up for the night. But first I needed to have a bite to eat and change into something more fitting.
An Onigiri from the fridge would do just fine. I grabbed it and went to my room to look through my wardrobe. What would be an appropriate fit for bartending? I thought back to Kiah, one of the friendly bar staff from the host club I used to work at. She'd always chat with me over a few shots while I waited between clients. I mostly recall her wearing a tight black tank top and tight black jeans or leggings.
I had that in my Arsenal so I pulled it out and geared up. I tied my hair back in a tight ponytail. Bit of makeup, I'll admit this wasn't a style I'd tried but as I checked myself out in the mirror it looked pretty nice.
I slid my phone in the back pocket of my jeans and took off downstairs to try and find Joon. He'd asked me to work at the bar but hadn't specified which one. I passed by one of the securities who was standing by the stairs down to the basement. I quickly asked if he knew where to find Namjoon and he directed me to an office that was in a backroom behind the stage.
It was my first time getting a decent look at this part of the club. Just as Grey had instructed the room was in the complete opposite direction of the back door so instead of turning right, which wouldn't lead me to the back door, I turned left.
As I got closer I heard the faint muffle of voices from behind the door. I wasn't an eavesdropper or anything but… At the same time, I didn't want to interrupt anything right?
I leaned in, I knew I probably should've but.. my curiosity had always been too big to keep at bay.
"If we can move this shipment it'll change everything." It sounded like Jin. I listened carefully.
"I know but, it's a big amount. We need to figure out how, otherwise, it could ruin us." The next voice was Joon.
What the hell were they discussing?
"Just leave it to Jimin and Tae. Give them a chance to work their magic. If we can get a few other clubs on board then we go all in." It sounded like Jin was trying to persuade Joon to go along with something. There was a tiny silence, I hastily knocked on the door in case they were about to come out.
"Come in" I heard Joons deep voice call from behind the door. I thrust it open and stuck my head inside.
"Hey, just wanted to check which bar you want me at tonight?" I beamed.
"Oh, you look nice. Um, the main bar. The one on this floor. Is that alright?" Joon asked, seeming thrown by my sudden entrance.
"Yep. Got it! I'll get to work, see you later" I gave a small bow before shutting the door behind me.
I went and began checking all the glasses and making sure the fridges were stocked. Soon enough the doors opened for the night and the floor filled up with people. Altogether it was a slow-paced night seeing as it was a Monday which was fine by me. It gave me a chance to ease into my new position. I was having fun, bopping along to tunes as I poured drinks. Not to mention the fact that I didn't have to drink excessively like I usually would. It was an enjoyable change.
Jimin and Tae stopped by for a little while and had a few drinks and a chat at the bar with me. They didn't stay long but it was still nice to see them. The evening came to an end. Small crowds of rowdy drunks started to leave for the night so I tidied up and put everything away.
A few staff were still busy cleaning the floor. I was about to head back upstairs when I saw Hoseok headed my way.
"How was your first night behind the bar?" He asked, a grin plastered across his face.
"A lot of fun! I didn't see you earlier, were you here?" I pulled him into a one-armed hug. "I was here and there, running some errands" Hoseok wrapped his arms around my waist briefly.
"Oh, I see. So you're finished for tonight? Must be tired" I took a step back, he did look like he'd had a long day.
"Yeah, time to get some rest. You ready to head up?" He asked.
"You're coming too?" I gave him a quizzical look. "Huh? Yeah, it's my turn to watch over you tonight. Didn't Joon tell you?" He appeared confused as he scratched at the back of his head.
"He didn't mention anything. I just assumed I'd be all by myself so… " I gave a sheepish chuckle.
"Oh... If you don't wa-" I quickly cut him off.
"No! I want you to stay with me. Please… Honestly, after so much has happened I don't want to be alone…" I said hastily.
Was I being too forward?
"C'mon then, let's get outta here" Hoseok tightened an arm around my shoulder and we headed upstairs together.
We both took turns showering and getting ready for bed. Turns out I hadn't noticed the black gym bag he'd left in the corner of the living room. He'd dropped it off earlier in the afternoon so he could stay over. I'd gathered Joon was preoccupied with other things at the moment, from the conversation I'd overheard earlier. It could be why he'd forgotten to mention Hobi was staying with me tonight.
I lay on my bed, reading over some lyrics as I waited for Hobi. The door creaked as he opened the door and came in. The white singlet and sports shorts he wore were a little baggy but hung off his body flawlessly.
"Ahhh. Finally, bed" he groaned in satisfaction as he jumped up on the bed and tugged the sheets back.
"Mm. Hey, can I ask you something?" I put the papers on the desk and got under the sheets with him. Hoseok shifted his pillow before resting his head and turning on his side to face me.
"Yeah, sure. What's up?" He asked, voice softening as he did. I stared at him for a moment, I wasn't sure if he'd answer my question or not but, I still wanted to ask. I let out a sigh.
"I know you guys are doing illicit stuff. You're not that good at hiding it… But, no one elaborated on what exactly is going on… I think… Seeing as I'm somehow caught up in it that I need to know more about the situation." I watched as Hoseok listened carefully to what I had to say. His expression was blank for a moment, maybe I shouldn't have bothered asking…
"I get where you're coming from. Before you were involved we kept a lot of things from you, mostly to protect you. But, you're right. Things have changed." There was a light rasp to Hoseoks voice as he spoke, it pulled me in.
"From the beginning, the odds were against us. I'm not sure if you know this but our agency doesn't have a lot of money. Even now, it's on the verge of bankruptcy. Our CEO has some connections, ones that we decided we could use to try and turn our money struggles around." He paused for a moment.
"Is this where the drugs come in?" I questioned. He gave a neat nod and went on.
"Yeah. Looking back, it all just escalated so quickly from there. Jin Hyung took on most of the responsibility even though Joon is in charge. Because of those two, we all are a bit better off. Joon gives the orders and I help him organise stuff" Hoseok slowly stretches out and places his hand over my wrist, caressing light circles across my skin.
"So where does that leave Jimin and Tae? Jungkook?" Now that Pandora's box had been opened I wanted to know more.
"Those two, hah, I'll admit their charisma comes in handy. It's usually those two who negotiate when we have a new buyer" He gave a cute snort of a laugh. The tiny smile lingering.
"I really can't imagine those two bartering drug prices, wait, actually maybe I can" I chuckled lightly. I don't know why it seemed so amusing. Maybe it was the thought of them bickering with hardened criminals.
"Jungkook on the other hand, I think it's better he tells you himself how he's involved. I just don't think it's my place. Sorry, I probably shouldn't say anymore" Hoseok let out a slight sigh before wrapping an arm around my head and heaving me into his chest.
"It's okay, thanks for sharing what you could. I appreciate it" I mumbled into the thin fabric of his shirt.
"Yeah. Anyways, let's get some rest. You need your beauty sleep baby" Hoseok softly kissed the top of my head.
I draped my arm around his side and fiddled with his shirt, it was soft and cozy and it was putting me to sleep.