Book 3: 24/seven | A Jung Hoseok BTS Fan Fiction

End Game

It was nice and all that everyone was getting excited at the prospect of Hobi going out on a date, but the fact of the matter is, he was not sure he was ready to. His main preoccupation had been to ensure that they were at top performance level. Between being the dance captain, managing the dorm, and contributing to the songwriting, he already had little time to even consider his personal interests. He had been so driven, so one-track-minded that he had never even considered taking his blinders off. Yet here he stood with fate throwing a wrench and making him consider something that did not fit well in his course. Hobi was all in when he commits. Whether it was with his career goals or in relationships, he is fully onboard 24/7. He was never comfortable with compromises nor the art of the balancing act. That is just how he was.

When he held Aiko's hands, it was a moment he was sure what he wanted. He wanted to see what it would be like to go down that path she had written. It certainly was a relatable scenario he would not mind being a part of, but he certainly related to Hopi's dilemma. The two options were parallel, and he could not see the lanes merge.

"Why not?" The members cried in unison. They were looking at him like he had grown a horn on his forehead.

"Because I want to give my all either way. I will want to be there for her, and with our schedule and touring, I will not be there for her."

RM shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Jeongguk also looked down and looked thoughtful. Quick to notice, Hobi qualified his answer and said, "I thought about it and I realized I'm not going to be a good boyfriend. I'm not good at it the way you both are managing your relationships."

"Hoseok-ah, you're thinking about this too hard." It came from Yoongi who was on the other end of the sofa. "Your brain doesn't decide how your heart feels but think of it this way. If your brain didn't want to encourage all this, then why did it release dopamine and norepinephrine in recognition of you being attracted to this girl?" Everyone looked at him quizzically.

"Suga-hyung," Taehyung smiled broadly, "Are you preaching about love?"

Yoongi looked attacked. He looked around at everyone's faces and said, "Yaa..I know how to love. I have a heart, you punks." They all started to giggle.

Hobi's distant look made Namjun realize that there was more to the issue. "Why are you coming up with reasons even before going on your first date?" he prodded.

Hobi sighed and leaned back. "The last girlfriend I had left me for another guy. I told myself that the next time I had a girlfriend, I'm going to make sure she doesn't look at anyone else. How am I going to do that if we are busy? It won't be fair to her, and it will eat at me."

"Hyungie, I don't think Aiko will look elsewhere," Jimin stated his case. "I mean she wrote a whole book about you and you didn't even keep up with her after that day."

"We don't know that." Hobi shook his head.

"Yaaa! We do know that! You are Hopi!" Jin's indignance made everyone jump. "You looked like Hopi back in the day! You have the same mannerisms! Your name rhymes! I'm telling you that book is a love letter! Maybe she didn't put it in your hands, but she put it out in the universe! Now that it made it into your hands, don't you think that's destiny? Aigoo! Do you want a wedding dress to fall out of the sky and land on your head to believe?"

"Ok calm down, about the wedding dress." Yoongi said raising his hands up to Jin, "We're just talking about dating right now."

"Hyung, should it matter if you are Hopi or not?" The question came from Taehyung with eyes so hard to disappoint. "Fate served you a second chance to live without regret, don't you want to see where it will go from here?"

"Just one date at a time," Namjun said quietly. Looking around, Hobi saw six nodding heads. "When did you say that you're meeting her again?"

"Sunday." Hobi smiled shyly.

"If it goes well, then ask her to spend time with you again. If it doesn't, then you know what to do from there. That's the end game. No regrets."

"...and this is the bible! I think we should stick to it!" Jimin said excitedly. He slammed H.O.P.E down on the middle of the coffee table with a thud. "If Aiko is Emiko, then we know what she likes and doesn't like!"

"Isn't that a little manipulative?" Hobi cringed.

"Hyung, you call it manipulation. Other people can call it heaven helping." Jeongguk grinned.

"I don't know, I mean, it's already an unfair disadvantage that I have read the book, isn't it?"

"You could also argue that it's fair since she's read up on you and everything about you is on social media." Jeongguk made a point and Yoongi nodded.

"He's right." Yoongi sighed, "It's a level playing field. There's just one factor undetermined. Is there chemistry between Aiko and Hobi regardless of what the book says."

"Ya.." Namjun called, "Are you going to tell her that you have read the book?"

"Well, I'm kind of hoping I don't have to. I mean, I don't even know if Hopi is me, right? So I shouldn't feel guilty, right?" Looking around him, Hobi hopes his logic stands.

"That's a good point." Namjun nodded.

"Then, hyungie," Jimin smiled mischievously, "It won't hurt to pick up some pointers from a book you're not supposed to know about, right?"

"Jimin-ah!" Hobi scratched his head, already getting irked by Jimin's pestering.

"I stop at makeup," Hobi said firmly. If he didn't have the rejuvenating mask Jimin insisted he should put on while he and Taehyung go through his clothes, the maknaes would see his frown. Jeongguk was sprawled on Hobi's bed capturing everything for Nira who was at the café. He was laughing fitfully at Hobi's response to his suggestion. But there was sensibility in the suggestions, he had to admit, he looked like hell when he woke up. He'd been thinking about Aiko all night and how the day will go. While he wants to think with practicality, his feelings were altogether conflicting and canceling every reason he had come up with.

Eventually, he let feelings win over his hesitation, at least for the night. It wouldn't hurt to enjoy one date, right? He had not gone out since before their debut. Aah, this is nerve-wracking, he thought.

There was a knock on the door and Hobi called for the person to come in. It was Yoongi. "Aish... a facial mask, really?" he cringed. Hobi rolled his eyes and pointed at Jimin and Taeehyung. Yoongi sat on Jimin's bed as he watched the big fuss.

"Why are you out of the studio?" Hobi asked. Suga shrugged and plopped himself on Jimin's pillows.

"You should compliment her shoes." Yoongi blurted. They all turned, unsure about what they heard.

"I'm sorry, what did you say, hyung?"

"I said," Yoongi repeated with a yawn. "You should compliment her shoes. I watched a movie where it was said that girls like that." He curled up and went to sleep. The rest of the boys exchanged looks and shrugged.

"Okay." Hobi nodded. "Shoes." There was another knock on the door. This time it was Jin.

He took one look at Hobi and said, "Aish. Facial mask." He said, "Jimin-ah, really!"

"Omo..how come everyone automatically knows it's me. We all put these on!" Jimin cried incredulously. "Trust me, he needed it. His face is puffy."

"What. What? My face is ...how puffy?" Hobi got flustered. If this was the last time they were meeting, he didn't want to be remembered with a puffy face.

Jin sat beside Hobi and put his hand on his shoulder. "Hope-ah..." he started, "I just want you to know that hyung is very happy. We, the whole team, are incredibly happy that you are going on this date. You're always making sure everyone is happy, but you never think about yourself. Hyung wants you to stop worrying. If it doesn't work out, we're all still here for you."

It got really quiet in the room. Jin was always counted on for a lot of laughs, but when he seriously spoke from the heart, he also had the right words to capture everyone's sentiment.