The Baggage You Carry • Jung Hoseok

Part 19 • Y/n

Friday, April 10
Gongdeok-dong, Seoul
8:43pm
Y/n

You were standing outside after the showcase, completely buzzing with excitement. If you weren't pretty much in love with Hoseok before his performance, you were sure as hell in love with him now.

To say he was completely mesmerizing on stage was an incredible understatement because he had left you completely breathless.

His movements were so fluid and you weren't able to stop staring at how happy he looked while performing. You felt like you had witnessed a miracle of God by watching him dance.

Yoongi walked over to you and smiled at you. "Did you like the showcase?" He asked and you felt happy that some of the other guys felt more comfortable coming up to talk to you.

"It was amazing! Hoseok is an incredible dancer." You said excitedly and Yoongi smirked at you, which made you confused.

"And, what did you think about Jimin?" He asked and your eyes went wide. If you were completely honest, you were so focused on Hoseok, you had totally forgotten that Jimin was performing.... right beside Hoseok.

"I, uh..." You were stuck. How could you tell one of Hoseok and Jimin's best friends that you didn't pay attention to one of the performers because you thought you would die if you missed even one second of Hoseok performing?

"It's okay. I get it, don't worry." He said and you instantly went into panic mode. Like, you didn't think you were that obvious, so how did he know? (You were bullshitting yourself and you knew it. You were so obvious that you'd be concerned if people didn't realize you were in love with Hoseok at this point).

"You do?" Despite that you were so painfully obvious about your little crush, you didn't want to admit it yet - especially to a new group of friends, so you had to tread lightly.

"Yeah. Hoseok is on another level when he dances. It's hard to look away." Yoongi said and you released a breath. Okay, so as far as you knew, your secret was still safe.

You continued to make casual conversation and soon Taehyung and Jungkook joined you and Yoongi and for the first time, you felt comfortable talking to the other guys, and not just clinging to Namjoon and Lucy the entire time. It was refreshing to know that maybe, just maybe these guys actually saw you as a friend, and not a charity case.

It was nice to feel included.

Jungkook and Taehyung were currently talking to you about your life back in Canada when the doors opened and your breath caught in your throat.

Hoseok walked through the front doors of the building and to say he looked radiant was an understatement.

His face was slightly flushed and glistening with a thin layer of sweat (made sense considering how much effort he put into his performance) with a massive smile on his face.

The only thing you wanted to do in that moment was run into his arms and kiss him like there was no tomorrow.

Unfortunately, you didn't think that was a socially appropriate greeting at this time, so you held back.

Hoseok acknowledged the group, and everyone took turns giving him and Jimin hugs and congratulating them on a wicked performance. You didn't know if it was alright if you hugged him too, but then you saw Lucy hug Jimin and then Hoseok and you figured it would be okay for you to do the same.

Hoseok caught your eye and smiled brightly at you, and you returned the smile as you walked over to him, fully intent on smothering him with a massive hug.

That is, until Jimin stepped in front of you with his arms wide open, looking at you expectantly.

You gave him a tight lipped smile and even though you may not be particularly fond of the guy (for no reason whatsoever), you didn't want to make it awkward by denying him. So you put your arms out and he came up and hugged you with a massive smile on his face.

Lucy - who knew about your random dislike of the pink-haired dancer, must've seen the look on your face because she broke out into a small fit of giggles and you couldn't help but glare at her.

Jimin pulled away from you and his smile didn't falter. "Did you like the performance?" He asked you in English, and although you didn't like him, his attempt to make you comfortable made you smile a bit.

"Yeah, it was good." You replied and you glanced over his shoulder and saw Hoseok glancing at the two of you. His smile wasn't as bright as it was before, and it made you feel guilty for whatever reason.

When Hoseok noticed you looking at him, his smile turned bright again and that's when you decided that you needed to hug this man. And now.

You politely ended the conversation with Jimin and walked over to Hoseok. He watched you intently and your heart was pounding. When you got in front of him, he stared at you and his smile turned slightly shy.

"Hi." He whispered to you, and you were shocked you didn't die on the spot. It was hard for you to believe that this boy had no idea the effect he had over you.

"Hi," you responded and even though Hoseok had completely disarmed you, you remembered the Korean you had so desperately learned, specifically for him. "Jal haess-eo chughahae."

You cringed, like physically cringed at your pronunciation and wanted to shrink away from the embarrassment. God, why could you not learn Korean to save your life? Now Hoseok will never fall in love with you because you couldn't even tell him congratulations in his first language.

Your thoughts were cut short however when you heard the sweetest giggle you've ever heard coming from Hoseok. So great, not only was he absolutely gorgeous and the most mesmerizing dancer you've ever seen (not that you had much experience with dancers or dancing for the matter), but he had to have a laugh that made your heart feel like it was about to burst.

Awesome.

"Gamsahabnida." Hoseok responded before sticking his arms out as an invitation for you to hug him. You couldn't accept the invitation fast enough and you put your arms around his neck and he wrapped his around your waist.

This day would forever be etched into your mind as the day you first hugged your future husband.

He smelled nice, like home and you found yourself slowly becoming obsessed with how his arms made you feel. You never wanted to let go and that would be a problem considering, you know, he wasn't yours to hold.

You begrudgingly pulled away from him and you had no doubt that your cheeks were flushed but you felt slightly elated to see that his cheeks were tinted red as well.

"Well, I'm starved. Should we all find some food?" Jimin asked and got the attention of everyone in your group and effectively ruined the moment (could it even be considered a moment if it was one sided?) between you and Hoseok.