The Baggage You Carry • Jung Hoseok

Part 24 • Hoseok

Tuesday, June 16
6:34am
Hannam-dong, Seoul
Hoseok

Hoseok woke up in the morning and almost thought he had dreamed the previous evening.

From fighting with Jimin to asking Y/n on a date, none of it really felt real. He almost couldn't believe that a person as wonderful as Y/n said yes to a date with him. Yesterday had seemed like a fever dream and he was feeling really iffy about the whole thing.

For one, he was obviously ecstatic that Y/n had agreed to go on a date with him. It was (embarrassingly) something he had fantasized about pretty much since he had met her and it was hard to believe that it was actually going to happen, and in the near future too.

But on the other hand, he was conflicted about Jimin.

Hoseok knew that Jimin didn't have a malicious bone in his body and would never intentionally hurt someone, especially one of his friends. But that didn't mean that Jimin didn't cross some massive lines by telling Y/n about Hoseok's true feelings - even though it resulted in a date with the woman of his dreams.

He knew he would have to talk to Jimin about it eventually, but he wasn't sure when he would be ready to. After all, he still felt incredibly hurt and betrayed and had to process his emotions before he would be able to speak about them in a calm, mature manner.

Hoseok kicked off his blanket and decided that if there was a morning to shower, it would be this one.

He and Y/n had agreed that before rushing into an actual date, they'd have a little pre-date first.

The reasoning behind this was simple - Y/n and Hoseok had never actually hung out... just the two of them and going on a legitimate date can create a lot of pressure.

Therefore, having a pre-date coffee "date" would be a way for them to talk, and hang out with none of the stress and anxiety that came with going on an actual date.

Not to mention, this would remove any potential awkwardness that would come from their friends finding out about the date and the inevitable teasing.

The teasing would be much more tolerable after Hoseok had a chance to be with Y/n, one-on-one.

Hoseok finished showering and quickly styled his hair by pushing his bangs out of his eyes and exposing his forehead. Honestly, if he wasn't about to be seeing Y/n, he would've just thrown a beanie on and been done with it. However, he wanted to impress Y/n - even though this wasn't technically a date.

He walked back to his room and threw on clothes that were good enough to let the woman of his dreams see him in, and grabbed a change of clothes for work and headed out into the living room of the apartment.

Namjoon was in the kitchen, brewing coffee and Yoongi was working at the cafe that morning. Namjoon heard the floorboards freak and turned his head to see Hoseok stepping into the kitchen, looking rather chipper.

"Hey Hobi, how are you?" Namjoon asked carefully. It had been less than 12 hours since Hoseok and Jimin had their spat in the living room and Hoseok was acting like nothing even happened. Hell, he even did his hair and was wearing some nice fitting jeans....before going to teach at a dance studio.

"I'm good! How are you?" Hoseok responded and it didn't help in aiding Namjoon's confusion. Obviously, Hoseok asking out Y/n went well or at least, that was the only thing that made sense to him, but he couldn't be sure. After all, he went to bed pretty shortly after Hoseok had left.

"Not bad." Namjoon responded as he reached into the fridge to grab milk for his coffee. He poured both the coffee and the milk in a travel mug and glanced at Hoseok as he stirred the beverage. "How did last night with Y/n go?"

As soon as Namjoon mentioned it, Hoseok flushed and Namjoon smiled subtly. It was nice seeing his friend so happy.

"It went well." Hoseok said, obviously trying to not make it a big deal. However, the blush on his cheeks gave him away.

"Are you seeing her today?" Namjoon asked and Hoseok's head turned quickly in Namjoon's direction and Namjoon smirked as he put the spoon in the sink. "You're wearing actual clothes, Hope. Not just sweats. You have work today, so that's unheard of." Namjoon answered Hoseok's unasked question.

"We're going for coffee this morning." Hoseok mumbled as he put his change of clothes in his bag and Namjoon choked.

"You're taking Y/n - the girl you have quite literally been in love with for months, on a coffee date as your first date? On a Tuesday morning before work? That's like, a 6 month thing." Namjoon pointed out and he saw Hoseok's ears twinge red.

"No! It's a pre-date date." Hoseok answered as if it was the most clear thing in the world but Namjoon was still confused.

"What the heck is a pre-date date?"

Hoseok cleared his throat. "Y/n and I haven't actually hung out - just the two of us yet. We thought this would be a good way to get to know each other without the pressure." Hoseok quietly explained, worried now that it was a dumb idea and Namjoon was going to judge him severely for it.

Luckily, he had two solid roommates who would never judge him. So Hoseok felt the weight on his chest lift immediately when he saw Namjoon smile and say, "that's an awesome idea, Hobi."

Hoseok returned Namjoon's smile, and quickly thanked him before looking at the time. He was supposed to be meeting Y/n at 7 and it was about 5 to seven right now. Luckily, Perfect Blend was just down the street from his apartment so he should be there in no time.

Once he grabbed his bag, wallet, and shoes, bid Namjoon farewell, and started running down the stairs of his apartment building.

He couldn't keep the girl of his dreams waiting for him too long.