The Baggage You Carry • Jung Hoseok

Part 31 • Y/n

Monday, September 21
Hannam-dong, Seoul
4:12pm
Y/n

You walked through the door of your apartment and rubbed your face as you kicked off your shoes. You didn't know what it was about today, but you were just absolutely drained and you had a weird feeling in your chest that you couldn't pinpoint why it was there in the first place, so you tried to brush it off.

You had no idea why today was so draining for you - you woke up feeling incredibly refreshed after your date with Hoseok yesterday, and the kids were pretty well-behaved today so there wasn't anything that you could think of that was setting you off.

Regardless, you made your way into your kitchen and decided to start working on dinner.

You were in the process of cutting vegetables when your phone started ringing. Honestly, you did not feel like answering the call so you let it go to voicemail while you stirred the meat that was cooking on the stove. If it was important, the caller would leave a voicemail.

You assumed that was the end of it until your phone started ringing again, and this time you actually bothered to peak at who was calling and instantly, you felt like you had a shot of caffeine injected into your veins.

Hoseok's contact picture was on your screen with his name across the top, showing he was calling you. You smiled when you saw the picture of you kissing his cheek, and decided that Hoseok was important enough to answer your phone for.

"Hey baby." You said in greeting while you rested your phone on your shoulder as you continued to cut up some carrots.

"Hey gorgeous. You home?" You heard Hoseok's smooth voice come through the receiver and you sighed, feeling most of the exhaustion in your body slowly seep away.

"Yeah, just making dinner right now. Want to join me?" You asked and you prayed that the answer would be yes. You were feeling like maybe tonight would be the night that you said 'I love you' to him for the first time.

"Ah, that sounds amazing. I'd love to join you. I'll bring the wine." He said and you smiled at him as you added some onions into the pot. "Oh, I also have something I want to give you." Hoseok said and you were confused.

"You didn't have to get me anything though?" You said with the confusion thick on your voice, and Hoseok just chuckled.

"Trust me, it's not any bother. Anyways, I'll see you in about 20 minutes, yeah?" He said and you muttered a quiet 'okay' to him as you hung up the phone. Hoseok seemingly was always able to brighten your mood.

You continued to cook and clean your kitchen as you went when before long, you heard a gentle knock on your door. You grabbed a dishcloth and wiped your hands of the soapy water used to wash the dishes before opening the door.

Hoseok stood there, looking as beautiful as ever. In his hands, he held a bottle of red wine, pink roses, and a gift bag.

"Hey you," He smiled as he leaned down to kiss your cheek in greeting before you let him in your apartment. He took a deep breath and sighed. "It smells really good." He handed you the wine and roses and you kissed his lips in subtle appreciation.

"Thanks baby!" You smiled as you grabbed a vase. "You can sit down, food's almost ready." You told Hoseok, but he followed you into the kitchen.

"Don't you want to see what I brought you?" He asked and you stopped. You had to admit, you were incredibly curious what he could've possibly gotten for you, but you didn't want to seem too eager.

"I mean, I suppose." You said as he passed you the gift bag. You gave him an inquisitive stare as he chuckled and watched you.

"Just open it, beautiful." He said and you nodded before opening the strings.

You took the contents out of the gift bag and almost dropped it in complete shock. "How did you get this?" You asked as you stared at your bag. Like, the bag you lost - 6 months ago.

"I think that bag that you took from the train station in March was actually mine." Hoseok muttered, and you stared at the bag in your hands in mild panic.

Oh god, out of everyone in the fucking city of Seoul, you had to steal Hoseok's bag.

And suddenly, your heart plummeted to the ground. Oh gosh, he was going to absolutely despise you. Hell, even you hate yourself for this mistake. How could you have been so stupid?

You gulped and started mentally preparing yourself for the inevitable breakup - there was no way that he would want to stay with someone so daft and careless after he found out that you stole his bag all those months ago?

Hoseok laughed, and you were pulled out of your mess of a mind to see Hoseok staring affectionately at you. "Why do you look so scared?" He asked you and it didn't help the panic in your chest.

"Aren't you, I mean... don't you hate me?" You asked in disbelief and Hoseok smiled.

"I mean, at first I was pretty pissed, I have to tell you." He said as he made his way over to you. "But, I feel happy now." He muttered and you were standing absolutely still.

"Why?" You asked and Hoseok was now in front of you, gazing into your eyes and you felt insanely intimidated.

"Because I can't help but feel like it was fate." He said. "Besides, how can I hate the girl I'm in love with?"

Your mouth dropped. Like, sure you had heard from Jimin three months ago that Hoseok loved you but Hoseok had never told you that himself. This was the first time.

"You love me?" You asked and your mouth was dry and you were certain you looked ridiculous with how wide your eyes were and how frequently your mouth kept dropping open.

"Of course I love you." Hoseok whispered as he leaned in towards you.

"Why?" You asked quietly, and you anticipated the feel of his lips but it didn't come yet.

"Because, you make me laugh." He said as he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I met you." He kissed the left side of your cheek. "You've made me the happiest I've been in a really, really long time." He pressed a kiss to your right cheek. "Because you're the only person I know in all of Seoul who would accidentally steal my bag." He kissed your nose and giggled, while you blushed in mortification. "Because, you're you. You're my Y/n." He said and he finally kissed your lips.

You accepted the kiss with such fervor that you dropped the bag but you didn't give a shit. You felt like your heart was going to burst and you pulled away suddenly.

"I love you too. Like, so much that I feel like I am gonna burst sometimes, but that's normal, right?" You asked and Hoseok was smiling at you with the softest expression on his face. It made you feel warm and right at home.

"I think so, because that's how I feel with you." He said before reconnecting your lips.

You kissed a little longer before you both pulled away and took some deep breaths, before you broke out into a fit of giggles. Hoseok chuckled at you.

"What?" He asked as he pushed a piece of hair behind your ear.

"We're so gross." You laughed out and Hoseok laughed with you.

"We are. We're grossly in love." He added and you cringed at the comment but then you remembered the food that was cooking on the stove. You turned around to go get it but Hoseok grabbed your arm and pulled you into him one last time. "If it's any consolation," He muttered while looking at your lips. "I'm really happy you were the one who took my bag."

He kissed you again, and you couldn't help but smile after you separated.

Packing up and moving to a different country was one of the hardest things you've ever done but when you looked at Hoseok, and your friends, you knew this was exactly where you needed to be.

Everything was going to be just fine.