radiant | jung hoseok | ✓

chapter thirteen | cold brew coffee

"I think you saw this coming, hyungie, but we need to talk."

Hoseok exhales quietly as he settles into the driver's seat. He focuses on Namjoon, who sits beside him in the passenger seat, with a flicker of reluctance in his eyes. Namjoon finishes buckling his seatbelt and casts Hoseok a half-pleading look as if he were wishing Hoseok would take his advice.

In the backseat of the car, Yoongi watches on in withheld silence with his fingers interlocked in front of him.

They sit in silence until Hoseok turns on the car. The car rumbles to life and the windshield wipers swish quickly across the rain-drenched window. Violent sheets of rain falls from the sky and berates the earth with its heavy slap of water.

The comfortable spring drizzle turned into a harsh storm halfway through their Sunday shift. Hoseok and Namjoon stayed late to finish cleaning, allowing the others to return home early. Seokjin somehow managed to convince the kids to race home together, bracing through the rain, allowing the one who returned later to use the car instead of having to take trips.

At the time, Hoseok paid no mind to the odd suggestion. He thought it was just Jin being Jin, but now that he is sitting in the car with Namjoon and Yoongi, he realizes this might have been set up by the others.

Hoseok feels stupid for not realizing it sooner. He should have guessed that they would want to speak to him privately about Finley. They didn't have a chance after she left because they had to rush to work; they waited until long after midnight to talk to him in close quarters without the eyes of the kids.

If anybody was going to talk to Hoseok about Finley, it would be Namjoon and Yoongi. Together they make the three musketeers of Bangtan, this is only because they have known each other for a longer period of time.

Hoseok holds his breath in anticipation, unsure how the others would react to his decision and how they would talk about it now. Deep down, he knows he should have talked to them first, but Hoseok wasn't sure Finley would ever say yes. If he had expected this, he would have talked to them first but this came out of the blue. He took a risk, and the results were better than he could have ever imagined. Now he feels guilty he didn't talk to the others, and the others are obviously affected by his choice to avoid asking them.

He didn't want to burden them, he didn't want them to worry about something that might not have happened. 

"I know," Hoseok finally exhales, keeping his hands off the steering wheel. "I should have talked to you guys first. I never expected for this to happen... that she would be so willing to..."

Yoongi's head turns slightly to cast him a look of deep concern. Shadows of rain drops fall across his smooth skin, almost as if he were crying. "Why didn't you?"

"I didn't think she would say yes," Hoseok explains. "I know I took a risk, but I didn't want it to slip away from me... I didn't want to wait any longer."

Namjoon's eyes remain stern. There is a deep maturity in his eyes that Hoseok finds himself in awe of. Hoseok knows most of the burdens Namjoon shoulders, but to gain such maturity and wisdom in a short amount of time required suffering through dark times. A dark time that none of the others understand; Namjoon never speaks of it but they know it happened.

"I don't want to doubt you, but did you think through this?" Namjoon questions. "Do you know what comes with having a girlfriend?"

Hoseok scratches his cheek before letting his hand drop into his lap. He nods slowly. "I do. I know what I must do, all the things I need to do."

"And... about our secret?"

Hoseok nods firmly, determination flashing in his eyes. "Of course. We have plenty of experience with friendships. I know how to build the proper boundaries. You don't need to worry, Namjoon."