Nora & the Boys | BTS AU | OT7

Chapter 12

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"So...what now?"

Namjoon exchanged a look with Nora, before turning to face Taehyung.

The youngster was waiting for him to say something. But Namjoon's head was blank.

After Taehyung's thank you speech to the myth, he had somehow tumbled down the memory lane, remembering the teenager Taehyung.

He had been a cute, somewhat grubby boy, sitting in one corner of their old dorm room.

When they weren't as famous, Namjoon and Taehyung used to hangout often, slipping past their managers to buy icecream and enjoy the summers together. So many years had passed by, but those little moments, cheerful smiles and booming laughter, still remained in Namjoon's heart.

They had been young back then...too young maybe.

The difficulties they had faced were countless. They had crossed one mountain after the other, tasting a brief victory, before another mountain rose up before them. Sometimes, tears were shed, frustration running high among members and ending in muted cries in the shower.

Taehyung wasn't one to cry easily, or express his inner-most thoughts to some stranger so quickly.

He had taken weeks to become comfortable with the other members of BTS.

It wasn't that he was unfriendly or didn't speak to the others, when their group was formed. It was more like, there was an invisible line between Taehyung and them, the remaining six members of BTS. He was outgoing, social and talkative, but no one knew anything personal about Taehyung.

Namjoon remembered that time well. They didn't know how to communicate with each other, in a first few months after joining BigHit. Jimin was the only person to whom Taehyung used to talk to, and was good friends with.

It took another month or two, for Taehyung to open up to Namjoon.

At first, Namjoon has thought that it was due to the fact of him being the leader of BTS. But the reason was quite opposite. Taehyung took his time, when it came to trusting others. Later on, while on tour, Namjoon would find out, that Taehyung's mentality at that time, was to keep his feelings to himself.

And only after that realization, the others had talked him out of it.

It was a time, where everybody was in a bad place and needed some words of comfort, even someone like Taehyung, who always had a smile on his face.

It was then that Namjoon had understood, why Taehyung never discussed his feelings. The youngster had believed that even without voicing his concerns, the others would understand, and they would move on from this obstacle. But that's where he was wrong.

Unless, he talked about his feelings, the other person would not know. If Taehyung didn't communicate his thoughts with the other six members, there was no way of bridging that gap between them.

Once Taehyung understood this, it became easier...a lot easier.

Things between Namjoon and Taehyung became comfortable. And the fact that they became roommates, sharing their old dorm room, made it easier for Taehyung to open his heart to Namjoon.

And the same could be said about the young BTS leader.

The others felt the need to address Namjoon as their leader first, and friend later. But that wasn't the case with Taehyung. The youngster saw him as an equal, and as a friend, before being a leader, and that made Namjoon feel his age. It made him seek comfort in Taehyung's presence.

It had taken some time for Taehyung's friendship the members, to bloom into what it was today.

However, he had opened up to Nora, an unfamiliar person in their midst.