Before you disappear

Chapter 47

Restless. That was the word to describe how he felt as he laid on the bed in his hotel room.

His bandmates had gone to the interview, leaving him by himself at the hotel. Sure there were bodyguards nearby, but the fact that he had no one close to talk to made him feel weary.

His eyes darted towards the clock for the gazillionth time.

Twenty more minutes and then the clock would hit 2 PM.

The time held more significance to him now that he knew that was the time her plane would land. IF she had boarded it of course. He wasn't sure if she had. She'd rejected the idea when they were together but who knew? Perhaps she had a change of heart.

Shouldn't I be at the airport to pick her up?

The question barged into his mind and made him instantly sit up straight.

What if she decided to take the risk, get on that plane and expect him to be there to pick her up and he wasn't there? What message did that give her? Would she be disappointed, or mad? Would she even stay here in Oslo or book the first flight back home?

I'd probably not see her again after that.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

Whether she expected him to be there or not, he couldn't take the risk of not being there. He needed to be at the airport. He needed to show that his invitation to meet up was a solid one. It wasn't said as a way to be nice. It wasn't an empty promise. He really did want to get to know her.

With only twenty minutes to go, he didn't have time to explain to his management why he had to go back to the airport. So, the only sensible thing he could think of was slip out of the hotel without anyone noticing.

When he arrived, he'd seen several cabs along the side of the hotel, so he could just jump in one of them and get out of here before anyone would know he was missing.

Confident in his plan, he grabbed a facemask and one of his favorite hats and put them on so he could hide his identity. After checking his wallet to see if he had a credit card in there so he could pay for the cab, he walked up to the door and placed his ear against it.

Would the bodyguards be right outside?

He shook his head as a small smile played on his lips. He'd told them he would take a rest, so they wouldn't be out there. They wouldn't expect him to leave the hotel.

Even though he was fairly sure about this, he still took precautions when opening the door. Slowly and carefully his head popped out of the room and he turned left and right to find the hallway empty.

Relieved, he closed the door behind him and quickly made his way out of the hotel to where he'd seen the cabs. With only fifteen minutes to spare, he'd have to hurry.

Ten minutes later, his cab parked in front of the arrival hall. Jungkook paid the fee, thanked the driver and then darted inside.

Being alone meant he wouldn't be recognized easily, especially not while wearing a face mask and hiding underneath a hat. Still, he had to be careful. If people did recognize him, he had no one to protect him. Sure, he could fend for himself, but he was also aware of the many ARMY that had been here only an hour ago when their flight landed. There was always the possibility of some of them sticking around for whatever reason. Depending on the size of that group, it was either saying 'hi', taking pictures and being able to leave properly - or run and hide.

He glanced up at the screens to see if her plane had already landed. Behind the flight number it said 'landed' and seeing that word, made his heartrate go up.

It was strange though. He wasn't even sure she'd be on that plane in the first place, but just the anticipation that she might be had his heart racing.

What would he do if she wasn't on the plane? Would he be disappointed? Angry? Would he become like Cinderella's prince, wanting to find her based on the little knowledge he had of her?

He chuckled.

But what would he do if she was on the plane?

It was an easy question to answer. She'd come back to the hotel with him. He'd book her a room on the same floor as their rooms, so they could meet in private.

But what would he tell the guys? How could he explain her sudden presence there?

He shook his head. Perhaps it was best to first see if she was indeed on the plane before he'd come up with a plan of explaining how, at least for now, he had to keep her close.

"What are you, a stalker?!"

The shrill voice instantly pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned to see what the commotion was all about, just in time to see a bright red haired woman push someone down on the ground. Something shiny flew in his direction. Glasses.

He looked up at the two, seeing the one still standing, towering over the other. The redhead had grabbed the woman on the floor by her shirt, raising her from the ground.

Why were they fighting? What was going on?

And then he heard two distinctive words that made his breathing falter. "...BTS... ARMY... stalk them?"

His eyes bulged. Were they ARMY?

His first instinct was to turn and walk away, but there was something about the scene that stopped him from doing so. Perhaps it was because he couldn't yet see who the woman on the floor was, but she did have something familiar...

She was wearing an army green pants with a light blue shirt on top. Why did it look so familiar?
And then the memory sprung to his mind. Seeing himself as her in the mirror, wearing the light blue shirt that read '(p)awesome!' on the front.

It's her!

He turned to look at where her glasses had landed, quickly making his way over to grab it from the floor. Fortunately the fall hadn't damaged them. They were okay.

"Zip it!"

He turned to look at the woman towering over her, only half hearing what she was saying because the effect that her words had on him made it clear that this was abuse. The redhead was abusing her.

Everything around him disappeared as anger flushed over him.

He strode over to the women without another thought and pushed himself between them, careful not to hurt either. "Excuse me," he whispered, then leaned down to wrap his arm around her waist and picked her up from the floor.

She gasped at his touch, but didn't object.

"Here are your glasses," he said, handing them to her.

As she looked up at him, her eyes bulged and he knew, even with his facemask on, she recognized him.

Behind him, the sound of laughter erupted.

"Who's this? Your boyfriend?"

He could feel her cringe against his arm and that tipped his restraint towards the redhead. His eyes locked with hers and a high level of determination spread across his face as he decided what to do.

Her eyes were large. She shook her head almost invisibly, as if she was trying to stop him from doing what he had decided to do. Her hands wrapped around his arm, but she couldn't stop him. His mind was set.

Slowly, he turned to face the woman, simultaneously taking his facemask off. "She's with me," he said, taking in her bulging eyes and dropping jaw as she recognized him. "And who are you?"

***

Author's note

OoOoOohhhh, I had so many conflicting thoughts while writing this scene. I can't stand bullying, but I know it (still) happens - even in fandoms - and it can be brutal... So, I need to write about it and turn off the cringey feelings these scenes give me. 

The story needs to be told, right? 

Let's see how Amber and her friends respond to Jungkook's presence... You'll read it in the next chapter!