Nora & the Boys | BTS AU | OT7

Chapter 55

[Unedited]

**

Too close.  

They were standing too close to each other, and Nora forgot how to move her arms and legs.   

She couldn't withdraw her hand from Namjoon's hold, nor stop her body from leaning forward, intruding on his personal space.

"I'm glad we had this talk." Namjoon said, pulling the myth out of her thoughts. "I feel much...lighter now."

"Thank you, Nora-ssi."

"How many times are you going to thank me?" Nora asked and immediately regretted it. She sounded so out-of-breath, as if she had run a marathon and not been standing in front of Namjoon this whole time. 

She kept her eyes trained on Namjoon's neck, and tried to conjure non-romantic thoughts. 

Her cheeks were still warm from the aftermath of their closeness, her legs seconds from giving out under her and her heart had yet to calm down. She wasn't ready to lift her head and meet Namjoon's eyes, not yet.

"I want to thank you as many times as I can." Namjoon said, and the fingers wrapped around Nora's hand, tightened their grip. 

"It is the only thing I can do right now."

"Yes but-"

"It is the only way to stop myself from feeling so helpless and guilty about...about your injuries. Please don't take this away from me Nora-ssi." Namjoon said, his voice shaky and stumbling on her name.

Nora looked up then, and what she saw, knocked the breath out of her lungs.

His lips quivered, and the hand holding hers, trembled. She was close enough to hear his harsh breathing, and it made her heart ache. Namjoon was still trying to hold himself in check, and not spill those tears.  

"I don't know what else to do-" His voice was thick with tears, but he still made an effort to hold in those sobs. "I can only thank you, and hope that Sumi is strong enough to heal you."

"When you mentioned about going back to your apartment, my mind jumped to the blood mark, and if you would-"

"Yes?" 

"I wanted to ask for the blood mark...but-"

"But?" Nora wrapped her hands, around the trembling one, and gave Namjoon's hand a small squeeze.

"I-I don't want to pressure you into doing it, Nora-ssi." 

It was hard to gauge the expression on his face, but those eyes...

Namjoon's eyes as they looked down at her, were filled with a million emotions. Concern, confusion, fear and guilt, a lot of guilt.

"I know it's an important ritual, and I-I want you to be able to make that decision, instead of me and Yoongi pestering you about it, and forcing you to give us the marks."

Even in the midst of his turmoil, with his guilt and feeling of helplessness, he had found the time to think about Nora's feelings. He was thinking about how their request could burden her. 

And for the first time, in awhile, Nora felt blessed.

The myth, in that moment, thought that she was the luckiest person alive.

She had had her share of targets to guard. And over the last few decades, she had protected a number of individuals, who had no idea who she was. It had remained that way, her living in shadows, risky her life for others, without so much as a single 'thank you', until she met BTS.