Closer than Ever

Chapter 29 - Jealousy

I am chatting with the American choreographer, Nick, when suddenly a deep voice interrupts.

"Hi, Nick," Taehyung says in English, sounding peeved. "Eunen Sae-shi." He bows to both of us, and I meet his eyes and give him a slight 'what the hell?' look. Nick says, "Oh, hey, V!" but Tae pretty much ignores him and turns to me. "What are you talking about?" he asks me in Korean.

"We were talking about how amazing and hard working you guys are, actually." I raise my eyebrows at him. "Are you jealous?"

Nick is looking back and forth between us, trying to read the situation. I turn to him and grin. "Taehyung-shi and I work closely together. I am doing most of my song-writing for his solo projects."

"Ah, I see," he nods. "I could tell you weren't new acquaintances!" I laugh and shake my head.

"No, I spend at least half my time with this guy!" I say, and then eye-smile at Tae. In Korean, I quietly explain, "I just told him that we work closely together and spend more than half of our time together. Try not to glower at him so much, sweet man!"

Taehyung huffs and looks away. I raise my eyebrows at Nick and shrug slightly.

"Well, it's great to meet a fellow American here!" he says.

"Yes, likewise! Would you like to exchange numbers and maybe grab lunch sometime, to compare notes?"

"Sure, that sounds great," he says, handing me his phone. I put in my name and number, then call my own phone so I'll have his number. I notice Tae's chin starting to jut out as my phone ringer sounds from my clutch, but I ignore him.

"OK, text me sometime when these guys give you a moment and we'll do lunch. It was so nice to meet you, Nick! See you later!"

Taehyung bows slightly and says, "Bye," to Nick, but huffs audibly again, his hands on his hips, as the choreographer walks away.

I scan the area quickly, but nobody seems to be looking at us, so I give him a light smack on the ass. "You were so mean to him!" I look up at him.

"He was hitting on you," he says, his chin jutting again.

"I don't think so, love. I think he was just excited to meet another American here. Imagine if you were in the US by yourself for a month, and you ran into a Korean girl at a party. Wouldn't you want to talk to her, just because it would be comfortable and easy?"

He shrugs, but he looks a little less grumpy. "But you didn't have to give him your number, Birdie," he says, shooting me a hurt look.

I smile. "Sweet man, you don't have to be jealous. Nick and I are going to have lunch one day here in the lounge, so I can hear how he's adjusting to Korea and give him any tips. It's not a big deal. I would invite you, except you would probably just sit there and glare and make that huffing noise the whole time." I tilt my head back and laugh up at him. He smiles reluctantly. "Anyway, we should go talk to other people so we don't look so obvious, my love."

He nods. "Namjoon-hyung and Hobi-hyung were just out there, a minute ago," he says, pointing to the roof deck. "Let's go find them."

The night air is cool and pleasant. A gentle breeze stirs through the leaves of the birch trees that line large planters down the middle of the roof deck. I spot J-hope and Namjoon leaning on the railing, looking out over the city, and I nudge Taehyung.

"Hobi-hyung! Namjoon-hyung!" he calls out as we get closer.

The older members turn. "Oh, Taehyung-ah!" J-Hope says in his sunshiniest voice. "And Eunen Sae-shi!" I smile and give him a slight bow, then another to Namjoon.