Her Astronaut

✯35✯

Standing in a hidden alcove next to the private elevator bank, Seokjin's heart was racing.

He was really hoping that Mira's plan would work. He desperately needed to see Nova. His body craved her touch and proximity. The past two days had been hell without her, but he understood why.

If he was going to talk to her before the chaos of the music video, the drive there was the only time he could do so.

One thing he learned about Nova was that if she had a choice in these tense confrontations, she would choose to hide and avoid it altogether. Especially after the disastrous and traumatic one she just experienced with Elle.

A few hours after the breakdown between the two women, Jin had a visit from Yoongi. He had brought Elle with him who tearfully shared with the singer everything that happened from her perspective. It took all his energy not to lash out in frustration when she confessed to wanting her to hurt when she chose to reveal Seokjin's future military enlistment to Nova.

This was something that Seokjin had planned on sharing with Nova now that they were in a relationship but he wasn't quite mentally ready to tell her at the moment.

After the government gave their group an enlistment postponement back in 2020, Seokjin knew that after his group completed the projects they were working on he would be the first to enlist more than likely before the end of the 2022 calendar year.

When those plans were made, he never considered that he would eventually meet and fall for someone. Now he had to take Nova and their new relationship into consideration before he could begin the enlistment process.

It was a lot to take in and process at once.

Jin was worried that telling her too soon would put a damper on their limited time together which was why he kept it to himself for the time being. Most of all after what happened, he had a better reason for not telling her yet... Nova's mental well-being.

Knowing how much the confrontation negatively affected her, Seokjin wanted to help her find some peace before dropping that bomb on her.

With Nova being well-versed in Korean culture, he assumed that she would already have an idea that this was imminent. It was common knowledge to those familiar with his culture that not only were South Korean men required to enlist, but that the government would probably not fully exempt BTS from this obligation to their country. His hope that this knowledge would soften the blow when he finally sat down to tell her that he was considering enlisting by the end of the summer.

Boy, did he assume wrong.

After everything Elle confessed to him, Jin knew that was EXACTLY why Nova was avoiding him completely. With how triggered she already was, finding out that her new boyfriend was about to enlist more than likely reminded her of the past trauma that haunted her for so long. Her father's untreated PTSD from his experiences in Desert Storm, the traumatic accident her brother experienced on base when he was enlisted, and most of all her toxic relationship with a deployed US soldier.

Now the man she was currently dating was about to enter that world that terrorized her for most of her life.

He was kicking himself for not realizing it sooner.

Consulting a psychiatrist he had worked with previously, Dr. Choi, Jin sought out advice for this particular situation. The couple needed to talk, but the last thing Jin wanted was to trigger Nova even more than she already was.

Dr. Choi was the one who helped Seokjin with his depression back in 2020. Even though the doctor was no longer living in Korea, his expertise would be what the idol needed the most. Dr. Choi moved to California and was now focusing on neurodivergent patients, ADHD especially.