Her Astronaut

no. 2

Outside on the city streets, the crowds were bustling.

Many had begun to converge on the city in preparation to welcome in the new year. The city center was all set up for the celebration, with individuals anxiously ready to camp for the perfect viewing spot. With the mild December temperatures, those outside could do so freely without worry of the typical frigid climate.

Unfortunately, not everyone could enjoy the festivities.

Nova sighed deeply as she stared at her calendar. 

While the glow of the iPad illuminated the dark corner of the hotel suite, her head spun at the thought of everything that had happened in the past 36 hours since her arrival in the Big Apple. That didn't include what was scheduled for the following 36 hours.

On top of the physical exhaustion caused by this action-packed 3-day work trip, Nova was in the midst of mental warfare with herself.

Being a traveling manager for BigHit Entertainment, she was brought on for this particular engagement. The beloved rapper and dancer of BTS, j-hope, was scheduled to perform during Rockin' New Year at Times Square. A major solo appearance for the artist as the last time he was here was three years prior with his group.

For much as Nova was excited to be brought in for this momentous occasion, she was pushing herself to burnout. 

Trying to keep herself busy and maintaining a professional facade while keeping j-hope (Hoseok) at a distance was easier said than done. It was obvious the rapper wanted to talk to her, but Nova was afraid to have any conversation outside of anything work related.

She let out a sad sigh as she buried her face into her hands allowing the iPad to fall into her lap.

There was no sugarcoating it. Nova was overwhelmed, wishing she had stayed home instead of signing on for this event. Working with the artist she had gotten close to over the past year was nice, but it hurt her heart to be in such close proximity to him.

Not because of Hoseok himself but of who he reminded her of.

If she wasn't here, Nova would likely be at home wallowing in self-pity allowing her intrusive thoughts to have free reign of her consciousness. She had been doing well but that was because Elle had been with her up until a few days after Christmas.

With Elle back in Korea, Nova was back to her own devices. 

Even though it sucked to be working throughout the New Year's holiday, she desperately needed this distraction.

"I guess it's time to face the music," Nova groaned as she got up from her cozy nest on the couch, stretching her tight limbs as she stood up.

As much as she wanted to hide in her hotel room for the rest of the night, she needed to go over to Hoseok's room so they could finalize all the details for his performance the next day.

It was going to be a feat to keep him away from the topic of her personal life, mental health, or discussing why she left Korea when she did without saying goodbye. 

However, Nova wasn't in the mindset to talk about those with the rapper quite yet.

Dressed for bed in black flannel pajama pants decorated with adorable cute demons and her favorite oversized purple sweater that she swiped from a certain someone, Nova slipped into the pair of sandals in the foyer of her suite. 

She did a quick visual check of the room before grabbing her phone and keys that were resting on the table next to her door. Quickly slipping those into the pocket of her hoodie, she slipped her now powered off iPad under her arm as she walked out of her suite.