so far away | yoonkook

twilight : 07

yoongi doesn't say anything and is all in all stunned. he looks at namjoon with a blank gaze, mouth parted slightly. the reaction's quite a contradiction to the level of confusion he feels inside. he goes back and forth from his friend to iris, trying to collect his thoughts.

eventually, he bursts out laughing, earning him startled looks from nearby customers and stern gazes from the hosts themselves.

"excuse me, gentlemen, but is there a problem?" iris sets her glass down and clasps her hands together, the smile on her lips permanent and evident as ever. she wears it like her uniform.

yoongi waves her away as he shakes his head.

wiping a stray tear away from one corner of his eye, yoongi starts patting namjoon on the back with too much force causing him into an unexpected mini coughing fit.

"and I thought I was being melodramatic. jesus christ, namjoon."

"I am not being melodramatic, you prick. it was an ugly breakup, okay?" namjoon says throwing himself back against the cushion. yoongi has his eyes closed and begins spluttering half-chuckles for a few seconds, all the while trying to catch his breath.

when he lifts his lids, he finds the blond tom walking towards their table, his hands in his pockets, simultaneously giving buoyant regards to his fans and finally steps up to their area and does a small curtsey.

"hello." his voice is a pitch higher than what yoongi expected, though he maintains the cool and collected quality of a novel bachelor with the cross between gentleness and authority his exudes. yoongi is amazed at how truly handsome he is up-close. he looks like he came straight out of a movie, even better than the actor he says he looked up to.

"I overheard a commotion happening at pad number four."

yoongi reclines a bit to look at namjoon. once he sees the guy's lost his attention on his phone, he nudges him but he doesn't budge, busies himself even further instead. another failed attempt in nonchalance.

"yeah. we had a bit of a misunderstanding, that's all. but it's settled now."

"I see." the guy lowers his gaze at iris and she nearly shrugs but purses her lips in its place.

"you know, this pad happens to be my favorite. the number four being the day of my birthday and having that it was close to the window meant I'm simply able to watch and observe what wonders lay beyond these walls without interfering with any of my grander responsibilities. a raw depiction of reality occurs before us and we don't even have to pay anything to see it unfold." he says, taking a napkin from his back pocket and handing it to a lady who'd began sniffling near their table.

yoongi hadn't even heard or seen her but he guesses that's just how good this host was trained. he plays well with words, too well that he actually moves customers to tears, his features are extraordinary, voice mild and alluring, and his senses are strong, too. yoongi actually finds him scary. he's almost too perfect to be considered human.

people have diverted their attention to namjoon's and yoongi's table. yoongi ceases the opportunity to speak up.

"yeah, buddy, I guess you're right. but why be taking a gander at all the wilting flowers under the cold weather of seoul when you've got all the beauty in the world compacted into one place?" yoongi asks, opening his palm as he gestures to their hostess, iris.

he glances at her and sees her blush.

"quite the argument you put up, sir. but there are things far more breathtaking than simple flowers that grow in the sun. like cherry blossoms that flourish and die in winter. mono no aware, so to speak, mentions that the most precious thing about life is its uncertainty. doesn't the time of a cherry blossom tree move you more than a simple daisy?" tom pulls out another napkin from his other pocket and offers it to a different customer, this time, a man, maybe a few years older than them, crying as he too has broken into tears.

yoongi doesn't know where tom gets all these napkins from. it's only been a while and yoongi's already exhausted trying to keep up with the guy's act.

"what else are you about to pull? 'cause I'm almost as empty as my champagne glass by now and I need a refund. I'm short on comebacks. I thought I'd be interrogating iris over here until someone had to accuse me of boring someone to death. but that's enough for now. thanks." yoongi shoots their hostess an uncertain smile but she simply smiles back, her cheeks still a bit red from the previous compliment.

"I don't intend to offend, my good sir. I simply serve and entertain. I'm thankful that I am able to satisfy your humble needs of amusement. please enjoy the succeeding moments of your stay." tom offers another curtsey before he spins on his heel and continues back to his previous station.

"you're right, he is good." yoongi turns back to iris and slumps in his seat. she starts pouring an amount into his glass but rather than yoongi taking the drink for himself, the quiet younger male beside him snatches it away.

namjoon gulps the champagne down in a split, coughing frantically for a moment before he's downing water from a waiter that luckily passed their table and iris had flagged down.

"chill. you still got a bill to pay, don't die on me now." yoongi grabs namjoon by the shoulder, shaking him a bit.

"I need some air."

"we can open the window." yoongi says. he pushes himself up but iris signals him to please take a seat. they're hosts after all, they're required to assist any kind of task, given or implied.

she stands up and cracks the glass barrier slightly, allowing the cold winds to enter through the gap. namjoon tugs at his shirt and shrugs off the two layers of clothing he had on.

"a guy's all it took for you to break, huh, joonie?"

"don't call me that." the younger snaps.

this causes yoongi to chuckle, but this time he refrains from making another scene. it's for the sake of the three of them, really. he wouldn't want iris to receive a scolding from their manager for poorly handling loud customers.

around them, the chatter continues to grow. there's the constant clink of glass being set on tables, utensils used for dining clanging against one another. yoongi hears the occasional rush of liquor being poured into containers, the sound of nails grazing crystal bowls filled with chocolate pebbles.

the laughter blossoms and subsides. sometimes a host is asked to sing or read poetry or mention their favorite passage from some form of work they favored. other times, they reenact a scene from a movie or play or plainly act to entertain.

by the end of the night, namjoon can barely walk on two feet and yoongi slips a piece of paper in his jean pocket containing iris's number.

namjoon had been drinking his sadness away. along with that, he spent more than half the amount he thought he'd be needing for tonight's festivities. yoongi wasn't involved with most if not any of the charges in the tab. he simply talked with iris and was extra careful that he made the best of his and namjoon's stay without drinking some more.

"it's iseul." the hostess tells yoongi once they're outside.

"but you can choose to call me whichever you prefer."

yoongi struggles to keep him and namjoon vertical. iseul laughs a soft laugh and helps them get across the street, slinging namjoon's arm over her shoulder. it's the farthest she could go without breaking more host's rules. because she's just given out her real name and the code specifically stated that they shouldn't. but yoongi was just too sweet to resist.

"I prefer 'iseul'. I think it suits you more." yoongi replies, lifting the side of his lips.

"and I prefer 'yoongi' because 'haneul' doesn't suit you at all." she says before she's waving and retreating back to the bar.

yoongi takes the time to watch as her figure is engulfed by the velvet satins of the entryway and she fully disappears.