OUR LOUD MINDS → bts fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Five

☁︎

Namjoon

I hung up the phone slowly, trying to register what I'd just done. Why I had done it. I blinked, glancing towards the clock. It was barely noon. That means I have time to stop this madness. I grabbed my phone again, ready to call Anna and take back what I'd just said, but instead, I found myself hitting Hoseok's number.

"Yah, why are you calling so early?" He whined immediately upon answering.

"It's practically twelve, what are you saying?" I replied in confusion.

"Forget it. Knowing you, you've probably never slept past 7:30 am."

That was true, but I decided to keep it to myself.

"Why are you calling any way?" Hoseok continued when I was silent.

"I...it's about something...kind of crazy..." I started carefully.

"Oh yeah! Speaking of crazy, what happened last night?! You beat the host of the party and ran off with the hottest girl at school! I, the one who was responsible for your amazing night, deserve an explanation," he exclaimed.

"Oh. About that...it just...happened," I replied weakly. "And there's nothing going on between Anna and me!"

I said the last part too defensively, and Hoseok seemed to notice.

"I'm coming over," Hoseok said abruptly.

"You...wait, what?! No!" I said as the line went silent.

I couldn't have him over with my parents home. Panicked, I threw on a sweatshirt and hurried out of my room. My mother was stationed in the kitchen as usual.

"Ah, Namjoon, good thing you're here. I was thinking about staging an admissions interview for you," she said as I walked by as casually as possible. "Sometime this week."

"That sounds fine, Mother. I'm going out for a walk," I replied quickly.

She seemed on the verge of saying something else, probably to ask whether I had time for a walk. But I was too quick. I breathed a sigh of relief as I stepped outside. But as I paused and glanced around, I realized I wasn't sure what to do at this point. After a moment, I decided to head to the entrance of our neighborhood.

Within a few minutes, I'd ended up at the large sign that sat at the top of the hill where my neighborhood began. Sighing because I had to go to these lengths to see a friend, I slid down into a sitting position and pulled out my phone.

"It probably would be best for you not to come. You don't even know which house is mine," I texted Hoseok.

When he didn't respond, I shook my head and leaned it back against the wooden beam of the sign behind me.
Hoseok arrived a little while later, just as I was about to start dozing off. Exhaustion from the late night before was finally starting to catch up to me.

"Yah! What are you doing on the side of the road, Class President?!" He called from his car.

I jumped from the sudden noise and turned to look at him.

"Waiting for you," I replied, getting up.

I brushed off my shorts and walked over to the car.

"Sure, get in," Hoseok said as I opened the door and slipped into the passenger seat.

"Thanks," I said, ignoring his sarcasm. "Listen, we can't go to my house."

"What, why?" He asked, pulling forward.

"It's just...plumbing issues are being resolved currently. So it's best we don't interrupt, I think," I said slowly.

"Okay, then. Where to?"

"Oh. I don't know. It's up to you."

Hoseok glanced at me.

"Don't you have a cafe or something you like to go to?" He asked me.

I considered this question for a second.

"Um...not really. I don't really go out to eat. I don't really go out."

"I always knew you lived a lame life, but that's just pathetic," Hoseok told me.

"It's not that bad. I don't care," I replied quickly, avoiding his eyes. "Just choose."

After another second of silence, probably Hoseok trying to imagine how boring my life was, he pulled the car into a random driveway to turn around.

"Fine. I'm craving ramyeon anyway," he said.

I didn't say anything, but inside I was feeling quite rebellious. My mother would never let me eat ramyeon. Especially on a Sunday morning with a friend who forced me to go to a party when I should have been studying. But I didn't say anything. Nothing at all.

☁︎

"Wow. This is...so...weird," Hoseok said, watching me carefully, as if I was about to disappear.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I told him.

"Amazing. Class President is a whole new person. A whole new sassy, going-out-to-lunch-for-once person."

I shook my head but didn't reply, instead focusing on the bowl of steaming hot soup in front of me. Hoseok had taken me to his favorite convenience store, which was a little hole in the wall sort of place beside the bus stop. I made sure he knew that I had, in fact, been to a convenience store before, when he'd started pointing to and naming things for me. After picking out his favorite flavor for the both of us, he'd shown me how to prepare it. Now we sat at a metal table in front of the small store.

"Okay," he said, rubbing his hands to together. "Now tell me everything."

"Everything?" I asked softly.

"Yes, come on. That's why I'm here."

I took in a deep breath, wondering if I should confess that we'd been to Ignis. I now knew for a fact that he was a regular there, and I didn't know how he would take the fact that I'd gone. What if I ended up telling him about my writing? About how desperate I was to meet Gloss, and to even be in his place?  But then, I also wondered, would it really be so bad for Hoseok to know? I bit my lip and looked towards my friend. He watched me expectantly.

"Honestly..." I began unsurely, and he nodded eagerly. "Honestly..."

I gulped, wondering what to do.

"After I left with Anna..." I tried again, and Hoseok leaned forward. "We...well..."

"Just say it! I don't have all afternoon!" Hoseok exclaimed.

"Anna and I went to the city," I said quickly.

"That's it?" He asked, leaning back in his chair, disappointed. "I mean, what did you do in the city?"

I'd hoped my ambiguous answer would be enough, but obviously I'd been wrong. Feeling uneasy, as if I'd done something wrong, I tried to continue.

"Anna...took me to this place she knew about..." I said.

"Oh? What's the name? Do I know it?"

"Yes. You do," I accidentally let slip.

Hoseok tilted his head in confusion.

"Wait, really? A place I've spoken about, then?"

"Yeah. A place you've talked about. Hoseok..." I decided to just say it. "We went to Ignis."