BTS finally gets their new English tutor, Rose. She's kind and down-to-earth, but with a tough side. She's the type of girl a few of the members could fall for- and they do. Rose already has a crush on one of them, but can the others change her mind...
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This chapter is very short because the next chapter is extremely long and I wanted to keep everything together. I'll be putting out the next chapter right after I publish this one.
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Narrator POV
The next week was a pattern of the boys sending reassuring messages to Rose that went unread and unanswered. Jin would check in with Nina and it was always the same response, "Not yet". The boys were anxious to hear something from Rose. The next week, the messages suddenly changed to 'read' status, though they remained unanswered. Yoongi, Namjoon, and Hoseok felt a rush of happiness at seeing the status change. The other boys were, of course, happy, but for different reasons. Nina's response was still "Not yet". The boys tried to focus on their work, but it was hard for Jungkook, who still felt responsible, and Yoongi and Hoseok, who were visibly distraught. The younger boys didn't understand why Yoongi and Hoseok were so affected by it, but they reasoned that they must've been closer to Rose than they had realized. Namjoon appeared to be collected as he directed the boys carefully when their attention would waver. The other boys didn't know if it was because he was trying to keep them in line or keep himself in line.
At the end of two weeks, Nina's message changed to "Not yet...but maybe soon. She finally started eating again". The boys became extremely anxious and asked Jin to have her clarify what that meant. She responded with "I think she's trying to figure out what to do. And I think your messages have helped her to feel less guilty. I've been making her eat a little bit, but today she actually ate a full meal". Then halfway through that third week, Nina told Jin "I think she's trying to figure out what to say. She's been agitated, but I'm trying to talk to her. Keep messaging her, it's helping." The boys were encouraged by this and were able to focus more fully on their work. At the end of that week, Nina messaged them telling them to come over the next Saturday.
The entire next week, when the boys weren't busy with their schedule, was spent figuring out what to say, how to cheer Rose up, and short discussions regarding what it was Rose might tell them. The boys still hadn't come to a consensus, but they agreed the she must've been attacked somehow. It was the best thing to explain the few puzzle pieces they knew. As Saturday approached, they grew more anxious and hoped she wouldn't change her mind. They wanted to give her something to make her feel better but they didn't want to overwhelm her, so they only bought a couple snacks that Rose had mentioned she really liked.
Saturday couldn't come soon enough for the boys. They left the dorm in enough time to get to the house at 2:00 pm. Jungkook was the most obviously anxious of all the boys as he still blamed himself for what happened. Hoseok, Yoongi, and Namjoon were doing the best they could to hide their anxiety so they ended up blending well with Jimin, Taehyung, and Jin. Jin parked the van in front of the house. They were using one of the staff member's vans so that it wouldn't be an obvious celebrity van. They stayed in the car for another minute while they tried to calm each other down; Jungkook was practically bouncing off the seat. Once the snack presents were evenly distributed, they left the van and nervously walked to the door.
Nina answered the door and gestured for them to come in. Rose was standing in the kitchen, just outside the area where she could be seen from the front door. She tightly held onto her dreamcatcher necklace and pulled the pendant back and forth, her nervous habit. When she heard the boys asking where she was, she clutched the necklace and brought her fist to her lips. I can do this, I can do this. They should know. After being as close as we've been, they should know. All I can do is hope that they can accept it and me... and that they don't look at me with those pitying eyes that all the people from my hometown used to give me.
Rose finally gathered her courage and hesitantly stepped into the living room. The boys froze for a moment as they took in how she looked. They figured Nina must've gotten her to eat more because she looked thinner, but not too much. She also looked paler. Nina said that last week, Rose had gone back to work on a lighter load, but she must've stayed indoors aside from that. And the dark circles under her eyes were also more prominent, perhaps as a result of her pale pallor. It only took a couple seconds for them to assess Rose before Jungkook sprinted and pulled her into an almost bone-crushing hug.
"I'm sorry," Jungkook sobbed into her neck, close to tears. "I really didn't mean to scare you like that." Rose wiggled to free her arms that were pinned under Jungkook's and hugged the boy back just as tightly.
"No, I'm sorry. I should've thought before I acted. I—" Rose choked back a sob. The other boys watched them with smiles on their faces. Rose moved her hands to Jungkook's shoulders and slowly pulled him to where she could look at his face. His eyes were pink and filled with unshed tears. Rose smiled with tears sitting in her own eyes. She brought her left hand up and pushed his bangs back. She gently petted his head before running her hand along the side of his face. "I'm sorry I hurt you. And I'm sorry I scared you."
Jungkook smiled widely. "I'm just glad you let us see you. I thought you'd stay mad at me."
"I wasn't mad—" she was cut off by Taehyung playfully shoving Jungkook to the side.
"Pet me too, noona." Taehyung whined. Rose obliged and Taehyung pulled her into another tight hug. "We really missed you," he whispered into her ear. Rose smiled.
"My turn!" Jimin cried. Instead of petting him, Rose playfully mussed his hair before pulling him into a hug. She hugged each of the other members. When it came time for Yoongi's turn, he decided that it was just his imagination that she hugged him longer than the others. But it wasn't. Rose had missed all the boys, but she especially missed Yoongi. She tried to not show it in front of the other members, but it was hard to hide the feelings that bubbled up as soon as she saw him.
"Um..." Rose started, getting their attention. "Thank you guys for messaging me. Even when I didn't message back. I'm sorry about everything... but it's really hard to figure out how to say what I need to say..." She looked down. That sinking feeling in her stomach was coming back. Nina sensed this and rubbed her back reassuringly. "Let's, uhhh, let's get on with this, shall we?" She tried to sound more upbeat.
"Let me get some drinks. Can you boys grab a couple chairs?" They eagerly nodded. As they got settled, they pulled out the snacks they brought for Rose. She happily accepted them and asked all of the boys to help her eat them. Rose sat on one of the chairs before being directed (forced) to the couch. She sat on the corner cushion of one of the couches. Clockwise from her was Nina, Jin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Namjoon, Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin; the latter three were sitting on the chairs.
Rose took a shaky breath in and out. The point of no return... Once I tell them, it's out. They can't forget. Everything might change... Here goes nothing... "I guess the easiest way to tell this is to just start at the beginning and go from there. Like ripping off a band-aid... About nine years ago—"
