Try-Hard, Sin Harder

5. Breakfast with Strangers

"Did the other two bail on us?" Jin scoffed. 

 "No," replied a voice in the doorway. "Kookie went to go wake up Hyung."

 Their voices faded to hushed whispers, and I began pouring some of the orange juice into a glass. The glass nearly slipped from my hand as I jumped at the startled voice crying out in the kitchen doorway. "Yah! Who are you?!" 

 I turned my head to see a man standing next to Jin, his arms raised and legs spaced as if he were readying himself to attack. When he took a step towards me, I practically dropped the glass on the counter, and jerked back into something hard. No, someone. V placed a hand on my shoulder. "He's just trying to intimidate you. Hoseok-hyung won't actually hurt you unless you provoke him," he whispered in my ear. 

 Jin yanked the other male towards him, scolding him in a low breath. I turned my chin to meet V's eyes. "And how will I know when I've crossed that line?" 

 V looked back to his friends. "When you find yourself in a coffin six feet under. That is, if they even find a body." There was no humor in his tone. I swallowed hard as he continued. "Don't ever think about laying a finger on anyone he cares about, the outcome is never pleasant for anyone. The same can be said for the rest of us, but Jimin's by far the worst. He's the only one whose threats have any merit to them." 

 "Noted," I said. "But, who's Ji-" 

 "Keira, could you help me bring the plates and glasses over to the other room?" Jin cut me off, narrowing his eyes at V. "Why don't you go see how Kookie and Suga are doing."  

 Silently, V left the room, and shut the front door behind him with a soft bang. Honestly, I felt kind of sorry for him. The way Jin talked down to him was nothing short of demeaning. It was amazing I hadn't seen him snap under the weight of Jin's words and glares. Those walls I saw when we first met must have been bulletproof. Perhaps this was the reason he built them in the first place? A feeling of doubt churning in my gut told me it was much more than that. I began to wonder if I were associating with a bad crowd. Jin and V seemed kind enough, albeit a little unstable. But what kind of delinquent brings an injured girl somewhere safe or tends to her injuries? 

 Tentatively, I grabbed to plates, and handed them over to Jin and the other man as Jin explained the situation to him in a low voice. I could only catch a few words as I passed by them, carrying the plates and drinks and setting them down on the coffee table. When I finished, I stared awkwardly out the glass door leading to the terrace, fiddling with my fingers. "You sure did that really quickly," Jin said with a small laugh. 

 "I do this a lot at work," I replied sheepishly, watching him take a seat on the couch across from me. The man sat down next to him, picking at his eggs with his fork. "You don't have to wait for an invitation, just go ahead and eat." 

 I nodded, and sat down across from them. "Sorry about earlier, I just wasn't sure who you were," the man continued. "I'm J-Hope, I live at the end of the hall." 

 "Moon Keira," I replied, popping some fruit into my mouth. 

 "Where are you from?" J-Hope asked. 

 "My apartment's about a half hour walk from here if you follow the park trail. Just past Café du soir," I replied. 

 "Which serves some damn good coffee, if you ask me," said a voice from the hallway. 

 I choked on my drink as two figures stepped into the den; one with pitch black hair, and the other with light blonde. The two men who had come to the café earlier this week. "Glad you finally decided to wake up and join us, Suga," Jin chuckled.