A Modest Proposal (Kim Namjoon/ BTS) (#SerendipityAwards)

2. Does That Make Sense?

"Hong Ji Ah!?"

Namjoon blinked rapidly, his jaw agape at the sight of the woman standing before him. He grappled with his conflicting emotions at seeing her again as he studied Ji Ah, whose eyes darted about the room furtively, looking everywhere but at him.

Ji Ah was taller now, her shoulder-length brunette hair streaked with shades of magenta. She was clad in loose blue pants, a jacket concealing the tank top she had donned underneath it. His ex-girlfriend's features had transformed too; the smooth contours of her face radiating a maturer look, her big round eyes displaying a stronger sense of conviction.

"RM in the flesh I see," she said with a forced cheeriness as she finally met his puzzled gaze. Her tenor was just as he remembered it, deep and musical, a sound which had been, at one point, soothing to his ears.

"Why are you here?" Namjoon finally pulled his voice from the recesses of the bewilderment that had subdued it. But his eyes widened as Ji Ah waited for him to connect the dots. "You're the representative from MSL?"  he asked in disbelief.

Ji Ah shrugged her shoulders as she strode towards him. "I am indeed. You obviously weren't expecting it from the looks of it."

"No kidding. I haven't seen you in eight years!" Namjoon had begun shaking with irrepressible anguish.

"Let me make this very clear Nam- uh, Mr. Kim, that I'm here on a purely professional basis. This is my job, but if it's going to be a problem for you, tell me right now." Ji Ah eyed him curiously, in a way which made her gaze seem like it was traversing the very depths of Namjoon's soul. A hint of a smirk appeared on her face. "You can't do this, can you?"

Exasperated at the tone of her voice which was imbued with the teasing note of their past, Namjoon scrambled for a witty reproach. Coming up with none, he decided to advocate his defence in a curt manner.

"You'll find, Ms. Hong, that I have matured quite a bit. And this is part of my job too," He willed his rising unease to quell. "So why should I be unable to do it?"

Ji Ah laughed as she pondered over this. "You're lying."

The rapper shot her an incredulous look as he folded his arms. "I am, most certainly, not."

But he was and even if the leader of BTS wasn't aware of it himself, Ji Ah was. There was no doubt that Namjoon had acquired a wisdom quite beyond his years, a fact that had aided in his growth. But a part of the puzzle was still missing.

Let's see if we can find it, shall we? Ji Ah thought with glee. Her desire to see exactly how much of a changed man Namjoon really was got the better of her.

"Then prove it," she challenged him, a grin spreading over her face as she took a seat on one of the chairs placed opposite a cluttered desk.

"Huh? Why should I have to prove anything to you?" Namjoon inquired skeptically, not being able to read the covert meaning of her statement.

Ji Ah merely smiled. "You guys, from what I'm told, are planning a new series of mini albums and MSL will be documenting the creation process of all of them."

Realization dawned on Namjoon as her words sunk in. A series of mini albums. And the members and he had been thinking of making four such albums over a period of two years.

Two years.

"From the look on your face, you seem to have grasped what I'm getting at," she continued, averting her gaze which now rested on a few music sheets scattered over the desk. "Are you ready to allow me to be privy to all your secrets for a couple of years? Won't it make you uncomfortable?"