LOUD | NAMJIN

Chapter 15: Baby, You're Gonna Be Fine ~ Namjoon

I held Seokjin close on that cold winter night.

As the cool breeze of the night whirled around us, I cradled Seokjin in my arms, a heavy feeling taking place in my heart. His cries pierced my ears and my eyes pricked at the hopeless sound. I was only used to the sweet medley that was his laugh paired with his toothy grin. I never thought of what Seokjin would look like when he was upset, or angry. The sight in front of me was one I wasn't expecting to see tonight.

Quite frankly, it wasn't one I expected to see ever.

His eyes were downcast, a sense of bitterness churning in his pupils as the rest of his emotions were fleshed out in tears. His usually rosy cheeks burned an angry red, definitely a murderous combination of the night and whatever happened before he came.

I couldn't help but stop to wonder what happened to the charismatic man. He practically drifted off to work earlier after getting his coffee. What caused him to become the broken spirit in front of me? My confusion warped my mind, causing unsafe thoughts to scrape out of the back of my head.

'What happened?'

'Who did this?'

'Why did this happen?'

'Was there something I could've done to prevent this?'

There were too many questions with no answers. An uncomfortable feeling settled into my stomach, my heart panging painfully for the man I cared for. I resorted to not asking any questions, not wanting to frighten him as his body shivered against mine. The temperature continued to drop around us, and I made the executive decision to move us inside.

Retracting my hands to caress his cheeks, I wiped his tears with my thumbs, his withdrawn stare drilling into my eyes. I began to stand up but Seokjin's fingers clamped onto the hem of my shirt and his tears beginning to run heavily once more.

"No, no, angel. I'm not leaving... I want us to go inside. Don't you want to go, too?" I breathed, reaching a hand down in the hopes of him taking my hand. He stared at my hand, then at the street beside me, then back at my hand. As his eyes shifted about, I had a gut feeling that he was considering running away once more. However, that thought drifted away as he took my hand, his knees too weak to keep him up.

I caught him, my arms wrapping around his back as his hands gripped tightly to my shoulders. A broken smile cracked on his face as he looked up, a familiar feeling settling on us once again. I could feel my face burning, but definitely not from the cold. Taking his hands once again, I walked backward to the café, with Seokjin following closely behind me. His fingers were frozen to the touch and my heart sank at the feeling.

Entering the café, his rough grip on me began to lessen, a slight tranquility settling in his eyes. Carefully, I led us to the back, a very popular spot in the café. Usually Seokjin sits at a table in close range to the counter, but I wanted to take him somewhere special.