UnPretty Thoughts: The Leader [ Namjoon x Reader ]

Mission: Success!

She looks just about how he thought she would after he asked. Total rug-out-from-under-her-feet shock. Was it that odd? Perhaps he should have waited... Of course, if it was that strange and out-of-the-blue now, it would have been the same a week or two from now.

But even though jumping from this cliff into the unknown waters of her reactions was terrifying, it also felt like a tension inside his chest had eased. There were still nerves of course, but he felt like he could stand straight a little better without the weight of asking weighing him down.

He had been brave enough to ask. That was important. She was the very person who had told him to focus on the positive to try and beat back the darker thoughts. The black dog at his heels, Depression, and it's best friend, Anxiety, were always there. But how close they got...

Well, it was a good feeling that he could fight them back a bit by taking action. Even if he felt like the layers of clothing he was wearing right now, to hide himself from the world's prying eyes, were drowning him in sweat. He'd have to take a shower once he was at home.

She blinked and seemed to take in a shuttering breath. He almost felt envious. He seriously felt like he was forcefully dragging each breath in. His free hand, locked away in his pocket to keep from fidgeting, twitched in need to give an outlet for all the stress he was currently feeling.

The worst was over, right? Namjoon shifted his weight and lowered his head a bit, as was his usual way when feeling a bit uncertain.

"You don't have to do anything about it right now-"

"I'll take the job!" She answered with enough suddenness that his head jolted up. Her face was a little flushed, eyes shining and hair ruffled by the slow easy wind. His heart thudded uncomfortably in his chest, like it was banging against his sternum with restless excitement.

"Uh, well, uh," he stumbled for a moment to find the words, surprise having apparently scared them off, "Really? That's great. I mean, well, I'll have to ask about your wages, but the extra help will really be appreciated."

He couldn't help but let the smile that was slowly growing larger under his face mask seep into his voice. Light-as-air joy filled him up like a helium balloon lifting into a cotton candy sky. Argh, cheesy imagery. Too much like Jin. Weird how true it was though.

Namjoon rubbed the back his neck with a small husky laugh and looked at his feet. "I don't know when you'll be ready to move in, but the sooner the better," he could feel himself starting to ramble, "A bunch of guys living together, it can get pretty bad. Though Jin does cook. And we all try to clean up after ourselves. Can't let ARMY see a messy room, right? That'd be embarrassing. It still gets a little chaotic though..."

"No problem," she said bluntly, though with enough of a waver in her voice he noticed she was nervous too. Why was she nervous? Well, living around seven guys could be a good reason...

Not to mention the whole moving thing. He didn't quite like moving. Something about boxing up things and then worrying about whether you had everything with you could seriously tire someone like him out. "Is it alright if I work both at the apartments and the café?" She asked, "I'm still trying to save up for a car and car insurance..."

"Oh yeah, that should be fine," Namjoon shrugged one shoulder and tipped his head to the side a bit, "Just don't spread yourself too thin. Stress can really wear down your immune system. Jin will be happy to have someone new to feed. And Yoongi is a bit strict about quiet hours, since he has trouble sleeping anyway. They all kind of have their own quirks, you know."

"Not a problem," she was grinning ear to ear like he had offered her a million dollars, "If you help me out there won't be an issue, right? You think I could come over tonight after packing a few things? I'd love to start as soon as possible to get to know the layout and what needs done."

Namjoon nodded, relaxing. "Sure, that'd be fine," he lifted his coffee up, momentarily forgetting that he was wearing a mask. Luckily he didn't spill it down his shirt, though he came close. After getting another sip, he continued.

"I'll let the guys know," he said, "We can even ask Manager Sejin to drive the van if you need to move things with more ease."

She smiled. "Ah, you're a good person Namjoon."

Namjoon feels his face slowly flush from the lightning strike of praise. Funny how he could get praise from hundreds of fans, but one smiling compliment from her reduced him to a blushing strawberry. With a small shy hoarse laugh, he shook his head some and bent his head. "Why so sudden...?"

"Hm? Why did I say that all of sudden?" She asked and bent forwards a bit to try and look up at his face. "Because it's true! Worrying about the details like that... You are very caring."

Namjoon wasn't sure how much more he could take. She was dehydrating him with all the sunshine sweetness. His blushing would evaporate all the water left in his body and turn it to steam if he wasn't careful.

"A-Ah, yeah yeah," he muttered happily, then jabbed a thumb over his shoulder with a slight jerky awkwardness. "I should go so I can tell the guys and make arrangements."

She stood up straight and he had the distinct impression she might be shaking her head at him. "Alright! But not too late! I don't want to intrude on Yoongi's quiet hours."

Namjoon huffed a laugh and looked up at her, fiddling with his coffee cup. "I promise no night tours," he mused. As she turned to go he reached out and took her elbow gently.

"Ah, before you go we should exchange numbers," He let go quickly and then hastily searched for his phone, "I'll need to get your address too, so we can pick you up." She nodded and after they exchanged numbers Namjoon still sort of felt like he was floating.

Even after she had gone, he still felt a bit dizzy. Almost lightheaded but in a nice way. How did she do that to him? Looking down at his phone absently, he realized he had barely taken three sips from his coffee. He tried to take another sip.

It was already cold. It would be too much of a waste to toss it. Might as well warm it up at home. Why could he not stop smiling? He felt strangely victorious.

With a small laugh to himself, he turned on his heel and began to take long strides in the direction of the apartments. With any luck his friends wouldn't freak out... too much anyway.