Aster Petals

❀ three ❀

"Hey, Yoongi hyung," Namjoon greets his hyung over the phone as he reclined on his seat and stared outside the window. He watches as the world passes by him while at the same time, on a mission to look for his friend. "I'm almost at the hotel."

There was an audible groan from the other end of the phone. "I've been standing out here for five minutes Joon."  From the tone of his voice and everything, Namjoon could tell that Yoongi was forced into waiting for him. It was quite laughable, to be honest, but Namjoon didn't laugh. Instead, he acknowledged his simple, yet unwilling, act and appreciated it by all means.

"Don't worry hyung, I'm here now," Namjoon assured him as he leaned closer to the window, eyes wandering about to look for his small and grumpy friend. He had caught sight of him, Yoongi who was standing by the hotel entrance on the phone with his free hand resting on his hip. His eyes immediately darted to the taxi, mainly to the newcomer inside it, and narrowed his vision.

"Yeah, I see you." He hung the call.

Namjoon turned his phone off. As the taxi comes to a stop, he slid his phone into his pocket. He grabbed his backpack and hung the strap over his shoulder. After paying the driver, he stepped out of the taxi and was greeted by a raven-haired Yoongi who looked up at him with crossed arms.

Before Namjoon could even say anything to him, the raven-haired male walked up to him and welcomed him with an embrace. The hug was warm and a bit tight, an unusual and rare hug for Yoongi to give, but Namjoon didn't mind at all. Instead, he reciprocated the action, returning the embrace and resting his head onto Yoongi's shoulder, patting his back.

He missed being in the comfort of his friend. He missed being with his closest friends in general. It had been quite a while since he had last seen Yoongi, the others even, and now that he was here, it brought a smile to his face. A smile that once was lost had now been found thanks to the presence of a person who meant a lot to him.

They pulled away, Namjoon looked at Yoongi while the latter had his head lowered. "I-I can't believe you're here," Yoongi said in a low and honest voice, eyes rolling up to look at Namjoon. A sincere smile made its way to his lips, "I'm glad you're here Namjoon." His breath hitched and his eyes glinted from the light, tears that had stored in it, "and Jimin's glad that you came."

It was a pang to Namjoon's heart, the way Yoongi had said it, the tone of his voice, and especially seeing the dark circles underneath his eyes. Despite his disheartening state, he smiled at him in sympathy. He placed a hand on Yoongi's shoulder and his gaze softened towards him, "I'm so sorry about Jimin. You don't have to blame yourself, it's not your fault."

He had to say it. He tried to help Yoongi for at least a little bit, knowing that the latter kept on blaming himself for the death of their friend. But whether or not it helped him, it still meant a lot to Yoongi. The raven-haired pursed his lips and nodded at the brim of tears, placing his hand on top of Namjoon's. He tried to smile at him assuringly, but it didn't quite succeed like he wanted to. "I, I know..."

Never has he seen Yoongi like this, so weak and so fragile. It hurts him to see his friend in this state. There was nothing much he could do, that, he knew very well. But other than that, he could only be there for him, to listen to him, and to hope that he would feel better. To be able to move on from their late friend.

Yoongi immediately wiped the tears with his arm. Inhaling sharply, he faced away from Namjoon, "we should go now, the others are waiting for us."

Namjoon nodded with pursed lips. After, Yoongi led him to the inside of the hotel. They took the elevator up and once they were on the seventh floor, they walked down the hall together, Yoongi scans through one side of the hall, looking for a specific room number while Namjoon followed his tail.