best friends forever | jung hoseok

Three

Hoseok texted Rosalie he would be just a few minutes late, as he still had to pick up takeout for the picnic.

A short time later, he knocked on Rosalie's door and let himself in. He called out to her and she let him know she was in the kitchen. As soon as Hoseok walked through the kitchen doorway, he heard the soft sound of Namjoon's song, moonchild, being played. Surprised, he felt like the air was knocked out of him. He didn't know what to do. Does she know? This felt too close to home.

"Sweetie, what's wrong? Your face just went dead white! Sit down. Are you going to pass out?" asked Rosalie, fretting over him.

She pushed his head down between his knees and went to get him a cold cloth for his forehead.

"I don't think we should go out tonight. It's obvious you're not feeling well. We can just stay here and watch a movie instead," she suggested.

Hoseok reassured her, "I'm fine. Just got a little light-headed. Um, I like this song. So you're into Korean music now?"

Rosalie smiled, "I like this song a lot. I'd never heard K-pop before I came here. A couple weeks after I got here was my birthday. The girl next door gave me a couple albums as a gift because she was tired of hearing my American rock music through the thin walls. She said she was going to teach me what good music sounded like."

"She gave me this album, mono; it's pretty smooth and relaxing. I listen to it a lot. The other album she gave me is much more upbeat and, for some reason, makes me really happy. It's called...hang on...Hope World."

Hoseok's head was spinning and he started rocking back and forth in his chair. Oh no, I can't breathe!

He hid his face in his hands and tried to calm down. He knew he didn't have any choice; he had to explain things to her. He had thought he would have more time than this. He took a deep breath and tried to figure out what to say.

"Rosalie, can you sit down with me for a minute? I think we need to talk about something," Hoseok asked, not really knowing what he could say to make her understand why he hadn't told her.

Sitting down next to Hoseok, Rosalie took hold of his hands. He clearly was nervous and needed some friendly support. She pulled her hair over one shoulder and then gripped his hands tighter.

Hoseok just stared at the floor for a few moments, while Rosalie calmly waited.

He took a deep breath and began, "I have something to tell you, something I wasn't completely honest with you about. Please don't be mad! At least hear me out before you react. Ok?"

She nodded.

"I'm not just a dancer. Do you know what an Idol is in Korea?"

Rosalie looked confused, but slowly nodded her head.

"Ok, um...I'm an Idol. I didn't want to tell you at first because it was nice that you didn't know who I was; you just liked me for me. And then later, I didn't know how to bring it up after so long. You've become so important to me and I was afraid of ruining our friendship," Hoseok explained nervously.

Rosalie stood up and backed away from him. She was shaking her head and looking at him like she didn't know him at all. Hoseok looked miserable.

Staring at the floor, Hoseok kept going, "There's more...so much more. That album you were talking about, Hope World, that's me. It's my album. I'm J-Hope."

Rosalie turned and ran out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Hoseok waited a few minutes, until it became apparent Rosalie wasn't coming back. With a heavy heart, he left the apartment.