Insomniac//KNJ

Chapter Ten//Guilt

    Namjoon woke up the next morning to the sun shining through his window and the girl from the club sleeping beside him. Seeing her sleeping there, he felt a stab of guilt shoot through him. 

    He didn't know this girl, but he'd brought her home. She was someone's daughter, and he'd only used her so that he wouldn't have to spend the night alone. 

    With a grunt, he sat up out of bed. From the corner of his eye, he saw the girl move slightly, still asleep. He tried to not let it phase him though. He had to figure out how to get this girl out of his apartment as soon as possible. He couldn't do that if he stayed in bed, trying to keep her from waking up. 

    He slipped on his pants from the night before and headed out to the kitchen. Moving with a nearly mechanical rhythm, he started the coffee pot and pulled out some bread to toast. Along with his preparations came a loud series of accidental bangs and clunks that even the heaviest of sleepers couldn't have outlasted. 

    Namjoon hadn't done any of this on purpose, but he was well aware of his tendency to disturb others with the noises his clumsiness caused. 

    He'd just used it to his advantage this morning, as the girl from the club soon emerged from his bedroom sleepily.

   "Morning," Namjoon greeted the girl with a smooth and warm voice, a small smile accompanying the cup of coffee he held out to her. She took it with a sleepy, grateful smile. 

    "Thank you Namjoon-ah," she murmured. Namjoon thought she was a really sweet girl. 

    For a moment he thought maybe he could get to know her and make up for his behavior the night before. 

    A thought crossed his mind, a remembrance of how sweet he'd thought Lucy was, and he discarded the idea. 

    "Did you, um, sleep okay?" Namjoon asked the girl, he couldn't quite remember her name and so he kept avoiding it in conversation. 

    "Yeah, I did," the girl answered with a small, almost sad smile. She knew what was transpiring. Namjoon looked away from her gaze. 

    "I, um, hate to rush you off, but I have an early meeting I need to get to, and," he trailed off.

    "I understand. I should get back to my apartment and get ready for class anyways," the girl quickly replied. 

     Namjoon nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at the girl's placid brown eyes. 

    She still wore the same small, sad smile. 

    Namjoon could see it even after she'd left his apartment and as he'd gone about his workday. 

    He wondered if this was how Lucy felt in any way. 

******

    Taehyung got to the apartment before Namjoon, which wasn't an uncommon occurrence considering the long work schedule that the older man kept. Usually, Taehyung would wait for his hyung to get home before he ate or began relaxing.

     Namjoon had taken care of him when he'd first moved to Seoul and began uni, and Taehyung had needed it. He'd been a young kid from a rural area and he didn't have a lot of experience in the booming city. Namjoon had been an upperclassman that had actually cared about the young "freshie". He'd tutored Taehyung in the subjects he had trouble grasping and he'd helped him navigate the sprawling city around him. When Taehyung had been able to move out of the college dorms, Namjoon had immediately suggested that the two of them share an apartment. Ever since that first year, Taehyung had felt a strong desire to provide Namjoon with the support he'd given him at the beginning of their friendship.