Nada

Yoongi Gets Exasperated

Guys....Ïnterlude: Shadow" is so beautiful.  My sister is more of a literal thinker and she pointed out how a lot of their music has two layers.  There's the surface layer, that people like her pick up on, but there's lots of goodies underneath for those of us that are into that.  Their minds amaze me.

Everything takes on a different perspective when you're well-rested. Y/N wasn't sure why she suddenly was able to sleep so well. Maybe it was because she trusted Hoseok more than she realized. Maybe because she'd finally reached her limit. But she laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking things through.

In the light of a good sleep, Hoseok's declaration seemed a little less mind-blowing. It still surprised her but it made a lot of things she had always wondered about make so much sense. Friends. She had friends. Wow.

And Mordecai seemed less scary as well. She knew restraining orders were a joke, but they were in a foreign country and if you screwed up enough you could just not be let in anymore. Everything would be okay. And she would take care of it. It was sweet of Hoseok to worry but Mordecai was probably the person she most knew like the back of her hand. She had always considered it a tragic waste of her talent, but it gave her an advantage. Because he had a major blind-spot.

If narcissism was a spectrum, Mordecai definitely fell on it. She had known one day they would probably have some type of interaction. She hadn't expected it to be like this. She hadn't expected it go to this far. He still scared her, called to the inner little girl who had cowered. But she was bigger. He didn't know her anymore.

She got up, feeling hungry for the first time in a while, but stopped when she saw all seven of her....friends. Yes, her friends. They were seated in the living room, looking as if they were expecting her.

"Y/N." Jin greeted. "I hope you slept well." He motioned to a seat on the couch between him and Hoseok. "Please. Sit." Her relief was short-lived, she walked to the couch like she had a ball-and-chain attached to her ankle. She felt like she was in for it. "So....we know you've been going through a lot. And we understand it's difficult. But..." Jin hesitated before just spitting out what needed to be said. "We need to know what we're up against. We can't help you if we don't know."

"You don't need to help me, I'll take care of it."

"Y/N, cut the bullshit." Yoongi's warning tone shot through the air. "We don't care if you can, we're your friends and we're going to help you, so just stop it already." Y/N crossed her arms and bit her lip before nodding.

"I'm sorry he's bothered you." She said quietly. Yoongi sighed in exasperation but Jimin jumped in before he could possibly say something he regretted.

"And we're sorry he's bothered you. We know you're not used to accepting help but it's something we want to do. We're choosing to be bothered. So please tell us what we need to know." His voice was kind and he said what they were all thinking. Even if some of them weren't good at phrasing things diplomatically.

"Alright." She knew she didn't have it in her to fight them and Mordecai too. If the worst happened and they turned on her....she'd take care of it herself. Even if she had to run all the way to Jinju and change her name. "What do you want to know?"

"What does the term "love and respect" mean to you?" Namjoon asked.

Y/N's eyes found Hoseok's, slightly accusing, but he wasn't going to apologize. She looked down at her fingers, fidgeting, before taking a deep breath. She could do this. She had done everything hard and difficult to build this life. She couldn't just give it up without a fight. She could do this.

"It's an innocuous sounding term to outsiders. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. But...a lot of people took it to mean that women only want love. You know flowers, listening to your wife vent even though you think it's a stupid worry, etc. And men want respect. So basically they make the decisions and a good wife doesn't put up a fight or really give her opinion. Or if her husband deigns to show love and ask....well her opinion is probably silly since women are more easily deceived than men so he can feel free to disregard it once she feels heard. She's supposed to constantly affirm his manliness, which usually involves something like never saying no to sex or appreciating when he grows a beard, things like that." There was silence when she stopped to gauge their reactions.

"Outsiders?" Namjoon finally asked. She nodded slightly, looking away.

"Outsiders. Because....I was raised in a cult."