Playing Favorites {BTS | Namjin}

A Good Night

Namjoon was positive he was going to throw up. It was nearly twenty minutes after six, and Jin still hadn't shown up. He had managed to get out of rehearsal early after explaining everything to Hoseok, and he had arrived at the restaurant to get them a table at six o'clock sharp.

And then he waited.

And he was still waiting. It made his gut twist into a big nervous knot at the thought of Jin deciding not to come. Maybe he decided he doesn't want to hear me out, so he's going to stand me up?

He had barely finished the thought when Jin walked through the restaurant door, filling him with a confusing mixture of relief and anxious dread all at once.

"I'm sorry for being so late," the man sighed, sitting down. "My father decided to call a last-minute meeting. I was only able to escape a few minutes ago."

"It's fine. I asked you to come, so it's not a big deal."

Jin nodded. "Did you order?"

"I already ordered for both of us," Namjoon said with a nod. "The squid rice bowl with a side of kimchi dumplings, right?"

Jin gave him a surprised look. "How did you know what I wanted?"

"You mentioned once while we were talking with Hoseok and Jimin that it was your favorite dish here. I figured it would be a safe option. And," he added with a small smile, "if you stood me up, I could give it to Yoongi-Hyung because he likes that dish too."

"Well, it's a good thing I didn't stand you up then," Jin chuckled.

"I'm really glad you didn't," Namjoon said, sincerely. "I really wanted to talk to you about the trip."

"Let's eat first," Jin said, motioning towards a waiter who was bringing their food. "We can talk after."

He nodded, not wanting to argue before trying to apologize. He had plenty of time to say what he wanted to, so it could wait until they were finished. Besides, if Jin didn't accept his apology, it would ruin the meal. Thinking like that, it was definitely better to eat first. Unfortunately, that gave him another thirty minutes to get lost in his own thoughts and worry about what exactly he'd say to Jin.

Finally, Jin sighed, leaning back in his chair after the waiter had cleared the table. "Ok, Namjoon-ah, what did you want to say?"

"I want to apologize for being an asshole in Busan. First that fight while I was drunk, and then everything the next morning—I really am an idiot."

Jin nodded. "And?"

"And I want you to know that I meant what I said in your hotel room that morning. I wasn't mad at you for trying to kiss me. I was mad at myself for pulling away—which made me even more mad at myself because I knew I shouldn't have regretted pulling away. But I did regret it." God, this was more awkward to talk about than he thought it would be, especially the way Jin's full attention was fixed on him.

"You certainly did a good job of concealing that fact," Jin frowned.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so confusing and switching between being hostile and being friendly."

"Then why do you?"

"Because I came into this company determined not to like you after that review and then the partial blackmail to get me to join. I convinced myself you were just some rich asshole who was used to getting your way, and I expected you to string me along for a little while before dropping me from the trainee program anyways.

"But you weren't anything like what I thought. I could tell you really cared about this company, and I could feel your passion for what you do. Sure, you're still arrogant as hell, but that isn't necessarily always a bad thing, either.