Insomniac//KNJ

Chapter Twenty-One//Spicy Barbecue Sauce

"I know what you're trying to do, Kim Taehyung." Namjoon crossed his arms. "You need to stop." "What do you mean hyung, I'm just making some noodles," Taehyung frowned and set his cup of noodles on the counter. "If you want some all you have to do is ask."

"Taehyung, stop, don't play dumb. You know what I'm talking about," Namjoon's voice was impatient and no-nonsense, Taehyung faltered and shook his head.

"She's a nice person, Namjoon. It's silly of you to not even give her a shot." Taehyung's brown eyes grew harder and his stance resolute. "She's nothing like Lu-"

"Stop, I don't want to talk about this anymore. I don't want to date anyone right now. So, stop trying to set me up with your tutor," Namjoon finished with a note of finality, and then he turned to go to his room.

Taehyung huffed in quiet frustration. This was going to be harder than he'd thought.

******Namjoon heard Taehyung's footsteps in the hallway before he heard his knock on the door. He thought about ignoring it and just waiting for the younger man to leave on his own, but Taehyung's soft, "Hyung, please I just want to talk," was too much for him. He couldn't be unkind to his younger friend.

"Come in," he called. Taehyung opened the door slowly, with a small, but sad smile.

"I'm sorry, Namjoon. I shouldn't have meddled in your business, I won't do it again," Namjoon felt his anger dissipate as Taehyung fixed his brown eyes on him.

"It's okay, Tae. I forgive you," Namjoon nodded and smiled, his anger gone. There was a pause where he noticed the younger man looking at the floor intently. Then, with one quick motion, Taehyung was looking back up at Namjoon, the same resolve from earlier in the kitchen lighting his eyes.

"Please, don't let tonight keep you from being friends with Sophie. She's very nice and she's a cool person to be around." Namjoon was a little shocked at his friend's statement. Maybe it was the suddenness paired with the plaintive tone of Taehyung's voice, but Namjoon found he couldn't refuse.

"Okay, Tae. I promise I won't." Namjoon gave his friend a smile and Taehyung broke out into a small grin before he nodded and left the room, closing the door before he left.

Namjoon leaned back on his headboard, processing the night in his head. He'd really enjoyed his time with Sophie. He found her to be intriguing, and he thought her bringing by the tea and honey was extremely thoughtful. The evening had flown by as they'd talked and sipped the tea, which had in fact helped to relax him.It wasn't until Taehyung snuck in with his secretive smile and flashing brown eyes that he'd realized mischief was afoot. Taehyung had orchestrated the evening with Sophie, and while it had been nice, he knew what the purpose of it had been. Sophie was a nice girl, and he'd enjoyed the few times they'd been in one another's company. However, he'd also thought Lucy was a nice girl, and that had ended with a broken heart. He wouldn't be doing that again, no matter how hard his friends schemed and planned. Loneliness was better than risking a broken heart.

******Yoongi didn't consider how bad of an idea a group barbecue meal was until it was too late. When he'd heard about half price barbecue at his favorite local restaurant, he'd been excited right away. So excited in fact that it had only taken him five minutes to invite around ten people to a shared meal.