The Siren's Song

Chapter 40- a shift, a change

JIN POV:

Seeing (Y/N) smile is a relief, something I'd needed to see and known it when the smile of her lips curving up, eyes expressing amusement and humour allowing that worried feeling to abate slightly, filling it with relief that whatever silent musings she'd been lost in have lost their grasp on her.

It had been a pleasant surprise to see her standing outside the shop- the look of slight confusion, adorably set on her features, but almost immediately I'd sensed that something wasn't right. Something was different in the way that her silence this time was deafening and grating to my ears, the way her silence had revealed that there was some thoughts occupying her mind- given the vacant almost glazed look in her eyes as she'd worked, mindlessly helping sort out the deliveries of CDs and records, stacking up music sheets and even fixing up the already filled shelves.

It was as if she was intentionally occupying her mind- trying to replace whatever was bothering her by doing chores, busying herself up in the monotony of stacking and categorising. But to see her slowly return into a more animated, alert state had eased a knot I hadn't known had tied itself around my heart- worry bleeding away bit by bit.

And it was just instinct and habit to want to invite her to eat lunch with me and Yoongi; something pushing me to make sure she ate, wanted to make sure she was taking care of herself, the image of her shadowed, pale face flashing back to mind. She wasn't completely back to her normal- to the way I'd remembered her before she'd vanished; cheeks rosy and full and eyes bright, but she was getting there, slowly and bit by bit.

When we return and Yoongi turns to her, expression bright and pleased as he says he can help her now find some music, I don't know whose smile is brighter- is it (Y/N) with the way her lips turn up slightly, expression soft or is it Yoongi whose gummy smile comes out in response as the two walk further into the shop, Yoongi talking to her intently.

The two appear some time later and Yoongi leads her to the counter, dealing with her purchase himself- fingers deftly packaging the record for her; dark eyes following her after she smiles and waves goodbye, eyes watching her receding figure until she disappears from sight.

Yoongi looks deep in thought, contemplative. But I've seen that look and recognise it easily. It's one where he's wondering about something, when his mind is busily whirring away.

"What is it Yoongi-ah? Don't for a second think you can get away by lying to your hyung." I say as I step around the counter, plopping down on the stool.

He turns, leaning against the counter as he looks at me.

"Just...I never realised how deep her thoughtfulness is and how much kindness she has." He confesses.

"What do you mean?" I ask, head cocked.

"She came in looking for music that was inspired by mythological influences. Said it was because Joonie had given her a book on them and she wanted to see what it was he found so interesting and scary." He says, lips curved in a small smile.

"What's scary?" I ask, curious.

"Some sort of mythical sea creatures. She asked if I had any music based on such stuff. And I remembered we had a small collection of classical music based on it." He says easily.

"But...what I didn't know was that she would go to such lengths just so her and Joonie can talk more about it. She's really sweet and thoughtful- so happy and willing to indulge him like that." Yoongi muses.

The mental image of her dedicatedly listening to music, listening to it to get an idea of what it is that Joonie was so passionate about, just so they could talk more about it was incredibly sweet- made my heart swell with fondness for her, for the way her silent ways of thinking of others just gave more reasons to want to gush over her. To want to smoosh her cheeks between my hands and finally know if they were as smooth and soft as they looked, whether if I hugged her would she fit perfectly in my arms. These thoughts and urges were growing day by day.