Invisible (Namjoonff)

Chapter 16 That's the Tea

Ki was exhausted. Who knew it was so tiring being ignored all day. Her mother had said some nonsense about emotional loads and heart break, but Ki had cast it aside, along with her work clothes and bra. Ki detested any day that required a bra after 8 pm. That was the real nonsense. She'd gotten into her pajamas before she'd even had dinner and was now snuggled on the couch sipping her third cup of tea. As she flipped through netflix, she heard a knock on the door.

"Omma, did you order food?" Ki asked as she headed to the door. Her mother called from the bedroom, "No, I have food in the fridge. Will you answer it?" 

"Yeah, I got it!" 

She grabbed her robe to cover her pajamas and opened the door.

Standing the hallway was Namjoon and a very large man dressed in black.

She looked them both up and down.

"Who's he?" she said flatly.

 "My body guard."

 She looked at the man in black and gave him a nod. "Make sure he gets home safely." 

She shut the door and walked back to the living room. 

 Her mother called from the other room, "Who was it?" 

"Do you know BTS?" 

"Everyone knows BTS." 

"It was Rap Monster and his body guard." 

"You are the most annoying daughter I have ever had. Just tell me who it was." 

Just then there was another knock on the door. Ki plopped herself down on the couch.

"Go see for yourself. And tell them we aren't interested." 

She heard her mother mumbling something about how the gods could have given her such a daughter as she walked to the door. The door opened and she heard a yelp. Ki smiled.  But she didn't turn her head to listen. She refused to be interested. Upon hearing  the door shut, she looked with glee towards her mother. She couldn't wait to see her expression when she realized she had told the truth. She turned around to face her mom but she was not staring at her mother. She was staring at her mother and Namjoon and his big scary bodyguard. "You let them in! Omma! Who taught you to let strange men into the house!" She quickly gathered the robe to cover herself, more against the violation of them being in her living room than anything else.

Her mom, looking nonchalant, asked flatly, "Is he Joon?"

 Ki's face fell. Her mother was too smart for her own good.

"Omma, I can explain. I had no idea Joon was short for NAMJoon. And certainly had no idea it was THE Namjoon."

"That's because you are an idiot destined to remain single forever. I need some tea." 

She turned to the body guard. "You look like you need tea too." She patted his shoulder and walked him to the kitchen. He knew better than to disobey.

She had never despised her mother so much before as she stared at Kim Namjoon standing in her living room. 

"I got a call earlier about signing nondisclosure papers. I didn't think you'd deliver them yourself." She folded her arms defiantly. 

He didn't move. 

"Heavens. Speak or leave. I'm a busy woman." She hoped he didn't notice the food wrappers and multiple tea mugs that clearly indicated her level of busy-ness. He, of course, noticed the food wrappers and multiple tea mugs that clearly indicated her level of busy-ness. He took a few steps towards her and she bristled. He stopped, took a deep breath, and stepped back.

"You are not invisible. When you wake up in the morning with your hand reaching for someone to hold. When you sit alone on the train to work. When you eat noodles at your desk and say you are busy, but really it's because you have no one to each lunch with. When you walk home with only the night sky as your companion. When you fall asleep with a book in your hand. You are not invisible. Because I see you. I see you every moment I am awake and even when I dream. All I do is see you."

Ki felt her body go rigid. She felt paralyzed and numb. She wasn't sure what look was on her face but she was hoping it was a poker face. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Are you having me followed?"

He noted the sarcasm and replied, "Why are you like this?"

"I read a lot of books," she stated matter of factly, and then continued, "So you didn't come here to get me to sign something?"

He shook his head. "That was a little white lie. I had to make something up to get your work to give me your home address."

"You could have texted," she said weakly, "Plus you broke the law."

He took a step forward again and when she didn't flinch he slowly moved to the end of the couch and sat down. "I didn't text back because I wanted you to hear my voice. I wanted you to see my face. I didn't want to hide behind my mask or my phone. I am here. At your side. Breaking the law. Asking you to keep your promise. Please don't hate me."

"Is that all you need? You need me not to hate you?"

He inched closer to her. She tried to back away, but was up against the arm of the couch. "That is not all I need. I need..... I want.... I am asking.... to hold your hand when I am fully awake." The way he said fully awake sent chills through her body. There was something so aware, so sincere, so fully present, and so vulnerable in his request. He lowered his eyes and looked at her hands rests on her lap. He slowly reached across the divide and gently took her hand in his. She didn't stop him. She looked down at his hand and instantly remembered the heat of the sun on her cheeks as she napped in the park. The smell of the grass. She remembered feeling so warm and so safe. She looked up to see him looking intently into her eyes. "May I have permission to see you again?"

Before she could answer her mother strolled into the room holding a cup of tea. 

"Yes, you have my permission." She quipped. Ki's jaw dropped at her mother's response.

 Namjoon quickly let go of Ki's hand and stood up. He gave a slight bow, "Ma'am." She ignored his bow and handed him the tea. She turned to her daughter, "Do you want tea as well or are you playing hard to get with me too?" Namjoon snorted and Ki let out an exasperated "Omma!"
"Is that a yes or no?" Ki got up from the couch, took Namjoon's tea, placed it on the table, and began pushing him towards the door. "I think we are done for today." 

Namjoon protested, "But I want the tea, she gave me the tea." When they reached the kitchen the body guard stood up. He had also been enjoying her mother's tea. But he now seemed more concerned to see Namjoon being shoved across the room. She opened the door and waved them through. The body guard walked into the apartment hallway and Namjoon slowly followed him. As he reached the doorway he turned, but before he could open his mouth she smiled and said, "A promise is a promise after all." The last thing she saw as she shut the door was RM from BTS on her welcome matt grinning from ear to ear.