Capítulo 25: Serendipity
"I modeun geon uyeoni anya~"
"Can't we go to the dorm first?" Yoongi complained as their minivan whizzed down the smooth roads of Seoul, effortlessly weaving between the other vehicles strewn about the lanes. "I'm just about ready to crash." The boys and their staff had just landed a couple of hours ago but instead of returning to their house first, Namjoon wanted to drop by his studio. Lyrics had popped into his head along with a veritable tune and he wanted to work on these before they slipped away.
"You guys can carry on ahead if you want, but I need to go to the studio," he stated firmly even though his body defied his words. Their concert at the Dome had been incredibly amazing but had left the boys drained albeit buzzing with contentment. Hoseok leaned across the aisle seat and grinned at the leader.
"I'll accompany you. I seem to have stumbled upon an idea for my mixtape too," he said excitedly and Yoongi sighed. He leaned further into the leather seats if that were possible, plugging in earphones and closing his eyes.
"Y'all are giving the rest of us a bad name," he mumbled lazily but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Jimin sniggered, laying his head on the rapper's shoulder to catch a few winks of sleep.
The van was silent for a while and Namjoon allowed his thoughts to drift in the direction he had constantly been trying to steer them away from for the past two days. He couldn't help but feel that Ji Ah was beginning to influence him in ways he didn't think would be possible. The rapper recognized her traces in the words he said, saw her face in every person he met and it was driving him insane. It was like the videographer's essence lingered in the very air around him. And it was time Namjoon shook it off; it was only hurting both of them.
When Sejin pulled up on the curb outside Big Hit, Namjoon and Hoseok stepped out nimbly to avoid disturbing the other members who had fallen asleep. Jimin's head was on Yoongi's shoulder, the rapper's cheek brushing his blonde hair. Seokjin was sprawled on the backseat, soft snores escaping his open mouth. Taehyung and Jungkook were entangled, arms and legs ensconced in a tight embrace, their chests rising and falling in time with each other. The two rappers smiled at the sight, fondness etched on their faces as they slid the doors shut and let Sejin drive them to the dorm.
"We've come a long way," Hoseok observed softly as they strode into the building. It was late evening and most of the staff had already arrived before them. "And it all ends in December with our final 'Wings' concert."
Namjoon knew perfectly well what his friend meant. They had grown so much over the years, literally and figuratively. The trilogy that they had created chronicled this growth and now it had finally reached a culmination which would set them free. "It's a new beginning, Hoseok-ah."
The rapper smiled at this, the pair boarding the elevator in companionable silence. Hoseok waved Namjoon off towards his own personal studio while he ambled towards PDogg's office. "Let's make a pact to meet in half an hour, eh? I'm starving!"
Namjoon laughed, nodding his head and rounding the corner in the direction of Mon Studio. The frosted glass door of his personal workspace was slightly ajar and Namjoon frowned. He was sure he had locked it and apart from him, nobody had the keys. Or had he forgotten in his rush to leave two days back? The rapper pushed the door open tentatively, light emitted from the hallway retracting against the translucent surface. The interior was cool and certainly not as dark as he had left it. The figurines he had collected over the years perched motionless on their assigned spots on the two large shelves built opposite each other. A couch had been pushed against the wall right beside the door, a few plushies scattered over it. Namjoon stepped into the space, his boots thudding soundlessly against the carpeted floor. But he froze in his tracks when his eyes landed on the figure plopped onto his chair which was currently swiveled in his direction.
"Miss me?" Hong Ji Ah's perky voice called out, luring him in even as he stumbled backwards in surprise. The force of the motion sent the door slamming shut with a resounding bang but the videographer didn't flinch.
"Ji Ah? How did you get in here?" he asked suspiciously, dumbfounded and confused. But the woman merely laughed, her head cocking to the side and leaving her neck exposed for Namjoon to study the smooth planes of her skin, his eyes exploring the lines of tattooed ink speckling her flesh.
"Ouch. Those are the first words you say to me?" Namjoon couldn't respond, thrown off by the easygoing demeanor of the woman which seemed to have all but disappeared over the past few weeks only to resurface now. Something's up. "But to answer your question, it wasn't difficult to pick the lock. And I used to do it all the time as a child," she stated amiably as if she hadn't just broken into the rapper's studio and was behaving in the most inexplicable manner.
"Why are you here? Isn't it past your work hours?" Namjoon ventured slowly, striding deeper into the enclosed space. He watched with spiking curiosity as her cockiness suddenly deflated and a nervous smile played upon her lips.
"I'm here for something else," she began in a low voice and Namjoon moved sideways to plunk onto the couch. "I have another proposal for you."
The rapper stiffened and resisted the urge to groan, reclining against the plush material of the couch. "I think I've had enough of those to last me a lifetime, Ji Ah," he said with just a tad bit of an edge to his tone.
But the videographer remained unfazed and an odd glint entered her eyes. "I really hope you don't mean that, Joon-ah." Her voice didn't quiver. But her twitchy fingers gave her tenseness away. It was a strange sensation, sitting here with Ji Ah in a small space where every breath, every sigh was magnified twofold and Namjoon was having a hard time not staring at the rapid rise and fall of her chest.
"Why?"
But Ji Ah didn't answer, merely meeting his eyes in a steady stare. She didn't avert her gaze even once and a fluttery feeling spread through the rapper's veins. He watched her inhale deeply, bracing herself for what was coming next. "Namjoon, do you...do you feel the same way as you did a month ago?"
The rapper had expected her to say many things; that she was quitting or had perhaps found a boyfriend in his absence. Even travelling to space seemed like a viable option because he had most certainly not been prepared for this. Fumbling for words, he raked his fingers through his peach-dyed hair, his jaw ticking anxiously. "Why do you ask?"
"I just want to know. Please." The words almost sounded broken and his forehead furrowed at the anticipation coating Ji Ah's voice, the desperation in her dark orbs, the way her teeth nipped the soft flesh of her lower lip. And he decided to give her an honest answer.
"I feel the same way as I did eight years ago, Ji Ah."
The videographer's eyes widened trying to process Namjoon's declaration. But the rapper continued: "I don't know why you're suddenly asking me this, but my answer won't change. Not today, probably not even years from now. You may say it's infatuation or a spur-of-the-moment emotion, but I know what I feel and I'm done running."
"I'm done running, too."
Namjoon's eyes bulged, almost popping out of his skull and he could practically watch Ji Ah's barricades dissipating right in front of him. "What?" He was aware that his voice sounded strangled, hoarse even but he didn't care.
Ji Ah bit her lip, rising as she approached him slowly. "All this time, I thought I was doing the right thing by pushing you away, by standing my ground and denying that I felt the same bloody way."
Namjoon swallowed hard and he was certain the sound was audible. Ji Ah was only a few feet away from him now, holding out a lifeline and all he had to do was reach out and catch it. And so he did. "Are you...do you...-"
"I want you."
It was as if the air rushed out of the room at the confession, a different atmosphere settling over it entirely. Ji Ah's lips were trembling now but Namjoon found the motion mysteriously sensual and he was aware of the heat pulsating in his blood. "I don't know if it's love, but all I know is that I want to find out. If it's you, then I... god, I want to try."
And then Namjoon was closing the distance between their bodies, pulling Ji Ah onto his lap and collapsing on the couch, a mess of tangled limbs and mingled breaths. He chuckled softly at the blush that crept into her cheeks. "Is this real? Is this really happening?" He still couldn't believe it, still afraid that if he let go, Ji Ah would disappear like an apparition that he had imagined in his need to see her, to feel her.
But she caressed his cheeks, the first time in eight years. "It's real, Joon-ah. You're real." Their foreheads touched and Namjoon reveled in the warmth of her skin. "We're real."
"As ecstatic as I am, I don't want you to force yourself, Ji Ah. I don't want to hurt you-" But Ji Ah silenced him, placing a finger against his lips and leaning closer. Namjoon's breath hitched in his throat, every sense, every touch acutely heightened in tune with the thrumming in his veins.
"I'm scared, terrified about how this is going to work out," she admitted quietly, the emotion raw in her voice. "But I'd like to think that we're stronger now, and that we can handle this." The videographer watched as something in Namjoon snapped into place, his eyes growing darker, his voice huskier.
"Damn right we can."
And then Ji Ah was kissing Namjoon, kissing him like her life depended on it. He pulled her tighter against him, his heart hammering in his chest in perfect time with hers. The air in the room seemed to get heavier and the kiss deepened, igniting a fervent light within her which she was sure wouldn't dim. Not this time. The rapper's grip around her waist tightened and Ji Ah was straddling him now, the taste of her tongue enough to drive him over the edge. His hands slipped under the hem of her shirt, his fingers ghosting over her skin and he felt her shiver, her teeth biting down on his lips. Namjoon moaned into the kiss, breaking it to let his tongue trace every inch of her neck, effortlessly working the videographer into a frenzied state.
And Ji Ah was on fire.
Stars exploded and souls collided in the galaxy the two were encapsulated in. Ji Ah felt her broken pieces falling into place again, losing herself in the heady scent of Namjoon's perfume and in that moment, she felt complete.
The rapper's world was ablaze, spots of light dancing in his vision as they guided him towards the woman who mattered so much to him. Drawn like a moth to the flame, he melted into her arms. It was dangerous and scalding and fiery and everything he prayed for. She was everything he prayed for. Namjoon tasted fire on Ji Ah's lips, a fire which spread within him like an inferno devouring him whole. But he didn't care.
Namjoon was alive.
"What the-? For the love of god, learn to lock the bloody doors, will you?"
And just like that, the magic evaporated and the pair sprang apart, Ji Ah almost toppling to the ground in her haste to disentangle herself from Namjoon. Hoseok stood openmouthed with his hand on the door handle, his eyes roving between them.
Namjoon sighed in frustration. "Learn to knock on them, will you? I'm beginning to think I should take a page from Yoongi Hyung's book and add a padlock or two to the door," he stated drily, eliciting a high-pitched laugh from his fellow rapper who was splaying his palms in apology. Ji Ah was too busy trying to straighten her hair from where it was mussed due to Namjoon's tugging earlier while he fixed his clothes, trying to shake off the pressure she had ignited deep in his bones. Hoseok, however, didn't miss the subtle bulge in the rapper's pants and grinned cheekily.
"Looks like I interrupted more than a simple make-out session here," he teased, relishing the flushed and embarrassed looks on their faces. "I should probably leave you two to, you know, take care of it." Namjoon scowled at the implication in his words and Hoseok muttered an apology, quickly ducking out of the room before the rapper could fling a plushie at him.
"That was...awkward," Ji Ah laughed after a few seconds while she caught her breath. Namjoon nodded in agreement, sliding the lock on the door in place.
"Well, it's a good thing Hoseok won't be disturbing us anymore," he replied in a low voice which sent shivers up her spine. And as they reached for each other again, Ji Ah felt like the universe was finally falling into place, like destiny was within their grasp. But this time, it was a destiny they would create themselves.
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