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     chapter twenty-one      movie night.

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Mindlessly Arang exited the bus. She glanced down at her phone which was open to her navigation application and followed the robotic voice whenever it told her to turn left, right or keep venturing forward. Taehyung was heading in the same direction of course but he was lagging behind a couple of yards. If someone were to look at the two of them now, they would have assumed that they were complete strangers.

The girl’s wrist was still aching and she was certain that she would wake up with a discolored bruise in the morning. The pain was bearable so she was able to ignore it for the most part. The streets of the city were vacant at this time and she was relieved that it was. Seoul was deemed one of the safer places in the country but you might never know. Anything was possible. Psychopaths could be hiding anywhere, waiting to strike when you least expected it.

Taehyung had his hands shoved into the pocket s of his jeans as he focused his gaze straight ahead. How could a girl wander around alone so fearlessly? Was this bravery or just plain stupidity on her part? He didn’t know and frankly he didn’t care.

After a good ten minutes, the mechanical voice informed Arang that she had arrived at her designation, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up at a towering apartment villa was planted in front of her. It was definitely much nicer than her place. It wasn’t a five star hotel or anything. Let’s just say Arang wouldn’t mind living there.

Before she could take another step, Taehyung sauntered by her and walked toward the main entrance. He swiped his keycard and watched as the light turned green. When it did he pulled the handle and stepped inside. Arang managed to slip in right when the door was about to close on her. She forgot to ask the director for the floor and apartment number of the boys’ dorm and had no choice but to allow Taehyung to be her guide.

The boring elevator music nearly put Arang to sleep as she stared at the number of floors they had already surpassed. The doors finally diverged on the seventh level. However, she didn’t move until she saw Taehyung do so.

The idol hadn’t said a word to her since her outburst back at the bus-stop and she started to wonder if he had really gotten upset with her. There’s no way he actually took what she said to heart, was there? She was only telling him the truth. Besides, she’s slapped him with more vile insults and names before and he was perfectly fine with it. So why was he acting so unlike his usual arrogant self? It was definitely out of character even for him.

A wave of guilt suddenly washed over her conscious and she couldn’t comprehend why. Had she taken it too far like the time she had kneed his family jewels? She reviewed the speech she had given him to see if she could pick out anything that might have struck a nerve but she came up with nothing.

She didn’t really degrade or belittle him like she would normally do. All she did was specify and clarify what they were to one another and their roles in this game of charades.

Maybe he wasn’t mad at her. Maybe there was something else bothering him.

They came to a halt and Taehyung punched in the passcode. He was about to open the door when Arang reached out and latched onto his forearm. He peered back at her without any kind of expression. “What do you want?” He pulled out of her grasp only to have her hook arms with him.

“The curtains are drawn now,” she pointed out in a hushed tone. It was time for them to pretend that they were a couple. Wouldn’t it be weird if they entered the apartment separately without being engaged in some form of skinship? Taehyung’s lips parted and Arang quickly cut him off. “You’re the one who told me to put in the effort. That’s what I’m doing so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t complain.”

“Whatever,” he muttered as he twisted the knob, removing the barrier hindering them from uniting with his friends. “We’re back.” He deadpanned. A stampede of feet which resembled those of animals ensued along with excited chatter.

The six young men Arang was starting to get accustomed to seeing appeared. They were all dressed in pajamas, looking like they were ready to hit the hay. Perhaps she should have brought a set of comfy clothes to switch into because watching a movie in a dress didn’t sound all that pleasant. “It’s nice to see you again, Arang!” Yoongi exclaimed giddily.

“Welcome to our home,” Namjoon greeted.

“Make yourself comfortable. What’s ours is yours.” Seokjin gestured around, extending his warmest hospitality.

“Ah yes, I will.” Arang nodded with a small smile.

Taehyung then unlinked his arm from hers. He removed his shoes and put on his slippers. “I’m going to change.” He stated flatly, not bothering to spare another glance toward Arang. His friends did not notice his drastic shift in attitude though since they were too buoyant with the girl’s presence.

“We took the liberty and bought you some slippers. We thought you might be coming over more often since we know about your relationship. Hope you like them.” Hoseok placed a pair of lavender slippers speckled with white polka dots in front of Arang and her eyes rounded in surprise. Seriously, how could these guys be so kind to her? She was nothing but a stranger to them. How could they accept her with gaping arms like this? They barely knew her!

“That was really sweet of you all. Thank you, I really appreciate it.” She placed a hand against the wall to help support herself as she bent her left leg up behind her back and ped the back of her sandal. She did the same thing for the other side and neatly arranged her shoes off to the side. Her eyes then landed on Taehyung’s worn out Nike Free Runs which were lying around messily. Intuitively she organized them next to hers.

“How do they feel? Are they soft enough?” Seokjin questioned.

“Yeah, they feel really soft.” She replied truthfully, the corners of her lips still etched upward. “Thanks again for inviting me over.”

“No problem. We’re just happy that we get to spend more time with you. It’d be really cool if we all got along, especially for Taehyung’s sanity.” Namjoon laughed being transparent with his thoughts.

“Yeah, and while we’re at it if you have any embarrassing stories regarding Tae just keep in mind that we would love to listen to them.” Yoongi winked and Arang couldn’t help but stifle a chuckle.

“I will if something comes to me,” she promised. But since the only humiliating story she could recall about Taehyung was related to the whole Peeping Tom matter, she was sure that she would have nothing to share.

“Anyways come on in. Everything’s pretty much set. We were just waiting for you guys to arrive.” Hoseok explained as he led the way to the living room.

“Oh isn’t this—” Arang lifted the familiar stuffed sea turtle lounging on the couch and examined it.

“Isn’t it cute?” Jimin beamed, popping up beside her. “Taehyung brought it home a while ago but instead of treasuring it he tossed it out. It was such a waste so I fished it out and kept it for myself. His name is Squirt, you know after the little turtle from Finding Nemo.”

“I’m sorry, he did what?” Arang clenched her jaw and restrained herself from stomping into Taehyung’s room (whichever one it was) and thwacking him in the head with the toy. Did he not know how much heat she had gotten from her manager because of this damn turtle?

If he was going to steal it, he should have at least had the decency to take good care of it. But what was this? He disposed of it as if it was last week’s leftover casserole? What was he thinking? She realized her behavior might have seemed strange and swiftly recovered. “I mean you’re totally right. It’s such a cute turtle. Why would anyone ever do such a thing?”

“You can hold onto it for now in case you get scared.” Jimin offered as he flopped down into a bean bag chair. Arang pursed her lips out as she stared at the turtle. Why would she get scared?

A door slammed and everyone flinched, startled. Taehyung returned, this time his face plastered with a synthetic smile. “Are we going to watch this movie or what? Arang has to be home by midnight.” He announced, making sure they were aware that her time with them was limited.

“Okay, okay. Everyone take a seat. Let’s get this show on the road. Someone hit the lights.” The younge