Chapter 7

The group of boys' eyes turned to the girl beside Monique, who nonchalantly shrugged, flipping her hair over her shoulder, turning on her heels as they clicked down the hallways, hips swaying. The first to approach the drenched girl was Taehyung. He placed a hand on her shoulder, speaking gently, "Are you okay? What happened?"

Monique's hazel eyes glanced at the man and sighed, shrugging, "Nothing...I'm okay." She shrugged off Taehyung's concerned hand, making his eyebrows furrow together, "Don't worry, V, I'm fine." She pushed past the group angrily, holding her bag tightly to her chest as she exited the building, leaving the group to look at each other in question and utter confusion. Namjoon sighed, looking at his fellow group members,

"We should leave her alone. I know that girl did that to her." 

Jin nodded in agreement, taking J-Hope by his forearm, tugging him to go back towards the practice room, but he faught the tugging, looking at the older male in the eyes, worry visible in his own, "Hyung, I can't just leave her alone like that." Jin sighed in response, biting his inner lip, running a hand through his hair. He turned his head to see the others already heading back to the studio. He breathed in with a low hiss and sighed once again, nodding slowly, 

"But be back. We don't need the managers to know about this..."

The sound of the heavy door slamming echoed throughout the entirety of the empty apartment as Monique entered, throwing her duffelbag forcefully on the floor, the force making it slide across the wooden flooring. She screamed as she scratched at her drenched clothing, pulling off her top and throwing it onto the floor beside her feet, angry tears sliding down her cheeks that were now a light pink from her anger. She continued to sob, falling to the floor on her knees, becoming a complete wreck of sniffled tears and soft sobs. 

Her emotions bounced around inside her small body, making her visibly shake. The door behind her slowly opened, but she didn't bother to look at the person who entered, not caring the slightest bit of who it could be. A hand rested on her shoulder, and she could feel the warmth of a chest pressed to her back, making her lean into the welcoming warmth, only then realizing she was freezing.

"Are you okay?" The voice was gentle and caring, and she recognized it. Her eyes opened slowly to find the man from her dream that one night from weeks before. Her eyes slightly widened as her eyes locked on the shadowed face, but continued to feel comfort in his embrace. A smile tugged at his lips at the trace of surprise and speechlessness the girl showed, "Then why don't you wake up?" 

His handsome features began to dim, making Monique's eyesbrows knit together in confusion, not processing what was happening. Her hand reached out to touch the cheek that was beginning to disappear, "Wake up, sleeping beauty."

And he was gone. 

She closed her eyes to blink, only to open them to find herself laying in her bed, sprawled along the colorful bedding, clean, warm clothes hanging from her body in place of the wet pieces of cloth she had remembered. Her eyes flashed along her room in visible bewilderment, only to hear noise coming from the living room. She hopped out of the bed quickly, running towards the sound, hoping to find the mysterious man who had suddenly left, only to see the back of a taller figure, wearing loose black pants, a black hoodie with the number 94 in large white printing.

The noise of quick footsteps made the figure turn to reveal the handsome features, she remembered so vividly, anticipation settled in her nerves, stopping her breathing, afraid the smallest breath of air would make the being disappear, abandoning her once again. Her nerves tingled in anticipation as the figure revealed himself, showing it to be none other than J-Hope. 

Her eyes slightly widened in surprise, blinking in confusion as J-Hope flashed her a smile, arms full of books that he was previously organizing, "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" 

She shook her head, exhaling the breath she had been holding in, "No... how'd you get in?" J-Hope blushed slightly, 

"Uhm, the front door was open, I hope you don't mind, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Monique raised a brow at the man and waved a dismissing hand,

"I said I'm okay, you can go now." She turned, only to hear J-Hope's denying,

"Not by what I saw when I came in." Monique paused in her footsteps, showing she was listening, "You were on the floor, obviously exhausted from crying, your stuff thrown around in anger... you're not okay." He took a daring step forward towards the girl, her shoulders beginning to lower, "Now tell me what's wrong and what happened." 

A pause broke between the two, silence settling before J-Hope took a comforting grasp of the girl's wrist, murmuring in a low, begging voice, "Please..."

She glance back at the man, exhaling once again, a breath she didn't realize she was holding in as she thought. Her hands curled up to form small fists, "I don't belong here, Hoseok. That girl just made me realize it." J-Hope felt uneasy at the use of his real name, stepping closer to the broken girl to embrace her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder,

"What does that girl know? I bet she doesn't even know your name. Don't give her so much power over you," He spoke gently beside her ear, kissing her temple lovingly, "You do belong here, with us." 

"Then why does it feel like when I was back in the states..." 

J-Hope sighed, "You didn't feel this way when we were at the park and on the swings. You said so yourself, that Bangtan was your best friend. Let's go back to the studio and get the guys after this." Monique turned in the embrace, looking up at J-Hope, a sad smile placed on her lips,

"After what?" 

He smiled gently and lefted a finger to signal for her to wait, eyes slightly wide with hope and awaiting the nod Monique eventually gave him, automatically making a bright smile appear on his lips. He broke the embrace and strided towards the freezer, pulling out a small tub of her frozen yogurt. Confusion turned into a small, authentic smile, "How'd you know?" 

She stepped forward to the man and grabbed at the frozen treat, only to have it pulled away from her reach, blinking in confusion as she looked at J-Hope. He smiled his usual goofy smile and pointed to his cheek, "Kiss." Her eyes slightly widened at the request, eyeing the container and jumping to try to reach it once again, only to have J-Hope pull it away once again. She pouted slightly and whined, making J-Hope laugh, "Jiminnie was right, you still have to work on that aegyo of yours." The girl blushed brightly at the other's observation, crossing her arms with a huff.

J-Hope chuckled and leaned towards her, pecking her cheek quickly, making her blink in surprise. She quickly turned to see J-Hope with a bright smile, holding the defrosting container to her. She quietly took it in her hands and opened the lid, digging her spoon into the white, frosty surface and beginning to bring it to her lips, but paused millimeters from her lips, turning to shove the spoonful into J-Hope's mouth, making him give an unexpected reaction, but only for a brief moment. 

After he took the spoonful, he his lips when Monique pulled the spoon away, turning away to take a spoonful herself. J-Hope gently petted her head with one hand, biting his lip softly, "You're beautiful..." 

Her eyes flickered towards J-Hope, silent for a moment. She stiffly swallowed down the melting substance in , "Y-You are too..." J-Hope blinked at the words and chuckled lowly,

"Don't you mean I'm handsome? I am a man." 

She smiled at him and nodded, "That is true, but you're also beautiful. Especially the way you dance..." J-Hope chuckled shyly, a flushed expression on his face as he remembered back to the connection the two had earlier at the dance studio. Monique turned to him and stepped closer to him, making him subconciously step back, unsure of what to expect. She leaned in closer to him, making him close his eyes tightly, but moments passed before he felt a small peck on his cheek, "Thank you, Hobie-Oppa."

She stepped back from him and smiled at him. He had a visible blush on his cheeks as she stepped away from him, pressing a hand to the cheek she had kissed, clearing his throat, "U-Uh I should start heading back. I'm sure the guys would like to see you?" She offered her smile once again and hummed in thought, "Please? I know Taehyungie was looking forward to spending time with you." 

A small smile cracked her lips, pausing before sighing with an abrupt nod, "Okay, sounds fun." 

"I hope that girl isn't around for too long." 

Jin glanced at Suga and raised a brow, sipping at his drink, "Those aren't happy thoughts I hear." 

"Yeah, you never know what'll come of her, you know what some people believe in... what is it called.." Jimin turned to Taehyung who shrugged, "Ah! Karma!" Jin rolled his eyes playfully at the youngers and glanced at Namjoon who continued to check his watch,

"Don't be impatient, they'll be here." 

Namjoon nodded, unsure, biting his lip as he looked around, tapping his foot, "Manager-nim isn't going to be too happy." 

"As long as he's safe, that's all that matters." 

"Noona!" The group turned their heads to see Taehyung running towards Monique, throwing his arms around her happily, J-Hope beside her with a bright smile on his face. The group got up to greet the two, "Are you okay, Noona?" She nodded at him,

"Of course I am. It's going to take more than a bully to get rid of noona." She tossled his hair playfully, earning a nod from Namjoon,

"So you're okay? Do we need to talk to Hyun-ssi about this?" Monique looked at him and shook her head, 

"It'll only make things worse. The only way to stand up to a buly is to show they don't effect you." J-Hope glanced at her, shaking his head slowly at the response, knowing very well how broken the girl had become from the mere encounter with the un-named girl. He knew, as well as anyone, the sacrifices the girl had given to just come to a country she wasn't accustomed to, but was lucky enough to know someone as kind hearted as Amber. J-hope placed a hand on her lower back, making her take a quick glance at him.

Jin spotted the action, eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion, resting a hand of his own on J-Hope's shoulder, shaking his head slightly. J-Hope immediately removed his hand at the knowing look and cleared his throat, "So, what did we miss?" 

"Not much, V was just going on about the mall." Jimin growled lowly with a roll of his eyes, "He wouldn't shut up about it." Suga nodded, smacking the back of the younger's head, making Jimin rub the spot, "Yah! What was that for!" 

"You were being just as annoying about the ordeal, don't act so condensending." 

Monique chuckled softly and nodded, "You still want to go to the mall? Will you guys have time?" 

Namjoon checked his watch once again, earning a smack of his own from Jin, "Yah, we have more than enough time. The meeting with manager-nim isn't until late tonight. We'll be back before that time. We'll even have time for a meal." 

Namjoon rubbed the pulsing at the back of his head and sighed, "You just know how manager-nim can be. And with Taehyung-ah, Jimin-ah and Jungook-ah, it'll take longer than most errands without them." 

The boys whos name had been mentioned, gasped in fake hurt, "I find offense in that!" Jungook retorted, making Jimin and Taehyung agree with the youngest, earning a slight glare from the older,

"Good." 

Monique chuckled softly, "I'm sure I can keep them under control for a few hours." Jungook smiled at the older woman and hopped over to hug her as well as Taehyung and Jimin. "Now, now, not too much skinship. People will start thinking I have a thing for younger guys." She playfully taunted.

Taehyung wiggled in excitement, "Let's go! The next bus will be coming soon!" He tugged her towards a nearby bus stop, the others following behind the overly excited 20-year-old. 

"What happened?" Jin whispered towards J-Hope, making the younger look at him with a smile slapped on his face,

"It was amazing, hyung." 

Jin's eyes grew wide, holding the younger by the shoulder, the others leaving them behind without much notice, "Don't tell me you two... you know.." J-Hope looked at the oldest with confusion evident on his features, "You know... birds and the bees...Uhm..." He looked around in embarrassment, unsure of how to go about the topic before clearing his throat, cheeks flushed red, "." He murmured.

J-Hope's own eyes grew wide, shaking his head as well as his hands, "No! No! No!" His own cheeks grew red, matching the red snapback he wore, at the mention of with the girl of his dreams,  He swallowed as Jin sighed in relief, resting a hand on his chest, over his heart, "So, what did happen?"

"She was a wreck, honestly." He started, sighing as his eyes followed Monique's happy figure being dragged by Taehyung, shaking his head as he filed fingers through his hair, "By the time I got there, she was asleep on the floor, her shirt torn off in shreds, her bag was thrown across the room, her shoes were kicked off in anger, you could just tell she was very upset." His eyes glanced at Jin who also showed understanding sympathy, "She's very broken about all this, hyung. I just dressed her in clean clothes and tucked her in bed. I stayed a while to clean up the mess, but before I could leave, she woke up." 

Jin nodded and began to walk with J-Hope, hands tucked into his pockets, "I ran to the store when I noticed she didn't have ice cream or anything. I knew she'd like that, and she said she really liked vanilla and honey frozen yogurt. So I bought some." Jin nodded once again, a small smile placed on his lips as he heard the younger's story, picturing the ordeal himself, "I told her she was beautiful..." 

This caught Jin off guard, making him turn his head to J-Hope, "What? You had that much courage?" 

J-Hope smiled at the memory and chuckled softly, "Yes, apparently. I don't regret any of it, not even the kiss I gave her." Jin's eyes grew wider, "Only on the cheek, hyung." Jin smiled and nodded.

"We should do something for her, though," Jin hummed out, looking forward, making J-Hope curious, 

"Like what?" 

Jin turned to him with a bright smile, "How about we take a little trip to America?"