"Hyung?" Jungkook asked, shaking Namjoon's shoulder. Namjoon stirred, rubbing his eyes. The blurry white walls of the room came into focus, making Namjoon sigh. He had only gotten four hours of sleep and had already started to regret sleeping late. "It's time to wake up hyung" Jungkook said, feeling a twinge of guilt for waking the tired man. "I'm up, I'm up" Namjoon assured him before stetching. He cursed when he accidentally knocked his phone off the bedside table. The charger got pulled out of its socket as well and Namjoon yawned, hitting the pillow again instead of getting out of bed.

"Did you stay up composing again?" Seokjin asked, when he stumbled into their shared bathroom to find his toothbrush. Namjoon nodded sleepily. "I figured. We leave in twenty minutes. I'll pack something for you to eat on the way" Seokjin told him. "Thank you" Namjoon said gratefully before brushig his teeth. He took a quick shower, reveling in the moment of mental peace before their chaotic day began. He dried his hair before attempting to tame the whisps sticking out. Having no luck, he left ti to the makeup staff. They would be better at it than him. But he could take a cap along just in case.

He rapped to himself as he reached out to the higher shelf where his snapbacks were kept. As he reahced up to pick his snapback up, his shirt lifted up too revealing the tattoo on his waist that he usually kept hidden. Namjoon stopped, having noticed it for the first time in days. He absentmindedly traced the outline before shaking his head. He turned around to see Jimin at the door, hesitating. "I'm ready" Namjoon said, awkwardly holding the cap he had picked out. "Okay. We're ready to leave too" Jimin told him.

Namjoon nodded and the two of them left, herded out to the car that would drive them to the studio for their first interview of the day. Namjoon sat at the back, hoping to get some shut eye before the interview. He relaxed a bit, his body still tired and sore when he felt someone's gaze on him. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, opening his eyes and looking at the culprit. "Nothing" Jimin said, averting his eyes. Namjoon noticed him steal a glance at his stomach and then look away.

"You can ask me about it" he said with a shrug. "Is that why you never talk about it?" Jimin asked. "Talk about what?" Taehyung piped up from the seat next to Jimin. "Nothing" Jimin said while Namjoon started "About my -". The two men exchanged a glance before Jimin conceded and let Namjoon continue. "About my soulmate mark" Namjoon said. It was always like this. People normally did not discuss about their soulmate marks despite the glorification of the concept in media and hence any actual conversations about the concept were always awkward. The boys themselves hadn't talked about their own marks except while writing songs. Only twice had the matter been brought up privately. Once when Hoseok had admitted to having met his soulmate and the other when Yoongi confessed to having lost his years ago before getting to meet them.

"Why?" Taehyun asked, pulling Namjoon out of his thoughts. "It's a compass" Namjoon told them. An uncomfortable silence descended on the group. "That's a rare type" Yoongi commented. There were multiple types of soulmate marks. The more common ones were matching tattoos of either the first words, or a date time stamp when the pair would meet. Some people had maps with locations or coordinates but a compass tattoo was a rare occurence. It signified a couple who had no pre destined meeting place, time or a way of identification. It was a cruel twist really, to be left directionless and stumbling when everyone else knew their final destination.

"There's not much to say about it really" Namjoon said, closing his eyes and leaning back again. The others took the cue to end this conversation and he knew they were pitying him. But he chose to ignore it, used to this sort of reaction by now. It was okay really. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise and he didn't know it yet. Or maybe this was his cross to bear for life.

Either way, he had BTS to concentrate on. He had to work hard and practise more to become the best rapper. Write more meaningful music so that they could contribute to society and use their popularity for good. Then there were performances to think about. They would be nothing without their fans and they owed quality content to them. In the middle of all of this to do, where was the time for love or soulmates?

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