Chapter Five

Your phone buzzed on the coffee table. You'd relocated yourself to the couch in the living room, and you were lying there now under several layers of blankets.

As your cellphone buzzed again -- indicating a second text message -- you reached for it. Jin was still in the kitchen, whipping up a pot of his home-made chicken noodle soup. He was really putting some time into it. There had even been the sound of him chopping up some carrots and celery.

The first new text message was from Xero. It said 'Casual photo with my best friend, Hojoonie. I hope we don't look too bad...Happy Valentine's Day to everyone' -- accompanied by a line of smiley faces and hearts. You rolled your eyes at the words he'd written, and smiled. Like there was any possibility of Xero ever taking a bad picture. He knew that it was unlikely. Even his ultrasound photo from when he was a baby in his mother's womb had probably been perfect. You scrolled down to the photo he'd sent. Sure enough, him and Hojoon were both wearing stylish hats, sipping on some whip cream-topped cappuccinos.

Look bad? Yeah, right! They both look flawless and this is a freaking candid photo, you shook your head, still grinning. Then you clicked through to the second text, which was also from Xero. And not one inch of you was surprised that it included yet another picture. This time, the words above the photo were 'I forgot to send this earlier. Me + Bjoo + Hansol. Don't we look cute?' The picture was of Xero with Byungjoo on one side of him and Hansol on the other side. Xero's arms were wrapped around their shoulders. In his lap were numerous small teddy bears and boxes of candy. On top of Xero's head sat a golden paper crown.

"What's up?" Jin asked, entering the living room while carrying a tray. He walked carefully toward you.

You sat up slowly, your hurting head not permitting you to move too fast. "I think my friend Xero has been crowned King of Valentine's Day. Is that a thing -- like is that even possible?"

Jin laughed as he set the tray down on the coffee table. You spied two bowls filled with nice steamy soup. The soup looked like something straight out of a recipe book. There was also one wine glass and one mug filled with orange juice.

"A wine glass?" you asked, raising one eyebrow at him.

"If you have to be sick on Valentine's Day, why not do it in a classy way?" Jin said, sitting down on the other side of the coffee table -- facing you. He lifted his spoon. "Be careful. The soup's really hot."

TOP's song "Turn It Up" sounded from somewhere near Jin. He dug into his pants' pocket and drew out his cellphone -- the source of the music.

"How's it going?" he said into his phone, lowering his head over his bowl of soup. For several moments, he sat there listening to the caller on the other line. Then he sighed. "No, Tae...you don't give a girl shrimp crackers on Valentine's Day. Yeah, I understand what you're saying, but girls aren't like birds...No, Taehyung, definitely don't buy a girl you don't know a goldfish for Valentine's. Just...try candy. I know candy sounds weird to you, but just try it. Yeah, you can call me back if you need me."

He pressed the END CALL button on his phone and set it down on the coffee table. Then he looked across at you. "Does it taste okay?"

You had scooted down off of the sofa and sat down on the floor beside the table. While he'd spoken on the phone, you'd tried the soup. Your spoon was dipping back into your bowl again. "It's okay," you agreed.

Actually, this stuff is freaking delicious...is this a family recipe or something -- and is one of his family members the god or goddess of chicken noodle soup?! you thought, still not willing to openly surrender to the princess' charms.

Again, "Turn It Up" pumped from Jin's phone. He answered it. "Hey, what's up?" A pause. "Yeah, Jimin, you can borrow one of my shirts. You really need to buy one of your own someday -- it wouldn't be bad if you owned at least one shirt with sleeves, especially during the winter like now. Okay, good luck, bye."

As you took a sip of orange juice from your wine glass, Jin said, "My friend Jimin...his answer to any problem involving women is usually to flash his arm muscles at them. Or do a body wave. He once got us all free McDonald's gift cards with only a body wave. That's how he got new tires on his truck, too -- by y dancing at an auto supply store. That was an interesting day." He glanced at your bowl. "Do you want some more?"

Your bowl was empty except for a little broth at the bottom. You opened your mouth to answer, but this time, it was your phone that rang. So you picked it up off the coffee table and pushed it to your ear.

It was Atom on the other end. He said, sounding a bit frazzled, "The guys and I are going to a club tonight, if the snow's not too bad. I spoke to Nakta and he gave me some dirty pick-up lines to use...but I don't know if I should tell a lady that she 'must be this high to ride the...'"

You quickly interrupted him. "Kim Sanggyun, don't you finish that sentence! Nakta told you to say that? He's messing with you. Nakta's usually too shy to even walk up to a girl, so he definitely wouldn't have the guts to say any of that himself."

"Okay...so no pick-up lines," Atom said, and you could hear him actually taking notes on what you were telling him. "Right, so, Jenissi suggested yesterday that I forget the cologne and just spray some Febreze on myself. Do ladies find the smell of air freshener that y?"

"Atom..." you began, but paused to bury your face in your sleeve and cough a couple of times. "Sweetheart, just take a shower. That's all. No Febreze needed. And be Kim Sanggyun. Just quote from books like you always do. Make that confused but cute expression you get when you eat anything sour. Just be you. It sounds corny, but the right girl will notice you eventually. Now, could I speak to Seogoong for a second, if that's okay?"

"Sure, he's right here," Atom consented, followed by a rustling noise as the phone changed hands.

Meanwhile, Jin smiled at you and loaded the bowls plus the empty cups back onto the tray. "I'll go clean up the mess I made in the kitchen," he whispered, trying to not interrupt your conversation. He stood up, walked through the kitchen door, and out of sight.

"Seogoongie at your service, madam," Seogoong joked into the phone.

"What in the world are you, Jenissi, and Nakta teaching Atom?" You laughed -- your laughter mixed with coughing. "And now, he told me that you all are taking him to a club tonight -- for V-Day. You'll look out for him, won't you? While you're clubbing?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll babysit this redheaded kid for you," Seogoong said, most likely ruffling Atom's hair at that moment, just to annoy him. Then he replied, "That cough doesn't sound nice. Are you coming down with something?"

"I saw a doctor yesterday. It's nothing much -- just a cold. I'm more upset about Kidoh being stuck far away because of the ice on the roads."

"Sounds like your day isn't going too well," Seogoong said in response, "Do you want me to swing by and bring you a can of soup or anything?"

You slid back onto the couch, burrowing under your blankets again. "No, I'm good. Jin's been here all morning. He already made soup." You pulled an edge of the blanket over your head, locking yourself up in your own little world of warmth.

"So...what you're telling me is..." Seogoong's words came out slowly on purpose. "Jin is forfeiting his own Valentine's Day to take care of you?"

"Uh...well," you fumbled for a proper way to respond. You yanked the blanket from over your head. "Truthfully, I never thought of it like that."

"You didn't act mean to him, did you? Because there's no way a single guy would want to spend his Valentine's Day taking care of his friend's girlfriend. Not unless he's a ultra-nice guy, like I am."

"I get it, Seogoong. I already feel bad now." You sat up on the sofa, glancing toward the kitchen door.

Okay, so Jin did make me this divine soup from scratch...and all right, I suppose he did buy me a bottle of brand-new medicine...and yeah, sure, he got me this tissue that has moisturizers in it so my nose doesn't get dry from wiping it so much...

"Oh my gawd, I am the Scrooge of Valentine's Day," you said flatly into the phone.

"No, you're not. Okay, you are," Seogoong chuckled into your ear. "Just be nice to him now. Give him a compliment. Hey, I got to go. Need to clean up the apartment before Jenny, Jenny, Jenissi gets home. If the place is messy, he will nag us until our ears fall off. Bye, buddy. Get better."

'Be better' is what he should have said, you thought, feeling painfully warm now from both your sickness and your own guilt.

Jin reappeared through the kitchen door. Before you could say anything, he blurted out, "Look, I'm really bad at keeping secrets. And I don't want you to be mad at Kidoh for not being here. I don't want you to think he's trying to be a bad boyfriend."

"What are you saying, Seokjin?" you frowned, totally confused.

He clasped his hands together. "The last time I spoke to Kidoh on the phone, he kept talking about how terrible he felt for not staying here to take care of you. But I think, before you decide to be angry with him, you should know that you're part of the reason he didn't back out of the hip hop festival."

"Uh...what?" You pressed your hands to the sides of your throbbing head. "I don't understand what you're saying..."

Jin sat down on the floor beside the couch, near your feet. Then he looked up at you, and explained. "With the money Kidoh gets from doing the stage at the fest, he's going to use it to put a down payment on a new...newish...car. He said that his old, broken-down car wasn't nice enough to drive you around in. That you deserved to be driven around in something better than what he has."

You groaned, feeling even worse. "I don't care about what kind of car Kidoh drives. I just want him. Doesn't he know that by now?"

"You know Kidoh. He wants the best for the people he cares about. He has high standards for himself, for what he does."

"That's sweet of him -- thinking he needs something nicer because of me," you said, smiling to yourself. "I really would have been okay with just a teddy bear and some roses for Valentine's, though. But I still appreciate what he's doing."

"Oh, no -- but that wasn't your present. He was going to perform a song at the festival that he wrote for you. That was his Valentine's Day gift to you," Jin confessed, peeking at his cellphone and then standing up again. He smoothed the creases from his pants before walking toward the kitchen door. "One thirty in the afternoon. I believe it's time for your medicine again."

"Jin, wait!" you coughed, raising your hand to get his attention.

He paused, turning around to look at you.

Seogoong said give him a compliment, right? you remembered, trying to sort through your thoughts despite your pounding headache.

"Um...Jin...you have very nice shoulders," you heard yourself say, which sounded weird when spoken out loud. "No, seriously. They are very wide -- like bookshelves." Wow, what kind of compliment was that? you chastised yourself. Let's try that again. "What I meant is, also...your soup was very good. And...and...I'm not unhappy that you're here right now. Actually, I'm...well, thank you. Thanks for sticking around, even though I don't really know why you'd put up with me -- I haven't said thank you all day."

Jin's plump lips did some kind of pouty smile thing. His eyes softened as he said, quite casually, "You're Kidoh's girlfriend and he's my best friend. So I guess, sometimes, I think of you as my sister. I don't have any sisters, so that's probably why." He gestured toward the kitchen, a big smirk on his face. "I'm going to take me and my flawless shoulders and go get your medicine. I'll be right back."

You smiled and nodded.

Okay, so that ran longer than I expected, and there's no way I can end it there -- so I'm adding a Chapter Six...because Kidoh's still out there, hoping to get home. But I promise, Chapter Six really is the end :) And I'm starting to think this story is fluff, lol. Also, please forgive me for hinting at Nakta's dirty mind -- I don't know if his mind is dirty, and if it is, I don't know how much, lol. I will try to finish this story either today or tomorrow, if I can.

Also, for anyone not familiar with the real names of the Bangtan Boys -- Taehyung/Tae is V :)