5 Whatever

Nara's POV

I was utterly and thoroughly exhausted. We practiced for two hours after cleaning up the practice room. After lunch, Suga and I went through a brief explanation for the kind of music we could submit for the collab. He showed me his archive collection, all the songs he worked on for the past five years in secret. I related to that. As a composer, there are those pieces of our work that we either are ashamed of or insanely in love with that we keep to ourselves. He had some damn fine pieces. He also unknowingly ignited a spark in my brain and I recorded the melody by humming into my phone, saving it as an audio file and setting a pop-up reminder. We had another practice session that ended late and I was changing my clothes after taking a bath when my phone rang. It was Fengh.

"S'up"

"Nothing, really", I replied, feeling tired.

"You up for a get-together over dinner?"

"Are you drunk?", I retorted.

"Jin sunbae wants me to convince you to come over"

"Are you at a restaurant?"

"Seafood. We ordered king crabs"

I laughed dryly.

"So, do I know your answer?"

"You know how much I like seafood", I really do.

"Yep. It's a no, then?"

".....there's leftover bimbab in the fridge-"

"Aera ate it all in the morning. But there's cup ramen in the cabinet"

"Ok"

"You're dead if you eat it. Bye"

"Bye....", I hung up with a smile. She knows I never eat dinner. It was nine thirty when I tucked myself in. It was eleven when I got up and slipped on a pair of jeans, a jacket, left a note on the fridge and hailed a taxi (because I'm too exhausted to drive) to get back to the company. I got myself some coffee and went straight to my studio, turning on the lights, the pc, the equipment ....

I had half a song put together when I reached a dead end. I played the audio in my phone over and over again, but to no avail. I paced around the floor space provided generously by the company and plopped my self on the couch, feeling frustrated. I stared at the ceiling a long time before deciding to take a break. I pulled out my emergency blanket from under the couch and wrapped it around myself like a cocoon. I breathed in the cloud-like material and felt myself relax in its softness. I took deep breaths and kept my eyes closed, my mind blank. I felt the uneasiness in my stomach as familiar thoughts began to creep back into my mind. I tried thinking of how well things were going for me and was suddenly reminded of how they were not going so well. I wasn't as frustrated, but there was a heaviness that settled in my chest. I sighed and opened my eyes but frowned. Why is everything so blurry? I blinked and realised that it was my eyes watering.

"Bwoyaa...."

I shrugged off the blanket and stood up, wiping away the wetness. I pulled the hoodie over my head and grabbed my phone, plugging the earphones in my ears and raising the volume on I need u. I shoved my hands into my pockets and made my way to the terrace. There was a chill in the air and I broke into a light jog, running a few laps. Maybe I can find sleep if I collapse from exhaustion. My phone suddenly vibrated, thank god I kept it on silent mode. It was an incoming international call. I had a strong urge to reject it but sighed and tapped on accept.

"Good evening, princess", he seemed happy.

I didn't say anything.

"How are you?"

He sighed when I kept silent.

"Are they giving you a hard time? I know it's comeback period but you needn't push yourself. You're not a rookie anymore, you can always ask the managers to free up your schedule, right?"

"Dad", my voice came out raspy. He hummed. "Why are you calling?"

"I'm calling to check up on the apple of my eye", his reply was instant. Any other day, I would've chided him for still speaking to me like I'm a five year old. Tonight, I just reminded him of the ungodly hour he chose to call me.

"But you're still awake", he said, "and you probably couldn't talk to me during the day even if you wanted to"

He was right about that. I would be too busy. He asked me if I had dinner and I sighed in response. He kept asking me things and I kept giving indirect responses. Then he said something about that show I was on. For some reason, I found myself getting mad.

"I need to go", I said curtly and hung up on him. I slammed the terrace door and raced down to the stairs in a fit of fury. I stopped upon reaching my floor and swayed on my feet feeling dizzy as weariness kicked in. I lowered my head and took wobbling steps forward, almost bumping into someone but walking past them and continuing on my mission.

Sleep, I chanted in my head as I stumbled into the studio, my vision blurred.

I can finally sleep.....

It smelled different. The scent wasn't like that of my blanket. It was different but also oddly comforting. I buried my face into the foreign material and let out a deep, content sigh. It felt like leather. Maybe its a coat. There was a weight on my shoulder and it disappeared when I shifted. But it reappeared and that's when I realized that someone was poking me.

"Rapmon.....?"

That voice. Isn't that...

I woke up with a startle and jolted upright. J-hope screamed upon seeing my face and I screamed in reply. I looked around the room and screamed upon the unfamiliar surroundings. I looked to the left and was about to scream again at the creepy figurine staring into my soul when he covered my mouth with his hand.

"What are you doing here?", he asked in a concerned voice. I removed his hand and looked around once more.

"Where am I?"

"Namjoon's studio"

"WHAT?", I stood up from the armchair, swaying a little but finding my balance. I looked back at Hobi. "Why?"

He folded his arms across his chest, smiling suspiciously, "I'd like to know that too"

"Aaargh!", I grabbed my hair inside the hoodie and scrunched my eyes closed.

"What happened last night? Did you drink a lot?"

"I didn't drink...", I groaned, trying to remember what happened but drawing a blank. I rubbed at my eyes, ".....gosh! Why can't I remember?", I stopped, realizing what it must look like. My eyes widened and I looked back at Hoseok. He was giving me weird looks, smiling broadly. I slowly backed away.

"Nothing.happened....", I said slowly, putting my hand on the door knob.

"Suurreeee", he drawled. I twisted the knob and ran for dear life. It was when I reached my own studio that I realised I was holding on to a jacket. Must be RM's. I thought about putting it back but changed my mind when I heard footsteps coming my way. I quickly closed the door and bundled the jacket, hiding it in my blanky, climbing on the couch and facing the other way in a curled up position. I heard someone coming in and moving around. I guessed that it must be Ayano and was proven right when she shook my shoulder to wake me. I did a great deal of acting sleepy though adrenaline was still pumping in my veins. She brought me coffee, thank God. She asked me if I slept late and I nodded.

"What's the time?", I casually asked.

"Twelve fifteen"

My eyes widened. "So I slept through the entire morning practice? Why didn't you wake me sooner?"

"The door was locked and I knocked a lot but you didn't open. Your phone was dead, too"

"Oh...", I said a little slowly, thanking the heavens that I locked the door last night. She was looking at me like she expected me to say something. Oh, right...the door was open just now. I rubbed at my neck, deciding what to say. "Yeah, well....I got up to pee earlier. I'm sorry, I should've checked the time on my phone"

She nodded, "you should really put up a wall clock"

I hummed and shifted, reaching into my jean pocket to get my phone. It wasn't there. Ayano informed me that we would be eating lunch at two and I hummed absentmindedly, looking around to see if I dropped it somewhere. After half an hour of searching, I started to panic. Relax, I told myself. I probably left it on the terrace. I freshened up, took an elevator to the highest level and climbed the last set of stairs. The door to the terrace was open. I heard someone humming a tune and I knocked once on the open door before sticking my head in.

"Hello?", I called out.

"Hey", said RM, turning around from the railing. "Good morning", he said and I returned the greeting, stepping into the sun.

"Did you sleep well?"

The question caught me off guard and I coughed awkwardly before muttering a yes, looking around for my phone.

"Are you looking for something?"

"....my phone"

"I don't think it's here"

I turned around to find him staring at me. Like an exhibit on display, he was studying my every move. "Okay....", I said, the awkwardness thickening in the air around us. "M-maybe I should...erm, look elsewhere", I said and hastily retreated downstairs.

"Nara-yah!"

I stopped in my tracks upon seeing Hoseok walk up to me from the other direction. He took something out from his pocket.

"I think you forgot this"

"Oh, thank you!", I said, taking my phone from his hands. He was still giving me those scandalous looks.

"Yah!", I exclaimed, shoving him playfully, "I told you nothing happened"

"Then what are you getting all worked up for?"

"YAH!"

"Arasseo...no need to shout. But did you consider taking pills?"

"Huh?", what pills is he-

"Sleeping pills, you pabo!"

"Oh!", it dawned on me, "it was you then? I bumped into you last night?"

"It wasn't me", he flicked my forehead, "or you would've been in a hospital right now. What were you thinking? You have a concert in less than three days. Why are you being like this?"

I apologized repeatedly as he kept lecturing me. Hoseok has the tendency to be super overprotective. He also remembered to keep in touch with me no matter how busy or famous he had become. I think part of it is because I'm besties with his younger sister (we have the same career goals).

Maybe I should get some sleeping pills, I think as I busy myself in the day's schedule. And about RM.....why didn't he just say that my phone could be in his studio? That guy is weird.

Or maybe he said that so I wouldn't feel so awkward. I felt this weird thing, a buzzy kind of feeling run all over my body. I shook my head, trying to shake off the feeling as I concentrated on the slideshow.

Whatever.