ACT VII | SCENE XXXII

❝SOFTIE❞

PLACING THE GLASS of water on the coffee table, rian settled on a chair. her eyes moved to the man seated only a few steps away. leaning forward, hoseok picked up the glass, taking a sip. his eyes met hers as he placed it back and she really couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"how was your weekend?" he began, making himself comfortable on the sofa. "it was better than i thought it would be." she answered, knowing very well he was referring to the man who just left her apartment minutes ago. "that it?" he arched a brow at her and she chuckled. "what do you want to know?" she asked, receiving an incredulous look in reply. "obviously everything." propping his elbow on the arm of her sofa, he cradled his cheek and stared intently at her.

besides haesun, hoseok was probably her oldest friend, the two of them going as far back as high school. they never really talked at first – which was weird because they were both the social butterflies of their class – but towards the end of the first semester of their first year, they got closer. becoming practically best friends, the two were always seen together and even always ended up in the same class.

hoseok would rather die than mention it now, but he admitted once that he used to have a crush on her, until they actually got to know each other. after they became friends, he couldn't unsee her as 'one of the boys' and his crush vanished at the speed of light. it didn't mean he stopped being protective and affectionate.

"his apartment is huge and everything is like black and whit—"

"ri, i couldn't care less what his apartment looks like." he cut her off flatly. she pursed her lips, blinking. "right." she nodded, realising it must have sounded like she was rambling. "it was awkward at first." a laugh spilled from her lips at the memory. "very awkward." she added, resting her back against the chair. "i couldn't think of anything to say and it was just weird."

"wait, chatty rian had nothing to say?" hoseok gasped dramatically. "shut up." she sneered playfully, only for him to mock her expression. she sent him a dirty look and he stuck his tongue out at her in response. rian's relationship with hoseok could turn childish in the blink of an eye, in a way that people thought they were more like siblings than friends. and it usually took either one of them, or someone else to stop the exchange before it got out of hand. this time, it was hoseok with a hand in surrender.

"i told you before, it's just awkward with him. we didn't meet under normal circumstances and we certainly aren't staying in contact for orthodox reasons." she continued. "and he thinks i apologise too much—"

"oh, yes, you do." he nodded his agreement and received a mild glare. "so i was trying to watch what i said around him to avoid apologising needlessly." she went on. "what do you think the number would be if we put an apology counter on you? wow, if we could turn that to money, we'd be made for life." he chimed with a teasing look glinting in his eyes. "you're so annoying." she replied, causing laughter to erupt from him. "but you can't unfriend me."

"ugh, i should have ignored you when you first said hi to me when we were first years." rian groaned dramatically. hoseok suddenly began to sniff the air, features pulling together like he was trying to discern what he was smelling. "wow, do you smell this? it's so strong. and it smells like lies." he chirped before his gaze settled on her again. she scrunched her nose at him and he smiled. "now, go on."

once again, she gave him another look but went on with her story anyway. she recounted their first night, from the lack of conversation at dinner to haneul's little accident. hoseok listened quietly this time, appearing highly amused.

"jin's presence thankfully made it less awkward, though he definitely can't resist stirring a bit of drama." she told him. "you mean the model?" he asked and she nodded. "he came over this morning. he's really nice and super intelligent and he makes it so easy to talk to him."

he gave her a look. "do you have a crush on him now? are you really ready to compete with chanmi?" he teased with a smile. "shut up. i don't." she frowned. "do you want to know what happened or not?" she asked with narrowed eyes. he raised both hands in surrender, allowing her to continue uninterrupted.

"hold on, so he actually promised to keep spending time with haneul whenever he can?" hoseok tilted his head to the side. rian nodded in answer. "i mean, i can't exactly blame him. when haneul pulls a sleepy puppy dog look, i would jump off a moving train if she asked me to." he mused. "still, he's amazing. anyone, especially someone in the public eye like him who also seems to be very busy would have hesitated or flat out refused. he all but accepted to take on the role of her father."

"why do you suppose he agreed?" rian questioned. "obviously, he's a softie." he responded easily. "i got that vibe from him when we met too, so i can't exactly say i'm surprised." his right shoulder rose in a slight shrug.

fingers combing through honey brown locks, hoseok looked at her. "does haesun know about him?" he asked softly. rian's features softened and she nodded. "haneul told her about him. i'd been stalling on telling her about yoongi so i was so surprised when she brought him up. because how do you tell a woman that her child caused a nationwide scandal because she went around calling a man she's never met her father? i'm still stalling on telling her the complete truth."

picking up the glass of water again, he arched a brow. "what exactly does she know?" he queried. "that there's a man haneul calls her daddy. at first, she assumed he had a child that haneul picked that up from. she thinks yoongi and i have been friends for a while. and she's even hoping we end up dating."

hoseok let out a little snort. "that would be the greatest upgrade, considering your less than stellar history of men." he remarked lightly, placing the glass after taking a sip. "i don't need you shitting on my love life too." she huffed. "who else did?" his eyes grew larger. "haesun."

his snort morphed into an obnoxious cackle. "so she called you out on it too? again?" he clapped his hands in enthusiastic amusement. "she reminded me that my taste in men is absolute crap. and she tried to get me to go out with taehyung, then she moved on to yoongi when i assured her that would never happen."

she frowned when his laughter didn't subside. "ugh, stop laughing, seokie. it's not funny." she let out another huff. "it is. what was not funny was you refusing to listen to either of us when we warned you about all those guys, especially hoon. what i would give to land another punch on his stupid jaw." he retorted childishly. "i hate you." she mumbled, scrunching her nose at him.

his laughter melted into a smile as he regarded her gently. "whatever you two become, friends, lovers, strangers, just remember to be careful. he may be a softie, but he's still a well-known individual who can always be dragged into the limelight at any given time. that you mostly dodged a bullet the last time doesn't guarantee that you will, next time. we've witnessed the media ruthlessly eat into and tear people apart for their own gain. and i don't want that for you or haneul."

rian felt her heart skip a quick beat in momentary fear at the warning, but let the corners of her mouth lift into a small smile. "i'll be careful." she nodded with conviction. no matter what, she had to ensure haneul's safety as well as hers.

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whoever guessed hobi, right answer! also idk if i'll be able to update this friday, seeing as its christmas and all. so wishing y'all a merry christmas in advance! hope you have a great week and an amazing holiday in spite of everything that's happened this year. have fun but stay safe 💛