"Since when have you been a fan?" Jin asked, his words emploring an answer, while hesitant to make a still recovering Nia, speak.

He had been looming over her bed for a while, the passing of time seeming to have stopped a while back. Which each step he took, he became more impatient.

The worry of fans finding out of his whereabouts and the actions they could take after learning of it frightened him to the point that he could not stay seated.

To Nia, this was an opportunity of a lifetime, but all she could do was a nod or shake her head at his questions.

Where are you from?

What's your full name?

Since when have you been a fan?

Does your face hurt?

She was, for one, still suffering the effects of the anesthesia, and second, she was so out of it she could barely make proper sentences make sense in her mind.

It made no sense for him to be there in front of her, and no matter which way she looked at it, he was still but a figure of her imagination. She wondered, with every glance of his face, would he disappear. 

Every hour that passed by only became more agonizing to her. She wanted to know more about him, to see his cheeky smile more. To her, his face became a drug, his words intoxicating her body with a feeling of absolute bliss.

She wanted more, she needed him to stay near her and continue looking at her with such tender looks. Was this an obsession?

Most likely, but it was one she was willing to pay the price for.

"Hungry?" he smirked.

His tone was so playful Nia felt like she was dancing with every note of it.

"Not necessarily," she mumbled in response.

"Hm, odd. You have been here for almost half a day. I'm guessing the shock is keeping you from feeling hunger," he chuckled. 

Nia looked confused.

"Half a day? I- have I not been here but a few hours?" she questioned.

Jin paused, looking deep into her eyes while his head tilted.

"The doctors had quite a hard time locating one of the fragments of your bones which had split off and caused massive swelling. Took them a couple of hours to get you fixed up, and you slept for several more," he replied with a playful tone. 

Both of them went silent for a moment, Nia taking some time to wrap her head around the situation. 

There was a small growl coming from her stomach that interrupted the silence, both Nia and Jin bursting out in a small fit of laughter. 

"I'll go see if I can get you some food, be right back," he smiled, Nia nodding happily.

Opening the door to the hall, Jin's eyes pause on a figure coming towards him wearing a face mask and a hoodie. It was Namjoon, large framed glasses on his face, the same ones he had seen him wear to the hospital when Jungkook had been hurt before.

"How is she?" he asked while passing next to Jin.

There was something that had piqued Jin's interest. The way Namjoon appeared to worry about an absolute stranger and how he had done some of the oddest of gestures while waiting for her to wake up made Jin sizzle with curiosity.  He, more than anyone else, would have been asking- no - begging, for Jin to go home and leave the bodyguards or a representative to deal with her. Since the incident with Jungkook, Namjoon would take any and all precautions to keep the members out of danger, but there he stood, thick awkwardly fitting glasses on his face and a mask that covered more than half of his face. 

"She looks to be conscious enough to make some small talk, but her sentences are very jumbled. I don't think she realizes it though so, go easy on her and act as you understand," Jin smiled, walking past him.

"And you are going?"

"To find the doctors and see if I can get her something to eat.  Her stomach says she's hungry even if her mouth can't."

Namjoon simply sighed, Jin's figure walking down the hall and sight. 

For a moment, Namjoon stood outside, looking in from the window of the door. He wasn't sure how to introduce himself, what to say, or what to even do.

He hadn't thought so far ahead, only sure of wanting to see her awake.

Taking a deep breath, Namjoon took off his mask and sunglasses and opened the door.

"Good afternoon," he muttered, Nia's eyes widening.

"I- monrging,"

Namjoon smiled shyly, walking over to the room's chair and sitting down.

"How are you feeling?"

"Thriert."

"Tired? Same. All this has been...disorientating," he smiled softly. 

"I... I came to thank you. For defending us to this extent."

"MNoh worrihs," Nia replied, her eyes closing as she grinned.

She was confused, even more than before. Why was he here? She wondered if maybe he would run into May on his way out and a frenzy would ensue. She wondered why she had gotten so lucky to meet two of the oldest members of her favorite group, and she overall wondered what to even do with this experience.

Namjoon sat quietly, the atmosphere awkward between the two.  He looked sad, Nia noticing some moles on his face she hadn't noticed before. His eyes looked sunken in, like he had stayed up late or not slept at all. It wasn't uncommon for people in the industry to sleep very little, but she didn't realize before how hard it must have been on them. 

His skin looked so smooth, his hair still choppy from the new look he was going for in their recent debut, and his lips looked chapped. Was it cold outside, she wondered?

"I... I don thing I will be able do tage care of the carity I helwp at," she mumbled, thinking to herself.

Thinking about anything else helped her from the shock of meeting her idols, reminding herself that she had responsibilities calmed her down. She contemplated the thought of helping out while a lingering feeling of disgust filled her stomach. She hated it there. She hadn't realized it before because of everything that was going on, but she hated being there. The smell of a hospital, how could she forget it?

"I'm sure someone will take care of it," Namjoon replied, bringing Nia back to reality just before she went through the memories of her past.

"I thouwght I'd mewss up my worgs with him," she admitted, for once hearing herself clearly.

She was making no sense, her hands going up to cover her mouth.

"Jin doesn't care for things like that."

"Youw can ungdertawnd me?" she asked, surprised.

"Both of us could. Although your speech is getting better as time goes on, I'm guessing the anesthesia is wearing off, but yes. Not too hard if you use context clues," he smirked. 

Nia blushed hard, realizing she must have sounded like a baby while talking to Jin, her eyes looking down at her bed. She found some comfort in Namjoon's words, but that feeling of disgust returned. She hated it.

"I hate hospitals," she whispered to herself, hoping Namjoon wouldn't hear.

"How come?" he asked, Nia wanting to bite her tongue for speaking loud enough for him to hear. 

She hated the pity people often gave her after she opened up about her life, the way May had done when they had first met. Surprisingly, Namjoon seemed more concerned than with the want to belittle her. Still, something deep within her wanted her to stop. To stop thinking back. The way she felt Namjoon's eyes fall on her made her feel at ease, however. 

He was a leader of a group, so he must have dealt with situations like hers before, no?

With a small smile on her face, she took a good look at him before opening her mouth.

"They remind me of the day my brother died."

Namjoon said nothing at first. 

I mean what could he say to a girl who was opening herself up to him with the death of a family member. He had known her for a bit now, without her knowledge, but he had never really known her. She never spoke about her family much, and when she did, they were always abroad. She had no siblings, from what he recalled, but now she admitted she did.

Before he could make a coherent sentence form in his mind, Jin returned, a small box of noodles in hand.

"Hello pretty lady, I brought you some food. Sorry if it took a while. Hey Joonie, I plan to go home in the shower, mind keeping an eye while I go?" he asked, walking over to place the food next to Nia's hospital bed.

Namjoon nodded, Nia thanking Jin for the food before he disappeared again through the door.

"When did he-"

Namjoon looked over at Nia, who seemed hesitant to touch the food.

"I'm feeling a bit sleepy. Is it okay if I sleep for a bit before eating?"

Namjoon nodded, taking out his phone and leaning into the seat he was in.

"I'll read a book for a bit. I'll wake you up so you can still have the food warm."

 Nia sighed, leaning back into the bed and closing her eyes. She didn't want to talk about him just yet.

His memory was one that still hurt her.

She just needed some more time.

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🐨Hopefully you guys are excited... About 4 more chapters before we start the ending....

Marili Cruz
~♡~