October 9, 2019

Taehyung's POV

The boys and I stepped out of the van and stood in front of the dozens of camera men. It was the middle of the night, yet all these people were here to get the latest glimpse of us to inform the world. When we first started, I found it so very cool that all these people were here for us and they were supporting us but no that's not it at all. In reality the cameras were there to get the latest news on us what we were wearing, how we looked, who was with us, etc. They were not supporting us in any way. Yes, it did come with "free" publicity, but where did the boundaries stop, and will they turn away if any of us make a mistake or focus even more?

Still, I smiled and stood still as the flashes devoured us, hurting our eyes making us squint. We walked amongst our managers and the security guards who guided us along to the terminal. Yoongi was behind me a hand on my shoulder trying not to stumble against me. Away from the paparazzi we got to the terminal where there was some other staff waiting for us and our private jet's final preparations. The boys were scattered around talking about the schedule and the flight. This particular one would be ten hours long it would be exhausting.

"Don't worry boys tour is almost over," manager Sejin announced before leaving to make sure everything was in order.

"I can't wait," Jimin mumbled, eyes closed behind his sunglasses that shielded him from the flashes.

"We need to make the most of these last ones," Namjoon spoke, "There's a lot of expectation from the fans for them to be great."

Mumbles of agreement were heard around the room. I began thinking how we couldn't afford to make a mistake now that we were making our way to the top not only in Korean or Asian charts but in the United States too. That's a huge deal for us since we were some of the first to achieve such a feat. The pressure was definitely on my shoulders, I knew the rest would do great and I needed to keep up.

Before we boarded the plane, a ring echoed throughout the room, making the other look up from whatever they were doing. Sheepishly, I fished my phone from my bag to see who had texted me at this hour. Not surprised I saw it was Nari wishing me a safe flight it wasn't strange for her to text me at odd hours of the night since she liked to spend so much time procrastinating it was nighttime by the time she got to studying.

I felt a weight settling on my arm and looking to the side, it was Jungkook peering into my phone. Giving him a soft push, I frowned, saying, "Yah, what are you doing?"

"I was seeing who texted you," he softly said, staring at me with his big doe eyes, yet they were far from innocent for if you saw closer, you'd see the mischief in them.

"Why do you feel the need to ask," Jin laughed, "He only ever text Nari nowadays."

"I do not," I mumbled ignoring them as I answered the text quickly before we were called to board and I had to shut off my phone.

"Taehyung!" He scolded me, gesturing with his hands, "I sent you a text the other day and it took you two hours to answer meanwhile she texts, and you answered instantly."

"I was busy when you texted me," I answered pursing my lips, not looking directly at me. I had my reasons I didn't answer him, he wanted me to do the dishes and I didn't feel like it. If I acknowledged the message, I'd have to do them. Plus, I was talking to Nari on the phone.

"You were in your room. How busy can you be? " Namjoon piped up probably remembering how Seokjin was scolding me for ignoring him. 

"I can come up with a few answers to that," Jimin smirked, "Have you seen the size of those hickeys," he then wiggled his eyebrows.

It didn't matter where the hickeys were placed because they did not remain a secret from the rest of the boys for long. That day once I met with the boys to rehearse my shirt lifted a little too much making Hoseok notice and start laughing hysterically. Once the boys caught up, they didn't let me live it down. They hadn't faded yet either they were much lighter, but still there as a reminder of that glorious Friday morning. It left my mind in a haze going constantly back to it not only to what she did but how we were tangled in the sheets in each other's arms, I wouldn't mind waking up next to her everyday, messy hair and bare face included it only made her look more adorable. Of course the guys didn't see it that way as they teased me every time I was out of it.

"I was playing video games!" I defended myself, my eyes going over all of them.

"You don't have to lie to us," Yoongi murmured, his eyes not leaving his phone as he implied I was doing unspeakable things alone in my room. These boys had no respect or boundaries, but that's what I get for being constantly around them for seven years.

"I'm not!"

I sat with my arms crossed, a pout on my lips and crease between my brows. They all laughed around me glad they managed to annoy and tease me successfully.

The flight was long and exhausting ten hours on a plane was not fun. No matter how comfortable the reclining seats were the thought that I was in the air far from the ground made my stomach unsettle. After a flight of not quite falling asleep, we landed in Saudi Arabia. Thankfully, there wasn't any paparazzi around which made our way to the vans a quicker process and we arrived at the hotel in no time. Our manager told us to rest for a few hours because in the afternoon we'd be visiting the stadium we would perform in.

I spent a few minutes humming random songs under my breath and unpacking the essentials before taking a much needed nap. I couldn't wait to sink into the covers and let the darkness envelop me for a few hours. I was so tired it was guaranteed my brain wouldn't produce any memorable dreams. Soft knocks resonated through the door, making me look up at it in curiosity. While visits from the others were common I thought everyone would be asleep or working on their own things.

Manager Sejin and Namjoon greeted me when I opened the door. This was not good. If those two were seen together, it's because something happened and it was probably bad. I invited them in and we all settled before Sejin spoke up.

"We'll get straight to the point I imagine you are tired," he stated seriously. Something about Sejin was that even though matters were serious you still felt comfortable around him, he didn't give off a scary vibe. He was always there to reassure us everything would be okay.

I nodded at him yet I couldn't help but shoot Namjoon a scared look. 

"This picture became trending on twitter," Sejin said, giving me his phone, "We'd thought you should know."

"What about it?" I questioned, looking at the picture that was taken when we were at the airport.

"Zoom in where your shirt lifted," Namjoon added, giving me an encouraging nod.

"Oh," I responded noticing what they meant. My hickeys were visible thanks to my shirt lifting and the lighting of all the camera flashes.

"What do I do?"

"You won't do anything, and neither will we," Sejin informed me taking back his phone, "Luckily the marks are pretty faded so they could be due to something else," he added.

"The fans are going crazy speculating, but I'm sure it'll be forgotten in no time," Namjoon reassured me, "Much like Yoongi that other time."

"Oh okay," I whispered, "Thanks."

Soon after they went their own ways, leaving me with hundreds of thoughts in my head. There was no way I could sleep now. What if Nari got mad at me? What if the fans found out about her? What if they left because of it? Trying to find answers I rummaged through the bed sheets, searching frantically for my phone. It fell to the floor with a thud checking the notifications I found I hadn't received anything from Nari, I took it that she hadn't noticed yet and not that she was mad. It was stupid for me to think of her that way I knew her well enough to know she wouldn't react badly.

Opening the twitter app, I searched through the trending topics only to see my name on the third spot.

There were thousands of tweets some good, some bad, some suspecting. It was reassuring that ARMY was divided into the hickeys being actual hickeys and the hickeys being due to my cholinergic urticaria. I was thankful for the people who accepted that it was hickeys and weren't mad or upset I might be seeing people, while the people who insulted the mystery girl upset me.

(I got carried away. I apologize)

If this is how it's going to be, I don't want to subject Nari to any type of hate, she doesn't deserve it. She doesn't deserve to hear or read these words just because she is dating me.

I would be restless until Nari spoke to me telling me she was okay and that she wasn't mad. Truth be told this was not a big deal rumors always floated around us even when we weren't seeing anyone.  Nari and I hadn't been seen spotted in public, so the media had nothing on us they had no credibility, but what if this scared her away from me leaving our yet to flourish relationship behind? I'm afraid I have become so comfortable with her and so dependent on her I wouldn't know what to do if she left me.

With nothing else left to do, I wrote her a text message  when she woke up. I closed my eyes and tried with all my might to succumb to the darkness behind my eyelids. I thought I wouldn't dream, I was right, yet nightmares took over haunting my restless sleep.

A/N:

They were caught!
Nari tried her best lol!
Sike about the time I even fooled myself.
As always, please, remember to vote, comment, and share with a friend.

-Nikki Marie 💜