Chapter 18 - (1.5K Words)

You sat quietly beside Namjoon as he drove the car through the downpour of rain. Both of you had been silent since the moment you took off. All you could hear was the constant, rhythmic drone of the rain hitting the windshield. It was almost relaxing.

Almost.

You looked out your window at the passing landscape. What you could see looked dull and washed up because the sun was blocked out by the large storm clouds overhead. The rain wasn't showing any signs of stopping, and it had already been raining for about an hour.

It looks just as gloomy as I feel.

This was the only time that Namjoon hadn't put a bag over your head while you were in the car. It didn't matter anyway: You had no idea where the hell you were right now. You probably wouldn't even remember any of the land around you, either.

You pulled Mark's jacket tight over your form. You crossed your arms over your chest, trying to keep warm. The car didn't have a very good heating system, and you were suffering for it.

You heard Namjoon tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. He sighed quietly, and leaned forward to look out the window. He clicked his tongue and shook his head before leaning back in his seat.

"If it rains like this for much longer, the whole country might drown," Namjoon spoke softly, trying to start a conversation with you.

I have nothing else to do; I might as well take the bait.

"I hope it doesn't," you said, trying to stay light-hearted. "We don't have a boat, and I'm not a very good swimmer."

"I don't believe that," Namjoon said, shaking his head. "I've never met someone that's bad at swimming."

"Then you don't know me very well," you laughed, pushing the hair out of your eyes. "I'm a very bad swimmer. I can only doggy paddle."

"Don't worry, Princess, I wouldn't let you drown," Namjoon said, smiling. "I'm a really good swimmer. Jin says it's because I'm part fish, but I don't think that's true." You imagined Namjoon with fins and puckered fish lips and laughed.

"Hey, what's so funny, Princess?" Namjoon asked, smiling with amusement. "You're not laughing at me, are you?"

"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you," you said, wiping a tear away from your eye. "I don't think you're part fish."

"Well, even if I'm not, I'm still a very good swimmer. I could swim up the Han River in less than a day, if I really wanted to," Namjoon bragged.

"I'd like to see that," you giggled. "I'll cheer you on from the sidelines."

"But, I said I could do it if I wanted to," Namjoon stuttered. "I said that I could, not that I wanted to."

You rolled your eyes at him, and tried to keep yourself from laughing. You liked him like this. Why couldn't he always be this way?

"Yah, you're no fun, Joonie," you whined, playfully hitting him in the arm.

"Hey, don't hit me! I'm driving," Namjoon squealed, letting the car swerve slightly as he was speaking. "And did you just call me Joonie?"

The smile left your face. You stared down at your lap, realizing that you had just addressed him as something other than Namjoon. You were silent a second before you answered him.

"Um, yeah, I-I did," you stuttered. "It's what Jimin called you. I used it on accident. I'm sorry, if you don't want me to use it, I won't do it--"

"No it's okay, I like it."

You looked up, and he had a big smile on his face. His eyes were still focused on the road, but you could tell something had changed. His eyes were brighter than the rest of the world around you; it made you feel unusually warm inside.

"I think it's cute when you call me Joonie," he said. "I don't mind if that's what you want to call me. I think I prefer that, actually. After all, it's better than when you just call me Namjoon. It sounds so cold." He wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Alright, I'll continue to call you Joonie, but on one condition," you held up a single finger. Namjoon took his eyes off of the road and raised his eyebrow at you.

"And what exactly is that condition, Princess?" He asked, a smirk playing at his lips. "I think I've done a lot for you already today. I would be careful what you ask for."

"Can you stop calling me Princess?" You asked. "I have an actual name."

"Do you now?" Namjoon scrunched his face up weird and pretended to play dumb. "I think I'd prefer to call you Princess instead. I think it suits you."

"Don't test me Namjoon."

"Maybe you shouldn't test me, Princess."

It was silent a for only a moment before you both burst out into laughter and smiles.

* * * *

"Hey, wake up!"

You could feel somebody rattling your shoulder. You threw your arm out, and tried to push them away. You opened your eyes, and you saw a blurry figure standing beside you. You waited for your eyes to come into focus, and you saw Hoseok standing just outside of the car.

You looked around, confused for a second. Now it was dark outside and the rain had stopped. You tried to look at the land around you, but it was too dark for you to see anything. That, and you were too tired for your eyes to process anything.

"Namjoon asked me to escort you inside," Hoseok said, offering you his hand. "He said that he had to run ahead and take care of some things. So, I have the honor of walking with a lovely girl such as yourself."

You blushed as he took your hand and helped you out of the car. He closed the car door behind you and then turned around to face you. He pulled a long piece of black fabric out of his pocket, and you gave him a questioning look.

"Namjoon did have one condition," Hoseok said, playing around with the piece of fabric. "Even though it's already dark outside, he didn't want you to see anything."

You understandingly nodded your head, and turned around. Hoseok carefully slid the piece of fabric around your eyes and tied the knot tight. He gently slid his arm around your waist, and pulled you close to him.

"I'll guide you to the safehouse, so you'll have to stick close to me otherwise you might fall and hurt yourself on the way there," Hoseok said, carefully urging you forward.

"I can't really go anywhere on my own with your arm around me like this," you said,

"As long as it's working, right?"

You bit your lip, hoping that Hoseok wouldn't see how red your face was. That was the one disadvantage of not being able to see him. You knew that he was there, but you didn't know what the hell he was doing outside of that.

"So, I heard you had quite a rough day," Hoseok said, lowering his voice. "Is there any chance that you might want to talk about it?" He asked, genuine concern in his voice.

"I really don't know," you said, thinking it over. "I've just had a long day and a lot of things have happened. I don't think I want to relive it just yet."

"That's alright," Hoseok softly chuckled, trying to keep things light. "I just wanted to be sure that you were okay. If you're not comfortable with telling me right now, then I can wait."

You wanted to cry and smile at the same time. Out of all the boys, you felt like he was the only one who genuinely cared for you. It made you feel weird, knowing that he chose to be nice to you when he was a part of your capture. You didn't know if it was a good kind of weird, or bad kind of weird.

I guess it doesn't really matter at this point, you thought.

You felt Hoseok's other arm latch onto your legs, and he lifted you up in the air. Startled by his sudden movements, you threw your arms around his neck. He held you tightly to his chest, and you could feel the heat in your face.

"Hoseok! What are you doing?!" You asked, too afraid to move. "Put me down!"

"Ah, come on, (Y/N)," Hoseok laughed. "It's much easier if I just carry you. That way, you won't accidentally trip over something. Besides, this is more fun."

"For you? Or for me?" You asked, trying your hardest not to smile at him.

"It depends on how much you're enjoying this."

Your face was uncomfortably warm. You didn't want to admit it, but this wasn't bothering you as much as you thought it would.

"Besides, we should be getting close to the safe house fairly soon," he said, pulling you closer into his chest. "Just humor me for a little bit longer, okay?"

You sleepily nodded your head and contentedly listened Hoseok's rhythmic breath.