Chapter 20 - (1.8K Words)

"I can't really say I'm surprised," Namjoon said, struggling to keep himself quiet. "You've always been carefree. You're the first one I'd pick to be by my side in a fistfight, but you're so goddamned careless. I don't think I can take it anymore."

Your head was resting against the wall, and you were staring up at the ceiling. Your hands were folded neatly in your lap. You were seated on a black leather bench just outside of Namjoon's office. Yoongi, however, was inside, getting the scolding of a lifetime. Even though the doors were shut, you could still hear them.

As soon as he's out of there, I'm cooked too.

"Yoongi really did it this time, right (Y/N)?"

You looked down from the spot on the ceiling and saw Jimin, who was sitting across from you on another bench. His legs were crossed and his arms were behind his head. You could see the giant, dumb smirk on his face. Right now, he annoyed you more than anything.

I hope somebody wipes that smile off your face.

You didn't bother wasting your time on talking to him. You didn't want to get angry at him, no matter how much he was testing you right now. You looked back up at the ceiling, and tried to calm yourself. A part of you wanted to hear what was going on in the room just behind you. You didn't want this to be your fault.

"I'm tired of you being so careless. About yourself, about others, about almost anything I can think of," Namjoon said, and you could hear something slam on a desk. "I'm not going to keep putting up with this, because you know better. I know you know better."

"Namjoon, relax for a second, I was just showing her the cars in the garage--"

"I don't care what you were doing down there, you know it's off-limits for anyone outside of the seven of us. There is absolutely no reason why she should have been down there in the first place. You should know that."

"She was with me the whole time, okay? The only thing we saw were the cars. I had everything under control from the second we stepped through the door."

"You were in control?! I'm not an idiot, Yoongi. I saw the cuts and scrapes on her arms when Jimin brought you both in. It looked like she fell down the stairs. Did you even bother to tell her to watch her step?"

"So she slipped," Yoongi nonchalantly said. "She could've missed the stairs on her way down, but that's not my fault."

"You still know the dangers of taking her down there. If she were to see something, do you know what that would do to all of us? Do you know what would happen to you? I can't take another mistake from you, and you know that."

Yoongi was silent.

"In the past week alone, you've made a lot of mistakes, and you've been more careless than ever before. You let Jackson get away, and we had to make a backup plan for that. Jin took the blame for you, to try and save your ass. You threw Taehyung against a wall, for fuck's sake."

Again, Yoongi was dead silent.

"This temper of yours is getting the best of you. You're destroying more than you're helping, and it's starting to affect the rest of us. I am not going to stand here and let you make a mess out of the six of us because you just don't care. It makes the rest of us look bad. You need to fix your attitude, otherwise I will fix it for you."

You couldn't listen anymore. You placed your palms over your ears, and tried to block out their voices. You could feel the tears start to form in your eyes, and you put your head between your knees.

You felt the bench beside you shift, and you saw a pair of feet slide next to yours. A hand started to gently stroke your back, and you had to do your best to keep yourself from breaking down and sobbing.

"Jimin?" You asked, trying to keep your voice from cracking. "Is Namjoon this angry because of me?"

"No, it's not because of you," Jimin cooed, doing his best to try and comfort you. "Yoongi is just making a lot of trouble for us, specifically Namjoon. He's finally had enough of it. You're just a victim in all of this."

I'm just a victim...

"Until I can trust you again, you leave your set of keys with me. If I hear or see anything about you acting up, you will be in a lot of trouble. I'm not taking any more excuses."

You heard something slam down on the desk, and the doors to the office were flung open. Jimin took his hand away from your back, and stood up. You wiped the tears away from your eyes and watched as Yoongi angrily pushed past Jimin and stormed down the hallway.

"Jimin, you fucking pet," he spat over his shoulder before stomping up the stairs. After a few more loud footsteps, you heard the loud sound of a door slamming.

You heard someone clear their throat, and you looked over. Namjoon was leaning against the wall just beside the door to his office. He looked at you, then at Jimin, then back at you. You gulped.

"Jimin, I'd like to speak to (Y/N)," Namjoon said, clearly stressed. "Alone, if you could."

Jimin nodded, and stood up. He made his way down the short hallway, and towards the other side of the house, where the room with the pool table was. You watched as he rounded the corner, and left your field of sight.

"(Y/N)?" Namjoon asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Can you come inside my office?"

I am in so much trouble.

Almost mechanically, you lifted yourself up from the bench, and you stopped into the office. You kept your eyes on the floor as you brushed past him. You listened as he pulled the doors shut behind you, and then moved to sit behind an unnecessarily large mahogany desk.

"Please, take a seat," he said, motioning to a fancy black chair behind you. "I have a lot to tell you, so you might as well get comfortable."

You sat down, and folded your hands on top of your lap. You waited a moment before looking up from the floor. Namjoon was leaning forward with a hand laid on his forehead, trying to relax himself before talking to you. The large black chair he was sitting in looked like it was twice his size.

Here we go...

"First of all, what happened with Yoongi is none of your fault," Namjoon began, still hunched over in the grand chair. "I've been too lenient with him, and it's starting to affect the rest of us. I'm not going to make you pay for his actions."

Wait, so he's not mad?

You nodded your head, feeling some of the weight lift off of your stomach. It wasn't at all your fault, but you still felt bad about Yoongi.

"Second, you are not allowed to go into any rooms that have locks on the doors. Those doors have locks on them for a reason. If I find you in one of those rooms, with or without somebody else, there will be consequences. Do you understand?"

You nodded your head again.

"And third, you will find that some things are going to change. For starters, we're not going to be moving you around as much. But, the rest of the boys will come and go as I give them things to do. I will always be here at the house, and I will usually be here, inside of my office."

"Is that where Hoseok is?" You asked. "He suddenly disappeared when we were exploring the house."

"Yes, and he's with Jin," Namjoon replied. "There's something important that I asked them to take care of for me. As rude as it sounds, their duty to me and the mission comes before your playtime, understand?"

I guess that explains why he left so quickly, and without telling me anything.

"Yes," you said. "I understand."

"Now, onto the house rules," Namjoon said, pulling out a long piece of paper that looked like a list. "This is a written copy of the rules that you can keep with you. It's a fairly long list, but this is so you don't forget any of them."

Namjoon held out the rolled up paper, and you accepted it with an open hand. You carefully unraveled the paper and read the list.

1. Locked doors are off-limits. They are locked for a reason.2. Curfew is always at 10:30 unless told otherwise.3. Do not go outside alone. Somebody will need to be with you at all times.4. If you need somebody's attention, you may knock twice on their bedroom door. If they do not answer, do not try to knock again.5. If you are not in your bedroom, leave the door open.6. If somebody knocks twice on your door, you will answer them as soon as you can.7. Do not go into somebody else's room unless they invite you in.8. If you are asked to do something, you will do it without complaint.

You stopped at rule nine. You looked at it, trying to decide wether or not it was a joke. You looked up from the list and gave Namjoon a confused face.

"Is rule nine--"

"Yes, it's an actual rule," he said, dismissing your confusion. "I know it seems weird, but in a few days you'll understand why it's there."

Unconvinced by his words, you kept reading the list.

9. Check your pants pockets at least once every day.10. Make sure to keep your bedroom door locked at night.11. Do not touch or move things that aren't yours, especially things on the office desk.12. Do not enter the office unless you are asked to.13. Do not interrupt a conversation unless it is urgent.

You expertly rolled the paper back up, and held it tightly in your hands. You looked back up at Namjoon, and waited for him to continue.

"You will follow all of the rules on the list. If you break any of them, there will be serious consequences, okay?"

"Okay," you said, not wanting to press him. "I won't break them."

They're there for a reason, aren't they?

"Alright then, Princess," Namjoon said, a relaxed smile now on his face. "Since you've been cooperative, I'll let you go back to exploring. If you find Yoongi, try to give him some distance, okay? I don't want his temper getting the best of him."

You smiled, nodded, and left him alone in the room.