⫣6⫦ One Day

Please appreciate those collages I make, that shit takes up so much time... but it's fun :)

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We drive for another 20 minutes and I keep on standing, laughing like I never knew I could.

A warm giddy feeling fills my body and when I look down, I can see Taehyung smiling up at me, just as bright as the sun itself.

We finally slow down, driving onto a stony path that has me sitting down from the bumps.

"So, where are we actually going?" I eventually ask, still a bit out of breath and trying to comprehend the onslaught of sudden emotion.

Jimin smiles up at me.

"One of our favorite places," he only says secretively.

I look around me. There are trees and green fields everywhere and I feel far away from the busy, chaotic streets of Seoul, as though I entered a completely new world.A brighter one.

And then the lake comes into view, it's waters glittering in the setting sun, the beach even and white, one small boat drifting over the calm water.

It's around four o'clock, the afternoon sun still heating up the air around us and turning everything brighter. I already miss the wind through.The feeling of the world speeding past and flying with my arms open.

We stop in the middle of nowhere, next to the shore, where Jin kills the engine and gets out.

Jimin, Jungkook and Taehyung jump out of the trunk in union, like they do this everyday and then wait for me to do the same.

I land softly on the grass, gaining me some more appreciative glances, and then follow them down to the shore.

I can already hear someone shouting and a little beach opens up in front of us as we draw closer.Two boys are jumping around in the sun, their shirtless bodies gleaming with a thin layer of sweat.

I stop and stare.

This group is truly all visuals.

One is laughing out loud as he kicks a ball, his hair shorter than the others and a light brown. His laugh makes me want to join in and jump around too- there's so much joy in it. And his smile truly transforms his face into something incredibly beautiful.

The other one, now dribbling with the ball in the sand is equally as handsome, even though the thick black sunglasses he's wearing look ridiculously out of fashion.

But that body... damn. He certainly worked out, buff arms and chest gleaming in the afternoon sun. He's currently struggling to do a trick with the ball and looks like he has some troubles with not falling over his own feet.

He has an undercut with long blond strands of hair on top, bouncing up and down as he kicks the ball back to the sunshine-boy.

And then there's the one more, sitting, a bottle of beer in his hand as he watches the other two play. He looks half asleep, but I can see a soft smile on his lips, almost invisible, as if he's in some kind of quiet, peaceful joy. His hair is the color of a washed out green, but he wears it like it's natural to him.

"Yo! RM, we're here!" Jin shouts down as we draw closer.

The three boys look up at us and wave.

It's the one with the sunglasses that greets me first. He takes them off and smiles a bit goofy.

"Hey there, Lian. I heard a lot about you from Taehyung and Jungkook. I'm Namjoon. But you can call me RM."

I look at the boys outstretched arm, feeling dumbfounded. This was RM?

He's nothing like I expected some gang leader to be.He doesn't look dangerous at all!Just a handsome, friendly guy, having fun with his friends on a sunny afternoon.

So I reach out too and shake it.

"I heard some things about you too."

And only then does he take off the sunglases.

I tense. Ah, so there it is. In his eyes.

While his lips tugged up into an almost kind smile, his eyes are the thing that gives him away.

So dark. Not cold exactly, but biting. Cutting you with the intelligence and cunning that swirls behind his eyes.

I can't look away as those eyes bore into me. It feels like they see everything. All of my secrets. My deepest thoughts.

But I don't flinch. I don't pull back my hand still shaking his.

I am sure I wouldn't be the only one to have done so when looking into this boy's eyes and seeing the wicked cunning beneath.

But while I did feel intimidates, another emotion had me captured.

I am absolutely fascinated! Curious beyond words.

"I'm sure it wasn't just good stuff you hear about me."

I blink. Twice. Only then remember our conversation.

"Oh, ah, well..."

Namjoon lets loose a low chuckle and grins wider. And I can swear the darkness in his eyes recedes, giving a way for a warm brown to filter through.

He turns then and points at the shirtless guy with the bright smile.

Now... he truly can't be part of a gang- not when he smiles at me with the brightest, most open smile I have ever received.

"Heyo. I'm Hoseok. But do call me J-Hope. Been dying to meet you."

I can't help but laugh and then I say what I knew I probably shouldn't be saying: "Me too"

I see Taehyung smirk at me from the side, like it's not surprising to him at all.

And it's the truth I realize with a sudden pang- ever since Momo told me about them, I'd been wanting to meet them. I just never really thought I would- or should.And I still think this is a terrible idea!

"And I'm Suga," the boy who looked half asleep a few minutes ago, says. But I can see from the clear shine in his eyes, he's wide awake now, looking at me as if assessing whether I'm a threat.

It's almost comical.

Me- the threat!

"So," RM finally says, interrupting the silence that settled at Suga's interrogating look with a clap.

"Since we're all here, I guess we can get the party started!"

I have no time to ask what he means by that as they already drag me along, not down to the water, but to the left, alongside the shore until a little cottage comes into view.I almost missed it.

It looks run down, the wood a dark, molding brown and vines climbing up and into the broken windows, reclaiming it. The house looks almost part of the forest reaching out behind it.

No one seems to have lived in there for a very long time.

Abandoned.

But it's not the house we're walking towards, but the sandy beach below it.

Two massive sofa's and three armchairs stand there, their washed out colors and ripped covers make it obvious they're always exposed to the outside and also frequently in use.A massive black fireplace thrones in the middle, stocks of wood already piled as if it's only waiting to be lit.

RM, Suga and J-hope have obviously been here a long while. Bottles and can's lay around, some empty but most still filled with what I guess is nothing but hard liquor.

A music box has carelessly been put in the sand and from the corner of my eye, I see Suga take out his phone, press a few buttons and rap music fills the air.

"Uh, I love this beat!" J hope yells and instead of walking, he starts doing weird dance-jump movements, jerky and twitchy and then throws himself on one of the sofa's in a half spin. I hear the chuckles of the others, and can't help myself join.

The name really fits this giggly boy.

They all take their seats, either on the sandy floor or on one of the plush sofas but I just stand there, unsure what to do.

They look at home here, all content smiles and happy faces. I never expected this. I imagined some run down industrial building or perhaps the Junkyard they lived in.

It feels almost forbidden to see them here, like I'm spying on one of their private moments that no one is supposed to see. The façade of the cruel, ruthless Gang-members broken.

Honestly, I expected some run down industrial building with punk music and drugs- not this sunny happy place on the beach.

A hand suddenly grabs my waist and before I know it, I am being pulled down on someone's lap. I look down at Taehyung's cheeky smile. My breath falters, my cheeks burning up.

"Much more comfortable than standing there like a lost puppy, don't you think?"

I smack his arm, hard enough for him to wince. The moment I realized what I did, I tensed, going still, worried what would happen. But Taehyung's lips only breaks out into a massive grin.

"Got some claws, kitten?"

I make a move to get up, so done with his flirting, but both his hand come around my stomach, trapping me against his body.

I do my best to ignore the hard muscles and strong chest behind me, his warmth sinking into my back as he Hold(s) Me Tight.

It's of no use. I think I'm still furiously blushing anyway. But if I do, none of the others comment in it. Or the fact that I'm sitting on Taehyung lap. Like it's exactly where I'm supposed to sit.

One day, I tell myself.

Just one day and they'll leave me alone.

I let myself relax against him, trying not to notice how I fit perfectly against his body.His arms tighten around me just the lightest bit, as if I'm still not close enough for him.

One day, I tell myself again.

But as the conversations start, I relax even more, listening to their every word like I'm starving.Their stories should shock me and make me run the other way.

They speak about a wild chase with the police after vandalizing the walls of another school.And the time they got into a brawl with another gang that ended with Jungkook knocking someone unconscious. I have no doubt he's strong enough as well. They like to crash parties, cause trouble on the streets and occasionally shop lifted.

But instead of being scared or horrified, I feel my heartbeat quicken and my fingers itching to do... something.

Just one day, I try to tell myself again.

But the truth is: I'm no longer sure if one day will be enough...