Book Exchange Romance | A Kim Namjoon FanFic

Chapter 11 - Ana

"Haraboji?" She called out, but no one answered. She walked to the counter and put her bag there. "This is weird." Ana said out loud.

"Uncle I..." She heard a male voice said. She turned around and coming out the shelves from the back, was coming a tall lean figure. She opened her eyes wide.

"You?" She said. There, in front of her, stood RM from BTS.

"Oh shit." RM said, realizing what was happening.

"You." She said in a whisper. "The quote, the concert, your interactions. It all makes sense now." She said, pacing the store. He looked panicked.

"Ok calm down. I can explain." He said, walking to her. "Please let me explain." He pleaded. She stopped pacing and looked at him. He looked like a lost puppy and it broke her heart. She looked away. "Please." He said. She nodded. "Follow me." He said, she felt his gaze on her. He turned around and started to walked to the back of the store. They walked inside the backroom and he opened the door at the end of the room. It opened to another room. "I can explain." He said after getting inside the room. She started to look around. It was like a library inside a bookstore.

"Are all of these yours?" She asked him, dropping her bag on the chair beside her and walking around. She passed her hands through the spines of the books. He had all kinds of books.

"Yes. It is my personal library. I'm missing a lot of books still. It's not halfway done." He said. "Here." He said, extending his hand to her, handing her the books. She looked back at him and picked the books.

"Thanks." She said in a soft voice. "So, all this time?" She asked him, looking down at the floor.

"You sound a bit disappointed." He said. She look back at him. He looked confused, heartbroken. She had a feeling he had been rejected before. If he was anything like the man that wrote her the letters, she wanted to get to know him better.

"It's definitely not what I was thinking of." She said, giving him a smile. "This is all so..." She started to say but stopped. She looked around trying to find the right word.

"Discouraging?" He asked.

"Overwhelming." She said. "It's just a little overwhelming." She said, she hugged the books to her chest.

"So, you were expecting an old man." He joked. She laughed.

"Not at all. I knew the person giving me the books was around my age. Haraboji told me as much." She said. She realized she made a mistake. She looked back at him. "He didn't say anything else. I swear." She said in a panicked voice.

"I believe you." He said, smiling, showing his dimples. She wanted to poke them.

"I just never expected it to be RM from BTS" She said. "However, I also kind of understand why you kept it a secret." She said. "Being an idol is not easy." She said in an understanding tone. She was looking around, anywhere but his face.

"Are you free now?" He asked her. That took her by surprise. She looked back at him. She smiled. She thought for a minute. Not knowing what to do. "Let me explain. I want to explain." He said, looking down at the floor. She decided she wanted to hear what he had to say. Even though she knew he probably kept it a secret because of his idol status, she also felt there was another reason. He passed a hand through his hair. "It's..." He starter to say but she interrupted him.

"Ok." She said, smiling. He looked back at her. He looked happy. "I learned to not make assumptions. There is always a reason for things. You say you want to explain. I'll let you explain." She said. He smiled, showing his dimples again. His whole face light up and his eyes became nonexistent.

"Great." He said. He opened the door. "Shall we?" He asked. She smiled.

"Let's go." She said, picking her bag from the chair. She walked out of the room and heard him followed. When they got to the front haraboji was there. He looked behind Ana, worry written all over his face.

"It's fine. She knows." He said. They walked out of the store and crossed the street to a black SUV. He opened the door for her and helped her get in. He got in. "Take us to Seoul." He said to his driver. She looked at him.

"I just came back from there." She said. He laughed.

"Then what do you propose?" He asked her. She thought for a minute. She got an idea.

"Do you like spicy food?" She asked him. He nodded. "Do you have any food allergies?" She asked. He shook his head. "Good." She said, opening the door of the SUV and climbing outside.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"I'll be back." She said and she walked away. She decided to go to the little restaurant at the end of the street that sold her favorite tteokbokki. She order two servings, two Korean cheese dogs and two sodas. She walk back to the car and opened his car door. "Get out." She said. He looked at her confused. "C'mon." She said and walked away. She felt him follow her.

"So, where are going?" He asked. She looked at him.

"You'll like it." She said. They walked for five minutes and they arrived to the park that was near the river, and which, in the first few weeks after she arrived to the town, became her favorite spot to sit down and read. She walked to the picnic table and sat down. She started to take the food out of the bags. She saw him sit down in front of her.

"So, do you prefer Anastacia or Ana?" He asked her. She felt his gaze on her. She gathered her hair in a messy ponytail.

"Ana." She said. "I hate Anastacia." She said. "Do you go by RM or Namjoon?" She asked him. She wanted to address him with the name he felt most comfortable with.

"Namjoon is fine." He said.

"The tteokbokki is great here, and the cheese dogs too." She said. He nodded. She handed him a pair of chopsticks and they started to eat. "So, was it because you are RM of BTS?" She asked him taking a piece of tteokbokki to her mouth. She was not one to beat around the bush.

"Ouch, straight to the point." He said, taking a bite of the cheese dog. "Yeah, pretty much." He said, shrugging.

"It's okay. Understandable. The idol life is not easy, is busy and hectic." She said, shrugging. "I'm just glad I can put a face and name to book guy." She said and he laughed.

"There are protocols in place that I have to follow. I am breaking so many rules right now, but I also didn't wanted for you to follow the protocols just because I wanted to give you a book. So I kept my identity a secret." He said, looking down at his hands. Ana stopped eating and rested her elbows on the table.

"Rule breaker. I got rebel." Ana said. That made him laugh. "Hey." She said. He looked at her. "It's okay." She said. While looking at him, for a moment there, Ana felt like she has known him her whole life. "I don't blame you." She said reassuringly. "You had to do what you had to do." She said. "And I know you might get in a lot of trouble after this. I just hope it was worth it." She said. He looked at her.

"I hope so too." He said, looking at her. She wanted to reach out to him, to reassure him. But she decided against it. "I don't wanna tell them." He said, in a whisper. Almost inaudible.

"Tell who?" She asked, confused.

"The company." He said.

"Well, lucky for you, I'm very good at keeping secrets, and I don't have many friends. Just Cristina which you met, Eun-Ji and haraboji." She said. It was true, she didn't have many friends and she was certainly not going to tell Cristina anytime soon. "Besides, you called haraboji uncle. I'm guessing you guys are related. Which means Eun-Ji and you are related, so she knows about you." Ana said. He smiled.

"Yeah, she's my cousin." He said. "Her grandfather is the brother of my grandfather." He said, looking at her.

"Rest assure, I am not telling Cristina. Not until you decide you want me to or until whatever this is, takes form." She said. He looked at her, his eyes gleaming.

"Oh, so this is a thing now?" He said teasingly.

"Eat. It's going to get cold." She said. He smiled and started to eat again. They spend the rest of the date getting to know each other a bit better.