A Little Slice of Heaven [Namjin]

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Return of Hurricane Kim

AN: Holy shit, another update?? What the hell is going on with me?

In case you ended up here before seeing the previous post, this is the second chapter updated today.  Make sure you've read "Chapter Thirty-One: Self-Important Penguins" before starting in on this one or you'll be very confused!

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"Isn't this a good thing, love? I think you're looking at it too pessimistically."

Namjoon clutched his phone tightly against his ear, wishing Seokjin were actually with him and not just on the other end of the line. He felt like he was spiraling into a panic and the solid presence of the other man would have helped tremendously in grounding him.

"I haven't talked to him in eight years and the first thing he says to me is 'still clumsy'. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence that this dinner is going to go well."

"What's the worst that can happen?" Seokjin reasoned, voice gentle.

"They serve me the official papers to disown me?"

His boyfriend tsked. "If they were going to do that, why bother inviting you to dinner? They could mail that."

Namjoon groaned as he approached the stairs to the underground train station. "I don't know. I just don't want to get my hopes up. I don't want to spend dinner listening to them tell me how much of a disappointment I am."

There was a pause as Seokjin hummed slightly. "If they do that, just get up and leave. You don't have to sit there and take that kind of abuse."

"I wish you were here," Namjoon replied quietly as he found an unoccupied bench to wait for his train. He'd texted his sister earlier to confirm that she would drive them to their parents' home so he was heading to her place first to change. He was glad he was able to do so; going to this dinner was stressful enough without having to do it wearing coffee-stained khaki slacks.

"I wish you were here," Seokjin countered. "It isn't too late to run away to Jeju. You could have your sister take you to the airport instead of their place. I'll pick you up on the other end."

Namjoon sighed. "It's tempting. But I can't just run away from things. I don't want to go tonight but I have to. I just wish you were sitting next to me at the table."

"Even if it made things worse?"

The blond chewed on his bottom lip. "Yeah. I don't plan on hiding you from them. They already know I'm..." he didn't finish the sentence, surreptitiously eyeing nearby commuters. "Anyway, I don't have anything to hide from them."

"Not even the circumstances of your divorce?"

It was a valid question and Namjoon hesitated. "I mean, they can't hate me any more than they already do, right? They might even know already. I don't know what all Geongmin told them."

"Do you think she would have told them everything?" Seokjin's voice was merely curious, not accusatory. He didn't seem concerned with whether Namjoon's parents knew their son had cheated with him.

"Hard to know with Geongminie. She's got a big mouth, but she means well. She probably told them about the divorce. Maybe that I'm staying with her. She must have mentioned that I was working for NAF or he probably wouldn't have come looking for me." He stood as his train approached the station. "Ride's here," he muttered reluctantly.

"Alright. Let me know how it goes, okay? If you need me, I can be in Seoul in a couple hours."

Namjoon's heart skipped a beat at the thought. "What did I do to deserve you?"