Sunbeam

26.

November 17, 2019

Ari snuggled even tighter against Izeul. Her little arms wrapped around her in her sleep and Ari smiled slightly. "He's fine sweetie, your daddy is fine" Ari whispered in a shaky voice, inhaling the scent of the child's hair.

Four days, that's how long it had been since Namjoon, Yoongi, Jimin and Taehyung had left for god knows where. Since then, Namjoon had only called twice, even though he had promised.

She might not have noticed it before, but now that she knew what they were doing, who they were, fear had gripped her throat and refused to go away. Seokjin and Hoseok tried to calm her down, showing her reports, convincing her that they were just busy and tired.

Jungkook was showing her prank messages from Jimin and Taehyung, but that wasn't helping her either. They should have come back three days ago, he should have been in bed next to her, not Izeul. Why were they late, what was going on there. The reports didn't say anything specific.

Sleep also refused to visit her. She had barely slept and yet she didn't feel tired. She carefully got up and left Izeul's room as silently as possible.

She walked into the kitchen and looked around, trying to decide which was better. Finally she opened the fridge and took out an open bottle of red wine and took a glass from the shelf.

With the bottle and glass in hand, she made her way to Namjoon's office. Entering, Ari sat down in his huge swivel chair, pouring herself wine and spinning the glass between her fingers, she tucked her legs under her and sipped.

Playing with the hem of Namjoon's shirt, which she had put on for comfort, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Come on, baby, give me some sign that you're okay" she thought and opened her eyes, staring at the blood colored wine.

Then, her gaze moved to the few pictures on Namjoon's desk. Him and Binna, him and Izeul, the three of them together, Izeul as a baby, a collage of Binna with Izeul as a baby. Ari sighed and tilted her head.

The more she thought and looked at the pictures, the more she realized that she was still just the nanny. Never mind that she slept with Namjoon or that he claimed to love her, she was an outsider.

And the more she realized it, the more she felt the anger rise in her chest. And not only that, she felt neglected, insulted and betrayed.

Bangtan's girl, Kim Namjoon's woman, how ridiculous. She was just a substitute and nothing more. Yes, he had moved Binna's portrait, but it wasn't enough, not anymore.

Before he left, he had told her that he wanted her to tell him when she was ready for a family, for the future, but it seemed that he himself was not ready for such a step. Ari drank the wine in one gulp and poured herself more.

She snorted and took another quick gulp of her wine. Marriage, kids, how could she do something like that with him, when he didn't even have a minute to write her a FUCKING message, saying he was fine, did she want that much?

Yes, Ari loved him, with all of her being, but if Namjoon didn't reciprocate, how could she imagine a future where they both grew old? And here, under the influence of anger, worry and alcohol, Hyun Ari decided to punish Kim Namjoon with the most terrible punishment she could think of.

And if he didn't prove himself, if he couldn't convince her of the existence of this strong love of his, Ari would leave. Forever! No matter how much it would hurt her or how much she would miss Izeul, Namjoon and the boys.

She finished the wine, straightening the bottle. She kept looking at the pictures, and the more she looked at them, the more inspired she was to carry out her plan. The clock on the wall read 5:20, another sleepless night because of him.

"You will pay, Kim Namjoon! You want me to be Bangtan's girl, to be yours, then prove it, my love!" she hissed and stood up. She took the empty glass and bottle and walked back into the kitchen, throwing away the bottle and leaving the glass in the sink.

She went up to their shared bedroom and pulled out clean underwear and clothes. She took a long, hot shower, washing almost all of the wine's effects from her mind, but that didn't dampen her resolve.

Ari got dressed, dried her hair, and with a determined sigh, began taking her clothes out of the closet and gathering her things, slowly moving them to the room that was on the first floor and was supposed to be for the nanny.

Carrying and arranging her things, Arie hadn't noticed the time flying at all. She surveyed her work contentedly, shaking her head approvingly and looked at her wristwatch. Time to start making breakfast. Izeul would wake up in an hour.

Seokjin found her in the kitchen ten minutes later, cooking, humming, and with a cup of coffee that she shifted with each sip. He looked at her suspiciously, trying to figure out if she was really in a good mood or if she was already completely crazy with worry.

"Good morning" he greeted with narrowed eyes and she smiled cheerfully back at him. "Breakfast will be served in a minute!" Ari pursed her lips sweetly and Seokjin blinked in confusion.

She set about setting the table, continuing to hum merrily. “Good morni….” Hoseok froze in place and Jungkook bumped into him, almost knocking him over. "What the…" he growled sleepily, but also stopped and stared at the already dancing Ari around.

"Oh, guys, sit down, coffee?" Ari chirped and they both looked confused at Seokjin, who blinked at them equally confused, showing that he had no idea what was going on.

"Come on, are you going to stand like this?" Ari grabbed Jungkook and Hoseok by the arms and pulled them towards the table. The two sat down and continued to watch her with startled looks. "Izeul and I are going to the market today, which one of you will accompany us?" Ari asked with a smile, placing the cups of coffee in front of them, then turned, starting to carry the breakfast as well.

As she stood with her back to them washing the used dishes, Hoseok leaned over to Seokjin. "What the hell is going on? Did Namjoon come back last night?" he asked and Jin shook his head. "No, as far as I know, but whatever, she either went crazy overnight or Namjoon screwed up really bad" Jin replied also whispering.

"What are we going to do?" Jungkook asked and Seokjin shook his head. "I don't know, shall we wait?" he suggested and Jungkook nodded, turning his head back to Ari who was singing happily to herself.

"So, who's coming with us?" Ari wiped her hands, placed them on her hips, and looked expectantly at the three. "All of us" Seokjin replied. "Wonderful!" Ari grinned and left the kitchen with a cheerful whistle.

"Man, this is not good!" Hoseok sighed as the three looked after her. “Not at all…” Jungkook added. "Ari is scaring me a little right now…" he added quietly and Seokjin and Hoseok nodded in agreement.