Reversed

☆31☆

The fansign was over and the staff began cleaning up.  The members of BTS were gathering all their things from a waiting room in the back of the stage.  It had been a long day and everyone was more than ready to go home, clean up, and fall into bed. 

Taehyung covered his yawn and hauled his bag up off the small, ragged, sofa, the only seat in the tiny, gray room.  The sofa had seen better days but had been neglected.  It was clearly needing to be replaced. He didn't want to sit on it, choosing to leave his bag there instead.  Now that the fansign was over, he rescued his bag from its less than honorable resting place.  He groaned internally as Jimin came in and sat square down on the pitiful piece of furniture, leaning down to retie his shoe laces. 

Taehyung had felt uneasy for the rest of the fansign after seeing Nari look so close to tears.  He wondered how Jimin was still smiling and not mentioning meeting her at all.  "Chim," mumbled Taehyung, leaning against the doorfacing.

"Hm," grunted Jimin in response, finishing up his left shoe lace and then leaning back up, his face tinged pink from the blood rush. 

"Did you enjoy seeing Nari today?"

Jimin's face lit up and he nodded shyly.  His smile was wide and telling.  "I did.  She looked beautiful," he sighed. 

"Yeah," laughed Taehyung softly before turning somber again.  "Did she seem okay to you?" He watched Jimin's face for any sign that he, too, noticed her sad demeanor.

"Yeah," shrugged Jimin.  "I think she could have smiled more, but whatever.  Maybe she was just nervous."  He stood up from the sofa, the springs creaking in relief of being decompressed.

Taehyung frowned slightly. "I don't think so," he muttered, standing up from his leaning position and slowly slinging his bag up over one shoulder.

Jimin slid into his jacket and eyed his friend carefully. "Why are you taking such an interest in my girl all of a sudden?" he asked, his voice laced with tension.

Taehyung's eyes darted to his friend and his brows furrowed slightly. "Your girl?" His eyes narrowed.

"You know I'm interested in her. That means she's off limits to the rest of you. So then why are you so interested in her attitude or whether she was happy or not?" Jimin's hands came to rest on his hips and he faced his friend with a posture that screamed defensiveness.

"No, I'm...I'm not trying to get your girl, Jiminie." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I just noticed she seemed close to tears. I mean, for someone so interested in her, you seemed to think she was as happy as could be when she came by the table tonight. I just don't think that's the case." He shrugged a bit indifferently and placed his hand on the doorknob in preparation for leaving.

"You think you know her better than me?" Jimin's voice grew tighter with every word and Taehyung felt the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He slid a warm smile on his face before turning back to face his friend. He knew better than to pick a fight with Jimin. This was neither the time nor the place.

"Jiminie, she's all yours, okay? I'm not trying to cut in on your territory," he said, internally cringing at the use of the word "territory" in reference to a human being. "I just thought she looked sad. That's all. Maybe you should message her or something." He smiled and tried to put his friend's heart at ease.

Jimin's hard face never changed as he jerked his bag up off the counter next to the sofa. "You talked to her one time for five minutes and suddenly now you're an expert on her feelings and emotional state." He glared slightly at Taehyung, who just ignored the irritating statement.