In a Split Second || BTS

Chapter 16

"I'm warning you now / Don't get me confused," the boys sing at the top of their lungs, ignoring the blatant voice cracks and shrill screeches emitting from the baritones. I laugh and cover my ears playfully, my lips spread into a rare teeth-baring grin. The driver winces as they hit a particularly pitchy note, and the car lurches slightly.

"You are going to make us crash," I giggle, lightly smacking Hoseok's knee.

"Are you kidding?" he sings in response. "Who do you think I am?"

"Just sing along, Cherisse," Jimin says, his eyes disappearing into his smile. "Life is too short to go on worrying about car crashes."

"You're in danger / Why do you test me?" I sing cheekily.

He chuckles and wraps his arm loosely around my shoulders, howling out the next line with me: "Don't make me confused."

"We need to have a karaoke night," Hoseok insists as the song ends and the pitchy squeals dissolve. The driver twists the volume button drastically, causing the soft opening of Let Me Know to play quietly.

Hoseok's suggestion is met with a general note of approval. "That would be awesome," Jungkook admits, grinning excitedly.

"We could watch Taehyung try to rap again!" Jimin teases.

"Or we could watch Jimin lose his jams again when he tries to sing," Taehyung counters. Namjoon whistles lowly and Yoongi chuckles proudly.

Jimin pouts his lower lip slightly, a slight glimmer in his eyes betraying inner hurt at the comment. "I'm a singer! I have made a career out of singing."

"Well, it's too bad you are terrible, then."

Jimin turns on Yoongi accusingly. "What have you done to him?"

A gummy smile pulls at Yoongi's lips. "I don't know, but I like it."

I frown towards Taehyung for a moment, wondering where these snarky comments came from. I highly doubt that Yoongi is the cause of it – the two have not become any closer recently. Is he... angry? There have been days where he won't say a word to anyone – including me – and finishes practicing as quickly as possible to return to his previous activities. The first time, I thought he was having a bad day, but this seems to be a recurring behavior. I hope I am not the cause of his frustration.

"Wait, why are we at your dorm?" I ask as the car slows to a stop.

"I told you we had more surprises, didn't we?" Namjoon asks as he offers me a hand out of the car. The gesture makes me smile, and my face flushes slightly as I tuck my hands into the pockets of my coat to protect them from the biting winter air. Although the day was somewhat warm, the night has quickly turned chilling.

"Come inside before you all catch a cold." Jin hustles the members into the building, mirroring my thoughts.

"I've never actually seen your dorm," I admit.

"It's nothing special," Yoongi promises me, "but it is better than living in one room."

My eyebrows lift. "Did you have to live in one room before this?"

"Those weren't our proudest days," Yoongi mumbles with a shrug. "We've already come a long way in two years."

"Two years is a long time." I bite my lip, hating the blatant lie in my statement. Two years pass so quickly – many things can happen in two years. In two years, my parents and grandparents passed away. In two years, I went from being continuously told of my parents' love and protection to being left to face the dark world alone. In two years, I – no, I'm not going to do that to myself. It's my birthday. I deserve a break from my past.