A Little Slice of Heaven [Namjin]

Chapter Twelve: Taste the Awkward

AN: *looks at the script, crumples it up, and tosses it out the window*  Yeah, we're still not back on track to where I thought we'd be by Chapter Twelve.  Oh, well.  Not a long chapter by any means, but I'm still setting things up for the heavy content that's forthcoming. 

Enjoy!

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When Hoseok said they were going to sneak into the dressing room to see Jimin, Namjoon assumed there would be a lot more actual sneaking involved. Instead, the four of them waltzed right backstage with no challenge. The dressing room was filled with performers in various stages of removing their costumes. Sequined jackets hung over chairs, hats sat on top of tables in precarious stacks, there were silken and gauzy scarves everywhere. Male and female doffed their outfits with abandon, utterly unconcerned with walking around in their underwear in each other's presences, their bodies smeared with makeup, glitter, and sweat. Namjoon couldn't decide if this was a performing arts troupe or a gathering of strippers.

"Hey!" Jimin appeared out of the crowd, a soft smile on his face as he walked up to them. He was shirtless, as he had been during his performance, but had changed out of his flowy loose pants into comfortable-looking sweats. He pulled a t-shirt over his head, mussing up his hair in the process. He ran his fingers through it a few times, although it looked more like an unconscious habit than a purposeful attempt at taming the mop. Regardless, he needn't have bothered because as soon as he was dressed, Taehyung launched himself at his year-mate, ruffling his hair into a bigger mess than it had been.

"I owe you dinner," Tae announced, shifting to back-hug his friend.

"It worked, huh?" Jimin grinned, his eyes disappearing with his smile. "I told you it would."

"What worked?" Hoseok slapped hands with Jimin in greeting.

"Don't worry about it." The aerial acrobat evaded, shrugging Taehyung off. He turned his eye-smile to Namjoon. "What did you think of the show?"

"It was..." He couldn't really figure out how to describe it. 'Amazing' wasn't a strong enough word. He waved his hands around and made a few, unhelpful noises before huffing and running his hands through his hair. "I thought you were going to die."

Jimin laughed, covering his face with his hands. "So, you liked it?"

"Yeah. I've never seen anything like it," Namjoon admitted. "How do you keep from falling?"

The acrobat slipped on a pair of shoes sitting nearby and grabbed a jean jacket from the back of a chair. "Practice. Lots of practice." He motioned for them to follow him and lead them out of the dressing room and into a back hallway. "We can use the performer entrance to get out of here," he explained as he went through a door that opened into an alley behind the theater.

"What if you fall during a show?" Namjoon could feel his earlier anxiety return as he pictured Jimin failing to stop his initial fall in time. "No amount of practice can prevent that if you slip."

"Trade secret," Jimin replied with a smirk then swore under his breath when Taehyung pinched his arm.

"Just tell him," Tae admonished with a roll of his eyes. "Poor guy nearly threw himself over the balcony to save you during your entrance."

Jimin shook his hair from his eyes as he giggled again. "If I tell him, he'll feel really dumb about overacting."

"I already feel dumb," Namjoon cut in. "Tell me?"

The group made their way through the alley and then along more pathways between buildings. Namjoon didn't know where they were going but didn't particularly care. He was having a great time and would tag along as long as they allowed him to do so.