Rental Boyfriend [NAMJIN]

Chapter 17: Meeting

Seokjin sat at a staff meeting bored, fiddling with his pen rather than taking notes. He was bored, ultimately so. He sighed to himself as the droning went on, he honestly didn't know why they even had meetings. He would much rather just read a document with the summary on it, if he was being honest. But then again, the meeting may have been boring not because of the content but because of the man on his mind. Namjoon seemed to always be in his mind nowadays, rudely intruding during random conversations and events. Everything reminded him of Namjoon somehow, of likes and dislikes, of opinion as opposed to fact. He was an utter mess. Yet he was living for it, striving for it, aiming for it.

"Seokjin-san?" Seokjin turned to Ayaka and nodded politely in acknowledgement.

"Ayaka-san, was there something you needed?" Ayaka moved her papers and placed her hands on the table, a worried gaze in her eyes. Seokjin had heard from all around the company that people were worried about him when he got sick, because Seokjin almost never went home. Before Namjoon, he used to be work obsessed, not to the point of sacrificing his own health, but rather, taking no days off, taking on projects even when he had projects of his own and the like.

"Are you alright, Seokjin-san? All we heard from the boss is that you were sick. Common cold? Or was it something else?" Seokjin denied quietly, stating that he was sick with the common cold and that he didn't want any of his co-workers to catch it. The rest of them seemed to be tight-lipped on the fact that he stayed home because of a cold, because usually, he did not do so. He'd stay at work and do desk duty rather than take a chance to relax.

"Ah, okay, I apologise for interrupting, we may continue the meeting." They continued the meeting without much hesitance, Seokjin bored out of his bloody mind. Soon enough, they were dismissed with their task set in stone. Seokjin made a mental note to ask one of his co-workers later, as he didn't even know the mere subject of the meeting, let alone the task.

Seokjin's phone vibrated in his pocket, making a quiet buzzing noise only hearable by those nearby. Seokjin answered quickly, smiling once he saw the contact name.

"Hello? I'm at work, was there something you wanted to talk about?" Seokjin walked out of the office building and to a park bench nearby, sitting on it and taking his free hand away from his phone, no longer feeling the need to muffle the noise from his nosy co-workers.

"Ah, I was just curious as to whether you wanted to finish Death Note. It's a weekend, so Jimin and I are at home and I've finished all of my work. I know it won't really be a date if my son is there, but I want to bond a little bit as a family, you get me?" Seokjin smiled at Namjoon's words sweetly, adoringly cooing.

"Aww, I'd love to! I'm actually honoured that you consider me part of the family." Namjoon laughed, a serenade to Seokjin's ears and heart.

"Damn straight! So, can you come over now? Or are you still at work? I heard you shuffling around a bit." Seokjin looked from the company building nearby to the sky above and thought about what he wanted to do as opposed to what would be most practical.

"I can do it now. I'll be there in 5 minutes maybe? My work is a lot closer to your place than my apartment is." Seokjin heard Jimin shout, from far away he presumed: "When's your boyfriend coming over? I want to watch Death Note!" And he chuckled, definitely very Jimin.

"Sounds great. Jimin's getting impatient as you can hear, he doesn't want to make the popcorn until you get here so it'll be warm during the movie, a smart choice on his part. So, I'll see you soon?" Seokjin confirmed quietly, hushed goodbyes being said before Seokjin hung up, a small smile on his face. He got his keys and unlocked his car which was parked nearby, quickly driving to Namjoon's in hope that he would be able to spend as much time as possible with both him and Jimin.

"Seokjin!" He heard both Namjoon's ecstatic voice and Jimin's energised voice, two pairs of feet running to the door. Seokjin smiled as soon as the two opened the door, embracing them both lovingly.

"You got the popcorn?" He asked Jimin, who held the bucket of popcorn in one hand. He nodded, shrugging apologetically.

"I got bored so I decided to make it." Seokjin hummed, reasonable enough. They went to the living room and sat down on the couch, Seokjin noting proudly that the screen was ready to go and they were on the fourth episode, starting from the start, because what else would you do?

The fourth episode played and the three watched with much interest. Seokjin and Jimin started discussing theories they had on the plot lines and characters, whilst Namjoon asked about their favourite ships and eras. Their answers were quite different, ironically enough, but their reasons were both justified.

"Do you believe that Light is right in his beliefs?"

"No, I believe that murder is wrong no matter what angle you look at it from."

"That's incredibly naïve of you Jimin, truly. I think it's very circumstantial and dependent on the situation."

To Namjoon, watching shows with both Seokjin and Jimin felt like family. He used to think family meant him and Jimin, doing their own things yet in the same room, somewhat in peace with each other, not trying to interfere, but rather to make soft conversation. But when Seokjin came into their quiet lives, all of that was thrown out of the window, instead, nights were spent talking loudly with quiet background music behind them, watching Death Note whilst talking theory, and a whole lot more that Namjoon couldn't even count.

Seokjin was perfect, to Namjoon. Seokjin was an enigma, a charismatic with man who had yet many questions to answer about himself. He liked Jimin, and he liked Namjoon, and that was what mattered most to Namjoon, yet somehow, he got lucky and found his perfect man. It was a shame that Seokjin's company had strict restrictions, it really did, but as of far, the two had always worked it out in the end, even if it meant struggling.

Death Note was now a sentimental piece for them, a reminder that not all good memories needed to be quiet and small. Sometimes, it was normal things, like watching a show with Namjoon's two favourite people in the whole world that made him smile. He thought that perhaps he'd remember it for a long time, that in future years, he'd look on it in a peaceful manner.

Euphoric, in a sense, Namjoon contributed little, focusing more on the characters on the screen in front of him.

He couldn't help but ask himself – is this all pretend or was that where they crossed the line between fake and real? Because even then, after weeks, he still didn't know how to answer the question. Sometimes it felt like a fairytale, too good to be true. Sometimes, he'd remind himself that if he was experiencing it, then why would it be fake?

He didn't know how to answer, after all this time. Was that acceptable, or was it something else entirely?