Insomniac//KNJ

Chapter Twenty//Scrabble Tiles

"That's not even a word!" Namjoon shouted playfully as Sophie laid down her Scrabble tiles. Taehyung rolled off of the couch in laughter, and Sophie shrugged with a grin. "Taehyung hasn't even played fake words and he's just learning English, Miss Native Tongue."

"Okay, okay, you're right," Sophie chuckled as she swept her pieces off the board and forfeited her turn.

The group had eaten their dinner together, talking about Taehyung and his progress. After the table had been cleared of the takeout, Taehyung had asked Sophie to play a game of Scrabble before she left. Early on she'd started bringing the game to their study sessions as she'd found Taehyung learned better when he could not only find a way to apply his skills but when he was having fun as well.

The game had been fun, and the apartment had been filled with the group's laughter for the past few hours. And it had been hours.

It was nearing midnight and the game had dragged on with the constant interruptions pulling out Sophie's English dictionary to check the validity of a word used, mostly when it came to Sophie and Namjoon. Neither of them could say much about Taehyung as he stuck to the simplest words he could, pronouncing each as he laid it on the board.

"It's alright, Sophie. I will just feel extra triumphant after I beat you, with your cheating and all." Namjoon smirked and both Sophie and Taehyung laughed.

Sophie had been surprised when Namjoon had joined their game. She'd only had short interactions with the man, and each time while he'd been personable, she hadn't seen him as one who could loosen up and play a raucous word game.

"I don't now Namjoon, Sophie might beat you. She's one of the smartest people I've ever met," Taehyung beamed at his older friend before taking his turn. He laid down the word "match" and tried to hide his smirk in his glass of water as he took a drink. Sophie caught a glimpse of his expression and stared at him quizzically.

Namjoon caught the younger man's meaning and turned the worn Scrabble tile in his hand, choosing to ignore the comment.

The game soon ended after, with Sophie in fact winning. Taehyung gloated about her win more than she did, but Namjoon took it good-naturedly.

It was half an hour past midnight by the time it had finished and Sophie knew it was time to leave.

"Well, thank you guys for the fun evening and for dinner, Namjoon. I should be going though, I'm sure you both need to get some sleep," Sophie stood with a smile, the Scrabble game in hand.

"Namjoon won't sleep for hours actually," Taehyung blurted out, his expression innocent and his heart pounding.

"Taehyung," Namjoon's eyes widened and his tone was a little short.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Namjoon. Do you have issues sleeping often?" Sophie frowned and felt a little worried about her new acquaintance. However, Namjoon's look of discomfort caused her to remember herself. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude. It's not any of my business."

"No, it's not a problem, don't worry about it, Sophie." Namjoon made an effort to smile and relaxed his tensed shoulders. "I do have a hard time winding down I guess."

"Oh, I see." Sophie shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling the urge to be helpful but feeling the fear of overstepping. "When I had trouble sleeping when I was younger, my father made me chamomile tea with a teaspoon of honey stirred in. It was very soothing and it helped me to feel warm and relaxed before bed." She smiled at Namjoon, hoping she hadn't offended him.

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind," Namjoon smiled, his eyes crinkling slightly. Sophie relaxed a little.

"I'll walk you to the bus stop, Sophie." Taehyung broke the moment of silence and handed Sophie her coat.