Finally...Us [BTSxReader]

Chapter 7

"We need to talk" was the first thing Jin said after the long silence in the car, and now that he did not have to focus on driving, he turned to the person next to him. NamJoon was typing away on his phone, looking up for a second to let Jin know he was paying attention.

Jin only sighed at his younger friend and wondered how to put his feelings into words. He was worried that the behavior his friend was exhibiting these past weeks was becoming destructive. And while it may not destroy him yet, it was affecting other people from his life, his group of friends included.

"Don't you think you went a bit overboard tonight?" he finally asked NamJoon, watching his friend stop typing and looking at him, puzzled. "M was hurt and you could only say they probably wished they were at the symposium? You did not even offer to help her after she got out of the doctor's office" he continued, his eyes never moving from NamJoon.

NamJoon put the phone on his lap, looking into Jin's eyes, frowning as he mulled over what he said.

"Well, hyung, I was only trying to make a joke, guess it was a bit insensitive at the moment" he finally replied, the ping from his phone distracting him from continuing his thought. "Also, the girls were there, and it seemed there was no need for extra hands to help" he replied under his breath, his eyes glued to the screen of his phone.

Jin felt annoyed. Somehow, somewhere on the way from his first year in college to the second, something changed. No one could say what or why though. Not even M knew. She only thought it had to do with his first relationship in college, breaking his heart and such. Jin told her a thousand times he did not believe that, as that first relationship lasted a week mostly, and then he broke it off. But, there was half of the truth there, as NamJoon changed right after that, and it seemed he changed girlfriends pretty often. Though in the last three months, his relationships escalated to the point where he had five girlfriends until now. And he always got drunk afterward, resulting in M getting hurt by his words. Jin had a suspicion of why NamJoon was behaving the way he was, but until he could not get him to open up, he could never confirm it. He had to treat NamJoon like a fish and be patient enough until he went for the bait and clamped his jaw onto the hook, so he could drag him out of water. And now, he wanted to try a little bit of baiting to see how he reacted.

"What is M saying?" he asked, reaching for the keys in the ignition and taking them out. When he got no reply, he looked at NamJoon, and he knew from the puppy look on his face that it was not M. "Don't tell me Kyla texted you, saying she wants you back?" he asked, annoyed with his friend.

"What? Oh god, no!" NamJoon replied immediately, the look of disgust on his face letting Jin know how he would react if Kyla did try and approach him. "It's Gabby, her friend. She is apologizing for Kyla's behavior" he replied, telling Jin exactly who he was talking to.

"And why the happy grin on your face then? Don't tell me..." Jin stopped saying anything else, his eyes focusing on NamJoon, suspicion rising in the depths of his soul.

"What? She is a nice girl" NamJoon replied, trying to look as innocent as possible "She just said she is sorry Kyla did what she did and she should have warned me before it happened. Also, she is in my group project, I can't just ignore her" he continued, taking the seatbelt off and getting ready to get out of the car.

"NamJoon, what do you really think of M?" Jin finally asked him, losing his patience, his own advice of waiting to disappear at the moment. He was not known for keeping his patience much unless it was for fishing.

"What do I think of M?" NamJoon laughed, wondering if it was his friend who got hit by a ball tonight or not. "Come on, hyung, you already know she is my best friend. What else could I think of her?" he said, raising an eyebrow in wait for Jin's reply.

"I know you say she is your best friend, but your behavior towards her lacks that consistency," Jin said, not even once flinching from the staring competition NamJoon started.

"What...?" NamJoon seemed lost for words as he stared at his friend, not quite understanding what he was saying.

"The way you treat her is like she is your salvation line for desperate times. And the rest of the time, she is just someone you know. And when she seems to stray away from your side for too long, you seem to want to keep her attention glued on only you." Jin continued, and before NamJoon could say something, he raised his palm to stop him from talking. He still had a lot to say, and tonight seemed like a good night to dump everything on the younger man. "You might not realize it, but you sometimes just keep her away from situations you are involved, and when you get in trouble, you hook her back in, not explaining anything. Is that how a best friend acts? Or what about when you get drunk and only call for her, even when I offer to get you back? Or worse, after those situations, when you cling to her, but at the same time, alienate her? You might not notice it or think you are behaving the same as before, but everyone else notices it, and honestly, I don't think it is fair for her" he exhaled after that burst of verbatim spouting, feeling suddenly tired.

NamJoon looked at him, more confused than ever, staying silent as he was focusing on looking back on his behavior. His chin withdrew in a straight line, his eyes focused on the dashboard, but at the same time, lost in space, and Jin waited, this time patient enough, for NamJoon to reach a conclusion about this situation on his own.

"Hmm, is that really how it is, hyung?" NamJoon finally replied, looking away from the dashboard into the parking lot. "Honestly, I think I act as a friend would act. Sometimes, my big mouth talks before I filter words and situations, but she knows I only have the best of intentions towards her" he continued, nodding in satisfaction at his words. Jin could only look at him in surprise, and then wonder how deep far in denial he was.

"Are you telling me you see nothing wrong with your behavior? Or that it might indicate your feelings for..." but he never got to finish as NamJoon interjected.

"Hyung, I really don't see her like that! Believe me, I tried in high school. But, nothing. She just doesn't attract me physically, hyung. Why give her hopes?" NamJoon said, maybe a bit too rushed, maybe a bit too angry.

"I was not talking about ..." but again, before he could finish, NamJoon interrupted him by slamming the door to the car, and waved him off, his hand already fishing for the phone in his jacket to continue his conversation.

Jin could only sigh in exasperation at his moody, teenage acting, and followed suit by exiting his own car. Sometimes, he wondered what it would take for the moron that is his friend to actually see the truth in front of him. Physical attraction or not, NamJoon felt something for M, beyond being the best of friends, and in rejecting that part of him, he was hurting her to make sure it could not escalate. And it did not take a therapist to see the little stuff happening in his daily treatment of her. But that guy was so stubborn, he would deny it even at gunpoint probably. Jin could only hope he would get his head out of his ass to see the light in time before M would have enough of being broken by his words, and just go somewhere else to be appreciated. And at the same time, Jin wanted exactly that to happen, even if NamJoon got hurt by it. M deserved to be happy, and Jin did not know if NamJoon could ever make her happy, especially after all the hurt he made her go through.

"Kids these days" he finally mumbled, going slowly to his room, looking up at the full moon in the sky, sometimes wondering what kind of advice would the moon have after witnessing stuff like that. Maybe it would know how to handle this type of conversation better than him. Maybe it would punch that blind friend into seeing the truth. Maybe it would guide that hurting friend onto another path. Maybe it would do nothing and just let the ball roll. Maybe he should stop wondering what celestial bodies would do in certain situations, and actually go to sleep. One symposium evening was enough for his brain to be tired of over-thinking, and he was glad tomorrow was Sunday and he could sleep in, and not have to deal with stubborn people.

"Maybe I can get Kiki to go out for ice cream tomorrow" he smiled as he whispered that, already texting her about what he just thought, and finally, for the first time that evening, he felt just a tiny bit better. He tried his best. The rest would be dealt with by Fate, and he had a feeling she was bound to be not as sweet of a mistress as NamJoon wanted her to be. But only time could tell if his gut feeling was right or not. Until then, he had some sleep to catch up on.