Chapter Text
Ping!
Ping!
……
Ping!
You don’t even need to open your eyes to know who’s trying to contact you. The double text followed by a pause… and finally a reluctant third text has Min Yoongi written all over it. Of course, this guess is supported by the fact that your alarm clock reads “3:00 am” in red, angry line segments. Another classic Min Yoongi move. You shift your tired arm from under the frilly yellow comforter, reaching under your pillow and pulling out the phone that had fell beside your face with a heavy thunk! just a few hours earlier. Lo and Behold, you were right, three texts from Yoongi through the companies messenger. Blinking the sleep from your eyes as they adjusted back to the light of your screen, the familiar tch tch tch! coming from your phone as you typed your password contrasted with the gentle sound of your fan in the background. You read the request illuminating your face in the dark room:
Min Yoongi- Sorry to bother you. Are you awake? …… Coffee?
Which marks a win on your Yoongi bingo card, coffee at three am. Now, you know its not in your job description to judge the requests you receive, but in your half sleeping state, you respond back as honestly as you can.
Y/N- ?
Min Yoongi has sent in a request for “Coffee”! $4.95
“Jesus Christ..” You mutter gently as you slide your legs out from under the warm blankets and out the side of your cramped bed, sitting yourself up with your feet flat against the plush rug underneath you and your fists balled up by your thighs, pressing into the mattress until you push yourself off the bed. You moved yourself around your room in the blinding darkness, it had been a month since you moved in and you eventually stopped needing to desperately search for your desk lamp like a moth begging for the light each time you got up to pee. Shuffling to the other side of your room, the brightness of the hall cracking through the bottom of your door and just barely casting a ray of artificial light against your house slippers. Pushing your cold feet into the fuzzy slippers as you slowly wrap your long winter coat around your body and zip it. Only your displeased and exhausted eyes poke out from between the high collar and the hood of your coat, you slide your phone into your pocket along with your soon to be numb hands and trudge out of your room at the end of the hall.
Scooting yourself around the shelving lining the walls of the small dorm, when you were offered “On site housing” this isn’t exactly what you expected. Sharing a four bedroom, one bathroom, one floor dorm with seven other people would seem like a tortuous existence to most- of course, you are included in that most. It could be worse, words that you seem to think to yourself quite often… but it’s true. For instance, because you just so happen to be a member of the opposite sex from everyone else in the house, you’re always guaranteed your own room no matter what. As the only person in the house with a designated room to yourself, you don’t envy the others, especially Hoseok, Jimin, and Taehyung who are forced to share between the three of them. You’re sure that someone was very disappointed when they realized that the extra bedroom wouldn’t be going to a member of the band, but instead a live in gofer- though if they feel that way they don’t show it to you. Maybe the feeling of gratefulness with any room is too overwhelming after coming from their first dorm, three sets of bunk beds and a single all squished together in one tiny room. You’ve seen the pictures, still nine times out of ten, when you hear the members talk about their time in the last dorm you can’t help but imagine all seven of them lined up in one long bed, with one long pillow, and one long blanket. Each adorned with matching sets of long nightgowns and sleeping caps. You could always see Seokjin stepping out of the room in the middle of the night with a lit candle stick lighting his way, a la Ebenezer Scrooge.
Though tonight it was you who was sneaking around the dorm, on an obviously urgent errand. Who needs coffee at three in the morning. He can’t let himself sleep when he gets tired? The others don’t seem to have any issues… You’re mind rambled to itself as you passed the throuples door, hearing the low snores of Taehyung's deep baritone softly echo off the walls and seep its way into the otherwise quiet hallway, you felt bad for Jimin and Hoseok even more than before. Not letting the grumbling complaints from the usually cheerful Hoseok stop you on your mission, reaching the front door and trading your fuzzy slippers for your outside shoes. Making sure to grab your key off the hook this time, you don’t want to make that mistake again, before you quietly open the front door and head down the stairs.
As much as you complained to yourself, you knew you were being hypocritical, your friends- … your old friends used to get on your ass constantly for staying up all night to fuck around, disregarding your responsibilities the next morning so that you could sit at your desk and loose your mind in a game or the movies you’ve watched hundreds of times already. You’d sit until your back ached in your chair, until your skin melded with the horrid plastic, just to then move yourself to your bed and waste away scrolling through social media, watching everyone else live their lives until the sun peaked through the little window of your Washington State University dorm. This pattern continued far longer than it should have, one class missed turned into three, turned into six, turned into a dismissal from your professor and a permanent failure weighing down your GPA. You learned the hard way that people don’t tend to stick around once you start ignoring them to rot in your dorm room, so there went your friends… So whats left when you let everything fall between your fingers? No friends, no college degree, you couldn’t go back home- you burned that bridge the very second you stepped out of your parent's house on move in day, vowing to never return to the bed of spikes you called home for nineteen years. You made the obvious choice, pack a bag and a suitcase, drop out of college, and take advantage of your duel citizenship- courtesy of your parents. Making the choice to renounce your American nationality and truly leave everything behind, a fresh start.
You did pretty well for a twenty year old girl on her own in a place she’d never been before, still no friends… still no degree… but an itty bitty studio apartment above the convenience store you worked at, and a promise to yourself that you would look into your true passion. Owning your own part bookstore, part tea shop, part florist business. All you needed was the money. And the books, and the tea, and the flowers but that all came with the money. But you weren’t getting very far with the convenience store, and you had no real experience in anything lucrative. You were lucky enough to have enough saved up for the one way ticket and the first couple months rent, that's when this… interesting job offer popped up in your email. “No experience necessary, must pass a background check, must be willing to live on site, must be available at most hours.”
What’s this for? A nanny business? You thought to yourself, sitting on a small cushion in your barren apartment and sifting through the job description. You could be a nanny! You liked kids enough, and all you’d have to do is make sure they don’t get hurt or set anything on fire. Fortunately for any concerned parents, the job was not being a nanny to any children. Unfortunately for you, the job was instead being a nanny to seven grown men- not just men, but idols. You had heard of BTS before, you couldn’t call yourself a fan, but you were confident you could point them out of a crowd if you needed to- which wasn’t something you’d ever thought you’d actually have to do. You knew their names, you liked some of their music, they looked nice. They looked tired… Which is where you come in you guess. You knew being an idol couldn’t have been an easy job, but the lavish Beverly Hills houses of American celebrities could never have prepared you for what you would call your new home. A cramped dorm, dishes flooding the sink, clothes and shoes strewn around the living areas, and the bathroom- you couldn’t even bring yourself to remember it.
Who knew idols could be such pigs? Not to say you had it all together yourself when you lived in your own dorm, dirty and clean clothes piled high on the floor, fast food wrappers spilling out of a discarded bag and a couple dead succulents sitting on the window sill. For some reason you expected something... else. Something cleaner, which is what you delivered to a very surprised and confused BTS when they came home that night- not clean per say, but cleaner. You had scrubbed dishes until they sparkled, and the baskets of clean clothes were folded and put back in their respected receptacles. But it was clear, that after the introductions and explanations of what you had been doing all day while they were off working to the point of exhaustion, your act had rubbed a couple people the wrong way. Yoongi and Hoseok sending each other annoyed glances nearly drowned out Jin’s praise of your work with the old pots and pans that had been sitting for days in the sink and Namjoon's gentle thanks for your efforts. Only snapping out of your anxious state, unclenching your teeth, and finally cracking a small smile as Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook looked through their clothes as if you cast some spell to get each of them into a perfect square and stacked so neatly. You sat on the couch with Jimin and Taehyung, trying to get to know them as they talked excitedly at you about their day, their favorite foods, and whatnot.
Glancing over at the youngest, Jungkook, as he sat in a chair off to the side and listened to the three of you talk, you tried to give him a smile but guilt gnawed at your stomach. You understood the issue you created, you had come into their space and said it wasn’t good enough, changing it without even asking first. Something about the way Yoongi and Hoseok looked at each other over the others heads as they checked the things you didn’t touch, you got the familiar feeling of wanting to lock yourself in your room and wait until they forgot about the situation- which could have taken weeks, or months, so clearly that wasn’t an option. Instead an awkward dinner ensued, the eight of you sat around the low table in the “living room,” some of you on the couch and others huddled on small cushions and pillows on the floor. You were sat in between the two youngest, one who’s low voice happily talked your ear off between bites of instant ramen and fried pork. You pushed your food around in your bowl, watching the noodles slide around your chopsticks as you listened to seven voices rattle on. You weren’t listening to hard to, maybe they were talking about the episode of Run BTS they were going to film the next day, maybe they were talking about quitting the band and starting their new careers as mountain climbers… probably not that actually, but you would have been none the wiser either way. Anxious thoughts were clawing at your head, how could you be so stupid to think this was a good first impression, why haven’t you apologized yet? They probably think you’re some freak who wanted to go through their clothes, or just rude enough to not care that those were their personal items.
You only looked up from your bowl of food gone cold when you felt a fleeting hand gently tap at your forearm, your eyes meeting a set of deep brown, almost pitch black, ones looking down at you. You could hear his quiet voice muffled in the back of your head, and you could see his lips move, asking if you were okay. Clearly your anxiety had been seeping off you and traveling up the spine of the maknae sitting next to you, but you were stuck, lost in the shining eyes staring back at you. These guys really were pretty, you already knew that, but being so close to them let you see every detail of their faces. Like the little dimples in Hoseok's cheeks when pushed his lips together in a thin line, or Jimin’s crooked teeth, or Jungkook’s eyes…
Sweet discs of dark brown looking at you with concern. You finally snapped yourself out of it, giving him some excuse, saying that you weren’t very hungry- which was a lie. All you had eaten was a convenience store rice ball and a mango tea before the car picked you up that morning, but he seemed to believe you, glancing down at your bowl hopefully. A little smile played on your lips before you handed the food over to him, which he thanked you for profusely, nodding his head in a small bow and cheerfully grabbing his chopsticks from his empty bowl. It didn’t even matter to him that the food was stone cold, a bright smile breaking out on his face simply due to you giving him an extra portion, watching him slurp up the noodles so happily seemed to subside your hunger. Announcing your departure from the table with the excuse that you needed to unpack and thanking everyone for dinner, you walked down the hall to your room. A bland white box with a small bed and matching desk on one side of the door, on the other sits a closet and a small dresser. You would have to put in some work to make this room become a comfort to you, but the first step was placing down your bedding. Pulling the tightly packed comforter out of your suitcase and spreading it out on the bed, the yellow flowers bringing in some nice color to the otherwise stark white and pale wood room.
You got to work on the space around your bed as well, a small rug, a couple stuffed animals to sit under your window, a jewelry box you’ve had since childhood. Hanging your everyday bag on the bedpost, and sitting down on the mattress with a huff, it was a good start… but something still gnawed at you, glancing at your phone sitting on your desk as you bit down and chewed at your bottom lip. Nothing will get done if neither of us make the first move… You used to pride yourself on being an excellent communicator, a trait you picked up by needing to navigate a passive aggressive household, so you took the first step, typing out an apology in your notes app. Something along the lines of “I’m sorry if I over stepped or pushed your boundaries. I understand that I made you uncomfortable, that was not my intention. I hope we can start over.” which you read over far to many times for such a short text, wanting to make sure you didn’t call anyone a bitch or link a picture of a horrifically nude man- which wasn’t a picture you had, still that fear was there as you copied the words and pasted them into Hoseok’s and Yoongi’s direct messages, sending them off. To your surprise, Hoseok replied almost instantly, noting that it was a little strange having someone he’s never met touching his things. A message that you still scroll up to look at when you’re feeling anxious- just to make it a little bit worse. But he understood your intentions and thanked you for your apology, agreeing to try a new first day with you tomorrow. That filled you with hope, fitting you suppose.
On the other hand, it took Yoongi hours to respond. You having been trying to distract yourself with continuing to unpack and set up your room, stopping every few minutes to look at your phone in case you missed the notification but to no avail. You kinda had to thank the guy, if you didn’t need something to take your mind off the burning sensation in your chest, your things would have probably sat in your suitcase for weeks. It wasn’t until you got into bed early the next morning that you got a notification, a thumbs up reaction. You took that the best you could, staring into the ceiling for what felt like centuries, your mind mostly quiet. Just accepting that you had been worried and waiting for hours just to receive the weakest of responses, but you suppose that’s better than a thumbs down reaction…
The days moved on more normally from then on, following the group around during shoots and filming, always off to the side in case someone wants a drink or needs something from their bag- you kinda felt like a soccer mom. Holding the bags, the drinks, running to get things from the car, finding someones lost chapstick, fixing the strap on someones bag. The only difference is while a child will run up to his mother, grab what he needs, and run off again without another word… these boys were extremely grateful to you for the smallest things. Things that you had been told to do or get, you’re always greeted with a smile and an expression of gratitude, especially with Jimin and Taehyung who always seemed to be reaching for your hand to squeeze as they thanked you for retrieving their own items. It used to weird you out a bit honestly, cringing and slowly pulling yourself away from their casual touching, it seemed like an over reaction for just doing your job. As the days turned into weeks… and you watched how physical the entire group was with each other, how Jungkook found it so easy to wrap himself around one of the members and waddle behind him as they walked away, how Hoseok’s lips seemed to plant themselves wherever they could on the others bodies, the way that Jin always fed the other members by hand, and the way Tae managed to fall asleep entangled with someone else- suddenly his lanky arm around your shoulder didn’t feel so strange.
Not that it felt normal either, you always thought you weren’t one for physical touch, it wasn’t something regular in your household. It shocked you to find yourself leaning your back against Jimin’s side one night, his gentle hands playing with the ends of your hair as the two of you watched a new episode of the drama you follow. You didn’t even notice it for the most part, too busy answering Jimin’s questions about the plot, why the main character would even give the demanding rich boy a chance. You noticed the absence of his touch more than the touch itself, once Taehyung came out of their bedroom and swung around the corner, his wet hair dripping down his t-shirt, calling Jimin to go to bed. Feeling the cold air meet your back once his side was no longer firmly against yours, clenching your teeth as his hand squeezed your shoulder while he walked by and gave you a “goodnight, Y/N. Sleep well.” Your eyes followed their bodies until they disappeared down the hall only to spot Hoseok leaning up against the kitchen counter, digging his hand into a bag of chips and lost in his phone, you’d thought he’d be in bed already, he normally would be. You watched him tap at his phone for a minute before looking down at your own at the sound of a request coming in.
Jung Hoseok has sent in a request for “More chips please<3”! $3.50
Looking up again to be met with his shining smile before he threw the empty bag away, this pulled a little laugh from your chest, shaking your head as you got off the couch and put on your shoes near the front door. Hearing a rustle of clothes behind you, you looked to see Hoseok sliding on his coat to come with you, walking out the dorms wordlessly with you. It wasn’t the first time one of them has joined you on a trip, usually Jin will tag along to make sure you get the right meat for dinner, or Namjoon will request something small just so he could get out of the dorms- those trips taking significantly longer than normal due to Namjoon’s need to stop and take pictures of every pretty flower or small animal he sees on the way there and back. But you don’t mind. It didn’t take long for the members to warm up to you, enough to make your following them around all day not so awkward. Of course there was still the issue of Yoongi, who hadn’t even requested anything from you for the first couple weeks. You wondered if he was still upset about the cleaning incident, though he was never rude. Really he never talked to you at all, the two of you just coexisted, eventually you let the worry slip from your mind, if he wasn’t going to take part in your job then that's up to him. So it was a surprise that on a night you couldn’t sleep, sitting up in your bed and biting at your thumb nail as you were looking into whether or not you need a license to sell books, your eyes darted to the top of your screen at the sound of a request coming in.
Min Yoongi has sent in a request for “Iced Americano.”! $4.95
Coffee? Now? Wait, Yoongi sent this in? The questions raced in your mind, never the less, you walked yourself to the 24/7 convenience store and picked up a bottled Americano. Which is where you stand now, rubbing your cold fingers together before reaching into the refrigerated section and pulling the bottle of espresso and water from its slot. Letting yourself yawn under your collar as you walked to the equally tired clerk for him to ring up your late night usual, just starting to pull out the company card when you heard a Ping!
Jeon Jungkook has sent in a request for “Honey chips pls”! $3.50
“Uh… hold on one second.” You spoke apologetically to the clerk, who barely gave you a dead-eyed blink in response as you moved yourself down the snack isle and picked up the famous Honey Butter Chips, the hot commodity of the Bangtan house. Why is Jungkook asking for chips in the middle of the night? Is he normally up at this time? Your eyebrows were furrowed in confusion as you set the bag on the counter for him to ring up as well. Swiping the sleek black card quickly and taking the plastic bag of items from the man, bowing your head in thanks before walking back into the cold. You really didn’t mind the late night walks, it was a strange environment to be sure, with the far away police sirens and the people to drunk to stand trying to make their way home. But seeing the tall building stretch past the streetlights and lead into the stars always brought you a strange sense of comfort. You still haven’t really seen the stars in all their glory, having always lived in bright cities, but it’s a goal of yours to get away somewhere where you can just sit and let the world turn slowly around you. You often think about everything you’d like to do on these quiet walks, truly see the stars, eat your first s’more, get a degree… maybe have a partner again- but you're getting ahead of yourself. You have goods to deliver, looking at the floor as you push your id card to the lock sensor, opening the door to the company building where you already knew Yoongi would be at this hour. It didn’t take long to learn where the producer spent most of his time, you had seen “The Genius Lab” a few times, just when dropping off coffee and the occasional snack. Pressing your ID to this door as well before opening it and stepping in, letting it close behind you. He didn’t greet you.
“Min-nim… I have your Americano.” You felt shy using such formal name for someone you lived with, but seeing as you didn’t know where you stood with the stoic man, it was better to be careful in your opinion.
“Mhm.” Nodding his head curtly and holding his hand out for you to hand him the bottle, which you did, “Thank you. What else do you have?” He flicked his finger out lazily to the bag by your side, how he even saw it without turning his head from the screen was beyond you.
“Jungkook-ah requested more Honey Butter Chips, that's all.”
“Jungkook-ah?” His voice had a lilt of deadpan surprise, did you say something wrong? Did he want the chips..?
“Mhm...” You expressed your conformation before watching him put his headphones back on and crack open the seal on his drink, taking that as your sign that the conversation was over and it was your time to show yourself out. Which you did. Silently leaving the building and walking back towards the dorms to complete the rest of your delivery.