-Late August 2021-

The week of the workshops finally arrived. Because of the United Nations General Assembly, their virtual concert, and their LA mini-residency in November, the guys' schedules were almost fully booked. There was a small 8-day window of when they were able to do the workshops.

When the day had come for us to set off to the soop, Big Hit obtained three separate vehicles for us. I was the only songwriter/producer who would be on location for the entire stay. The other producers would be coming separately but wouldn't be staying long.

We divided the cars into three drivers: Jimin, Yoongi, and me.

The guys independently selected who they wanted to ride with. Jin opted to go with Yoongi while J-Hope and Taehyung went in Jimin's car. That left Namjoon and Jungkook with me.

We were currently in one of the HYBE basement parking lots. Our luggage was loaded in the cars and all keys were in our hands. Only a few staff members were present but none would be accompanying us. The guys' wish of this being a private work gateway was being respected. Sure, there was going to be security and a couple of staff members on the soop premises, but they were only going to be there as a precaution.

Jungkook was sweet and offered to help drive but I informed him I could handle it.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Knowing Jungkook for as long as I had, I knew by his facial features he was only offering to be polite. I had a feeling the reason he had selected to be in a car with me and Namjoon was so he could be chatting with his girlfriend on the road. Namjoon and I wouldn't tease him as much as his other brothers would.

I held onto the keys. "If I sit in the back, I'll get car sick. Namjoon's stomach doesn't fare any better."

Jungkook gave a nod as he took a bite from one of the many snacks he had packed. His lips puckered as he chewed, making him even more adorable.

I reached over and pinched his cheeks. As usual, he let me. The corners of his lips twitched a little; he secretly liked me babying him. While I considered Jimin, Tae, and Jungkook all little brothers, Jungkook was the one I doted on the most. Those round, doe eyes made him look so innocent.

After I was done babying him, he turned to the car and was the first to climb on. As we settled in the car, I turned on the radio, finding the news channel.

"The storm is set to bring in heavy rain. Winds are expected to go up to 88 km an hour."

I had heard of the storm earlier in the week and made sure to pack accordingly. I hoped the guys had done the same. "Did you pack rain jackets?"

The guys nodded and buckled in.

I was ready to pull out of the spot when I noticed Hobi in Jimin's car. He was sitting in the backseat and giving us a teasing smile. I frowned, not understanding.

He then pointed to Namjoon and pointed at me, mouthing "oh yeah", followed by a perverted face as he bit his bottom lip and did a little grinding-type of display dance.

I gave him a deadpan look and flipped him off.

He laughed.

I rolled my eyes and turned, noticing Namjoon watching Hope's dirty insinuation. Namjoon had that look on his face that was commonly known by everyone that he was done with one (or all) of his brothers.

He shook his head slightly and turned to me, his left eye squinting in irritation. "If you feel like you're losing control of the car, be sure it's driving close to his car and smash into him."

"But then his car will hit Jin's. And then Jin will get hurt," I said with fake concern. "And there goes Bangtan."

Namjoon nodded, understanding the problem. "You're right. Jin's face is the bread and butter of the group. Well, wait for Hobi to exit the car and then smash into him."

Jungkook laughed behind us. I heard him lower his seat in a laying position. He had his phone to his ear and talking to Yuna, no doubt.

I turned to Namjoon, who was putting on a baseball cap and sunglasses then adjusted his hoodie.

It was before dawn and there was little chance there would be cameras when we exited the parking lot, but everyone was taking precautions so the public wouldn't recognize them.

Leading us was Yoongi, followed by Jimin, and me at the end.

For the first few minutes, I listened to the news. I wanted to get clear information on the traffic and weather ahead of us. Namjoon and JK, meanwhile, made sure to keep their heads low.

After the city was behind us, it seemed safe enough for them to come out of hiding. Namjoon pulled down his hoodie and connected his phone to the car. "Anything in particular you want to listen to?" he asked. His head was low, his baseball cap hiding most of his face. A part of me wanted to push it off him to see his whole face, but he also looked real cute like this.

While Jungkook, Tae, Jimin, and at times Yoongi would do adorable things that caused me to act out in cute aggression (the need to pinch their cheeks, grit my teeth, and want to eat them up), I hardly ever felt that way with Namjoon's cuteness. Looking at him now…I couldn't describe it. I felt the need to reach out to him and grab his face…but do something else to him.

An image of pulling his face closer to mine popped up in my head. Instantly, I tried to shake away the image.

I was currently ovulating; I was sure that was feeling so horny at the moment. I hung out so much with Namjoon and he was the main guy I was around. It made sense that my crush on him would intensify during this time of the month. But I suppressed it. We weren't compatible. Sure, we shared many of the same interests (such as music and books) but there were other things about him that didn't mix well with me.

Plus, I treasured Namjoon's friendship like no other. I had never had a friend like him. He managed to read my energy better than anyone. He could tell what was on my mind without me having to say a word. He could calm me with little to no words. If I were to seek more than what I had with him, I feared it wouldn't work out and I would completely lose him.

As I tried to push down my concerns, I listened to Namjoon as he called out several genres and artists for us to listen to. I let him decide. Our taste was similar, anyway, with only a few differences.

He chose 90s Hip-Hop and we jammed to it for the first half part of the trip.

A slight argument even occurred during the playlist about West Coast/East Coast Hip-Hop. We could not agree which had the better music. Namjoon, being a true Nas fan, sided with East Coast Hip-Hop. However, as an LA girl who grew up there in the 90s, I took issue with this. Since the West Coast obtained Tupac, I believed it easily was the superior of the two. This then led to our disagreement on who the better rapper was in the 90s.

"You can't say 'NY State of Mind' is not one of the best songs ever written," he argued.

"I never said it wasn't. But I have a soft spot for 'Keep Ya Head Up'. Not to mention 'Hail Mary' is a song that still gives me chills—the mixing in that song is greatly underrated. It did not get the high recognition that it deserved," I argued

Namjoon shook his head. He lifted his cap, scratched the top of his head, and pulled the cap back down. He did this when he was slightly irritated, it was cute. "That's not what the discussion is. This is about who is the better rapper. Not which song you personally feel more connected to."

His logic sometimes bugged me. "This is all opinion based—which is driven by emotion."

"Not necessarily. You can have an objective view and think critically on it." He was looking at me intently, his swag demeanor domineering now. His legs were spread open, his arms spanned out, and he was slouching. The more confident he got in what he was saying or doing, the more relaxed his body became.

I tried to ignore how attractive he looked. "You only side with Nas because you prefer his style. He's a personal preference for you. For me, who appreciates more the lyrics when it comes to songs, I have to say Tupac is better."

"You prefer Tupac because you think he was good-looking," Namjoon accused, finally a slight smile appearing on his face, the dimples emerging.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I had a crush on him when I was younger. I'm a sucker for lips. But just because I ind he was attractive does not mean he wasn't an incredibly gifted writer."

"As a writer, yes. And as a rapper. But coming from a perspective of analyzing the rapping style as a whole—the lyrics, the accent, the voice, the rhythm, the beat—Nas has a pocket and feel that just can't be replicated and executed."

Of course, Namjoon's love of Hip Hop was different than my own. He was a rapper and writer who had full love for Hip Hop—it was his initial inspiration for music. For me, it was just another genre that made me appreciate another form of music. I didn't really care who technically was the better rapper: Pac or Nas. What I enjoyed was being able to go back and forth with Namjoon like this.

I loved to hear his opinions and the logical reasons and analysis behind those opinions. I liked pushing his buttons and having him further explain himself. Plus, seeing him flustered made him extremely cute.

Our argument went on for a while longer until Jungkook had enough. He had ended his call with his girlfriend and did not want to spend the rest of car ride with us arguing. Namjoon and I easily dropped the discussion.

I looked over at Namjoon. He was looking back at me with a smile. Neither of us had taken the debate to heart. On the contrary, we both had fun.

I wasn't a genius like Namjoon, but I was smart. I had received an amazing education: I graduated high school early with honors and earned a bachelor's degree from UCLA before the age of 20. Similar to Namjoon, I gave up academics to pursue music, despite my intelligence.

Namjoon scrolled through his playlists and listed off other genres we could listen to.

"Country music, country music," Jungkook insisted, reminding me of a little kid.

"I have a good one," I said, motioning Namjoon to my cell phone. I told him the name of the playlist.

Similar to Namjoon and I, Jungkook's taste was eclectic. To me, music was music, whatever the genre. I was glad they had selected my car to travel in.

It didn't take long for Namjoon to find the playlist I had mentioned.

A Kane Brown song kicked off the playlist that hyped us up. The three of us then sang at top of our lungs to various country artists.

Namjoon wasn't a singer in the slightest. He could carry simple tunes but nothing too complicated. But I loved the way he didn't care. He sang at the top of his lungs despite being out of tune from the song. It made him come across as confident—a trait I found attractive.

The next song that played was one neither Namjoon nor Jungkook knew, so I was the only one who sang along.

It was evident Jungkook was enjoying it. "Sounds nice. Who is this?" Jungkook asked as he swayed his head to the tempo.

I immediately recognized the girl duo and informed Jungkook who they were.

He made a sound that told me he hadn't heard of them before. He took out his phone and I was sure he was searching them up.

In my review mirror, I caught Jungkook listening to the lyrics with a confused face. He went back to his phone and typed, still looking confused. I was pretty sure he was trying to figure out the meaning of the lyrics. His English had improved, but sometimes he needed extra help.

Once the song ended, his look had not changed.

I looked in the review mirror. "JK, what is it?" I asked in English.

Namjoon raised his eyebrows and turned slightly to his little brother, curious himself.

"I not understand." His grammar needed work, but his American accent was perfect. "Play repeat."

"Play it again," Namjoon corrected him.

JK echoed his hyung.

Namjoon went to his phone to replay the song.

It always felt weird whenever I would speak exclusively in English with the guys since I usually spoke Korean with a little bit of English. Having full conversations in English always felt a little alien, but I also knew Jungkook wanted the practice—he had told me so in the past. "What are you confused about?" I asked, careful to enunciate my words and speak a little slower than I normally would.

"Friends don't…" he repeated a line in the lyrics, not understanding what they meant.

I understood the confusion. I explained how the girl in the song was stuck in the friend zone with a guy.

Jungkook raised his eyebrows. "Friend zone?"

"You know, when two people are friends but they want to be a couple."

He just looked at me, his doe eyes looking blank.

I turned to Namjoon. "Is there a word for 'friendzone' in Korean?" I asked in English. It was easier speaking to Namjoon in English. I occasionally did so.

He shook his head, looking a little confused as well. "I haven't heard the word."

"Ugh. You're a useless genius," I joked.

He smiled and closed his eyes in fake embarrassment.

I thought a little more about the translation but could only come up with a phrase that was slightly similar to friendzone. "Almost like eojang-gwanli. In this case, both are doing it to each other. They each like the other but have not told one another. They are both keeping each other in the friendzone," I tried explaining again. I took Namjoon's phone and hit repeat on the song. I sang along to the song, making emphasis in certain parts so Jungkook could understand this song was about two individuals who had a crush on each other. I then translated it to Korean, emphasizing in the same parts I had in English.

Jungkook's big, doe eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah!" He looked down at his phone again. "Friend zone," he repeated his newly discovered phrase.

I continued to translate the song.

Jungkook was now smiling ear to ear. "I really like this!"

Once the song ended, Namjoon made a sound full of admiration. "You sound good singing country music."

Jungkook nodded and gave me a short clap.

In the years we had been friends, I was still surprised by how easily compliments slipped out of Namjoon's tongue. All the guys, really. They didn't just give a simple compliment, they elaborated on it. Gave high praise for the simplest talent a person showed.

It was certainly not the way I was raised. Latinos didn't give compliments. A lot of teasing full of love went around, along with 'I love you', hugs, and kisses, but never vocal praise—at least not in my family. But Namjoon and the rest of the guys openly verbalized their adoration without hesitation.

Now that he began to compliment my voice, I knew the next few minutes he was going to go on and on about how my voice could really fit any genre.

And he wasn't one to disappoint. He went on about how my next album should be country and how he was sure my fans would love it.

I kept my eyes on the road, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Namjoon chuckled. "She's getting shy," he said to Jungkook.

My eyes were facing forward, trying to ignore him.

I felt long, warm fingers on my cheeks. "Cute," he said as he pinched my cheek gently.

I made a noise and gently pushed his hand away.

Different playlists were played for the remainder of our trip. I made sure we didn't listen to country music again.

While Jungkook took a nap, Namjoon and I discussed a novel we had recently finished, Circe by Madeline Miller. We discussed the novel's constant theme of isolation and the heartache surrounding the titled character. The irony of how she was the daughter of deities but was considered lesser amongst her celestial family. We both felt for her when her heart constantly kept getting broken by her lovers and family members.

We were deep in discussing whether Circe's constant aid to her family and strangers was due to her good heart or because of her crave for love and affection when Namjoon's phone rang. I glanced down and saw Jin's name come up on the screen.

"Hey, where are you?" Jin asked after Namjoon answered his phone.

I looked to the signs and read aloud the exit we had just passed.

"I think you've been too distracted and have not paid attention to the road," came Yoongi's voice. I could hear a hint of laughter in his tone.

Namjoon was looking down at his navigation system. I couldn't remember the last time we checked the map to make sure we were going the right direction.

Namjoon made a hissing noise, realizing we had missed our exit. "Ahhh. Seems like the exit was five kilometers ago."

Jin and Yoongi laughed on the other end of the phone.

"Hey! Jungkookie is busy with his new puppy and his girlfriend but what is distracting the two of you, huh?!" Yoongi's voice was full of teasing.

Jin's laughter only grew.

"We were discussing a novel," I stated.

"Sure, sure. If that's what you want to call it," Jin teased in the other end.

I hung up on them, wishing it was that easy to shut them up when they were in front of me.

I turned to Namjoon. "You're supposed to be navigating me!"

He shook his head in disbelief of himself. "I can't believe I wasn't paying attention."

I reached over to playfully smack his arm.

He laughed but looked slightly embarrassed. "I apologize."

I looked up and read the sign for the next exit. It was another two kilometers before I could turn back around. I turned and saw Namjoon reading the same sign. He looked back at me and his dimples immediately appeared. I knew he was smiling at me to distract my annoyance, but I just narrowed my eyes at him.

Namjoon lowered his head; his baseball cap covered the top part of his face from me. He let out another laugh as he looked at me. "You look so annoyed. It's cute."

I reached again and gave him another playful slap. "Stop calling me cute!"

This only made him laugh harder. "This is a good thing. We get to enjoy the scenery. Look at how beautiful these trees are," he said.

I did my best to appear irritated but I could feel the corner of my lips threaten to smile.

"We do, but friends don't," a voice sang behind us.

I looked in the review mirror, finding Jungkook smiling from ear to ear as he sang the same line again.

I hadn't noticed he had woken up.

Next to me, I heard Namjoon clear his throat. He stopped laughing and had turned his body towards the window. The back of his neck was slightly red; he was embarrassed. What for?

And then I Jungkook sang the same line again, "We do, but friends don't."

My crush on Namjoon—did our friends know? Maybe the teasing was in seriousness. I had thought they were doing it just as a joke, but perhaps they had caught on.

Shit.

I focused on the road and tried to act normal. Next to me, I could sense a change of energy coming from Namjoon.

The next few minutes were silent, Jungkook also feeling too awkward to talk.

The navigation told us we were now only fifteen minutes from our destination.

Namjoon played music to drain out the quiet. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the three of us to start singing along to the music and forget what had occurred.

When we arrived at the property, we went through the two rounds of security before being able to park. As I stationed the vehicle next to the other two, we noticed the rest of the guys waiting for us next to the pool.

"Nice for you to join us," Jimin teased right as we reached them.

I didn't get a chance to retort anything. Namjoon wrapped his arm around Jimin and pushed him forward. "Let's get some food down—I'm hungry."

We all followed the pair inside.

"How about we just heat up some meat and make ramen?" Jin suggested.

"There should be steak in the refrigerator," Yoongi said, making his way to the kitchen.

Jungkook started on boiling water as Yoongi made his way to the refrigerator.

"Should we decide the rooms while we wait on the food?" asked Namjoon.

"Some should take the backhouse," Jungkook suggested, laughing.

"Ah, that's messed up," Hoseok groaned, fearing it would be him being stuck there.

"We have to make it fun somehow." Jimin was totally on board with some being uncomfortable during the stay.

"Both House B and C can fit all eight of us." Jin looked like he didn't want to be the one stuck in the back house.

"It's not going to be just us, though. Hyowon-hyung and Doyeong-hyung will be joining us," Taehyung pointed out.

On the property, there were two houses fully renovated with plenty of bedrooms to accommodate the eight of us. But Taehyung had a point, there wouldn't be enough for two other people. I was sure the HYBE staff had thought of this because they had mentioned to us that the backhouse situated several trees behind House A had been slightly renovated. We had seen the photos. It wasn't as fancy and complete as Homes B and C, but livable. The problem with the back house was it was old. The pipes weren't fully functional, so it was going to be a rough stay for whoever got stuck there.

"Let's split into teams and see who stays where," suggested Jungkook as he kept an eye out on the pot.

Of course, he wanted everything to be a competition. And most of the guys followed along. Yoongi wanted a simple gawi bawi bo, but he was outnumbered.

The teams were set up to reflect each group who traveled together. It was the only advice Yoongi suggested that everyone listened to.

I felt good about being in a team with Namjoon and Jungkook. Namjoon had the brain and Jungkook had the athleticism. I could work as an in-between.

We all wrote on a piece of paper what game we each wanted to play. We then put those papers into a bowl and randomly drew what game to play.

Unfortunately, the first selected was Halli Galli—a game Namjoon, Jungkook, and I weren't horrible at, but also definitely a game Jin always won. No more than 10 minutes later, Jin and Yoongi were deemed winners, so they took first dibs. Of course, they selected one of the two completed houses.

We drew one of the papers again and selected Jegichagi.

To no one's surprise, Jimin had beat everyone in just a few minutes.

I let out a groan. I did not want to sleep in that backhouse. I just knew the water pipes were going to mess with my routine—and my hair. Plus, I easily got cold and I was certain the ondol—the heating system—in the home might not work properly.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jungkook said in the middle of Yoongi, Jin, Tae, Jimin, and Hobi teasing us for our loss. He really hated losing. I was interested in how he was going to attempt to wiggle out of losing. "The back house only has two working rooms. What if one of us takes this bed," he said, pointing to the bed that was placed on the inside balcony, above the kitchen.

"How is that a punishment?" Jin asked. "You lost but yet you want an entire area to yourself? How does that make sense?" He laughed at Jungkook's suggestion.

"Because it's still punishment. Whoever sleeps here still has to deal with the others coming in and out. The person won't have full privacy."

The rest of the guys saw his logic and immediately agreed.

Jungkook's smile appeared. "Ok!" He was pumped at the chance of not fully losing.

Jimin drew one of the papers and selected World Capitals. I was sure this had been Namjoon's game choice. He was the best at it. I was ok with geography, but nothing compared to Namjoon. Hopefully, it wouldn't be me he competed against.

However, after gawi bawi bo, we were in fact pinned against each other.

For the first four rounds, Namjoon and I went back and forth on listing the capitals of different countries. We were neck to neck.

"Armenia," said Jin as he read off his phone.

I thought for a moment. I had an Armenian friend in college who was an exchange student. I didn't know any city in Armenia other than the one she was from, so I took a shot, "Yerevan?"

Jin looked up from his phone. "Is that a question or statement?"

"Yerevan," I said with more confidence.

Jin gave a look of concern and took a breath…. "Correct," he let out.

I gave him a light slap on the shoulder for making me worry.

He backed away, laughing at me.

The guys were surprised at my knowledge of this answer.

"I had a lot of friends who were foreign exchanged students," I explained.

"So this like a Slumdog Millionaire situation?" Namjoon asked.

It took a second to understand the reference. In the film Slumdog Millionaire, the main character, Jamal, was able to correctly answer questions on a game show due to personal life events. I was like Jamal, winning a game due to personal life experiences.

I gave a nod to Namjoon. "Yeah, hopefully, I keep getting lucky."

"You tend to befriend nothing but foreigners," Jimin teased. "Is there a reason for that?"

"Are you against your own culture?" asked Yoongi jokingly.

I played along. "I've told you about my big family. I have forty first cousins. First cousins. Do you think I want to befriend more Latinos?" I smiled so they knew I was joking.

We turned to Jin who was now facing Namjoon. "Spain."

Namjoon immediately answered with Madrid.

I made a step toward Jin, threateningly. "You keep giving him easy ones!"

Jin shook his hand. "I am reading off the list in order."

"Then skip the easy ones. I get Armenia and he gets Spain?"

"Ok, ok, ok. I'll give him a harder one," Jin said. He looked through the list.

"I'm ready," Namjoon said with a smile, his hands in his pocket, and looking relaxed, as if this was all a piece of cake. Which I was sure for him it was.

Jin read off from his phone. "Honduras."

Namjoon's sudden relaxed face turned blank.

My heart beat faster in anticipation. I knew the answer!

Namjoon's eyes looked to the side with a frown, as if trying to find the answer lay in the air. Unfortunately, the air didn't have the answer and after five seconds, he didn't give the answer.

"Time up, time up!" Yoongi said ecstatically. He always enjoyed seeing one of his brothers lose at something they were good at.

Namjoon let out a grunt, of disappointment.

Jin turned to me. "If you get this right, you win."

No crappy shower for me! I was jumping up and down. "Tegucigalpa!" I shouted.

"Correct!" Jin said.

Hobi was the one who looked most amazed. "How do you know all these capitals?"

I guess I was better at this game than I thought. "My cousin married a Honduran woman. The wedding was in Tegucigalpa."

"Ana?" asked Namjoon, remembering.

I nodded. I wasn't surprised he remembered. His genius brain held so much information.

"How do you remember her cousin's name? She has 200 of them," asked Jimin, curiously.

"She talks about Ana a lot," Namjoon explained with rolling eyes.

"She does talk a lot about Ana," Hobi agreed.

Jimin gave Namjoon a look as if he wasn't fully convinced.

"Ok, next game," Jin announced, drawing a paper from the bowl. "Dance?" He turned to his brothers, confused.

Hobi gave a slightly embarrassed laugh. "That was me."

"What does it mean?" asked Jimin.

"Calling out a name of a song and doing choreography. Whoever remembers the dance best, wins," Hobi answered. "I'm not good at games; dance is the thing I know I have a chance at."

"Clever," I said.

Hobi then began to explain the simple rules. "Whoever gets 3 right will be the winner. Both will dance at the same time. The dance will be either ours or Maya's songs. She knows a lot of our dances, so it makes it fair. Also, JK knows Maya's choreographies," Hobi said.

JK nodded as he began to stretch. "Just noona's music or also her group's?"

When I first met the guys, I had been part of a girl group. We were like a fusion of Salt 'N Pepa and TLC with Latin flavor. Jungkook had been a fan of ours after seeing us perform. My group had great success in the States but we disbanded a few years after meeting the guys. Because our popularity had been growing on a global level, the lifestyle was something my group mates couldn't get on board with. Because of my love for music, I set off as a solo artist while my old members went on to focus on vocations that were not as demanding as a pop star's. Jungkook had been disappointed in our disbandment.

The guys moved the living room furniture so Jungkook and I had enough space to dance.

Using Namjoon's Bluetooth speaker, Hobi began to play the music at random, going back and forth between a BTS song and one of my songs.

A few songs later, it was evident Jungkook and I were evenly matched. He had forgotten an early Bangtan choreo, giving me the point. But then I had completely spaced on one of my early solo songs, which Jungkook remembered like the back of his hand. We kept tieing.

However, Jungkook finally beat me after I couldn't remember the choreo from one of my group songs. Muscle memory was not on my side because I could barely remember four steps. I gave up five seconds into the dance, but Jungkook performed the entire chorus. Damn him. Why did he have to be a fan of girl groups?

We all clapped for him, and I accepted the defeat, even though what I really wanted to do was cry. A whole week without good, running water. My hair was going to hate me.

"Ok, Jungkookie will take the room upstairs and Maya will be stuck listening to Namjoon's shower concerts. Now let's hurry and eat," Yoongi said as he grabbed the steak he had finished cutting to the kitchen table. Jin followed behind him with the ramen. I had been so focused on the game that I had forgotten Yoongi had been cooking.

Jungkook looked more than happy. He came over to shake hands with me like a good sportsman. I would rather he have been a gentleman and offered me his room, but I knew that was unrealistic. Jungkook took a win serious.

I guess my weekly bath night routine would have to wait until I got back home.

"It's just us today, right?" asked Jimin as he made a dive into his ramen.

Namjoon took a sip of his beer. "Yeah. Hyowon-hyung should be coming in sometime tomorrow. He'll be staying one night."

"Then it'll be Dohyung coming after that, right?" asked Taehyung.

Namjoon gave a short nod.

We discussed briefly today's workshop but mostly talked about trivial things. Somehow the discussion turned to their dorms. Hoseok was complaining about how messy it looked. "There are clothes everywhere," he said as he mostly eyed Namjoon. "And we have to find the time to decide who is keeping what. I know we're months away from the lease expiring but we really need to start preparing now. There's going to be a lot of heavy cleaning before we all move out."

This information threw me off. Had I heard right? "Moving out? You guys are giving up the dorms?" I asked, my eyes on all of them, but mostly falling on Namjoon.

His eyes met mine for a moment, but he looked down, a shade of embarrassment coming across his cheeks. "Yeah, we uh—we decided not to renew the lease."

Hoseok frowned. "I thought you knew—figured Namjoon would have told you."

"We just decided on it. The topic hadn't come up yet," Namjoon said, cutting off Hoseok.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the guys giving each other glances. They were having one of their telepathic conversations. Normally, I found it adorable; however, I was feeling excluded in a rude way. I knew they had secrets amongst each other and I respected it, but this time it felt different. This time, it felt off. Almost wrong.

"Is everything ok?" I asked, looking at every one of them straight in the eye. If there was bad news, I wanted to know.

Jimin, Taehyung, and Jin avoided looking right at me while others immediately voiced everything was ok. Jungkook didn't even respond, just looked at me. And that's how I knew. Jungkook hated lying. There was something going on—everything was not ok. I wanted to call them out on their bullshit.

My friends knew me well because Yoongi spoke up, "Maya, I promise you everything is ok." He kept his eyes on me at all times. He was calm and looked genuine. "We're going through a rough patch—that's it. Personally, all of us are good with each other. It's just outside sources. Giving up the dorm is one way we're fixing the issue. But, really, we're good."

Yoongi had always had a natural calming aura about him. He was confident and collected; I trusted him to be honest with me. If he was saying everything was ok between them, then I believed him. But there was still something they were keeping hidden.

I could tell I wasn't going to get a straight answer from them, though, so I gave a nod.

Namjoon still had a nervous look about him. I'd bring it up to him later. I had a feeling that if he decided to tell me what was going on, it would be something that would be discussed in private.

After we finished eating, most of us wanting to settle in our rooms and maybe take a nap before the workshop later. Hobi and I cleaned and organized the kitchen while the rest of the guys grabbed the luggage and took it to the houses.

Once Hoseok and I were satisfied with the kitchen, I dispersed from him and Jungkook, announcing I was heading to the backhouse.

"Be sure to behave," Jungkook said teasingly as I walked away.

I heard him and Hoseok giggle like high school girls.

"Grow up," I called out as I went out the front door, hearing them laugh even harder.

Upon arriving to the backhouse, I caught Namjoon's eyes, who was inside the house and looking out the back door screen. He opened the door just as I reached for it.

"Just in time. I just brought in our stuff."

I looked around and noticed the luggage with the equipment I had brought was placed on top of the kitchen table. Alongside it was Namjoon's bag.

"Where's my other stuff?" I asked, looking around for my bag that contained my clothes and other necessities.

"Oh, up here," Namjoon said, making his way up the stairs.

I followed behind him.

At the top of the staircase, I saw my other suitcase and backpack, which were right next to Namjoon's own suitcase and bag.

"I wasn't sure which room you wanted," he explained, motioning to the two rooms that were right across from each other. "You pick. Either one works for me."

I picked the one closest to the bathroom.

As we put away our stuff in our rooms, Namjoon reminded me about the itinerary. We had a small meeting at 5:00 and then a 3-hour workshop that was going to be led by myself. Finally, a late dinner was to take place at 9 o'clock.

I knew I was going to be up past midnight. I really needed to take at least a two-hour nap if I was going to be pulling an all-nighter.