Written In Stardust

CHAPTER SIX

I couldn't stay still. It had been almost an hour since he messaged me that the crowd was under control, and he was on his way, but he still wasn't there. My heart was pounding from overthinking, and I didn't like the thoughts that were creeping into my mind. So, before my anxiety could get the best of me, I decided to wait for him outside the building.

Clutching my phone and keys, I rushed to open our unit door, but I let out a yelp and stumbled back. He was standing right there, about to knock.

"Hi! So, do we have telepathy or something? How did you know I was here? I haven't even knocked yet," he asked with a smile.

I looked at him from head to toe, and then I took a deep, shaky breath. It was as if a thorn had been pulled from my chest when I saw that he was okay.

"ARMY?" he called to my attention, and I was slightly startled when he pinched my nose.

"You worried me! Do you know that? What if something bad had happened to you there? The ARMYs wouldn't forgive me, my God! You could have gotten hurt just because of ice cream and fries. Do you want my conscience to carry the weight of that for every minute of my life?"

He tried to open his mouth to say something but quickly closed it again, his brow furrowed.

"You know I can't speak and understand your language, right?"

"Sorry, I'm just running out of English."

"What?"

"Nothing," I said in a defeated voice.

"Can I come in?"

"Sorry, yeah, please come in."

He walked inside our unit with a smile, like a child looking around the place. I suddenly felt shy because, as die-hard ARMYs, George and I had brought some of our merchandise here. The unit was filled with their posters and pictures, from the living area to our rooms.

He was smiling from ear to ear while looking at their posters and pictures on our walls. His face was so bright, and his eyes seemed to sparkle. I didn't know what was going through his mind, and I was happy to see him like that.

"You can have a seat," I said with a smile. "Let me have this one."

He smiled as he handed me the ice cream and fries before he walked to the living area and sat on the couch, still looking at our merchandise.

"Just be comfortable, let me just fix this," I said before going to the kitchen to get the ice cream and fries ready.

"You live here alone?" he asked in a questioning tone.

"No, I'm with my best friend."

"Oh, is your best friend home now? Is it okay that I'm here?"

"She's at work, and don't worry, it's okay with her."

"Is she an ARMY too?"

"Yes, she is."

"Who's her bias?"

I smiled and walked toward him carrying the ice cream, fries, and chips.

"Her bias is Yoongi."

"Yoongi?"

"Yeah, we both like how savage, cool, and sweet he is."

"But I'm cooler than him," he pouted, which surprised me.

"I didn't say that you're not."

"You are not loyal to me."

"But no ARMY is loyal."

"You don't love me anymore."

I stopped and was slightly surprised by his playful drama. I wanted to laugh at what he was saying.

"How can you say that I don't love you anymore?" I asked, handing him a cup of ice cream.

He was still pouting as he took it and sulked in his spot like a child.

"I'm thirty-two years old, and I'm still single, you know why?" I asked him with a smile while eating a fry.

"You're thirty-two already?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes, I'm thirty-two and still single. At my age, I should already be married and have kids."

"Why are you still single?"

"Because you raised my standards so high that nobody could reach them."

"No," he shook his head. "There is nothing wrong with setting your standard at an elevated level. Soon you will encounter the right guy who will satisfy your standard. In addition, there is no one like me in this world."

I laughed at what he said and shook my head.

"How about you, why are you still single?"

He suddenly fell silent, and I saw a flash of sadness in his eyes, but he quickly hid it with a forced smile.

"I haven't met the right girl for me, I guess." He gave me a weak smile. "Besides, the ARMYs aren't ready to see me getting married to someone yet."

"What? Where do you get that? Of course, we want you guys to get married and settle down. We want to see your little versions. I admit that there might be other ARMYs who won't take it easily like the others, but trust me, it's our dream as well to see you guys happy."

He stared at me for a minute before he smiled widely.

"I hope to meet that girl soon."

"When you meet her, she should take good care of you. Whenever you feel unloved, she should give you all the love she can. Every time you forget the value of music, she should play all your songs that made history in the world. If you feel sad, she should cook for you, and she should hold the hand of our worldwide handsome, our laughter, our moon, and our prince even tighter."

I felt like crying as I said that. I had long accepted that a time would come when he would get married and start his own family. I had long accepted that he belonged to someone else, and I was just here as a fan to support him. I just wanted him to find a woman who would love him even more than all the ARMYs in the world.

"When I meet her, I'll introduce her to you so you can tell me if she's the right one for me."

I pouted and lightly hit his arm. He was an expert at ruining the mood!

"Do you want to watch any movie?" I asked him, changing the subject, so the conversation wouldn't go off track.

"Any movie is fine. You can choose anything you want to watch."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

I just shrugged and continued watching the Break the Silence documentary I had been watching last night.

"Seriously?" he asked in disbelief.

"Why?"

"Are you still watching that?"

"Yes."

He wanted to say something else but didn't. I sat up straight and smiled as I ate my ice cream and fries, my eyes focused on what I was watching.

"You like dipping your fries in ice cream?" he suddenly asked after I ate the fry.

"Yes! This is the best combo."

"Really?"

I briefly looked at the fries and ice cream before looking back at him. It looked like he was craving it.

"You want to try it?" I asked, and his smile quickly widened.

"Can I?" He gave me a puppy-dog eye that made me chuckle because he was so cute.

"Of course."

I dipped a fry in my ice cream and offered it to him, but I was surprised when he ate it directly from my hand.

"Hmm," he said while chewing. "You're right, this is dope!"

I was taken aback but just smiled at him.

"It's too bad that I have allergies."

"That's fine. You can dip your chips instead."

"Really?"

"Yes, it tastes almost the same."

He acted like an excited child and did what I said, his eyes widening when he tasted it.

"You're right!" he exclaimed before eating another one.

I just laughed at him, and we both returned our focus to the movie while eating.

"Are you crying?" he suddenly asked.

I quickly wiped my tears before looking at him.

"Why are you crying?" he asked in surprise.

"I don't know."

I really couldn't stop my tears every time they got emotional, especially when they were crying while speaking. I'm still so proud of them; they are my self-made artists, and they will always be my artists forever. In every word they said, I could feel how much they loved and how thankful they were for the ARMYs.

"It's been so long, and I know that you've already watched it before, but you're still crying."

"I can't help it."

"You're cute." He laughed and ruffled my hair afterward.

I just stuffed my mouth with ice cream and fries while watching. We were so engrossed in watching their movies that we didn't notice the time or hear George arrive.

"Sis! I'm home. I bought your favorite nuggets," she shouted while taking off her shoes.

Jin and I both looked at her, and when she saw us, she froze like a statue. She almost fell but was quick enough to lean against the wall to support herself.

"Hi," Jin greeted her.

"You are K-Kim Seok Jin?"

"Breathe, George. You're turning pale," I said, shaking my head and walking toward her.

I almost jumped in surprise when she suddenly grabbed my hand and made me slap her face.

"What are you doing?" I snapped at her.

"Slap me, sis! Maybe this is just a dream."

"What dream? He's really here. I just forgot to tell you."

"OMG! I thought I entered the wrong door."

"You're crazy. Get it together. Go change and freshen up because you look so haggard."

"Really?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Yes." I rolled my eyes and took the McDonald's nuggets she was holding.

"This is so embarrassing!" she quickly covered her face and hurried into her room.

I just shook my head and smelled the nuggets she brought. I suddenly felt hungry. It was almost dinner time. I looked over at Jin, who was still watching me while eating his chips.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

"She is, don't worry." I glanced at our wall clock before looking back at him. "Can you stay for dinner?"

"Of course! You want me to cook?"

"No," I quickly answered. "I'll cook."

"You sure?"

"Of course, just stay there and continue watching."

"Okay. I'll wait here."

I went to the kitchen and opened our fridge before thinking about what to cook that he would like. I wanted to cook him some real Filipino food. I stood staring at the fridge for a few minutes before deciding what to cook.

While I was preparing the ingredients, George suddenly appeared beside me.

"I still can't believe he's really here, Sis."

My forehead quickly wrinkled when I saw her. She was wearing pajamas but still had makeup on and smelled like she had bathed in perfume.

"What's with your getup?" I asked her in surprise.

"What? I'm fine."

"You're not fine. Who puts on perfume to sleep?"

"I do."

"Since when?"

"For a long time. You're only finding out now."

"We're about to have dinner, but you look like you're about to walk a runway."

"I'm just reminding you that not everyone is blessed with natural beauty like you, so I need to get ready, so I won't look silly in front of Seok Jin."

"You're the only one who says that. Between the two of us, you're the one who always wins beauty contests."

"Yes, because you never joined, and between the two of us, you're the one who's had many suitors and admirers since high school."

"Whatever."

I heard her deep sigh as she looked at Jin.

"His face really hasn't changed. It's like he hasn't aged; he's still so handsome. Are you sure I'm still in the real world and not in a dream world?"

"Stop it. We have to act normal in front of him, as if he's not Jin from BTS, and we're not ARMYs." I looked at Jin, who was enjoying the Run BTS episode he was watching. "I don't want him to feel awkward, and I want him to be comfortable with us. He needs that."

"How can I calm down when I'm in front of a Kim Seok Jin? Jeez! I feel like I'm already in heaven."

"Crazy. I don't want to die yet. But on a serious note, just behave, okay? Do it for him."

"Fine. But look at him, he's so handsome and smells so good. It's like he's not a real person."

"Yes, I know, but calm down. He's my bias; he's off-limits."

"Oh! How possessive."

"The line is already long. Don't add to it, okay?"

"Okay, Mrs. Kim," she teased.

"Hey! Don't let him hear you. He might think something."

"You're just being dramatic about that part," she said, and we both laughed. "What are you going to cook?"

"Adobo and Caldereta."

"Wow! We're having a good dinner."

"Make a smoothie," I ordered her while slicing vegetables.

"He's having dinner here?" she asked me, and I just nodded. "If God takes me after dinner, I'll go without hesitation."

"Stop saying nonsense. Just go make it."

"I'm going. I'll just buy strawberries because we don't have any fruit here."

"Okay, be careful and be quick."

"I will, just a moment."

After George left to buy groceries, I started cooking because I had a lot to make.

"That smells nice." I almost screamed in surprise when Jin suddenly spoke from the dining area.

"You startled me."

"Sorry. I can't help it because I can smell it from here."

"Really? But I'm not done yet, so you need to wait more."

"I can always wait for good food."

He gave me a wink before he walked back and sat on the couch. I felt like I wanted to hit the ladle I was holding against the table because of the butterflies I was feeling.

I was almost done cooking the adobo when George came back.

"Wow, I could already smell what you're cooking from the door. It's not obvious that you're inspired to cook, is it?"

"No, it's not. What are you saying? This is how my adobo always smells."

"We've been together for a long time. Do you think you can fool me? I know exactly what your adobo smells like when it's just for us."

"You're just overthinking."

"Tsk! You're just trying to impress him. Anyway, the best way for a man's heart is through his stomach."

"If you don't stop, I'm going to throw this ladle at you."

She just stuck her tongue out and laughed teasingly before arranging the ingredients she needed for the smoothie.

After she finished making the smoothie, I told her to set the table because I was almost done cooking. I was just waiting for the vegetables to soften.