Episode 3

It was another uneventful morning in your bedroom for Namjoon and the others. To pass the time, Hoseok, Jin, and the maknaes had raided your junk drawer and had found a pack of cards. Namjoon considered trying to read one of your books, but given that they were almost as tall as he was, it was easier said than done. So instead, he sat up with Yoongi on the shelf while the others played.

“Yoongi, can I ask you for some advice?”

“Of course. Shoot.”

“I don’t even know how to put this into words…” Namjoon shook his head, chuckling to himself. “I think I...Well, I know that this is...I’m...I’m just gonna say it. I--”

“You have a crush on (Y/N). We all know. We’re not blind.”

“Oh.”

“Listen, none of us think it’s...a BAD thing, per say. But I mean...Taehyung, how did you say it earlier?”

“It’s unrealistic.” Tae provided, looking up from his cards for ALMOST long enough for Jungkook to take a peek at them. Given that they were almost life size cards for them, it was almost impossible NOT to look at each other’s hands.

“Unrealistic.” Yoongi repeated. “Yeah, that. We’re your friends, Namjoon, we’re not trying to be mean and you know that.”

“Right, but--”

“Listen. I get it. She’s pretty, she’s smart, she’s kind, who wouldn’t want someone like that in their life?”

“Yoongi--”

“The problem is: Namjoon, you’re a foot tall and made of plastic.” Though Yoongi’s previous statements hadn’t been enough to get Namjoon to shut up, this one had. Maybe it shouldn’t have, but it hit a little too close to home. For someone who had never felt pain before, Namjoon imagined it must feel a little like this. “We just don’t want you to get hurt, alright? Having a crush on her is one thing, but we don’t want you to get so stuck up there on cloud nine that you come crashing down. Hard. We care about you, dude. You know we do.”

“Especially me.” Jimin pouted, looking up at the dimpled doll.

“Thanks guys.” Namjoon sighed. He supposed he shouldn’t be sad about the conversation. After all, he was the one who had asked for advice, so the fact that he’d been given actual constructive advice should have made him happy, not anything else. And yet, he was left with this bitter feeling eating away inside his plastic chest.

“Don’t be sad about it, Namjoon, just...pursue a realistic crush, like Tae’s on the Captain Marvel doll he saw on (Y/N)’s laptop screen that one time.”

Taehyung grinned a dazed rectangular grin. “She’s preeeetty~”

“We’re toys, Namjoon. We’re not idols.” Hoseok added. “Go fish, Jimin. Hell, I don’t even speak Korean. I don’t think any of us do.”

“Well, we were designed in the states, so why would we?” Jungkook asked. “I mean, besides the obvious reason, that we were modeled after Korean pop stars.”

Modeled after. That was the way Jungkook had chosen to describe it. Maybe he was handling his identity a little better than Namjoon was. He was a toy. He was made of plastic and his shirt had velcro on it instead of buttons, and he couldn’t even tie his shoes, given that they were slip-ons made of rubber. He’d never been anywhere except for your bedroom, your aunt’s closet, and a toy store. There was a whole world out there and he would never get to see it. At least if he had been given to a child for Christmas, maybe he’d get to travel a little bit more.

“Great, look what you’ve done. You’re giving him an existential crisis.” Yoongi shook his head, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder in an attempt to snap him out of it. “We’re not telling you you have to stop liking her. That’s actually the opposite of what you should do. Just...remember what you are and who you are, alright? Be careful. For us.”

“Of course. I...I don’t know what I was thinking. Thank you for snapping me out of it. I needed that.”

“That’s what we’re here for. Taehyung, do you have any threes?”

“Go fish.”

Namjoon looked out the window at the sun shining through the ice on the branches of the tree outside your apartment. He couldn’t wait until it was spring and the trees were covered in pretty pink flowers.

Maybe he wasn’t meant to see the world like the real Namjoon was, but at least he got this window. Maybe he wouldn’t rap in front of millions of screaming girls, but at least he had this one. Maybe you didn’t listen to his songs in the shower, but at least he got to hear you sing them through the wall.

Dolls like him weren’t meant to experience the world, but he would make sure he made the most of this one room. After all, it was all he had.

***

You came home from class a little earlier than expected, and this meant that the boys had to scramble to get back up on their shelf before you opened the bedroom door. They heard you open the front door, stomping your snowy boots on the rug and they knew their moments were numbered.

“Namjoon, get up here!” Hoseok hissed, offering his hand. Namjoon took hold of it, and he was almost up onto the shelf by the time the bedroom door swung open. So, he did as any quick-thinking doll would and he let go, falling a foot or so onto the dresser below.

You were wearing your earbuds, thank God, so you didn’t hear the sound of his plastic back making contact with the wooden surface. You set your bag on the floor, leaning it up against the bed carefully before fetching your textbooks and notebooks from inside it. You had a stack of notecards to make if you had any chance of passing the test next week.

It wasn’t even until you clicked some lead out of your mechanical pencil and had your book spread out on your bed that you noticed one of your dolls was out of place. Eyebrows furrowing, you pushed your supplies off of your lap and walked over to him.

“Huh. Are you clumsy too?” You murmured, picking Namjoon up and gently guiding his limbs to a sitting position before putting him back in his place in the middle of the seven. “There you go, Joonie. Good as new.”

It was then, looking at the line of them that you noticed Jimin and Tae were in the wrong spots. Interesting. You wondered how long they had been out of order. Had you put them up wrong after your sleepover with Ella, Melody, and Luna? Potentially.

Not thinking much of it, you moved Tae and Jimin to their rightful spots before returning to your work again.

The boys sat there, wary and a bit scared. They’d have to be more careful from here on out if they didn’t want to get caught...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***