*Mirae POV*

I went into the bathroom first.

I needed a moment to breathe. To take in what the hell just happened. And embarrassingly, to throw my hands up in the air and squeal silently.

I stared at myself in the mirror. My lips were red and swollen and I touched them gently with a smile. How had we come to this?

He'd hated me. Or, I guess he hadn't, but he'd acted like he did. He'd been scared of me – that's a better way to put it. I was terrified during the entirety of our "friendship", too, honestly. But I'd wanted to be there for him. And I guess somewhere along the way, it became even deeper than that. I think it did long before I even realized it.

Because I didn't realize until I almost lost him. Or maybe I knew but my subconscious wouldn't let me recognize. Maybe I was all about self-preservation all along, too.

He was so mean, but I was so antagonistic. He was so aloof, but I was so persistent. We didn't exactly balance each other out. And we didn't exactly have a non-toxic dynamic. Who would've thought we, of all people, would fall in love? I don't think anyone – least of all the two of us – saw that coming.

My cheeks suddenly turned pink at the thought of kissing him again later, so I splashed some cold water on my face. I then took a deep breath and headed back to the living room.

And every single eye turned and looked at me.

"Heh, sorry about that." I met Yoongi's eyes briefly. They were wide, as though he were trying to say something. "I, uh, needed to use the bathroom and Yoongi was just showing me where it was." Yoongi's eyes got even wider and he imperceptibly shook his head.

Tae's eyes narrowed, and Jimin's brow furrowed as he said, "But...Yoongi said – "

"Hey!" I interjected quickly, as a distraction occurred to me. "I never really got to formally introduce you all to Yoongi!"

"I mean, we've all met him," Jin said.

"But it was always a dream of mine to introduce you guys," I pouted. "Humor me."

Most of the guys smiled. Tae simply cocked an eyebrow, and Joon's neutral expression didn't change. But, nobody argued.

Yoongi didn't look entirely comfortable as I went down the line and introduced him personally to each guy, but he was very polite and smiled. I purposefully put the introductions to Tae and Joon in the middle, so he could be more relaxed due to the guys ahead of them, and then end on a better note after them.

Both Tae and Joon bowed slightly and shook his hand as the others did, but I could clearly see that Tae's grip was much tighter than it needed to be. And he didn't let go until I put my own hand on his arm. Joon just stared Yoongi down until I finally got his attention. I narrowed my eyes behind Yoongi's back and Joon's expression softened a bit as he managed a "hello", which Yoongi politely returned.

Jin and Jungkook exchanged a sly look after they were introduced to Yoongi, and both Hobi and Jimin were exceptionally enthusiastic. Yoongi was obviously much more relaxed talking to them.

After everything was over, I suddenly remembered something. "Oh my god," I squealed as I excitedly pulled Joon and Hobi forward. I pushed Yoongi toward them. "Yoongi's a rapper!" Joon's eyebrows rose and a smile spread across Hobi's face. "Talk amongst yourselves!" Then I skipped over to the others and pulled them toward Eomma Min for further introductions.

~~~~~~~~~~

*Yoongi POV*

"Are you really?!" Hoseok asked excitedly.

I scratched the back of my neck absentmindedly. "I mean, I used to be...back in my old neighborhood. But I kinda gave it up when I moved here."

"Why?" Namjoon asked. "Were you not that great?"

I sighed, but didn't take the bait. "I like to think I was pretty good. I just couldn't find the passion in it that I used to anymore."

Hoseok frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. But we can help you find it again! Right, Namjoon?"

Namjoon didn't respond. "Right, Namjoon?" Hoseok asked again, more pointedly.

"Sure," Namjoon finally said.

"We're performing next weekend!" Hoseok said excitedly. "You should join us! Get a feel for the scene, and perform if you feel inspired to!"

I thought about it for a few moments. "I guess I could check it out," I agreed. " If you guys are sure you're okay with that," I added, purposefully looking only at Namjoon.

Namjoon waited a few beats before he nodded.

"Great!" Hoseok said excitedly. "I'll be sure to get your number sometime soon so we can talk more about it! Right now, I'm gonna go meet your mom. She seems kinda awesome!" I smiled at that.

"So..." I was surprised when Namjoon was the one to break the silence that followed.

"So."

"Look," he said. "I think you know that I haven't really cared much for you."

"Yeah, I know," I replied. "And I don't blame you. I wouldn't have cared much for me either, if the situation were reversed."

"You hurt her," Namjoon said bluntly.

"I know."

"Multiple times."

"I know."

"You're lucky none of us ever confronted you."

I nodded. "Taehyung did, though, once. He almost punched me. But in hindsight, I would have definitely deserved it."

Namjoon sighed. "Yeah, Taehyung's definitely the hottest under the collar of all of us. We're all protective, but he's the one who would act on that."

I laughed slightly. "I'll probably never be able to convince him to accept me, huh?"

"Nope," Namjoon answered honestly. "But she will." We both looked over at Mirae, who was laughing with Hoseok and my mom.

"Yoongi." Namjoon took a deep breath, and I turned my attention back to him. "I'm pretty sure she's in love with you."

I was stunned; stunned that he would admit that to me. I wasn't sure exactly how to respond, but I eventually decided to be honest. "I know. She told me."

Namjoon's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Did she?" He chuckled. "I'm honestly kind of shocked. She's not always the best at expressing her feelings."

"That's news to me," I replied with a small smile. "She never held back when she was trying to get on my nerves."

Namjoon rolled his eyes. I wasn't sure if it was meant toward me or her, but upon his next words, it really didn't seem to matter either way. "Are you in love with her?"

"Yes," I replied immediately. "And I told her that."

Namjoon seemed to contemplate this information. "I'm going to be honest with you, Yoongi. I'm not sure if I can ever forgive you for putting her through this." I instantly knew he was referring to my suicide attempt.

"I understand," I replied, although in that moment, I remembered Mirae's earlier words about it not being selfish. That comforted me. And I hoped that maybe someday, she could try to explain it to Namjoon, and he'd accept it. But until then, I didn't blame him for his opinion.

"But," he continued. "You did save her once, and I haven't forgotten that. And, it seems like you've taken very good care of her since everything that's happened in the past couple weeks, even if it's been just a couple of days. Or even if it's been only today. This situation with her mom...we were the only ones who knew the severity of it. But she turned to you, and I can't discount that. It's obvious she trusts you, and I trust her. So, I just wanted to say thank you. I can tell you care for her deeply."

"I do," I said as I nodded. "I really do. I – "

"You don't have to say any more," Namjoon interrupted. "I already know."

He gave me a small, understanding smile. I breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to walk toward Mirae.

"Oh, and Yoongi..."

I looked up to see he'd stopped and turned back around slightly. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're okay."