"All of the sadness and scars became an old memory now. So let's smile and let go, we so fine. I'm so fine, you so fine, our future will only have happiness."

0:00 |───────── 4:00

|◁              II             ▷|

Rein tapped her foot, checking her phone for the seventh time in five minutes. Namjoon agreed to meet her in a secluded cafe, one that didn't get too much foot traffic so that they could get as much privacy as possible. Rein wanted to invite him over to her hotel for maximum privacy, but Ms. Cho deemed it improper, so she had to make do with what she could.

Her face was covered in a thick, winter scarf. She wore her auburn hair up and sported simple blue jeans and a white tee as not to draw attention to herself.  Her nose and eyes were the only pointers to her identity, but that wasn't enough to get paparazzi on her tail, not when she was facing the wall so that she was completely out of sight.

What would she say? Her mind had blocked out thinking about it until now, and when she did, she began to panic. There was nothing stopping him from leaving as soon as she opened her mouth, or even worse, cutting contact completely without any warning. Rein was not one to leave business unfinished—especially with something like this—but what about him? Was he content to throw away their whatever the fuck they were to ease his mind of the burden of confrontation?

Whatever happened today, it wouldn't matter in a year from now. She just had to remember that.

Rein raised a shaky hand to sip her chocolate mocha, but she stopped dead when she saw Namjoon at the door through the reflection of the mirror in front of her.

His face covered like hers, though he wore a black mask instead of a scarf and a black hat to boot. She wouldn't have known it was him if not for his subtle nod in her direction. He ordered a plain coffee and sat down across from her.

Rein resisted the urge to sigh as she noticed the awkwardness between them once again.

"Hey," she mumbled, casting her eyes downward. There was a pause as he observed her. But for what, Rein did not know.

"I like your outfit," he said. She gulped.

"Ha, this thing? Thanks..." she replied with a soft smile. He smiled back revealing his dimples, and for a second, it was so easy to pretend everything was back to the way it was before. Normal. But judging from how quickly his smile faded, she knew nothing was the same. Not anymore.

"So, why did you call for a meeting here?"

Rein drew in a nervous breath. "You know we have to talk about it. Like, for real this time." He sighed, looking down. She fought the tears that threatened to spill.

He was too beautiful to let go.

"Yeah. I know." It was pitiful to see him so defeated, especially when he was always a pillar of strength and charisma most of the time. Not once had she seen him in a state like this, but she supposed that not everyone got to see the real him at all.

"I just wanna say I'm really sorry," Rein started, maintaining steady eye contact to gauge his reaction, but he gave none so far. "It was so unprofessional of me to get drunk like that, first of all. Second of all, I acted really unprofessionally with you, which was..." She searched for the right words. "Uncalled for."

She half-expected Namjoon to walk out right then and there, but when he nodded good-naturedly, she tried to look as neutral as possible.

"Like I said before, it happens. And about the..." He gulped. "Kiss..." His face reddened.

"Yeah?" Rein said, struggling to keep the anticipation out of her voice. She remembered the movement of his lips on hers even for that brief moment, how she was so certain that he kissed her back. She remembered the delicious friction between them, one that created live sparks when they touched.

"It wasn't a big deal."

The words hit her like a ton of bricks, almost knocking her back into the chair. Everything she thought she knew went down the drain then. Why had she been so stupid as to think he could have recognized the same things she did? Her shock was obvious, too obvious to overlook, but Namjoon seemed not to notice.

Or perhaps he didn't want to notice.

It wasn't a big deal. It echoed around in her head painfully.

"What?" Her voice came out as a squeak.

"It... It's irrelevant. We're still friends, but more importantly business partners, and that's all that matters, right?" Namjoon said earnestly, a hopeful smile on his lips. Rein put an indifferent mask over her face, getting an infinitesimal amount of satisfaction when he was the one to look shaken this time.

Of course, it doesn't matter, and why would it? The whole thing was done during a drunken daze, and she probably imagined the fact that he had kissed her back, anyway.

"Yeah. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any miscommunication about the whole thing," Rein said, plastering the biggest smile she could manage on her face.

"Okay. Well, that's good." Namjoon drummed his fingers along the table, pretending to be interested in looking at the potted plant next to him.

As Rein contemplated how to get out of the cafe in as few seconds as possible, Namjoon spoke again. He looked like he was going to grab her hand but looked like he thought better of it, putting his hand awkwardly by his side.

"I'm sorry, too," he began, trying to keep his voice steady, "for being so distant. It wasn't your fault."

"It's okay," she said. "Let's just put this behind us, yeah?" He nodded.

"So, like I was saying, I like your paparazzi proof get-up you have on," he said in an attempt to make small-talk. Rein motioned to his mask and hat.

"I like yours, too! I would say you're more of a pro at it than I am, though," she said, taking off her scarf. At the bold move, Namjoon smirked and took off his hat.

"Guess we're not so hidden anymore, are we?" he said, leaning in towards the middle of the table. Rein swallowed and tried to keep her cool.

Tried.

"Oh, speaking of hidden, have you heard the dating rumors between me and, like, basically all of the BTS members?" she asked with a giggle. "To think, I'm dating all seven of you at the same time." Namjoon shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's possible. I mean, I'd know about it 'cause Taehyung doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut, especially about girls, but it's definitely possible."

"Well, you and me being here together might stir up some controversy then, huh?"

Am I flirting right now? After all that?

"So what? We're co-workers having a serious discussion about... work stuff," Namjoon said with another casual shrug.

"True."

Furthermore... Is he flirting back?

"So, what are your plans? Are you going back to the states after you're done here?" Namjoon asked.

"Yeah, I think I should. My mom would kill me if I stayed longer than the allotted time, not that she's happy about my staying here at the moment, anyway," Rein replied. Namjoon's eyebrow quirked up.

"Oh?" he said, leaning on his elbows, which she could only interpret as keenness on his part.

"I mean, I haven't called her or anything, so I can only assume she's not happy about it since Ms. Cho keeps her up to date about any necessary plans." Namjoon looked at her thoughtfully.

"Maybe you should do that," he said.

Well, duh.

"Yeah. I will, at some point." He dropped the topic and moved to get a refill on his coffee.

"You want anything?"

"Oh, it's okay, I'll get it," Rein said, but he shook his head.

"No, no, it's on me. I'm the one that..." He shook his head again and took her cup before she could say otherwise. "Chocolate mocha, right?" She nodded with a smile.

He returned with her cup and sat across from her again.

"It's so rare we're alone like this, isn't it?" he said with a smile. It's like he forgot why they were alone in the first place.

Rein replied, "It is, and I intend to make the most of it."

Though their conversation started out rocky, it smoothed out by their second coffee as the caffeine and laughter drowned out their surroundings and everything up until the present time. They discussed everything from their favorite books to their darkest moments, when work consumed every fiber of their being.

And loneliness. Not the kind that turned into an introvert's dream, but the kind that was suffocating, making you believe no one was left to pull you out.

The topic of family life came up, one which Rein wasn't very interested in until Namjoon brought up his mother.

"She wanted me to focus on studying. You know how moms are, overbearing, but wanting your best interests... She didn't take my music seriously," he had said, a note of sadness leaking into his usually upbeat voice.

"Well, she has to support you now, right? I mean, you're making millions from this," Rein said. Namjoon chuckled.

"Oh, absolutely. But back then, she didn't think it was something I should have pursued... It's kind of funny because she broke my computer and microphone one time to make me study, but what's so ironic is that, while I was sad and pretty angry at the time, I have equipment that surpasses all of that tenfold."

"Sheesh, overboard much?" she joked. "My mom was pretty keen about me studying, but she never broke my shit... Only took it away."

"Took it away, huh? I'm sure you didn't have your equipment for months at a time, then."

"And why is that?"

"You seem like you were rebellious. Well, not like you aren't now," Namjoon said with a laugh. Rein laughed as well, shaking her head.

"Oh, if you only knew."

"I wish I did," he said, so softly she wondered if she heard him correctly. But as they locked eyes, she saw something she had never seen in his eyes until then.

Curiosity mixed with a tinge of...

Desire?

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A/N: yayyy they made up hehehe... i'm finally out for summer break! so excited to have time to do absolutely nothing.