I bobbed my head, quirking my lips to one side. "I know, and thank you. I'll see you in the morning."

DELANEY'S POV

Jungkook had walked with me to my lobby, then said he was going to take a walk before he went home, and told me to have a nice evening. I watched him as he walked away, taking a deep breath before turning and pulling the door opened to head up to my apartment.

I didn't want to break Taehyungs heart. I hated the thought alone, much less the fact that it was most certainly going to happen.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. All those times that I had made the wish to be young, to be close to him, to be the one he cared about, how was I ever supposed to imagine that such a wish would be granted. But even so, I couldn't, not even for a second, imagine that he would actually, honestly, truly come to care about me like he does.

There were so many reasons why it just didn't seem possible for him to actually care for me. He was famous, I wasn't. But that made it sound like he might think he was better than me, and I knew that wasn't true. He lived in South Korea, I didn't. I would have thought that could create a problem, but so far, it seems it hasn't. We lived such different lives, his way of life, his customs, were something that I thought would determine the kind of girl he chose to date. Obviously, I had been wrong.

I got ready for bed, my mind spinning. When I had been told that he would quickly fall for me, and ask me to be his girlfriend, I assumed that it was just all part of the wish. That he would never really have feelings for me, that it was all just something God had made happen.

But I could feel that he cared about me, and I believed him when he said he didn't want to lose me.

The hardest part of all of this was understanding why it was happening. Why did God grant me this wish, when It will only bring pain and heartache in the end? What lessons were being taught?

Maybe I would never figure that out.

My phone went off, and I picked it up, knowing it was Tae.

'Hey beautiful, is Kookie with you? Jin is worried because he hasn't come home yet, and I thought maybe he had stayed behind to talk to you. Jimin told me every one of the guys knows about your wish, and I know Kook well enough to know he will have questions for you, and he won't be shy about asking them either.'

It should have surprised me at least a little that these guys seemed to know each other so well. But it didn't. We'd all been led to believe that they were as close as they seemed, as close as they let army see, and they really were. There was nothing fake about any of these boys. It made my heart fill with pride to know that, to know that what we all see is real, genuine.

I also wasn't surprised to hear that they all knew. It was a relief though. I felt like I didn't have to hide how I was feeling from any of them now.  

I thought for minute what to say, typed my reply, and hit send.

'He was, and yes, he did have questions. But I think he was satisfied with my answers. He said he was going for a walk before he went home. I'm sure he'll be there soon. Please get some rest."

It was only seconds before I received a reply from him.

'I could rest better if you were here with me, but I will try. Sleep well, love. See you tomorrow.'

I wish he was here with me. I miss him. But I wouldn't tell him that, only because he would end up either coming here, or trying to get me to come there. He needed to rest. I needed to rest, because I was tired. But my tired was mostly mental. 

I climbed into bed, plugging my phone into my charger on the nightstand, and resting my head on the pillow, staring into space, wanting to think of nothing. Unfortunately, my mind was so alive with so many thoughts, that I lay there awake for God only knows how long, wishing for sleep to just take me, and give me a break from all of it, just for one night.

The next day was so busy, it flew by. First thing in the morning, Taehyung requested that I color his hair blue. I stared at him for 10 seconds, my mouth hanging opened, wondering if he was being serious.

"Blue?"

He nodded, a smile on his face.

"Yes, Delaney. Blue."

I gathered my supplies while he positioned himself in the chair, and I noticed that some of the other guys were getting color changes as well. This should be interesting.

Two hours later, Tae had blue hair, and honestly, I loved it. It looked amazing on him.

Tae, Namjoon, Jimin and Yoongi had undergone the biggest changes, Namjoon being blond, and Jimin being a light coral color. Yoongi was a purplish bluish color, but not a dramatic thing like Tae's was, and Jin actually went lighter. Jungkook had gone from his red back to a dark brunette. Hobi didn't change a thing. 

After arriving at the location, and much chaos to  make sure the props were all in the right places, shooting started. I stayed out of the way with the rest of the girls, just watching, unless we were needed to do a touch up.

It was a fun, busy, noisy day, full of smiles and laughter as they did take after take, trying to get everything just right. This was just part of the video, they would do more tomorrow, and the next day.

There was an American artist there that they were collaborating with for this song. I knew of her, but hadn't really listened to her. She was super sweet, and the guys seemed to love her. I decided I may have to look into her music, because I liked her voice very much.

Finally, after a full day of shooting, they were happy with that particular part, and decided to call it a day. It was 9:30pm, and I could tell all of them were exhausted.

They piled into the cars, and just as I was about to get in the car with Mi Ok and Hei Ran, my hand was grabbed from behind me. I turned to see Tae, smiling at me as he pulled me with him, ducking into a car and giving me no choice but to follow.

I climbed in, scooting over next to him as Jungkook got in and sat on the other side of me. There was a glass partition up between the front and back seats. This felt very much like it was going to be an interrogation of sorts, as I could feel the both of them looking at me from either side.

"Laney," Jungkook squirmed next to me, looking apologetic. " I wanted to apologize for yesterday, uh...for all my questions. I was out of line, and I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

I looked at Tae, but he just shrugged his shoulders, and glanced at Jungkook.

"You don't have to apologize to me. I understand why you asked me those questions."

He nodded lightly. "Thanks."

The car started to move, and I leaned my head back against the seat, closing my eyes. I felt Tae squeeze my hand.

"Delaney, I pulled you in here with us because we want you to help us figure out a way that I, or...we, can remember your name after you're gone."

I opened my eyes, turning to look at him, at the smile on his face, then at Jungkook, who had a hopeful look on his face.

"Tae..." I took a breath, seeing his smile start to falter.

"Do you not want me to try to remember your name?" he asked slowly.

That wasn't it. At least, I didn't think that was it. I wasn't sure what I was thinking.

"I-I don't know. I do...but, I think I'm scared for you to remember, and even more scared for you to find me."

His eyes narrowed, his fingers tightening around mine again.

"Why?" He asked quietly

I had wondered that myself a few times since realizing how determined he was to find me. I wasn't sure what I was scared of. But there was a certain fear of something. I couldn't not answer him, but how could I answer something I didn't have an answer to. I had to say something.

"I think...maybe it's because once I'm gone, I'm not going to be what you see right now. I'm going to be a 51 year old wife and mom of 2 grown children, doing the best I can to just get by. If you find me, that's what you're going to find."

I was slowly starting to realize what it was I was afraid of.

 "But you...you will still be the same amazing, wonderful, beautiful, young man that I have fallen head over heals for."

He was watching me, making no attempt to speak, as if sensing that I wasn't done yet.

"I'm scared because...this me loves you. I love you with every beat of my heart, every breath I breathe, every second of every day...and that me is going to love you just as much, except...I won't be able to do anything about it. I'll have to pretend I don't, and be happy just being your friend." I looked at my lap. "I really don't know if I'll be able to do that."

He brought my hand up to his lips, kissing my knuckles.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

I'd almost forgotten Jungkook was in the car with us, until I heard him sigh.

"This is bullshit. Having a wish granted should make you happy, and all this is going to do is cause pain and heartbreak."

He was right. For the life of me, I didn't understand why it had to be this way. Why couldn't I have my wish, and just let the memories bring a smile to my face once it was over? Why did Taehyungs heart have to be involved? What did he do to deserve to lose someone else? Why couldn't he just forget all about me and my wish once I was gone? I'd wondered this over and over. It just didn't seem fair.

Tears filled my eyes, and I brought my free hand up to catch them before they could fall, hoping Tae didn't realize that's what I was doing.

"For what it's worth, I love you too."

My breath caught in my throat, my heart suddenly pounding. Those were words I never expected to hear, and honestly, I wish I hadn't.

"No, Tae, please, don't say that. You shouldn't love me."

"Why shouldn't I?" He shook his head.

There were so many reasons why. I didn't deserve his love.

"Because I won't be able to be there for you, I won't be able to love you how you deserve to be loved. You should save your heart for someone who can offer themselves to you completely. Don't love me Tae, please..."

He pulled me into his embrace, and I melted against him, crying into the front of his shirt.

"I can't control my heart Delaney, any more than you can. How is it okay for you to love me, but I can't love you?"

I heard Jungkook sniffle next to me, and realized that he was also crying.

Not another word was spoken during the drive back to BigHit. The cars came to a stop, letting everyone out before pulling away.

I had gotten control of my emotions, at least enough to have stopped crying, but I knew I still looked like I had been. I hoped no one noticed and decided to question me.

Jungkook also looked like he'd cried. His cheeks were puffy, and his eyes were red. I gave him a small smile, and he attempted a smile back, but he ended up shaking his head and turning away,  heading inside the building.