Yoongi is sitting on his computer chair, staring at his phone which is lying on the bed. The more he watches it, the more he longs to call her. The sunlight reflects off the glass surface into his eyes. Ironically, much like his need to speak to her, the more he looks at the phone the more pain he is in. He shuffles in his seat, so the light isn't in his eyes. She didn't attend their welcoming BBQ, and neither did Jungkook. He enjoyed the time he spent with Hoseok, Jennie, and Namjoon, but he couldn't stop thinking about her. He has been trying to build enough courage to call her all day. It's getting late. He needs to decide.

Is it worth it?

Will she pick up?

Does she have his number on her phone?

Will Jungkook be there?

Is it worth it?

Will it just end in an argument?

Why is he torturing himself with her memory?

He has had 3 long years to move on and stop loving her. But now that he's here, it's like he's returned home from the army to find his parents have finished filing the divorce and moved to a new house. He knew what he was coming home to, but the sight just depresses him.

Not that his parents would ever divorce. One consistency in his life is their love.

Why can't he hope and wish for his love?

After sitting for so long that his back starts aching, Yoongi gives in to his desire. He wants to see her.

He quickly grabs the phone and dials her new number. It rings a few times before she answers.

"Hello?"

Her voice is like honey in bitter medicine. So sweet, yet so painful to his ears. She sounds happy and bright as if she's had the best day of her life. Is she always happy now that she isn't with him? Or is it because she's with Jungkook?

"Hello?" Sumi repeats. Yoongi breaks out of his gloomy stupor and responds.

"Hey, it's me," He says simply. He hopes she recognizes his voice. If she doesn't it would destroy him.

After a moment, she speaks.

"Yoongi?"

"I'm glad you remember my voice," Yoongi sighs with relief, "I couldn't... call you,"

"No... I changed my number,"

"Why?" Yoongi grimaces. He is starting to sound a little whiny.

"I didn't want you to respond to my message," She replies honestly, "I just... wanted it to stop,"

"What to stop?"

"The arguments... the circles, the pain," She sighs, "I couldn't deal with it anymore,"

"What about now?" Yoongi asks curiously. The line is silent for a moment before she responds.

"I don't... want to talk about that right now," She says firmly. Yoongi sighs sadly.

"Okay," He says, "So, how are you?"

"I've been doing pretty well," She says cheerfully, "One of my stories is being made into a drama,"

"I heard," Yoongi smiles, sensing her excitement, "Congratulations,"

"Thanks, Yoongi," She says, "What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"How's your career going?" She enquires, "Was it worth it?"

Yoongi can sense the resentment in that comment but decides to ignore it.

"Yeah, it was amazing," Yoongi replies proudly, "I got to meet famous rappers and I learnt a lot,"

"That's good,"

The line goes silent for a moment. Yoongi didn't realize it would be this awkward talking to her. What should he say?

"How are your parents?" He asks quickly.

"They're good," Sumi says, "They're proud of me,"

"That's good," Yoongi nods. The more he talks, the more he wants to see her. Will she see him?

"Are you busy right now?"

"No, I just got back from the studio," Sumi chuckles, "They wanted me to help with the auditions,"

"Sounds like fun," Yoongi smirks, "Well... do you want to meet up?"

"Yoongi..." Sumi mumbles.

"Come on, just for a little bit," Yoongi whines, "I won't take up too much of your time,"

"... I guess," She sighs, "Want to meet at that ice cream place?"

"Actually, I want to take you to this Korean BBQ place," Yoongi says, "It's near the ice cream place. Jennie told me about it,"

"Is it the one I went with Jennie to?"

"Pretty sure," Yoongi agrees, "I'll shout you some dinner,"

"It's okay, I can pay for my food," Sumi says firmly, "I'll meet you there,"

"Okay, see you soon,"

"Bye, Yoongi,"

Yoongi hangs up. Even though he knows she's taken and that she is being too reluctant to see him, he starts to feel hopeful. What if he can ignite those old feelings? Maybe he can win her over. He's become a more passionate, more empathetic person. By the sounds of it, Sumi has changed a lot too. Maybe they are ready for each other now.

Sumi isn't a cheater.

Yoongi shakes his head. Of course, she isn't. He wouldn't want her to do that. He wants her to realize that the time apart just made them fonder of each other. She'll realize how much she missed him, and she'll realize Jungkook was just a temporary replacement. But nothing can replace him permanently.

As pathetic as this feels, Yoongi starts to feel optimistic.

Yoongi climbs out of bed and starts getting ready. He chooses the nicest piece of clothing he purchased in America, making him look attractive and happy. He is wearing black jeans with rips on the knees, a white T-shirt and a leather jacket.

Smirking to himself, he saunters out of the room, a new spring in his step.

. . . . . 

Yoongi sits in a booth at the Korean BBQ restaurant, his leg shaking a little. The server comes over and asks if he'd like anything to eat. He informs them that he is waiting for someone, so they leave him with some water.

He already has a pretty easy plan ready. He's going to let her control the BBQ and order the food, pretending he hasn't tried it before – even though there are Korean BBQ restaurants in America. This will be convincing because his parents never took him to one when he was in high school. Then, he's going to drink with her. It's customary, so she shouldn't refuse. If he is calm and friendly enough, she'll relax around him. Maybe, after a few drinks, she'll tell him what's hiding at the back of her mind.

After 5 minutes of waiting, she enters.

Yoongi gulps as he takes her in. She has grown and matured a lot more than Yoongi was expecting – especially in the places he had never noticed. Her hair is up in a ponytail, just like in high school. Her hair seems to be lighter in colour – she must have dyed it. Her eyes still shine with innocence and happiness, while also swallowing him up with their depth. She is wearing makeup as well and must have adjusted her beauty routine because her skin is shining. She looks beautiful and healthy.

Her style has changed a lot since he last saw her. She would wear either a simple dress or jeans with a jumper on the weekends when they were together. She would look adorable in anything, even her school uniform. But with her mature body, she looks less cute and more sexy. She is wearing black jeans, black sneakers, a white crop top, and a long red jacket.

"Hey, Yoongi," She smiles awkwardly. Yoongi closes his mouth and shakes himself from his daydream.

"Hey, Sumi," Yoongi beams, "Sit down,"

She takes the seat across from him and looks around.

"You haven't ordered?" She asks.

"No..." Yoongi shrugs, "I'm not sure how to order Korean BBQ yet,"

She smirks and shakes her head.

"Excuse me!" Sumi calls out, "Short ribs and sirloin steak please!"

"Yeah!" One of the servers calls back. Yoongi nods with satisfaction as she turns back to look at him.

"Nice," He frowns, "So you just yell out to them?"

"Yeah," Sumi grins, "Oh! I almost forgot!"

Sumi turns back to the server.

"Excuse me!" He turns to her, "2 soju and beer bottles too!"

"Cass?"

"Yeah, why not," She grins. The server nods and yells for the other staff to bring the drinks.

"Alcohol?" Yoongi asks.

"Yep," Sumi smacks her lips together, "It's been a long day and I need a drink, why?"

"It's just... I wasn't expecting you to want to drink with me," Yoongi admits, even though this makes it much easier for him.

"Drinking alcohol over Korean BBQ is necessary!" Sumi giggles, "It's good for bonding,"

"You want to bond?" Yoongi asks, smirking teasingly. Sumi looks at him warily.

"What else would this be about?" Sumi looks down at the table, "If we're not friends it'll be awkward,"

Ouch.

Yoongi wasn't expecting her to do something like this. Sumi has changed quite a bit. She appears more confident and sure of herself. If he didn't know better, he would have assumed that Jennie was rubbing off on her with her new straightforward personality. But sadly, he knows better.

Even though Sumi's comment hurt, it makes him feel better knowing she is comfortable enough to talk openly with him.

"True," As soon as the server gives them the meat and alcohol, Yoongi pours them both a shot. He slides one over to Sumi and lifts his up.

"To friendship," He says. Sumi smiles and clinks his glass.

"To friendship," She agrees as she downs the shot. Yoongi follows, enjoying the burning sensation in his throat.

Sumi starts on the meat without asking Yoongi if he'd like to control the BBQ. She has it all cut in equal pieces and on the BBQ as they bring out the side dishes. Yoongi thanks them and continues watching Sumi work. If he could, he'd freeze this moment and relive it for the rest of his life. Intense fascination, the inspiration for music, happiness, and pure joy. With all these emotions on top of his fuzzy alcohol-induced brain, he could sit there staring at her forever.

But all good things must come to an end. Sumi looks up at him and frowns.

"What are you staring at?" She looks at his soju bottle and gasps, "Have you already finished your soju?"

"I'm good with my alcohol," Yoongi says evenly. He doesn't sound drunk, but his brain is finding it hard to censor the words he doesn't want to say.

"Another soju!" Sumi calls out. She pours half of her soju into her half-empty beer and empties that. Yoongi watches her excitedly.

"Wow!" He scoffs, "Are you challenging me?"

"Drinking is in our culture," Sumi grins, "What did you learn in America?"

Yoongi receives his next soju and copies what Sumi just did. He sighs loudly.

"I learnt that American beer tastes better," Yoongi grins, "And liquor is better,"

"Pft," Sumi chuckles, "doubt that,"

"So you are challenging me?" He smirks, "Alright, I accept your challenge,"

Together, Sumi and Yoongi drink 3 bottles of soju and 4 bottles of beer each. By the end, Yoongi is still pretty sane. Sumi, however, is extremely drunk. Yoongi has paid for all of the alcohol, but Sumi insisted that she pay for the food. With each drink, Yoongi passes the server the money they need for the alcohol. Usually, they would pay at the end. But Yoongi wants to make sure Sumi doesn't pay for anything else.

"I think I won," Yoongi titters, his vision a little fuzzy, "You look incapacitated,"

"OoooOOooo," Sumi giggles, "Big words!"

"You should know big words," Yoongi says, "You know words for a living,"

"Words..." Sumi sits up, trying to look at Yoongi properly, "Words are hard,"

"How?" Yoongi laughs.

"The words... I had to send you..." Sumi gulps, "It took a long time,"

Yoongi doesn't say anything. This is what he was hoping for. He wants to hear what she really thinks.

"Are they still hard?" He asks. Sumi thinks for a moment as Yoongi's heart starts beating faster. Is he about to hear that she misses him?

"No," She says simply. Yoongi's heart breaks in two as he stares at her. He knows his feelings are showing on his face, but he doesn't care. That simple word, that two-letter word, brought his whole world tumbling down.

"Oh..." Yoongi murmurs. Hoping she'd stop, Yoongi doesn't press the issue. But she continues anyway.

"At first it was hard," Sumi admits, "I thought of you every day and when I got drunk I'd cry,"

"It's okay," Yoongi smiles weakly, "You don't have to explain yourself,"

Sumi ignores him, continuing on.

"But then I moved on," Sumi nods, "And I'm glad you're okay too,"

Spurred by her words of conviction, Yoongi moves forward and grabs Sumi's hand. Sumi looks up at him, a little startled by the gesture. She appears less drunk now, sobered by his sudden movement.

"Yoongi..."

"I'm not okay," Yoongi admits, staring fiercely at her, "I don't regret moving to America, but I regret losing you," Yoongi gulps down his tears and continues, "I want you back... I want you so bad. It's killing me... I just miss you so much,"

"Yoongi... don't..." Sumi pulls from his grip, "I can't..."

"Why?" Yoongi pushes, willing her to say it, "Tell me why I can't have you,"

"Yoongi... I..."

Suddenly, Sumi stands up and rushes out of the restaurant.

"Sumi, wait!"

Yoongi rushes past the server in pursuit of her. They don't stop them, as they have already paid for their food and drink.

Yoongi runs outside to find Sumi standing next to the one person Yoongi had hoped to never see again.

"MIN YOONGI!" Jungkook bellows, storming over to Yoongi, his eyes blazing with anger. Yoongi holds his arms out, gesturing for Jungkook to come for him. He is smirking cockily as his head becomes clear of alcohol. All that is left is anger.

"What?" Yoongi cackles, "Don't like it when a guy takes your girl?"

"You knew?" Sumi asks, catching up to Jungkook, holding him back, "You knew and you still..."

"Don't you dare try and make me seem like the bad guy," Yoongi snaps, turning his anger to Sumi, "You had dinner with me and drank with me, but I'm the bad guy?"

Jungkook snaps, lunging forward and latching onto Yoongi. They stumble, but Jungkook regains his balance and throws his fist back.

"What you got, kid?" Yoongi smirks.

Jungkook's fist slams into Yoongi's face at what feels like full strength. Yoongi falls back, warm liquid running down his face and into his mouth. He hits the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him. He clutches his stomach and sits up, glaring up at Jungkook. Sumi is pulling at his arm, begging him to stop. But he has a fire in his eyes that is seeking vengeance. Yoongi knows this feeling, as it's the same feeling in his chest.

He staggers to his feet, his eyes on Jungkook.

"Is that all you got?" Yoongi spits blood onto the ground, "You'll have to do better than that,"

Yoongi rushes forward and pushes Jungkook roughly. He stumbles back, taking Sumi with him. Sumi moves out of harm's way, tears streaming down her face.

"Please! Stop!" she begs, looking between the two of them. They ignore her, their eyes on each other.

Yoongi pulls his fist back and punches Jungkook. Jungkook moves to dodge it, but not fast enough. Yoongi's fist clashes with his jaw, hard. He stumbles but doesn't fall to the ground. He looks up at Yoongi and stands up.

They eye each other down before they both lunge at each other, fists blazing and eyes mounting with fury.

"NO!" Sumi screams into the night. 

(A/N) Listen, I know it's messed up to make this the last chapter for the week, but I swear it was unintentional 😅

I want to add that I have been kicked out of my house recently. I have a place to stay now so hopefully my chapter updates won't get interrupted.

See ya Monday 🫰🫰🫰