[Not edited]

Kim SeokJin

There she is. 

Standing in front of the window letting the soft moonlight wrap around her. There are no lights switched on in the almost bare living room with boxes lined up around the walls. But my eyes don't linger on them even for a second. They are pulled straight towards her.

None of us make a move towards each other, just stand in our places facing each other as we take in each other.

She looks beautiful.

Her make-up is removed, letting her soft skin glow naturally. Her hair carelessly tied back and her delicate neck-line on show. She is wearing a loose top tucked in her high-waist jeans and a denim jacket over that is way too big on her. I smile as I think; Of course it wouldn't fit her, it's mine.

A smile creeps up as I remember the day she had spilled water on her top and had freely claimed my jacket from the backseat of the car as we made our way back to her dorms. It was one of the times I had picked her up from Music bank and took her back home before I rushed back to practice.

She is barefoot on the carpet and her toes wiggle as they notice my attention on them. Cute.

I sigh as I look up at her. 

I missed her so damn much.

One look at the wide mesmerizing eyes and I snap out of my daze. I can't control my body as I rush towards her and came to a stop just in front of her, palming her face as I brought our foreheads together, touching. I closed my eyes as her shampoo scent overtook my olfactory senses, sending me into a mind freeze.

Her face is warm in her hands as she stands there stupefied,eyes wide blinking up at me. Her breathes shallow as she slowly tries to come in terms with the situation. I tilt my head and stop, hesitating and let out a shuddering sigh when she inches her chin ahead.

I swoop in and kiss her.

 She takes a few seconds before she starts responding to me, her arms wrapping around my waist as I place my one hand behind her neck. 

The feeling of having her so close to me is so overwhelming that my heart starts to hurt painfully. I place my hand on her waist and pull her more closer as I deepen the kiss and like magic she responds. 

I don't know how long it took for me to come up to breathe but when I did, I felt my lungs burning. I tried lifting my hands from around her but she pulled me closer by my waist, burying her head in my chest as she controls her breathing. Smiling I wrap my arms around her once again, place my head on top of hers and close my eyes. 

What can a man want more than this? 

It seemed that both of us held onto each other from falling. I am positive that at the moment if she let me go, my knees would have given out. 

Feelings on overdrive and breathes now even, I hugged her closer allowing her the time to recover. Worry shoots up as I think of how I should have asked before pulling such a stunt on her and I suddenly blurt out.

"I- I am sorry"

She stills in my arms before she raises her head enough to look at me. "Why?"

"For..um..not...like...asking." I stutter as I feel my ears turn hot.

She conveniently ignores what I said as she playfully tugs at my ears. "Why are your ears so red?"

"Um...because...your attention is on me." I say, trying to avoid eye-contact. 

"But my attention is always on you, why did I not notice this before?" She says as she furrows her eyebrows. Finally sensing the playful tone in her voice, I roll my eyes and peck her cheek.

"You were never this close." I wink and I enjoy the redness that spreads across her cheeks. "Hey look! You are turning red too. We are matching!"

She laughs and steps back, hitting my arm with one hand. "Oh stop it!"

I laugh as I watch her palm her cheeks trying to calm herself. She turns away from me and faces the window when she sees me laughing.

I guess the little moment we had made me feel so clingy that I once again stepped ahead and hugged her from behind. I couldn't help but want to be close to her in some way to the other. Especially when in the back of my mind I knew that something is trying to take her away from me.

She relaxes in my arms as we both quietly stare out of the window. The busy city of Seoul and its residents continue to fuzz and buzz around as we stare it serenely, millions of thoughts running in our head.

I put my chin on her shoulder and she rests the back of hers against mine, my arms wrapped around her stomach while hers wrapped around me. Her body completely relaxed against mine as I support her body weight.

When I was a kid, I always fantasized how it must have felt to back-hug someone. My mom was too tall for me at the time to understand and later on the boys are too reluctant towards skinship. While this was probably not the first time I hugged her, this time it certainly felt more like home.

We stand there in silence for a long time before I finally break it.

"I really missed you. The one thing I realized during this one month is that I don't want to experience this again. Ever. I don't want you away from me. You are the anchor to my ship. Without you I'll never stop drifting around."

She stills in arms but doesn't pull away. And I am so thankful for that. I don't want her to see my face. She instead pushes herself back, cuddling into me more. 

"What happened, Joohyun? Whatever it is, tell me the truth."

*****

Bae JooHyun

I sighed as I turned around and wrapped my arms around him, burring my head into his chest. I want to cherish this movement as much as possible before it is snatched away from me. I know for a fact that after telling him everything, there might be a chance of him storming out.

I step back and direct him towards the small couch near the balcony. It was not its original position but since we started shifting things, a lot of furniture have lost its original position. Much like my life now.

He moves with me wordlessly as I sit on the couch with some space in between us. The question is clear in his expression and he doesn't give me time to answer before he scoots ahead and takes my hands in his, caressing them with his thumbs, silently encouraging.

I take a deep breath and start , "A week after you left we had a schedule shoot in America. Before we left, I was called to the agency. I thought since I am the leader and we are going abroad I will be receiving some instructions or guidelines. But that was not it.

Lee Sunbae was there and higher staff and my managers. I started panicking if that cameraman from that day did something and I was right. That meeting was a disciplinary hearing for me and Sunbae. The photographer had not gone to the press directly but came to the agency for money. The agency covered it and buried it but we both were given warnings and some punishments. A lot of absurd questions were asked and answered after which they decided what actions to be taken against us. Sunbae's album got delayed for next six months while I was told not to stay in contact with you till the four months deal are over after which they would release a statement that we had broken up to the press."

I stopped and looked at him. He had a small frown on his face but nothing else. His gaze was directed to our intertwined hands as he continued his administration. Not able to read his expression, I continued.

"I thought I would be able to talk to you and let you know what is happening but that night Manager oppa took away all of our phones and told us that we were not to be in any contact with you or bangtan or else a project we had been working on for months now would be cancelled. The girls did not know what happened at the hospital and I wanted to keep it like that so I agreed to cut off all contact. I did not want my team to suffer for something that had nothing to do with them." I rambled, anxious looking at the still passive expression on his face.

I tightened my hold on his hands, "The last three weeks were really hard for me. I had promised myself that I would not let my mood affect the schedule but the thought that I was deliberately upsetting you made me miserable. The girls noticed and when they found out they were furious with me. They felt that I din't trust them enough and that's what finally broke me. I wasn't trying to hurt so many people at once. I thought I was taking a decision that will keep all of you happy but it backfired on me. I am really sorry, Jin...'

I could't continue as tears filled my eyes and clogged my throat. I remember the day it hurt so much after seeing a forced smile on his face in a new Run Bts episode. His members were all enjoying themselves but he was clearly not happy. It was in the third week since we had last seen each other and Seulgi had pointed out how his condition might be because of me.

I took refuge in the tight schedule in America but my nights were always filled with tear-soaked pillows. In normal conditions, no contact would have been justified due to our schedule but since I was forced to stay away it hurt more than anything.

I heard him before I could look at him. He slid off the couch and came to sit right in front of me on the ground, a hand coming up to wipe off the tear stains on my face.

He looked at me asked, face blank, "That's it?"

Confused, I nodded like a child, "I...wha-...what do you mean?"

He dropped his head on my lap and after a few moments his shoulders started shaking. My eyes widened and heart started pounding. Is...is he crying?

Oh my god. He is crying!

"J-Jin? hey please don't cry. I won't do it again I am sorry! I--" 

I was cut off the moment he fell back on his butt and started laughing loudly. 

I-What?! He is laughing!

"Hey! Why are you laughing!" I exclaim, slapping his shoulder.

He sobered up quickly and got up and sat next to me. 

He should be angry with me. He should be mad at me! So then why is he giving me such a adorable smile. Why does his face reflect relief and joy?

"Oh JooHyun-ah. My silly girl," He said, cupping my face and giving me a broad smile. "Tell me the truth. Did you think I would be angry with you after you tell me?"

Confused and a little whip-lashed with the whirlwind of emotions running in me, I nod hesitantly.

His expression softened as he sighed. "I won't say what you did was right or that it din't hurt me. It did hurt. Very much. I thought...that...you don't want to be with me. That you thought that I wasn't the one for you and since we were anyway on a four month contract, keeping away from me will be...right." 

His voice held so much depth that a fresh new wave of tears hit me. I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off.

"I am angry that you took the decision for both of us but I can understand. You did what any idol would do which is to protect their team. I can understand why you did it. It's alright."

I stared at him with eyes full of tears. What did I ever do to deserve him? Why is he such a good soul?

"Since you have told me what is happening, let me take it on myself. I will deal with it in my way and you won't stop me. That's your punishment, okay?" He says, flicking my nose.

He doesn't know how SM works. He doesn't know how they can do anything for the sake of protecting an artist and he certainly doesn't know how he will deal with it. I can see it in his eyes. He is just covering up for me. But I believe him. If he says he can do whatever he is planning to do, he will and he will undeniably have my support right with him.

I look at him and nod. He smiles at me before leaning in placing a quick peck on my lips. I squeak and move away but he pulls me right up before I fall down the sofa.

"So now time for you next punishment. Are you ready?" He says, getting up and dusting his pants.

 I frown and look at him. "What punishment?"

He extends his hand to me and smiles. "Your punishment is that now you will accept to be my official girlfriend, deals all aside, and go out on a date with right now. I'm very hungry."

*********

It took me AGES to finish this chapter omg. Long chapter and even harder to write. 

How do you feel about it?

Hope everyone is doing well!

And is EIGHT a masterpiece or what? I wrote so many parts of this chapter listening to that song. In short, I'm addicted. IU's voice is aMAzInG and our MinPD is just pure genius. 

See you in the next update!