Hey? That's all he had to say to me? I had turned to see some girl wrapped around his body. I saw him throwing back glasses of champagne. Then he had swaggered over to me still reeking of that girl's perfume, and he said hey? What was I supposed to do about that?

I turned my face away before he could see my disappointment. How dare he? We haven't communicated for seven weeks and four days, and he had nothing better to say to me?

"No, um, Bella?" his voice was barely audible in the noisy room.

I looked at him again. His expression was contrite, and I had to remind myself to breathe. Why did he have to look so drop-dead gorgeous? Even in the crazy, fluorescent lighting in the room, he looked like he was doing a photo shoot. How was I supposed to hold on to my angry indignation when all I wanted to do was hug him and kiss him and...

"It is so good to see you," he said, his voice a little more assertive. "Can we...go somewhere and talk...in private?"

My eyes were glued to his perfectly, plump lips, and I felt myself swaying closer to him. "I--I, uh, I'm with--" I turned to look around and realized that Cindy and Jimin had disappeared from my side. I looked at Jin and could see that his mouth was curving up on one side--a perfectly sexy smirk that indicated he knew what my response would be. If I had any willpower, I would refuse to go anywhere with him.

If.

He held out his hand to me, and I hesitated only a millisecond before taking it and letting him guide me across the VIP lounge. My heart began beating faster when I felt him twine his fingers with mine as he led me to a nondescript door at the back of the room that was marked STAFF ONLY. He pushed the door open and pulled me inside.

I looked around. It seemed to be a small office, probably not used often. The desk had only a desktop computer on it, no papers. A small futon was set along the back wall. He indicated for me to take a seat on the futon. When I sat down, I noticed that the computer actually showed the security cameras to the VIP lounge. I could see all corners of the room outside. I saw Cindy, Namjoon, and Hoseok huddled in conversation, pointing to this office.

Jin pulled the rolling chair from the desk around and sat in front of me. "Bella, how are you? How have you been?"

"Me? I...uh, fine," I stuttered. I was so nervous.

"You didn't call me," he continued. I sensed a hint of anger in his voice.

"Jin--"

"I waited for your call, your text, anything," he continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Every day that went by was like a dagger to my heart. I hope you don't mind that I'm being honest. It hurt like hell to just be discarded and ignored after...everything. I'm sorry, but I have to get this out because I can't keep this pain and anger bottled up inside. Maybe if I say it out loud, it will get better. I don't know." He took a breath. "But...I understand that you needed a break from me and from all that stupid drama that follows me around, that you wanted an out. I sensed your uneasiness even before this whole stupid episode happened. Maybe you knew."

I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. His eyes immediately zeroed in on my mouth before he forcefully turned his face away. One kiss. Just one kiss would wipe away all the hurt.

"I'm sorry things went the way they did, but they did. I know it's time to let go, and I won't burden you by dragging things out." He paused. His eyes were staring hard into mine, waiting for a reaction, a word.

I felt my body trembling. My heart! I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I turned my head so that he wouldn't see my eyes filling up with tears.

The chair squeaked, and I saw that he had wheeled himself closer to me. Our knees were almost touching. He rested his arms on his knees and looked up into my face.

"God, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And even though your looks first attracted me, your beauty was surpassed by your heart, and I will always be thankful," he said. "What made me fall in love was your incandescent personality and your ability to love and care about others. You were the first woman to see me. You tried to understand me and my emotions. You helped me deal with my past and my present. I felt as if I'd won the lottery."

Was. The word reverberated in my brain. Past tense. He didn't love me anymore. I turned my face away when I felt tears welling up. I heard him sigh as if he was losing his patience.

"I guess there's a price, Bella, a downside when one falls in love. I had heard people talk about it, but I didn't believe it because I was so in love with you." He stopped talking, as if he regretted his words. Maybe he regretted falling in love with me.

"People say the price of love is pain. Lots of pain," he said slowly. "But that was okay, I told myself. I could endure any pain, anything, for the woman I loved. Because you must know I love--loved you. So much. Maybe too much. I don't regret it, though. I don't, and I'm sorry if you do. In my case, the price I had to pay was you. I can't be sorry about the way things happened--there's no point now. I'm only sorry that this whole ordeal cost me you. That was a very steep price. The worst of all. The worst ever."

"Jin, I'm sorry," I whispered. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, that I regretted being too cowardly to call him. That I wanted him. My tongue kept betraying me. I couldn't form the words to tell him how I felt. I felt panic rising in my chest. No!

He inhaled and moved away. Then he got to his feet. After a few minutes, he held out his hand. As soon as I put my hand in his, he pulled me up. His touch was burning my skin, and I involuntarily twitched.

He let go of my hand. "Don't worry. I'm not going to ask for something as crass as a goodbye kiss." My head snapped up to meet his gaze. "Or a final night with you," he looked down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"I'm sorry," I repeated stupidly. Why was my brain not working? "I--I hope..." I couldn't speak because my throat constricted painfully.

He nodded. "Yes. Well. I hope...you will be happy. I hope you will find someone who will give you happiness. I'm sorry it wasn't me." He inhaled raggedly. "I better go before I do something crass." His dark eyes seemed to peer into my soul. His full lips opened then closed. Then he spun on his heel and walked out.

That was his goodbye speech. It was a wonder that my legs didn't give way.

"I'm sorry, Jin," I whispered into the empty room. "I was too afraid to call you. I started writing texts several times, but there was so much I wanted to say. I felt terrible that you went through so much because you were trying to protect me. I can never thank you enough. I felt so unworthy, so undeserving of your sacrifice. I'm sorry I didn't believe you, but I love you. I love you more than I thought was possible. I love you." I had finally found my voice, but it was too late. "I love you," I whispered to no one.

I looked at the security cameras and saw how Hoseok, Namjoon, Yoongi, even Jimin gathered around him as soon as he stepped out of the office. Jin's back was to the camera, but I could see that he was shaking his head in the negative. Some more discussion followed--pointing, shaking of heads, grabbing of shirts. Jin pulled away and walked past them. They stared after him.

I should go after him.

I looked at the cameras and saw a girl run after Jin. She grabbed his arm. He stopped and looked down at her. They spoke. She leaned into him, and he nodded. Then they walked out of the VIP lounge. Together.

My eyes were burning, and I felt tears trailing down my cheeks.

Why couldn't I get my worthless tongue to say the words that I wanted to say? Was it pride? Was it stupidity? Was it some other reason I couldn't yet admit? I loved him. Why couldn't I just say the words that might have kept him with me?

A sob burst out of me. Who was I kidding? He very clearly just wanted to say his goodbyes. It was my fault, after all. I had been the one to freeze him out. I had let him believe that I didn't want him anymore, and I had lost him.

This couldn't be the end. Could it?

Could it?

A/N:  Unfortunately, this IS the end of this story.   I'm sorry if it was an abrupt conclusion.

But maybe it's not the end for them.

Stay tuned.

Thank you so much for reading!  I appreciate it so much!