It would be a lie if she said that her heart was not thundering in her chest as she walked through the corridors after receiving the directions from someone she had met a while ago. A small smile took over her glossy lips, the silent excitement she felt looked nothing less than a high schooler's first day. She chuckled to herself at the thought, looking down at her nervously fumbling fingers.

She had not really realised her longing for returning back to work, she somewhat did not even remember the feeling, but now that she was ready to walk into her supposed 'workplace' in action, she could not help but feel exhilarated. It made her wonder if she was a workaholic like a particular someone she knew, or if she was just happy to have the responsibility of being independent back.

As soon as she walked towards the set, removing the items that had been covering her beautiful face, she immediately spotted Mi-sun which made her smile and grabbed her attention.

Her manager immediately had a grin etching on her features as soon as she realised that Youra really was on set, back to work. But before she could come and give her another one of her bone-crushing hugs, a figure came before Youra, hiding the sight of the only familiar face she knew of.

"Youra?"

His voice was breathy but husky at the same time, as if he'd been holding it in for long and her name left his lips like relief. When she looked up, she least expected to find the person leave her in a daze the moment she saw him— his tall form in front of her seemed to be towering, the black, long curls falling on his forehead with a stunning mullet on the back. His parted lips seemed to shake slightly, his keen eyes were lost and unable to decide on a particular feature of hers, sleek orbs running frantically across her face and her form.

She did not know what to do when he staggered towards her, the papers in his hand falling down on the floor in the process while he disregarded everything and everybody present before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to himself.

Still to the bone, the woman did not know how to react or respond, whatsoever, because she had not expected to come across the man who was hugging her— it wasn't a hug, rather he was embracing her, as if she were a soft petal that could be crushed if held too strong.

She did not think that she would be meeting him, but that was undeniably silly on her part after knowing how the first person that even her manager could think of after her appearance was him.

Of course he'd be there.

"How could you scare me like that?" He whispered, his lips resting on her hair and his voice tender as ever. And before she could say anything to him, anything at all, she was being ushered back towards the route that she'd just come from, but this time with the actor's hand tightly holding hers.

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"Taehyung," She finally had the courage to address him, sitting in front of him with hot mugs of caffeine and hot chocolates resting on a table separating them. "Why did you bring me here?" She let out the most oblivious question she could have asked, not sure of what to expect for an answer herself.

Now that she sat in front of him, she had the time to look at him without looking away and turning into a blushing mess after the first thing he did was boldly hug her without hesitation.

Indeed gorgeous, the man wore a brown coat that complimented his aura, eyes a little swollen but wide open and soft, puffy cheeks that made him look adorable at the same time. His features highlighted every expression he gave, firm, his big hands rested around the cup making it look smaller than it was. What caught her eyes though, was the way he was carrying himself even though he was clearly not in his best state after seeing her this morning. Almost like her, she'd say, elegant and poised but charming in his own way.

"Why did I bring you here?" The actor's eyebrows knitted together as he repeated her words, a clear glimpse of hurt crossing his face. "That is the first thing you say to me after disappearing for more than a week?" He added with a little scoff, pressing his lips together. "I have been trying to look for you, everywhere!" The pitch of his tone raised a little, making her realise that he must be having a ton of questions as her rightful partner.

"...I know. And I'm sorry I could not talk to you or inform you about my situation," She started, shaking her head with an apologetic expression. She had hardly known the man for an hour now, but she could feel how worried he was for her. She felt sorry for not being responsible enough and letting a person so important in her life know about her whereabouts for more than a week and without notice, but then again little did she even know how he looked like or remember his name until a few days ago.

"You have questions and I'm ready to answer them. I'm ready to tell you whatever you want to know." She voiced and he smiled softly and understandably, reaching out for her free hand resting on the table. He placed it in his, rubbing her skin as he chose his words and tried to decipher where to start.

"I? I want to know everything." His chuckle was humourless and he did not look in her eyes as he spoke. "But the question that outweighs all others is... are you okay?" She knew he really was clueless about her health and wellbeing, and it was only logical for him to want to know if she was really fine— but at the same time, she could not bring herself to tell him.

Truth be told, Youra felt taken aback when she realised how empathetic she had started to feel for Taehyung in no time. It was her pact with Jungkook that no one outside their little bubble should know about her memories being stored in a box that had been misplaced for the time being, but Taehyung almost had her doubting her decision.

"I've been completely fine. I knew how to manage myself when I left my house, but I hope you understand. I just wanted a break... from the pain. I could not sink in the fact that my mother, she..." Her words stopped midway, a sharp inhale left her looking down at their hands resting on each others'. "I'm sorry for not telling you about where I was or how long I would be gone. Honestly, I did not have the courage to contact anybody at that point... not that you are just anybody, but I hope you understand. She was everything to me, and losing her really came as a... blow, that's all." She completed before giving him a painful smile.

"I would say I understand the pain but I do not, so I would just have to say that I wished you'd chosen to let me in and help you out with it. I didn't know when I really failed my job, but-"

"You did not fail your job." She shook her head vigorously, taken aback by his remark, and interrupted him. "I needed my time to cope up with everything and you really have no fault here. I'm the one at fault and the one who should be apologizing. I can't imagine the kind of worry you must've felt, stuck in another country and getting to know that I ran away from my problems... like a coward." She muttered the last words upon realising that they were the bitter truth.

He cleared his throat, looking around before taking a deep breath and etching a sweet smile on his face. "But you're back in front of me, aren't you?" He tilted his head which made her blink rapidly before nodding, a smile widening her lips as well, unknowingly. 

"I want to start again, Youra." Taehyung whispered, sighing and pushing the waffles towards her. "We had a horrible headstart, to be honest. But I reckon I don't want it to stay that way. In the midst of this crowd, and situations like these, I can still see us going strong, sweetheart," He bit his lip, hesitation clear on his face. "Start over with me. Start over with me without the differences that now lay between us," His eyes sparkled and she could not help but let her lips lift softly and tenderly. She gulped, giving him another nod.

"Let's start over."

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