Half an hour. That's how long she'd been sitting in her bed, gazing at nothing in particular, lost in thoughts. She hesitated between crying and screaming. Her heartbeat wasn't calming down either. Her mind was racing just as fast. Her imagination was doing things to her.

It wasn't the first time she had such dreams about Namjoon. This time though, it was too vivid and it had been going on for the last four days.

His lips, his fingers, his tong had all been doing things to her in her sleep and she couldn't take it anymore. She had tried everything.

Going to the gym more.

Reading horror stories.

Working long hours.

But nothing helped. As soon as she closed her eyes, she had these dreams again, no matter how tired she was.

She thought that avoiding him was the best thing to do, but now she wasn't so sure.

He had stopped contacting her after two days of unanswered calls and messages. He didn't even come to her house to try to talk to her. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. He had the keys to her house after all. He probably didn't want to force things. Maybe he was giving her space...

But today was a special day, though. Would he contact her? Would he come over? Did she want him to come over?

She didn't even know what she wanted anymore. She missed him, but she was scared of seeing him. She needed to sort her feelings out first.

Who am I kidding? I know damn well what I'm feeling.

Yes, she did know her feelings. But she didn't know his and that's why she was so kin on avoiding him.

She was scared that he wouldn't like her back.

She was scared of losing him as a friend.

She was scared that nothing would ever be the same again...

She was being a coward, she knew that. But she didn't have a choice.

She couldn't face him just yet.

After getting ready for work, she went downstairs to eat her breakfast and she found Jungkook all ready for the day as well. He was pretty much done eating his cereals and was peeling a banana when he looked up to smile at her.

"Morning, noona."

"Hey Kookie."

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Better?"

"Are you in the mood to talk to hyung yet?"

She blushed at that and started making her breakfast.

"I don't know what happened between you two, but you need to sort it out. It's weird seeing you like this."

She sat next to him with her bowl full of cereal and milk and started eating. She felt him looking at her, but she ignored him. She wasn't in the mood to talk about Namjoon.

He kept watching her in silence, then he leaned and put his head on her shoulder.

"It's nothing bad, right?" He asked in a low voice.

She sighed and put her spoon down. Why was it so hard for her to resist this kid? Ever since they met, he always did that to her. She had a soft spot for him. Actually, everyone around him did. No one could say no to him. They all spoiled him.

"It depends..."

She trailed off as she thought about it more. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to confide in him. What if he told Namjoon? She wasn't ready for him to find out just yet.

"Wanna talk about it?"

She shook her head, then asked him "did Joonie say anything?"

He smiled then sat up.

"I think it's better if you hear it from him."

"Hear what from him?"

"Whatever it is that he thinks about the situation."

She squinted her eyes at him and raised an eyebrow.

"He told you, didn't he?"

"Told me what?"

"What happened between us four days ago."

"So something did happen?"

She rolled her eyes and continued eating. He chuckled, then walked up to the sink. He washed his hands, then turned back to her.

"Hurry up, noona I'm going to work today."

"I thought you could work from anywhere?"

"Yeah, but I need to be at the company today. Something important... Come on, hurry."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm almost done."

She had been allowed to ride in her own car, so Jungkook just followed her to work in his. The officers assigned to protect her still stayed near her house even when she wasn't there. It was just in case the psycho guy tried to break in.

Everyone was on edge, not knowing what he'd do next, but Nari wanted him to do something. She wanted him to show his face in front of her.

I dare you, you evil pervert.

"We weren't able to trace the number," Kyungsoo stated, looking between Nari and Yoongi.

He swallowed and sat back down. There was a heavy silence ever since Yoongi came in. Everyone was on edge waiting for him to explode at any second.

He looked pissed.

"I thought I told you to hand over the case to team 2." He hissed, his eyes not leaving hers.

"You said another precinct, but you didn't say which one, so we thought we'd keep working on it in the meantime."

"That was four days ago, detective Park. You could've asked."

He was still talking in a low voice, but he was obviously furious. He was barely controlling himself. His gaze went from Nari to Soha, who looked away immediately.

"Well, you seemed busy" Nari responded, with a movement of her shoulders.

He turned his attention back to her. She seemed so calm and that angered him even more. His eyes got darker if that was even possible.

"Do you think it's a game?" He mumbled.

They looked at each other for a few seconds more, then he turned around.

"We'll hand it over to another police station."

"No!"

"I don't have time for this, detective Park." He said before resuming his walk towards his office, but Nari ran after him, pulling Soha with her.

"Please, sir don't do this." She begged.

"I've already decided-"

"Please don't. I'll do anything, please?"

Damn it.

She was actually begging. Park Nari was begging him. In other circumstances, he would've rubbed it in her face, but this was too serious. She was in danger and she seemed to be the only one who didn't realize that.

Then again, she had made some progress... Maybe she would actually be the one to solve it? If the killer was after her, he would show up eventually. Then it would be easier to catch him if they knew who he was.

But wouldn't it mean that Nari was being used as bait?

Taking the case from her was really the logical thing to do, but honestly, it wasn't the safest. Wouldn't it be easier for the killer to strike if no one at the station knew what was going on? Well, he'd know, but she wouldn't.

"Fine," he surrendered.

"Thank you! I won't disappoint and I promise to be careful-"

"Oh, I'm not worried about that." He smirked as he thought of something.

Yoongi, you're a genius.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll assign a special team for this case. You guys will be working alongside them."

"Them?"

"You'll see."

"Ok..."

"Don't worry, they won't be here all the time. They'll definitely be helpful though."

Nari gave him a suspicious look, but didn't say more. She and Soha bowed before walking away, but Yoongi stopped her.

"Detective Cha, come with me."

He walked away without waiting for her, but he knew she was right behind him.

When they were finally alone in his office, he leaned on his desk and watched her as she was closing the door and walking towards him. She was avoiding his gaze again. Maybe he really did scare her the other night, after all.

He hadn't been at the precinct in the last few days because of some meetings the higher-ups were holding. There were some changes going on they needed to be informed about and it sounded so important... But it really wasn't. They could've just emailed them instead of making them do the trip to the headquarters.

Because of these stupid meetings, he didn't have time to see her after what happened. And today, when he came in, he had noticed that she was distant and still avoiding him.

"I'm sorry about what happened that night."

She didn't say a word. And she still wasn't looking at him. And he was getting frustrated. What was wrong with her? How could she act this way when all he wanted to do was hold her? Was she mad at him? Or was she just not interested in him?

She had mentioned that she didn't date. Now he wondered what it was about.

Did she have a bad experience?

"Soha, can you please say something?"

She finally looked up and she looked upset for some reason. Yoongi frowned and stood up before taking a few steps towards her.

"What's wrong? Why are you-"

"Why are you acting this way?"

"What?"

"Why are you confusing me, Yoongi? Not denying it when Nari accuses you of liking me, flirting, and then apologizing a few days later, avoiding me after what happened as if... Was I just a distraction?"

He was stunned by her words. He was avoiding her and not the other way around? And what did she mean by distraction? What the f***? He was the one confusing her? Really?!?!?

"Soha-"

"Look, I get it. I'm not on your level. You guys are chaebols heirs and I'm from a middle-class family, so maybe I don't get the way you... do things."

"Wow, slow down a bit. What do you mean? What's with the chaebol nonsense?"

"Everyone knows that your mom is a heiress, Nari is the only heiress of Chairman Park, Prosecutor Jin, Kookie, and even that idol... You're all chaebols heirs."

"So?"

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"You know what? Forget it. You're my boss, that's all you'll ever be. Let's leave it at that. I'll get back to work now."

She bowed and walked out of his office.

Yoongi watched the door with eyes and mouth wide open.

What the f*** just happened? What kind of nonsense is this?

"Will you join me this year?"

He had asked her this question every year since the police academy. And she always said no. This time, however, she felt like changing her answer.

"Yes, I will. Let me just get ready and I'll meet you there."

She knew her mom would have wanted her to.

"Sure, I'll see you there." He said before hanging up.

He sounded so relieved. She turned to take the stairs when she met Jungkook who was coming down.

"You made the right decision, noona. You should do this with your father."

She just smiled at him and continued upstairs.

Half an hour later, she was ready to join her father at the cemetery. She was wearing a simple knee-length black dress and flats. She took another look at her reflection in the mirror and sighed.

Another year had passed since it happened. It seemed so far away and yet so vivid in her memory...

When she arrived at the cemetery, her father was already there. He was alone, this time and she wondered where his bodyguards went. But she didn't ask him. He didn't seem in the mood for useless chats. Neither was she.

She stood in front of her mother's grave and read the text on the tombstone for what felt like the billionth time.

"Serena Park; Loving and loved mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend."

She couldn't believe it had been twenty-three years already. Time flew by so fast! And yet... she still missed her, as much as the first days after her death. Now that she thought about it, she definitely wasn't the only one grieving. She looked up at her father and his gaze was still fixed on the tombstone. His expression was unreadable, but when he spoke, she could only hear the sadness in his voice.

"The first time I met her, she called me a rude jerk. At that time, I would never have thought that I would fall for her so hard let alone that she would love me back to the point of leaving everything behind and following me in South Korea."

She watched him for a moment and then a sad smile appeared on her face. She had heard about her parent's love story when she was younger and it was really beautiful. And cliché.

They were both abroad to study and they met at a festival. She was trying to find her friend who got lost in the crowd and asked him for help, but he ignored her. From what he told Nari, he thought she was one of his groupies. Yes, Chairman Park over here had groupies. Well, she had seen his old pictures and he did look handsome. He still did.

Anyway, after she insulted him, she walked away and continued looking for her friend. A few months later, she found herself in the same class as him and she made sure he knew how much she despised him. He didn't recognize her at first, but when he did, he apologized to her and did everything he could to make it up to her. And that's how they fell in love.

It was her favorite love story. She wished her love life would be that simple. She wondered what her mom would say about it if she was still with them.

"I miss her so much."

"Me too."

"Is that why you didn't remarry?"

He turned to her this time and smiled.

"I never remarried because I knew no one would love you the way Serena did."

It was 8 p.m. when she got back home and she was surprised to see Namjoon at her house, sitting on the couch with kookie. That same couch where-

Stop it, Nari.

She celebrated this day with them almost every year. Well, every year with Jungkook, but Namjoon only came when his schedule allowed him to.

And she wasn't sure how she felt about seeing him today.

He stood up and smiled before walking up to her. He held her in his arms and murmured "I'm so proud of you."

She broke into tears at that moment. She missed her mom like crazy. She wished she was still there to hold her, to smile at her, to comfort her. She probably would've given her the best advice on how to deal with her feelings for Namjoon.

She had also missed him and she wished their relationship would go back to the way it was before this almost-kiss happened. But deep down, she knew that was impossible. She knew they would need to have the conversation.

The conversation she'd been avoiding these four days.

In her defense, he had been doing the same, since he was acting as if nothing happened.

But something happened that day... Right?

She was so confused. She didn't know what he was thinking and that was foreign to her. She usually knew what he was thinking without even saying anything. Or was she just avoiding what she already knew?

When she had calmed down, he let her go and looked her in the eyes with so much affection, she felt like melting.

"I'm sure she was happy to see you guys there together."

She nodded and wiped her tears. Jungkook then came to her and gave her a hug too.

They spent two hours in her living room talking about the past and how mischievous they were in high school. Well, mostly Jungkook and Nari. Namjoon was the good kid. Surprising, isn't it?

He studied a lot, and although he hung out with them often, he was never part of their crazy adventures.

Nari remembered that one day when Jungkook and two of his classmates helped her and her friend delay the midterm exams. They activated the fire alarm while Nari and her friend were running around the school screaming that there was a fire. In the chaos, the exam sheets got wet and they couldn't take the exam.

It only got delayed for two days, but it was totally worth it. They never got caught either.

"Who would have thought that you'd become a police officer," Namjoon said with a smile.

Nari laughed and leaned on Jungkook.

"It's weird that at first, I chose this career path just to be rebellious, and now... I love it so much."

There was a short silence, Namjoon said with a sigh "as long as you're careful."

"I'm always careful."

"It's okay, we'll protect you noona."

"I feel so safe now, aww." She responded with sarcasm.

They laughed.

"I have to go now. You guys close the doors behind me, okay?"

"Yes, dad."

"I'm serious Nari."

Nari rolled her eyes as they walked him outside. It was oddly chilly for the month of August even if they were near the end of the month. Jungkook bid his hyung goodbye and ran back inside while Nari lingered for some reason.

She wanted to look at him one more time before going to bed. She wouldn't mind another hug too...

She was so glad he visited despite everything. And she realized that she was starring at him when he chuckled and took a few steps closer to her.

"What are you looking at?"

She blushed and shook her head quickly.

"Nothing."

He kept silent for a few seconds and took her hands in his.

"I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"Whatever I did to make you avoid me for four days. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you or make you mad."

He was literally begging her with his eyes and she didn't know what to do. That puppy look was so adorable on him. How could he be so adorable and so manly at the same time? He made her heart beat so fast and next thing she knew, she felt herself melting at his cuteness.

"You think it's your fault?"

"It's not?"

"Are you doing it on purpose? You really don't know what happened that night?"

"What happened that night, Nari?" He asked in a low voice.

"You know what? Maybe I was imagining things." She said after another moment of silence.

She tried to free herself from his hold, but it got tighter.

"Don't run away again."

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are. Let's have this conversation, okay? We need to talk about it."

He hugged her one more time and walked away.

She watched him drive off, still shocked by what he had just said.

Is he talking about the conversation I think he is talking about? Does he know about my feelings?

Holy crap.

😘