"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" Ji-Hoon ran his hand through his hair as he paced back and forth in the men's bathroom at the office. He had gotten a text from one of the staff back home. They sent him a link and told him not to read it in front of Alex. He looked back down at the article on his screen. "Kpop Star, Suga, spotted having a romantic dinner with female Kpop sensation."

What the hell was Alex going to think? Surely she knew Yoongi would never do anything like this unless there was a good reason. He wasn't the type to play around. Ji-Hoon checked his watch, Yoongi should still be awake. He started to dial his number then stopped. Would it be too forward of him to butt in? He kept picturing Alex from their talk the day before. Everything she had confessed and now this. This was not going to go well. He slid his phone back into his pocket and headed for the office he and Alex were sharing.

When he walked in, he already knew she had seen it. She was staring blankly at her computer, not moving. He slowly sat down in his chair and watched her for a few minutes. "Alex?"

She blinked then slowly turned her head to look at him, "Hm?" 

"You good?"

She shook her head to snap out of it and scrubbed her hands over her face, "Yeah, I'm good, just didn't get much sleep last night." She didn't say anything else. Ji-Hoon kept an eye on her the rest of the day, waiting for the inevitable fall out of her emotions.

After leaving the office that night, Alex still hadn't said anything about seeing the article. Ji-Hoon knew she was stuck in her head, but didn't know what to say until she decided to bring it up. He got back to his hotel and immediately texted Yoongi.

Yo! When you wake your ass up, you better be ready to explain.

He put his phone away and turned on the TV, waiting for the text that was sure to come. He just hoped it wasn't as bad as he was imagining.

________

The next morning Alex awoke to her notifications going off from missed text messages. She rubbed her eyes then reached over for her phone. She swiped the screen and saw she had seven missed text messages.

Call me

Please?

Are you mad?

It's not what you think!

Text me when you wake up

Nuna, are you awake?

Don't be mad at hyung, that article was a lie

Butt out

Alex rolled out of bed and went to make coffee. She was going to need something to make her feel alive to get through the day. Once she had downed half a cup, she went and laid back in her bed.

I'm not mad

I know it wasn't a date

I just woke up

Her phone immediately rang.

: Hello?

: Thank God you answered! Are you sure you're not mad? I promise it wasn't a date. She's the artist who's song I've been producing. I told you about it remember?

Yoongi, slow down. I'm not mad. I know it wasn't a date.

Are you sure? That article made a complete mess of the whole thing. I should sue that magazine!

: No, now calm down. You're not suing anybody. Listen to what I'm saying. I'm not mad. I'm fine.

You're fine? Isn't that code for you're not fine?

(chuckling) No, it means I'm fine. I know you weren't cheating.

: OK, good. That's good. (He took a deep breath) I was so worried, I could barely wait for you to wake up. 

Well I'm awake and everything is ok. Quit freaking out.

: (short silence) So, how are things going over there? I miss you.

: Things are going, and I miss you too. I need to go though, I have to run to the office to work on some edits I didn't finish yesterday.

: OK, don't work too hard, I'll talk to you tomorrow.

: K, bye

Yoongi looked at his phone when she hung up. They hadn't talked in four days and she rushed off the phone to work? What in the hell was that? He opened his texts.

OK, tell me the truth, how bad is it?

It's not good.

What do I do?

 She said she knew I wasn't cheating, so what's really bothering her?

IDK.

Let me talk to her and see what's going on.

I'm about to hop on a plane right now if I need to

No, let me take care of it. 

We'll see you Sunday

________

Tuesday Alex and Ji-Hoon were sitting in the office working. Alex hadn't said anything more about the article incident. Maybe she really was fine and they didn't need to worry. 

"Should we order lunch?" Ji-Hoon was checking his watch.

"I'm not hungry, but you can if you want." Alex gave him a healf hearted smile then went back to working on her computer.

"Ok, what's the deal? You haven't eaten in two days, and you've barely talked. I know it's about the article, so spill."

Alex let out a sigh, "I know he wasn't cheating. I'm not mad at him."

"You're not happy either. What is going on?"

"It's nothing, I just . . . . they looked good together. Like, they belonged together."

It finally clicked for Ji-Hoon. She really thought she wasn't right for Yoongi. "But, they're not together."

"I know." Alex went back to typing and suddenly stopped, "Hey, could you look through your camera and see if you have any pictures of just me and Yoongi? It's his birthday this Sunday. I have a gift idea that I'd like to give him, and we need to plan a birthday party for him with the guys when they get here."

"Yeah, I can take a look. That's a good idea. Let me know what you need my help with for the party too." Ji-Hoon hoped that was her attempt to get past everything.

________

Later that night, Alex was laying in bed looking through social media when her email alert rang. She opened it and saw Ji-Hoon had sent over the pictures she had asked for. As she scrolled through them, memories of the last seven months overwhelmed her. She felt everything all at once. Happiness, sadness, and an ache inside her chest that seemed to get tighter. When the final picture came across the screen, she stopped and stared at it. A tear rolled down her cheek. "That's the one."