Things calmed down pretty significantly after that day. And thank goodness, because I’m not sure my heart could have taken much more. We all fell back into our usual rhythm, with a few distinct differences. The return of Taehyung’s voice was fantastic. He was a happy, silly, and talkative guy. It was abundantly clear why he and Hobie were so close. Jungkook’s overall disposition improved dramatically as well. It was strange to see him express even a shred of optimism, but I was glad to see him smile more. As for Namjoon and Jin, the changes in their relationship were rather subtle. It was mostly just how Hobie had described them from before The Reclamation. They were like young teenagers who were unsure of how the whole thing was supposed to work, and in a way I supposed they were. Mostly they were just inseparable, but they seemed genuinely happy with the arrangement.

And then there was Yoongi. I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on with him. He had seemed pretty happy with me at the end of that long day, but then all of a sudden he had a hard time looking me in the eye. Every time he avoided me or weaseled out of a conversation, my heart sank. I had come to rely on Yoongi as my rock: the most stable and level-headed of the bunch. Every once in a while, I would catch him looking at me, often from over the pages of his little notebook as I sat in my usual spot next to his cot. It was actually rather frustrating for me. I felt like everyone else had taken a giant step forward, but Yoongi had shrunk one step back. Every time there was an opportunity for us to be alone together at the compound, he would find an excuse to leave. That was probably the most telling problem, considering Yoongi normally hated going outside whenever he didn’t have to. When Yoongi first volunteered to accompany Hobie on his rounds, everyone in the room did a double take. But I had a plan.

“You have to go to the MedLab again today?” Taehyung whined on my behalf as he, Hobie, and I walked along the dirt road. We had made it a habit for the three of us to walk together towards the depot before the branch to the MedLab.

I nodded as I walked between them, “Apparently something wasn’t working yesterday, so they wanted me to come back today,” I lied. My MedLab days were just as unpleasant as ever, and it was made even more difficult by the fact that I had to pretend Jimin was still some random medical apprentice. It was harder than I had expected. Regardless, that day was not actually another MedLab day, but I needed an excuse to leave the compound, leaving Yoongi there alone. The three of us walked along until the fork in the path showed up. Taehyung and Hobie waved me farewell as I branched off towards the MedLab. As soon as I was out of vision, I doubled back, quickly jogging to the compound.

When I reached the door, I shoved it open, causing a shrill grinding noise to echo into the room. Yoongi, who had been laying on his front while writing in his book, flinched visibly at the noise. “What the ?” he groaned as he turned to peer over his shoulder. When our eyes met, his dark hair wasn’t enough to conceal his furrowed brow. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the MedLab?” he asked me, his voice low and flat.

I slammed the door shut behind me, sending another cringe through Yoongi’s body. “I lied,” I said simply, making my way over to my usual spot.

“Why?” he answered quickly and curtly, looking down at me from his spot on the cot, his eyes narrowed slightly.

I kept my smile, determined not to let whatever was bothering him get me down. “Because if I hadn’t, you would have found some dumb reason to leave,” I pointed out casually, “All this going outside, and you’ll be as tan as Hobie in no time.” Yoongi simply glanced down at his bare forearm, still as pasty white as ever. He wasn’t having any of my joking around, it seemed. When he went back to writing in his notebook as if I weren’t even there, I was at a total loss. In my head, this had all played out so differently. I would come in, joke around, I’d get him to smile and he’d tell me what’s wrong, and we’d talk it out and everything would be okay again. My picture of myself in my brain was so confident and sure, but as I sat there by his side, I suddenly felt very small and incredibly shy. “Yoongi,” I called out, my hushed voice cracking involuntarily as I gripped the side of his cot frame.

Startled, Yoongi met my eyes again. He held my gaze for a long quiet moment before he finally caved, sighing quietly. With a dull thud he snapped his notebook shut, “Don’t look at me like that,” he mumbled, his voice already defeated, “You make this difficult when you look at me like that,” he continued to grumble under his breath as he shifted to lay on his side, head propped up on his hand, sending his unruly black hair into his eyes. As he used his free hand to fix it, I tried to figure out exactly what he meant. I had no idea what he meant by ‘making this difficult,’ but now was not the time to ask. I was determined not to get derailed from my mission. Once he had managed to subdue his hair, he caught my gaze again, downturned eyes searching my face, “So what’s wrong, Zoey?” he asked, his voice rather businesslike for my taste.

“What’s wrong?” I repeated back to him, my forehead wrinkling in confusion. He knew very well what was wrong. At least he was looking me in the eye, a positive step. “Are you going to pretend that you haven’t been blatantly avoiding me?”

His mouth pulled downward into a little frown as he held my gaze steadily, but then looked away, suddenly very interested in the stitching on his bed. “I figured you’d be busy enough with everyone else now,” he spoke simply and quietly, as if he weren’t quite convinced of his own logic.

I frowned, trying to understand him implications. “Do you really dislike me, Yoongi?” I asked, serious. From what he said, it sounded like he was relieved that the rest of the guys were so talkative and optimistic so that I might be compelled to stick with them.

“No!” he answered quickly, his frown deepening, “I just meant now’s your chance to get to know Jin, Taehyung, and Jungkook now that they’re all speaking and happy,” he tried to explain, but his face was slightly contorted, as if he was having a hard time properly expressing himself.

“What, so everyone else is happy now, so you have to be mopey to compensate?” I challenged, shifting to rest my chin on the edge of his cot, looking up at him through my lashes.

Finally, a little chuckle escaped from Yoongi, a little genuine smile starting on his face, “Something like that,” he chided. “But seriously,” he started again, quickly flicking his eyes to mine. “Jungkook seems rather fond of you these days,” his voice faded some, as if the words were difficult for him to say. “Even Namjoon mentioned it.”

Blindsided by his subject change, I blinked blankly at him. “I guess,” I mused, “He’s happy I found Jimin, and I think he’s grateful I helped with the Jin situation.” I thought back to my conversation with Namjoon. If Jungkook hadn’t been so aggressive when we first met, I might have taken an interest in him. And it was true, Jungkook was certainly less angry now, but part of my heart will always remember him as that rough and brutal young man who so carelessly stole my innocence. In my mind I knew it wasn’t his fault, that he was suffering just like I was, but getting past that emotionally would be incredibly difficult. And even more than that, I was surprised Namjoon shared that conversation with Yoongi. “First Hobie, then Namjoon, now you,” I laughed slightly as I spoke, “I think we have more important things to worry about than my love life, Yoongi,” I finally spoke again, surprised to notice that Yoongi had been watching me carefully, though a little smile started creeping across his face. I offered him a little half-smile in return, “Like getting out of here, for one.”

“Why?” he asked with a little smirk, “have some ideas already?”

“I’ll find a way,” I asserted.

“You do that, America.” The return of my nickname brought a wider smile to my face, and I saw him fighting to hold his back. "Look,” he started again, that little smile fading, “I'm sorry for... staring at you," he finally admitted as he visibly struggled to maintain eye contact with me.

I stared at him for a brief moment, "Staring at me?" I asked for clarification, having no idea what exactly he was apologizing for.

He sighed in frustration, finally looking away again, "When you and Namjoon came home the other day."

"Oh," I said dumbly, remembering how I had waltzed back into the compound with my white linen shirt soaked to the point of transparence. What that what this was all about? “But,” something didn't add up, “my first night here, you picked me up without pants on and put me in a bathtub," I reminded him. I didn't see why it was such a big deal now.

Visibly flustered, Yoongi rubbed his eyes as he sighed, "That was differen