We had a little get together with our friends when Jimin came back from Germany. As promised, he brought me some delicious chocolate. He also brought back a new hairstyle; bleached blonde. I ing loved it and couldn’t stop playing with his hair.

Ji Eun was the first to arrive. Haru jumped on her as she walked through the door and wouldn’t stop chattering.

“Aunt Ji Eun! You hair is so pretty! In a braid!” She patted it reverently. “Can you braid my hair, too?”

“What do you say?” Jimin prompted.

“Please?”

“You don’t have to.” I smiled at her. “It’s okay.”

“No, no!” Haru whined. “I wan’ my hair braided.”

“I’d love to do it.” Ji Eun sat down on the couch and pulled Haru into her lap. “Come here, gorgeous. Let’s braid these beautiful curls.”

“I wanna Elsa braid.” Haru said happily.

“Sure thing, baby girl.” Ji Eun pulled Haru’s curls back.

Taehyung showed up next with a plate of homemade brownies.

“Hey.” He smiled sweetly at me. “Good to see you, sunshine.”

“TaeTae!” I pulled him in for a hug.

“Hey, Tae.” Jimin came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Thanks for coming.”

“Yeah, of course.” Taehyung handed the brownies to Jimin and then went to sit next to Ji Eun on the couch.

Part of me wanted to tell Ji Eun that Namjoon had called her kind of ty. Of course Jimin had told me that, duh, she was my best friend. I just felt like, I don’t know, Taehyung was obviously still in love with her. Maybe they could get back together.

“How have you been?” Taehyung asked Ji Eun quietly. She smiled at him, then turned her attention back to Haru’s braid.

“Good. Yeah, work’s good. Been enjoying working with this new author.”

“Good for you.” Taehyung smiled. “So, ah, that reminds me. I still have a few of your books at my place. I can give them to Namjoon, if you want.”

“Better not.” She grimaced. “He’s so clumsy, I’m afraid he’ll damage the bindings on them or something. How about next time I’m over, you can give them to me?”

“Sure.” He leaned back against the couch and watched her braid Haru’s hair with an affectionate smile on his face. “You know, you’re cute with Haru. Such a good aunt.”

She made another face. “Yeah, probably I’ll only ever be an aunt.”

“Oh? I thought you and Joon had talked about having kids.”

“Yeah, he said he wanted to wait another five years.” Ji Eun tied Haru’s hair with a cute little Hello Kitty scrunchie, then kissed the top of her head and sent her on her way.

“Five years?” Taehyung echoed disbelievingly.

“Yeah, right? I’ll be thirty-five having my first kid. I told him I definitely didn’t want that and we had a little fight.”

“When do you wanna have kids?” He asked, cocking his head at her.

“Say…thirty-two at the latest. I wanna be married for at least a year.”

“Why does he wanna wait five years?”

Ji Eun paused. “He said he’ll be done with his idol career by then.”

Taehyung whistled. “He said that?”

“Yup.” She nodded. “Who knows if it’ll really happen?”

Jimin joined the conversation. “Yeah, I think he’ll be done. We’ll be in our thirties by then, you know?”

“Yeah, but you’re trying to start a solo career. Five years is nothing.” Taehyung pointed out.

“Yeah...” He glanced at me. I smiled encouragingly at him. “That’s very true. Well, we’ll just have to see if my first album is well received.”

“Yeah, Yoongi tells me you’re almost ready!” Taehyung grinned at him. “Says this is some of your best singing yet.”

Jimin smiled shyly. “Hopefully.”

I impulsively kissed his cheek. “I’m sure it’s wonderful.”

Jungkook, the only member with a key to our home, let himself in.

“Hey!” He grinned at us all. Haru rushed over to him and wrapped herself around his legs.

“Kookie!” Jimin beamed. “Thanks for coming! Wanna meet my son?”

“Yeah, I do!” Jungkook scooped Haru up into his arms and tickled under her chin. “What do you think, muffin? Can I meet your baby brother?”

Haru scowled. “He’s jus’ a baby. He’s not nice and he cries a lot.” She sighed in a long-suffering kind of way.

“Well, I bet he’s cute. Cause you have the prettiest mama.” He kissed her nose and she burst out giggling.

Gemma arrived next. She came with a present wrapped in pink and white striped paper.

“This is for you.” She said a little breathlessly, glancing over at the couch where Taehyung sat. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” I smiled warmly at her. “Jimin’s in the baby’s room if you’d like to say hi. To him and Sun Jae.”

“Yeah, thanks.” She looked behind her at the door. “Young Jae’s just parking the car. He should be in soon.”

“Young Jae came?” I asked in surprise. Gemma gave me a strange look.

“You didn’t know?”

“Know what?” I frowned.

“He and Jimin made up.” Gemma grinned. “Yeah, best friends again. Or something. At least not mortal enemies.”

“Oh.”

She left me standing there with the present in my hands. I only looked up when a gentle knock at the door roused me back to attention.

“Jin.” I said softly.

“Hello.” He offered me a small smile. “How are you?”

“I’m good.” I replied. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Jimin invited me.” Jin stepped into the apartment and bent down to kiss my cheek. “Congratulations, sweetheart.”

“Thank you.”

I was going to have to have a chat with my husband about guest lists and sharing them with me. Seemed like kind of vital information to me.

Jimin came out of Sun Jae’s bedroom with both children in his arms, a feat I didn’t think he was capable of. Nor did I feel very comfortable with it.

“Jimin!” I cried exasperatedly, rushing forward to take Sun Jae from him. “You can’t carry a newborn like that!”

He grinned at me. “He’s fine, baby. Relax.”

“I’m not gonna relax when you could drop our son on the floor. His soft spot hasn’t even gone away yet.” I hissed.

Jungkook laughed from behind Jimin. “Don’t make Mama Bear mad, Jimin. She’ll eat you.”

“Hey, hey, hey. These are my cubs, too.” Jimin kissed Haru’s cheek. “I wouldn’t put their lives in danger.”

Haru reached out for Jin, who happily accepted her into his arms.

“Where’s Anjali?” I asked, then blushed. Was it acceptable to ask him questions about his love life?

“She’s in India.” He smiled kindly at me. “Visiting some family. Working. She’ll be back in a month or so.”

I nodded, opening my mouth to make some sort of innocuous comment when a muscular pair of arms engulfed me in a tight hug.

“How’s my favorite girl?” Young Jae’s voice asked in my ear. “You look amazing. Are you sure you had a kid?”

“Young Jae!” I cried happily, spinning around to hug him. “So good to see you!”

He squeezed me tightly back, turning his head to leave a sloppy kiss on my cheek. Jimin laughed in the background; I was happily surprised to hear a laugh instead of a low growl or something.

An hour later everyone had arrived. I plopped myself down on the floor and surveyed everyone with satisfaction. Young Jae and Namjoon were conversing animatedly on the couch with Haru squished in between them. Taehyung, Hoseok, and Jimin were bunched together on the window seat, giggling animatedly. Taehyung held Yukon in his lap and continually petted him. Occasionally, Hoseok would lift a hand to Yukon’s soft fur, but Taehyung would smack it away.

Jungkook leaned back in the rocking chair, a snoozing Sun Jae tucked safely against his chest. Jungkook hesitantly pressed a kiss to the top of Sun Jae’s small, fuzzy head and I melted inside. I took a sneaky picture of the two of them and uploaded it to my Instagram, with the caption “Uncle Kookie is the best pillow.”

Gemma and Ji Eun sat stiffly next to each other on the couch while their (boy)friends were engaged in conversation. At least, Ji Eun had a boyfriend. I wasn’t sure what Young Jae and Gemma were to each other. He kept looking at her like he wanted to eat her up, so maybe there was something there.

Yoongi had tucked himself away in a corner with my book, the one I’d written. He’d found out at this party that I had mostly written it about Jimin. His eyes had lit up, so I’d handed him a copy and he immediately sat down and starting reading it.

And Jin, sweet Jin, sat cross-legged on the floor next to me, a cup of tea in his hand.

“You didn’t have to come, you know.” I took a sip from my own teacup.

Jin set his chin in his hand and hummed thoughtfully. “I thought about not coming. I really did.”

“Why’d you come?”

Jin turned to me, then slowly tucked a loose curl behind my ear. I glanced at Jimin out of the corner of my eye, but he was arguing passionately with Yoongi about something. Jimin’s ears were bright red and Yoongi had the smuggest little smirk on his face. I’d probably embarrassed Jimin with my poetic declarations of love. Or something.

I looked back at Jin, whose fingers still lingered on my hair.

“I wanted to see you.” He murmured.

I hastily took a sip of my tea to hide the sudden flush rising to my cheeks.

“Don’t feel burdened.” Jin drew his hand away and clasped his teacup, staring down into it like it held the cure for his unrequited love. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for your feelings, Seokjin.” I said gently. I felt a heavy pair of eyes on me and looked up to see Namjoon staring at me, his eyebrows furrowed. Young Jae paused in his conversation, seemingly startled by Namjoon’s sudden glare, and slowly turned his gaze in my direction. My cheeks reddened further and I snuck a peek at Jin to see him fumbling with his teacup, the back of his neck a deep crimson.

Young Jae’s eyes darted between us and his eyebrows rose in sudden comprehension. I glanced around at the company to see if anyone else had noticed the little interaction between us and was met with four pairs of eyes. Ji Eun, Taehyung, Hoseok, and Gemma all stared back at me, their expressions varying from sympathetic to outraged disbelief. God, everyone knew. How had I missed it?

Gemma’s was the look of outraged disbelief. I immediately bent my head down in shame. She probably thought I was having an affair; she had no idea of the situation between me and Jin. She opened to speak to me, but Taehyung scrambled out of his seat, blurting out something I felt sure he didn’t mean.

“Gemma, I’d love to take a walk with you. This neighborhood is really unique and I’m sure you’d love it. Would you like to come with me?”

He held out a hand to her. Gemma stared up at him, clearly taken aback and a little bit flustered. She stammered out a positive reply and took his hand. The pair left and I looked back at the couch to see Ji Eun’s and Young Jae’s eyes following them.

“Babe!” Jimin barked from the window seat. I immediately swiveled my gaze towards him, a guilty expression on my face. . I did not need Jimin misunderstanding anything right now.

“Yeah?” I asked a little shakily.

Jimin took no heed of my disconcerted attitude and asked me an agitated question.

“Yoongi says!” He started, then broke off in anger as Yoongi chuckled in the corner. “Yoongi says that I have to pay you copyright fees because I used a couple of your verses in my songs!”

I stared at him in surprise. “You did?”

“Yeah!” Jimin threw a cushion at Yoongi, who caught it with a laugh. “I don’t have to, right?”

“You do, actually.” I matter-of-factly set my teacup down on the floor. “And you have to cite your sources in your cute little album booklet. Are you gonna have like, a y photoshoot? You gonna keep your blonde hair for your solo debut? What’s the concept for it?”

Jimin colored. “We-we haven’t decided yet.” He stammered self-consciously.

“You’re lying.” I said smoothly. “You’re a terrible liar about this kind of thing. What’s your concept?”

“y dad.” Yoongi said in a low, condescending voice. “Doesn’t that just suit our Jimin? y dad.”

“Okay, maybe if we’re only going for the ‘Daddy’ concept.” Ji Eun countered. Jimin turned bright red and stared down at his hands. Young Jae and Namjoon burst out laughing, and Haru joined in, even though she clearly didn’t get the joke.

“Oh my god.” Jungkook said in soft amazement. “You’re going for the ‘Daddy’ concept.”

“I do not approve.” I said sternly. “You can’t use my work for that sort of thing.”

“Baby…” Jimin whined. Yoongi threw the cushion back at him, smacking him in the face. He cursed and threw it on Hoseok’s lap, clearly out of patience.

“No, Jimin. You’re a daddy, not a daddy.”

“What would you even wear for that?” Hoseok giggled. “Like…god, I don’t even know.”

“He’s gonna be shirtless for some of the photoshoot.” Yoongi smiled as Jimin groaned in embarrassment. “You know how Taeyang looked in the Loser mv? Jimin’s going for that concept. Supreme boxers slinging low on his hips and everything.”

“Oh.” I said in an entirely different voice. Jimin looked up at me with a sudden spark in his eye. He knew that voice a little too well.

“And his hair is gonna be blonde.” Yoongi continued. “But it’s gonna be pushed back from his forehead, instead of this floppy 90s boy band mess he’s got going on now.”

“I like this haircut.” Jimin said defensively, running his fingers through his hair. Hoseok tugged on a couple of strands, and Jimin smacked his hand away.

“It’ll be a bit of a darker blonde, I think.” Yoongi said thoughtfully. “And we’re kind of throwing back to the Most Beautiful Moment in Life concept. You know what I’m talking about? Jimin’s shirtless MAMA performance?”

“Holy !” Ji Eun squealed. “I loved that performance! I watched it on repeat for like, a week, until your girlfriend over there threatened to tell Namjoon that I had a crush on you.”

Namjoon’s eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline. “What? You liked Jimin?”

“No, I just thought he was y.” She winked at Jimin, who shook his head at her.

“Ji Eun, you’re really…thanks for being my fan.” He stifled a laugh.

“Anyway,” Yoongi said pointedly, “he’s going to have that temporary tattoo again. Kind of like symbolism. He thought his youth was the most beautiful moment in life, but instead, being a husband and father is more beautiful to him.”

A slight pause followed this announcement.

“That’s definitely more of a dad concept and not a daddy concept.” Jungkook said flatly. Hoseok giggled at the expression on Jimin’s face.

“He’s right, you know.” I grinned at Jimin. He stuck his tongue out at me.

“We sampled Trey Songz’ Slow Motion for a song.” Yoongi added. “I think that’s kind of ‘daddy.’”

My jaw dropped to the floor as I stared at Jimin, who was busy upbraiding Yoongi. I ing loved that song and Jimin knew it. He would whistle it to get me in the mood sometimes. And it worked; I’d start drooling immediately. Like a Pavlovian dog.

“That was supposed to be a surprise!” Jimin hissed. “God, Yoongi! You just ruined it.”

“I just saved your life.” He shot back. “Your concept is more dad than daddy and everyone here knows it.”

Jin laughed beside me. “Jimin, I think ‘daddy’ is out of your range of expertise. You’re much too much of a fluff to be anything but a…well, a fluff.”

Jimin looked offended beyond belief.

“That’s not true.” Ji Eun jumped to his defense. “Jimin is like, super y on stage. He’s like the iest of all of you. Probably tying with Jungkook.”

Jungkook looked up from Sun Jae, startled. Ji Eun beamed at him and he ducked his head back down, clearly discomfited.

Namjoon rolled his eyes as Ji Eun continued.

“Yeah, he does those body rolls all the time. And when he gets all sweaty and pushes his hair back, like, damn.”

Jimin pushed his hair back and his lips, looking pretty pleased with himself. Ji Eun pointed excitedly at him.

“Yes! And the lips! Like, , boy, you don’t have a lot of moves, but the ones you have are like perfection.”

“Ji Eun, stop hitting on my husband.” I said good-naturedly. “I know you’re a true fan and all, but seriously. His moves are for me and me only.”

“Nah, they’re not.” Jungkook informed me, kissing my sleeping son’s head. “They’re for his fans.”

I looked pointedly at Jimin. He shrugged.

“Kookie’s right. My moves are for my fans. You’re, like, over me already. I pull out all the stops for people who actually appreciate me.”

Everyone laughed, but I felt a prick of worry and shame. Did Jimin really mean that? Was this a passive-aggressive way of telling me?

“Are you guys hungry?” I asked suddenly. “There’s a pizza place down the street. Who wants pizza?”

“You guys hosted a party and didn’t prepare food?” Namjoon asked in disbelief.

“There are lots of appetizers here, Namjoon.” I said hotly. “You’ve been munching on your macaroni salad without any complaints.”

“I want pizza.” Young Jae smiled at me. “I’ll come with you to get it, too.”

I looked at Jimin to see how he felt about this, but Haru had made her way over to his lap and the two were busy rubbing their noses together and giggling.

The walk to the pizza place felt longer than usual in the stifling heat. Young Jae placed a hand on the small of my back and led me along. I only let Jimin do that, but his little jab before had left me feeling shaken and preoccupied. What if he was mad at me? Or felt neglected?

“Hey, hon, can I ask you a question?” Young Jae interrupted my thoughts.

“Huh?” I blinked at him.

“Are you having an affair with that blonde guy?”

“Jin.” I said. “He’s Jin.”

“Ah.” Young Jae nodded and heaved a sigh. “Does everyone but Jimin know? That’s ed up, sweetheart. I know you and Jimin have been through some , but an affair?”

“I’m not having an affair.” I amended quickly. “God, no. Jin’s in love with me. Jimin knows, and we’re fine.”

“You’re fine?” Young Jae raised his eyebrows disbelievingly.

“We’re fine, now.” I paused. “We weren’t for a while.”

“Why not?”

“Jimin…thought maybe I was in love with Jin.” I trailed off into a mumble.

Young Jae said nothing and suddenly stopped.

“I’m not in love with Jin. I know what it looks like, but he’s just a close friend.” I looked up into his face in an effort to express my sincerity.

He ignored me and stared instead into a small little alley covered with mosaics. I peered past him to try and get a glimpse of what had caught his attention.

A girl was pressed up against the brick wall of the alley; a man hovered over her. As we watched, he leaned down to kiss her. She curled her fingers in his hair as his hand s up the back of her dress.

“Gem -” Young Jae broke off suddenly, his voice strangled.

My heart thudded against my chest in disappointment as I realized the truth. Taehyung and Gemma? But Taehyung couldn’t be with Gemma, he didn’t love her.

Young Jae abruptly turned away. I touched his arm, but he just took my hand and pulled me along the sidewalk.

He didn’t talk the whole way home, just held the pizzas with a stoic expression on his face. When we passed by the alleyway, I took a peek, but it was deserted.

Sure enough, Gemma and Taehyung were at the apartment when we made it back. Taehyung had sat himself down next to Ji Eun. Namjoon had joined Jimin and Hoseok at the window seat. Gemma sat on the opposite side of Ji Eun and was conversing excitedly with Taehyung. Ji Eun rested in between them with her arms crossed, looking murderous.

“Ji!” I called. “Come help me with these pizzas!”

She rudely pushed aside Gemma and Taehyung and sprang up from the couch. Taehyung scooched closer to Gemma, closing the distance between them until their thighs were pressed up against each other.

Young Jae threw the pizzas unceremoniously down onto the table. My plates clattered as Ji Eun wrested them from their shelves and plunked them down on the counter.

“Alright, well, you guys are moody.” I muttered.

They both just looked at me.

“Who even is that guy?” Young Jae asked sullenly, popping open a pizza box. “He’s skinny and his hair has a weird part.”

“He’s actually gorgeous.” Ji Eun snapped. “Unlike Gemma the homewrecker.”

“Gemma is not a homewrecker!” He cried.

“Can we not fight in my kitchen?” I interrupted. “I’d really just like to eat some pizza. Also, everyone can probably hear you, we have an open kitchen.”

“But why is she getting back together with that twerp! That ing pretty boy?” Young Jae tugged angrily on his piece of pizza. “He broke her heart.”

“Okay, she was the one who moved to France and broke up with him.” Ji Eun emphasized the last part with a sassy finger pointed at Young Jae.

“Why the hell do you care? Are you ing him?” He asked crassly.

She blushed and tugged on her braid.

“Oh, , seriously Ji Eun?” I asked in disappointment. “I thought we were done with this.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Like you’re one to talk! Jin confessed his love to you and you’re drinking tea with him like you’re both British or something. Well, guess what, sunshine? We’re not British! You can’t calmly sip tea with someone and suppress all your feelings while your husband is sitting right there!”

“Will you shut up?” I hissed.

“She’s right, though. You can’t pal it up with the beautiful blonde man when he’s so obviously in love with you.” Young Jae took another bite of his pizza. “You guys had a moment. You’re lucky Jimin didn’t see your heart fluttering for another man.”

“My heart was not fluttering for another man!” I whisper-shrieked. The last thing I needed was for Jimin to overhear this conversation.

Ji Eun looked pityingly at me. “I know how you feel. It’s always the forbidden one you want the most, right?”

“Don’t even.” I rolled my eyes at her. “Are you really sleeping with Tae?”

She tugged on her braid again and avoided my eyes. “I’m not.”

“Liar.” Young Jae clucked.

“I’m not!” She insisted. “I’m not sleeping with anybody right now, okay?”

I stared at her. “You and Joon…?” I trailed off.

Ji Eun shook her head miserably. “We’re not.”

“But it’s been months!”

“I know.” She slumped down into a chair and buried her face in her arms. “I don’t think he loves me anymore.”

“What’s got my princess down?” Namjoon strolled into the kitchen and placed a comforting hand on Ji Eun’s back.

“’M hungry.” She mumbled.

“There’s pizza in front of you.” He said, nonplussed. “Eat some.”

Young Jae wordlessly handed her a piece. She took a bite, then mustered up a smile for Namjoon.

Jungkook wandered into the kitchen, looking a little worse for wear.

“What’s the matter with you?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Sun Jae…” He broke off into a yawn. “Sun Jae and I took a nap. I’m recovering.”

“Oh, is he still sleeping?”

Jungkook nodded, reaching for a slice of pizza. “Yeah, I put him in his little crib thingy in your bedroom. Nice , by the way. You might want to clean your room when you have company coming.” He winked at me.

I smacked him on the arm. Young Jae laughed, but quickly sobered when Gemma and Taehyung walked into the room.

To be honest, I hadn’t seen Taehyung smile like that in a long time.

Gemma had Haru by the hand and the three of them were endeavoring to get her one slice of pizza. They looked like a little cute little family.

“Do you want a juice box, Haru?” Taehyung asked kindly, squatting down to her level.

“Yes, please.” She dimpled at him.

“Watch out, baby, they’re going to steal our daughter away.” Jimin said in my ear. He s an arm around my waist and pulled me close.

Jin walked in as Jimin kissed my ear. I caught his eye, but he looked away and busied himself with the pizza.

“Are you hungry?” Jimin asked. He stood behind me with his hands on my waist. “Do you want pizza or do you want me to cook you something?”

“I can eat pizza.” I said softly. I nudged him when he tried to kiss my neck.

“Okay.” He settled for kissing my cheek.

Jimin got us both pizza, then led me back to the living room. He got cozy with me on the window seat, giving me soft little touches here and there while I tried to eat my pizza. I kept catching Jin staring at us and it made me feel uncomfortable. Guilty, even.

I didn’t want to feel guilty about being in love with Jimin.

But I didn’t want to hurt Jin, either.

I missed the days before all our friends had started dating each other. All the drama was starting to wear on my nerves. Couldn’t people just settle on one partner? Did they all have to be in love with each other? Weren’t there more people in the world than just the ones in this room?

Haru, at least, had the unrivaled love of everyone in the room. She perched on Hoseok’s lap and took bites of his pizza, while Jungkook laughed and wiped her face with a napkin whenever she slopped sauce or cheese on her face.

“Are you having fun?” Jimin asked me. He leaned back and munched on his pizza.

“Eh…” I shrugged. “Our friends are a lot of drama.”

“They are, right? It’s annoying.” He huffed.

“Who’s your favorite?” I whispered confidentially.

“I love everyone.” Jimin said staunchly. “And you know it.”

“Yeah, you really do. I can’t even argue with that.”

“I don’t play favorites.” He squinched his nose at me.

“I’m your favorite.”

“Mm-mm.” Jimin disagreed, mouth full of pizza. “Haru’s my favorite.”

“Nah.” I shook my head. “That’s a lie. I’m your favorite.”

“Nah, Haru. Haru and Sun Jae are tied for first place in my heart.” He crossed his fingers together to show me how tight they all were.

“Okay, that’s just a lie and it’s a mean one.” I leaned over and stole a bite of his pizza.

“Babe! You have a whole slice on your plate! Why you gotta take my pizza like you don’t have any yourself?”

“I’m gonna eat all your damn pizza until you say that I’m your favorite.” I threatened. Jimin bopped my nose with the tip of his finger.

“Kookie’s my favorite.”

I shot Jungkook a glare. He gave me a quizzical, somewhat hurt look.

“Love you, Kook!” Jimin called across the room.

Jungkook made a face and Haru giggled. The two commenced making face at each other until Haru spit all of her chewed up pizza into Jungkook’s lap. I laughed and Jimin pinched me.

“Just tell me I’m your favorite.” I whined as I nuzzled my nose against his chubby cheek. “Tell me you love me.”

“I love you.” Jimin said sincerely. “Am I your favorite?”

He looked at me with his clear, earnest brown eyes. I leaned closer until our foreheads touched.

“You’re my favorite.” I whispered so no one would hear.

Jimin placed his hand on the back of my neck, drawing me in for a kiss. “Good. You’re my favorite, too.”

“Get a room!” Yoongi heckled, laughing. The others joined in with a chorus of boos.

Jimin kissed me deeper and lifted his hand to give them the finger. I laughed and pulled him closer by his shirt collar, tugging him down for several more kisses.

Everyone left around the same time. The night was still young for them, but as a mother of a newborn, I needed to sleep early.

Namjoon pulled me aside while everyone shuffled around, getting ready to leave. He spoke to me in low tones, so even though Jimin kept casting us curious glances, he couldn’t hear what we were talking about.

“I need you to tell me the truth.” Namjoon muttered urgently. “Are you in love with Jin?”

“Why is everyone asking me this?!” I whispered exasperatedly. “Do I look like I’m in love with Jin?”

“Yes.” He answered my sarcastic question seriously. “You do.”

I stared at him wordlessly.

“You have to know.” Namjoon pressed my hand in compassion. “You have to know what this is doing to him. You’re giving him false hope.”

“Namjoon, I don’t -” I swallowed a sudden, choking sob. “I don’t love Jin.”

He murmured something sympathetically, then slipped away as Jimin approached.

“Hey.” Jimin cupped my cheek in concern. “You okay? You look like you’re about to cry.”

I threw my arms around him in a crushing hug. He made a noise of surprise, then wrapped his arms around me.

“What did he say to you?” Jimin asked in a low voice. “You can tell me.”

“It’s not important.” I mumbled into his shoulder.

He paused. I worried he would ask me again, but he kissed my hair, then released me.

Someone cleared their throat behind Jimin. I looked over to see Jin loitering in the doorway, a small package in his hand.

“This is…uh, this is for Sun Jae.” He said with a rueful smile. “Sorry, I forgot it in my car. Just, um, ran back to get it.”

He handed it to Jimin, then glanced at me.

“Congratulations.” He said softly, almost tenderly, then left.

Jimin shut the door behind him, then turned to me with the package in his hands.

“Should we open it?” He toyed with the card. “Oh. It’s got your name on it.”

I took it from him. Jimin looked at me meaningfully.

Both of us remembered the last “card” I had received from Jin.

Without a word, I tore open the envelope and read the card quietly to myself.

In neat pink handwriting, the words “I’m sorry” were printed on the card.

Just those two small words.

I handed it to Jimin. He read it and raised his eyebrows.

“Open the present.” I prompted.

He slid his forefinger underneath the tape and popped open the paper. Inside was a small white box. Jimin lifted the lid and revealed a book. I recognized it at once as a photo album. Jin knew I loved them and had often made fun of me for it.

We sat down on the couch and flicked through the pictures. There were ones from years ago of the two of us when we’d first dated. Ones I’d never seen before.

Jimin and I on his twenty-second birthday, me in his lap clapping while he blew out the candles, chubby cheeks puffed full with air. He looked like an adorable hamster.

Casual ones of us in our first apartment, drinking beer. I laughed at one that featured me kissing Yoongi on the cheek during Spin the Bottle; Jimin sat in the background, pouting with his arms crossed.

There were ones of our wedding. Our first dance. Jimin standing nervously up on the stage before the processional started. Me shoving cake into his face at the reception while Hoseok laughed behind us.

And then there were the pictures of Haru. God, so many gorgeous pictures of Haru. As a newborn in the hospital, in her little blanket and white hat. Jimin holding her with the softest look in his eyes. Jimin and I squished onto the tiny bed with her in my arms, just staring at her. We’d held Sun Jae like that, too, I realized. But Jin wasn’t there to take a picture of it.

“.” Jimin whispered, wiping at his eyes.

I turned the page to pictures of Haru and Jimin laying on the floor together, him laughing as she pinched his nose with her tiny fist. There was one of her walking around in just a diaper, staring into the camera with a quizzical look.

Her first birthday, a hunk of cake in her fist and the rest of it smeared on her face.

Her first time at the zoo; Jimin held her in his arms as she reached her hand out to pet the giraffe’s nose.

There was a candid one of me and Haru curled up on my bed, fast asleep and holding hands. She was just a little thing. I remembered that Jimin had been practicing late at the studio that night and I’d asked Jin if he wanted to come and hang out.

I’d woken up when he covered me with a blanket and whispered his goodbyes.

The last picture was of the three of us. It was at Jin’s apartment. He’d invited us over for dinner one night to celebrate my pregnancy. Haru wore the tiara he’d given her for her third birthday. I remember getting poked in the cheek with it while we tried to take a picture.

We were all seated on one side of the table, Haru squished between us with a huge, proud smile on her face. Jimin looked down indulgently at her, and I stared straight at the camera, smiling with my dimples.

A little pink Post-It was stuck underneath it.

“Yoongi took a lot of these pictures, but I took some, too. I meant to give this to you guys as your anniversary present, but then I thought Sun Jae might enjoy seeing it when he gets older. Congratulations on your newest addition! I’m sure he’ll be as amazing as Haru has always been.”

I shut the album and placed it on the coffee table.

Jimin and I sat on the couch in silence for a long while.

“He really is our family, isn’t he?” Jimin said finally. His voice was hoarse and I knew he’d been trying not to cry.

“Yeah.” I whispered, curling into his side. “He is.”

“I don’t wanna excommunicate him from us.”

I nodded against his chest. “Jimin?”

“Hmm?”

“Why’d you tell Jin to confess?”

I felt him swallow. He took a deep breath before answering.

“I want Jin to have a family of his own one day.” Jimin said softly. “I want him to fall in love with someone. I wanna take pictures of that. Go to his wedding. Be the godfather to his firstborn. I want him to know what it’s like to be in love and be happy about it.”

I hummed, voice catching in my throat as tears plopped onto Jimin’s shirt.

“I want to give Jin a photo album like this one day.” Jimin pulled me into his lap and sought refuge in my embrace. “I want him to be happy, but being in love with you is killing him inside.”

“Yeah, but now he can’t be our family anymore and that’s even worse. He’s not gonna get over me if he keeps seeing me and being all sad and wistful. I don’t wanna hurt him, Jimin. But I feel like I’m hurting him when I see him and hurting him when I’m keeping him away.”

“He’s our friend, baby.” Jimin kissed my forehead. “He’ll forgive us.”