It’s seven p.m., and Yerin sits alone. After a good hour of waiting at the bar for Jungkook, she’s a mix of irritated and worried. That kid was late last night, now he’s late again. They’d both gone home and agreed to meet again at the bar to make up for the mess that was Bambam interrupting them yesterday. Well, Yerin insisted that Jungkook comes again. He seemed hesitant.

“Hesitant?” Yerin relays her thoughts to nobody in particular out loud. “He’s totally ditching me.”

“What’s up?” Namjoon overheads. Yerin turns to him.

Namjoon’s here today to check out the bar. Jungkook’s regular visits and Yerin’s celebrity presence here made him curious. Since it’s the bar’s rush hour (Saturday, after all), the bartender mistook him for a waiter. Now Namjoon’s clumsily waiting tables. It was a coincidence that Yerin made plans here tonight, too, so he passes by her here and there.

“Ah, I spoke out loud?” she asks. When Namjoon nods, Yerin shakes her head. “It’s nothing, Oppa. Jungkook’s not here yet.”

“Did you make plans with him tonight?”

Yerin gives her friend a suspicious look. If Namjoon was going to come here, wouldn’t Jungkook mention that to him? “Did Jungkook… not tell you?” she treads on her words carefully.

The taller of the two doesn’t seem as suspicious. He shakes his head casually. “Nope. In fact, I asked Jungkook if I should drive him anywhere and he just said that he’s staying in tonight.”

“What?” Yerin stands immediately.

Speak of the devil, the girl’s phone begins to ring. Ah, just in time, Yerin thinks when she sees Jungkook’s name on her screen. Namjoon clenches his teeth with a Yikes of a facial expression, then walks to the back of the counter. Yerin picks up the phone, not sure whether to take a mad or a worried tone. Lucky for her, Jungkook starts the talking himself.

“Miss me?” Kook asks. This brat.

“No ‘hello’ or anything? We were supposed to meet, you know,” Yerin bites her tongue with her back teeth, trying to hold back from cursing at him.

“I know. We can still meet. Just come over.”

“Are you serious? After making me wait an hour? You’re a jackass,” she lets go of her tongue to swear at him.

She hears him laugh slightly on the other end. “Just tell me… how much did you drink?”

This kid doesn’t even seem sorry. Yerin stares at her glass, which she has yet to fill up with anything. She also looks at the other empty glass that was supposed to be Jungkook’s. “I didn’t drink yet. I was waiting for you.”

“Seriously?”

Yerin pauses when she sees the bartender and Namjoon staring at her. She turns back to her phone. “Yes, seriously.”

“Is it Jungkook?” Namjoon whispers over the counter, “What’s he saying?”

Yerin waves him off, but the bartender nods in agreement. “You know, Jungkook’s worried about how much she drinks. He must be late because he doesn’t like seeing her drink.”

Namjoon and the bartender begin discussing, as if they were analyzing something for English class. All Yerin overhears is the bartender say, “He’s comfortable with her. I think he likes her.”

Not taking any of this anymore, Yerin holds her phone down and calls to the loud staff. “Excuse me, noisy staff. I’ll ask you not to mistake comfort for love.”

“What now?” Jungkook chuckles at her sudden outburst.

“Please stop talking. I’m coming over.”

_____________________________

Bambam spent pretty much three hours wandering around. A good portion of the day was spent getting over his hangover at Chaeyoung’s. Bless her, honestly. He can’t be any more grateful for her to optimistically coming into a mess she had nothing to do with. It was because of that that he decided to leave her home early, so as to not cause her any more trouble.

As he was wandering around to cool his hangover some more, Bambam realizes little by little that his denial is fading. One thing’s for sure now:

Bambam likes Jimin.

Bambam likes Jimin, as harmless fans would gush. It’s the same thing Yugyeom suspected a while ago, too. Bambam has to come to terms with the disturbing thought of having fallen for his roommate. Why else would he be so bothered about Taehyung and her? He has no vendetta against Taehyung. In fact, there’s no vendetta at all. It just bothers him.

Bambam likes Jimin, of course that’s it. Why else would he feel a sting when he sees her phone buzz with Taehyung’s name lit on the screen? If so much as a buzz stings him, imagine the pain of an empty apartment. Imagine the pain of knowing