Yoongi loosened his tie as he flicked on the lights in his apartment. He had tried calling Alia on his way home, but she hadn’t picked up his call. He frowned, knowing that she wouldn’t be asleep already. He called her again, her phone ringing for ages before the voicemail service kicked in. He cut off the call, wanting to talk to her directly, not to her answering machine.

He carelessly threw his phone onto his couch as he completely removed his tie, falling down onto the couch beside his phone. He eyed the device beside him, glaring at it as if it was to blame for Alia not picking up his call. Her sudden change in behaviour was still playing heavily on his mind. It’s as if she was suddenly distancing herself from him and he didn’t know why. Plus, she had left without saying goodbye. Had he gone too far by wrapping his arm around her at the party? Had he made her feel uncomfortable? A sudden thought hit him. Was there someone there that she liked and she didn’t want him to see them like that in case they misunderstood the situation?

He clenched his jaw at the thought. That had to be it. There must have been someone there that she liked and she was worried about them being seen together. He pushed himself off of the couch and headed to the kitchen, pouring himself a drink and draining the glass in one go. He hissed as the strong liquid burned his throat. He didn’t know why the thought of Alia having someone she liked bothered him so much. “It’s not like we’re actually dating.” He mumbled to himself as he stripped off his shirt, letting the material fall to the ground as he made his way to the bathroom. “Who could it be?” he wondered aloud as he stepped into the shower, the names and faces of all the possible guys that Alia could like running through his head.

After his shower he noticed a notification on his phone. He picked it up, hoping that Alia had returned his call. He was disappointed to see a message from JaKyung instead of Alia. He sent a quickly reply back to the red haired girl before dropping his phone back onto its spot on the couch. When he had returned from the bathroom at the party, Alia was nowhere to be seen and JaKyung had been waiting for him with a drink in hand. He had been disappointed when she’d told him that Alia had gone home. It had quickly become apparent to him that JaKyung was interested in him. Part of him wondered if Alia had left so suddenly on purpose.

He ruffled his hair in frustration. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. “I don’t know why I’m even stressing out about this.” He muttered to himself as he made his way to his piano, gently running his fingers over the keys. “It must be because I don’t want to deal with my father setting up anymore blind dates.” He reasoned with himself, unknowingly coming to the exact same conclusion that Alia had come to.

Over the next few days, JaKyung kept in contact with Yoongi as much as she dared, not wanting to come across as desperate or annoying. Yoongi didn’t have any problems with the girl. They had technically known each other for several years, as they had both attended the same school, her being two years older than him so they had never been close.

Alia had messaged him the day after the party, apologising for her sudden departure. Her sudden change in behaviour was still playing on his mind, but thinking about it only made him frustrated, so he tried to push it to the back of his mind. He had requested a copy of the guest list for the party, scanning through all the names to try and figure out who Alia possibly liked, one name stuck out above the others. Jung Hoseok. He was a year younger than them, his father owning more than half of the entertainment companies in Asia. He knew that Alia and Hoseok were acquainted, both of their families being involved in the entertainment industry. He frowned down at the photo of the handsome man on his phone, instantly disliking him for a reason he couldn’t pinpoint. He wasn’t even sure if this was the one that Alia liked, or if there was even anyone that she liked, but he had a gut feeling that if there was someone at the party that she liked, it was probably Hoseok.

He threw down the guest list and pulled up Alia’s number, hitting the call button. She answered after a few rings. “Hey.” She said distractedly. He could hear a lot of noise in the background, he figured she was probably at her office in Gangnam. “Hey, how are you?” he asked, suddenly feeling silly for calling her so randomly. “I’m good. Kinda busy, you know what it’s like.” She said. He could hear the rustling of papers in the background. “Yeah, I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up for dinner tonight?” he asked hopefully. “Yeah, if you don’t mind eating a little later. I probably won't get out of here before eight.”

Yoongi nodded even though she couldn’t see him. “Ok, our usual place then?” he said, knowing that she would have her own car with her. “Ok. I’ll text you later when I have a better idea of when I can get out of here.” She said before saying their goodbyes and hanging up.

They met up just before nine at their favourite restaurant, the one Yoongi had taken her to on their first date. He arrived first and ordered for them, knowing what she liked to eat and drink. She arrived not long after him, looking exhausted. “Hey, rough day?” he asked as she dropped into her chair, her bag falling to the ground beside her. “You have no idea.” She said with a chuckle. She picked up her glass, taking a large gulp before letting out a loud sigh. “This is exactly what the doctor ordered.” She said making Yoongi chuckle. They chatted as they ate, the conversation remaining light.

Halfway through their meal, Alia suddenly changed the topic. “So I heard you and JaKyung have been talking recently.” She said. Yoongi blinked up at her. “You know she's a really nice girl, we’ve been friends for years.” Yoongi nodded, “Yeah, she's nice.” He said. It was impossible to deny that JaKyung was a nice girl, a little shallow, but that had come from years of being spoiled. She seemed to have her heart in the right place and it was undeniable that she was extremely pretty. She spent a lot of time and effort on making sure that she was ahead of the crowd in terms of fashion trends, often the focus of the media for her own fashion choices, most of which ended up becoming the hottest trend.

“She actually invited me to some party her father is holding.” Yoongi admitted. “Really?” Alia said, pretending not to know, when JaKyung had specifically told her about her plan to invite Yoongi. “Yeah, its next Sunday, do you want to come with me?” he asked. “Ah, I can’t. I’ve got meetings all day next Sunday. JaKyung had invited me as well but I can’t go. You should still go, I’m sure your father will want you to go and network.” She said with a small laugh, her eyes dropping to focus on her food instead of Yoongi, she suddenly found it hard to look at him. She tried to eat, the food suddenly difficult to swallow, her appetite disappearing.

“Yeah, I’ll probably still have to go.” He said, a small frown appearing on his face. Silence descended over them, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Yoongi still caught up on her behaviour and the fact that she seemed to be encouraging him to spend more time with JaKyung. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was because she had found someone that she liked. Alia was caught up in the fact that JaKyung had specifically asked her not to attend the party so that she could spend more time with Yoongi. An awkward tension that they hadn’t experienced with each other before continued for the rest of the meal, both of them with little appetites. They left soon after, both heading to their own cars.

Yoongi sped out of the car park first. Alia watched his car disappear out of sight. She pulled her phone from her bag, texting JaKyung to tell her that their plan worked and that Yoongi would be attending the party without her. JaKyung replied immediately, telling her that she was a great friend and thanking her for helping her. She frowned at the phone before throwing it back into her bag and tearing out of the car park, the windows down and the stereo volume up and she made her way back home, trying to push down the awful feeling that had settled in her chest.