When Yoongi woke up the next morning, he was alone. He frowned as he rolled over and checked the time, noting that it was still early. “Alia?” he called as he sat up, ruffling his hair. He groaned as he pushed himself out of bed, half expecting her to be in the shower. He was surprised when he found the bathroom door open, Alia nowhere in sight. He headed to the kitchen, but it was deserted as well. “Where the hell is she at this time in the morning?” he wondered aloud as he headed back into her bedroom, picking up his phone from the unit where he had left it the night before.

He wandered back into the kitchen to make some coffee as he waited for Alia to answer. “Hey.” She said as she answered. “Morning. Where are you?” he asked as he waited for his coffee. “Something came up at work, I had to get in here early. I didn’t want to wake you.” Yoongi frowned. “Are you sure you're feeling up to being in work?” he asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “Yeah, I think having an early night helped.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you're feeling better.” he said, his concern lifting a little. “Hey, Yoongi?” Alia said, her voice a little hesitant. “Yeah?” she took a deep breath. “Could we get dinner tonight? Just the two of us?” she asked. Yoongi chuckled a little, she had sounded so nervous asking him something so simple. “Yeah, I should be free after seven.” He said. “Ok. Meet at our usual place?” he nodded. “Sounds like a plan, see you then.” He hung up, a smile on his face as he headed to the shower.

Alia let out a long breath as she dropped her phone onto her desk. “I need to do it tonight. Just tell him that we need to end this. It’s not like he can make a big fuss. We agreed that when one of us decided to end things it would be drama free. Her eyes drifted to her phone as it beeped with a message. She picked it up, JaKyung’s name appearing on her screen. “I should set him free so that the two of them can date without having to worry about me.”

The day passed by quickly for Yoongi as he busied himself at work. By the time he was ready to leave, he was getting excited about meeting Alia. He looked at his reflection in the mirror in the bathroom, carefully fixing his hair. He chuckled at himself. “I’m acting like a teenager about to go on his first date.” He chuckled again before checking his appearance one more time before heading out of the bathroom.

Alia had arrived at the restaurant first. She hadn’t bothered to order anything, her stomach was doing somersaults and she wasn’t convinced she could keep anything down. She sipped at the glass of water in front of her, impatiently checking her watch every few seconds. She had convinced herself that what she was about to do was the best thing for both of them. She felt guilty for suggesting the whole plan in the first place, she had never expected him to take her seriously, let alone agree to her plan. She felt even more guilty that she had somehow managed to fall for him along the way when it was clear to see that his interests didn’t lie with her. She thought back on the conversation she had had with JaKyung earlier on that day.

JaKyung had been all too happy to share all the details of her recent meetings with Yoongi. Alia added comments in where appropriate, even though all she wanted to do was to scream at JaKyung to shut up. She knew that she wasn’t doing it on purpose, no one knew about her feelings for Yoongi, she had barely figured it out herself. But that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t want to hear how charming Yoongi was or how good he had looked in his suit as they had lunch together.

She had spent the entire day hardening up her feelings, pushing them down and locking them away, determined not to cry and let Yoongi know what she was really feeling or thinking. When she heard footsteps approaching the small room she took a deep breath to calm herself, forcing a smile onto her face. Yoongi smiled warmly at her as he sat opposite her, she had purposely chosen the seat closest to the door in case her tears made an appearance and she had to make a quick exit.

“Hey you.” He said. Her hands fisted in the material of her trousers. Stay focused. She told herself as she smiled back. “Hey. How was work?” she asked as Yoongi placed an order for a drink. “Not bad, quite busy all day so it went by quickly. How about you? Feeling alright?” he asked as he looked her over, looking for any signs that she was still sick. She nodded. “Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better.” she said as she reached out for her glass, her hand shaking slightly. She prayed that he didn’t notice.

“Have you ordered yet?” he asked as he picked up the menu. She shook her head, she hadn’t planned on staying long enough to eat, but she couldn’t bring herself to say what she needed to say just yet. She grabbed a menu, her eyes barely taking in any of the words in front of her. The waiter soon returned with Yoongi’s drink and took their orders. There’s no harm in one last meal together. She thought to herself, trying to justify her cowardice.

She spent the rest of the meal taking her time to enjoy the sound of Yoongi’s voice as he talked about his day. To take in the way his blond hair slightly fell onto his face, forcing him to push it back every now and again. To take in the way that she was going to miss spending time with him like this. She knew that suddenly asking him to break up with her would radically alter their relationship, and that this was probably the last time the two of them would be eating alone like this.

As time went on, she slowly pushed thoughts of breaking up with him from her mind. She wanted to enjoy one last meal with him before she had to say those three words that were going to change everything.

When they finished their meal, they made their way out to the car park. Her car was parked directly in front of the exit, meaning all she had to do was jump in and drive straight and she would be out of the car park. “Yoongi?” she said, forcing her voice to stay calm. “Yeah?” he asked as he stopped in front of her, the pale lights from the restaurant highlighting him from behind. “There’s something I have to say to you.” She said, forcing herself to meet his gaze. Yoongi frowned at her sudden serious tone. “Is everything ok?” he asked, worry seeping into his voice.

She nodded and cleared , “Yeah, everything’s fine.” She said, trying to keep her tone casual as if she wasn’t about to break up with the man she loved. Her hands clenched and unclenched by her side as she tried to force out the words she needed to say. “Alia?” Yoongi said, startling her with his gentle voice, his eyes shining with concern. She looked into his eyes and her resolve crumbled. “It’s nothing.” She said with a smile as she avoided his gaze. Yoongi tilted his head to the side, “You sure?” he asked curiously. She nodded, “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I’ll see you soon, ok?” Yoongi nodded, a small frown on his face as she made her way to her car. He watched as she got into her car and left the car park, giving him a quick wave as she drove off. “What was she trying to tell me?” he asked himself as he slowly made his way to his own car.