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"So, we're here. What do we do now?"

"God, I swear only you could be so dry while visiting your girlfriend's home city with her."

"But you're not my girlfriend," I pointed out like a wise guy. No, that was one of my regrets, after all. 

"You know what I meant, you pest," she snapped half-heartedly, her expression more adorable than she probably hoped.

I laughed at her dispense, making her desperately bite back her own grin as well. She was supposed to be annoyed with me, after all. Once again, our hands were interlocked in the backseat of a car. Except this time, we were doing so in an entirely different country.

"I don't think I've been to New York this time of year," I admitted, glancing out the window at the landscapes I recognized. I'd been to New York quite a few times for work, just during different times. "What is there to do around now?"

"There's moving me into my new apartment," she pointed out without missing a beat. I groaned.

"We have to do that?" I questioned in reluctance. "I thought SKEES handled all of that for us."

"The furniture, yes," she told me before getting excited. "But we get to do all of the interior decorating!!"

I groaned again.

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"I don't mean to toot my own horn but I think we did a hell of a job."

"Of course you meant to toot your own horn," I called Anna out as she took in our handy work in her new apartment. It required a few hours of shopping and decorating but even I had to say that her new place looked pretty good. I wouldn't have expected anything less of an Annabelle-style New York City apartment, even if it was just a studio.

"Well, I'm really happy with how it came out," she concluded, rewarding me with a kiss that made everything worth while. "Thank you for helping."

I raised an eyebrow. "Did I have much of a choice, anyway?"

"Not really."

I hummed and nodded in submission, my arms unfolding so they could circle around her waist. I pulled her in for another kiss.

"Congratulations, you've officially made it here," I told her in genuine pride. She really went after what would be best for her, even if doing so meant she'd have to make some of the hardest decisions of her life and leave people she loved behind.

"I guess I have, haven't I?" She sighed in a mixture of awe and wariness as she glanced around her new apartment. I wasn't sure I liked the look on her face.

"You're not having any second thoughts, right?"

"No, no," she quickly denied, much to both my relief and disappointment. "Reality is just starting to set in. I knew this would feel weird but... gosh, does this feel weird."

"I know," I sighed, giving her sides a squeeze. "But that'll change eventually. Wasn't it weird for you when you first arrived in Korea?"

"More like terrifying."

"Weird, terrifying, whatever. You were uncomfortable at first, just as you are now, correct?"

She nodded.

"Which is fine," I urged encouragingly, my hands giving her body another squeeze. "You shouldn't expect this to be any easier just because it's your home city. Moving here was never going to feel right after making yourself so at home in Korea. You were used to New York and then you got used to Seoul. Now you just have to get used to New York again. And honestly, there probably isn't a thing in Korea that you won't find here in New York. You'll find your footing here again."

"But I found you in Korea," she voiced quietly, her big, side eyes unconsciously making another appearance. "I could never find anything like you here, nor do I ever want to." 

I sighed, trying to ignore the pang in my heart. 

"I know. And I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for that," I admitted honestly. "But maybe this is just how it's meant to be. Maybe you'll find someone new along the way who'll end up being the one for you. Because maybe... maybe that's not me."

"How are you going to try to make me feel better with that when you said it with such a pained expression?" She pouted, still growing sadder despite her attempt to poke fun at me.

I chuckled just for the sake of chuckling, hoping it would relax me a little. I guess I wasn't as good at hiding my true feelings as I thought. It didn't just pain me to discuss the possibility of a new man in her life- it horrified me nearly to tears.

"That's bull, anyway," she continued, frowning at me in almost as much displeasure. "I could meet a million guys while I'm here and not a single one of them would compare to you. I love you like I've never loved anyone before and will never love anyone again. I can't even fathom the idea of allowing anyone else in my life after loving and being loved by you. You're the one for me, not anyone else."

My eyes were locked on hers as my mind processed her words. Once I comprehended that she'd actually said them, I couldn't hold it all together anymore. The single, miniscule ounces of strength left in my body had just dissolved away as if they were paper in water. I let go of her so I could turn away and quickly wipe the first tears that fell away from my eyes. But my efforts to hide were unfortunately futile.

"Yoongi," she voiced, trying to subdue her surprise. I felt her hand on my arm as she tried to get me to turn back to her. 

I resisted against each of her tugs, continuing to silently let tears slide down my cheeks. She continuously tried to peer around me to grab my attention but I continuously avoided her. Eventually, she realized that being passive wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"Are you actually crying? Or am I seeing things?"

"You're seeing things," I said, finally giving her some kind of response. But the weakened state of my voice was enough to tell her I was lying.

Despite my gruff embarrassment, I let her wrap her arms around me from behind, softly giggling into my shoulder blade.

"I don't think so," she chimed, the tone of her voice brightening my spirits slightly. "I can't believe I just made you cry."

"What, do you want a medal or something?" 

"No, no," she giggled again. "It was just really cute. I loved it."

"You love seeing me in pain? Jeez, you masochist."

"Oh, shut up," she scolded me lightly, giving my back a slap. "I loved it because it really means that you actually care. This being so hard for you means you really love me."

"Of course, I do," I said incredulously, wiping away at the last remnants of my tears to clean myself up. "Did I really need to cry for you to understand that?"

"No, you didn't," she admitted softly. I could hear the smile on her face. "This kind of love is just still such a foreign concept to me. I've never had someone love me like this in my entire life."

"Well, what a coincidence then," I began, finally turning around now that my eyes were dry and clear. I returned my arms to where they were around her waist - where they belonged. "That while nobody's ever loved you like this, I've never loved anyone like this, either. It's been a world of firsts for us."

I moved a loose piece of hair back behind her ear. In the motion of pulling her back into my arms, it had so adorably fallen in front of her eyes.

"And maybe we'll be each other's lasts as well. Maybe neither of us will be loved or love anyone else like this ever again. I never would've thought that in the past. I would've considered that a young, naive hope. But in all this time with you, you've made me change my perspectives," I told her, my gaze blazing into hers. "I'm willing to look toward the future with positivity now. Thanks to you, I've found hope."

Her lips tilted upwards and her cheeks singed pink. She couldn't resist leaning forward and leaving a kiss on my lips.

"Good, I'm glad," she spoke quietly, her voice cracking slightly under her touched emotions. "Because I'm serious. I don't wanna be with anyone else. I don't care how long we may be apart, I'm willing to wait any length of time for the day that I get to call you my boyfriend."

"And I'm serious, too. A year and a half ago, I totally would've called a conversation like this out on its bull" I returned, making her chuckle. She adjusted her arms around my neck, her hands brushing up against the hair at the nape of my neck. It sent chills down my spine, as usual.

"I love you," she smiled. I pressed my lips against hers.

"I love you, too," I locked in our promise. "And I'll love you still when we meet again. On that, you have my word."

Without another word, I had her caged between my body and the nearest wall, my lips mercilessly attacking hers. But her hands tugging on the hairs on my head and pulling me as close to her as possible assured me this was exactly what she wanted and exactly how she wanted it.

Her hands began to drop down to the hem of my shirt but I beat her to it, taking hers and pulling it over her head. I didn't wait another second to separate our lips so I could drop down to my knees and place little kisses on her stomach, leveraging my undoing of the button and zipper on her jeans. I smirked at the goosebumps on her skin with each touch, my hands guiding her pants down her legs. But then, I noticed the slight shivering of her body and wondered whether I was really the only thing giving her goosebumps.

"Are you cold?"

She nodded, giving me a coy smile. "I don't know why we have the A/C turned up so high."

I gave her an endearing smile before getting to my feet again. I swiftly pulled off my own shirt to slide it over her body instead, cloaking her in my warmth and scent. I never thought I'd fall so in love with the sight of her half- body cozied up in one of my t-shirts. But in some ways, she'd never looked more attractive. She looked so undoubtedly and adorably mine.

"There. You can keep that on."

She nodded in content before reconnecting our lips and continuing where we'd left off.

She'd end up keeping the shirt in general, wearing it throughout the night and into the next day, nonverbally claiming it as her own. It didn't surprise me when I caught her wearing it to the airport when it was time for me to dreadfully say goodbye to New York. When it was time for me to say goodbye to Anna.

She stuck by me at the airport for as long as she could, but we'd done all of our kisses and emotional goodbyes at the hotel and in the car. Although SKEES had released an official statement by our request, revealing our relationship in order to ask for respect from fans during our last days together in New York, we preferred to keep as much to ourselves as possible. 

That didn't stop a mob or two of fans from arriving to see us at the airport, but they gave us enough space and that was all we wanted. In return, we were more than willing to offer them hello's and personally accept their gifts when we could. I didn't catch wind of any negativity towards our relationship, either, making me extra grateful to them all.

It was difficult for both Anna and I to not cause some kind of scene when we'd made it as far as she could join me. She had started to tear up, though I knew that all she wanted to do was throw herself into me and really cry. All I wanted to do was hold her and kiss her long enough to miss my flight and stay here with her. But we both showed restraint, keeping our hugs and kisses to a minimum. The same couldn't have been applied to our tears. Then suddenly - sooner than I ever imagined - I was walking alone to my gate. 

And for the first time in forever, I knew I was about to be alone for a very long time.

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