Ye Jin woke up the next morning, feeling a little disorientated from waking up on the couch instead of in her own bed. The small paper heart catching her attention almost immediately. She carefully unfolded it, a smile appearing on her face from the cute note. She went into her bedroom and took out a small box. She carefully refolded the note and wrote the date on it before putting into the box next to the post it note he had given her all those months ago.

She quickly got ready and headed to the convenience store for her shift. Jaebum was already there, greeting her warmly as she arrived. “You look like you're in a good mood today. Did something good happen?” he asked as she came out of the staff room, a smile on her face from Jimin's note from this morning. “I’m just in a good mood.” She said with a smile. He chuckled at her. “It’s good to see you smiling so much lately.” He said offhandedly.

They had been friends since primary school, and he had known her parents well. He had noticed a big change in her after they had died. She had taken their deaths really hard, they had been really close. She had been heartbroken when she made the choice to give up university to help her sister complete her studies. His parents had offered to let her move in with them, and he knew that Mr Kim had offered as well, but she had politely declined. She wanted her family home to stay as her family home so that when her sister came home to visit, it wasn’t to some unknown apartment.

He knew that she sometimes struggled to keep up with the payments. The convenience store didn’t offer the best pay but without her degree, she was stuck in a minimum wage job, trying to make ends meet. “Have I been smiling more?” she asked as she reorganised the display in front of his till. “Definitely. Is it a guy?” he asked, her face immediately turning red. “I knew it!” he said with a laugh. “I knew it! So who is he? Do I know him? How come you’ve never mentioned him before? You know I need to meet him, right? I need to make sure he’s a good guy.” He said at a million miles an hour.

Ye Jin laughed. “Anyone would think you’re my big brother or something.” She said with a warm smile. “I might as well be! We’ve known each other for years. You should just start calling me oppa.” He said, flashing her a charming smile. “Go on, give it a try.” He teased. She rolled her eyes at him. “Not happening.” She said as she wandered off to check the stock. “I still want to meet him!” he called after her before greeting a customer. She laughed as she checked the shelves to see what needed to be refilled.

The next night, Jimin and the rest of BTS turned up at the restaurant after their practice. She took their orders and helped Mr Kim prepare everything. Once their food was ready, she sat with them while they ate. “Hey, Ye Jin. Has Jimin been treating you well? If not, you can tell us. We can help you beat him up if he's been a bad boyfriend.” Hoseok said with a loud laugh. “Hyung!” Jimin wailed, a scandalised look on his face while the others laughed at him. Ye Jin covered , trying to disguise her laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She said with a wink in Jimin's direction. He dipped his head, shovelling his food into his mouth in an attempt to disguise his embarrassment. They all chuckled at his action. “He’s been treating me really well.” She admitted, a small, proud smile appearing on his face at her words.

Another couple of customers entered the restaurant. Ye Jin quickly got up to go greet them and take their orders. “Hyung, that was so embarrassing!” Jimin complained, giving Hoseok a pathetic look. Hoseok laughed at him. “Yah, you need to make sure to treat your girlfriend right! I was just making sure you were!” he said with a grin. Jimin huffed and turned back to his food, taking the chance to glance at Ye Jin just before she disappeared back into the kitchen.

A smile made its way onto his face as he looked at her. Even just watching her work made him feel so happy. He wished that they could date like normal people and that his work schedule didn’t keep him so busy so that they could meet more often, and not just when he could convince the others to come to the restaurant to eat. He flashed her a smile as she came back out with the side dishes for the other customers. She grinned back at him before disappearing into the kitchen again. “Hyung, you’re staring.” Jungkook said, his tone teasing. “Shut up, maknae.” He mumbled as he continued eating.

Over the next couple of weeks, they didn’t have many chances to meet. His schedule had him all over the place, meaning that he didn’t have the chance to go to the restaurant to see her. That coupled with the fact that she was working back to back shifts at the convenience store and at the restaurant, meant that they were limited to stolen minutes in between dance practices and cooking to send messages to each other. She understood that the nature of his job kept him busy and he understood that her jobs kept her just as busy.

He made sure to message her every night, just to make sure she got home safely. She always messaged him in the mornings, just to wish him a good day, even though she knew that his day would be long and tiring. She hoped that her morning messages would give him a little bit of extra strength to make it through the day. It may not have been the perfect relationship, but both of them were happy.