Yoongi has been stuck in purgatory for what feels like an eternity.

    To be more precise, it is a hidden ward in the Seven Stars HQ building. He and the rest of his squad have been placed in separate suites and have been forbidden contact with each other and anyone else. They are not allowed to leave. They are not allowed to ask questions.

    It is better now. During those first two days, when he did not know if Jungkook was dead or alive, whether the Seven Stars doctors had managed to save him. Yoongi cannot believe Jungkook took a bullet for Ami- no, he does. Because he would have undoubtedly done the same for Lina.

    Lina. Her words echo in his head over and over again.

    We could have a chance.

    I love you, Yoongi.

    I’ll see you soon, okay?

    Yoongi refuses to answer any of his interrogators’ questions. He wants to see Lina. He needs to see Lina. He will not do anything until he can talk to her. Everyone- from X.E. agents to cross-examination experts to Park Chanyeol try to make him answer their questions. And every single one of them frustratedly leaves the room due to his incompliance.

    The sun rises and sets. Sleep comes and goes.

Yet Yoongi remains unmoving.

Yoongi is informed only a day later that BTS is to be released, with legal and governmental protection. They are free to start new lives and pursue anything they want. Under one condition, of course: they can never make contact with Ami Hwang or any of her friends ever again.

    Yoongi can imagine the outrage the others felt when they were told this- Jungkook especially. One part of him sympathizes with his friend. Jungkook and Ami went through so much for each other. Keeping them apart is utterly cruel. Namjoon must have been quite angry as well; he and Ami were particularly good friends.

    But the other part of him is happy. They can finally be rid of Ami Hwang. She is a curse. Ever since she entered their lives, they have all gone through hell and back.

    He will never see Lina again.

Yoongi is lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Jin, who is in the room next to his, has been tapping Morse code messages to him all day using thumps on the wall.

I am safe. Hoseok is safe. How are you? Told them anything? Are you okay?

Yoongi does not reply to him. He can feel Jin grow more and more frantic- no doubt worried that something has happened to Yoongi. But Yoongi feels too numb to respond.

Jin is in the process of pounding out, Where are you? when the door slams open.

Yoongi lazily looks over.

And then jolts up.

His eyes widen.

Lina is standing in front of him, an impassive expression on her face.

The time they have spent apart amplifies her beauty exponentially. Yoongi is breathless. He takes in her long black hair, her supple frame, her confident gait.

“Lina,” Yoongi breathes.

In two swift strides he has moven towards Lina and wrapped her in a tight embrace. He buries his head in her neck and takes in her sweet scent, clings to her, swears he will never, ever, ever let go. Yoongi feels like they are two jigsaw puzzle pieces that have come together. Everything has finally come together. It is perfect. This moment is perfect. Everything is perfect.

Except it is not.

Lina is stiff under Yoongi’s arms. She has not spoken a word since she entered the room. Her gaze is cold, distant.

Slowly, he detaches from her. They share a long look. A sense of dread sinks through Yoongi’s chest.

He knows what is coming.

“You need to answer our questions,” Lina tells him tersely. Our. Yoongi is putting the pieces together. He can see what happened during these 4 years.

She has joined the gang she despised the most.

“So it was all a lie,” Yoongi says quietly. “What you said to me.”

Lina’s gaze hardens. “I just wanted you to defect.”

Yoongi narrows his eyes. “Didn’t you have Jungkook and the others on your side already? Why did you need me to betray the 4 Flames? You didn’t have to go that far to convince me.”

“I would’ve done that for any of the BTS members,” Lina snaps. “I would never have let one of you go to prison while the others were safe.”

The corners of his lips drag up into a bitter smirk. “Touching.”

    “You think I still love you after all this time?” Lina scoffs. “Get over yourself. Do you see how it feels? When the person you love screws you over and betrays you like this? I’m happy you’re getting a taste of your own medicine, Yoongi.”

    He blankly stares at her. Her chest is heaving angrily. There are tears of- what, vindication? Anger?- in her eyes.

    “Great job, Lina,” Yoongi snarls. “Did you finally get your revenge? Are you happy now?”

    “Yeah, I am,” she bites back, a furious, triumphant smile on her face. “Thanks for asking. I hope you feel as ty as I felt.”

    “Really?” Yoongi steps closer and closer towards her, until her back hits the wall and she is trapped under his penetrating gaze. There is a sadistic sneer on his face. “As ty as you felt? Did you feel that ty as you were hugging me in the back hallways every day? Or when you were kissing me during the Winter Ball? Hmm.” He pretends to furrow his eyebrows. “It was probably when you were crying after I broke things off with you. Right?”

Lina looks up at him, her eyes wide. Her lower lip is slightly trembling.

.

Yoongi knows he has gone too far-

And then she breaks.

Her face crumbles into an anguished expression as she ducks her head, attempting to hide the tears starting to stream down her cheeks. Her hands fly up to cover her eyes and , Yoongi knows he went too far, and there is regret flowing through his veins and , he feels absolutely terrible. The cruel satisfaction slides off his countenance as he watches Lina break down in front of him.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, tugging her towards him. He envelops her in his clasp and tucks her head underneath his. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

A shudder runs through Lina’s body as their skin makes contact. She takes in a deep, straggling breath. “You think I want this?” she whispers. “You think I want us to be like this? We have too much ing history, Yoongi. We’ve lied to each other too many times. We’ve hurt each other even more. This could never work.”

“I know,” Yoongi utters softly. He closes his eyes. “I know.”

Lina hates herself. She hates herself so ing much. She had been determined to march into Yoongi’s room, coldly command him to comply with their questioning procedures. Be calm. Impassive. Collected. Mature.

    But she is already an absolute mess.

How is it possible for her to still love Yoongi this much after all these years? After all this time- why won’t her feelings for him abate? Despite the fact that he is a terrible person, and he has done terrible things-

Dammit, Lina. Dammit.

She hates this.

She ing hates this.

“I missed you,” Yoongi swallows. “Living without you was like hell.”

Lina rests her head against his chest. “Is it going to be any different? We’re never going to see each other again.”

Yoongi has no response. The two stand in silence, simply savoring the sensation of their contact with each other.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringtone peals through the air. They immediately spring apart from each other, disheveled and confused. Lina hastily reaches into her pocket and picks up her phone.

“Hello?” she says in a voice a little too high.

Yoongi watches as her expression slowly turns somber. Lina listens to the voice on the phone for a few more moments. “Understood,” she finally says in a low voice, and then hangs up.

He tilts his head slightly upwards. “So I guess this is it, then.”

She turns to him.

“This is it,” she echoes tonelessly.

They look at each other.

And then, at the same moment, as if reading each other’s minds, they move towards each other and kiss, desperately- almost needily- as if they are counting down the minutes until they will have to part, as they are conscious that they only have this time left, and they know they should not be doing this but that is what they have been telling themselves for years and years but who has time to think about that when they are spending their final moments with the person they love.

Yoongi hoists Lina up onto his bed and she tightly wraps his legs around him as he trails his lips down the smooth skin of her neck, leaving dark purplish marks over the expanse of her creamy skin. A cry escapes her lips as he presses his chest against hers- when her fingers move against the zipper of his pants his eyes darken with desire and he pins her to the bed, traps her between his arms; his hands roam up her thighs and spread her open and he moves into her and she moans for him, begs for him, screams for him, wants him, needs him, tells him that she loves him, she loves him, she loves him-

Yoongi wakes up in the middle of the night, his legs entangled with Lina’s, his hands around her waist. He is surprised no one from the Seven Stars or X.E. came to check up on him- or her, for that matter.

Perhaps it is because they know what would transpire between them.

Perhaps it is because they pity them.

Yoongi does not know.

He burrows his lips in her hair and falls back asleep.