Two months after his decision to get his life back on track, Hoseok walked into Namjoon's bar, this time with Yoongi, the two of them having just finished work. They took seats at the bar, arguing about who was going to pay.

Eun Ji was at the opposite end of the bar when she heard the two new male voices at the bar. She turned around and saw a light brown haired male arguing playfully with his black haired friend. The black haired man turned around, a grin on his face and her jaw dropped when she recognised him. The glass she had been holding slipped from her loose grip. She jumped at the sound of the breaking glass which caught the attention of everyone around her. She quickly bent down, embarrassed for dropping the glass in front of so many people.

A pair of feet appeared beside her, “Hey, you alright?” she looked up at Namjoon with an embarrassed smile. “Yeah, sorry. It just slipped right through my fingers.” She said as she carefully picked up the shards of glass. “I’ll grab the brush.” He said before disappearing into the back of the bar. She risked a glance up and saw that Hoseok was looking at her. She couldn’t believe how different he looked. His skin wasn’t as pale as before and the dark bags under his eyes were almost completely gone. The most startling part of the change was his smile.

When he had turned around he had had a large grin on his face. She had tried to imagine his smiling face more than a few times, but her imagination did not do him justice. He looked simply breath-taking. Her daydreaming caused her to cut one of her fingers on a large piece of glass. She hissed in pain as she pulled her hand to her chest. She swore loudly as blood began to trickle off the end of her finger. Namjoon appeared by her side, dropping the brush and pulling her to her feet, the glass shards that she had balanced on her apron crashing to the ground.

He rolled his eyes at her. “Go sort that out. I’ll clean this up.” He said, gently pushing her in the direction of the back of the bar. She apologised again before opening the door to the back of the bar, she threw a look at Hoseok over her shoulder and was surprised to see his worried gaze on her. She hurried through the door, her heart beating irregularly fast. She hurried over to the sink and let the water wash away the blood that oozed from her finger.

She examined the cut, thankful that it wasn’t as bad as it originally looked. She quickly covered it with a plaster, with only a little difficulty, before heading back out to the bar. Namjoon had disposed of the broken glass and was busy serving a customer. She noticed that he had already served Hoseok and his friend. She busied herself with serving a large group that approached the bar, pushing away the thoughts of Hoseok and his amazing smile.

Yoongi and Hoseok laughed as they drank. He felt like a ton weight had been lifted from his shoulders since the day he had made the decision to move on with his life. He still wore her ring around his neck and there were still photos of the two of them together around his apartment. He also still felt sad and missed her, but the feeling had become easier to deal with. He didn’t immediately fill with regret when he thought of her, he was able to mention her name without feeling like a hole had been punched through his chest. Some days were harder than others. Sometimes, especially when he was alone, it was easier for him to get down, but he tried his best to not let himself go back down that dark road. He wanted to heal.

He smiled warmly as Eun Ji approached them. He hadn’t seen her in a long time. He had passed on his thanks to her through Namjoon for taking him home, but he hadn’t seen her since. “Hey.” He greeted with a warm smile which affected her way more than she would ever admit. “Hey…” she said, the word coming out a little more breathy than she would have liked. “You look amazing.” She blurted out, her face turning red. His friend chuckled at her, “Looks like you’ve got an admirer.” He said as he finished his drink. Hoseok smiled at her, genuinely happy to see her again after so long.

“Thanks. How have you been?” he asked as she refilled their glasses. “Good. Just busy with uni stuff.” She said as she slid their glasses over to them, his brown haired friend handing her the money. She quickly went to the till and got his change, passing it over to him. “Isn’t it hard working here and going to uni at the same time?” Hoseok questioned. She shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of choice. This is one of the few places that will let me work part time and has working hours that doesn’t interfere with my uni schedule.”

Hoseok hummed in understanding before remembering that Yoongi was by his side. “Ah, this is my friend, Yoongi. Don’t let his grumpy expression fool you, he’s actually really friendly.” He said, his tone implying that this was not the first time he had introduced Yoongi this way. Yoongi elbowed him in the ribs before exchanging a greeting with her. A customer appeared at the bar and she excused herself. Hoseok watched her go while Yoongi watched him, a small grin on his face.

After an hour, the bar quietened down a little. Namjoon stood with Yoongi and Hoseok, laughing and chatting with the two of them while Eun Ji cleaned up behind the bar. “Yah, why are you making someone else do all your work?” Yoongi scolded as he watched Eun Ji go out around the bar, picking up glasses and balancing them on a tray. “I’m not making her do anything!” Namjoon said, pouting at the accusation.

Eun Ji came up to the bar and swapped her full tray of glasses for an empty one. “Need any help?” Namjoon asked earning some chuckles from his two friends. “Nah, I’m good.” She said with a smile before heading back to the tables to pick up the remaining glasses. Hoseok couldn’t help but glance at her as she moved around the bar, weaving in and out of the dancing people as she gathered the glasses. His attention was brought back to his friends when Yoongi hit his arm. “What?” he asked gruffly, worried that he had been caught staring.

Yoongi rolled his eyes at him. “Namjoon suggested we go eat when his shift ends, you up for it?” he asked. Hoseok nodded in agreement. “Is it ok if I ask Eun Ji to join us? We finish at the same time and I know she didn’t have time for dinner before her shift.” Namjoon asked. Both boys agreed that they didn’t mind. When she returned to the bar, Namjoon asked her to join them and she agreed, flashing the three of them a smile as she took the dirty glasses to get washed.

Once their shifts ended, Namjoon and Eun Ji headed to their locker room to change into their own clothes before meeting Yoongi and Hoseok by the entrance. They headed to a small restaurant on the same street, a place where the staff from the bar frequently visited due to its close proximity to the bar and its cheap prices. They bought a couple of beers to share as they waited for their food. “How is uni going? You ready for your exams?” Namjoon asked as he filled his glass. She let out a groan, leaning back in her chair.

“Let’s not talk about it. I’m so stressed out right now. I'm pretty sure I’m gonna fail one of my classes. No matter what I do my professor is just never happy with me. I seriously don’t know why he hates me so much.” She said as she picked up her chopsticks, repeatedly stabbing them into her rice. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. You said the same thing happened last semester and you got really good grades. Plus you study really hard, I know you bring your books with you and study on your breaks.” Namjoon said giving her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up. She gave him a smile, grateful for the encouragement.

They chatted as they ate. Eun Ji couldn’t believe the change in Hoseok since the last time they had met. He had had a few drinks, but he wasn’t even tipsy, nothing compared to how she had seen him before. He was laughing and smiling, something which she had longed to see since she had first laid eyes on him. She could still sense some sadness within him, but thanks to Namjoon, she understood why. She couldn’t imagine what it must have felt like, seeing his girlfriend’s death and then being unable to stop it from happening. She was still thankful that she was able to see him like this.

Once they had finished eating, they headed out into the cool night. “Do you live far?” Hoseok asked her, knowing that Yoongi and Namjoon lived in the same direction as him. “It’s not too far, maybe about twenty minutes.” She said as she readjusted the straps of her backpack. “We can wait with you until you get a taxi, there should be plenty around here.” Yoongi said as he looked further down the road to see if any taxis were on their way. “It’s ok, I’ll just walk. I need the exercise after eating all that.” She said with a chuckle. The three boys exchanged looks. “It’s not safe for a girl to be out alone so late at night. Can’t your boyfriend come pick you up?” Yoongi said, in a badly veiled attempt at finding out if she was single or not. Namjoon wanted to high five him, but decided to save it for later.

She chuckled, “No boyfriend.” She said, “I’ll be fine. I always walk home after my shifts at the bar. I mainly need to walk on the main road anyway.” She said. Yoongi and Namjoon exchanged glances before Namjoon nudged Hoseok forward. “Yah, you should walk her home. She shouldn’t be walking by herself. Plus you still owe her for helping get you home that night.” Both Hoseok and Eun Ji wore matching shocked expressions at Namjoon's sudden suggestion. Eun Ji glanced at Hoseok before turning back to Namjoon. “It’s really ok, honestly! I always go home alone! You must be tired. I’ll be fine.” She protested.

Hoseok sighed, catching on to Namjoon's intentions. “It’s fine. I’ll walk you home. He's right, you really shouldn’t be out by yourself at this time of night.” He said giving Namjoon a look that clearly showed that he would be talking to the younger man about this situation the next time they met. Namjoon wrapped an arm around Yoongi's shoulder, “Well we’re gonna head back. See you two later!” he said as he and Yoongi headed in the direction of their apartments.

Eun Ji turned to Hoseok who gave her a smile. “Come on.” He said as they started walking. She readjusted the straps of her backpack again. “You really don’t need to walk me. I’ll be ok.” She said, feeling bad that he had been forced into walking her home. He smiled down at her, “It’s not any hassle. To be honest I’ll feel better if I walk you home. This area can be quite dangerous at night.” He said as two drunk men stumbled passed them, on their way to the bars behind them.

He noticed that she seemed to be struggling with her backpack. He pulled the straps from her shoulders, taking the heavy bag from her before she could protest. He pulled the bag on, surprised that she managed to carry it around all the time. “What do you have in here?” he asked. She laughed, “Everything except the kitchen sink. I only have that on Mondays.” She joked. “You don’t need to carry that, you know.” She added. Hoseok adjusted the bag on his back and kept on walking. “This bag probably weighs more than you do. Now that I know that I definitely can’t let you carry it.” He said, flashing her a warm smile.

She chuckled and kept on walking, silently grateful to him, her shoulders often ached from carrying around such a heavy bag every day. They chatted easily until they reached her apartment. She took her bag back, slinging it over her shoulders with practised ease. “Thanks for walking me home and for carrying my bag all the way here. How are your shoulders?” she asked, her tone teasing. “Perfectly fine.” He said, rolling his shoulders to show that he was fine, even if his muscles did twinge a little in protest.

She smiled at him and turned to her apartment. She took a few steps before turning back to face him. “It was really good to see you again today Hoseok. A smile really suits you.” She said before quickly disappearing into her building. Hoseok stood, shocked for a few seconds before a grin spread over his face from her words. He turned and started walking towards his apartment, the grin still on his face.