The next morning Hoseok met Yoongi at work, the older man handing him his morning cup of coffee. “So, did Eun Ji get home safely?” Yoongi asked, pretending to be nonchalant. Hoseok narrowed his eyes at his brown-haired friend over his coffee cup. “You know I know what you and Namjoon are up to, right?” Yoongi held his hands up in mock surrender. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I only asked if the girl you spent half the night staring at made it home safely.” He said with a grin.

Hoseok punched the older man’s arm. “I was not staring.” He countered weakly, Yoongi’s knowing smirk making him focus his attention back on his computer screen. “You were totally staring.” Yoongi muttered as he focused on his own computer. They worked in silence for a while before Yoongi spoke again. “You two look good together.” He commented offhandedly, making Hoseok flail and almost knock over his half-finished cup of coffee. He silenced his spluttering as his boss walked by, not wanting to give him a chance to scold him. His boss had been rather unsympathetic about his loss and took it as a great personal insult that Hoseok had been performing at less than one hundred percent over the last year.

Hoseok glared at a smirking Yoongi before huffing and returning to his computer, remembering that he still had to speak to Namjoon about what had happened the night before. During his lunch break, he called Namjoon, intent on giving him an earful but the younger man had been busy and promised to listen to Hoseok's scolding later. Hoseok agreed to go to the bar again that night. He admitted to himself that the reason he agreed to go to the bar was so that he could see Eun Ji again.

He found her really easy to talk to and he now knew that she knew about his ex-girlfriend but she didn’t look at him with pity like so many other people. He knew that she didn’t know all of the details, but she knew enough and she didn’t treat him any differently from how she treated Namjoon or anyone else. He wasn’t sure exactly what his interest was in her. He was still unsure if he was able to open his heart romantically to anyone else, but there was no harm in having her as a friend.

He made his way to the bar after work with Yoongi, the two of them opting for non-alcoholic drinks as they sat at the bar, chatting with Namjoon during his quiet spells. He was disappointed to find out that Eun Ji wasn’t at work that night (something which had not gone unnoticed by Yoongi and Namjoon). Namjoon took that as an opportunity to quiz the older man about his interest in his dongsaeng.

“So, I assume Eun Ji got home safely last night?” Namjoon asked, wisely keeping the bar in-between him and his friend. Yoongi snickered while Hoseok glared at the two of them. “The two of you are terrible.” He muttered as he reached for his drink. “She got home safely, so did I by the way, thanks for asking.” He said with a pout. “So what did you two talk about?” Namjoon asked curiously. Hoseok shrugged, “Just about her uni classes and things like that.” He replied.

Namjoon hummed in response. “I think the two of you look good together.” He blurted out making Yoongi laugh. Hoseok's jaw dropped. “Did you two plan this? You both said exactly the same thing!” he said, his gaze darting between his two laughing friends. Yoongi and Namjoon high fived over the bar. “Purely coincidental.” Yoongi said as he took a sip of his drink. “True as well.” Namjoon added. Hoseok crossed his arms and glared at his two friends. “I don’t know why I’m friends with you two.” He muttered as a familiar female voice called Namjoon's name from behind them.

He turned around and came face to face with Eun Ji, her cheeks pink from the cold. “Hey, Hoseok. Hey, Yoongi.” She greeted warmly, not expecting to see the two there. She smiled at them and turned to Namjoon who gave her a puzzled look. “Hey, what are you doing here, you have the night off.” He enquired. She sighed loudly and leant against the bar. “I left one of my notebooks here last night and I need it to finish my essay.”

Namjoon rolled his eyes at her. “I told you to stop bringing your books here. You’re going to burn yourself out if you keep studying so hard.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Well we can’t all be geniuses.” She joked. Namjoon shook his head and told her he’d collect her book for her. Yoongi quietly excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving Hoseok and Eun Ji alone.  She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, admiring the way his black slacks and white shirt complimented his lithe frame. Her gaze flicked up to his face and she blushed when she realised she had been caught staring.

“How are you?” he asked, spinning on his chair to face her. “I’m good, thanks.” She said with a smile, thankful for the dark lighting which helped hide her red cheeks. “I didn’t expect you to be here.” She said, trying to ignore the way his muscles flexed as he reached for his drink. “I had to talk to Namjoon so Yoongi and I dropped in after work. How’s your studying going?” he asked. She dropped into the chair that Yoongi had vacated and let out a deep sigh. “I cannot wait until my exams are over and I can just rest for the summer.” He smiled warmly at her. “They should be over soon, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah, one more week. I’ve got two assignments to hand in this week then one last exam next week then I am free!” she said, a grin making its way onto her face as she thought about her upcoming summer holiday. “Have any plans for the summer?” he asked curiously. She shook her head. “Not really.” Her book appeared on the bar next to them. “I’m not interrupting am I?” Namjoon asked with a grin which clearly showed that he knew he was interrupting.

Both of them pouted at Namjoon as Yoongi appeared at their side. “You idiot, they were having a moment.” He muttered quietly enough that only Namjoon heard. Eun Ji picked up her book and stuffed it into her bag. “Thanks Namjoon. I better get going, this essay won’t write itself.” She slipped off of the chair and smiled at the three friends. “I’ll see you guys soon.” She said with a wave as she headed out of the bar. Hoseok watched her go, a little disappointed that their conversation had been cut short. “You know, it’s getting kinda dark outside.” Yoongi pointed out. Namjoon instantly caught on to Yoongi’s line of thought. “Yeah, and it’s kinda dangerous out there, especially for a girl.” He added, giving Hoseok a pointed look.

Hoseok sighed, a small grin on his face as he slipped off his chair without a word and headed out of the bar. Namjoon and Yoongi watched him go, both wearing identical smirks. Yoongi’s smirk faded slightly. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing?” he asked, his voice laced with concern. Namjoon nodded, his smile fading slightly as well. “I think so. He needs to reconnect with people. Even if it’s only a friendship. Eun Ji is a nice girl. Even if nothing comes of this except that they become friends, I think it will help him in the long run.”

Yoongi nodded. “I think so too. But I think there’s more going on there than just friendship.” He said the smirk returning to his face as he glanced at the doorway Hoseok had just left through.

“Eun Ji, wait up!” Hoseok called as he jogged down the street to catch up with her. She turned around at the sound of someone calling her name, pleasantly surprised to see Hoseok approaching her. “Hey.” She said, a smile forming on her face. He stopped in front of her. “Hey.” He said, a little out of breath. “I need to start working out again.” he said with a laugh as he caught his breath. She grinned at him, “I go running every morning, you’re welcome to join me.” She blurted out before she had fully processed the thought. Hoseok considered her offer before nodding. “Sounds good.” He said, an easy smile forming on his face.

She just managed to stop her jaw from dropping in surprise. “Really?” she asked, her grin widening. “Yeah, why not? I’ll still be half asleep though, so you might need to end up carrying me.” He said with a chuckle. She laughed, neither of them realising that they still hadn’t moved. “You haven’t seen me run, you’ll probably be so horrified that you’ll be running away from me.” She said jokingly. They both laughed and Hoseok remembered why he had run after her in the first place. “Are you heading back home?” he asked. She nodded. “Yeah, I need to finish this essay tonight.” She said, patting her bag which held her notebooks.

“I’ll walk you back.” He said making her raise an eyebrow at him. “Don’t you live in the opposite direction?” she asked. He nodded, “Yeah, but I’ll consider it a warm up for going running with you.” She smiled at him and they began walking towards her apartment. “So where do you normally go for your run?” he asked. “I usually walk from my apartment to the park at the edge of the city, it takes about half an hour to get there. Depending on if I’m walking or if I have the energy to jog. I usually go around the park twice, depending on how late I was up the night before.” Hoseok nodded, “That park is pretty close to my apartment.” He said.

“Perfect. I can meet you there. I normally get there around six.” She said with a smile. “Tell you what, give me your number and I can text you when I’m on my way so that you don’t get there too early.” She said, suddenly feeling a little bold. Hoseok took her phone from her and typed in his number, making sure to call his phone so that he had her number as well.

They arrived back at her apartment much faster than they both would have liked. “Thanks for walking me home yet again.” she said smiling at him. “Anytime.” He said with a big grin which took her breath away. She was sure she could see his smile every single day and not get bored of it. His whole face just lit up and she couldn’t fight the smile that made its way onto her own face. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Don’t sleep in!” she warned playfully as she took the first couple of steps up to her apartment.

“I can’t promise anything, but I will try.” He said dramatically making her giggle. “See you tomorrow.” She repeated, giving him a small wave. “It’s a date.” He said as she turned around. She stumbled at his choice of words but hurried into her building before he could say anything. Hoseok watched her rush into her building, his own shock showing on his face from his choice of words. He shook his head as he turned and started walking back to his own apartment. As he thought about meeting her tomorrow, for the first time in over a year, he felt the stirring of butterflies in his stomach.