Chaeyoung had come to Jungkook’s workplace to have a brief meeting with his boss, Bang Sihyuk. He spotted her at the cafeteria, consuming a sandwich calmly as she switched her focus on her phone and the tablet on the table. Carefully, he slipped away from Yugyeom who had been talking nonstop about the new gadget available in stores and approached her.

Jungkook placed his food in front of her and took a seat almost immediately when she lifted to see who it was. He attempted a small smile, trying to cover the slight embarrassment he felt for singing her a desperate song the night before. When she hung up on him right after he sang to her through the phone, a thought came to him; he really needed to put down everything and act like before, perhaps an even better decision would be to act like how they first know each other.

Their eyes locked for a few seconds before she averted her attention somewhere else before it returned to the tablet.

“Are you free tonight?” he asked. “Hoseok made some reservation for Yoongi’s blind date but they both cancelled so –”

“I have other plans,” she responded, not even a glance thrown at him. “I’m…busy.”

Jungkook’s lips curled inward and tapped his fingers repeatedly on the surface of the table. Sometimes Chaeyoung would skip meals just to make sure her work would be perfect so that she could present it with a proud smile and that her client would be satisfied with wider smiles. Jungkook cleared his throat and began with a small grin, “Would you like me to cook for you tonight?”

Chaeyoung looked at him briefly, and again, with the surprised expression hanging on her face before she looked down on her tablet. “It’s all right.”

“I don’t mind.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m eating out with my friend tonight.”

Jungkook furrowed his brows momentarily and gave a light nod. Right, she had been spending her time with Jennie and it would be better for her. Sometimes, to have the company of a best friend would be the best cure for any sadness.

He pushed forward his sandwich and she paused chewing to look at it. “Please have it,” he said and turned around to leave her at it, not wanting to bother her further.

“Why are you doing this?”

He paused in his step and regarded what her question was. Of course she’d feel weird over this sudden change, the tension he so forcibly wanted to break from his side had been a successful attempt, he thought.

He looked over his shoulder and with such calmness wrapping around his voice, he replied, “I’m not giving up.”

*

True to his words, Taehyung knocked on her door an hour earlier than the time he was supposed to pick her up. Chaeyoung had dressed herself up but her face remained bare and her hair hadn’t been combed. Taehyung had a suit on and there was this feeling of pity running in her system as she stared at him from head to toe. He had dressed up for just a simple dinner with her.

It was definitely not uncommon to see him dressing up, but she should have told him to go for simplicity because whatever plan he had for that night, if it involved in trying to get her back into his life, he should have been told that it was not going to work. Chaeyoung was completely tired of this emotional play and perhaps, it was probably best to take a rest. She wouldn’t fall for any sweet gestures and words from Taehyung anymore, and he would know that in a few hours.

“You can wait here. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

She didn’t stop him when he refused to obey her order to wait in the living room as he strode behind her, following her into the bedroom. He took a seat on a couch where she could see his reflection on the mirror and she did her best to not make any eye contact with him that would only make his hope went up the roof.

It was when she was about to style her hair that Taehyung stood from his seat and walked over to her, standing just behind her as he reached for the comb on the dressing table.

“Do you remember how I used to comb your hair? You always got mad at me for ruining your hair whenever I started combing, because they would all get tangled,” he let a genuine chuckle escaped him and Chaeyoung gave no respond.

She took the comb from his hand gently and looked at him in the mirror. “Would you please wait outside till I get ready?”

Taehyung stared at her and his eyes got smaller as a smile decorated his perfectly sculptured face. He squeezed her bare shoulder tenderly and patted her head, his long fingers ruffling her hair a little bit. “Of course.”

Chaeyoung sighed and closed her eyes, her hand gripping the comb for a moment before she started to comb her hair, checked on her appearance once more before going out with her purse held tight on her side.

The whole ride was filled with Taehyung making jokes but she wasn’t entertained. He told her silly stories of Namjoon, asked her if she remembered a friend of him and told her that the guy was getting married to the woman of his dream and even revealed that Namjoon had bought a ring but still thinking for the right time to propose.

She heard them all but she didn’t really give any a long thought. Chaeyoung was still bothered by what Jungkook had told her earlier.

“I’m not giving up.”

Every single time she thought about wanting to run into his arms, her mind would remind her of how painful a breakup had been to her. It made her have hesitance to fill her insides without her consent. Why wouldn’t he give up? She had let him down a few times, so why wouldn’t he just stop?

Taehyung placed the back of his hand against her forehead softly and she instantly turned to look at him wearing a confused expression on her face.

“What are you doing?”

“Stop zoning out,” Taehyung chuckled. “You had me worried for a second. What are you thinking about, hm?”

“Nothing,” Chaeyoung lied smoothly.

She thought of the night Jungkook sang her that very song that he played from his balcony, she thought of what he meant by that, she thought of whether or not he really meant everything in each line he had let her listen to and she had his statement of not going to give up swirling in her brain ceaselessly.

When the food arrived and Taehyung started talking again like there would be no tomorrow, she stared at him and thought of this sudden interactions she was having with him. Her want had never changed, even the tiniest bit. She wanted some clearance and th