Chin held her ground. Trying to look nonchalant had been a game she was pitifully losing lately, but she'd damn well try anyway. "Hyung," she repeated, hoping their usual banter would show him things are the way they're supposed to be.

Jin's answering smile was small—and for a second, he had a faraway look in his almond eyes. But whatever he was thinking then, he was done thinking about it. His gaze was lowering down to her stomach, as if trying to see through her skin to confirm whether the news was true.

Chin fought the urge to cover her abdomen with her hands. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to go to KBS today?"

His eyes met hers again, and for a brief moment there was a flash of guilt in them. "Gwenchana?" He ignored her question.

She stiffened at the sudden intensity she saw on his face. Why was Jin acting this way? "Of course. Why wouldn't I be." Her comeback sounded lame, even to her ears.

Jin's expression hardened. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when voices started to float from the other end of the hall. He checked if anyone was headed their way, then muttered under his breath and grabbed her wrist.

Chin's eyes widened. "What are you--"

"Inside." He pushed her back to her door and into her office, swinging it shut behind him. He dropped his bag on her desk without ceremony and whirled her around..

She glared at him. "Ow. Let go." She had been close to the BTS members and other staff over the years, and she was no stranger to the skinship that they blatantly and affectionately display, but Jin never clutched her arm the way he was doing now—and certainly not with that unreadable look on his face. He was uncharacteristically serious and being on the receiving end of it was making Chin feel uncomfortable. She focused on the fuzz on his sweater a few inches from her face, refusing to meet his eyes.

Jin tightened his hold on her for a split second, then sighed and dropped her arm. She could feel him towering over her in the confined space in front of her desk. "Are you really okay?" He asked again, his voice barely above a whisper. "You... you don't seem--"

"I'm not," Chin interrupted him quietly, her head hanging low. She felt a long exhale from Jin, but he didn't say anything. This was Jin, after all. One of her closest friends. One of her few friends. At least that's how it used to be. "Sung Jae, he--"

"I know."

Chin snapped her head up, confused.

Jin had the grace to look shy. "The stylist noonas."

She felt her jaw clench reflexively, but she nodded. News of the breakup was bound to spread anyway. BigHit was a fairly larger company now, but still.

"Does he know?"

Forcing herself to relax her jaw, she nodded again. "He knows. It's... complicated."

"How complicated?"

"Jin, I--"

"No." His tone was suddenly angry and resolute. he grabbed her shoulders and leveled his face to hers. "This is ridiculous, Chin-ah. What happened? When did we stop talking to each other about things like this? Why didn't we know?" He slowed down his tirade; he seemed to be debating with himself. "Why didn't I know?"

Tears flooded the back of her eyes and threatened to spill over. Chin wanted to tell. She really did. She couldn’t count the times she desperately wanted to talk to them—to him. She met his gaze head on; she didn't care about faking her damn composure anymore. She was just hurt, and she was only human. She saw hesitation flicker on her hyung's face.

"You weren't there," she answered him, hating the way her voice broke on the last word.

-----

Jin's heart dropped.

He came to Chin looking for answers he had no business looking for. And now, with her standing in front of him, broken and vulnerable, he got them. What she said was the truth—and the simplicity of it came crashing down on him like a hard slap in the face.

He—they were just not there. They hadn't been there for some time. Guilt flooded his gut. They’d seen each other almost everyday