Neither of them spoke as Yoongi drove them towards the river at Soo Jin’s request. He had initially tried to take her home, but she had asked him to take them to the river instead. He had been surprised to see her at the bar. He had been even more surprised to see how much she had drank. It’s not that she couldn’t hold her drink, but she very rarely drank a lot. He was thankful that despite the amount she had drank, she still seemed to mainly have her wits about her.

As soon as he pulled up and turned off the engine, Soo Jin unclipped her seat belt and got out of the car. Yoongi followed after her, wondering what she wanted to say to him. She slowly walked along the water’s edge, Yoongi a few steps behind, ready to catch her if she lost her balance.

She had told him that they needed to talk, but he didn’t think he was the one to start the conversation. There was obviously something on her mind, and he was willing to wait until she felt ready to talk. She stumbled a little, Yoongi reaching out for her, but she managed to keep herself upright and continued walking for a few more steps before suddenly stopping.

Yoongi froze in his tracks as she turned around to face him. The area of the river he had stopped at was well lit by street lamps. Despite the harsh, orange glow they casted down upon them, Yoongi couldn’t help but think that Soo Jin was the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on. The now all too familiar scent of spring flowers washed over him and he had to fight back the urge to close his eyes and inhale that scent that was so addictive to him.

Soo Jin held him in her gaze, a war of emotions flashing behind her eyes as she tried to find the right words to say what she needed to say. She opened and closed several times, each time the words dying on her lips as she looked into Yoongi’s eyes. She could tell that he was eager to hear what she had to say, but there was a certain feeling of vulnerability in his face that made her wonder if he knew what she wanted to talk to him about.

She let out a long breath, pushing her hair back from her face. She turned her head to the side, the moon and street lights reflecting off of the water beside them, which was as dark as the sky above. “I know the truth.” She finally said, wrapping her arms around herself. Yoongi tensed up, his blood running cold at her words. Soo Jin turned back to him and held out her arm, her mark clear to see on her skin. “I know that this isn’t a favour mark.” She said, needing him to know that she understood what the mark meant. “I know it’s a mate mark.” She said, the words sounding strange and foreign to her.

All of the air whooshed out of Yoongi's lungs in one go at her words. His chest tightened painfully, as if preparing for the upcoming conversation. “I saw it on your laptop.” She continued, not giving him the chance to speak. “I didn’t mean to. Your laptop was on the coffee table and I accidentally kicked the mouse of the table. I picked it up and had to make sure it was working then I saw the folder called ‘marks’ on your desktop.” She said, biting her lip before taking a deep, steadying breath and continuing.

“I thought that maybe you had been looking into ways to break the contract between us. I thought it was weird that the mark had lasted for so long. I was starting to worry that we’d need to do something dramatic to make it go away. And then… when I clicked on the files… I saw the truth.” She said, finally looking at Yoongi. His blunt nails were cutting into his palms. He felt immensely guilty for hiding the truth from her, he had wanted to tell her, but the thought of losing her had been too much to bear.

“How long have you known?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper in the night. Desperately wishing that he didn’t know from the beginning. Hearing that would be like him confirming that his actions had been because of the mark. Yoongi cleared his throat, “About a week. I asked Namjoon to look into it. He found out about a week ago.” He said, desperately wanting to say more but one look from Soo Jin showed that she was long from finished what she had to say.

She nodded once, thankful that he hadn’t known from the beginning. “Good.” She said, more to herself than to him. She took a couple of deep breaths as she tried to organise her thoughts. “I don’t really know how to say this, so I’m just gonna say it.” She said. Yoongi tensed up again at her words.

Please don’t ask how to make it go away. Please. He begged. He wasn’t sure he would be able to take it if she asked him if there was a way to remove the marks.

Soo Jin fixed him with a hard look. “Did you only help me… were you only nice to me… because of the mark?” she asked, her hands trembling with nerves. Please don’t say that the mark controlled your actions. Please. Please tell me that it was all you. She bit her bottom lip so hard that it was painful, her fingernails were digging into her arms as she tried to force herself to remain calm and still when all she wanted to do was run away.

Yoongi's eyes widened at her question. Her first concern is whether or not the mark made me do the things I did? “No.” he said firmly, needing her to believe the sincerity in his words. “No. The mark had nothing to do with any of it.” He said, not dropping his gaze from hers for a second. “Are you sure? Even though you didn’t know what the mark meant, is there any way that it could have made you act that way?” she asked, needing to be one hundred percent sure. Yoongi nodded, taking a step closer to her. “I’m sure. The mark doesn’t even work that way, especially when…” he froze, realizing what he was just about to say.

“When you haven’t claimed me?” Soo Jin finished for him. Yoongi’s jaw dropped. “How…?”

“I came back that day. I had forgotten my name badge and I went back for it and I overheard you and Namjoon talking.” She said, anger starting to bubble up inside of her. “You were talking about how to claim me.” she said, her words coming out harsher than she had expected.

Yoongi physically flinched from her words. “Soo Jin, no.” he said. “No. You misunderstood, I swear. Namjoon found out about how to claim your… mate.” He said, stumbling over the word ‘mate’. “But I swore that I would never do it to you without your permission.” He said hastily, not wanting her to misunderstand him. “What happens if you don’t claim me?” Soo Jin said, surprised by her own ability to stay calm. “Nothing.” Yoongi said. “Nothing happens but the marks won't go away.” He admitted.

“So, if I said that I didn’t want to be your mate, we would both still have these marks forever?” she asked. Yoongi nodded, his heart falling at the turn in the conversation. “So the marks are just there to identify a mate?” she asked, looking at the symbol on her wrist. Yoongi nodded, “Basically, yeah. There are side effects to it, but because you're a human, you seem to be exempt from that.” He said. She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Side effects?” she asked curiously. Yoongi nodded, deciding that since they were having this conversation, it was best to tell her everything. He didn’t want to have any more secrets from her.

“Sometimes I get this feeling from the mark. When you didn’t come home the other night it was like it was throbbing.” He admitted to her for the first time, his fingers subconsciously moving to trace over his mark. “It reacts to my emotions… emotions relating to you. I was worried about you and rather than just feeling worried, the mark reacts to that.” He said. A look of concern washed over her. “Did it hurt?” she asked worriedly. Yoongi shook his head. “No, it was more uncomfortable than anything else. It died down a little whenever you messaged to say you were staying with a friend.”

Soo Jin nodded. “Okay. I understand.” She said as she let out a sigh. She felt crazy for talking about something like this, but there was a sense of relief washing over her the more Yoongi revealed to her.

“So what does it mean to claim someone?” she asked suddenly. “Do they become your possession? Do you own them?” she asked, once again rendering Yoongi speechless. “What the ? Soo Jin, no! It’s nothing like that!” he said desperately as he took another step closer to her. “It’s like a promise.” He said, remembering how Namjoon had explained everything to him. “Once a demon claims his mate, it’s just like making a promise to stay together. It’s kinda like a marriage, but there's no ceremony and no paper to sign. It’s not a contract, there's no punishment if you break it.” Soo Jin nodded, the word marriage feeling so intimate. She bit her lip as she thought over everything Yoongi had said to her.

Yoongi watched her as she battled with her feelings and everything they had talked about. “Soo Jin.” He said gently. “I know I shouldn’t have kept all this from you. I was wrong. I should have told you about it the second I found out about it but I just couldn’t. I never imagined ever having a mate, it’s not a common thing. Whenever I found out what the marks really meant, it’s as if everything clicked into place. Everything that I had felt just suddenly made sense as if I'd been listening to a radio that wasn’t fully tuned in but then when I found this out… it was like someone adjusted the radio and for the first time everything was clear.”

He reached out and gently took her hand into his, thankful that she didn’t pull away from him. “Everything I did. Helping you move, giving you a job, driving you to your hometown, letting you move in with me… I didn’t do it because of some stupid demon mark. I did it because I wanted to. Me. Min Yoongi. Not some mark on our wrists, not some stupid magical bond.” He said, squeezing her hand gently, hoping his words were getting through to her.

“Soo Jin… I love you.” He said, his voice strong and weak at the same time. His hands were sweating as he said the three words to her that could change everything. This was the moment that would change both of their lives forever, either for better or for worse.

And as Soo Jin pulled her hand out of his, Yoongi was afraid that he had found out which one it was…