Umji was seen at the department store, trying out samples of perfumes that were arranged on the display table. She trailed the display rack with her hands, trying to identify the suitable scent for Sowon when she felt her head was spinning and a few bright spots appears on her eyes all of sudden. She tried to hold onto the rack, but her hand unluckily slips as she failed to stabilise her body. 

Unexpectedly, a hand grab her arm, trying to prevent her from falling onto the hard tiles. 

"Op...pa?" She voiced out slowly as she recognised the profile of the person that helps her. She squinted to get a better view of him, and quickly sighed in relief as the person was Yoongi after all. 

"Umji. What are you doing here? Are you okay?" He asked, genuinely concern of her condition. 

"Yes. I was just... having another sugar deprivation I guess."
"You've been dieting again don't you?" 

Yoongi raised his voice, frustrated with how Umji chose to lead her life. He knows well that the girl has been trying all sort of diet in order to keep her shape. She even used to skip her meals for days and only drink protein shake in the past.

As the result, she frequently experienced fainting episode, where she'll be diagnose with lack of nutrients and food when they brought her to the hospital.

All for the sake of keeping her reputation as a model. 

But, what infuriated him more was because even though she already quits her job as a model, Umji can't seem to let go of her past habit. She has been caught up in the vicious cycle of unhealthy diet.

"Please. Cut the small talk, oppa." She said as she slightly push his hand away, trying to balance herself. 

"What do you mean? Oh no. You're coming with me. Come, Umji. We'll get something for you to eat." 

***

Yoongi rush to the juice bar to buy something for Umji. Without putting much thought, he immediately chose banana smoothie, hoping that it would be a perfect drink to revive sugar in her body. 

As he stood near the counter for his drink, his eyes never leave her. He keep staring at the girl, until a voice greet him.

"Who is she? A girlfriend?"

He turned to the voice to see a guy employee in his early 20's was smiling at him. 

"Oh no. She's not." He replied him short, although the guy employee could see a tiny smile already curved on his mouth.

"Is she one of your flings then? I saw something in your eyes as you stare at her, Mr." 

Yoongi frantically waved his hand, denying the statement. 

"Oh no. Stop teasing me. She's just..." 
"Yes?" 
"A very very good friend of mine." He said, stressing on the word 'friend'.

"Oh come on. Guys and girls can't be friends. One of them will soon fall for another." 
"I know. Nonetheless, we're still friends anyhow."

The guy employee smirked as he sensed disappointment in his tone. 

"Well, do you like her? You seem like you do. Am I right? I mean if you do, just go for it, dude. Plus, she's like super cute and seems like a great lady as well. You won't lose nothing. That's for sure." 

Yoongi blinked couple of time before spluttering,

"W-what? Wait. Why am I having this type of conversation with a stranger? Forget it. Just give me my smoothies won't you?"
"You're the one who keep answering to my questions though." He chuckled. 

"Here's your drinks. And..." He looks straight to Yoongi's eyes as he gave the change to him.

 "May odd be ever in your favour." 

***

Yoongi then walks toward Umji with the drinks. 

"I'm sorry this took a while. That guy at the counter keep uttering weirds, incomprehensible words, I unknowingly got distracted by him." He sighed as he put the smoothies on the table. 

"You know him, oppa? It seems like you do."
"Him? Oh no. He's just a total stranger that try to be friendly I guess."

Umji just nod as she took a sip of the smoothie. 'Refreshing.' She thought to herself and smile.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Yoongi asked. 

"The reason would be similar to you I guess."
"Me? I'm here for-"
"Sowon unnie's present, right?" 
"... yeah. That girl is gonna kill me if I didn't bring any present to the party." He said as he caressed the back of his neck, earning a chuckle from Umji. 

"It... has been a while, right? Since we all are together again. Even Namjoon oppa will be joining us too today."
"It is." Yoongi smiles as he reminisced the bond between them. 

Not long after that, something ring inside him, and he fixed his gaze at her, uneasiness portrayed in his expression as he utters,

"But, really. Umji, please do tell me if there's anything bothering you, okay? I just can't turn a blind eye when you keep acting like this. You kinda reminded me of Jungkook." 

Umji flinched at the name. 

"Jungkook oppa? What's up with him?" She asked, slightly anxious. 

"I'm not sure. But, Jin hyung told me that the boy is having some troubles lately. He keep asking hyung to accompany him to drink. I guess to forget something. Must be regarding Eunha and her memory loss. He won't share with us anyway. And, that made us worried a lot." 

Umji nodded slightly before curving a stiff smile. 

"Don't worry oppa. Everything will go back to its place once she remembers again. It will." She said, reassuring him that it will be fine. 

"It has to." She continued in almost inaudible voice. Yoongi swear he sensed deep guilt in the last sentence. He then stares intensely at Umji before the girl replied it with a warm smile. 

"What's wrong oppa?"
"Ah... nothing. I was just... zoning out I guess." He averted his gaze away from her. 

***

Flashback. 

"Mrs Jung. Everything is whether possible or impossible when it comes to nightmare for dissociative amnesia patients. What am I trying to say was, maybe you should ask around more regarding this matter. I wouldn't dare to say that there might be tiny possibilities that someone actually might've took away the necklace from you. But, it could also implied that the dream might be just a metaphor to what've happened to you before. For instance, there's a case which a guy who suffer from dissociative amnesia complained of the same nightmare every single night. And, the nightmare was no other than his friends are trying to kill him. Soon after, he found out that they indeed had an intention to get rid of him. But, not through a murder. His friends were stealthily planning on how to induce his bankruptcy instead."

Eunha leaned back to her chair as the story put her in daze.

"Just as I said before, the same thing could've happened to you, Mrs Jung. Have you ask your husband regarding the nightmare? He might've a clue of what's going on." 

End of Flashback 

Eunha's eyes were locked on her bed sheet. She sat in silent, as the doctor's words constantly bouncing in her mind. Jungkook who was standing in front of their wardrobe, getting ready for the dinner, looked at her concernedly as he uttered, 

"You've been awfully quiet since we come back from the hospital. Are you sure you're okay, Eunha?"

She shook her head as the question brought her back to reality. 

"Yes? I'm sorry, what was that again?"

Jungkook arched his eyebrow slightly in a dubious stare.

"You've seem to be spacing out since this afternoon after the appointment with Dr Kim. I wonder what've happened." He ask, in his soft, concern voice. 

"Oh. Nothing. Nothing in particular  happened." She tried to keep him off the information. 

'I'm sorry I lied. But, somehow I know you won't give me the correct answer even if I ask you about it.' She thought to herself. 

"Oh okay." He shrugged his shoulder as he ran his finger through his hair. 

"Are we having a party? Again?" She emphasised on 'again' as she noticed Jungkook was grooming himself in front of the mirror. 

"It's a dinner. We always had dinner with our friends every once or two month. Plus, today is a very special day. We're going to celebrate Sowon noona's birthday." Jungkook tried to explain to his wife regarding the get-together that will be held at Yerin and Taehyung's house tonight. 

"Sowon? Who is she? I've never heard of that name before. Is she some kind of your ex girlfriend?"
"Well well. Are you starting to get jealous of me or what?" He playfully smirked.

"What? No. No, I'm not." She grimaced at him. 

"I sensed jealousy though."
"Oh gosh please. Stop fooling yourself. You don't want to get hurt again don't you?" 
"Hurt or no hurt, doesn't matter much to me anymore now. I want your heart. And, I'm gonna make that mine." He wryly smiled while pointing to her left side chest. 

"Eww. Cheesy lines. That's what I hate the most though. Anyhow, please answer my question will you? Why do you always have to make me repeat myself?"
"She's Jin hyung's girlfriend. You met him at the party, remember?"

She thought for a while before exclaiming, 

"Oh! That handsome, tall with a wide shoulder oppa, right?"
"Err... do you really have to mention that in front of me though? Hello? Your husband speaking here?" He said, pointing to himself. 

"Oh come on. You know that was just empty compliments, right? So, what about them? Do I know her from high school days too?" 
"Yup. They've been together for 10 years. Unfortunately, they've been away from each other for quite a while as noona works in Japan and hyung had to join his father's firm in Seoul."
"Wow. That's tragic."
"Yup. They were very fond for one another so they kinda publicly displayed their affection whenever they got to see each other." 

Eunha claps in amusement as she heard the story. 

"PDA! They sound interesting!"
"Are you coming then?"
"Absolutely!" 

***

"Unnie! Please stop doing that. It's unhygienic, you see?" Yuju shrieked as Sowon keep dipping her finger into the sauce bowl. Sinb at her side just shook her head in disbelief while Umji could only laugh at her innocence. 

"Yerin-ah, I wonder how did you made this dipping sauce? This is hella good!" 
"Oh don't ask me unnie. I'm not the chef. Taehyung's the one who prepared all these." Yerin smiled proudly as she arranged the flower in a vase. She then put the flower at the centre of the table as the decoration. 

"There. Eunha would love this." She said as she caressed the baby breath. 

"Honey! Oh I miss you!" Jin whined as he curled him arms over Sowon's waist. All of them look at the pair disgustedly as Jin tighten the back-hug. 

"Eww." All of them unconsciously blurted out in unison.

Suddenly, the front door flew open and all of their attention diverted to a person who was mischievously smirking outside the house. 

"A-yo ma friend. Who's missing mehhhh~" Namjoon sang as he throw off his duffel bag in the corner of the room. He keep waving up his hand, while shouting 'swag'. 

The girls were laughing at him and the boys approached him with a high five and a weird hand-shake. Jin was an exception. As Namjoon tried to reach him with their friendship's hand shake, he pulled him into a hug which startled most of them except Sowon. 

"I'm fine if it was Namjoon." She shrugged as the boys keep teasing Jin is cheating on her. 

All of them gaze upon each other for a few second before bursting into laughter. 

***

"I'm sorry I couldn't prepare anything special in advance. I'm not sure what'll you like so Jungkook decided we should bring a wine for the dinner." Eunha handed off the raspberry wine to Sowon. To her surprise, Sowon eyes widened in amusement as she inspect the bottle. 

"Bokbunja! It's been a while since I had this!" She exclaimed. 
"Thank you, Eunha." She beamed from ear to ear. 

"I've told you she'll love it." Jungkook said as he nudged lightly his wife's elbow. 

Eunha playfully rolled her eyes and smiled wryly. She mouthed 'thank you' to Jungkook as Sowon pulled her to the table. 

"Okay. Let's dig in guys!" Jin said as they all took their seat at the table. 

***

The dinner last for a few hours. They keep talking and updating about their recent life even though the main dish, butter king crab with fried rice were already long gone to their stomach. 

"Hey! I'm out of drink!" Hoseok said as he shake up his beer can. 

"Yup. Same here!" Jimin hold his hand up high with grin. 

"Hey, you know the song, right? There's no loot, no booze-"
"No fun!" Taehyung cut Namjoon off while his hands started strumming an air guitar and his body jamming into an imaginary music. 

"Do song with that title actually exist in this world?" Sinb widened her eyes as the boys keep shouting 'poom, poom, poom'. 

"I don't know but Kim Taehyung surely going to be sorry for acting like an idiot tonight." Yerin then smack Taehyung's stomach while glaring furiously at him. 

"Auch, wifie! Why are you so evil?" He caressed his stomach. The others laughed at him as they saw him whining at Yerin to be forgiven. 

"Well, what if we assigned someone to go buy the beers for everyone?" Sowon then interrupted. 

"That sounds like a good idea, Sowon! Make it two. Who knows if we got chosen then we could..." Jin wriggles his eyebrows as Sowon bashfully smiles at him. The others were all cringed and made a face at the sight of the couple. 

"We won't choose you guys. That's for sure." Yoongi said and the others start to breath in relief with his statement. 

"Let's play a game then!" Taehyung shot his hand up in the air. Yerin could only smack her forehead as she was exhausted with her husband's childlike behaviour. 

"Unnie. I guess it's your fate after all to have a soulmate who acts just like you." Yuju as she saw Yerin is being extremely distressed with Taehyung. 

"Yah! I'm not like that, okay? He's like 4D alien. I'm-"
"Same goes to you. You're for sure extraterrestrial as well." Sinb cut her off with a smirk. 

And, they all laughed at Sinb's remark. 

***

After playing both acclaimed drinking game, Baskin Robbin 31 and Nunchi (Sense) game, Umji and Jungkook turns out to be the one who had to go to buy the drinks. Jungkook was reluctant at first as he saw Eunha didn't talk much during the dinner but the others keep urging them to be faster, so in the end he whispered to Eunha, 

"I won't be long. I'll buy Pepsi and strawberry ice cream for you too." He said, considering Eunha still think that she is a child and won't touch any alcoholic drink. 

"Don't worry, dude! She got us!" Jimin assured him.

Eunha only nodded and made a tiny pout as her husband waved her goodbye. 

***

Eunha keep fiddling with her fingers, eyes scanning all over the room as uneasiness grew within her. She obviously unable to join or even relate to their conversation, considering everything sounded unfamiliar for her. 

The longer she stayed, the more she felt excluded by the crowd. She then walked away from the table, giving an excuse that she needed to go to the washroom. 

***

"Ouf! This was frustrating!" She said as she washed her hands. 

"Why do I have to come here and make myself look like a fool, really?" She sighed. 

"And, why in the world did it took so long for them to buy some beers? It has been 20 minutes or so..." She whined. 

Solemnly, Eunha then strode out from the washroom with a long face. As she passed through the shelf of books, she was immersed by a sight of Yoongi who was holding a book nearby a window. 'Oh gosh, he's so charming!' She squeals on the inside. 

What she didn't know was, while she was admiring and jumping out of joy over Yoongi, a pair of eyes was intensely watching her from across the room. 

Ps: Fuhh... I love this chapter the most! Despite all the problems and conflicts within Jungkook, Eunha, Umji and Yoongi, I was dying to show this side of friendship they had.

Oh! For those who are wondering what is Bokbunja, it is a raspberry wine, mostly found in Jeju Island and was well known in Korea for its healthy benefits. Female usually would be totally obsessed over this wine for its sweet after taste. 

That being said, I'm not much a drinker myself lol. The only drinks that I love is Pepsi! And, also coke! Haha ❤️😂😅

Pss: I bet you know why I chose this chapter title as buddy, right 😏😉

Psss: I used to be like Umji's character in the past. I tend to body shaming myself to the extent of not eating anything for a two full weeks if I'm not mistaken. I only taste food and spit it out back when I'm too hungry. 

I'm getting better though now. My family and friends constantly giving me support and words of encouragement so that I can regain my self esteem. 

So, kids... moral of the day is not to do those stuff okay? You have to be confident with yourself, with your body so that the shine will come on its own! Fight those negative feelings and let's all be happy 😁😁