--Five years later--

“I’m home!” Jihyun called out as she placed her groceries on the table and instantly felt a hand snake around her waist. Turning to the culprit, she laughed as she placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

“Hi love.” He called out and she smiled, “Hey.”

“I played with Junghyun for a while and she’s having her afternoon nap now.” He said and she smiled as she nuzzled her nose into the crook of his shoulder. “Thanks for taking care of her today, sorry for the last minute notice.”

“Of course. Now go do what you need to do.” He said as he placed a kiss on the crown of her head before she disappeared into the bedroom to change.

Humming her favourite song and changing into her work outfit, she placed on her usual simple jewelry and snuck a quick hug from the boy before exiting the door.

Trudging through the New York City weekend crowd, she rushed to the subway to get downtown. Mina hadn’t told her what she was needed for, merely citing a work emergency while Jihyun was at the market and asked her to come as soon as she could.

She literally ran four blocks to get home after hanging up.

Arriving on set, she saw Mina surrounded by a bunch of people while she was sitting down on the sofa. Hurriedly running towards her boss, Mina was holding onto her ankle and she looked as if she was in pain.

“J-Ji, you’re here.” She managed to huff out as Jihyun looked at her worriedly. “What happened, Mina?”

“I was trying to rock these high heels and fell from the platform. Stupid, I know.” She said bitterly, “I have an important interview today and I didn’t want to trouble you because you might feel uncomfortable. But you know you’re the only one I trust with important matters, and I need to get to the hospital because my ankle is killing me...” She grunted and Jihyun shook her head, “Of course I’d do it! Why would I be uncomfortable?”

As if on cue, she heard loud voices coming in from the entrance, and seven familiar faces came into her view. The seven faces whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, and one of them being the boy she had loved before.

“That’s why.” Mina murmured under her breath, silently blaming herself for causing the awkward run-in.

Five years ago when Jihyun had escaped to New York once again, she had finally filled Mina in with everything that had happened. She cried, she sobbed, she was mad, she laughed - but Mina validated every single emotion of hers and felt deeply unjust for her. More than a boss, just like Miyoung and Sooyoung, Mina was a dear friend to her.

And that was why she wanted to protect Jihyun from running into Jungkook when she heard that the band was coming to Vogue New York for an exclusive special interview to kick-off their American tour.

She had tried her best to keep it a secret for the last few months, assigning other jobs to Jihyun instead - and honestly Jihyun hadn’t suspected a single thing, because she had been too busy and overwhelmed with other stuff as well.

But now the cat was out of the bag, and Jeon Jungkook was standing in front of her, looking as ethereal as ever.

Her breath hitched and her heart throbbed wildly against her chest. Perhaps it was true that men aged like fine wine, because he surely did.

Decked in a classic black suit, the boy looked as dashing as the last time she had seen him.

His red hair had been dyed blonde, and she didn’t know that it was possible but he looked even better than before. He had grown out his hair just a little, stretching to the back of his neck and parting in the middle. It seemed that he had been bulking up over the years, as she noticed his broad shoulders and muscular arms. His tattoos were on full display over his dainty hands, and the look had made him more mature and masculine as compared to before.

As they stayed rooted to the ground, eyes only gazing at each other, Jihyun hadn’t noticed the other boys running towards her as they engulfed her in a bone-crushing hug.

“Kim Jihyun!” They chanted repeatedly as the six of them circled her, earning a loud laughter from her as she looked at the boys whom she had missed so much. She glanced to the side to see that Jungkook had stayed frozen in his spot, but she could see a small smile creeping up his face.

The whole set looked particularly amused with their actions - right now they didn’t seem like global superstars, they looked like teenage boys who had just seen their idol as they cheered loudly.

Assuring Mina for the last time that she was going to be okay before hurrying her off to the hospital, she settled into the interviewer’s seat and looked at the 7 boys who looked back at her excitedly - reminding her of the first time they had met for an interview at Vogue Korea.

She hadn’t had time to run through the questions nor the script, but the boys kicked off their first interview so well that it felt like a natural conversation. Their jokes, their laughter, their smiles, the way they would look out for her during the interview and give quirky answers, how they’d fill in her words if she didn’t know what was next, how they participated in the games so actively. She missed every single one of them, and she knew it was mutual when they looked at her with concern and nostalgia.

Everything passed too quickly, and in no time, the interview had ended. They had barely managed to speak much before and during the interview due to the time constraint, but once it had ended, she was immediately pulled to the side by the group.

“Ji! We finally met again!” Taehyung spoke first, as he engulfed her into a hug and patted her head before the rest piled in into a group hug, crushing the girl beneath them. “C-can’t b-breath!” She sputtered as the group peeled themselves away from her while they all burst into laughter.

“It’s been so long! Do you have time now? Let’s go for dinner if you are free.” Jin suggested as he hung his hand over her shoulder. She glanced at the youngest who stayed silent but never took his eyes off of her.

“Only if we eat our favourite.” Jihyun hummed and the boys shouted in unison, “Korean barbecue!”

It had been another hour before they arrived in a private room of a Korean barbecue restaurant in Koreatown. Settling in between Jin and Taehyung, a hint of nostalgia passed her as she remembered hanging out with the boys. It had been five years, but it seemed like it was just yesterday when she was still 25.

They caught up on everything under the sun. It felt as if no time had passed at all and they had picked it up right where they left out.

They talked about how Namjoon had already publicized his relationship and was planning to start a family with a girl called Sora. Jihyun was surprised. She never knew the public would be accepting of any celebrity relationships, and when she caught Jungkook’s eye mid-conversation, her breath hitched and she was at a loss for words.

She knew they were thinking about the same thing.

She had refused to access any news regarding the band, to her, being oblivious was better than hurting - and that was how she tried to avoid every material regarding the group coming her way. From time to time she couldn’t help but hear some information here and there, after all, they are the biggest boyband in the world, but then she wills herself away and reminds herself - that bit of her life was over.

But being with these boys she had grown to love during the short span of time she was in Korea made her realised how much she had missed them.

Jin was still his old self - cracking dad jokes and living a happy-go-lucky lifestyle, they talked about how Yoongi was still obsessed with composing and Jungkook believes that he’s married to his stu