"Hello! Welcome to Sweet, what would you like?" Yoongi greets the next customer to enter cheerfully, 1,000-watt smile on full display. This was Yoongi's job, greeting customers and taking their orders. His boss had told him that his looks and persona lived up to the name of the cafe. He was used simply to bring in the customers; to bring in the money with charms and smiles.

It isn't that Yoongi particularly minds, but today, it feels like something is missing. He glances at the clock, it's 3:37PM. Oh. That's why.

Hoseok isn't there.

Maybe he's just running late, Yoongi thinks. But Hoseok was always there at 3:30PM precisely; no earlier and certainly not later.

Yoongi remembers the day they met, it was his fifth day on the job.

--

Yoongi was greeting people as they came through the door, and taking their orders. He wondered if that is what it'll be like at Sweet forever; perpetually saying 'hello! Welcome to the Sweet...' and 'bye! Have a Sweet day!' for the rest of his life.

He internally sighed when the next person entered, painting on a bright smile. Although it was only his first day, he could feel it. Yoongi was setting himself up for complete and utter boredom by continuing that job.

Yoongi soon learned that he was right. He was setting himself up for complete boredom. Besides the conversations about small things, like work, weather, and the customer's order, nothing else happened. What exactly did he expect, though? After all, that was a coffee shop for crying out loud. What exciting events ever took place in a coffee shop? Not even robbers would bother to take from that place.

That wasn't to say that he was mad about his choice to work there. No, Yoongi never got mad. He was just... bored of it. Jobs like that didn't suit him, he needed to be moving. He needed his voice to be amplified so that an entire crowd could hear him. He needed to hear the high-pitched voices screaming for an encore. Yoongi needed to be performing. Performing, being on stage; he was made for it. And he did perform. Every night over at a club specifically for teens called Deity, he sang under the name 'V'. And, in about seven hours, he'd be on his there. He'd be finally releasing all of his energy, he'd be able to move. He'd be able to release all of the tension he held— Deity was his heaven.

While his mind was going a mile a minute thinking of his favorite place, Yoongi didn't notice the new customer entering.

"Hey, don't I get a 'Hello! Welcome to Sweet, what would you like?'" His eyes were brown, sparkling with mischief. His skin was pale; the lips voicing the taunt a pale pink, which now held a smirk.

"Oh." Yoongi snapped out of his reverie, not intimidated the slightest. "Hi! welcome to Sweet Cafe, what would you like?" He had said, feigning cheerfulness.

"I want an iced Americano. Make it well," he remembers the male saying, the challenging glint had never left his eyes.

    "I only take orders, I don't execute them. Sorry, buddy," Yoongi retorted quickly.

"I like your attitude."

"You sound like a recruiter or something."

Yoongi liked the way his eyes lit up when he laughed. "I'm Hoseok. You're V," Hoseok had said, sounding almost matter-of-factly.

"I'm Yoongi. You're awfully comfortable with someone you've just met," Yoongi observed, giving the iced Americano that was just placed on the counter to Hoseok. His eyes never left the other's face.

Hoseok left after that, with an 'I'll see you at 10:00 then?' and another one of his smirks.

And Yoongi did. Hoseok was one of the other rappers. He found out that he went by the stage name of Hope. And after his performance, he says 'I'm your hope!' in a rather silly way before exiting the stage, leaving a wake of cheers and claps behind him.

Soon after, it rolls around to the moment Yoongi's been, waiting for. The moment where his palms sweat with anticipation. The moment where his head pulsed and all he could hear was the screaming crowd. The moment where everything seemed to be happen in slow motion. Those moments were his life— everything he'd worked for even if it were just a hobby. To Yoongi, it was a dream; those moments were his dream and he lived it everyday at 10:30PM.

When he stepped off of the stage, he was drenched in sweat and his breathing was heavy. He's surpassed cloud nine; that was truly his ultimate high. The satisfaction of knowing that those people were screaming for him; that they were pumped and excited for his performance; that the pats on his back and the 'you did good's were all for him. Min Yoongi, nobody else.

After that, he quickly found Hoseok and they, once again, began conversing. That time though, it wasn't teasing or challenging. It was all praising and jokes that time, and they both spoke with the comfort and ease of long-time friends. Yoongi soon discovered that Hoseok was extremely happy and joking as a person. Hoseok discovered that Yoongi was one of those people who made weird analogies and stupid puns. The kind of person who could keep someone depressed smiling for ages and it'd still be genuine.

By the end of the night, they had exchanged  phone numbers and knew enough about one another that there was nothing much left to bare.

It became a routine, Hoseok visiting at 3:30PM precisely and entering with a strange joke. The only difference was that he stayed longer than the first time. He stayed until Yoongi got off at 5:00PM, and then, if you thought he spoke too much at the shop, he talked even more. That's another thing Yoongi had learned about Hoseok; he was one of those people who had to talk with anything breathing the same air as him. A compulsive conversation-starter. But it was okay because he was too.

--

Yoongi's smile becomes downcast when the clocks strikes 5:00PM. It's time for him to leave and Hoseok didn't even show up. He doesn't know whether to brush it off, be sad, or get angry about it. Mostly because Hoseok's been doing this for awhile- not showing up. It hurts Yoong's head trying to think of why. He waves his hand at his boss as he exits, thoughts continuing as he walks along the pavement.

To get to where he lives, he has to walk through a park. Only a year ago, he had loved the park. All of the children's smiles and giggles were genuine; not a trace of unhappiness was ever found. But somewhere along the way, Yoongi grew to dislike them. He thinks the reason is when Hoseok stopped showing up anywhere because it was around that time that his smile stopped reaching his eyes. It almost angers him; how could they smile so freely? How could they act so weightless?

Pretending, Yoongi tells himself. Children love to play pretend. Maybe he does too.

Usually when he got home, he would go straight for the food. But instead he goes to sit on the couch, wishing for time to pass and for it to become 10:00PM. There's a weight on his chest and he doesn't know why. He doesn't want to think anymore and he doesn't know why. Yoongi doesn't even want to be sitting on the couch anymore, and he doesn't know why. He just doesn't know anymore.

But it's then that Yoongi realizes that he's felt like this for awhile; lost. Conflicted. Angry. Upset. When did he start to pretend? He doesn't know. When did he stop smiling? He doesn't know.

How long has it been?

10:00PM approaches quicker than Yoongi thinks, and soon he's racing through the park again to Deity. His usual excitement isn't there though. How long has it been since it disappeared?

When he gets up to perform, he notices that the crowd has stopped screaming like they did before. How long has it been since they went away?

When he goes down to the bar, he receives no pats on the back. How long has it been since they stopped doing that?

When he goes to sit in his usual spot, Hoseok isn't there. How long has it been since he left?

As Yoongi's walking home, a car whizzes by. He watches it until he can't see it anymore. Hoseok loved cars, but Yoongi never did. Never will, now.

He decides to make a pit-stop somewhere before going home. Somewhere he hoped Hoseok bump into him at. It's dark and shady and Yoongi trips over a lot of stones, but when he reaches Hoseok's favorite spot, it's worth it. He leaves a small note, hoping that he'll see.

Dear Hoseok,

I don't know why I wrote this, but I miss you. A lot. Where did you go? I miss you. Maybe I can go live there with you someday, when I figure out of course. Will you ever read this? Of course, right? You're reading it right now, over my shoulder.

Can you make me a promise? If I can't visit you, will you come stay with me? Take me back to wherever you've run off to?

We'll meet again, that's what you said. Because the end isn't the end. It's the beginning. You'll be different when you come back to me. I will keep my eyes open for you.

Your BEST FRIEND,

Yoongi  Yoongurt

P.S.

Why did you leave again? Everything was great…

P.P.S

Don’t forget me, where ever you are. I’ll be fulfilling your dream for you, just in case you can’t ^^

Sighing, Yoongi puts the letter onto the rock, knowing that Hoseok won’t be reading it anytime soon. Or ever. It’s a depressing thought for Yoongi, knowing he’d never get his best friend back. It made his entire being feel unnatural knowing that even though Hoseok promised he’d come back, he knows that lost things don’t come back. He wishes he could forget that promise, the one he made just before the line signifying Hoseok’s life went flat.

But life doesn't work that way. Nobody forgets the end.

It's a month later from Yoongi's visit, and since then he has stopped going to Deity completely. He’s stopped looking for Hoseok. But he still writes letters to him and he still works at the same place. In fact, he had just gotten off. He's walking through the park where the children play pretend. Instead of walking through and avoiding possible interaction, he stops when he sees a stray puppy.

His eyes hold a familiar mischievous glint. His fur is dark brown and he has cute, floppy ears. Yoongi bends down to pet him, not thinking about anything in that moment. He likes the way the puppy's eyes light up when he wags his tail.

'The end is not the end. It's only a new beginning, I'll come back to you but I'll be different. Just keep your eyes open and don't forget, okay? Forgetting isn't an option.'

'I promise to keep my eyes wide open then.'

"It's you," Yoongi whispers, picking the puppy up. "You came back to me."

The puppy only barks in response, but he knows.

"I told you I wouldn't forget."

Yoongi smiles and tears streamed down his cheeks. "I missed you."

The puppy barks again, tail wagging madly.

    “I guess dogs really are man’s best friend.”

But that's just how life works. Nobody forgets the beginning.

_____

A/N:

This is so painfully mediocre. sorry ;-;