Baem doesn't acknowledge my greeting, just keeps his eyes trained on Jimin, who still stands in front of me protectively. "Hoseok," he greets me, his eyes narrowing as he continues to look at Jimin. "Jimin." He spits out the name as if it would burn his tongue. "It's always so nice to see you."
I hear Jimin scoff. If I could see his face, I imagine he'd be grimacing right now. "I wish I could say the same thing, Baem. But unfortunately," he crosses his arms in front of him "that would be a lie and I'm not a liar."
"Do you know this guy?"
At the sudden sound of Yoongi's voice in my ear, I jump, bumping into Jimin. He gives me a quick look before returning his glare to Baem, who just watches us with disdain. "You can leave now, Jimin." He smirks, making a shooing motion with his hand. "I can take care of Hoseok from here on. After all he is my boyfriend." He gives Jimin a pointed look. "Not yours."
"Guess that answers that question.." I hear Yoongi mumble behind me.
"And why anyone would date a douche like you, I'll never understand," Jimin says, distracting me from Yoongi. "Where were you when he was in the hospital?" Jimin throws his hands up in the air. "Boyfriend's should be there when their loved one is hurt, shouldn't they? Then where were you?"
"Jimin, that's enough," I say quietly, reaching forward to rest my hand on his shoulder.
He turns towards me, his eyes filled with sympathy. "No, Hoseok. It's not enough." He turns away, his shoulder tensing under my touch. "He was asleep for 2 months, Baem. And you didn't come at all." My heart drops at Jimin's words. I raise my gaze to Baem's, silently begging him to refute Jimin's words. There was no way he wouldn't have come, right? I know he's not always the nicest, but he wouldn't abandon me in my time of need. Right?
"Baem?" I ask quietly, getting his attention. His disinterested gaze meeting my own as he shrugs his shoulders.
"What would you want me to do, Hoseok? Sit by you every second, beg you to wake up? I can't just drop everything, you know that." He crosses his arms, his stare daring me to disagree with him.
I drop my gaze to the floor, busying myself with looking at the scuffs on my shoes. "I guess you're right," I say weakly.
Baem laughs. "See Jimin? Hoseok understands." I watch as his feet approach us, stopping in front of Jimin. I bring my eyes back up to see Baem towering over Jimin. "You're free to go now."
Jimin sighs and slides the bag off of his shoulder, turning to hand it to me as Baem watches in smug satisfaction. Jimin's pitying gaze meets mine. He leans in, gently resting the bag on my shoulder. "You can't always let him walk all over you," he whispers before brushing passed me. I turn, watching him stomp away.
Baem's arms wrap around my waist, pulling me back into his chest. He rests his chin on top of my head. "You should stop hanging out with him, babe. He's a total loser." His laughter shakes me, his chin digging into my scalp.
I step out of his embrace. Turning towards him, I level him with a glare. "That 'loser' is my best friend, Baem." I place my hands on my hips, using all the attitude I can muster. "And from where I stand, you're the only loser I see." His features darken, his eyes narrowing to slits. I brush passed him, going to my door.
He grabs my wrist, stopping me. I try to pull my hand free, but he keeps a hold of me. Pulling me back to him, he leans down so we're eye to eye, his brown hair tickling my forehead. I glance around, losing my earlier courage in the presence of Baem's anger. I meet Yoongi's angry glare, his expression dark as he watches Baem and I. Feeling my stare on him, Yoongi's gaze softens as he looks at me.
A cry escapes my throat as Baem squeezes my wrist, bringing my attention back to him. "That sounded a lot like an insult, Hoseok," he says, talking to me quietly like I'm a child. "You wouldn't be insulting me would you? Not after I went out of my way to come here?" He gives me a smile that sends a chill down my spine.
"N-No, Baem. I would never insult you," I scramble out, trying to appease his anger.
He leans back, a bit of my anxiety disappearing as he puts space between us. "Great." A smile spreads across his lips, bright despite the darkness I know is lurking behind it. "Now I have to get going, but I'll see you later okay?"
"Yeah, I'll, um, see you later."
I freeze as he leans down, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. "I love you," he says. My wrist stings as he finally releases it, all the blood rushing back to where it should be.
"I love you too," I say quietly, plastering a smile on my face. He throws me one last smile before turning, not looking back once as he walks away. I stay rooted in place, watching him leave. When he finally disappears, my body starts to shake. I turn, quickly walking to my door as Yoongi rushes to my side, his worried voice filling my ears.
"Hoseok? What was that?"
I ignore him, instead I try to focus on getting my key in the lock, which proves to be a huge problem as my hands are shaking too much.
"Are you really dating that jerk?"
I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. It takes a few breaths, but eventually my nerves settle enough that I can slide the key in. I open the door, slipping through it, and slam it behind me. Once I'm safely inside, my legs give out and I slide down the door, coming to sit on the floor.
Yoongi phases through the door, grumbling. "Just close the door on me why-" When he doesn't see me, he looks around, worry etched on his face. I don't know why he would be so worried, this is my house. What would be a danger to me here? When his eyes finally take in my position, curled up on the floor, he sighs. He sinks down in front of me, his gaze watching me warmly. We sit like that for a while, both of us just watching one another, but eventually Yoongi speaks. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Talk about what?"
"Oh I don't know." He rolls his eyes at me. "Maybe about the fact that you're in a relationship with an abusive asshole."
"Baem?" I shake my head. "He's not abusive."
"The scene I just witnessed outside begs to differ."
"You have no idea what you're talking about," I scoff, turning my head away.
"Pretty sure I do." He shakes his head, his blonde locks falling to hide his eyes from me. "But if you're not ready to see it yet-" he shrugs "-then there's nothing I can do about it."
"Good, so if you're do-"
"Except show you what a boyfriend is really supposed to be like." He pushes his hair out of the way, his eyes connecting with mine, a blush rising in my cheeks at the intensity in their dark depths.
My mouth drops open, my mind floundering for a sufficient response, but all that comes out is:
"What?"
As soon as I speak the word, I want to hide from my own stupidity. There are millions of words in the world and the only thing I could come up with to say is "What"? I cover my face, mortified.
When Yoongi's soft chuckles reach my ears, I part my fingers, peeking at him through the little gaps. His cheeks are dusted with red, his mouth spread in the biggest smile, the kind that shows his gums. My heart races, my blush deepening at the sight of him. Yoongi always seemed so mysterious and that's alluring all in its own, but at these moments when he lets down his walls, that's when I find him the most captivating.
I drop my hands from my face, a pout forming on my lips. "What are you laughing at?" I ask, pretending to be upset. It's hard to considering that all I want to do is reach out and pinch his cheeks.
"Nothing, nothing." He says, waving his hand in dismissal. His gaze meets mine, his eyes sparkling in amusement. "I declare my intention to woo you, and all you can say is "What?" That's hilarious," he snickers.
"We-well it won't work anyway!" I sputter, crossing my arms in front of me. I break our eye contact, looking away in defiance. "As if you could woo me."
"And why do you say that?"
"Because Baem is my soulmate. There's no way another man could influence me," I say. I'm not sure whether I'm trying to convince myself or him, I'm not sure it worked either way.
Yoongi's eyes narrow, his earlier playfulness replaced by his usually serious demeanor. "Trust me when I say this Hoseok." He leans forward until his face is only a few inches from mine. My breath hitches, my heart racing. My mind fills with images of leaning forward, of just placing my lips on his, but I push them away. I just said that no other man could influence me, didn't I? So where's all my willpower now that temptation is staring me in the face, his eyes boring into mine? "Baem's not your soulmate," Yoongi says. I blink slowly, as I come back to reality.
"What do you mean by that, Yoongi?" I ask, the words less than a whisper. "How do you know?" I reach forward, trying to grab his shoulders, but my hands go right through him. I stare at them silently, as if it's their fault that I can't touch him. Yoongi's eyes drop to my hands, a sad look in his eyes. "What did you mean by that?" I ask again.
"Nothing."
I grit my teeth, my fists clenching. "Don't lie to me, Yoongi."
"I'm not lying." His eyes dart away, his shoulders slumping under a weight that only he can feel. "It's just not the right time to tell you." He brings his eyes back to me, the yearning in them leaving me feeling like someone just punched me in the stomach.
Yoongi stiffens, his mouth pressing into a thin line. "I have to go," he says, his voice hard.
"What?"
"Goodnight, Hoseok."
"Wait!" I yell, but it's already too late. Yoongi's already fading away, the only thing left of him is his face, but even that's transparent enough that I can see through it.
"Don't worry," He says, his voice fading in and out. "I'll be back before you know it." He throws me one last gummy smile, then fades out of existence.
I draw my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. I hug my knees, the room suddenly feeling colder without Yoongi here. I think about him, the strange ghost that just suddenly popped into my life, and his words from earlier.
"Trust me when I say this, Hoseok. Baem's not your soulmate."
I pout, setting my chin on my knees, and stare off into nowhere, my mind filled with brown eyes and blonde hair.
"What did you mean by that, Yoongi?"
