— It’s morning already. If I fell asleep, I didn’t notice. I’m still staring at my phone, debating over whether to give him a call or not. I get up and get ready for school. I already have a hand on the door knob when a sleepy Amy stops me.

Amy: *yawn* You’re up early. Did you decide to go see Taehyung?

Me: Huh? No. I have class.

Amy: Since when did you have class on a Saturday?

— I was so out of it that I didn’t even realize it was Saturday.

Amy: Are you okay? You’re zoning out again. I get nervous when you zone out. HA! Remember last time? You poured yourself a cup of soy sauce instead of cola. That was hilarious!

Me: Yeah…hilarious…

Amy: Seriously, though. What’s up?

Me: Nothing…I’m going back to bed…

— I groggily make my way back to my room, but she grabs my arm and asks me to sit at the table. She makes coffee for the both of us before taking her own seat.

Amy: Go ahead. Tell me what’s wrong.

Me: I didn’t get any sleep last night…

Amy: Because…?

Me: Because I was debating over whether to call him or not…

Amy: What’s there to debate over? Just call him already.

Me: Then what? What do I say? I have no idea where to start.

Amy: “Hi” is always a good choice.

Me: Shut up…

Amy: Okay. I’ll be serious for a second. From what I saw that night…by the way, you’re not off the hook for that yet; and I’ll remind you of that again when I need any favors done. Anyway, from what I saw, he really likes you. I don’t think it matters what you said to him. He probably misses you as much as you miss him.

Me: I don’t know about that…

Amy: Look, you’re the one that got mad at him so he can’t exactly be the first to contact you. If you want to fix this, then you have to be the one to go to him. If it doesn’t work out then at least you gave yourself the chance to apologize, right?

Me: Right…

— Deep down, I knew she was right; but I just couldn’t get myself to make that call. I don’t know if I was too scared or what. I spent the day on the couch, pretending to watch TV. I can feel Amy watching me, probably wondering why I haven’t called V yet. She doesn’t say anything, though. I guess she feels like she’s already done all she could to help. The entire day passes me by as my internal debate reaches an impasse. I go to bed for good measure, but I’m still restless.

— I watch the night sky brighten as the sun rises. The sun feels different today.It looks like it’s going to rain. The weather finally suits my mood. I get out of bed and head to the kitchen. Amy is already up and preparing our hot cocoa.

Amy: It looks like it’s going to rain tonight. You know what goes great with rain? Noodles! Can you pull yourself together long enough to come with me?

Me: Yeah…I guess.

Amy: Good! Dress properly. I want to do some shopping afterwards. Oh, and I have to stop by my classmate’s house really quick later, so I’ll just meet you there, okay?

— Morning turns to afternoon and Amy leaves for her classmate’s house. In the blink of an eye, it’s already time for me to meet her at the noodle shop. I make sure to dress nicely even though it’s raining. I know she wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if she makes a specific request like that and I ignore her. I arrive at the noodle shop first and take a seat. I call her to ask where she is and she says she’s close. After 5 minutes of waiting, I send her a text.

Me: Where are you? The owner lady’s giving me the look. If I don’t order soon, she’s going to get mad.

Amy: Don’t worry. Almost there!

— Another 10 minutes pass and she still doesn’t arrive. I’m just about to leave when I hear someone walk in. Finally! I look up, ready to complain to her for making me wait so long, but it’s not her that walks in.

V: Hey…

— Just then I receive another text.

Amy: Whoops! Looks like I’m not going to make it tonight. Have fun!

— I searched the windows of the store and found Amy outside staring through one with a big grin on her face. She waves at me then makes pushing gestures with her hands, signaling me to acknowledge V’s presence. I stand there, staring at her through the window like an idiot, while my mind tries to figure out what’s going on. Then it hits me: this is exactly what we were going to do to her and J-hope. She used my own plan against me?! V sees me focused on the window so he looks, too. Once Amy sees V looking at her, she quickly turns away and he looks back at me. He finally understands, as well. He smirks and shakes his head.

V: We should order before the owner kicks us out.

— He takes his seat and orders his noodles. My mind still can’t believe that I would fall for my own trick. I’m only half-conscious of my actions as I take the seat opposite of him and place my own order. We eat in silence. I don’t even look up from my bowl, too nervous to make eye contact. The tension continues to build up between us until I can no longer take it. I put down my chopsticks, wipe my mouth, and then clear my throat.

Me: I’m sorry about what I said that night. I didn’t mean any of it. I hope you know that.

V: You meant some of it, but that’s okay. You had every right to be mad.

Me: Not that mad…

— My guilt leads me to pick up my chopsticks and stare back into my bowl. The mood is still tense and the silence returns. This time, it’s V’s turn to start the conversation.

V: Do you want to go for a walk when we’re done eating?

Me: But it’s raining…

V: So?

— I look up from bowl, expecting him to have a joking look on his face. He’s serious.

Me: Sure. Why not?

— We finish eating and make our way outside. It stopped raining, but the streets were soaked. Being my clumsy self, I only make it about 1 block before I slip on the wet ground. V is right there to catch me. He looks down at me in his arms and he smiles. That smile. I almost forgot how amazing his smile is. I can feel the heat circulate through my body again and I begin to blush. He helps me stand back up and I straighten my clothes. He starts to walk again, but I grab his hand and make him stay.

Me: I missed you. That night, I wanted to run back out to you the second I got inside. I wanted to tell you that I was just angry at myself and that I was sorry for taking it out on you.

V: Why didn’t you then?

Me: Because I was scared…and I felt like I didn’t deserve you after what I did to Amy.

V: Well, it looks like you guys made up now…

— As he says this, he begins to steps forward; slowly closing the gap between us. He’s now right in front of me; barely any room for the autumn wind to squeeze through in between us. His hand finds my cheek as he tucks my hair behind my ear again.

V: So it’s all on you…Are you still scared?…

— His eyes stare deep into mine as our heads move closer together. We share simple kiss, and pull away for a split second only to continue kissing again. The world around us disappears; it’s only him and me in this moment and I couldn’t be happier. That is, until…*smack*…*smack*…We pull away from each other; both rubbing our heads from the pain. I turn to see what was going on and there was Amy with a rolled up magazine.

Amy: I told you! No lovey-dovey stuff until it’s official and I have yet to receive any sort of confirmation.

— The rest of the members, including J-hope, follow behind her; cheering for V. I greet them with embarrassment. How long have they been watching? V takes my hand and formally introduces me as his girlfriend. After our hellos, we continue with our walk; all 9 of us, together. I glance at Amy and she sends me an approving smile. She turns to J-hope who was already looking at her and they smile at each other as well. As we walk, I recall in my mind the weeks that have passed since that fateful morning at the café. Just that morning, I was wishing for my happily-ever-after; and, only after a few short weeks, I found it.

————— The end —————