Lost & Found

7 Years Earlier

7 Years Earlier
15-Years-Old

Yoongi stared at himself in the mirror. 'How does she always get me to do crap like this?' he thought.

"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" The salesman asked. "Does everything fit to your satisfaction?"

"Yes, it does," Yoongi admitted. "I guess I'll take this one."

"Wonderful! If you'd like to get changed, you can bring the suit to the counter and we'll get you checked out!"

Yoongi entered the fitting room and sighed. 'It's making her happy,' he kept reminding himself as he changed. 'It's worth it because she's happy.'

Yoongi neatly folded the suit he was about to purchase with the money his parents had given him. They were incredibly excited that Yoongi was going to be getting ready for a dance, despite the fact that he wasn't actually going. Yoongi figured that, in the end, they just wanted to see him all dressed up. This was not something he'd considered when he'd explained Aera's plan to his parents. He figured they'd be against spending what Yoongi believed was a ridiculous amount of money on a suit that wasn't even going to technically be used.

After paying, Yoongi went looking for Aera. They'd parted ways in the mall at the suit store, and Aera had said she'd be going to a few stores looking for dresses. He pulled out his phone to text her, but found she already had. She was at the biggest department store in the makeup section.

"Makeup?" Yoongi mused. "She's terrible at doing makeup."

But still he trudged that way, wondering if Aera had found her dress yet.

When he found her, he was relieved to see a large bag next to her. But then he furrowed his brow at what was currently taking place. A woman at the makeup counter was doing Aera's makeup.

"You found a suit!" Aera exclaimed with glee, seeing the bag Yoongi was holding. "I was worried you'd be picky and take forever."

"Why would you think that?" Yoongi asked.

Aera shrugged. "You're weird about clothes sometimes."

Yoongi rolled his eyes, having no idea what she was talking about.

"Are you going to be ready to go after this?" Yoongi asked hopefully.

Aera narrowed her eyes at him as the makeup artist applied her blush. "Can you just humor me and at least pretend like you're having a good time?"

Yoongi's heart dropped. She was right. This all meant a lot to her, and he was bringing her down.

"I'm sorry," he offered. "This really was a good idea. I'm just getting anxious being around all these people. You know I hate the mall for that reason."

Aera sighed. "I know. I'm sorry, too. Yes, I'll be ready to go after this."

Soon enough, Aera's makeup was done, and she paid the artist. She then turned to Yoongi. "How do I look?"

"Not like yourself, but it's very pretty."

Aera rolled her eyes. "Nice backhanded compliment, Yoongs."

"I didn't mean it like that!"

Aera chuckled. "I'm just giving you a hard time. Okay, let's get going. We can go by your place first so you can get away from the crowds."

"And let you ride the bus back to your place by yourself? Are you joking?"

"It's not even that far. And I can take care of myself," Aera said, though she smiled at his chivalry.