Lost & Found

3 Years Earlier

3 Years Earlier
19-Years-Old

Yoongi was putting away his belongings and trying to make his half of the dorm room feel like home when the door opened and a young man with purple hair entered the room.

"Oh! You're already here," the man said. "I'm Hye, your roommate!"

Yoongi smiled. "I'm Yoongi. It's great to meet you."

"Likewise!"

Yoongi noticed that Hye was carrying a box. "Do you need any help moving in?" he asked.

"I've got some more boxes downstairs, if you wouldn't mind helping me bring them in."

"Not at all."

Twenty minutes later, all of Hye's boxes were in the room, and he began unpacking. He and Yoongi were idly chatting about themselves when there was a knock at the door.

Yoongi opened it and was only slightly surprised to see Aera standing there.

"Hey, Yoongs! Have you unpacked?"

"Yep," Yoongi replied. "My roommate is unpacking his stuff now."

"Oh, your roommate is here?! Can I meet him?!"

Yoongi chuckled at Aera's excitement. "Sure."

He turned and Aera quickly followed him into the room. Hye looked up and stopped short.

"Uh, hey," he said, sounding surprised.

"Hey!"

"Hye, this is Aera," Yoongi said. "You'll be seeing a lot of her, I'm sure."

"Nice to meet you," Hye said with a slight bow. Aera returned it.

"I'm so glad I'm getting to meet Yoongs's roommate!" Aera said earnestly. "Mine hasn't even showed up yet."

"Surely she will soon," Yoongi said. Aera shrugged.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it," Aera said. "I still have a little bit of unpacking to do. I'll do that while waiting to see if my roommate ever shows up." She chuckled and Yoongi smiled.

"You're welcome here any time, A," he said. Then, he remembered that the room wasn't just his. "I mean, if that's okay with you, Hye."

Hye looked up. "Yeah, of course."

Aera beamed at him. "Thanks! Well, I'll see you later tonight, Yoongs? We should get dinner."

"Sounds like a plan," Yoongi replied as he walked her to the door. As soon as it was closed, Hye rounded on Yoongi.

"Your girl is hot," he said. "Well done."

"What?" Yoongi asked, genuinely confused.

"Aera," Hye continued. "She's hot. I mean, I don't mean to objectify your girlfriend. But I'm just saying."

"Girlfriend?!" Yoongi said incredulously. "Aera? No, no, no, she's my best friend, not my girlfriend."

"Oh," Hye replied, looking surprised. "I just assumed..."

Yoongi suddenly burst into laughter. Hye watched him curiously.

"I'm sorry," Yoongi managed to choke out. "I just... Imagining Aera in that way... It's simultaneously hilarious and disgusting."

"You think she's disgusting?" Hye asked incredulously.

Yoongi's laughter calmed down abruptly. "What? No! Just the idea of dating her is...well, gross. We've been best friends for 12 years. I just can't see her in that way."

Hye raised his eyebrows, but nodded. "So," he said. "I could maybe ask her out, then?"

Yoongi blinked. "Uh..."

"I mean, only if it's okay with you," Hye continued quickly.

Yoongi considered this. Hye seemed like a nice enough guy, but then again, Yoongi had only known him for about an hour. He wasn't sure if he could trust him completely yet.

"I guess that'd be okay," Yoongi finally decided. "But first, we need to have a talk."

"Okay?" Hye replied, a bit confused.

"At the risk of sounding cliché, if you ever hurt her, I'll tear you limb from limb."

"I understand."

"No, but I'm serious," Yoongi looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I have physically assaulted more than one person in defense of her in the past. Don't underestimate me, Hye. I will not hesitate to hurt you."

Hye's eyes widened slightly. "Okay," he said quietly.

"I'll make your life a living hell."

"I get it."

"I don't quite think you do," Yoongi insisted. "I will resort to any type of violence you can imagine...physical, mental, emotional. Aera is special, Hye. And I'd kill for her."

Hye looked very nervous. "I understand," he said again. "I promise that, if she doesn't turn me down, I'll be good to her."

Yoongi eyed him suspiciously. Eventually, he spoke. "Okay, good."

An awkward silence fell over them. Eventually Hye went back to unpacking, and Yoongi began asking him questions to learn more about him. Hye reciprocated, but still seemed nervous. Yoongi felt only slightly bad, and did his best to calm Hye down.

"Do you want to join Aera and me for dinner tonight?" he suddenly asked.

"A-Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."

"I invited you, so you won't be," Yoongi insisted. "This could be an opportunity for you to get to know Aera a little better. And I can get an idea of how well you two mesh."

Hye smiled awkwardly. "Okay."

"Great! I'll let Aera know and figure out where we'll be going."

Hye nodded, and Yoongi picked up his phone to call Aera.

"I think this is the start of some great relationships between us all," Yoongi reassured. "So, let's all just continue to get to know each other."

Hye nodded again, and Yoongi smiled. Then, he quickly called Aera to let her know about the new plan.