Heartbeat // JK

40- The Simons

They weren't at The Polo anymore.

Somehow, without even talking about it, they'd ended up at a quiet little rooftop lounge in Westwood — one Namjoon had remembered from years ago. Private. Uncrowded. The kind of place where no one asked questions unless you asked for the good whisky.

No one drank anything.
They just sat.
Around a low table.
Hands wrapped around water glasses no one touched.

"She didn't even get in the van," Jin said suddenly.

Like it was still catching up to him.

"She didn't even look back."

"I would've run too," Jimin muttered, jaw tight.

"If someone said half that shit to me—"

"It wasn't his words," Hobi muttered.

"It was the way she looked at him. Like she'd been bracing for that slap since the second he walked in."

Yoongi exhaled through his nose.

"She's scared."

"She's furious," Taehyung muttered, eyes on the floor.

Jungkook didn't blink.

"She's scared, Tae. She just doesn't want us to see it."

He hadn't moved since they sat.
Hadn't taken off his jacket.
Hadn't touched his phone.

"She'll call," Namjoon said.

But it didn't land right.
Too hopeful. Too uncertain.

Jungkook just stared at the table.

"She left like she wasn't sure we'd still be there if she came back," he said.

Quiet. Cracked down the middle.

No one answered that.
Because it was true.
Because it hurt.

Time passed.

More than it should have.
Sunlight shifted across the floorboards. The warmth turned gold, then slow. The hour stretched long and dry between glances at the clock and every phone on the table staying silent.

Until— A buzz.
Taehyung's.

He snatched it up fast, thumb already swiping.
One look at the screen — and his face changed.

Not a smile. Not relief. Just something sharper. More awake.

"It's her," he said, standing.

No one moved as he stepped away from the group, phone pressed to his ear.

Just a few murmured words. A low tone.
Then a pause.

When he returned — His voice was calm.
But his eyes weren't.

"She sent a location," Tae added.

"No explanation. Just dropped the pin like we'd figure it out."

"Did you?" Jin asked.

Tae nodded once, slowly.

"She's at a restaurant. Small place in West Hollywood. Italian."

Yoongi narrowed his eyes.

"The place means anything to you?"

"She never mentioned it before but it's important," Tae said.

"I know that tone."

"What tone?" Jungkook's voice was already rising, low and desperate.

Taehyung looked up at him.

"She's trying to sound casual. But she's terrified we won't come."