Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 69

The Architecture of Us

​The night air was crisp as Aen walked Yoongi down to the parking garage.

The silence between them wasn't awkward; it was heavy with the weight of the day and the reality of Carly's tears.

​When they reached his car, Yoongi didn't reach for the door handle.

Instead, he turned to Aen, his shoulders dropping as he let out a long, weary sigh.

He leaned forward, resting his forehead against her shoulder, his eyes closing as he inhaled the scent of her hair.

​"She's right, you know," Yoongi murmured, his voice muffled against her sweater.

"Driving away will feel wrong for her every single time."

Aen wrapped her arms around him, resting her cheek against his cap.

She felt the same ache but she tried to be rational.

"She'll understand eventually, Yoon. She's just tired from the trip."

Yoongi pulled back just enough to look at her.

The usual playfulness was gone, replaced by a raw, tired kind of honesty.

He looked back up toward the light of her apartment window, then back at Aen.

​"She's right to ask, Jagi," Yoongi said softly in Korean, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw.

"It doesn't make sense to her. Going to separate homes, after all, when I went to the Philippines, even if it was just for two days, I live with you..."

"It's just the first night. She's still adjusting, Yoon."

"Even when we did videocalls, it was mostly in my apartment."

​He took a deep breath, his gaze locking onto hers with a sudden, firm certainty.

​"Should we just live together? For real."

​Aen felt her heart skip, the fatigue momentarily forgotten.

"Just... during this summer vacation when she's here?"

​"No, Jagiya," Yoongi said firmly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Even if she goes back to the Philippines. But right now... I want to wake up in the same house with you and Carly."

​"Are you sure?" she whispered, her mind racing with the risks, but her heart wanting to say yes.

​Yoongi didn't hesitate.

He leaned down, pressing a lingering, firm kiss to her forehead.

"I've never been surer of anything. Let's build a home, Aen. Together."

​Aen leaned into his touch, a small, worried but hopeful smile touching her lips.

"Then we'll have to be the smartest people in Seoul, Min Yoongi. Because I'm not letting anything break this home before we even start."

Yoongi took her hand, his thumb rubbing over the spot where her own mark was hidden.

"Let them try. We've spent far too long
being apart and over a year being a 'scandal.' A few walls in Hannam are nothing compared to what we've already survived."

***

​​Despite the long night of planning, Yoongi was back at Aen's apartment the next morning before Carly even rubbed the sleep from her eyes.