Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 97

The Intrusion of Reality

​The "hour of quiet" was shattered by a polite, rhythmic knock at the heavy suite door.

​"Room service, Mr. Min."

​Yoongi didn't move immediately.

He let out a long, disgruntled sigh against Aen's hair, his grip tightening for one last selfish second before he pulled away.

"The world is persistent," he muttered, reaching for the charcoal silk robe at the foot of the bed.

Aen chucked lightly.

"Well, we do need to eat."

​He handled the breakfast delivery with his usual clinical, military efficiency—trolley positioned, tip handled, door bolted shut—all while Aen watched safely from the warmth of the linen.

They ate in a comfortable, charged silence, the cool blue glow of the previous night replaced by the bright, unforgiving clarity of the morning sun.

​Yoongi didn't just sit across from her; he had moved the trolley closer to the bed, picking up a piece of perfectly ripened fruit.

He fed Aen from time to time, his eyes tracking every expression on her face as if he were memorizing her in the daylight.

"Is it good?" he asked, his voice still holding a trace of that morning rasp.

Aen nodded with a smile, the sweetness of the fruit a sharp contrast to the lingering taste of the wine from the night before.

"Perfect. Though I suspect you'd make anything taste good right now."

Yoongi paused, his hand hovering just inches from her face as he held a small slice of fruit between his fingers.

His eyes darkened slightly, the intensity flickering back to life for a split second behind his calm expression.

​He didn't pull away.

Instead, he leaned in closer over the bedding, the scent of the hotel's expensive coffee and his own signature cedarwood cologne completely filling her personal space.

​"Careful, Aen-ah," he murmured, his voice dropping into that dangerously low, resonant tone.

"If you keep talking like that, we're never going to make it to the airport. And I'm already having a very hard time remembering why I should let you out of this bed at all."

​He finally fed her the last piece of fruit, his thumb brushing against her bottom lip as he did so-a lingering, tactile reminder of his claim.

​"Eat," he added, a faint, smug smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he sat back.

"You'll need the energy. I have no intention of letting you go once we're back on the jet."

***

Once the coffee was gone, Yoongi didn't head for the shower.

Instead, he walked toward the foyer.

​Aen watched him, her heart doing that familiar, erratic skip.

He returned a moment later, the blue velvet Darry Ring box in one hand and the Minjeung identification card in the other.

He sat on the edge of the mattress, the weight of him dipping the bed as he held the items out for her to see in the daylight.

​In the sun, the rings didn't just glow; they sparkled with a sharp, expensive brilliance.

The Minjeung card, with its official seals and her name linked to his, looked terrifyingly permanent.