Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 108

A Bridge of Silk and Sound

​The rain was a soft drumbeat against the floor-to-ceiling windows of their Hannam The Hill family suite.

They had arrived together, as they always did.

Ever since Aen had successfully matched her working hours-following her CEO's strategic transfer to the administrative department at Korea Yakult-to Yoongi's 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM service schedule at the Gangnam-gu office, their commute had become a non-negotiable ritual.

No matter how many administrative fires Aen had to put out or how draining Yoongi's social service duties felt, the black sedan was always waiting at the curb at 6:20 PM.

It was their mobile sanctuary, the only place where they could shed the weight of their public service and corporate roles as they left the neon-lit uncertainty of the city behind.

The city outside was a blur of uncertainty, but inside their apartment, the air was warm, smelling faintly of rich cedar wood and home.

​Without a word, they shared the ritual of washing away the day.

The steam of the shower acted as a curtain between their public burdens and their private peace.

Standing under the warm spray, Yoongi leaned his forehead against Aen's, his hands resting on her waist.

There were no cameras here, no external world to navigate-just two people preparing to become one.

Beneath the water, the glowing numbers on their inner wrists rested at a permanent, absolute zero.

As their skin connected, a low, rhythmic hum vibrated deep through their bones-a frequency felt rather than heard, mirroring the lowest, most resonant note of a cello.

Then came the familiar glow: a soft, ethereal light pulsing from the ink on their wrists that synchronized perfectly with their shared heartbeat, acting as a silent signal to the world that the two halves were finally, irrevocably whole.

***

​Later, wrapped in soft robes, they moved to the kitchen.

Cooking together had become their silent dialogue.

Yoongi handled the searing of the meat with his usual surgical precision, while Aen prepared the vegetables, the rhythmic thud-thud of her knife against the cutting board filling the space between them.

​"I finalized the flights today," Aen said as they sat down at the table, the meal steaming between them.

"Mom, Dad, my sister, and her boyfriend. And Lana, of course. Everything is booked."

​Yoongi nodded, his expression softening.

"They'll be staying in the here. It's easier to keep them secure if they're in the same complex. Sejin-hyung has already cleared the security protocols for their arrival."

​"Angel is already helping me with the local errands on her day offs, but Eric..." Aen added with a small smile, thinking of Angel's fiancé.

"He actually tried to insist on paying for his own flight from the Philippines. He was quite stubborn about it."

​"And you told him no?"

​"Of course. I know Angel wants him here just as much as we do. This is our day, Yoon. We want everyone important to us... be present here."

​Yoongi reached across the table, his thumb grazing her knuckles.

"Jun and Souen are confirmed as well. And the members... Jin-hyung and Hobi managed to file for their leave. They wouldn't miss it for the world. Even Lee Hyun-hyung and Sejin-hyung-nim have cleared their schedules."