Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 14

The Intervention of Fate

Days passed by in the blink of an eye, and then they turned to weeks.

Yoongi worked diligently every day as if nothing had happened for the past three weeks, except whenever work was nearly finished for the day.

He always looked out to the window to see her-his soulmate-coming to the office to deliver their Yakult supply.

The numbers on his wrist would plummet toward zero as she approached the building, a silent countdown that made his heart race every single time.

He would watch her for those few fleeting minutes before she vanished again.

It was a ritual of distance, a way to be near her without breaking the promise he never wanted to make.

It was supposed to be his and Jun's job to pick up their box of supplies, but because of the heavy silence that followed their meeting, his co-workers had started to leave him be.

Yoongi guessed they probably knew what happened; gossips tends to circulate fast, after all.

Also, it was probably their way of feeling sorry for him, not wanting to see him so heartbroken.

***

There were also days when they would accidentally cross path, and the hardest part was how she would ignore him.

She pretended he was just another face in the crowd, which deeply hurt Yoongi's heart.

To be honest, he did not know why he was feeling hurt when they barely knew each other.

It wasn't like he liked her-not yet, anyway.

But whenever he saw her, there was this feeling deep inside of him that longed for her.

It was like his soul was craving to be near his soulmate.

Every time she walked past him without a glance, the "stranger" agreement felt less like a mercy and more like a sentence.

The irony wasn't lost on him; he was the one who spent years dreading this system, and now he was the one reaching for it.

-----

"Do a background check."

"What?"

"If you want to know why she rejected the idea of you guys being soulmates, you should know her background then, Yoongi Hyung."

"No, Joon. Isn't that an invasion of privacy?"

"But, Hyungie-"

"Yes, I do want to know her, Jiminie, but not like that."

"But how, Hyung? You said she ignores you whenever you guys cross paths? How will you talk to someone who doesn't want to talk to you?"

"I don't know, Kook. To be honest, I've been distancing myself from her."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to respect her decision. It's what I also wanted... I think?"

"Why the question mark, Hyung?"

"Because I'm not so sure anymore, Hoseok-ah. I thought silence would bring peace, but it only brought noise."

"How complicated."

"Tae!!" Jimin gave him a warning look.

"What? Isn't it true though?"

"It's okay, Jimin-ah. What Taehyung-ah said is true. It is complicated... for me, at least."