Don't let go of my hand,
because I won't let go of you
a second time

Everyone was silent for a minute. The boys glanced curiously at one another. It took a moment for the words to sink in.

Namjoon blinked at Chaerin. "Wait, you—"

"I got the part!" She screeched, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. Chaerin's grin stretched from ear to ear and she couldn't stay still. The news was finally hitting her.

"That was Youjin," she haphazardly waved her phone in the air, nearly smacking Yoongi in the face with it.

"And he said the casting crew just called him, and they liked me, and they want a "fresh face" for the leading role—whatever the hell that means—but the point is that they liked me! I got the part!"

Her hands wrapped around the fabric of Yoongi's jacket and she shook him back in forth in excitement.

Jin's eyes widened, "You got a leading role? That's great!"

"Thank you!"

Chaerin turned her bright eyes to Yoongi, hoping to see her own happiness reflected in his eyes. But she saw nothing. His face was blank. Chaerin's heart dropped to her stomach.

Did he not care?

Yoongi stared at Chaerin for a long minute. There were so many thoughts racing through his head at supersonic speed. The first thing that registred was a beautiful, warm feeling that filled his heart. Chaerin got the part—a leading role! All the grueling years she had spent practicing lines, and auditioning, and taking care of him in the process, it had all payed off in this moment. Chaerin's dream was finally coming true. He was so proud of her. Yoongi couldn't think of any person more deserving of having their dreams accomplished.

But the feeling that followed afterwards wasn't quite so warm and fuzzy. A deep, burning rage soon ignited in his gut. He was angry—furious.

Who the hell was Youjin?

Why did Chaerin smile when she spoke on the phone with him? Were they friends? Were they more? And most importantly, what was this sinking feeling that gripped him at the thought of Chaerin with some guy?

Suddenly, Yoongi grabbed Chaerin's hands in a steady grip and stilled her shaking form. He stared at her with a look she couldn't place. His strong hands slid to hold her shoulders. Even through her shirt his touch felt so incredibly warm. She'd missed it. She'd missed him.

But as comforting as Yoongis touch was, Chaerin felt anxious at the fact that he wasn't saying anything.

Why wasnt he saying anything?

A cold, nervous sweat broke out on the back of her neck at the thought of Yoongi not caring about this major event. It was true that they hadn't seen each other in years, but Chaerin still concidered Yoongi to be her best friend, her other half, her person. It broke her heart to think that he no longer cared about the dream she had been chasing for so long.

It was about thirty anxiety-filled seconds later that Yoongi finally moved. His grip on Chaerin's shoulders relaxed and his grimace softened into a tiny smile—it was small but genuine. The air was knocked out of Chaerin's lungs when he suddenly pulled her into his chest and hugged her close. She could feel his gentle breath blowing through her hair.

"I'm so proud of you." He spoke quietly, his words were meant for no one but her.

At hearing those gentle words whispered in her ear, tears pricked at her eyes and Chaerin's body relaxed. She melted into his arms and buried her face in the crook of his neck, trying to hold back her tears of happiness.

He cared.

Yoongi just rested his chin on her head and held tight to her. He didn't understand that burning rage that overcame him when Chaerin talked about this Youjin guy. The mere thought of Chaerin talking and laughing and smiling with another guy—with someone who wasn't him made his stomach drop straight to the ground. It felt like all the air had been stolen from his lungs. Like a raging flame, the anger built up inside of him and filled every corner of his mind. It made him want to scream and punch a wall at the same time.

Yoongi couldn't explain what all this equated to, he couldn't find the right word. If he didn't know better he might of said he was...jealous.

Was he? Is that what this burning feeling was? Was he actually jealous of some guy Chaerin worked with?

No. No, he couldn't be. Chaerin was just his friend. His best friend. He had no reason to be jealous. Right?

"Yoongi?" Her soft voice called up to him.

His attention immediately snapped down to her, checking to see that she was alright. She looked fine. Actually...she looked beautiful.

"Hm, what is it?"

"I can't breathe."

"Oh!" Yoongi's steel-like grip on her immediately loosened but his arms still remained wrapped around her. He hadn't been aware of how tight he was holding her.

She let out an airy laugh, shaking her head in amusement at his panicked expression. "You look cute when you're freaked out," she laughed.

Yoongi's breath lodged in his throat. Jeez, why did she have to say things like that.

Chaerin blinked up at him, her earthy brown eyes were full of life, and she looked at him with an emotion that Yoongi couldn't quite place his finger on. Her hair was a ruffled, her clothes were a bit wrinkled, and her cheeks were pink from laughing. She was absolutely perfect.

There was nothing Yoongi wanted to do more in that moment than to kiss her.

Holy crap...he wanted to kiss her.

He really wanted to kiss her.

Yoongi blinked down at the girl in his arms. And he wondered how he hadn't seen it before.

This girl was perfect.

Sure she was loud, and she thought taking the stairs was good exercise, and when they slept in the same bed she unconsciously hogged the blankets. But she was also sweet, and she cared about him in a way no one ever had, and she was there for him every time he fell down or wanted to give up—on music and on life.

Chaerin was his person. She was the person he loved—the person he had fallen in love with. How had he not seen it sooner? Why did he let her walk out of his life?

God, he was an idiot.

But God damnit he loved her.

Chaerin waved her hand in front of Yoongi's blank face. He was acting weird. One moment he was smiling down at her and the next he was frozen.

"Yoongi? Are you okay?"

He startled out of his thoughts and blinked down at her a few times. Yoongi was still trying to process his realization.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, uh," he pulled away from Chaerin just a bit and turned to the rest of his band, who were watching this whole exchange with curious, slightly amused faces.

"Guys, can we uh—I think I'm gonna stay a while."

Namjoon bit back back his smile. "Okay," he nodded slowly. "We'll see you back home then." He clapped Jimin on the back and nodded his head for the guys to start making their way out of the restaurant. Jin took the lead and started making his way out, making sure the others were following after him.

"Bye, Yoongi."

"See you later, man."

"Nice to meet you, Chaerin!"

"But we didn't get any food yet—"

"Shush!"

The guys noisily filed out of the restaurant, leaving Yoongi and Chaerin standing alone.

The restaurant was empty. All the other customers had begun to leave when Chaerin started shrieking about getting the part. Needless to say, they were a little weirded out. Chaerin wasn't sure if any of the kitchen staff was still there, it was nearly closing time so she doubted it. Somewhere in the back of her mind Chaerin vaguely remembered that it was her night to lock up the restaurant, but she really didn't care about that right now.

Now that she and Yoongi had pulled out of their hug, Chaerin stood awkwardly. Her arms wrapped around herself as she fiddled nervously with the chain around her neck.

"Should we uh...do you want to sit?" Yoongi pointed over to the dark-wood piano sitting in the middle of the restaurant. The corner of Chaerin's mouth quirked up. She nodded.

They walked over to the instrument and Yoongi kicked out his foot, dragging out the piano bench in one swift motion. It was just like he used to do with that old brown piano back in his grandmother's sitting room.

They sunk down beside one another on the bench. Yoongi's eyes skimmed down the neat row of keys and that led him to Chaerin. A little glint of silver caught his eye.

"You kept it."

Her head snapped up when Yoongi spoke. "What?"

His eyes flickered down to the necklace she was wearing. Chaerin never left home without it. It felt only natural that the little silver triangle should always rest against her heart. Her thumb ran gently over the back of the little charm and felt the familiar grooves that she knew formed the most beautiful words she'd ever read.

You are my happiness.
You are my home.

Tears pricked at her eyes.

"Of course I kept it," she clutched the charm tighter in her hand. Her next words were nothing more than a whisper. "You're my best friend, and it was the only piece of you I had left to hang on to."

Yoongi stared at Chaerin in amazement. "I'm...I'm still your best friend?"

Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Of course you're still my best friend, you idiot," she rolled her eyes at him in exasperation. "You've always been my best friend. And I've always loved you," she whispered. "Even when I hated you, I still loved you."

Chaerin's gaze lowered back to the necklace but Yoongi's eyes stayed fixed on her. He shook his head in disbelief. She loved him. That one little fact warmed Yoongi's heart and spread through his whole body. He hadn't felt this happy in years.

Before he even realized it, Yoongi had leaned over and pulled Chaerin against his chest. Having her in his arms just felt so...right.

Chaerin had no objections to the embrace, in fact, she fisted Yoongi's shirt and pulled him closer. He smiled at that.

God, it felt so amazing to be with her again. But guilt still weighted on his mind. They couldn't just pick up where they left off and expect things to be fine. Yoongi had to fix his mistakes. He had to make things right. And he was going to start right now.

"Chae," he called to her.

"Yeah?" Her head lifted from his shoulder and her gentle eyes looked up at him with so much warmth and love that it knocked the breath out of him.

"I—" he couldn't form the words. How could three years of regret be summed up in just one little apology?

Maybe it couldn't be.

But he had to at least try.

"I didn't mean to hurt you—" his voice broke.

His eyes squeezed shut and his jaw clenched. Guilt was eating away at him.

Guilt for treating Chaerin so poorly, for ignoring her and taking her for granted. Guilt for destroying the studio and yelling at her. Guilt for driving her away like he did. He hated himself for all the horrible things he'd done to Chaerin.

The burden of it all hung over his head. In fact, it had been hanging over him for years. Not a single day went by that he didn't think about every mistake he made. Every day Yoongi would beat himself up over it or try to imagine a different scenario, some alternate universe in which he hadn't been a total jackass to the one person he loves most in the world. But every time he opened his eyes, the painful reminder of his reality would smack him across the face.

So Yoongi kept his eyes squeezed shut.

"Yoongi," her voice sounded so small and broken and yet it still made his heart leap in his chest.

"Look at me," she coaxed.

He shook his head in response, stubbornly keeping his eyes closed.

"Yoongi, look at me" her voice came out harder this time, she had to make sure he heard her when she said her next words.

Yoongi refused to look at Chaerin. He couldn't bear to hear her say how she hated him for treating her the way he did. He couldn't live with himself if Chaerin hated him.

Seeing that he wasn't letting up, Chaerin took a different approach. She let the palm of her hand rest on his cheek and leaned her forehead on the side of Yoongi's head.

"Yoongi," she called his name but got no response, only the subtle twitch of his jaw.

She would have to try something else.

Chaerin's bottom lip caught between her teeth. She had an idea. Although, she wasn't sure how well it would work.

Yoongi held completely still, except for the occasional tightening of his jaw. Chaerin was so close to him, her head leaning on his own, and God it felt good. The simple feeling of having her near was completely intoxicating. Yoongi thought he would be content to just sit there for eternity...but then her soft lips touched his cheek.

His eyes sprung wide open and his head whipped around.

"What are you—"

"Shut up and listen."

Now that Yoongi had finally opened his eyes and looked at her, she could say what she needed to. Chaerin held Yoongi's face in her hands to make sure he didn't look away again.

"I forgive you."

"You—"

"I forgive you."

"But you can't just—"

"I forgive you."

"No!" Yoongi sprung out of his seat on the piano bench, ripping himself out of Chaerin's hands. "You can't just forgive me after all the shit I've done to you! You can't—"

"Yes I can!" Chaerin yelled as she rose from her seat as well.

"Min Yoongi, I forgive you, damnit! And you can't tell me not to just because you made a mistake! You don't think I've made mistakes too? I left you! I left when you needed me most, and I feel like shit every time I think about it. So if anyone should be apologizing here, it's me."

Yoongi stared at Chaerin as trails of tears slowly slid down her face. His eyebrows furrowed. Why would she apologize? Not once, in the years they'd been apart, had Yoongi ever blamed Chaerin for leaving the way she did. It was his fault.

Chaerin was good, and kind, and she cared about people. Overall she was just the best person he had ever known. And he knew with absolute certainty that Chaerin would never have left him if there was any other option. She did what she thought was best for the both of them. She had nothing to apologize for.

And although Yoongi knew all this in his heart, his mouth couldn't find the right words to say. He wanted to say something comforting, to make her feel better somehow. But as he looked at this girl, who was beautiful even with tear tracks and smudged mascara beneath her eyes, all he could think about was the feeling of her lips on his cheek. The next time Chaerin's lips were that close to him, Yoongi wanted them to be pressed against his own.

But that might not be the right thing to say when comforting someone.

"Chaerin," he breathed her name and took a step in her direction.

Finding their way back to the friendship they once had was going to be harder than he thought. So they would just have to take it one step at a time.

She shook her head back and forth, tears flowing freely. "I'm sorry, Yoongi. I'm sorry," she cried.

"Chaerin." He took another step.

" I'm sorry I left you—"

"Chaerin." A step.

"Stop saying that."

Another step. "Chaerin—"

"What?" Her head shot up and Chaerin startled. Yoongi stood right in front of her, barely an inch away.

Yoongi reached out and wiped the tears from her wet cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. They were calloused from work but felt so warm and familiar against her skin.

"It's okay," he assured her. "We're gonna be okay."

Chaerin's bottom lip wobbled and a broken sob racked through her as she flung herself into Yoongi's arms. He held her tight and pressed his face into her hair, just relishing at the feeling of having her back in his arms. There was no way in hell Yoongi was letting go of her ever again.

They stood locked in their embrace for what felt like hours. They didn't care about the empty restaurant around them or about where they were going to go from here. All Yoongi and Chaerin cared about in that moment was each other, and they held on for dear life.

After a while, Chaerin's sobs died down to nothing but little hiccups. The silence between them was comfortable and Chaerin hadn't felt so calm in years. It helped tremendously that Yoongi had taken to gently running his fingers through her hair. It seemed to calm them both down.

When her tears stopped altogether, Yoongi guided them both to sit back down on the piano bench. He wrapped his right arm securely around Chaerin's waist and pressed her closer to his side. Chaerin sniffled quietly as Yoongi's gaze landed on the instrument in front of them.

His left hand lifted and pressed down gently on the piano keys. A light note floated through the air and soon a whole melody followed. Unlike a lot of the music Yoongi had written in the past, this sounded happy. As he played, Yoongi only had one hand on the piano and the melody began to sound like it was missing something.

That's when Chaerin stepped in.

Her right hand reached up and pressed down on the keys. She wasn't as good as Yoongi at playing piano but after years of watching him play she'd picked up a couple things. Chaerin kept her head on Yoongi's shoulder and her left hand on his knee while her right hand played the remainder of the melody.

He glanced down at her and smiled. She really was his missing piece.

As focused as she was in watching their fingers skim across the keys, Chaerin didn't notice the way Yoongi was smiling down at her. She didn't see the pure, unyielding love in his eyes.

Too soon, their melody drifted off and the two of them just sat together, not minding the silence. It felt good to just be together again, they didn't need any words. But still, there was something Chaerin had to say, something she had to make sure Yoongi knew.

"Hey Yoongi?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you," she whispered.

"I know," he smirked.

"Don't you love me?" Chaerin looked up at him with those big, chocolate colored eyes.

Yoongi smiled and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He sighed in content. "More than you know."

They sat at that piano for hours. With her head on his shoulder and his fingers skimming across the keys in a slow melody. Neither one of them spoke, they didn't need to. Because they were finally together, side by side where they belonged.

They were finally home.

The End