Rewind

The group walked into the office space available to BTS. Tae-hyung and Ho-seok exchanged mischievous glances, and strategically made it so that Eun-ha sat between them, leaving Yoongi and Seo-yeon with no choice but to sit next to each other. Yoongi, aware of their little trick, gave them an irritated look. Both smiled sweetly back at him feigning innocence. Seo-yeon bit her lip to stop herself from laughing when she noticed how red Eun-ha's face became having been seated between the handsome men. She could only imagine what must be going through the poor girl's mind. The group began eating the variety of food provided. They had just began serving themselves when Tae broached the topic Seo had hoped to avoid.

"Ms. Park, Yoongi said you guys met during our vacation. You should've said you knew Yoongi and Jin Hyung." He graced her with one of his cute smiles. Eun-ha nearly choked on her drink. Her big eyes stared in disbelief at Seo-yeon.

"Seriously, V?" Yoongi placed his utensils down, and gave a death stare at his younger friend. He wasn't expecting them to be so blunt, especially in front of Eun-ha, who had no knowledge of them ever meeting.

"What? I want to get to know your friends." Tae slightly nervous under Yoongi's stare, gave Ho-seok a pleading look for help. 'Mayday, mayday!' he mentally called out.

"I'm sorry if we're making you uncomfortable, Ms. Park. We don't mean to. Yoongi warned us not to, but we really do want to get to know you." Ho-seok slightly bowed in apology to Seo-yeon. She sighed in defeat. She wasn't going to win this no matter how much she put it off, so she decided to be honest. 'We're just friends any way. I won't see them after the project is over.'

"I'm not offended, or uncomfortable. And please, stop calling me Ms. Park. Seo-yeon is fine." She laughed at their beaming smiles.

"Seo, why didn't you tell me you knew them?" Eun-ha asked in a daze.

"I didn't know Yoongi and Seokjin were Suga and Jin of BTS when I met them," Seo-yeon shook her head in disappointment thinking of how unaware she had been. "I didn't put that together until you played their music video."

"Oh!! That's why you asked who Jin was!"

Seo-yeon blushed in embarrassment. She was never going to live this down. She really hoped that they wouldn't piece together her feelings for Jin in that moment of realization. Yoongi sat quietly eating his food. He wouldn't pitch in unless she needed back up, he told himself.

"Yes. It threw me off."

"Why didn't you guys exchange contact information?" Ho-seok asked Yoongi.

"When have we ever exchanged information with people we meet?"

"This was different. You hung out. And it's obvious she's a friend." Tae sat straighter as if to highlight his point.

"We didn't expect to meet in the future. They even said they lived in the city, and I didn't plan on leaving my hometown." Seo-yeon glanced at Yoongi, hoping he'd stop his friends from the interrogation. Sensing her plea, Yoongi slightly nodded in understanding.

"Come on. Drop it. You're making this weird." Tae and Ho-seok smirked at each other. They had seen the silent conversation, and were enjoying Yoongi's protective side. "We're friends. The end."

Tae looked as though he wanted to argue his case, but stopped when his phone buzzed. Eun-ha had so many questions, but told herself to ask Seo-yeon in private. She could tell she was becoming uncomfortable. She continued eating while pondering to herself.

"Jungkook just messaged. He said his and Jin's interview is done for today. They'll join us in a bit." Seo-yeon froze. She knew she would have to face him again. She braced herself for that. But she had hoped it would be during the scheduled photo session as to remove any chance to engage in personal conversation. Sensing her sudden lack of movement, and pale face, Yoongi frowned. He couldn't think of an excuse for her to leave when they were still in the middle of lunch. He also didn't want to draw any more annoying suspicions from Tae and Ho-seok.

"He won't do anything to make you uneasy. He can be impulsive, but he does care about you." Yoongi whispered to her.

"I doubt that."

"He....." Yoongi stopped as the door opened, and Jungkook and Jin entered the room. Jungkook quickly pulled up a seat between Tae-hyung and Yoongi. Jungkook had already informed Jin that Seo-yeon would be there, so he was spared from being taken back. He looked back and forth between Yoongi and Seo. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He thought back to Jungkook's urge to eat with them.

**Flashback**

"Hyung! Let's go eat now."

"What's with the rush? I thought you wanted to go to the gaming room in the staff room?"

Jungkook childishly pulled onto Jin's arm, pulling him in for what seemed like a big secret. He dramatically surveyed the area to make sure no one else was around. Satisfied that they were alone, he leaned in and whispered.

"Tae says they're eating with Ms. Park, and they made her sit with Yoongi." Jin laughed, and pulled away from him. All that secrecy just to say they were all having lunch.

"And?"

"It's big news! He said Yoongi and her MUST like each other. He said they talk 'telepathically' or something."

"What?"

"I don't know. He said we have to be there to see how close they are."

Jin's scoffed in bafflement. 'Yoongi and Seo?' He found the idea far fetched. They didn't have a great start, but eventually accepted each other's differences. They had all gotten along at the beach house, and Yoongi did mention running into her once outside her shop. He didn't mention anything other than that. His frown deepened when he recalled Seo's parting statement. Yoongi trusted her, and that meant the world to her.

"Let's go, hyung!" Jungkook's impatience pulled him from his thoughts, and they headed to the office.

**Present**

Seo-yeon smiled politely at Jungkook, who happily greeted her. She looked up, and gave him a nod of acknowledgement. It was cold compared to Jungkook's greeting. He met Yoongi's eyes, but saw no malice behind them. He sighed in frustration, and looked for somewhere to sit. He pulled a chair next to Ho-seok, right across from Seo. She refused to look at him, no matter how much he wished she would.

"Hyung, are you also friends with Seo-yeon?" Tae asked.

Seo-yeon plastered on a fake smile, and forced herself to look him in the eyes. Jin playfully winked at her, "Of course." Everyone laughed, as this was not out of character for him. Seo looked away from him.

"Um, I need to get the studio ready. I'll see you guys later." Yoongi, Tae-hyung, and Ho-seok stood with her. "No, take your time. Join when you finish eating." She nodded to them, before heading out. She let out a big breath of air once alone in the studio. She couldn't stare at Jin and remain calm. 'How can he make my heart beat so fast even when I'm so angry at him?!'

The door opened behind her. She turned expecting the three members returning early. She did not expect to be alone with Jin. He was breathless as if he sprinted to the room. They stood facing each other in the dim room.

"What're you doing here?" she nervously asked.

"I needed to talk to you."

"I think we said all we needed to say."

Jin approached her, closing the distance. Holding her ground, she tilted her chin up in stubborn pride. She refused to cower away from him. His lip curled in semi-smile at the angry determination in her eyes. He knew he had his work cut out for him. She wasn't going to be easily swayed.

"I'm an idiot. I should never have doubted your character." He took her silence as permission to continue. "I've never done this before. Can we start over?"

"How?" Seo-yeon tried to find a possible scenario where they could have a clean slate, but none seemed at reach.

"Everyone knows we know each other. That we're friends. Let's just go from there," he extended his hand, "There's no secret now. You know who I am. What do you say? Friends?"

She stared at his extended hand. He was right. They all knew they were friends who met over their break. She knew his true identity, and they now knew each other on professional terms. There was nothing wrong with being friends, as long as they never crossed the line. With new determination, she stood straight, and looked him in the eyes.

"Fine," she clasped his hand as if making a business deal, "Friends."