The Contract

Deh, Saranghae

The next morning he woke up and rolled over, watching her sleep. He'd been doing that more often, waking up before her and watching her till he fell asleep again since their get up times were so different. He hadn't been caught yet.

She stirred and opened her eyes, looking over at him. Damn, caught. Normally she'd have been up several hours ago. Of course, she also didn't normally stay up 'til 3am either. Of the two of them she definitely had the 'responsible-seeming adult' thing down a lot better than he did.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." He teased. She smiled sleepily.

"Saranghae?" She said in a questioning tone. He froze and felt his whole body go hot and adrenaline shoot through his veins.

"You...you heard that..."

"Deh." He laid back and covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

"Mianhaeyo." He mumbled, not wanting to look at her. What had he done? Frickin' idiot, he'd just destroyed what little he did have...

They laid there for a long time before he felt her move and to his surprise she laid her head on his lower chest. He uncovered his face and looked down in disbelief. Wha...wha...he hesitated and uncertainly rested his arm on her back, feeling the heat and muscle there.

They just laid there like that, he didn't know for how long, his heart thudding in his ears. He didn't know what to do.

"I think I like you too." He heard her whisper, finally.

In all the moments of his life this would always rank as one of the happiest for him.

Y/N's POV

She hadn't known what it was at first. She thought she just craved touch. Then she thought she just appreciated how safe he made her feel. How considerate he was. But Mark was considerate too. Anyone was more considerate than her uncle-in-law and his cronies. Yoongi could've treated her like shit, taking out his frustration at the contract on her. But he didn't. He went above and beyond and treated her with kindness. At first, she thought they were both just making the best of a bad situation. Making it tolerable since they couldn't divorce.

He wasn't the most emotional. Hanging out at BigHit's headquarters resulted in her getting more hugs from Jimin, Jin, and Hoseok than her husband. But she noticed him staring at her when he thought she wasn't looking. Blushing. Unbeknownst to him she definitely took the time to admire during the band's practice sessions, her eyes only on him. She liked talking to him. She liked how he looked. She treasured that picture with him smiling. He'd been doing it more.

Maybe, after three years, her heart had finally decided to release her past and give her a second chance. Let her make the best of another bad situation. He was always making her heart feel warm.

And that night, when she sleepily heard that whisper, she finally understood why.

-

"You seem happy." For a change of pace she and Mark were meeting at a coffee shop. She didn't realize she'd been looking at her coffee, smiling. She started.

"Ah, I am."

"Making friends at that archery cafe?" She nodded.

"Deh."

"It feels like you've become comfortable with Korea." Had she? She'd only really been let out of Yoongi's uncle's house four months ago and yet now she felt comfortable navigating Seoul. For the most part.

"Deh, I think so." It helped that their interactions with that tyrant were minimal.

"How's your Korean class going?" She was taking three graduate classes, one in Korean. Technically she could've taken them all in English but she felt like taking it in Korean would push her. And it was. Yoongi couldn't understand her when she talked about what she was learning in either language now. She had to translate a chunk of vocabulary before even starting on her textbook readings but she learned it very well.

"I got a B on my first assignment." He gave her a high-five.

"That's my star pupil. I'm proud of you."

"Gomawayo."