"She doesn't know, does she?" Mark asked when they were in the car.
Taehyung sighed. "Are we really doing this now?"
"Yes, we are. You said you'd tell them once they got their settlement and instead you're just avoiding them?"
"Put your seatbelt on, we have to go."
Mark did as instructed and they sat in silence for a few minutes while Taehyung drove.
"It wasn't your fault, that's all I'm saying."
Taehyung glanced over. "I know it isn't. But I already messed things up once with that producer. I can't tell him that I accidentally caused his wife's accident the same night."
He felt Mark place his hand over his on the gear shift. "You have to tell him the truth. All this worrying is really killing your looks."
"Hey!" Taehyung exclaimed. Mark chuckled softly.
"You know I'm just kidding. But if you've been friends for so long, he'll understand."
"I know. I do. I just need to make amends where I can first." He shook his head as he saw the traffic up ahead. "I'm taking a detour. We're keeping Ryu waiting."
Mark squeezed his hand before removing it so Tae could switch lanes.
"You made us look like idiots," Mr. Min told his son.
Yoongi nearly started in surprise. The three of them had been sitting in complete silence for half the ride home already.
"Honestly, Yoongi. You two run off together with hardly any warning, and then you come back and she's gone. It looks suspect at the least. There were very important people at this event and we really had egg on our faces."
"First of all," Yoongi replied, "I already told you that Jimin's father is dying so if that's not a good enough reason for her leaving, I don't know what is. Second of all, what do you expect me to do? Keep her on a leash or something? She's her own person, she can do what she wants."
"I expect you to do the polite thing and inform us when something like that comes up instead of deciding what to do on your own."
Yoongi scoffed. "If I'm such a bad guest, how about you two go to the wedding yourself next time? Save us all the headache."
"Dear," his mother interjected, "let's just calm down." Yoongi's frown deepened.
"I will not calm down. This is ridiculous! I am a grown adult and it's time you two stop treating me like I'm a child just because I don't act like the perfect son."
"Don't you forget," his father spat, "you're only in this marriage because of us. We wanted to make something out of you. We were doing you a favor and this is how you repay us?"
"You were doing yourself a favor, sitting your son in a cushy job at a nice company so you can take all the credit for it. I don't even want that job! You stole it out from under someone who deserves it and has done nothing but strive for it her whole life. But you don't even care!"
"What does it matter to you? It's not like she's your actual wife. She's an arrangement, just like your mother was!"
The air stilled. Yoongi braced his hand against the ceiling and stood up as much as he could. He set his feet firmly and glared at his father.
"Say what you want about me. And say what you want about yourself. But don't you ever compare us again. We are nothing alike and I'm proud of that." He glanced towards the divide. "Sungmin, can you pull over?"
Before he'd even finished the request, his parents' driver had started pulling off to the side of the road.
Yoongi got out of the car and started gathering his things. He set all the suitcases down on the ground and sat there, scrolling through his phone
"What are you doing?" his mother asked as she poked her head out the door.
"I'm going to sit here and wait for another ride."
"Who's going to come get you?" his father demanded. "Seokjin quit last I heard. And you don't have another driver."
"That's where you and I are different. I have friends." He hit dial and waved his other hand in a shooing motion. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"
His father yelled something at Sungmin and the car drove off again. Yoongi sighed in relief. Namjoon was his first choice of who to pick him up, but he had yet to get his license. He already owed Jungkook one favor, and Hoseok and Jin were likely working. So he settled for the next best idea.
"What are you doing out here?" You asked as you got out of the car.
He shrugged. "It seemed like a good day to sit outside with a bunch of suitcases."
"At least your sense of humor is intact."
You helped him load everything into the car and got back in the driver's seat. Yoongi followed with a quiet sigh.
"Sorry for calling you. I know you've got a lot on your plate."
"It's fine," you assured him. "Not like it's out of my way."
You filled each other in on what had been happening. He gave you a watered down version of his family argument.
Your parents had finally shown up at the hospital and relieved you to get some rest. Mr. Park was about the same but the doctors didn't think he'd bounce back. His body was too weak at this point from the bed rest so it was only a matter of time.
You turned into your neighborhood. "Thank you for letting me go."
He glanced at you as if you'd just grown a second head. "Why does everyone keep acting like I did something earth-shattering? Anyone else would have done the same."
But one thing was abundantly clear to you. The Yoongi from the beginning of your marriage wouldn't have let you go. He wouldn't have covered the cost of the cab or grabbed your suitcases from the hotel. He probably wouldn't have thought twice about those things.
You parked and grabbed your things from the back of the car. Yoongi unlocked the door, stepping through first. He set his stuff down by the stairs before glancing back toward the entryway.
"Do you want this house?"
You nearly stumbled over the threshold. "What?"
"This house," he repeated. "If we do get out of our contract, do you want to keep it?"
It was a fair question. One that you immediately knew the answer to.
"I wouldn't feel right staying here. I can find another place if it comes to that."
"Okay."
"I thought you would keep it anyway, for your studio. And your piano," you added with a soft chuckle.
He toed the floor with the tip of his shoe. "I'll think about it. But in the meantime, you should get some rest."
"I'm fine--"
"Get some rest," he repeated. "You've been running around all day. I'll be in my studio if you need anything."
You nodded, acutely aware that he was right. You'd barely slept the night before and you could do with some extra rest. You climbed the stairs, changed into something more comfortable and settled under the covers of your shared bed. And just like that, you were asleep.
Meanwhile, Yoongi went into his studio. He intended to work on some music but a text message from Namjoon distracted him. As he checked the message, he realized that he had a missed call from an unknown number.
He wasn't to know this at the time, but if transferred phone calls at work were not answered or redirected, missed calls and any voicemail messages would automatically go to his cell phone.
It was a feature that was meant to help people who were working from home so that they didn't have to drag their work phones everywhere. But in this case, it was dragging Yoongi one step closer to his dream.