"I don't know...does this shirt go better with my skin tone?" Jimin asked, holding a black and white striped turtleneck near his chest.

Victoria tilted her head, looking at it through the computer screen. "It looks better than the orange one."

"That's what I said!" Hoseok called from where he was passing Jimin's open door in the background.

Jimin giggled and quickly shut the door. "He's so nosy. But yeah, the striped one should work."

"What do you guys have planned today?" she asked, resting her face in the palm of her hand.

He shrugged and stepped out of the camera's view to change. "Namjoon hyung invited everyone to karaoke...wait, you weren't invited?"

"No." She furrowed her eyebrows, a bit offended. "Wow. I thought we were friends, Namjoon..."

"I'm sure he just forgot," Jimin pitched, coming back to sit in front of the camera with a smile. "You can come here and go with us, if you want."

She returned the grin. "Thanks, Chim, but I don't want to impose."

"Noona, you wouldn't be imposing. Really! I—" He was cut off by Victoria's phone ringing obnoxiously next to her laptop.

Her eyebrows drew in as she picked it up. "It's Jin."

"Jin?" Jimin seemed as surprised as she was. "Answer it. Maybe he's inviting you."

With a nervous pang kicking er in the stomach, she swiped right and brought the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey!" Jin beamed from the other line. "What are you doing right now?" He sounded rushed, like he already knew the answer.

"Nothing, just talking to Jimin."

She heard a huff leave him. "Well...come to the pool."

"Right now?"

"Yeah."

She smiled, a bit confused. "Why?"

"Does it matter? Come on! It'll be an adventure!"

"What are you talking about?" She laughed.

"Just come right now!" He hung up without waiting for her to respond.

Victoria set her phone down, smile still plastered on her face. "Jin wants me to meet him at the pool. Alone, I think."

"Alone?" Jimin broke into a fit of giggles. "Noona, he's planned a date!"

Her eyes widened. "He has?"

"Well, I don't know, but it sounds like it, right?" She stared at her lap, mulling it over. Jimin snapped his fingers. "Maybe that's why Namjoon hyung didn't tell you! He knew Jin hyung already planned something!"

A sinking feeling invaded her stomach. She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with every word that came out of his mouth. "Oh my God, Jimin, I didn't even think of that..."

Noticing the alarmed look on her face, Jimin tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know..." She toyed with her earlobe. "I have this...feeling in my stomach. It's like...telling me not to go but also like pushing me out the door..."

"You're nervous!" he shouted happily.

She scoffed. "I am not."

"Yes you are!"

"Okay, maybe a little..."

He stood, bending down so she could still see his face. "Well? What are you waiting for? Run to him!"

"Jimin!" Hoseok yelled through the door. "It's time to go!"

Victoria nodded, butterflies moshing in her gut. "You're right. Thanks, Jimin!"

She quickly ended the call before rushing out of her small apartment. She had already gotten ready that morning just in case the boys wanted to do something.

The car ride there was filled with impatience and constant swearing at people who were going too slow for her taste.

One car in front of her was going thirty in a sixty zone. Seething, she read their license plate. "In loving memory?" she muttered to herself. "You're about to be in loving memory if you don't get the fuck out of my way."

Eventually, she reached SNU, heart pounding when she spotted his car, and practically sprinted through the campus and to the trails behind. She felt kind of bad for making Jin wait so long, but she could only run fast for so long.

She walked quickly the rest of the way and emerged from the trees. The concrete worn by years of neglect and exposure to the elements was completely empty.

Her expression dulled at the sight. A few ravens flew overhead, their calls echoing through the forest.

A part of her wanted to call out his name and get it over with, but she decided it would make her feel stupid. And besides—what was the fun in that?

The thought that he may have not shown up didn't even cross her mind. She knew Jin wasn't the type to do that. Her shoes slapped the ground hard when she jumped down into the bowl.

Her eyes were drawn to the mattress in the middle that was next to some grass sprouting through cracks in the concrete. The faint outline of her holding Jungkook seemed to linger there, but she only pushed it away with an acknowledging smile.

The other side of the pool was being overtaken by trees, and sure enough, when she emerged from the undergrowth, she found Jin sitting against the trunk of a tall oak. He seemed completely engrossed in whatever he was watching on his camcorder.

The corners of her lips quirked as she took a step forward. His head snapped up at the sound of her approaching, and his face instantly broke into a smile. "You came!"

"Well, yeah." She gave a small laugh as he scooted over.

His hand patted the forest floor beside him. "Sit."

Victoria obeyed and plopped down next to him, purposefully moving close so their shoulders were touching. "So what's up?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you told me to come here, so I assumed there was something you wanted to talk about."

Jin nodded slowly, a smirk coming to his face. "I didn't tell you why, but you came anyway." After her remark, he just stared at her.

She was painfully aware of how close their faces were, and became self conscious under his gaze. She turned away with a nervous laugh. "This is weird..."

"Why?"

Victoria looked at him as if it were obvious. "Less than a week ago, we hated each other! I mean..."

"I never hated you, Victoria."

She tilted her head at him, a bit perplexed. The way he'd acted around her had indicated that he did indeed hate her. A lot. "But...yes, you did."

"No," he repeated, eyes softening. "I mean, you didn't like me because I know I'm handsome and everyone else knows it, too." She pressed her lips together in annoyance, and when he noticed, he laughed. "Just hear me out! Okay, okay. So you didn't like me and when I tried to use my natural charms on you, you'd just toast me." He smiled, thinking back. "I liked that. So eventually I stopped trying to get you to like me and just started fighting back. I always thought, 'man, she must be a firecracker in bed'."

"Jin!" she shouted in disbelief and pushed his shoulder.

The sound of a window being washed echoed through the trees. "Hey—I'm—I'm being honest!" She shook her head, not being able to contain her laugh. "But seriously." His laugh faded. "There's something I've been thinking about a lot, lately."

"What?" she peered.

"How long have we known each other?"

Victoria faltered. It was something she'd never even considered, but when she thought about it, she couldn't conjure anything. "Oh...well, um..." She wracked her brain, searching every inch, every memory. Nothing. "I...I don't know."

"See, that's exactly how I feel." He turned on her, serious now. "I feel like I've known you forever...it's crazy. It's like...you're a part of me. Although we didn't get along at first, the only thing that pops into my mind when I see you is 'Where did you come from? Where have you been?'"

His words touched her in places she had never known existed before that moment. Her heart rate increased steadily as he examined her face, eyes being drawn to her lips more than once. She could feel the blood rush to her cheeks, and she felt especially small when he reached up to move a few strands of hair out of her face.

Jin leaned forward, inch by inch, enjoying how flustered she was getting. But it was a different feeling than when he had made Dahae flustered or the girls that worked at the Starbucks on his street. He wanted to make Victoria flustered all the time. He wanted to kiss her so intensely that she'd forget any kiss she'd had before that. He wanted to make love to her so passionately that neither of them would want to have that connection with anyone else. He wanted to hold her hand and touch her face and be able to call her his.

He wanted her. He wanted all of her.

When his full lips encased hers, time stopped. The birds singing ceased, the wind failed to stir her hair, the leaves did not rustle. Nothing existed but the two of them, alone, in the forest, sharing that perfect moment together.

It was strange. Victoria could sense something in herself, but she couldn't put her finger on exactly what. A few days ago, she would have pushed him off and went on a long, painful rant about timing and getting to know each other. But something felt so right about this. It was reckless, but maybe she wanted that. She had already committed herself to a life of dullness. Jin offered the chance to feel free again. The chance to be young again.

His hand cupped her cheek gently and he continued to press soft kisses to her, having enough self-restraint to not get carried away. He couldn't help but smile when her petite hand covered his own. Her skin was soft and cool.

To her dismay, his smile broke the kiss. She pouted as he pulled away slightly, the smile still gracing his face. "Sorry," he murmured with a giggle.

"Well, keep going," she whined slightly. Jin took the opportunity to tease her and place a small kiss on her cheek.

Her eyes narrowed. "I hate you."

"I know," he responded in a chipper manner. He was going to kiss her again, but the sound of mattress springs caused both of them to turn their attention to the pool a few feet away.
Victoria scooted forward a bit, out of Seokjin's embrace. "What was that?"

Jin shared her curiosity, and quickly stood up, holding out his hand for her. "Let's find out."

After he helped her up, he didn't let go of her hand. It made her stomach flutter with the same unfamiliar feeling.

When they surfaced to the pool, they immediately spotted a familiar figure laying down on the mattress with his arm covering his eyes from the sun.

"What's Taehyung doing here?" Jin asked himself.

Victoria only shrugged before tugging him into the pool, where they landed unsteadily. Taehyung raised his head to find where the noise came from.

He sat up abruptly. "Noona? Hyung? What are you guys doing here?"

Victoria slipped her hand out of Jin's. "We were...um..."

He grabbed her hand again. "We were on a date."

Taehyung looked like he wanted to smile, but it wouldn't come out. "That's great."

"What's wrong, Tae?" she asked, moving closer with Jin just behind. His voice was so quiet that she couldn't hear him. "What?"

"I killed him."

Jin's aura darkened. "Your father."

"Yeah."

Victoria's eyes widened as she looked between the two. "Wait...you...actually killed your dad?"

Taehyung immediately broke down in soft sobs. "I don't know what came over me! I went and bought the liquor he asked me to get, and when I got home he was hitting my sister and I just—snapped." He wiped at his eyes furiously, hands shaking. "I broke a bottle over his head and stabbed him with the shards," he recalled hysterically. "There was so much blood!"

She sank to the mattress beside him and took one of his hands. Jin sat on the other side of Taehyung, a hand on his back.

"And my sister," he continued. "My poor, beautiful sister...the way she looked at me was like..." He squeezed his eyes shut. "It was the same look she gave him when he had an episode. It was like she thought I was a monster."

Victoria pressed close to him comfortingly. "You're not a monster."

"You did the right thing, Taehyung," Jin mumbled.

Taehyung huffed. "Sure, you can say that, but did I really? I killed my own blood!" His eyes opened slowly. "And you know what the worst part is? I didn't feel any regret. I still don't."

She didn't say anything, but just by resting her head on his shoulder and squeezing his hand, she made Taehyung feel better.

"So." He swallowed hard. "I'm gonna stay with Namjoon hyung for a while. We already talked about it on the phone earlier..."

"Everything's gonna be okay, Tae," she said and tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear.

He gave her the best smile he could. "Thanks, Noona."

Jin snapped his fingers. "I forgot my camera. Be right back."

Victoria watched him stand and run over to the other side, counting his steps all the while.

"So, you two finally came around," Taehyung remarked, relieved to change the subject.

She gave a shy smile and shrugged. "I suppose..."

Before he could respond, the gang burst through the trees and jumped down into the pool. Victoria raised her eyebrows, puzzled at their presence.

Hoseok flashed a smile as they drew closer while Iseul and Jungkook hung back a bit, hands brushing. Namjoon nodded to Victoria before patting Taehyung on the back. "What are you doing?" he teased before pulling him to his feet. He helped her a second later as the boys began pushing Taehyung around playfully.

She noticed that Yoongi was actually smiling as he joined in.

"What are you guys doing here?" Victoria asked, suppressing a laugh.

Yoongi turned his gummy smile to her. "Taehyung asked us to come."

It felt nice to be on the receiving end of friendliness—which was rare—coming from Yoongi.

"Unnie, why are you here?" Iseul inquired.

Jimin wiggled his eyebrows. "How's your date going?"

"Date?" Hoseok asked.

Jungkook saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to the edge of the pool to see a broad-shouldered dark blue sweater filming them. "Oh!" He smiled and pointed. "It's Jin hyung!"

Jin grinned and lowered his camcorder before jumping into the bowl.

The rest of the day was spent playing around with the boys. Jungkook had the audacity to challenge Jin to an arm wrestle, and Jin almost pinned Jungkook before Yoongi pushed the younger's hand down so he would win. It happened twice before Jin gave up.

They threw a small yellow car into the corner of the pool that still swelled with water from the recent rainfall. It was a fun and upbeat atmosphere amidst Taehyung's tragedy.

When Hoseok suggested they play the game where they bend over in front of each other and one person jumps on their backs, Iseul and Victoria decided to stay out of it. They were both wearing jeans, but Iseul was hoping to get to talk to Victoria anyway.

Namjoon groaned as Jimin picked him to be at the back, the person who took the impact from the jumpers, while Iseul took a seat next to Victoria, who was teasing a cigarette between her slender fingers, under the diving board.

It granted adequate shade so the girls didn't have to worry about sunburns or glare. They could watch their boys in peace.

"So," Iseul started. "Jungkook and I kissed last night."

The older took in a drag and laughed. "About time! You guys were practically dating before, so."

She shrugged and pulled her knees to her chest. "Were we?"

"Yeah." Victoria's voice indicated that it was obvious. "What's so wrong about that?"

Iseul sighed. "I don't know. I guess I'm a bit scared—" She immediately retracted. "Ew, no. That sounded dumb."

"Agh! My balls!" Namjoon yelled in pain when Jimin landed on Taehyung's back, who was right in front of him.

Victoria snickered while inhaling the bitter chemicals. "Iseul, come on. What's to be scared of?"

She ruffled her short, dark brown hair in frustration. "I don't know, I just...I really love the thought of being with him." Her eyes dulled. "Or maybe it's the thought of not being so alone..." She shook her head. "The second one's way sadder than the first so let's just go with the latter."

"Well, do you like Jungkook or do you like how Jungkook makes you feel?"

When she spoke, her voice came out small. "Is it wrong to like both?"

Victoria smiled. "Of course not."

"Well, I don't know!" Victoria stayed silent, feeling a rant coming on. "I mean, I don't know. He's really funny and cute and silly and he cares about me and I think he's just super sweet, you know? He's...he's just a peach...." She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about it. "Scone. He's a peach scone..."

The older smirked while blowing. "I think you know what you want."

"Do I?" she asked desperately.

"Did you hear yourself just now?"

Iseul sat back with a sigh. "Yeah...I guess you're right." They watched the boys as they stopped playing for the sake of Namjoon's scrotum, and sat along wall to talk. Iseul spotted Jin smiling at Victoria, which she returned. "So what about you and Prince Charming, huh?"

"What?" Victoria answered absently, just barely dragging her gaze away from his.

"Jimin said you two were on a date before we came."

She shook her head. "It was not a date." She paused. "But we did kiss..."

"Called it," Iseul mumbled victoriously. "That five bucks is mine!"

Victoria's brows drew in, her attention fully on Iseul now. "What? You placed a bet on my relations with Jin?"

"Duh." The older didn't respond, only putting out her cigarette on the concrete. "So how was it?"

"How was what?"

"The kiss."

"The kiss," Victoria echoed, touching her lips subconsciously. "It was...nice."

Iseul rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't tell me."