There was a knock at the door, and Seokjin's eyes flew open. He had been in the middle of a very sensual dream. He almost felt Anna's hair tangled around his fingers as he held her face between his legs, her warm mouth working wonders. Fuck! He had to stop doing this. The knocking became louder, and he looked at the clock. Anna was still not home from school. Who could that be?

He took a few deep breaths to get himself under control before getting off the sofa to open the door.

A well-dressed young man with wavy brown hair turned around to face him. His eyes widened in surprise to see a man opening the door, and he tugged at his leather coat nervously.

When he stayed quiet, Seokjin cleared his throat. "Yes? Can I help you?"

The man smiled, his lips forming a rectangle. "Uh, I'm looking for Anna." His tone went up when he said her name, as if he were asking a question.

"Oh. She's not home yet."

The young man nodded. "Oh, okay. Can you let her know that I'm home? I live just two doors down, and I told her I'd come see her when I got back into town."

Seokjin leaned on the door, his face blank. "And she knows who you are?"

The young man laughed. "Yes, yes, sorry. Tell her Taehyung came by. Will you also tell her that I'll call her later?"

There was an awkward stretch of silence before Seokjin nodded.

Taehyung also nodded. "Thank you, Mr...?"

"Kim Seokjin."

"Kim Seokjin," the young man repeated. "Thank you again." He walked away as Seokjin stared after him. Who the hell was this character? He could feel the uncomfortable stirrings of jealousy course through his body.

About an hour later, Anna came home and dumped her bag on the armchair next to the sofa. She smiled as she looked around the living room. "Oh, wow. The place is spotless."

Seokjin shifted on the couch and muted the TV. "How was work today? Are you tired?"

"Work was fine. I'm not too tired. Why?" She sat next to him.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you'd like to go out to eat or something." He had not been able to stop thinking about that guy who'd stopped by earlier. He seemed too smooth and too good looking to be trustworthy. He didn't like the idea of his sweet, innocent Anna going out with such a character.

She looked at him. "I would love to."

He smiled.

"But I sort of already have plans."

He blinked rapidly a few times. What? "On...on a Thursday? What kind of plans?"

"Just dinner," she replied. "And what do you mean on a Thursday? Didn't you just suggest dinner a few seconds ago?"

"Yeah, but that's me, not some...some--"

"Some what?" She narrowed her eyes at me. "Did you forget to tell me that someone came by asking for me?"

Seokjin licked his dry lips. "Oh. Yeah. Some guy came by asking for you."

Anna laughed. "You're terrible at messages. If I hadn't run into Taehyung in the parking lot, you would've forgotten to tell me, huh?"

He shrugged with a sheepish smile. He let her think he was forgetful so that she wouldn't suspect that he had deliberately decided not to tell her.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you?" She leaned over and gave him a hug.

Her breasts brushed his arm, and he immediately knew what he wanted her to do with him. His hands, desperate to touch her, curled into fists. When she moved back, he lifted a leg onto the couch to hide the evidence of his arousal as it made a tent in his sweatpants.

"You'll just have to forgive me because I'm so adorable." He willed himself to go soft again. He supposed he was suffering from lack of sex again since he'd not hooked up with any of the girls his friends had suggested. He told himself it was because he was not interested in any girl right now, but the truth was that maybe he was interested in only one girl. At the beginning of this ordeal, his thoughts had strayed to Norma quite often. But now his eyes were increasingly focused on Anna. He told himself it was just the usual male horniness and not some budding attraction for his best friend because he didn't want to ruin what they had.

"We're just going out for a quick dinner," she said. "I'll be home early."

He felt the stirrings of jealousy again. "So, who is this guy? I've never heard of him."

"He's my--our neighbor. He's a freelance photographer and goes out of town for shoots quite often. I used to go and take care of his cat, but he decided to give the cat to his sister. She has a nice house in the suburbs." Anna smiled. "Taehyung is a really nice guy. He's always around to help me with things, and every now and then we hang out."

"Hang out?"

"Yeah. We go out to eat or to listen to music. Sometimes we stay in and watch crime dramas. He loves those."

"Why haven't I seen him before now? I've been here four months." He was still convinced that Kim Taehyung was bad news.

"He's been in Nevada since before you got here. His mother got very sick, and he decided to go take care of her so his sister wouldn't have to go because she has small children." She smiled. "See? He's a good guy."

"And now he's back and he's taking you out?" Seokjin frowned. "Are you sure that's all?"

Anna punched his arm. "We're just friends. Of course that's all. Why do you always assume the worst, Jin? Have you always been this suspicious of people?"

"I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Of course I'm okay. But thanks for caring." She got up. "I better get ready. Tae's coming by in about 30 minutes." She scampered off to her room.

He sat there frowning. He had to accept that her life had not frozen in place just because he'd not been there with her. While he was out making movies and living with Norma, her life had gone on as well. She'd made new friends, perhaps dated other men. His best friend had grown up. Without him.

That was what bothered him.