Last weekend was a bust, but this weekend I will attain my goal. Bella will come back to me and declare her undying love. And we will be together the way it was meant to be.

My cousin Taehyung had recently gone back to dating Cindy Romero, Bella's roommate, and he was throwing her a birthday party at the apartment he shared with Jimin. Now, Park Jimin and I were on limited speaking terms due to his continued infatuation with Bella, so I knew I wouldn't be an honored guest at the party. But I didn't care. I needed to be wherever Bella was so that she would realize that our love was still as strong as ever.

I spent over an hour making sure that I looked so good that she would not be able to take her eyes off of me. I assessed my image in the mirror. Hair: perfect. Outfit: perfect. Face: of course, perfect. I had dabbed my favorite cologne on my chest and on my wrists before I put on my shirt in the hope that it would make her remember the many times she had spent in my arms. I closed my eyes, and I could almost feel the soft pressure of her head on me when I held her as we lay back spiraling down from our physical high.

"Come on, Seokjin, you can do it," I told myself. The last thing I grabbed was the beautiful two-carat ruby ring with two one-carat diamonds on each side on a shiny platinum band. 

 I moved the ring around to see it catch the light and smiled. I wanted Bella to realize that I was serious about her and that I could give her anything her heart desired if she would come back to me. I placed the ring back in the small box and shoved it into my front pocket.

I walked to Tae and Jimin's apartment and knocked on the door, preparing myself to see Bella. Jimin opened the door with a smile that quickly disappeared.

"Seokjin."

"Jimin," I said. He did not move aside to let me in. "I brought this," I said, holding out a bottle of premium tequila.

He took the bottle and motioned with his head for me to enter the apartment. I immediately scanned the dimly lit room, trying not to look as if I was searching for someone.

"She's not here yet," Jimin said, guessing who I was looking for.

"Oh? Who?" I pretended to be unaware.

He smirked. "Really? You walk in here looking like that and expect no one to know--"

"Seokjin!" several female voices cried out.

"--that you're here to get laid," he continued, "or here to get Bella." He scowled.

"Or both," I said with a wink, just to rile him.

"Not both!" he hissed just as two girls ran up to me and put their arms around my torso.

"Oh, my God!" one of the girls cried out. "You look incredible!"

"Come sit with us," the other one said and pulled me further into the apartment.

Hoseok was sitting on a chair with his girlfriend Allison on his lap. "Hey!" He greeted me.

"Hi, Hobi. Allie," I said before the girls pulled me down onto the couch between them.

"Those are my roommates Minda and Cori," Allie called out with a laugh. "They've heard so much about you. Hey, guys! Try not to maul him, okay? Back off!"

The girls giggled.

"Uh, Minda and Cori, nice to meet you, but--uh, would you mind just excusing me for a moment?" I said with a smile. These girls were entirely too close for comfort. What would Bella think when she saw them?

"Why don't I go get some drinks, huh?" I asked, then got to my feet. "I'll be right back." I walked into the kitchen. Yoongi was leaning against the counter talking to Namjoon.

"Hey, guys," I said, standing beside them in the small kitchen. I pointed to the bottles of beer sticking out of the ice-filled sink, and Yoongi handed me one. "Thanks."

"So, are you still on your mission to win Bella back?" he asked. Namjoon just stared at me.

I took a swig of beer then answered. "We're not back together yet, so yeah. I know that if she just gives me a chance to talk to her, she'll realize she still loves me, and we can live our lives the way we're supposed to. She has to see that."

"As long as she doesn't see you with those girls crawling all over you," Namjoon snapped. I could see the judgment in his eyes, and it was completely unfair.

"I didn't bring those girls nor did I ask them to sit with me," I replied.

"And yet there they are," he muttered.

"Namjoon, why don't you want Bella and me to get back together?" I asked because it had to be asked. He had been against the idea from the start.

"I-I never said that," he sputtered. His Adam's apple bobbed.

"Well then?"

He looked down for a moment then returned his gaze to me. "It's just that I don't want her to be hurt. Again."

"Joon--"

"You don't know how badly she fell apart during the Fiona fiasco," he interrupted me. "You weren't there," he said accusingly. "The pieces were very difficult to pick up. Now she seems to finally be doing better, and I just don't want you to float back into her life for a month or two then just float away again."

I slammed the bottle on the counter. "Who said I was going to leave her again? And who said I didn't know how bad it was for her? Why do you think I waited until now to try again? I was hoping that she would be more willing to listen to me now that a little bit of time has passed. I love her, and I don't plan on hurting her, Joon."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure you didn't plan on hurting her last time," he replied. "But you did."

"She's here," Yoongi broke in. The three of us looked toward the door. Bella and Cindy walked in and began greeting the six or seven people in the living room.

My eyes could not look away. She looked like an angel! She was every bit as beautiful as ever--maybe even more so. I could feel my heart somersaulting in my chest as I anticipated holding her in my arms. "Bella," I murmured.

"She's not going to hear you from over here," Yoongi said. I stumbled a bit when he pushed me forward. "Go on."

I was about to walk toward her when Mandy or Candy--whatever her name was--rushed up to me. "Seokjin! You were gone so long!" She wrapped her arms around my waist.

I saw that Bella turned her face. Her eyes widened when she saw it was me. I closed my eyes in frustration, knowing that I was again in a ridiculous situation.

"I-I, excuse me, okay?" I sputtered, extricating myself from her grasp. I walked toward Bella, but she had already turned away from me.

"Bella, hi," I said breathlessly. "You look lovely. Can I...can I get you anything?" I asked as I moved closer to her.

She looked at me, a scowl marring her pretty features. "Can you get me some space?"

"Yeah...uh, what?" I did a double-take.

She took a small step back. "You're crowding me, Seokjin. What do you want?"

"You."

Her shock quickly gave way to annoyance. "Are you insane?" she hissed. "You think you can just walk up to me and say nonsense like that?"

I grasped her arm and pulled her into the hallway. "Bella, please listen. Please." I let go of her arm after she kept tugging it away from me.

"What?" she snapped. She noticed that everyone was staring at us, and she lowered her voice. "Why are you doing this to me? Why can't you leave me alone?"

I inhaled. "I can't. I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just trying to talk to you. Bella, I know that you love me. I know it. Why do we have to be apart? Why can't we start over?"

Her shoulders were moving up and down with her breathing. After a long pause, she replied. "We can't start over because I don't know if I want to."