Almost everything that occurred yesterday had a perfectly logical explanation. The reason he fainted out of nowhere? Stress, the paramedics said, easily cured with a good night's sleep. And the strange visions he saw? Flights of fancies induced by fatigue. Almost, however, did not equate to all. And, because he couldn't get Kim Yeoreum's tear-stained face out of his mind, he spent the night tossing and turning instead of resting as the doctor prescribed.

Why did she cry?

Stifling a yawn, Yoongi trudged across the wide marbled expanse of his office building's lobby still mulling over the question. As someone who thought excessive expressions of emotion was a waste of time, he rarely showed what he felt even to his friends. Of course, not everyone agreed with him, but Kim Yeoreum wasn't even a friend. She was just a coworker. Was it normal for a mere coworker to cry over another? Why did he even care?

The thing was, the act of crying itself wasn't anything special. Except that, no one has ever cried for him before. Not his father when he kicked Yoongi out of their house, nor his mother when she shut the door in his face after Yoongi came back months later starving and begging to return. So, he concluded, it wasn't that Kim Yeoreum was anything special. It was just the novelty of the experience that fascinated him.

If that was the case, then why did she affect him so?

"Yoongi-hyung!" A resonant voice called from behind.

Yoongi stopped and turned around. Kim Namjoon, the station manager, jogged towards him, his long limbs quickly eating up the distance between them. Even though Namjoon was technically his superior at work, Yoongi was older. So as not to make things awkward, they decided to dispense with needless corporate formalities. Besides, they've known each other long enough to do so. Instead, they've developed a casual friendship that extended beyond the radio station. By that, he meant sometimes going out for drinks and on rare occasions, even having enough patience to listen to Namjoon vent about his parents pressuring him to get married or have a girlfriend at least. Namjoon was 30. Whether that was too old or too young entirely depended on whose perspective was used. Frankly, Yoongi didn't care. He barely had the energy to live. The effort required to develop and keep a relationship was simply beyond him.

"Hyung-nim, how are you feeling?" Namjoon asked when he caught up.

Yoongi shrugged, resuming his steps toward the elevators. "Fine."

"So did you get some rest? How many hours did you sleep?" Probably used to Yoongi's one-liners, Namjoon continued, undeterred.

"The usual." Yoongi pressed the up button then slouched against the wall.

Namjoon gave him a horrified look. "Hyung! Your usual is not enough. That's why you fainted. You need to sleep for six hours at least.  A healthy body is a healthy mind."

"Yeah, yeah." A dinging sound signified the elevator's arrival. They both stepped inside. "Stop worrying. My mind and body are healthy enough."

Namjoon sighed, pressed the button to their floor, and refrained from saying anything else. Yoongi almost felt sorry for the guy. He knew Namjoon only worried because he cared, but Yoongi always did as he pleased and right now, sleep was the least of his priorities. There were playlists to prepare, photos to edit, articles to write, and---

"---Kim Yeoreum-ssi..."

"What?" The name instantly pulled Yoongi away from his thoughts. Did Namjoon...

"Kim Yeoreum-ssi---"

...read his mind? Was he that obvious? Impossible! There was nothing to show and nothing to read. Absolutely nothing. Yoongi eyed the numbers in front of him with wary eyes. Three floors to go. He pulled the brim of his cap lower down his forehead, ready to avoid a certain someone who, as soon as he got to the office, would normally assault him as an excited puppy would to a reluctant master. And he was very reluctant. Most definitely so.

Yoongi pursed his lips to stop a wayward smile.

"Hyung? Did you hear what I said?"

Whatever Namjoon was saying completely escaped him. It was her fault, of course. Even when she wasn't around, that woman still caused him trouble. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Namjoon gave him a funny look. "I said Kim Yeoreum-ssi asked for personal leave today. She left Miss Jang in-charge so please see her before the show."

"Oh." The news should have brought him relief, but why did he feel like a deflated balloon? "Is... Is she... sick?"

"No, she didn't say so. Hyung, are you worried?" Namjoon smiled, revealing the dimples on his cheeks.

Yoongi frowned. "Worried about my show."

"Oh? Don't worry, Miss Kim is very competent, but if you like, you can text her, you know."

"Hmm." He avoided Namjoon's teasing gaze and paced forward, just in time for the elevator to stop on their floor. As soon as the doors opened, he stomped out leaving Namjoon behind.

"Hyung, I can text her for you, if you want," he heard Namjoon holler.

Yoongi ignored him and went past the lobby towards the open office space. Because it was late at night, only a skeletal workforce remained, enough to ensure the shows went on without a hitch. He scanned the almost empty room for Miss Jang, but she was nowhere to be found.

"She's in the studio," Namjoon said, finally catching up with him.

"Thanks," he mumbled, a little spooked by Namjoon's mind-reading abilities. Giving the younger man a nod, Yoongi went towards the studio area, quietly opened the door, and poked his head inside. Everyone was glued towards the DJ booth where Park Jimin, another one of their DJs, was in the middle of interviewing a young man with a mop of thick brown hair. He waved to get Miss Jang's attention. Upon seeing him, she rushed to step outside.

"Is that the singer?" he asked, closing the door behind her.

"Yes, Jeon Jungkook. Quite talented, if you ask me."

"Agree."

She smiled and pushed her glasses up her nose. "By the way, Yeoreum-ssi forwarded me your playlist this morning, so I already have that setup."

"Great."

She flipped through the folders in her hand and offered him one. "As you know, Jimin-ssi took over your show yesterday and the episodes numbers are really good---"

"Because of Park Jimin?" he asked dryly, taking her offering.

"N-no, that's not what I meant," Miss Jang hastened to add. "Um, Yeoreum-ssi thinks it's because of the letter, so we decided to use one from the same sender today."

"The same sender?"

That piqued his interest. They rarely got letters from the same people twice.

"Yes, we were surprised, too. Yeoreum-ssi and I think if we keep getting letters from this sender, we'll have something potentially huge in our hands. I printed out some of the feedback for you to read. As you will see, listeners are intrigued by the mystery of it all. That theory is also supported by the increase in our website page views after the show's replay was published."

"Good work. Thanks, Hani-ssi. I'll read through these and let you know."

She smiled at the praise. "Sure, then I'll see you in a bit?"

"Yep, thanks again."

After Miss Jang re-entered the studio, Yoongi sat on a nearby couch. Opening the folder, he rushed through the listener analytics noting the upward trend in the graphs and went on to review the feedback they received.

Why is this the most powerful thing I've heard all day? T.T, said commenter thatwritergirl2015.

Ahh such a powerful letter. It hit me hard >~<, said commenter s1ardusk.

Ahhhhhhh this is so mysterious and beautiful!! I love it!!!! said commenter blu_blu_skye.

There were almost ten pages of feedback detailing similar versions of the first three comments. The producers were right. Listeners were definitely intrigued by the cryptic letter. Excitement made Yoongi skim through the pages faster until he finally arrived at the letter for today's show.

~~~~~~

Often, I wonder why I can't forget you as easily as you forgot me. Today, I realized maybe it's because you didn't love me as much as I loved you.

--To Romeo from Juliet

~~~~~~

"Juliet."

The name dripped from lips with an eerie familiarity, liked he'd somehow said it a thousand times before. The greater surprise, however, came when answered back.

"Romeo."

Yoongi looked up, goosebumps dotting his arms. Like a ghost, Kim Yeoreum appeared before him in a white dress and a jaunty smile on her lips.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" he said, nearly falling off the sofa.

Instead of answering, she walked towards him, the slow click-clack of her heels hitting the floor a direct contrast to the speed of his heartbeat. Gone was his earlier lethargy. It was as if helium filled his lungs and any moment now, his entire body was going to drift towards cloud nine. He remembered his earlier musings about excessive emotions and nearly laughed out loud at the irony. Or, was it hypocrisy?

"I missed you too much," Kim Yeoreum finally said as she sat next to him.

As always, she was too close.

Yoongi sidled away. "S-stop joking."

"Why do you think I'm joking?"

She crossed her legs. Inevitably, his eyes were drawn to the movement. Her knee-length dress rode up to reveal her stocking-clad thighs. Yoongi swallowed and made himself look elsewhere. "Because you always say those things just to rile me up."

"It's not because I want to rile you up. It's because you never believe me."

Proving her claim, he found himself trying to assess the truth of her words by immersing in the depths of her gaze. Her stare was unflinching and he almost believed her, except that she couldn't quite mask the twinkle in her eye. He turned away, oddly disappointed.

"Liar." He shoved the folder he was holding towards her. "Since you're here, how about we get to work?"

For a while, she stared at the red folder as if she'd never seen one before. Then when she took it, she immediately raised it so it covered her face.

He wondered what game she was playing now. "Yeoreum-ssi?"

A sniffle.

"Are... are you crying?" he asked, alarmed. He shouldn't have called her a liar. Why was he always so rough with her? Guilt chewed him from the inside, making his stomach twist with anxiety. "I'm-- I'm sorry."

"Gotcha." She dropped her hand, revealing a grin that stretched from ear to ear. "Serves you right for being so rude." She laughed and rolled her eyes as if to emphasize how silly he was.

Kim Yeoreum almost had him convinced, but again, almost did not equate to all. Growing up in a political family, Min Yoongi had heard his share of fake laughter. By far, Kim Yeoreum's laugh was the most brittle of them all.

----

A/N: I hope you're all safe and healthy. Take care!