70
The city outside was asleep, but Jungkook’s office wasn’t.
The clock ticked somewhere in the distance, a faint, monotonous sound swallowed by the hum of silence.
Everyone had gone home hours ago. Only the CEO remained leaning back in his chair with his tie loosened and his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
His thoughts refused to quiet. They circled back again and again to the same place... the same face.
He had always believed that time erased everything. That people either forgot or got replaced. That pain, when ignored long enough, eventually died. But tonight, his mind refused to listen.
Everything about Taehyung still clung to him... the tremor in his voice, the way his eyes looked before he turned away, the silence that felt final.
Jungkook had thought he’d grown immune to loss, that nothing could unsettle him anymore. Yet here he was, sitting in the emptiest room of the tallest building, feeling something he hated with every fibre.
He had built his life around control. Every deal, every decision, every word measured and precise. But Taehyung had never been something he could control. He came into Jungkook’s life like a storm... quiet and gentle at first, then wrecking everything in his path.
Jungkook had told himself that love was a distraction. A weakness. Something that stripped men of logic and left them crawling back for pieces of what used to be theirs. He swore he would never be one of them. Yet now, every thought he tried to bury clawed its way back up, wearing Taehyung’s face.
He tilted his head back against the chair, eyes burning from exhaustion more than emotion. It was ironic... he’d spent years teaching himself to feel nothing, to let nothing matter. And still, somehow, Taehyung managed to exist in every silence that followed him.
There was no anger left, no pride... just the sharp sting of realization. That maybe not everything could be claimed. That maybe not everything broken could be fixed.
For a man who once believed apologies were useless, he now understood their quiet cruelty... they came only when it was too late to be heard.
Jungkook closed his eyes. The city lights blinked faintly against the glass, painting fractured reflections on his face. And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel like the man everyone feared... just someone sitting alone, surrounded by everything he built, and nothing he truly wanted.
A sharp knock echoed through the office. It was almost midnight, and the sound broke through the heavy silence like a blade.
“Come in,” Jungkook said, voice low, even.
The man entered, setting the small packet on the desk before taking the briefcase left ready beside it. “Thank you, Mr. Jeon.”
A short nod. “Leave.”
The door clicked shut, sealing him back into the quiet hum of his office.
Jungkook stared at the packet for a while not in hesitation, but calculation. He tore it open neatly, fingers precise, movements unhurried. The small white pills gleamed faintly under the desk lamp.
He popped one onto his tongue. The bitterness settled for a moment before disappearing, and he leaned back into his chair, eyes fixed on the city below.
Time passed slowly. Minutes blurred. The line between exhaustion and ease softened. His shoulders loosened; his jaw unclenched. The world didn’t quiet... it just became dull enough not to bother him.
Another pill followed. Then another. Not in frenzy but rhythm.
His lips twitched upwards... not joy, not irony, just the faint amusement of a man watching himself from the outside.
He stood, grabbing his suit jacket. The air felt cooler against his skin. The reflection in the window stared back at him... sharp shirt, glassy eyes, a man who looked too composed to be falling apart.
He turned back toward his desk, started walking, and let the haze settle. The pills didn’t make him weaker, they just quieted the noise. They made the world obedient and Silent.
For someone like Jeon Jungkook, silence was the closest thing to peace.
His steps faltered in the corridor. The pills were starting to work.
A faint hum filled his ears, distant and dull. The lights overhead blurred into streaks of white as he blinked slowly, jaw tightening. His hand found the wall knuckles pale as he steadied himself. The marble felt colder than usual, grounding him just enough to keep walking.
He straightened his blazer with one hand, the other gripping the fabric tightly as though that alone kept him upright. The elevator doors slid open. He stepped inside, pressing the ground floor and then, absently, a few more buttons.
The elevator began its descent, halting every few floors, doors opening to empty hallways and dark offices. Jungkook didn’t move. He just stood there, back against the wall, head tilted slightly upward.
His pulse slowed. His eyes half-lidded.
And then, suddenly... everything stopped. The elevator froze mid-floor, lights flickering. The throbbing behind his temples faded, leaving only silence. Not peace, just an absence of noise.
He pushed himself off the wall, pressing random buttons again until the doors finally parted. The corridor outside was empty, lights dimmed.
He walked... slow, deliberate steps echoing faintly. Every sound felt distant, like it came from another world. The world of the sober.
When he reached the exit, the security guard stood quickly, bowing. “Mr. Jeon–”
Jungkook didn’t respond. He walked straight past him, the night air brushing against his skin as he reached the car. The driver was already waiting.
“Sir,” the man greeted, quickly opening the door.
Jungkook slid in, tossing tge blazer carelessly onto the seat beside him. His head leaned back against the leather.
“Drive,” he muttered, voice low amd toneless.
The driver hesitated for half a second before starting the engine. In the rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of Jungkook’s reflection... the CEO’s eyes half-closed, lips parted slightly, looking less like a man and more like a ghost trying to remember how to breathe.
Outside, the city lights bled into one another as the car disappeared into the night.
.
.
.
Taehyung stared out the window, watching the city lights blur and fade in the distance.
The night was too quiet that kind of heavy silence that makes even your own breathing sound too loud.
Sleep refused to come to him, though he had tried everything: reading, lying still, pretending to be tired. But his mind wouldn’t shut off.
And there was no way he was waiting for Jeon Jungkook to come home. No way.
He told himself that every night. And yet, his eyes always flickered to the clock when it got late.
It was past 1 a.m. now. The faint red digits on the wall mocked him with their stillness as if time had decided to slow down just for him.
He turned toward the bed. Gyubin was asleep, his face buried in Daisy’s soft fur, a faint smile tugging at his lips even in dreams. The kitten’s small chest rose and fell in perfect rhythm with the boy’s.
It was a sight that should’ve calmed him, but it only made the emptiness stretch wider inside him.
Taehyung carressed Gyubin's face before quietly slipping out of the room, closing the door with care.
The hall was dimly lit, bathed in the pale spill of moonlight through tall windows.
His footsteps were silent, measured. The marble floor was cold against his feet, grounding him in a way his thoughts couldn’t.
He stopped near the living room window again, arms folding across his chest as he looked out at the sleeping city.
After that day at the school, Jungkook had changed. Or maybe he just stopped trying. He didn’t corner Taehyung in halls anymore, didn’t drag him into rooms to assert dominance, didn’t look at him with that infuriating mix of arrogance and longing. He didn’t even speak much.
He simply existed... like a shadow that followed but never touched.
Every morning, he would drop Gyubin at school. Every evening, he came home late. No demands. No comments. Just silence.
And Taehyung had thought that was what he wanted.
Peace. Distance. The end of the constant push and pull that left him exhausted.
But now, that peace felt wrong.
He exhaled deeply, resting his forehead against the cool glass. The air outside fogged where his breath touched it. The quiet house behind him felt unfamiliar not cold, just empty. The kind of emptiness that hummed inside your ribs and made your hands itch for something to hold.
Maybe he had gotten too used to chaos. To tension. To the suffocating rhythm of being seen, even if it was through anger and control. Maybe he’d gotten used to Jungkook’s presence the way one gets used to pain... it hurts less when it never leaves.
Now that the pain had stopped, everything else just felt numb.
He lifted his gaze toward the faint reflection of himself in the glass, lips pressed into a thin line, his own loneliness staring back at him.
For a moment, he wondered where Jungkook was.
Then, almost angrily, he shook the thought away.
It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t.
But even as he told himself that, his heart betrayed him with its quiet, steady ache, a rhythm that refused to forget the man he’d sworn he no longer cared for.
.
.
.
The car rolled to a stop in the parking area.
The night air was still, the hum of the engine fading into silence.
Jungkook stepped out, the heel of his shoe scraping against the gravel as he faltered slightly.
The driver caught his arm out of instinct, but Jungkook brushed him off with a single look.
He reached into his blazer pocket, fingers brushing against the cold metal lighter and a cigarette. The flame flickered to life, illuminating the sharp cut of his jaw for a brief second before vanishing again.
He inhaled deeply. The first drag burned down his throat, the taste bitter and grounding... a lie of control he fed himself. Smoke curled out between his lips, disappearing into the night as his gaze lifted to the sky. It was clear tonight, stars scattered endlessly, mocking in their calmness.
“Go home,” Jungkook said, voice low but firm.
The driver hesitated, eyes flicking to the cigarette trembling slightly between Jungkook’s fingers. But he only nodded and bowed before leaving.
Jungkook stood there for a while longer, alone with his silence and smoke, before he crushed the cigarette under his boot and began walking toward the mansion. His steps were unsteady... not sloppy, not drunk, just... off. As if every movement was half a second delayed from his own body.
The guards outside straightened at the sight of him, but none dared to move. They’d learned long ago that this man never needed anyone’s help to stand.
The doors swung open. The faint scent of sandalwood and home hit him, but it felt distant, unfamiliar.
Inside, Taehyung froze mid-step. He had been pacing.... barefoot, anxious, half-telling himself he didn’t care but the moment Jungkook entered, everything inside him went still.
The CEO’s figure looked almost ghostlike under the pale lighting... crisp shirt half untucked, his tie hanging loose around his neck, eyes hazy and unfocused. His steps were slow, his gaze distant until it found Taehyung.
He blinked a few times, trying to focus, and when his vision steadied, a faint, crooked smile appeared on his lips.
“You,” Jungkook murmured, voice slurred but soft, almost dazed. “You never leave my thoughts… do you?”
Taehyung’s heart stuttered. The words should’ve meant nothing, they were just drunken nonsense but the way Jungkook said them, like a truth falling out of his mouth by accident, made his throat tighten.
“Mr.Jeon..,” he said, his tone low, wary. “What did you—”
Jungkook stepped forward, or tried to. His knees buckled, and before Taehyung could react, the man collapsed, falling hard onto the marble floor... right at his feet.
“what–” Taehyung gasped. His hands hovered uncertainly, unsure if he should touch him or not.
The image hit him like a blow.. this man, the one who once made him kneel, who demanded obedience, who commanded entire rooms with a word now kneeling, breath shallow, eyes glassy, staring up at him.
Taehyung’s pulse raced. “W-what the hell did you–you take?” he asked, voice trembling between fear and anger.
Jungkook didn’t answer. He just let out a faint, broken chuckle... one that didn’t sound like him. “you're always in my... my thoughts...” he murmured, the words slurring, his head drooping.
Taehyung froze as Jungkook’s arms lifted weakly and wrapped around his waist. The sudden contact made him flinch. “stop, let go—”
But Jungkook only tightened his hold, his face pressing into Taehyung’s stomach, his breath warm through the thin fabric of his shirt.
“Warm…” Jungkook whispered. “You’re warm.”
Taehyung’s heart slammed in his chest. His hands hovered helplessly in the air, trembling. The smell hit him then strong, chemical, sharp. Not alcohol. Something else. Something worse.
His blood ran cold.
“J-Jungkook” he said again, firmer this time, voice low and shaking. “What the hell did you do to yourself?”
Jungkook didn’t respond. His arms only tightened faintly, like a reflex, as his head leaned heavier against Taehyung’s stomach.
For a long moment, neither moved. The house was silent except for Jungkook’s unsteady breathing. And Taehyung, standing there frozen, realized how horrifyingly fragile power could look when it began to crack.
He buried his face deeper into Taehyung’s stomach, breathing uneven, words spilling out like fragments of a dream.
“I feel… good here,” Jungkook murmured, voice dragging, heavy. “It’s warm. Nothing hurts here.”
His arms tightened around Taehyung’s waist, desperate, trembling. “You’re mine,” he whispered against the fabric. “Just mine. Always mine.”
Taehyung’s throat worked, his hands hesitating before resting in Jungkook’s hair.... slow, uncertain, like touching something fragile. Jungkook’s eyes closed at the contact, a shaky exhale leaving his lips.
“I didn’t know how to make you stay,” he mumbled, eyes unfocused, words slurring. “You said you’d go even if I changed… so I didn’t change. I just…” he swallowed, a faint laugh breaking into a sniffle, “…I just made you stay. Didn’t I?”
He blinked, dazed, as if seeing something that wasn’t there. “You stayed,” he repeated softly, almost childlike. “You always stay.”
His fingers fisted tighter into Taehyung’s shirt, his head pressing closer to the warmth. “But it’s weird now,” he whispered, voice trembling. “When you look sad… I feel it. Here.” His hand moved clumsily, pressing against his own chest. “It hurts. I don’t like it.”
He tilted his head, eyes half-lidded, glassy with intoxication. “You make me feel… real. I don’t wanna be real. Real hurts.”
And with that, Jungkook went quiet again... his grip still firm, his body heavy against Taehyung’s. The silence that followed wasn’t calm... it quivered, thick with confusion, sorrow, and the ache of things neither of them had the strength to say sober.
Jungkook’s lips ghosted over Taehyung’s stomach... barely there, trembling like a sinner afraid to touch something sacred. The air around them felt heavy, hushed, as if even time had slowed to listen.
“I want to be your husband...” Jungkook confessed, the words pure and raw. His lips followed the confession with a kiss on Taehyung's stomach... soft, fleeting, yet weighted with longing so deep it almost hurt to hear.
Another kiss a little lower now.
“I want to be Gyubin’s dad...” His voice cracked around the edges, fragile and slurred, but honest painfully honest. Each syllable sounded like it was dragged straight from the part of him he’d spent long locking away.
“I want to take your responsibilities…” His fingers trembled as they slipped beneath Taehyung’s shirt, lifting the fabric just enough for moonlight to spill across his skin. The younger's eyes widened slightly.
And then Jungkook kissed him again slow this time like a vow spoken in a language only his body remembered.
Taehyung’s breath hitched. His hand moved on instinct, finding Jungkook’s hair and threading through it, his fingertips shaking. Every touch, every kiss, felt like a quiet storm... something too intimate to belong to this world.
This wasn’t the man who barked orders or wielded control like a weapon. This was something stripped bare... too raw, too human.
Taehyung closed his eyes as Jungkook pressed another kiss to his stomach, and another, until it felt less like desire and more like worship.
Every kiss burned into him, wordless but desperate... the kind of language Jungkook spoke best. He didn’t plead, didn’t explain, only touched as if the act itself could prove something words never could.
“I can’t let either of you go...” Jungkook murmured against his skin, the words dissolving into the quiet.
And for a fleeting moment, beneath the faint hum of the night and the weight of all that had broken between them, it didn’t feel like a confession,it felt like a prayer.
Taehyung knew Jungkook wasn’t himself... that the drugs were speaking more than the man but the way he said “I want to be your husband… Gyubin's dad... take your responsibilities…” made the air twist around them.
The daze broke like glass shattering between them. Taehyung exhaled slowly. “You should sleep,” he murmured, voice softer than he intended. But Jungkook only shook his head, his hands finding Taehyung’s waist again, pulling him closer... too close.
Taehyung’s lips parted, startled by the desperation in Jungkook’s eyes. “I won’t feel the same tomorrow,” Jungkook confessed quietly, the words slipping out like a secret. “Let me do it tonight.”
Before Taehyung could respond, Jungkook caught his hand and placed it on his own face.
His skin was feverish beneath Taehyung’s trembling palm. Slowly, Taehyung’s fingers traced the sharp line of Jungkook’s cheek, brushing along the roughness of his jaw. His eyes softened, the anger long gone, replaced by something painfully tender.
Jungkook’s lashes fluttered as he looked up at him, gaze unfocused but hungry for something real.
Jungkook’s fingers trembled as they gripped the younger's shirt. Taehyung's lips curled seeing how fragile the CEO looked right now.
“You’re impossible,” Taehyung murmured after a while, the familiar words carrying a fragile fondness.
The corner of Jungkook’s lips curved faintly at that, a ghost of a smile flickering through the haze.
His head buzzed again, the room spinning faintly, but Taehyung’s touch anchored him like gravity.
He pressed a soft kiss to Taehyung’s stomach again barely there, almost reverent. Taehyung’s lips quivered, his breath catching. He hated seeing Jungkook like this... stripped of all his power, too broken.
When Jungkook finally rose to his feet, his movements were unsteady, his balance wavering. “Let’s... let's go to my room,” he muttered, his voice thick, almost pleading as he started pulling Taehyung’s hand.
Taehyung resisted trying to pull his hand back, shaking his head. “Jungkook—”
Jungkook turned back. His eyes met Taehyung’s, unfocused but strangely clear with emotion. He took a step forward and bent down slightly, his breath brushing Taehyung’s ear.
Before Taehyung could stop him, Jungkook lifted him up.
Taehyung’s eyes widened, startled. “You can barely hold yourself up—how will you hold me?” he asked, voice trembling between fear and disbelief.
“I won’t let you fall...” Jungkook muttered, jaw tightening as he steadied his steps.
The hallway lights were dim, their shadows swaying on the walls as Jungkook carried him.
His steps were unsteady, but he never stumbled. Taehyung’s arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, heart pounding at the feel of Jungkook’s warmth against him.
When they reached the room, Jungkook opened the door with his foot and walked inside.
He moved to the bed, lowering Taehyung gently onto the mattress as if setting down something fragile.
His hands lingered for a moment one on Taehyung’s shoulder, the other still gripping his wrist before finally letting go.
Jungkook stepped back, his movements unsteady but his smile soft and strangely tender. “Wait here,” he slurred, the words fragile on his lips, as though afraid to disturb the quiet hum of the room.
Taehyung blinked, unsure, watching as Jungkook turned around, his steps uneven, his body swaying slightly as he stumbled toward the drawer. There was something achinglybeautiful about the sight, something that made Taehyung blink rapidly.
Jungkook fumbled with the handle, then pulled out a small black, rectangular box. Taehyung frowned faintly. “What is—?” he began, but the words died as Jungkook turned back toward him.
That smile. It was crooked and tired and yet… so heartbreakingly genuine. Taehyung had never seen Jungkook smile like that... open, without pride, without defense. It made him forget how to breathe.
Jungkook steadied himself against the table as he came closer, each step measured, his gaze never leaving Taehyung’s face.
When he reached him, he sank slowly to the floor, so that Taehyung sitting on the edge of the bed was looking down at him.
The air felt still, suspended between them. Then Jungkook opened the box.
Taehyung’s breath caught. Inside, nestled in velvet, was a chain platinum, delicate yet bold. It shimmered faintly in the lamplight. Tiny paw charms traced along its length, and in the center, carved in fine letters, was one word: Wildcat.
“W-When did you buy this?” Taehyung asked, his voice barely audible, like a secret escaping his throat.
Jungkook’s eyes flickered upward, glassy but soft. “A week ago,” he murmured. “I… I customized it myself... especially for you.”
The world seemed to blur around them the walls, the air, even the space between breaths until all that existed was Jungkook on his knees, the silver chain glinting between his fingers, and Taehyung, unable to look away.
“Can I…” Jungkook’s voice faltered, eyes heavy and glimmering. “Can I tie it around your waist?”
Taehyung froze, his heartbeat a wild, trembling thing inside his chest. “You’re not in your right state of mind,” he whispered, forcing steadiness into his tone. “Let’s… let's go to a doctor first.”
He was about to rise when Jungkook’s hands found his thighs firm yet trembling. The grip stopped him cold.
“I’ve never felt this sober before,” Jungkook murmured, almost breaking against the words. “Trust me.”
Taehyung swallowed hard, his throat tight. Jungkook’s gaze met his and for a moment, the world seemed to vanish into that single look.
Taehyung’s fingers clenched the sheets beneath him. His lips parted, his breath came uneven. Then, barely audible. “You… you can tie it.”
Something softened in Jungkook’s face, a flicker of disbelief before his lips curved into the faintest smile. He moved closer, slowly. When his fingers brushed Taehyung’s shirt, he hesitated.
Taehyung lifted it himself, silently granting permission.
The light from the lamp pooled over his skin... soft, golden, trembling with every shallow breath. Jungkook gulped, his eyes tracing the smoothness of that curve, reverent, almost afraid to touch.
The chain gleamed in his hand as he brought it forward. Carefully, almost reverently, he circled it around Taehyung’s waist. His fingers brushed skin...featherlight, trembling and Taehyung’s breath hitched. The faint sound of the clasp hooking shut echoed like a secret shared.
For a heartbeat, neither moved. Jungkook’s fingertips lingered at the chain’s edge, and Taehyung’s eyes fluttered shut, feeling every pulse of the moment like it was the only thing tethering them to the world.
Jungkook stared at the chain before leaning in. Taehyung gulped as he felt Jungkook’s lips trace along it, followed by a soft kiss.
Jungkook held the chain between his teeth, giving it a small bite. Taehyung gripped Jungkook’s shirt tightly, his breath hitching.
“I—” he tried to speak, but a broken sound escaped when Jungkook began sucking on his warm skin. The older ran his tongue along the chain and down to Taehyung’s skin, his hand finding Taehyung’s and interlocking their fingers.
Jungkook hummed lowly, and Taehyung’s eyes fluttered shut as his back arched. Jungkook looked up at that reaction, a deep groan rumbling in his chest.
He stood abruptly, fumbling with the buckle of his belt, his gaze never leaving Taehyung’s face. The clink of metal echoed faintly in the heavy silence. Taehyung shifted back on the bed, unsure whether to stop him or to breathe.
Jungkook climbed onto the mattress, his movements slow but deliberate, like a man chasing something he didn’t fully understand.
Taehyung’s trembling hand rose, brushing Jungkook’s cheek. His skin was warm, flushed... his eyes glassy yet so heartbreakingly intense.
“You’re so beautiful,” Jungkook rasped, voice rough, intoxicated, his words thick with desire and close to yearning.
Before Taehyung could respond, Jungkook’s mouth crashed against his.
The kiss was hungry.... messy, desperate, tasting of need. Taehyung gasped into it, his heart thundering as Jungkook’s hand slid to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss like he was trying to drown himself in Taehyung.
Taehyung moaned into the kiss as Jungkook deepened it, his tongue moving with desperate need.
Jungkook’s fingers toyed with the delicate waist chain, gripping it just enough for the metal to press into Taehyung’s skin. "ah–" A soft whimper escaped him the sting blurring quickly into a rush of pleasure that made his body tremble.
Jungkook pulled back slightly, their breaths mingling, eyes locked. “I can never get enough of you,” he murmured, the words slurred yet raw.
Taehyung’s heart skipped, pounding painfully in his chest. He barely had time to process it before Jungkook’s lips found his neck again, pressing open-mouthed kisses against his skin, the warmth of his breath sending shivers down Taehyung’s spine.
Jungkook’s hands traced the line of the chain, teasing the sensitive skin before wandering lower, skimming over Taehyung’s thighs. Taehyung shifted, instinctively trying to close his legs, but Jungkook’s hands tightened, holding him still.
Their fingers tangled briefly before Jungkook pinned Taehyung’s hands to the sheets, his body hovering close, eyes dark and glassy. The world seemed to narrow to the sound of their breathing the tension between resistance and want pulling taut like the chain itself.
Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head as a sharp pain pierced through his skull. “My head…” he muttered, voice strained. Taehyung’s eyes fluttered open instantly, his brows knitting in worry. He reached out, fingers trembling slightly as they brushed Jungkook’s shoulder.
“Let me call the doctor… please,” he whispered, desperation lacing his tone.
But Jungkook only shook his head forcing pained smile. “No… I don’t want this to end yet. Just… a few more minutes, I'm fine... just few more minutes...with you.” he murmured, as if clinging to the moment more than his own strength.
Taehyung closed his eyes, his breath trembling as Jungkook’s face rested in the crook of his neck. The room had gone utterly quiet only the faint hum of the air conditioner and Jungkook’s uneven breathing filled the space.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Jungkook wasn’t holding him down to win... he was just… holding on. His hands slipped from Taehyung’s wrists and lay beside his head, open, like he’d run out of reasons to fight. He pulled back staring at his beauty.
Taehyung felt blood rushing on his cheeks at that intense stare. He whispered faintly, voice barely there, “Stop staring.”
Jungkook didn’t move. His gaze stayed on Taehyung, eyes red-rimmed and glassy, pupils wide. His chest rose and fell shallowly, and he looked at him the way someone looks at something they’re about to lose... something they should’ve protected sooner.
Taehyung hesitated, then reached up and cupped Jungkook’s cheek. His thumb brushed along the jaw that always looked so composed.
Tonight, it was trembling under his touch.
He leaned up, pressing a soft kiss against Jungkook’s lips not for love, not for forgiveness, just to silence the storm inside him. Jungkook exhaled shakily, his breath tasting faintly of smoke and something bitter.
He rested his forehead against Taehyung’s shoulder. His voice came out muffled, trembling. “I… I really love you…”
Taehyung froze.
Jungkook’s lips brushed his skin as he continued, tone wobbling, slurred, confessional.
"You... You caught my eye since the start... from that day in the office. You were… cleaning the floor. Dropped that–that bottle... water everywhere.” his eyes shone, a glint of amusement.
“You… looked terrified… but so… so damn beautiful.”
Taehyung’s throat tightened. His fingers dug into the sheets, knuckles whitening. Jungkook’s words felt too close, too heavy to be real.
“I kept watching you from far away,” Jungkook mumbled, eyes distant, unfocused. “Didn’t even know why. You pissed me off just by existing.” His voice cracked into a low breathy chuckle.“I hated that. Hated you for… making me feel anything at all.”
Taehyung’s lips parted, his mind spinning. What is he saying… what is he trying to say?
“I’m.... sorry,” Jungkook murmured, his words dragging, heavy on his tongue as though they’d been locked behind his teeth for years.
“I hated you… even for catching my—” he paused, breath hitching, “my attention.” He blinked hard, the haze in his eyes deepening.
“I—I’m sorry… for everything I did. I know…
words don't... don't fix shit but–” his voice broke into a whisper, “I need to say it before it chokes me.”
Taehyung’s chest rose and fell unevenly, his eyes staring at the ceiling as he listened to a man... unraveling word by word.
Jungkook’s hand twitched, brushing Taehyung’s jaw before falling limply against the sheets.
“That contract… I’m sorry for that,” he slurred, the consonants slipping away like he was fighting to hold onto them.
“For… using your son. I told myself....” His lips quirked into a broken smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“....that I could keep you near me that way. Control you because control felt safer than love.”
Where was this going...?
Taehyung’s lips parted, voice barely a whisper. “What—” But the word caught in his throat. He couldn’t breathe.
Jungkook’s tone shifted suddenly, his voice lower, unsteady, like a confession seeping from an old wound. “I’ve… done a lot of bad things, Taehyung.” His head tilted slightly, eyes unfocused. “Things that... don’t go away. Can’t go away.”
Taehyung laid frozen, unable to move as Jungkook confessed.
“I’m the reason…” Jungkook mumbled, almost to himself. “The reason for so many deaths.” He laughed faintly, a sound too hollow to be human. “My father’s… my... my mother’s…” His throat moved as he swallowed hard, the words faltering like his mind was trying to stop him but couldn’t.
Taehyung’s fingers curled tightly into the blanket, knuckles white. Every syllable felt like a blade pressing deeper.
“I tried to forget,” Jungkook muttered, voice shaking. “Tried to live like… like I didn’t have blood on my hands. But... but it doesn’t go away.”
He paused again, eyes glimmering wetly under the dim light. “Even your sister’s,” he whispered suddenly and Taehyung’s whole body went rigid.
The air left his lungs. His ears rang. His heartbeat stopped for a second too long.
Jungkook blinked slowly, pupils blown wide.
“I killed her boyfriend,” he slurred, his words uneven, slipping between breaths.
“I hated him. Hated his face, his voice, everything.” His lips trembled, and he tried to steady his breath but failed.
“And because of that…” he muttered, the words barely holding shape now, “…she died too.”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Taehyung stayed motionless, staring at him at the man he thought he knew.. as if the world had tilted and everything he trusted had collapsed with it.
Jungkook’s head dropped against his chest, breath ragged, murmuring something incoherent that Taehyung couldn’t even hear anymore.
All he could feel was the echo of Jungkook’s confession, looping endlessly in his head... your sister’s… your sister’s… until even his heartbeat started to sound like it.
“I killed everyone…” Jungkook whispered, voice barely a sound, his breath hot against Taehyung’s chest. His words slurred together, heavy, broken. “Everyone I hated… I—killed them.”
Taehyung froze. The air around him seemed to vanish.
Jungkook’s lashes fluttered once, twice, before his eyes finally closed, his breathing slowing into uneven patterns.
“Killed…” he tried again, but the word dissolved halfway through, his body giving in to the haze as he went limp in Taehyung’s arms.
The room went deathly still.
Taehyung stared ahead blank, unmoving. His mind refused to register what he’d just heard. His fingers twitched against Jungkook’s shoulder, the same shoulder that just felt like home, now feeling like the weight of a grave.
The man he loved…was the same man who had destroyed his world.
His sister’s death.
Her boyfriend’s murder.
His ruined peace.
Everything... everything led back to Jungkook.
A shiver ran down his spine as realization began to sink in. His throat ached; his heart felt like it was cracking open from the inside. A strangled breath left him before a sob clawed its way out of his chest.
He gritted his teeth hard, jaw trembling, tears spilling silently down his cheeks as he looked at Jungkook’s sleeping face... so peaceful, so unknowing, so utterly undeserving of that peace.
“A murderer…” Taehyung whispered, voice shaking as if the word itself burned his tongue. “You’re a m-murderer.”
His body moved on instinct. he shoved Jungkook weakly, wanting distance, needing air but Jungkook’s hand caught the hem of his shirt even in unconsciousness, fingers curled tightly around the fabric.
Taehyung’s breath hitched. He stared down at that grip... those same hands that had held him, hurt him, and now bound him again even in sleep.
Tears blurred his vision as he pried Jungkook’s fingers off, one by one, his hands trembling violently. “Let go…” he whispered, voice cracking, “just‐just let me go…”
The last finger slipped free, and Taehyung stumbled off the bed. His knees buckled, and he fell to the floor with a soft thud, the sound almost too small for the storm inside him.
His palms hit the cold floor as another sob tore from his chest... raw, quiet, endless.
He pressed his hand to his mouth, trying to muffle the sound, but it only made it worse. The tears wouldn’t stop, the pain wouldn’t stop. His body shook as he gasped between sobs, curling in on himself beside the bed.
Everything felt wrong.
The walls. The air. The man lying inches away.
And as he cried, Taehyung whispered through clenched teeth, “What have you done to me…”
The man Taehyung loved... the one he had waited for, and broken himself for had not only used him…
He had used his son. His sickness.
Gyubin’s illness had become a chain around his neck, a leash disguised as concern, a quiet threat that kept Taehyung near and obedient. Every plea, every compromise, every tear Jungkook had turned them into tools.
And now, as that same man lay unconscious, his face bathed in the soft amber of dawn... looking peaceful something inside Taehyung splintered. It wasn’t just pain.. it was recognition. The moment a truth too cruel to bear finally tore free.
He killed her. His sister.
His only family before this chaos.
Not with his hands.
But by taking away the man she loved.
She had spent days waiting by the window after her delivery, believing her lover would return. She thought her loved left her... but No. He was killed.
Killed by his own husband.
He remember how she used to count the days, write letters she never sent, whisper his name in her prayers. Her heart had withered slowly, like a candle burning to the end of its wick... until one day it simply stopped.
And Jungkook the man Taehyung had let into into his heart was the reason her lover never came home.
He killed him.
And in doing so, he killed her too.
The words struck like a hammer, echoing through Taehyung’s skull until everything blurred.
He killed her.
He killed her.
He killed her.
His throat constricted; the air refused to move, his palms scraping against the cold tiles, tears spilling before he could even breathe.
“How could y-you…” His voice cracked, trembling like it had been torn in half. “How could you do this?”
But Jungkook lay unconsciou untroubled, his breathing soft and steady, as if the ghosts he created never dared touch him.
Taehyung pressed a shaking hand to his chest, nails digging into his skin until it burned. It didn’t hurt enough. Nothing ever could.
He cried until his body shook. Until he could no longer tell whether he was gasping for breath or for mercy.
He cried for his sister—who had died waiting for a love already buried.
He cried for his son—who had been pulled into a web of sins that weren’t his to bear, stripped of his mother's love.
And he cried for himself—the fool who fell for this monster.
“I’m s-sorry…” he whispered through the sobs, his voice barely holding together. “I–I didn’t know… I didn’t know it–it...it was him....”
He bowed forward, his forehead pressed to the floor, shoulders trembling violently. “I didn’t know I was holding the same hands that stole her.. her happiness,” he choked. “That took... took her reason to live.”
The chain Jungkook had once fastened around his waist glimmered faintly in the dim light... a cruel reminder of their fragile moment. He wanted to tear it off, to throw it away, to break everything that still tied him to the man who had ruined his world.
But he couldn’t move. He could only cry. Cry until the sound no longer belonged to him.
On the bed, the monster slept untouched by remorse, his beauty undimmed by the ugliness of what he had done.
And on the floor, the fragile human who loved too much and trusted too blindly shattered in silence.
Taehyung lifted his head, vision swimming. His lips trembled as he stared at the man who had taken everything from him... his sister, his peace, his heart.
“You’re not human,” he breathed, his voice cracking as the last tear slid down his cheek, teeth clenched and eyes burning with immense hatred...“You never were.”
The tears slid down his cheek, falling soundlessly to the floor... a small, shining proof of everything love had destroyed.