𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗚 || ᴛᴀᴇᴋᴏᴏᴋ

• C H A P T E R 22 •

The buzz of the hallway gradually faded, leaving behind an awkward, tense silence. Taehyung stood rooted in place, the new junior girl already having disappeared into the crowd, flustered and embarrassed.

But Jimin and Yoongi were still there — watching him.

Jimin was the first to move, storming forward with narrowed eyes and a scowl. "What the hell was that?" he snapped, voice low but sharp, not caring who heard. "Did you seriously just let that happen?"

Taehyung blinked, slowly turning to face his younger brother. His expression was unreadable, cold as ever, but his eyes... they were distant. Shaken.

"It was an accident," he muttered.

Jimin scoffed, stepping closer. "Accident or not, Jungkook saw it! He ran off, hyung! Crying. You didn't even call after him. You didn't do anything!"

Yoongi walked up behind Jimin, calmer but no less serious. His usual laid-back demeanor was gone, replaced with something tight around the edges. "You think this is what he needed? After everything?"

Taehyung clenched his jaw. "He was the one who said he didn't love me."

"That doesn't mean he wanted to see you all over some girl!" Jimin fired back. "You know how he is. You know how easily he breaks!"

Taehyung's fists curled at his sides, but he said nothing.

Yoongi tilted his head slightly, watching him. "You're hurting him more now by staying silent than you ever did when you were bullying him."

That made Taehyung flinch — barely noticeable, but Yoongi caught it.

"Was that what you wanted?" Yoongi asked quietly. "To make him cry like that?"

Taehyung shook his head, finally breaking his silence. His voice was rough. "No. I just... I thought he didn't want me around. I thought I was giving him space."

Jimin looked at him like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Well, congratulations," he said bitterly. "He finally got that space. And now he's breaking because of it."

Taehyung didn't answer.

Yoongi sighed, stepping closer. "You need to talk to him. Soon. Before he decides he really doesn't want you in his life anymore."

With that, he turned and walked off, pulling Jimin with him — who gave Taehyung one last disappointed glance over his shoulder before following.

Taehyung stood alone in the middle of the corridor, students brushing past him like he wasn't even there.

And for the first time in weeks...
He felt exactly the way he had made Jungkook feel.

Invisible.

The moment Jungkook stepped into the house, the door slammed shut behind him with a loud bang. His shoes were barely off before he bolted up the stairs, his bag dropping halfway up, forgotten.

"Jungkook?" Jin called out from the kitchen, frowning as he wiped his hands on a towel. "You're home early—"

SLAM.

The bedroom door upstairs shut with enough force to make the pictures on the wall rattle.

Jin's heart immediately sank.

He rushed up the steps, taking them two at a time. "Jungkook?" he called again, knocking gently on the door. "Hey, is everything okay? Did something happen?"

No answer.

Only the muffled, shaky sound of Jungkook's sobs leaking through the wooden door.

Jin's voice softened, panic bubbling beneath the surface. "Kook... baby, open the door. Talk to me, please."

Inside, Jungkook sat with his back against the door, knees pulled to his chest, tears streaming freely down his cheeks. His hands trembled in his lap, fingers curled tightly into the fabric of his pants. The scene in the hallway played over and over in his mind — the way Taehyung stumbled into that girl, the way their bodies collided like it was meant to happen, the way he didn't even look back at Jungkook once.

Jin's voice was muffled now, worried and soft.

"Please, talk to me..."

But Jungkook didn't answer.

He couldn't.

All he could do was cry quietly into his knees, wishing more than anything that he had never fallen for someone like Taehyung.

And outside the door, Jin stood silently, his hand resting against the wood — torn between respecting Jungkook's space and breaking the door down just to hold him.

TO BE CONTINUE