𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗚 || ᴛᴀᴇᴋᴏᴏᴋ

• C H A P T E R 23 •

The clock ticked steadily in Namjoon's office, tension thick in the air.

Taehyung sat across from the desk, slouched in the chair with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, eyes hooded. He looked unaffected — but his stiff jaw and clenched fists told a different story.

Namjoon stood behind the desk, arms crossed loosely, trying to keep things calm. But Jin, standing beside him, looked anything but calm.

"Explain yourself, now," Jin snapped, eyes blazing. "Why is Jungkook crying his eyes out at home? Why is he locking himself in his room like he's scared to breathe?"

Taehyung said nothing.

Namjoon cleared his throat. "Taehyung... Jin came to me this morning. He's concerned. Jungkook hasn't been acting like himself, and after what happened today—"

"You harassed him, didn't you?" Jin interrupted coldly. "I knew something was off. You've always hovered around him, cornered him, said weird things. I told him to stay away from you."

Taehyung's eyes finally snapped up, sharp and cold. "I never harassed him."

"That's not the point!" Jin barked. "You've been messing with his head! What kind of senior corners a first-year and constantly demands attention? You think that's normal? Teasing him, embarrassing him in front of others—"

"I never meant it to go that far," Taehyung muttered.

"So you admit it?" Jin said, stepping forward, furious.

"Hyung," Namjoon cut in, gently placing a hand on Jin's shoulder. "Let's hear him out."

Jin pulled away, clearly fuming but quiet for the moment.

Taehyung looked down again, voice low. "I was... messing around. I didn't realize how far it went. But I backed off. I've been leaving him alone for weeks."

"Oh yeah?" Jin scoffed. "Then explain why he came home sobbing today?You think that's a coincidence?"

Taehyung blinked. His voice turned clipped. "he was crying? I..i don't knew he was crying...it's an accident...it's—."

Jin looked unconvinced, crossing his arms. "Stay away from him. He doesn't need your kind of attention. If you even look at him the wrong way again, I swear—"

"Jin," Namjoon interrupted, firmer now. "Let me handle this."

But Taehyung had already gone quiet again, staring past them, mind clearly spiraling elsewhere.

He didn't say a word.

Because deep down, he already knew he'd ruined everything.

The muffled sound of the front door opening and closing echoed faintly through the house, but Jungkook didn't move.

He sat on the floor of his room, back against the bed, knees pulled to his chest. His eyes were red and puffy, his cheeks streaked with dried tears. The lights were off, curtains drawn — the room dim except for the soft glow of the streetlamp outside the window.

He'd cried so hard his chest physically ached. But now, it wasn't the tears that scared him. It was the why.

"Why am I like this?" he whispered to himself, voice cracking. "Why did that... hurt so much?"

He closed his eyes, replaying the moment over and over again in his head. Taehyung falling. The girl catching him. Their arms tangled. The way she laughed nervously. The way Taehyung didn't move away immediately.

And Jungkook had felt it — the sting, the sharp twist in his stomach, the way his throat had closed up like he couldn't breathe.

Why?

Why did it feel like something was being torn out of him?

He clutched at his sleeves, twisting the fabric, his heart pounding in confusion.

"It was just a fall. Just an accident."

But it hadn't felt that way.

It had felt like Taehyung belonged to someone else in that moment. Like he'd been taken away.

And the worst part?

He shouldn't care. Not after all the teasing. Not after being humiliated, ignored, and made to feel small.

But he did.

"I don't... love him," Jungkook said to the empty room, trying to convince himself.

His voice trembled. "I don't."

But then he remembered Taehyung's soft gaze the day he confessed. The way he stood there, serious and vulnerable, asking for a chance — and how Jungkook had rejected him out of fear.

Now Taehyung didn't look at him at all.

And that—that hurt more than anything

TO BE CONTINUE