𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗚 || ᴛᴀᴇᴋᴏᴏᴋ

• C H A P T E R 38 •

Five years had quietly slipped by, yet for Taehyung and Jungkook, every day felt like a new chapter written in the same book-one of love, quiet battles, stubborn hearts, and an unbreakable bond that only strengthened with time. From that first chaotic kiss in a locker room to the stolen moments that followed, they had built something real. Something strong. Something worth everything.

Now, Jungkook stood at the grand steps of the university auditorium, black graduation robes fluttering slightly in the warm summer breeze. A golden sash lay across his chest with a medallion gleaming just under his collarbone, and his eyes sparkled with a cocktail of pride, relief, and a small pinch of sadness as he looked out at the familiar campus.

He had done it. He had finally graduated.

As cheers echoed across the university grounds and caps flew into the air in celebration, a sleek black car parked silently at the far end of the lot. From it stepped Kim Taehyung-no longer the mischievous, teasing senior who once loved to pull at Jungkook's strings. He was now the official heir, and more recently, the crowned Mafia King of the Kim Empire.

Clad in a three-piece jet-black suit that hugged his tall, athletic frame, a subtle golden dragon pin on his lapel, Taehyung looked like he walked straight out of a dark fairytale. The black ink of tattoos peeked from beneath his shirt cuffs, and a thin silver chain dangled from his wrist. His presence alone drew silent stares and unspoken respect.

His cold, unreadable expression softened immediately as he spotted Jungkook among the sea of graduates. The younger boy was glowing, cheeks slightly flushed from the heat and excitement, his big eyes scanning the crowd-until they locked with Taehyung's.

A smile tugged at Jungkook's lips, gentle and familiar, and Taehyung's expression broke into one of quiet pride. No amount of power or legacy could ever mean more than that one smile. Taehyung walked over, slipping past the crowd effortlessly, and when he reached Jungkook, he didn't say anything at first-he simply reached out, straightened the younger's sash like he always did with Jungkook's clothes, and whispered, "You did it, baby."

Jungkook's heart thumped at the nickname he never stopped loving. "You look like you came straight out of a mafia drama," he teased with a soft grin, "but also... a little too hot for a graduation ceremony."

"And you look like the cutest, smartest man who just finished a full academic arc," Taehyung replied, leaning in to press a soft kiss to Jungkook's forehead, ignoring the subtle gasps and stares from passing students.

Their relationship had become public-slowly, then all at once.

It was right after Jungkook's graduation that Taehyung decided it was time to officially tell his family. Mr. and Mrs. Kim, surprisingly, had already known for a while-thanks to none other than Jimin, who had shown them those infamous locker room pictures over a quiet dinner one evening. Apparently, Mrs. Kim nearly choked on her wine from shock, and Mr. Kim had needed two full minutes to process that his stoic, mafia-heir son had a boyfriend... who wore crop tops and bunny slippers around their mansion.

"You knew?!" Taehyung had asked that night, scandalized.

Mrs. Kim only smiled knowingly. "Jimin showed me five years ago. I just waited for you to say something yourself."

Mr. Kim had simply given Taehyung a pat on the back and said, "At least you have taste. Jungkook is adorable."

The real challenge, however, was Jin.

The overprotective, dramatic older brother who had never really gotten over the image of his sweet, shy baby Jungkook clutching his books like a child, terrified of his seniors. When Taehyung brought Jungkook to the Kim estate to make it official, Jin had refused to speak to him for nearly two weeks.