The Forbidden Pull

Taehyung's POV

The apartment door closed with a soft click, but in Taehyung's ears, it was a resounding clang, sealing him out of the life he'd so carefully constructed. He stood in the hallway, numb, the echoes of Jennie's raw pain, her cold fury, ringing in his ears. Get out. The words were a brand, searing themselves into his soul. He deserved it. Every bit of it.

He walked, blindly at first, then found himself instinctively heading towards his car. Where would he go? He couldn't go home. He couldn't go back to the office, not now. His mind was a frantic mess, a kaleidoscope of Jennie's hurt face, Jungkook's longing eyes, and his own suffocating guilt. He was a cheater. He was a liar. And he had just destroyed the life of a woman who had loved and trusted him completely.

Hours later, he found himself parked by the Han River, the city lights shimmering across the dark water. The initial shock had worn off, replaced by a deep, hollow ache. He pulled out his phone, staring at Jennie's contact, then his parents'. He couldn't call them. Not yet. How could he explain this? How could he explain how he'd let himself be pulled away by a feeling he couldn't name, by a ghost from his past?

His thumb drifted to Jungkook's contact. Jungkook. The cause of this chaos, and yet, paradoxically, the only person who might understand the inexplicable, overwhelming force that had led him here. He hadn't told Jungkook about Jennie finding out. He hadn't had the chance. He needed to. He had to.

He opened his message app.

Jennie knows. She saw us at the café. It's over. Everything's over.

He hit send, his hand shaking. He didn't know what kind of reaction to expect. Relief? Guilt? He just needed to send the truth out into the universe.

The reply came almost instantly, Jungkook's contact name popping up, a stark white against the dark screen.

Hyung. Where are you? Are you okay? I'm coming to you. Tell me where you are.

The desperation in Jungkook's texts was palpable. And suddenly, in the midst of his utter despair, a fragile thread of comfort unspooled in Taehyung's chest. Jungkook was coming. He wasn't alone.

He quickly sent his location. Then, he leaned his head back against the seat, closing his eyes. He thought of Jennie, her tears, her accusation. He thought of his life with her – comfortable, structured, good. And then he remembered something she had said to him months ago, during a casual conversation about their relationship.

"You know, Taehyung," she'd mused, her voice soft, "sometimes I feel like you chose me because I'm... easy. Or maybe because I fit into your life so perfectly. Like I'm exactly what you think you should have."

At the time, he'd dismissed it, reassured her that she was everything he wanted. But now, in the cold, harsh light of his betrayal, her words echoed with chilling clarity. He'd told her he loved her, and he did, in a way. But had he ever been truly emotionally present? Or had he chosen her because she was a beautiful, intelligent, stable woman who quietly reminded him of something, someone, he'd lost?

The thought was a cold, hard truth that solidified in his mind. He hadn't just cheated on Jennie physically or emotionally. He had, in a deeper sense, cheated himself. He had chosen stability and a comfortable fit over the wild, untamed longing he'd buried deep inside. And now, that longing, in the form of Jungkook, had erupted, demolishing everything in its path.

The rain began to fall again, a gentle patter mirroring the quiet storm finally breaking within Taehyung's own heart.