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The receptionist yelps as the office doors burst open and collide with the walls. Taehyung marches inside, disregarding her feeble protests as she attempts to catch him in her stiletto heels. He keeps his eyes straight, brows knitted in fury, and nostrils flared.
He can hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears, clouding all his other senses as he turns the corner that leads down the familiar gray hallway. His despise for the entire building is heightened to the power of 10, and he feels a vague urge to knock down every stupid vase and stupid painting hanging on the wall in his path.

But he won't.

It isn't unusual when he barges into his father's office, ignoring the random man standing before his desk conveniently blocking his view of his father. Taehyung notices the two are in a meeting, however at the moment he can't seem to give a flying fuck. If he did, he might have recognized that the random man is Mr. Porter, one of his father's accountants.

Mr. Porter shoots him a friendly smile, his hand lifting for a formal shake but he stops when he notices the look on Taehyung's face. And although he knows Mr. Porter isn't involved, he doesn't have time to feel sorry for him getting caught in the crossfire. Because while Mr. Porter reached out to give him a perfectly normal shake, Taehyung caught a glimpse of his father and now all he can see is red.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Mr. Porter's eyes bulge at the sheer volume of Taehyung's voice, stepping aside to completely reveal his father.

Mr. Kim sighs, shooting him a bored look before monotonously replying with, "Taehyung, I'm in a meeting."

Taehyung scowls, stomping towards his desk and slamming both of his hands on the wood so that the stupid trinkets meticulously placed around fall.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"

He hears the shuffling of feet and the door slamming shut, indicating that Mr. Porter is smart enough to escape the war about to commence. Mr. Kim notices and rolls his eyes. He rises from his swivel chair, a few inches above Taehyung yet his son's eyes never waver and stare firmly into his. If the circumstances were different, maybe he might have been a little proud.

Neither notice when they simultaneously rake a hand through their hair, licking their lips and sighing exactly at the same time.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Taehyung lets an incredulous laugh out, surprisingly irking his father enough to the point where his indifferent expression finally melts into a scowl.

"KAI TOLD ME JIA'S FATHER HAD 3 MONTHS TO LIVE! I thought maybe that was why you were pushing the wedding so hard. Maybe you had some decency in you that you were trying to hide from me by saying it was all just a business tactic. Maybe Kim Ron was just trying to make his friend's dying wish of giving away his daughter true."

Mr. Kim purses his lips, looking down at his son's exasperated face with disgust to deflect any of the guilt that might seep through.

Taehyung takes his silence as a cue to continue.

"She disappeared on Sunday and hasn't returned a single call. I've been to her house 8 times in the last week and every time she's conveniently not home. What did you say?!"

"You have a responsibility, Taehyung. She was never a part of our plan-"

Taehyung slams his fists down on the desk again, stunning his father in the middle of his thought.

"WE don't have a plan!"

Vaguely annoyed by the interruption, Mr. Kim replies coolly, "I only told her the truth, son."

"Just like you told Venus, right?"

It strikes a nerve in both, their eyes twitching at the sound of her name.

Mr. Kim shakes it off, dusting off his suit before languidly approaching his window.

"You're a natural businessman. It's such a shame you still reject me when we're so alike."

"I will never be like you," Taehyung spits.

"You are me." Mr. Kim turns to his son with a proud smirk. "All those girls' hearts you've broken for your own pleasure, manipulating your teachers into letting you pass, even using your own brother to get close to his tutor. You're a Kim...we use people, that's what we do. And when we don't need them anymore, we discard them."

As if instinctively, Taehyung takes a step back.

"Well...you're done using me."

Mr. Kim lets out a hearty laugh as he turns to watch his son start for his door.

"What are you gonna do? Leave? I own you Taehyung."

Letting the words roll of his back like water, Taehyung stuffs his fists into the pockets of his jacket. With his eyes piercing his father's, he slams two pairs of keys on his desk.

"These are for the car down in your parking garage. And these are for the house." He takes out his wallet before swiping a pair of scissors. One by one, Taehyung cuts every credit card in half until his wallet is completely empty. "I'm not owned by ANYONE."

Mr. Kim narrows his eyes, attempting to conceal his shock with his usual smirk that now comes off as forced.

"And what will you do for money?"

Taehyung swallows down the urge to argue with his father. It was pointless and just consisted of Mr. Kim pulling at threads in desperate attempts to get his son to crack.

"Maybe you should worry about the future of your company instead of me."

Mr. Kim's lips part as he watches his son head for his door. Both were used to arguments like this one. His father figures that this is just Taehyung's most dramatic attempt at rebellion. The card cutting was a nice touch but he knows that it doesn't mean anything.

So he says what he always says in an effort to get his son to reevaluate himself after his tantrum.

"If you walk out that door, Taehyung, you can never come back-"

Mr. Kim furrows his brow at the sound of his door slamming shut before he even has a chance to finish. Leaving him completely alone.

As he always feared he would.

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Taehyung knocks on your front door for the fifth time. He frowns, not because no one is answering, but because he can hear the muffled whispers of your family behind the wood. The thought of everyone being home and actively ignoring him cracks his heart but he continues nonetheless.

After knocking a sixth time, he notices his knuckles are beginning to sore. Your shared neighborhood has always been one of the more quieter ones yet tonight the silence is deafening.

He knocks a seventh time, sighing when he sees the orange light previously bleeding through the front window go out. His pride begs him to stop and take the hint, but he doesn't.

On the eighth knock, Juni finally opens the door.

Although relieved, Taehyung knows your brother is far from happy to see him.

"Juni please-"

"Stop knocking," Juni cuts him off. Taehyung purses his lips, hoping to sneak a glimpse of you behind him somewhere. Juni notices and scoffs before folding his arms. "Don't you have a wife to get to?"

"She isn't my wife. It's all just a misunderstanding. You gotta let me explain to her."

Juni looks over his disheveled appearance and scowls. He knows he shouldn't, but Taehyung can't help but hope the long pause is a good sign. Maybe his week of misery can finally come to an end and he'll get to talk to you.

Juni's never been too intimidating. And it could be the damn trance of love Taehyung has been in ever since he's met you but he credits this lack of fear towards your brother to your resemblance. But then again everything reminds him of you.

Juni's lips part and Taehyung's brows raise in suspense. His stomach twists and his heart drops. Rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, he eagerly awaits your brother's response.

"Die," Juni finally says, slamming the door shut.

Taehyung feels the weight that had been lifted off of his shoulders for a millisecond come crashing down once again. With his pride now screaming at him to scatter into a dark corner of the Earth and vanish like a cockroach, he softly knocks again. The porch light goes out, complete darkness consuming him whole. Any sane person would leave but he doesn't.

He hears noise behind the door and goes still. Though he's been dreaming about the moment of finally speaking to you he finds his mind going fuzzy at the possibility of facing you now. He licks his lips in anticipation as he mentally prepares what he will say, smoothing out the wrinkles in his brown T-shirt in an effort to not look like such a train wreck.

But when the door opens, his heart completely stops.

Your father stares up at him from his wheelchair with a defeated look. Taehyung expected him to be fuming like any father would be, cocking a gun in an effort to send him running down the street for knocking so damn much. But Dan simply squints his eyes and purses his lips as he looks over his face. And Taehyung quickly realizes that this is much worse.

Clearing his throat, he starts to apologize but your father quickly interrupts.

"You lied to her."

"I'm so sorry, Dan-"

"It's because of me, isn't it?" Dan replies, looking straight through Taehyung as he looses himself in thought. "It was the ring. I put too much pressure on you, didn't I son?"

Taehyung feels his knees go weak at the last word.
"It was all my fault, Dan. If you just let me talk to her I swear I can clear it all up-"

"Talk?" Dan's brow creases. "It's too late for that, don't you think?"

Dan was right. There wasn't anything Taehyung could say that he couldn't have said earlier. Explaining wouldn't change the fact that he lied to you. Explaining wouldn't change the fact that he kissed Jia.

Maybe he should start to take his own father's advice and quit running away from who he truly is. He's poisonous, destroying everything he touches even when it isn't his intention. Even when he tries to be better, he still ruins everything in his path. Maybe Jungkook would have finally forgotten about Sora by now if he hadn't always gotten in the way. Maybe you would be with Namjoon and never been hurt by someone like him if he had simply ignored you at the party that night. Maybe Venus would have never left if he had just kept his stupid mouth shut 18 years ago.

It's never been about him being his father's son or his mother's son. This is just who he is.

Kim Taehyung.

Dan offers him an apologetic look before softly shutting the door. Taehyung finally hangs his head in defeat. He stuffs his fists in the pockets of his baggy carpenter pants and begins to make his exit when he hears a truck pull into your driveway.

The truck beeps locked as Namjoon walks outside dumbfounded. Taehyung lifts his head slightly, recognizing the big man through the strands of dark hair obscuring his vision and notices the plastic bag in his hands. He spots the familiar neon pink box of watermelon sourpatches sticking out of the top confirming you're home.

Namjoon can't help but suck in a breath as he watches Taehyung continue to walk his way. He expects your ex-boyfriend to start a war with him, jab a finger in his chest and accuse him of having something to do with you ignoring him.

But Taehyung is emotionless as he brushes past him, frowning a bit as he catches another glimpse of more of your favorite snacks inside the bag before disappearing down the street.

Namjoon is stunned to say the least. Your ex-boyfriend's obnoxious Mercedes is nowhere in sight and the faint smell of sweat still lingers in the air. He wonders if he walked all the way to your house from the city.

However the most confusing part to Namjoon is the sudden guilt he feels. This whole situation was supposed to feel better in his head at least. As a Virgo sun he should be gleaming with joy at the fact that he was right the whole time. He knew Taehyung would screw up with you sooner or later, and here you are seeking comfort in his arms like he knew you would as well.

Yet the victory tastes more bitter than sweet as he recounts the ghastly look on Taehyung's face, accepting his loss and stifling his ego to the point where he couldn't even meet Namjoon's eyes. He recognizes the look. It was the same look he'd seen in his own reflection for years after dropping out of college. Defeat.

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The night is like any other at Bang's. Cooks are screeching orders as everyone works around each other like a coordinated dance. Everything seems normal enough. Everything except Jin in the corner of the kitchen who has been ferociously chopping onions for half of the night.

After chopping them for so many years his eyes have grown accustomed to the sting. But even if they can't handle the vegetable, he figures he'll at least have an excuse as to why there are tears streaming down his face. It's a better excuse than to admit he's distraught over his sudden breakup with Jia.

He cuts faster as he recalls the night it happened over a week ago. How he had expected her to be waiting outside of Bang's like she always did only to have his phone ring at 1 am to her saying through sobs that they can no longer see each other. And when Jin begged to know at least the reason why, she simply hung up.

He moves onto another onion, much like he was forced to move on with his own life after that night. Jin put up as much fight as he could but Jia quickly changed her number and after never telling him where she lived, Jin felt he didn't have any options. His only sliver of hope is that she'll visit the same farmer's market where they had met. So he goes every morning hopelessly hoping that they aren't a lost cause.

A sharp pain shoots through his hand and he looks down in alarm to see his index finger oozing red blood. While he was busy lost in thought, he must have failed to notice how dangerously close his knife was. One of the line cooks notices and whistles.

"Damn, sliced your finger, didn't ya?"

Jin grabs a rag to clean up as he quietly nods. It's no surprise that that's all he responds with. The once lively Jin is now quieter than ever. The same line cook suggests he step outside while it bleeds and reluctantly Jin storms out.

He sighs when a gust of wind hits his face. Freeing his forehead from the constraints of the bandana wrapped around his head, he looks up at the night sky. The city pollution usually makes the sky look a fuzzy charcoal but lately it's looked pitch black and he can't help but think about Jia's hair. It's been a week and he still feels as if his heart has been ripped out of his chest, the wounds failing to scab over and reopening each time he looks up at the sky.

Jin lets out a shaky breath as he sits on the steps overlooking the lot. He finds himself wondering if Jia was even real. Sometimes it feels as if she was simply a fantasy, the perfect woman created by Jin's cruel mind in an attempt to aid his loneliness. But if that's the case, then he supposes it's for the best. It hurts much less when he pretends she never existed.

The back door squeaks open behind him, followed by a few heavy steps. He doesn't have to turn to see who it is, much less when he feels the brush of his brother's denim jeans as he takes a seat next to him.

Jin figures his brother has come outside to gloat. Monster has never been too interested in his problems.

"Should've listened to you," Jin starts, eyes glued to the empty parking spot next to his car.

He feels Namjoon still before clearing his throat.

"About..."

"About Jia," he continues, "even if it was a really bad story, her being engaged to Taehyung and all that. I should've stayed away."

Namjoon cringes as he feels another small pang of guilt, squeezing the plastic takeout bag in his hands a little tighter. "I-It wasn't a story, Jin. Why do you think I've been Honey's house all week?"

Jin lets out a dry chuckle. "No, shit. So you were right about both of them?" His laughter slowly dissipates as he reverts his gaze back up to the sky. "Maybe it's for the best, anyways."

The younger observes his brother's indifferent face, searching for anything that might indicate Seokjin is still alive and not just a hollow shell.

He finds nothing.

Instead, he finally notices the rag stained red wrapped tightly around his finger.

"You cut yourself?" Namjoon asks with a frown.

"Oh yeah. I got distracted, but it's nothing."

Namjoon screws his face in confusion. Jin was nothing short of perfect every shift. He hardly made mistakes, and if he did he'd do anything to hide them. Yet here he sits, flaunting the wound like a medal as he can't seem to be able to rip his eyes away from the damn night sky.

"Ever wish you had powers, monster?"

Hesitantly, Namjoon looks away from his brother's bleeding finger. "Powers? Like super powers?" He clarifies, earning a slow nod from Jin. "I guess I wouldn't mind being able to read minds."

Jin smirks, a crack of his old personality leaking through but it quickly fades into a thin line.

"I wish I did."

"Yeah? For what," Namjoon nudges him, attempting to coax his brother out.

"I never thought I wanted them until I met Jia. When she told me about her and her family, I couldn't help but wish I had the power to heal her...at least enough so she could love herself like I loved her."

Namjoon's eyes go wide.

"You loved her?!"

Jin purses his lips and sighs as if he regrets saying anything.

"Doesn't matter now."

"Of course it matters!" Namjoon springs up from the steps, obstructing his brother's view of the sky so that he's forced to look him in the eye. "You gotta go tell her how you feel, man! I've never heard you say you lo-"

"Monster," Jin cuts him off sternly, standing so that they're face to face, "it doesn't matter. This was her choice."

"Jin, you can't-"

"I can. I'm not like you, Monster. Jia and I were something special and who knows what it could have been but I know how to let shit go. She made it pretty fucking clear how she wanted this to end."

Maybe it's the weird feeling of guilt he's been feeling lately that causes Namjoon to pull at his brother's shoulder despite the passive blow but he can't help himself. At least until Jin turns to him with a familiar look, one that surprises him to the point of stumbling back.

Jin frowns, finally showing an emotion, as he waves his brother off.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" He points to the bag of food in his brother's hand, "to be Honey's shoulder to cry on. Go do that. I'm glad everything worked out for you, Monster."

The steel door slams shut as Jin retreats back into the kitchen, leaving a stunned Namjoon outside with his brother's defeated face burned into his brain.

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thank you for those who have stuck by this story and for the new readers who have encouraged me to update

these past couple of months have been probably the worst of my life and considering that this is the saddest part of my book i hope you can understand why i have not been particularly enthusiastic to write it

nonetheless i have been feeling better and i have started to do the things i love again so i hope to write and read everyone's stories whenever i get the chance

thank you for 7k

happy october