He didn't know if it was his fate to see Chaeyoung almost everywhere he went to, and most of the time, she was with Taehyung. He didn't stalk them this time around, so he was unsure if they did it on purpose, showing their healing relationship to the world or it was mere coincidence that they happened to be in the same location. Except that Jungkook would be the only one who would see them, while they would have their eyes somewhere else. Maybe they didn't even realize that he was around, too immersed in the new happiness that they found.

It provided more strength on his assumption that she and Taehyung had really made up, and that Taehyung had already proposed to her or the proposal was going to be really soon. Even if she hadn't been proposed, there was a chance that she would say that three-lettered word to Taehyung.

Seemed impossible when he thought of the timing. Chaeyoung couldn't have moved on that quick, could she? She said it before that she hated how she was a victim of disloyalty, so would it be possible for her to open her heart to Taehyung once more in that short amount of time, to the point of saying yes when proposed?

Of course, of course it would be possible, especially when Jungkook considered the things he did to her. Of course, she might have chosen to get him out of her heart, and maybe give a second chance to Taehyung. Of course, Taehyung, too, deserved a second chance as much as Jungkook thought he himself deserved it.

Today was just like those damn times. It already felt like he had seen them together for more than a thousand times when in reality it was the fourth. Or was it the fifth? Jungkook wasn't sure himself. What he was sure of was that among the many times he caught them together with his eyes, he hated today the most.

Chaeyoung was laughing at what Taehyung was saying.

Jungkook remembered those days when he was the reason why Chaeyoung's laughter filled the air. He would act silly just to get a smile on her face, but he would always get returned with a beautiful series of laughter. It pained him to realize that there would be no room for a smile for him anymore, and it was even more awful to know and to see that she was smiling when she was with Taehyung.

The tables had turned and Jungkook wished nothing more but to be able to turn back the time.

He stood still at where he stiffened when his eyes landed on the two – he was in front of a convenience store. On the opposite side of the block he was at, Chaeyoung and Taehyung just came out of a boutique. He felt the aching pain began to form a lump in his throat, and with so much effort, he swallowed it down as he looked at them from far.

Reminded by that stupid dream of him seeing her in a beautiful white dress, Jungkook turned away and closed his eyes for a brief second, holding himself back from hitting whatever he could reach as he cursed under his breath, "Fuck."

*

"I'll see you later," Taehyung said, offering his signature smile and closed the door to her house for her.

Chaeyoung was still smiling even when the door had closed with a click. She turned around a few seconds later, holding the strap to the paper bag with both hands as she walked towards the nearest couch. Patience running out thin as she quickly took the dress out of the bag, tossing her tote onto the couch as she excitedly held the dress up to her eye level.

It was a short sleeveless dress that hung just above her knees. The dress was parfait in color and laced and although she initially thought that it would be great to wear it on the wedding day that would probably come sooner, Chaeyoung didn't think she'd be able to wait until that day to come for her to be able to have this drape her figure.

Taehyung had chosen it for her, and even paid it as a gift. She had refused it at first but he had said that it was his wish to spend some money for Namjoon. He was helping Namjoon to prepare an event to propose to Jennie. If Namjoon wanted this to be memorable to Jennie, Taehyung wanted it to be memorable to Namjoon and everyone attending it as well.

Namjoon had wanted to make the event a tiny bit like it was a real wedding. There wouldn't be anyone acting as a wedding officiant. There should be at least a best man and a maid of honor, and Taehyung and Chaeyoung were absolutely the ones who would get that position. And because of that, Taehyung had convinced her that she should be getting a new dress for that occasion.

Ever since that day she was invited to have lunch together with Taehyung's mom at his house, she had finally warmed up to him again. He had called her that night, literally begging for her to forgive him for the past and he wanted to be friends with her again. He said that it was so hard being unable to joke around like before even when they were with Jennie and Namjoon. He wanted a chance to be not more than just friends, for the sake of their two friends.

It was hard, but perhaps due to her knowing Taehyung for quite a long time, the iced wall had melted and she wouldn't deny how it made her feel like some of the burdens in her life had been lifted off completely.

Chaeyoung had thought over it before, to be just friends and forget the past because they had split up for a long time, but when he revealed that he was the one who had been the cause of her relationship with Jungkook broken to pieces, she made it sure to forget about being friends. Add on those constant attempts of Taehyung trying to flirt with her, trying to make her open the door to her heart for him once more, she felt nothing but anger and dissatisfaction.

However, this time, it felt somewhat genuine. He seemed to be serious about wanting to be just friends with her. Maybe the fact that his attempts had met nothing but failure caused him to give up on being her lover again.

More times spent with him, the more Chaeyoung felt at ease, at least for the time being. Taehyung being a natural jokester made everything easier. She found the laughter after a while being incapable of doing so, she found the smiles she had dropped, and her heart felt lighter.

There'd be times when Taehyung had forgotten, sometimes he'd give her subtle touches that were supposed to make her heart flutter but it didn't, and so she had to softly remind him about it. Unlike before, he'd stop and apologized, to which she appreciated very much.

Although they weren't as close as before, where she'd feel more than comfortable to do literally everything with him, she had to admit that she actually needed him especially during this time. She couldn't spill the surprise to Jennie and so she needed someone who was close to Jennie all the same to share the excitement. Taehyung was perfect.

At times, Chaeyoung thought of Jungkook. He was best at listening to her pouring her feelings of excitement, but the timing wasn't right. Besides, Jungkook didn't really know Jennie like how she didn't know Yoongi and Hoseok that much. It wouldn't be great to know if he wasn't enjoying it just as much as she would.

Chaeyoung looked at the balcony before her eyes drifted to the guitar she had left lying on the carpeted floor. Slowly, she walked to her room and kept the dress carefully inside the closet. Once she was in the living room again, she grabbed her guitar and went on to take a seat in the balcony, where she'd always let her fingers play with the strings and her voice to float in the air.

The melodic sound of guitar bounced in the air as she watched her fingers danced around the strings. The feeling of it all was beyond nice, as this was probably the only way she could relax inside out. Seconds into the melody, her lips parted, waiting for the right timing to sing the song she had listened a few days ago.

"You're one in a million. You're once in a lifetime. You made me discover one of the stars above us."

"I've been looking for that special one. And I've been searching for someone to give my love. And when I thought that all the hope was gone, a smile, there you were and I was gone."

She looked up to the sky, a person came to mind, and she sang even more.

"I always will remember how I felt that day. A feeling indescribable to me, yeah. I always knew there was an answer for my prayer, and you, you're the one, the one for me."

Her phone rang on the small table on her side and her fingers froze on the strings. She shifted in her seat to get a better look of the caller and lifted her eyebrow when she saw who the caller was.

"Yes, Taehyung?" she answered. Taehyung didn't answer right away, and instead, she heard the sound of him moving around. "Taehyung?" she repeated, a bit louder for him to hear in case he didn't realize she had answered the call.

"Yes, sorry. Uh, is my wallet with you? I think I put it in the bag with your dress. Can you please check for me?" he asked, sounding rushed and panicked.

"Your wallet?" she looked over her shoulder at where she had left the bag in the living room and squinted her eyes since the mouth of the bag was facing her. "Oh yeah, it's here with me. Gosh, Tae. You seriously need to change that habit of yours," she sighed heavily but still let a smile to pull at her face. "Do you want me to bring it to you?"

Taehyung sighed in relief on the other line. "Thank god. That's okay. I'm just around the corner so I'll be there in a minute. Was about to buy something but then I realized I don't have it with me," he chuckled.

As soon as he ended the call, she put her phone carefully on the table and was about to resume playing her guitar when she heard a distant sound of music coming from a place she was familiar with. And when the familiar voice that she had dreamed of listening to all day started singing, she felt her heart beat with so much energy she didn't know it had.

"Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now. Our song on the radio but it don't sound the same. When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me down. 'Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name."

Contrary to what her brain had ordered her to do, Chaeyoung sat there in silence as she listened to Jungkook singing from the balcony of his house. Every line of the lyrics to the song made her want to curl up in bed and bury her face in the pillow and cry herself out. She wanted to make the soft sheet of the pillow to once again take the responsibility of wiping off the tears on her face.

"My pride, my ego, my needs and my selfish ways, caused a good strong woman like you to walk out of my life. Now I never, never get to clean up the mess I made, and it haunts me every time I close my eyes."

She didn't need to ask, she didn't need to wonder. She knew the song was for her. But she was curious of one thing.

Why did he choose that song? 'When I Was Your Man' by Bruno Mars wasn't just a song about how a man regretting what he'd done that he lost the woman he loved. It was also a song of a man realizing the reality of it all. It was a song of a man finally accepting his reality. It was a song of a man finally letting go the woman he loved.

A strange feeling of discomfort sat in the pit of her stomach as she thought of how Jungkook might have given up. But what would cause him to give up on her?

"Although it hurts, I'll be the first to say that I was wrong. Oh, I know I'm probably much too late to try and apologize for my mistakes, but I just want you to know..."

Chaeyoung's grip on the neck of the guitar tightened. She already knew what the next lines would be. But it was still painful to hear it from him.

"I hope he buys you flowers, I hope he holds your hand, give you all his hours, when he has the chance, take you to every party, 'cause I remember how much you loved to dance."

The lyrics didn't exactly match their situation but the meaning behind each line made her heart twinge. To whom would he let her go? It couldn't be Taehyung, though? Why would he even think of that? She thought she had made it clear to him when she yelled at him to reveal the identity of Taehyung.

"Do all the things I should have done, when I was your man."

She had her brows furrowed, and when she finally lifted her face to look away from her guitar, tears that she had been holding back finally escaped.

*

Jungkook was unsure if she was even listening. She could have gone inside again even though there was no sound of the door sliding shut. For hours during that day after he sang to her, he went on to play games to distract himself from the thought of her but all efforts were in vain. She basically lived there, in his mind.

It was dark when he finally moved away from his computer, staying in the bathtub longer than he needed to, and when he was finally done, he lay on the bed, reminiscing those moments of when they used to snuggle close during their lazy days. He looked to the clothes hanging off the chair and he glanced at the shirt on the floor that was initially on the bed.

If Chaeyoung was here, surely he would hear that annoying yet beautiful sound of her nagging him for that. Jungkook's lips curved slightly upward at the thought of it before the smile slowly faded, replaced with a sad frown.

His hand grabbed a hold of his phone on autopilot, slightly hoping to see her name on any notifications there was. None. He should have expected that. Nevertheless, he couldn't help the disappointment.

Jungkook missed her. He missed every single thing about her. But truthfully, during this moment in his life, all he wanted right now was to talk to her. He missed her voice. So much that it hurt him to realize the only way he would be able to listen to her was when she was singing in the balcony, talking to Taehyung on the phone or in the memories of them in the box of his mind.

Jungkook wanted to hear her talking to him again.

He closed his eyes in anticipation, anxious as he waited for the ringing sound to end. At every ring, he somehow could hear his heart shatter inside. Was she trying to ignore him?

When he was actually sure that she wasn't going to answer it, he brought the device away from his ear but stopped when he heard a faint sound of that beautiful voice replacing the ringing sound.

"Hello?"

Licking his lips, he couldn't help the smile that began to form on his face. "Hey. What are you doing?" he asked gently, almost jumping in joy as he brought his body up to prop his elbow against the mattress.

She didn't answer right away and the seconds of silence felt like a year. "Nothing much." Silence again then, before she asked, "Why do you call?"

Pretenses were never relevant, so he didn't know why he was thinking of doing so to give her an answer. He was proud of himself when he went with the truth. "I missed you." She couldn't have put her phone down because her breathing sound was so clear to his ear. And so he continued, "I missed talking to you. I missed your voice. I missed you so bad."

He heard the soft sigh she let out. "Jungkook–"

Not wanting to let this conversation go to waste, Jungkook asked, "How are you doing?"

She seemed hesitant, maybe confused. "I'm... good."

"Glad to know that," Jungkook said, trying to sound cheerful although he failed miserably. The 'good' made him think of her and Taehyung. "Did you have your dinner?"

"...yeah. I did. Why are you–"

"What did you have? I hope you don't order yourself pizza. You should –"

"Jungkook, what's wrong?" she cut him off, sounding concern as she asked him that. It made his insides feel warm yet he felt bitter to have it thrown at him.

He sat on the bed, scooted backward so his back could lean against the headboard. "I can't ask you these questions anymore now that we're... we're no longer seeing each other?" he asked bitterly.

"It's not that... it's just –I thought that you've given up on...this."

The tone Chaeyoung used made him unable to point out what she really meant by it without asking her. It was true that he told her he wasn't going to give up, but if she had made her choice final, that she'd take Taehyung over him, Jungkook didn't think it was a right thing to even make a simple move anymore even when he wanted her back so badly.

Swallowing hard, Jungkook asked, "Do you want me to?" When Chaeyoung didn't answer, Jungkook asked again, "Do you want me to give up on you?"

It was suddenly so silent on the other line that he thought she had hung up on him. He pulled the device away to check and she was still on.

After a few seconds of waiting for her response, she finally said softly, "I can't decide that for you."

He bit his lip as dissatisfaction surfaced in him because of her answer. "What if I told you I want you to decide for me?"

"If I told you yes, are you going to give up?"

That was just an 'if', but it already hurt like his flesh was sliced with knife. "...I don't know," he admitted.

Another sigh from her before she softly said, "Whatever my answer will be... it will not matter because in the end, it's your choice to make."