- His slender arm snaking around my naked waist. His heavy breath tingling my earlobe. His succulent lips peppering kisses on the nape of my neck.
- "I love you." He whispers as he turns me around & stares deep into my soul.
- My heart lurches at his confession, but I can't bring myself to reciprocate with the same words.
- This is wrong. What we're doing is wrong.
- I abruptly push him away & put on my clothes in silence, although I crave his touch the second I left his embrace.
- "What's wrong, hyung?" He asks, nerves lacing his melodious voice.
- "We need to stop doing this." I heave a deep sigh.
- His muscular torso is laid bare for my eyes to feast on, causing me to gulp down my own saliva.
- Butterflies soar from the pit of my stomach to my chest, accelerating my heart rate to an unhealthy speed.
- I quickly turn away so that he won't see the infatuated longing in my eyes.
- "Why? I thought you wanted this. I thought you love me." He stubbornly says.
- "Kook, sometimes it's not always about what we want. We can't do this anymore. What if your father find out?"
- That's the thing I'm scared of the most; his father, the most respected chief in this town, the owner of my life, finding out that I'm fucking his precious only son.
- In the time we live in, society despises our kind of love.
- They think that people like us were born sick & need to be eradicated, like noxious weeds in a flower garden.
- To make matter worse, I'm his father's slave.
- "So what if he finds out? I love you & you love me. There's nothing he can do about it." He scoffs as he rises from the make-shift bed that we put up in the abandoned shed.
- "He'll kill us! No, scratch that. He won't kill you, but he'll kill me. Do you want to see that happen Kook?" Tears of frustration brims my eyes.
- "I won't ever let him do any harm to you. You're the only person I care about in this world. We've known each other since we were kids, so you know that I always keep my promise, right?" He asks as he gently cradles my face in his palms.
- I want to believe his words & bury myself into his chest so bad, but the harsh reality doesn't allow me to.
- "I'm sorry Kook, but this is a mistake. Let's stop seeing each other from now on." I release myself from his grasp & walk out of the shed without turning back, suppressing the tears that are stinging my eyes.

A few days later, Jungkook POV
- The sun is shining dangerously bright today, causing everything to burn & fizzle under its rays.
- Watching him working in the middle of the field with the other slaves, wiping the the sweats rolling down his sun-kissed skin with the back of his hand, pains me.
- "Father, do we have to do this now? Can you let them rest for a few minutes? The weather is extremely hot today." I cautiously say.
- "I've promised Chief Yoon to send him the cotton before the day ends. Jungkook ah, I know you have a kind heart, but they are slaves! They're used to working under harsh sunlights, so don't let it bother you." My father quickly dismisses my concern as he sips his tea.
- I turn to the field again & search for his shadow.
- He's carrying two huge sacks of cotton on his back towards the truck.
- Then, suddenly, he's gone, disappeared among the rows of cotton trees.
- The other slaves run towards the spot where he was standing & circle around it.
- "Somebody's fainted!" One of them shouts to the others.
- My heart drops & I immediately run out of the canopy towards the commotion.
- "Jungkook ah, what are you doing?!" My father calls out to me, but I ignore him & keep running.
- Once I get to the spot, I see him lying unconsciously on the ground, lips cracked, face pale.
- I kneel down beside him & cradle his head on my lap.
- "Hyung, wake up. Hyung. Wake up! Somebody go grab me some water!" I yell to the frozen figures around me.
- Someone brings me a bowl of water & I splash it to his face.
- Relief washes over me as his eyes slowly flutter open.
- "J-Jungkook? What are you doing here?" He asks weakly.
- "Thank God you're awake. You scared me to death." I instantaneously pull him into a tight hug, completely forgetting about the dozens pairs of eyes watching us, including my father's.
- "I-I'm okay. Just dehydrated I guess. Let me go, people are watching." He whispers as he pushes me away.
- "Jeon Jungkook! Come with me." My father's voice booms over the ruckus & everyone instantly goes silent.
- "Go. Now." Taehyung urgently says, obviously scared of my father's wrath.
- My fingers linger in his hand for another second before I reluctantly let it go.
- Head lowered, I follow my father back to the mansion.
- "Everybody out!" He yells at the servants, which sends them all scurrying out of the room.
- "What do you think you're doing huh?! Hugging a slave in front of the others? Are you insane?! Have you forgotten who you are?!" Eyes burning with fury, he shouts at me.
- "I'm sorry." I mutter lowly while averting my gaze.
- "Do you think I don't know what you've been doing with that slave in the shed up on the hill?" He scoffs.
- "How do you-" My eyes shoot up at him in shock.
- "This is my land son. I know everything that's going on, you can't hide from me. If you want to continue to be my successor, you need to stop whatever you're feeling towards him & get married to a nice woman right away. I've talked to Chief Yoon, he has a daughter who's your age. We can arrange your marriage right away."
- "I don't want to get married! I love him father. He's the only-" I can't finish my sentence because father's palm lands hard on my cheek.
- "Shut up! What if the servants hear? The son of the chief is a descendant of the devil. Have you imagined how that will affect us? If you continue acting like this, I'll have no choice but to kill him." He hisses through gritted teeth.
- "No! Please don't kill him. I beg you. I'll do anything you want, but please don't cause him any harm." I drop down on my knees & plead.
- "Fine, I'll spare his life, but you must swear that you won't see or talk to him ever again. I'll feed him to the dogs right away if I find you fooling around with him one more time. Understand?!" He barks.
- "Y-Yes father. I swear I won't meet him again."
- "Good. Now go ask the servant to put some ointment on your swollen cheek. You need to look your best when you meet Chief Yoon's daughter tomorrow." He kicks my hand away & stomps out of the room.
- I kneel down on the floor, frozen, eyes blank, heart shattered.
- How will he take the news of my marriage? Will he feel as much pain as I do? I'm sorry hyung. I wish we met at a different time & place, so our love can flourish instead of being trampled to the ground like this.

A week later, Taehyung POV
- His marriage to Chief Yoon's daughter is the only thing everyone talks about these days.
- I feel like running away so I don't have to witness him getting married, but I have nowhere else to go.
- Tomorrow is his wedding day, all servants & slaves in the plantation are busy preparing for the big day.
- "Taehyung ah, go bring a buggy to the warehouse & grab the wine glasses." The head servant instructs me.
- "Alright." I immediately do as he says.
- My heart begins to clench as I push the buggy up the hill towards the warehouse.
- I try to ignore it, but from the corner of my eyes I can see the shed where Jungkook & I used to meet in secret.
- He hasn't talked to me again after that day at the cotton field.
- A part of me is relieved, but a bigger part of me feels like a huge chunk of my heart has been cut off.
- Stop thinking about him, you fool. You are never meant to be. Not in this lifetime.
- I blink away the sting in my eyes & keep moving.
- Suddenly, a hand clamps my mouth from behind & pulls me away from the buggy.
- I try to scream but the guy is too strong.
- He drags me towards the shed & slam the door close.
- "Jungkoo-" My eyes widen in shock as he slams his lips onto mine & cradles my face in his hands.
- I push him away at first, but gradually I melt into his kiss & hug him tightly, my fingers clawing into his broad back.
- "God, I missed you so fucking much." He whispers on my lips in between heavy breaths once our lips have parted.
- I want to lose myself in his kiss again & forget about the world, but I know I can't.
- So I push him away, although doing so crushes my already heavily battered heart.
- "You should leave. I need to go." I hastily say, wiping his saliva off my swollen lips.
- "Hyung, I swear I don't love her. My father forced me to marry her, otherwise-"
- "Otherwise what?" I turn around to look at him.
- Suddenly, the door to the shed swings open & a bunch of people rush inside.
- "What are you doing?! Let go of me!" I scream as they grab my limbs & lift me out of the shed.
- "Hyung! Hyung!" Jungkook try to hold onto me but the others pin his hands behind his back.
- "Father? Please, he didn't do anything! I was the one who came looking for him. Please!" He cries.
- Right then, I know that my time is over.
- My measly life is going to end in these people's hands.
- They pin me down on something made of wood that resembles a cross & tie me up.
- "Hyung! Hyung! Nooo! Please let him go!" I can see the veins on his neck popping underneath his golden skin as he screams his lungs out.
- "Any last word Kim Taehyung?" My master, Jungkook's father, asks.
- "Jungkook ah, please live a happy & fulfilled life with your spouse. Look away & muffle your ears, don't torture yourself." My voice is calm, despite the trembles in my fingers & cold sweat on my forehead.
- "May God forgive you for your sins." Jungkook's father says.
- I feel the heat creeping up from the tip of my toes towards my torso.
- The smell of burning meat fills the thick atmosphere but I bite my tongue so that I won't scream.
- So that my painful cry won't be the last thing he remembers about me.
- "Hyung! No! Stop the fire! Father please! Somebody help! Please!" His desperate shout for help is the last thing I hear before everything goes dark.
- Goodbye Jungkook ah. Til next time.

Time skip, Y/n POV
- "Woah, such a tragic love story. Did that really happen grandma? Or did you just make that up?" Your granddaughter asks, completely amused by your story.
- "I didn't make that up. It was a true story." You smile as you put a strand of hair behind her ear.
- "If they had met each other now, things would have been very different. It makes me sad to think that people can be so judgmental & evil. What happens to the guy who's alive? Did he marry that Chief's girl in the end?" She stares at you with eyes full of curiosity.
- "He did marry the girl, but he'd never loved again." You smile sadly.
- "Grandma, are you actually talking about someone close to us?" Her head suddenly perks up looking at your melancholic expression.
- "That's not part of the deal. I told you I would never disclose the identities of the characters in this story. Now go, your mom will be worried if you go home any later." You gently stroke her long hair.
- "Awww grandma. Fine, I'll keep coming back until you tell me the real identities of the characters. I love you grandma. Good night." She pecks my cheek & waves goodbye.
- You wave at her until she steps out of your lawn.
- You walk back inside & the memories from that day flood your mind.
- The day your husband, Jungkook, told you about his lover, Taehyung.
- You pick up the frame containing your wedding picture with Jungkook, the only picture that you've ever taken with him.
- His thin lips, his deep frown that seemed to be permanently engraved onto the space in between his brows, his cold stare.
- You had resented him until you found out the truth, then you understood.
- The doctor said that he died of cancer, but you believed that he actually died of heartbreak, leaving you & your only daughter.
- No one could repair the gaping wound that ripped him apart when Taehyung left.
- The last words he said before he died still ring in your ears from time to time.
- "Wait for me hyung. Soon, I'll be with you." And then he died with a smile on his lips, the most genuine smile that you'd ever seen since you had gotten married to him.
- Yeobo, I truly hope that you are happy now.
- You put down the frame & wipe away the tears that roll down your cheek.
- Then, you turn the lights off.

Somewhere in Seoul, Jungkook POV
- "Ya, why are you bailing on me? It's supposed to be our graduation party tonight!" Jungkook whines into his phone.
- "How can a party consist of only 2 people? That's so lame." His friend says from the other end of the line.
- "Everyone already has plans! I've tried to invite them all. Ya. Ya! Don't hang up on me! Aishh.." He frustratedly dials his friend's number again.
- Right then, someone bumps into his shoulder, causing him to drop his phone.
- "Ah, choesonghamnida." The guy says as he picks Jungkook's phone from the ground & hands it to him.
- Jungkook stares at the man standing in front of him & feels his heart lurch.
- Why am I feeling like this? Where have I seen him before?

Taehyung POV
- "Here's your phone." Taehyung smiles at the younger guy.
- "A-Ah. Thank you. You too." He stutters.
- He looks really cute actually, despite his unusual all black attire.
- But Taehyung doesn't have time, he's already late for his friend's birthday party.
- "Anw, good night." Taehyung nods at him & walks away.
- "G-Good night!" The guy yells at his back, making him chuckle lightly.
- Strange guy. Where have I seen him before?