[ note: from this chapter on, since V has already admitted that he is Kim Taehyung, i will refer him as Taehyung in the narrative. the characters that know the truth will be the only characters that call V as Taehyung, and vice versa for the characters that don't. ]

"You never really told me your intentions of doing this."

Taehyung folds his arms. He had never thought it would be difficult to explain his situation to Jiyeon. After all, Jiyeon was a curious woman. She was also stubborn, but a good stubborn. 

"Initially, I did it to get back at Mijoo, to everyone." He explains.

"To me?" He chuckles, shaking his head.

"Except you," he mumbles, flashing her a soft smile. "Because you saved my life."

She snorts. "Well, you have a lot of explaining to do." 

She bites her lip. It was funny to see the old Taehyung she knew back in the day. But at the same time, she wasn't sure if it was easy or difficult to comprehend the fact that he didn't actually die that night, and that he was alive. In fact, he was breathing and living right before her eyes. 

She knew it had to be him. It only took a matter of time to get him out of his shell. She knew that he was broken, and in order for a broken person to find themselves again, you have to give them time to heal. Time never expires. 

"I do," he shrugs his shoulders, "and maybe we can do all of that explaining over a cup of tea or coffee?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?" She questions him.

She notices how a soft blush spreads across his cheeks. He looks away from her, avoiding eye contact. He begins to fiddle with the hems of his knitted sweater. "Maybe."

"Whether it's a date or not, I'd gladly have a cup of coffee with you."

Suddenly, her phone vibrates in her pocket. Snapping out of her gaze, she pulls out her phone to see it light up with a an incoming text message. She furrows her eyebrows in confusion as the text messages start piling up on her lockscreen. Soon enough, before she even checks the messages, she gets an incoming call.

She gives Taehyung a knowing look. He purses his lips into a line and shrugs his shoulders.

"Should I answer it?"

"You should." He mumbles softly.

She picks up the phone call and lets out a soft sigh. "Hello?"

"Babe, you wouldn't believe what I just found out." 

She grows confused. Jungkook seems breathless, as if he's been running for hours on a treadmill. "Are you okay? You sound tired."

"I'm doing fine, I've been waiting outside your place all morning and you haven't gotten back. I need to tell you something important. It's urgent."

"How urgent?" She questions.

"Babe, are we seriously going to do this right now? It's urgent, and it's about that stupid jerk of a model that's forcing himself into our relationship."

She frowns, and when she glances at Taehyung, his eyes meet hers with concern. Prying her phone away from her ear, she puts him on speaker for her and Taehyung to listen. Taehyung bites his lip anxiously.

"What do you mean? Can't you just tell me over the phone? I'm currently running some errands for work." She explains.

"Listen, I―that best friend you keep talking about, what's his name, Taehyung? Taeil? Anyways, I met a person who's known him from the past. Apparently, he's not dead. He didn't die. He's still alive, Jiyeon."

Taehyung gulps nervously and the two of them look at each other with widened eyes. She clears her throat.

"Are you sure you're not making stuff up?" She chuckles nervously.

"Why would I be making stuff up, babe?" He asks, slightly annoyed. "She even has pictures of him after the day he supposedly died. What else was I supposed to think? He looks exactly like V."

"S-Sorry, it's just―this is sort of too much for me to handle." She stutters. "Who is this girl you're talking about?"

"Her name is―"

"Or should I say, who is this girl you've been cheating on me with?" Jiyeon cuts him off.

"Babe," he laughs breathlessly, "what are you talking about?"

She laughs bitterly. Taehyung slowly gets up from the couch and heads up to his room. As Jiyeon watches Taehyung retreat to his room for whatever reason, she waits on Jungkook to answer.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" She questions. "I know exactly what I'm talking about, Jungkook."

"Babe―"

"Don't call me babe." She mutters. "Who's the girl that's been texting―or should I say, sexting―you?"

"This is just a huge misunderstanding, Jiyeon. I was drunk. She took advantage of me. The morning after what happened that night, I knew it was a huge mistake. Please, babe―"

"You know, I think calling for a break was the best decision we've both mutually agreed on." She began, "but now, I think we should break up."

"Babe, please, just hear me out." He pleads.

"I can't believe you would do this to me. Even if you were drunk, you should've kept to yourself that night and not given yourself to another woman knowing full well that you were taken."

He lets out a frustrated sigh. A couple of tears stream down her cheeks and she wipes them away with the back of her hand. Out of nowhere, Namjoon strolls into the room and hands her a tissue. She thanks him with a bow of her head and he retreats into his office. On the other hand, she could hear Jungkook fall silent, and she knew that he was crying.

"Babe, I'm not letting you break up with me." He whispers. "It was all a misunderstanding."

"It's not a misunderstanding when I fully understand that what you had done was wrong."

"Just give me a second chance to make things right. Please? I don't know what I'd do without you―"

She hangs up on him and tosses her phone across the couch. Burying her face into her hands, she bursts out into soft sobs. Taehyung leaves his room with two duffle bags filled with clothes. As he heads towards her, he immediately frowns. The sadness she was projecting out into the room was beginning to hit him as well. 

"Jiyeon, are you okay?" He asks gently. "Do you need a hug?"

She looks up from her hands and sees him staring at her with concern. With a nod of her head, he places the duffle bags to the side and sits next to her. He pulls her into a hug, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"You deserve better, okay?" He whispers. "You deserve better."

  ☂ ☂  ☂ 

Jungkook paces back and forth in his bedroom. He hasn't slept for days since the day Jiyeon had hung up on him. He glances at his phone as he walks back and forth. Somehow, his mind was telling him that it was time to move on and admit defeat. It truly was his fault, he should've been more reserved, more sober. There were many things he should've done, and the very first thing was to not break Jiyeon's heart.

After making a decision, he slowly approaches his phone that lays peacefully on his bed. He stares at the contact, contemplating as to whether he should make the call or not. He sighs, grabbing the phone.

After a couple of rings, the call is picked up.

"I see you've decided to call, Jungkook-ssi." A soft giggle escapes from the other line. "What can I do for you? Do you want me to come over? You know that this number is sort of a love line, just one call, and I'll be there."

"Enough with the bullshit," he curses.

"Well, I didn't expect you'd be the badass type." She smirks. "But it's okay, I can make an adjustment."

"I'm not here looking for another fling with you, Mijoo." He scoffs. "I'm here because I want something from you."

"What do you need?"

"I need all the information you have of Kim Taehyung." He urges her.

"Oh, that doesn't happen so easily, Jungkook-ssi." Mijoo grins. "I can't just give you that piece of information without anything in return."

"What the fuck do you want from me?"

"Remember what I told you? I don't want you, I want Kim Taehyung." She replies.

"Fine." He says sternly. "I'll give you him."

"You know him?"

"Aren't you that much of a stalker to know the people he interacts with by now?" He rolls his eyes.

"Let's just make an agreement, shall we?"

Jungkook shifts in his stance. He gulps nervously. He's not sure as to whether or not what he's about to engage himself into could result in his demise. But he had no other choice.

"I will give you all the information you need about Kim Taehyung. You can threaten him, you can manipulate him, you could do anything to him with all the information you get from me. Don't you want your poor little girlfriend Jiyeon back? This will be the perfect plan."

"Fine. It's a deal. What do I have to do?"

"Just give me Kim Taehyung, simple as that."