Jungkook saved the report for the new case of attempted murder, which his team handled, on his computer, and rubbed his temples with soothing pressure. 

Yesterday’s events with Taehyung kept playing in his mind over and over, and it near drove him insane. Maybe he did what he did to check if Taehyung was telling him the truth, but the closeness with him, his touch, his choked sounds, his skin, everything felt as amazing as he remembered. 

And he loathed himself so much for wanting more.

Taehyung deceived him in every way possible. How could he still long for his touch? It truly made no sense, no matter how much he mulled over it. 

It was so ridiculous. His feelings, his thoughts, his longings. He thought if only Taehyung weren't lying yesterday, he would easily go up to his apartment and fuck him until morning again. He would eradicate everything from his mind and take him rough and fast and deep. Make him his. At least for one more time. How could Jungkook still want that after all the lies? How could he still want him?

With an abrupt impulse to unravel the mystery of Taehyung’s company yesterday, Jungkook clicked a few things on his computer, and the view of Taehyung’s apartment building popped up. He moved the start point around the early afternoon hours and let the footage play in fast forward. 

It was several minutes later when Taehyung exited the building and hopped on his motorcycle. And he continued to monitor the screen in depth, waiting for Taehyung to appear again. 

“Why are you checking Taehyung’s apartment building?”

Namjoon’s question stole his concentration for a split second. “Just want to check something.”

Namjoon didn’t probe further and let him be. 

Mystification sprawled on Jungkook’s face with each minute that passed and Taehyung didn’t show up, and it intensified when he saw himself on the screen instead. 

If he didn’t get caught in the CCTV when he returned home it means... Jungkook searched for other cameras around the building, but he found none that pointed towards it. There’s another entrance with no CCTV around.

He closed the footage and rose to his feet. “I’ll step out for a while.”

Hoseok, like the other two of his team, looked at him quizzically. “Did something happen?”

“No, don’t worry.” Jungkook wore his coat and checked if he had his keys and phone. 

“It’s almost lunchtime, so eat something too, Kook,” Namjoon said. 

“Okay. See you later.” Jungkook trod to the exit, but halted as a thought struck him. He turned to his team again. “Hoseok hyung, can I borrow your car?”

The said man gave him a baffled stare. “Are you about to do something illegal?”

Jungkook snorted. “No, hyung. I want... to follow Taehyung. He’ll know it’s me if I take my car.”

“You think he’ll lead you...” Namjoon raised his brows with a knowing look, letting the rest of his question be implied. 

“Maybe. Maybe not. I want to try.”

“Okay, Kook.” Hoseok took his keys out of the drawer and placed them on the desk. 

Jungkook left his car keys as well and grabbed Hoseok’s. “You can use my car if something comes up. I’ll see you guys later.”

After everyone bid their farewell, Jungkook walked out of the office. Hoseok’s car was similar in size to his, so he acclimatized to driving it quickly. 

The ride was short, and he soon drove past the apartment building and came to a stop in the back parking lot. He got out of the car and approached the single door of the building, then observed the narrow hallway through the glass part of it. He swept the place with a thorough look in search of a CCTV, but he found none, as he had expected. 

His eyes swung back to the door, and he jolted at once, tossing a hand over his chest by his scare at the unforeseen presence of an older woman behind the glass. He composed himself fairly fast as he watched the woman with wrinkles of aging etched on her circular face break into a smile and then step outside. 

“Hello, young man,” she chirped. “I was waiting to see my husband with our groceries, but your good looks are by far more pleasant to see as always.”

The last part of her remark had Jungkook’s eyes narrowing on her. “I’m sorry, have we met?” 

“Oh, no,” she giggled. “But I’ve seen you around a few times. You hang out with the other exquisite man who lives on the third floor. You see, I’m always around since I work from home and I like to wander. Some people might say I’m nosy, but that’s how I keep myself entertained around here.”

Jungkook cleared his throat, swallowing back a caustic quip about how she indeed seemed nosy. Because he could use that fact to his advantage. “I’m Jungkook.” He outstretched his arm for a handshake. 

She beamed as she clasped his hand. “I’m Jae Min.”

“So Jae Min-ssi, do you know the guy you mentioned?”

“Of course! He’s such a gentleman. A treasure. He’s not around often, but when he is and we run into each other, he always chats with me and helps me with anything I need.”

Jungkook’s brows slightly lifted. “Why isn’t he around often? Does he have another place to live?”

“When I asked him about it, he said he’s busy with work. I didn’t pry further into it because he didn’t seem like he wanted to elaborate, anyway. But lately, he’s been staying here more.”

He probably stayed in Jin Mo’s hideout, Jungkook thought. 

“Oh, and yesterday,” she added in a hushed tone, “he brought a woman to his house. She seemed around thirties. And someone must have beaten her because her cheek was bruised.”

Woman? Jungkook’s face contorted into a puzzled frown. That’s why he didn’t let me in? And why did he lie about it? Or maybe... he just didn’t have a reason to explain to me now that he threw me away. 

The ding of the elevator doors opening reached their ears, and both glanced curiously into the lobby. Jungkook recognized the back of the man trudging towards the front exit at once despite the distance. But to his dismay, Jae Min seemed to recognize it, too. 

“Oh, it’s Taehyung! Tae—”

“Shh,” Jungkook shushed her instinctively and pulled her to the side, away from the door. The blatant mystification on her once blithe countenance caused him to retract his hand immediately. “Um, we fought recently and he’s probably still mad at me. I’m sure he doesn’t want to see me yet.”

“Then why are you here?” 

“I thought I had the courage to face him again, but I don’t.” Jungkook’s heart leaped when he heard the booming noise of Taehyung’s motorcycle, anxious about missing his chance to follow him. “Anyway, it was nice meeting you, bye,” he said in one breath and scurried to the car. 

He made a u-turn and took off. He barely caught Taehyung turning right at the intersection from afar, and he raced after him. When he veered to the right, he sped up once more until he closed in on him enough and then kept a safe distance. 

. . .

Twenty minutes into the ride to the mansion, a deep crease formed between Taehyung’s brows as he checked the side-view mirror for the fourth time. While every vehicle behind him changed often when he turned into a new road, one specific car was always there. 

Who the fuck is following me? Chae Yeon is dead. Why can’t I get a moment of peace? Taehyung sighed heavily, the sound gruff in his throat. He carried on driving as normal, without letting the unknown presence behind him realize he had sniffed it out. 

It was another fifteen minutes later when Taehyung neared the narrow, gravel road that would lead him to desolation and eventually to Jin Mo’s mansion. But he couldn’t enter that road because whoever was following him would know the route he took. So he turned left instead and accelerated.

His eyes kept sliding to the side-view mirror to confirm that the vehicle was still behind him as he drove towards a point where the highway split with a side road. He knew the routes there inside and out, and what he was about to do was a usual trick that guaranteed his evasion. 

He stepped on it, causing the vehicle behind him to gain upon him as it sped up as well, until the side road came into view. He stayed in the highway’s lane for as much as possible to trick whoever was pursuing him, then swerved right, missing by inches the division of the roads. 

He tossed his head to the side for a quick inspection and smirked victoriously when he saw the car drive past the side road. 

He had been evading Chae Yeon’s men for years now, and that trick always worked since they couldn’t just stop on a busy highway and make a u-turn. And thankfully, the highway was full of side roads and exits. 

Arriving at the mansion safely, still bewildered about who was following him before, Taehyung parked at his usual spot and hopped off his motorcycle. He left his helmet on the wheel and walked to the gate, which opened for him seconds later. He wended his way to Jin Mo’s office as the scenarios of what he did to Chae Yeon rampaged in his head, like they did since the moment he woke up. 

He had driven Sa Rang to her house early in the morning, but only after her husband would definitely be at the station. The nasty bruise on her bloated cheek wouldn’t be easy to cover naturally, even with the highest quality of makeup. Mostly because it hurt even without touching it. 

Taehyung was concerned about how she would hide her injury from her husband, but Sa Rang’s remark had left him in awe. And maybe dread. She said she would tell him everything when he would come home. He admired her, really, for her courage to admit her wrongdoings and remedy them. 

Would he be able to do that too one day?

He crawled into the office once the door split open and met a cheerful Jin Mo sipping his glass of whiskey seated on the couch. 

He half hated his delighted face and half didn’t really care about it. It was an unsurprising sight, anyway. Jin Mo killed someone with his own hands after years. Of course he would be more content than ever. 

Taehyung, blind to his smiling expression, plopped down on the couch across from him. “What happened yesterday?”

“Not even a hi first?”

Taehyung’s eyes rolled high. “Tell me.”

Jin Mo didn’t comply. Instead, he set his glass on the table and squared an ankle over his knee, splaying his arm over the back of the couch. “Are you mad at me? Because I don’t think I did something to deserve that.”

“I’m not mad. I’m just curious to know what happened. I’m grateful to you, Jin Mo-ssi. You did everything I asked you. You tried to make her surrender. And you caught her for me.”

There was a quiet sincerity to his voice that pulled a warm smile from Jin Mo. “I’m glad you saw my efforts. After you left, I killed her. But slowly. So painfully slowly.”

Taehyung’s chest clenched with unreasonable heaviness. “What did you do?”

“I struck my knife into places that would make her scream in pain but not deep enough to kill her,” Jin Mo spoke in a low timbre of sheer excitation, a crazed glint burning in his gaze. “She was bleeding so much from everywhere. Her dogs watched the whole thing. Fuck, you should have seen the pure terror in their eyes. It was so thrilling. I bet they won’t be telling anyone about what happened yesterday.” A coarse laugh slipped from his smirking mouth. “We all watched her die a slow, harrowing death. After about five hours, her bloody body stopped twitching. We gathered everyone and left. Ah In called the police to arrest her dogs when we got here.”

Taehyung listened with his head curved downwards and a deep frown on his face. He couldn’t tell if he was satisfied with Jin Mo’s methods or not because the heaviness on his chest kept ratcheting up. No, he definitely wasn’t satisfied. He instead felt sick to his stomach. Why? She deserved it. She destroyed his childhood, his life. She wanted to kill him. Why the hell did he feel sorry for her?

“It’s over now,” Jin Mo said with a contented sigh as Taehyung’s silence told him he wouldn’t respond. “You’re free. Your life isn’t in danger anymore. Are you ready to get back to work?”

Taehyung gulped. No, of course he wasn’t. He didn’t even want to think about work anymore. “I think I need a few days to take in everything that happened. My last break, I promise.”

Jin Mo simply shrugged. “It’s okay, Tae. I’m in a good mood, anyway. Take some days off. But when you return, I want you at your best.”

Would he be able to return to his old self again? He truly had no clue. Despite the maddening uncertainties, Taehyung nodded tacitly. “I’ll go meet my friends now.”

“Okay.” Jin Mo, still smiling, pressed the button and opened the door for him. 

Taehyung sent a text to the group chat he had with Jimin and Yoongi, asking them to meet in Jimin’s room. He received a reply within seconds that read, “We’re already here,” and he resumed his way to the said location.

He found the door open by a fraction and pushed it. “Hey, guys,” he greeted his friends, who were sitting at the desk, with a smile. 

“Hey!” Jimin chirped, and Yoongi copied him in a lower tone. 

Taehyung took his seat on the extra chair beside Jimin. “What are you doing?”

“I just finished preparing the target’s file that Jin Mo asked me to for Su Heon,” Jimin said. “What happened? Did he tell you what he did to Chae Yeon?”

“Yes, and you really don’t want to know.”

Jimin and Yoongi shared a look at the somber change of his voice, and the latter directed his eyes to him, leaning against the desk. “Did he torture her?”

“Yes. She died a slow, painful death, he said.”

The grim fog meandering around Taehyung’s features saddened Jimin’s countenance. “The point is, she’s dead. She deserved it. I thought you would be at ease now that everything is over.”

Taehyung’s eyes crawled to him, then dropped again. “I don’t know why I feel this way. I think... Obviously I hate her because she ordered the murder of my parents and I’m not trying to justify her actions. Nothing can justify her actions. But... I think everyone was at fault. My father acted the same way as Chae Yeon. He killed her son. I’m sure losing a child is one of the most devastating things, but to lose your child over your husband’s affair?” He slowly shook his head, the gloom that cloaked his face deepening.

“My mother was at fault too, for obvious reasons. So I’m just saying, I’m glad that I’m free now and my life isn’t in danger anymore. But she didn’t really deserve all that torture. She didn’t wake up one day and decided to kill my family. Everyone was at fault. And I think I start to accept it now.”

A brief silence engulfed them once he finished talking until Yoongi broke it. “You understand her. How? She still ordered to kill your parents.”

“I’m not a kid anymore, Yoon,” he released with a subdued sigh. “If I found out everything back then, I would hate her with all my heart. But nineteen years have passed. I’ve seen and been through plenty of nasty situations. The more I grow up, the more I realize there are always two sides to one story. Not wanting to see the other side because of whatever reason is the least immature. And I’m done being immature. I’m done being the heartbroken, oblivious kid I always was.”

The other two let a few moments of silence roll by again as they assimilated his words. 

“And who do you want to be?” Jimin asked quietly. 

A smog of blankness flurried in Taehyung’s gaze and emitted, rippling all over his face and overloading his being. It was something he hadn’t considered before, but the answer took form before his eyes faster than he thought. It had Jungkook’s face inscribed on it and all of his blazing feelings for him adorning it. 

A slight smile touched his sullen lips that dissipated some of the haziness waltzing within his eyes. “I want to be normal. With Jungkook. I want to experience being in love. With Jungkook. I want to be real. With Jungkook. And with myself for once. I want to be real.”

Jimin’s eyes widened sadly. “Will you tell him the truth?”

A fountain of tears flickered behind his eyelashes, though he smiled through it and diffused it. “Yes. I know he won’t forgive me. He’ll probably want to kill me. But I have to take responsibility for my actions. I have to be real with him. I need it. And he deserves to know the truth.” 

Jimin lowered his head as a long sigh sounded from Yoongi. “I wish he’ll understand you,” Yoongi said. “I wish he’ll understand and believe that your feelings for him are real. They always were, right?”

The dampness in Taehyung’s eyes flooded over at Yoongi’s question, but he wiped it instantly. The smile on his lips trembled as he swallowed around the knot in his throat. “Yes. Everything I felt for him since even the night I met him was real.”

Jimin gave his shoulder palliative squeezes. “He’ll be mad at first. It’s reasonable. He won’t believe you. But don’t let that discourage you. Even if he says he can’t forgive you. You have to give him time to process all of this.”

Taehyung nodded as he dabbed at his eyes with his sleeves to obstruct the looming spate of tears. “I’ll give him all the time he needs. I’ll give him everything he needs.” 

“When will you tell him?” Yoongi asked. 

“I think I need a few more days. You know, to prepare myself. I feel like if I talk to him now, I won’t be able to stop crying. I need to get a grip on my emotions first.”

“I think that’s the right call too,” Jimin said. “You have to be calm when you’ll talk to him. And a lot happened the last few days, so take your time to take it all in first.”

With another nod from Taehyung, he pushed aside the matter to focus on the unknown presence that followed him earlier. “Anyway. Can you check the CCTV outside of my apartment building?”

Jimin’s forehead puckered, though he was already clicking and typing on his computer. “Why?”

“Someone followed me today. I want to see if they followed me from my apartment.”

“Why would someone follow you?” Yoongi questioned with obvious confusion. “Chae Yeon is dead. Maybe her men?”

“They’re in jail,” Taehyung replied, sighing. “It can’t be Chae Yeon.”

“Yeah, because it’s Jungkook,” Jimin stated the moment he zoomed in on the driver’s seat of the vehicle that raced after Taehyung. 

Dread made Taehyung’s eyes stare in big circles at the screen. “Why would Jungkook follow me?” 

“You told him you’d be busy, right?” Yoongi asked. “Maybe he wants to know what you’re busy with.” 

Could it be just that? Taehyung truly wished it was. “Check whose car is this.”

Jimin selected the license plate, putting it automatically under analysis. A match soon popped up. “It’s Jung Hoseok’s car.”

Taehyung stored the new information, still unsure about why Jungkook would follow him suddenly. He assuaged himself with Yoongi’s speculation once more and locked it in a corner of his mind for now. 

The rest of their time together was consumed with lighthearted chatter in their attempt to rid themselves of the thought of the end-to-end shocking revelations and events. 

Before the sun could completely fall into its slumber and allow the night to rule over, Taehyung drove back to his house. 

He took a relaxing, long bath, trying to conceive a way to contain his emotions when he would have that moment of ultimate artlessness with Jungkook. Despite the fierce cogitation, he knew he would erupt into tears if Jungkook cried. He could bear the yelling, the expression of his hatred and rage, but his constraint would crumble in an instant if he saw his eyes even mist over with tears. 

He stewed over it until his head buzzed with fatigue. He turned on the TV and settled on the couch, tucking himself under his thick, feathery blanket. His eyelids fluttered heavily the longer he watched the random talk show, though he warred with the need to let them fall shut. It was barely after nine, and he wouldn’t be able to sleep properly later. 

His eyes gently closed at some point without realizing it. And when he jolted out of his nest of warmth because of the sound of the bell blasting through his apartment, he noted it was only nine thirty. 

He tossed his blanket to the side with sleepiness mixed with bafflement hanging over his traits and shuffled to the intercom. The blood in his veins went as cold as the icy weather, frosting over his muscles. He blinked, frowning deeply, at the image of Jungkook standing outside of the building. 

The bell rang again, and Taehyung tapped on the phone icon. The heavy, pain-filled voice that tumbled into his ears felt like a punch to his stomach.

“—miss you. Tae. Hyung. I just want to see you. Open for me just this last time. Please. I’m a mess without you. Pl—” Jungkook talked with long pauses until the screen shut, and Taehyung gaped at its blackness through teary eyes. God, he wasn’t ready. He couldn’t do this now. The tears wouldn’t fucking stop if he talked to him now. 

His quivery hand lifted to the camera icon and touched it. Overwhelming despondency gripped at his heart upon watching Jungkook bang his fist against the wall. He realized then. He had to end his suffering. At least the suffering of unawareness. 

His teeth dug into his bottom lip harshly as he tapped the key icon to buzz him in. He cracked the door open and retreated with languid, halting steps. 

That was it. The moment of truth. The moment he would shed his facade and obliterate his pretense. The moment Jungkook would truly hate him. And the moment his heart would truly shatter. 

───⭒───༺🌑༻───⭒───

It's finally time for all the secrets to get revealed between taekook 💜 Don't forget your tissues...