"Look! And this is a new turn!" Yoo exclaimed excitedly and swiftly made a piqué turn, gracefully lifting her left leg and turning on her own axis.

"Beautiful, Yoo!" Jeongguk praised her, raising the corners of his lips in a sincere smile for the first time that day.

The little one made a few more turns, demonstrating what she had learned in her last ballet class, and the brunet watched her carefully, watching her smooth movements. The girl had not attended ballet classes for a long time, but she certainly had a talent for it. With each turn, the smile on his lips grew, as did the one on little Yoo's face. The girl wore a powder pink ballet dress with tulle frills moving lightly with every movement, and her dark hair was tied in a delicate braid that Yerim had braided her in the morning.

"Yoo, honey, don't bother your uncle. Uncle Gguk was supposed to be resting..." a male voice suddenly spoke, breaking through Yoo's melodious laugh, bouncing off the walls of the guest bedroom.

The little one immediately stopped spinning and looked towards the door, from where the voice was coming. When she noticed who was standing in the doorway, she squealed with joy and rushed towards the tall man who was leaning against the door frame, to fall into his strong arms.

"Daddy!" She screamed, throwing her arms around his neck.

Seokjin took his daughter in his arms and kissed her forehead, then stroked her hair lightly with his fingers, brushing one of the strands behind her left ear.

"Go to the kitchen, princess. Daddy brought you some ice cream to keep you strong in today's ballet class," he said to her, smiling. "Daddy will talk to uncle for a moment, and I will take you to class in a moment, hm?"

"Alright," the girl agreed.

Jin leaned in slightly again to place another soft kiss on her head, then set her to the ground and watched the girl run out of the room for a moment. Only when her pink ballet-clad figure faded from his eyes did he turn to face his brother.

"How did the stitches' removal go?" He asked as he entered the guest bedroom.

He closed the door behind him and walked over to his brother, who was still sitting on the bed. At his question, Jeongguk looked at his hands almost involuntarily. As the suturing physician had warned him, some wounds left scars. The one on the right hand was particularly visible, extending from the wrist, through almost the entire palm, crossing the line of life and ending almost at the index finger.

"A-alright," he said, though, almost involuntarily hiding his hands. "The wounds have healed well," he added, and got up from the bed.

Only now has Seokjin had the opportunity to examine his silhouette. The boy was wearing his black, elegant pants. The same ones he brought him here after his panic attack at TJE headquarters, but he was dressed in one of his shirts. It was an ordinary baby blue shirt with a delicate ornament on the collar. When Jeongguk realized his brother was watching him, he stepped nervously from foot to foot, then moistened his lips.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I borrowed one of your shirts. I don't have my clothes here, and I didn't want to go to the doctor in yesterday's clothes," he explained quickly.

"Come on, Gguk. It's just clothes," the older man replied quickly, waving his hand to show his brother that it didn't matter. "Besides, I think you should keep that shirt," he added after a moment. "It looks much better on you than it does on me. Blue suits you, and you look younger in it."

"I usually wear white shirts to the office anyway..." Jeongguk said quietly. "But thank you, it's really pretty," he added, then turned to the nightstand and began gathering his things from it.

He grabbed the Cartier watch Lisa had given him and slipped it onto his wrist to fasten it carefully after a moment, then reached out for his cell and looked at the display. He forgot to take his phone with him when he went to the doctor's appointment. Only now did he pick it up for the first time since returning to his room. Seeing a few missed calls from his father and Lisa, he looked up to find his older brother's gaze. He felt strangely tense at the thought that his father had called him, and he had missed the call.

"Father called me," he said cautiously, feeling his mouth change to the Sahara Desert within seconds. "I forgot my phone when I went to the doctor this morning... Do you know what he wanted from me?"

"It's nothing. Do not worry. He wanted to talk to you about the documents..." he explained calmly. "For the takeover of the company..." he added after a moment, to further explain his father's intentions, but when he noticed how his brother's body involuntarily tightened at these words, he cursed himself for mentioning it at all. "Actually... I wanted to tell you something..." he said finally after a moment of silence and measured his brother with his careful look. "Are you going somewhere?" He asked quickly, though, frowning together at the sight of Jeongguk clearly gathering his things from the room.

The younger man ran a hand through his night-dark hair and slipped the phone into his trouser pocket, then grabbed his suit jacket and draped it over his forearm, sighing lightly.

"Yes," he replied shortly, then looked his brother straight in the eye. "I'm going back to my apartment," he confessed, forcing a gentle smile to mask his nervousness.

He didn't feel ready to face it all, but he knew he had to do it. Perhaps the "right" moment would never come, so waiting for it was pointless. If he wanted to fight for his happiness, he had to take his life by the horns in the end, even if it meant that he would end up being trampled to dust. Yesterday evening he realized a lot, and he was going to finally do something for himself.

"Are you sure?" Jin asked in surprise.

He could still see the shaky brunet sitting on the cold tiles in TJE's restroom, his hands clutching his phone, from which he was listening to the tattoo artist's voice, smooth as velvet. He shifted from foot to foot, fearing that if he let him leave, his brother might have a seizure again. He felt strangely nervous to let him out of his sight, as if his brother were a little boy he needed to take care of.

"You know you don't have to go out of here. You can stay here as long as you need to. It's not really a problem. Me and Yerim want to help you, and little Yoo loves you..." he explained quickly.

"I know, Jin," Jeongguk interrupted him. "I just have to finally face it all. Yesterday..."

He started but fell silent as if he didn't know how to express what he felt. He hid his feelings and emotions for so long that he still felt uncomfortable at the thought of telling someone about it. Now that he knew Jin and Yerim were on his side, he felt stronger, but he was still afraid to trust anyone.

"I called him yesterday..." he confessed suddenly.

Speaking the words aloud, he felt a strange happiness and pride, as if he were admitting what was an enormous feat that required incredible courage, even though it was only a trivial act. For him, however, it was a huge step forward.

"Really?" Jin asked with obvious excitement and under the influence of emotions, he approached his brother, stopping only a few steps away from him. "Jeongguk, this is..."

"It's nothing..." he denied quickly, trying not to smile. He knew there was a long way to go, he didn't want to get too excited about what could only be a meaningless phone call. "Because of the police and this flash drive... I was afraid that if I tried to contact him, they would find him and Tae might have problems, but Yerim... She gave me her phone and I wanted so much to hear his voice... For a few seconds..." He continued his story. "I needed to hear his voice so badly... I didn't think he would answer, or that he would even guess it was me... But he knew... When I heard his voice, I thought I was about to cry with happiness. You don't even know what it means to hear him after such a long time... I wanted to tell him so many things, but I didn't know how to start..."

"Did you tell him it was you? You talked with him?" Seokjin inquired. He didn't know why, but he felt his heart begin to beat faster, as if it knew how important it was.

"I felt so many emotions that I was not able to say a word... He said that he still wants me, that despite everything... Jin, I think he still loves me... I wanted to tell him that I want him too, that I need him... I wanted to tell him I love him, but I don't want to tell him that on the phone, calling from an anonymous number like some coward... so... I didn't have the guts to do it. And he hung up before I could speak..."

"Oh, Gguk. Maybe you could call him again or..."

"No, Jin," the younger protested. "This time I want to do it right. I'm gonna go home and... I'm gonna talk to Lisa. I will tell her that we cannot get married," he confessed. "And then... I'll go to him, hoping he'll give me a second chance." Jeongguk paused for a moment. He felt a strange pride saying it out loud. Listening to Tae's voice yesterday, he was sure it was what he wanted. He could no longer deny it. The farther he went, the more unhappy he became. "I want to be with him, Jin," he said confidently. "I don't know yet... How can I do this without putting him in danger... But I certainly can't get married to Lisa. She's been through a lot. I don't want to hurt her, but I can't lie to her. She deserves to have a man waiting for her at the altar who does not see the world beyond her and who loves her as much as she loves him, not someone who has been lying to her for several months and who will never be able to love her like she deserves it. Even if Tae and I don't get back together... I have to break off this engagement."

"I am glad that you decided to take this step, and you have my full support. Mine and Yerim," saying that, Jin reached out and grasped his brother's hand, squeezing it lightly to cheer him up.

"Thank you. You don't even know how much that means to me," he admitted. "I will also have to talk to our father..."

"You don't have to worry about that now," Jin quickly added, and when Jeongguk looked at him questioningly, he quickly explained, "I talked to our father yesterday. About you."

Jeongguk exhaled loudly, then moistened his lips. He felt strangely nervous, it seemed to him that his insides were about to fall in his throat at the mere thought of the stern gaze of their father.

"Wh-what did you tell him?" He asked.

"Let's sit down for a moment," Jin suggested, pointing to the bed next to them.

Jeongguk looked at him silently for a moment, but finally he approached the bed and sat on it. He swallowed hard and almost involuntarily wiped his hands on his elegant pants, feeling his nervousness grow. Seokjin also approached him and took the seat next to him, then turned to face him.

"I know you might prefer to tell our father yourself, but I wanted to help you somehow, so I told him you needed more time. I asked him not to push you so hard to take over the company, at least until the wedding. It seems he understood. You can take as much time off as you need to talk to Lisa and mend your relationship with Tae. I'll take care of the company."

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "I know I'll have to talk to our father anyway, but it really means a lot to me. First, I'll take care of my relationship with Lisa. Then I'll start to deal with the rest." That said, Jeongguk squeezed his brother's hand, then sighed loudly and looked down at his own hands. "I'm just afraid that if I get close to him..." he began hesitantly, fiddling with his own fingers.

"I wanted to talk to you about that, too," Seokjin suddenly confessed, breaking the momentary silence. Jeongguk found his gaze again. "Our father knows who stole that flash drive."

"Really?" He asked hopefully. "How? The police caught the thief? Who is this?" He asked, moving uneasily in his seat.

His heart was pounding like mad. He knew that if the police caught the perpetrator, he wouldn't have to worry anymore that someone might suspect Tae of the theft, and that meant one thing...

Taehyung and Jae will be safe.

"It's Mr. Choi," Jin confessed.

Jeongguk furrowed his eyebrows together, clearly surprised. He wasn't sure if he was interpreting his brother's words correctly.

"M-Mr. Choi? That Mr. Choi? Father's friend?" He asked, and Seokjin nodded.

Mr. Choi was associated with their company almost from the very beginning. He was a friend of their father's and probably one of TJE's first employees. Their father trusted him immeasurably. The man knew his family, played with his children, co-founded The Jeon Electronics from scratch. Jeongguk and Seokjin treated him almost like their grandfather, and their father like his best friend.

Jeongguk nodded in disbelief. This did not make sense. Why would their father's friend suddenly rob him after thirty years of friendship and working for their company? He looked at his brother, expecting the man to give him at least one logical explanation.

"Apparently some time ago Mr. Choi brought his grandson to TJE to our father. The boy is not too ambitious, he has no education and has run into various problems. Mr. Choi wanted to help him and asked our father to let him work for our company. During the meeting, the father splashed his tie and asked the boy to hand him one of the ties from his drawer. That was when he had to find the USB stick," the older brother said, summarizing what his father had told him yesterday. "Our father trusted Mr. Choi so much that when that flash drive disappeared, he didn't even think it might have happened then. He didn't suspect him at all."

"So how does he know it's him?" He asked.

He wanted to make sure no one else would suspect Tae that he might have had anything to do with the disappearance of this flash drive.

"Our father decided to give Mr. Choi's grandson a job with our company, but when his first day of work came, the boy never showed up. When his grandfather started to be interested in him, it turned out that he suddenly had a very large sum of money. For a long time, he did not want to disclose where the money was from, but eventually confessed to the theft of the pendrive. When he took it, he didn't know what was on it, but when he saw it was a design for a new smartwatch, he contacted the Oh family's company and sold them the design. When Mr. Choi found out about it, he came to our father and told him the truth."

"H-How did our father take it? What will he do now? Report him to the police?"

"No. As far as I know, he said he would not report it due to his long friendship with Mr. Choi, but Mr. Choi left the company. Father signed the papers, so he could retire, and I don't know if their friendship will last. He is very disappointed. He needs time to digest it all. What is most important, that the police will no longer be interested in that flash drive. The case is closed."

Jeongguk turned harder towards his brother. He parted his lips to say something, but after a while he closed them again, but involuntarily the corners of his mouth lifted in a gentle smile. His heart began to beat frantically against his ribs, tearing to the other side of town.

"Does that mean..." he began hesitantly, as if he was afraid that if he spoke the words out loud too quickly, everything would fall to dust, and he would be back to square one again. "Can I..."

"Yes, Gguk. Tae is safe now. You can see him if you want."

***

Jeongguk took a breath of air into his lungs and looked at the flowers in his hands. On his way home, he bought a bouquet of pink peonies. He was unfamiliar with flowers, but he had to admit that the bouquet was incredibly beautiful. He studied the pink buds for a long moment, feeling his hands tremble more with each passing moment. His mouth was dry, so he quickly wet his lips with his tongue, then looked up and stared ahead.

"Lisa... We've known each other for over three years, and we have a lot in common. You are smart and beautiful. I know that you have gone through a lot in your life, and yet you keep moving forward, developing and fulfilling professionally. You have achieved so much, and I am really proud of you. You are very important to me and I hope you know that I would do anything to make you happy, but precisely because you mean so much to me... I want true happiness for you. I know that you love me and that you dreamed of standing with me at the altar, but although I would like to make you happy, I cannot do it... Even though I would like to, I cannot love you like you deserve to be loved..."

Jeongguk exhaled through his slightly parted lips and looked at his hands clasped around the bouquet he had bought for her. Now his body was starting to tremble, he could feel his palms sweating. So he closed his eyes and for a moment tried to calm his breathing. It was only after a few deep breaths that he raised his eyelids again and looked straight ahead.

"We can't get married..." he finally confessed, feeling strangely relieved.

He was silent for a moment, as if to see what flavor the words would leave on his tongue. He had expected them to taste the bitter taste of failure, but on the contrary, they would taste the sweetness of freedom.

"Okay, Gguk. You can do it!" He said to himself after a moment of silence, and clenched his hands on the bouquet, then looked in the rearview mirror to see what he looks like.

He hasn't seen Lisa since his panic attack yesterday in the office. He wasn't in the office today. He went to have the stitches removed, then went back to his brother's house. Before leaving, however, he called his fiancée and told her that his food poisoning was over, and he would return to the apartment today. It was already Friday, and he didn't want to bother his brother with his presence, and besides, after that phone call to Tae, he found that he had to do something. He knew that if he didn't finally dare to break off the engagement, it would destroy not only himself but also the tattoo artist. He couldn't erase the sound of the tattoo artist's voice from his memory. He felt a pain within him that he himself had caused. Now that he knew the flash drive case was cleared up and no one would suspect Tae, only his fear separated him from the man he loved.

He had to take a chance.

He knew he was standing on the edge of the precipice, and there was nothing for him to do but to throw himself at it, hoping Tae would be waiting downstairs to catch him.

He straightened his tie and smoothed his raven-black hair with a hand, then exhaled the air from his lungs.

"You can do it, Gguk," he repeated to encourage himself.

Reaching out his hand, he carefully opened the door of his car, only to get out of it and move forward slowly, clutching a bouquet of peonies in his hand. He headed towards the main entrance to the building.

During the phone call with Lisa, he told her that he would like to talk to her when he gets home. He couldn't back down now that he had come this far. But with each step he was getting more and more nervous, and he could almost feel his confidence fading away faster and faster. He kept repeating the different versions of the speech in his mind, though he was almost sure that when he finally stood in front of her, he would forget everything he had prepared. He felt like he was going to an important exam, and he wasn't prepared for it at all.

The last thing he wanted was to hurt Lisa, but he knew it couldn't be avoided, so he wanted to make their breakup as gentle as possible. He wasn't going to tell her about Tae. At the moment he didn't even know if there was even any chance that the tattoo artist would let him return to his life, but he knew that to do so, he had to end the relationship with Lisa first, even if their relationship had actually been based only on appearances for a long time now.

He looked at the flowers in his right hand, wondering if he should have bought them at all. Were flowers given on the occasion of the break-up? Funny, but he would probably find a million different tips on how to prepare the perfect marriage proposal, and he would hardly find almost anything to help him break it off. In fact, he could only blame himself. He shouldn't have made a proposal to her that night, but by the time he met Tae it had seemed to him that maybe what he felt for her was love.

How wrong he was.

But how could he know how wrong he was when he had never loved anyone before?

It wasn't until he realized he had fallen in love with Tae that he learned how little he knew about love. He thought Lisa had a sincere affection for him, and perhaps she really loved him in her own way, but her feelings for him were nothing compared to what Tae was showing him every day.

Even though the tattoo artist had never really confessed his feelings to him, he showed him his love at every turn. He proved his love by kissing him gently for good morning, supporting him in his passion for painting, laughing with him at his silly jokes, touching him as if he were the most precious work of art, looking at him and not through him, undressing him from each layer he surrounded himself to see what no one else could see, giving him his own breath when he was lacking his own.

And he loved him just as strong.

Their feeling was strong, unique. He would be stupid to reject such love, because he knew he would never find such a thing again. Perhaps they were connected by that red thread of destiny that Tae had once told him. Their paths parted for a short while, but he believed that they would be able to find each other.

After all, Taehyung said that the thread can be tangled but cannot be broken.

"Your fiancée is so lucky!" A voice suddenly called from behind him, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Jeongguk looked back and saw one of the security guards overseeing the security of their apartment complex. At first, he didn't know why the man had said something like that. He pinched his eyebrows together and parted his lips slightly to ask what he meant, but he saw the security guard looking at the bouquet still in his hand and only now realized the weight of the flowers around which he was clenching his fingers.

"I-it's nothing," he replied embarrassed, forcing a smile, then nodded at him, bowing gently and quickly moved inside the building.

Once again, a tremendous wave of guilt flooded him. Lisa did not deserve such a fiancé. Maybe things haven't been good between them lately, but he shouldn't have lied to her, and worse, he shouldn't have cheated on her. It's high time to tell her the truth. He knew Lisa deserved someone to love her the way he loved Tae, but it certainly wouldn't be him.

As he rode the elevator to the top floor, where their penthouse was located, he began fidgeting nervously. He felt his nervousness grow with each floor he climbed.

"You can do it, Gguk," he whispered again, trying to cheer himself up, and squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

Only when the elevator stopped on the top floor of the skyscraper, the brunet opened his eyes and slightly parted his lips, letting the restless breath squeeze through his mouth. His fingers tightened around the bouquet of flowers he was still holding in his right hand, and he started toward the door of his apartment. It was as if his heart was about to pop out of his chest. He felt sick and felt that he was about to vomit, such as when his father announced that he would be the CEO of The Jeon Electronics. So he paused outside the door, trying to even his breathing, and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, thinking back to the strong, tattooed arms he longed for so much.

For a moment, it seemed to him that the masculine, sensual scent of the tattoo artist's perfume was creeping into his nostrils. So he ran his tongue over his bottom, now slightly chapped lip, wanting to taste his lips again. He recalled the image of his beautiful face, the original, slightly rectangular smile he adored so much, and the gaze of onyx irises in whose depths you could drown.

It was enough for his body to relax a bit. He was afraid of a confrontation with Lisa. He didn't want to hurt her, and he knew he couldn't avoid it. But he also knew that even a cruel truth was better than a beautiful lie.

He couldn't live like this anymore and pretend his heart wasn't beating for someone else.

He sucked the air into his lungs and stretched out his hand to finally press the door handle. He opened the door and pushed it just enough to be able to go inside. It was enough, however, that he stepped over the threshold of the apartment, and Lisa's loud, melodious laugh crept into his ears, and after a while it was accompanied by another laugh. It was just as loud, but definitely lower, masculine. Jeongguk furrowed his eyebrows together, clearly surprised. When he spoke to Lisa this morning, he told her that when he got home he would like them to have dinner together and talk about the future. So he wasn't expecting any visitors.

He turned on his heel, took a few steps ahead, and peered into the living room. He immediately saw Lisa, seated on a leather sofa by a low coffee table. The girl was laughing out loud, covering her mouth with her small, manicured hand. But he couldn't see who was in the living room, except his fiancée. So he took another step forward, and he saw two more people he didn't want to see at all: Rose and her boyfriend.

At the sight of them, he cursed softly under his breath, but before that juicy curse could roll from his tongue, he met his fiancée's gaze. Lisa squealed at the sight of him, as if she had just received some of the most wonderful gift she had dreamed of since she was five, and jumped off the couch. Stretching her hands in front of her, she ran towards him, quickly minimizing the distance between them.

"Oh my! There is my love, Jeonggukie!" She exclaimed happily, and immediately threw her slim arms around his neck, and then kissed his lips, leaving them with the sweet taste of her lipstick and tart wine. "Oh! This is for me?! Rose, look! He brought me flowers! Isn't that cute?!" She said quickly, taking the bouquet from her fiancé's hands and tilting her head gently to smell the pink buds.

"I-I thought we would be alone..." the brunet whispered to Lisa, simultaneously raising his hand to greet Rose and her boyfriend with a quick gesture. "We were supposed to talk..." he added, turning away so that the guests could not see his face.

"Ah, yes. You said something on the phone. What did you want to talk about?" She asked, looking at him from under a curtain of long lashes.

Jeongguk looked at Rose and her boyfriend, but quickly returned his gaze to Lisa. He didn't want to do it in front of them. He didn't know how Lisa would handle breaking up news. He didn't want her to make a fuss in front of their friends or, even worse, to cry in front of them.

"It can wait," he finally said reluctantly. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. Today we have guests," he added.

Lisa climbed on her toes and kissed his lips again. Her lips were warm, and he could feel the sweetness of pink lipstick on them, mixed with the tart hint of dry wine. He forced a smile and swallowed hard. He felt an unpleasant tightness in his chest at the thought of spending the next evening pretending, but now he couldn't afford to drag out life's failures in front of the people his fiancée considered her best friends.

"I will put the flowers in the vase," the girl said quickly, and she approached the cupboard to reach one of the beautiful crystal vases.

Jeongguk retreated into the hall to remove his shoes from his feet. He wanted to take off his jacket and tie as well, but he knew Lisa preferred him to be elegant when they had guests, so in the end he only took off his thin coat and hung it on one of the hangers before returning to the living room. He had sat down on the couch when Lisa rejoined them, this time carrying a vase of flowers in her hands. She set it on one of the cupboards, then smiled to herself and walked over to him.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she chirped as she ran a hand through his dark hair, then leaned in again, joining their lips in a gentle kiss. Jeongguk felt a bit uncomfortable feeling the eyes of the guests on him, so he gave Lisa a forced smile.

"You do not have to thank me. I wanted to do something nice for you," he lied, not wanting to reveal his true intentions.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Lisa called suddenly, then reached for the little box lying on the table and with a smile on her lips turned back to him. "Rose and I went shopping today, and I bought it for you!" She announced, then without asking, she slipped onto his lap, sitting on his athletic thighs, and lifted the lid to show what was inside the box. "Look! Isn't it beautiful?"

Jeongguk looked at the little red box that rested in her well-groomed hands and looked at what was inside. He saw a ring with a delicate ornament. He immediately noticed that there was an engraving inside, probably made especially for him. He swallowed hard, then found her amber eyes. He felt strangely nervous and embarrassed. He was about to break off the engagement because he realized that he loved another man and that he wanted to be with him, but he had turned out to be the perfect fiancé who brought flowers to his partner for no reason, and now Lisa was looking at him as if he was all of her world. In her gaze he saw love and happiness, the hope that they would be happy together. He knew he shouldn't accept this gift from her, but he didn't know how to refuse when everyone's eyes were directed at him.

"You didn't have to..." he said, clearly embarrassed.

Lisa laughed at his words, then reached out her hand and took the ring out of the box. She grabbed his left hand and slipped it exactly over the finger where his wedding ring would appear in a few weeks.

"Come on, honey. This is a gift for taking up the position of CEO. You don't even know how proud I am now that my fiancé is the CEO!" She explained, smiling brightly at him. "Besides, now all the girls who want to hit on you will know that you are already taken," she added, then laughed again.

Her laugh was light, melodic, beautiful. When Jeongguk looked at her, he could almost see in her the same girl he had become infatuated with over three years ago. But he knew that he would never be able to love her. He felt a lump growing in his throat and a strange burning sensation under his eyelids. He almost instinctively pressed her tiny body against his, hiding his face in her vanilla-scented hair for a moment.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, barely audible, feeling the guilt tighten in his throat.

Lisa moved slightly as if what he had said made her nervous. So Jeongguk moved away, releasing her from his arms, and looked up to find her gaze. The girl looked confused, as if she wasn't sure if she had heard the words that had just fallen out of his mouth correctly.

"What did you say?" She asked. Her lips curved into a smile, but there was a strange nervousness to it.

"T-thank you," Jeongguk replied. "I said thank you."

"You're welcome, Jeonggukie. I'm so proud of you!" The girl replied, clearly relaxing, then clapped her hands as if this strange, awkward moment had never happened. "We need to drink wine and toast your success!" she suggested. "Please, darling, go to the bar and fetch one of your wine bottles and open it," she said, stroking his cheek with her hand.

Jeongguk merely nodded, then helped her get up from his lap and headed for the kitchen, leaving Lisa and the guests in the living room. Their kitchen was open to the living room, but when he was sure no one was looking at him, he gently raised his hand and looked at the ring on his finger. The jewelry seemed to weigh a ton, but he knew that the real weight he felt was a guilt that seemed to weigh him down more and more. He looked away from his hand and walked towards the small bar where they kept wines and other alcohol. He chose one of them without even looking at the label, then looked for a corkscrew to open it, but couldn't find it anywhere.

He was about to ask Lisa where she had hidden it, but when he noticed it on the counter of the kitchen island. He approached it and set the wine on the marble counter. He began to slowly remove the seal from the neck of the bottle. After he did so, he opened one of the cabinets to throw the trash into the trash can. He was about to do so when he suddenly saw something that caught his attention and made him stop as if something had frozen him. Instinctively, he looked up in the living room. Lisa was engrossed in conversation with her friends, so no one paid any attention to him. After making sure no one was looking in his direction, he reached out his hand and grasped the trash can, and after a while he carefully pulled it out of the cupboard to better see its contents.

When he saw the familiar logo, his heart began to accelerate involuntarily. He wet his lips quickly and stretched his hand toward the contents of the basket, leaning forward more. Feeling as if he was doing something wrong, he glanced quickly towards the living room again to make sure no one was still looking for him. As he did so, he pushed some flyers away with his hand and pulled out a white envelope from under them. He straightened up, but keeping it low enough that no one would accidentally notice that he was holding something in his hands, then carefully twisted it in his fingers. He saw his name on the back of it, but the envelope was already open.

Did Lisa throw it out on purpose so that he would never see the contents of the letter inside?

He didn't know what a letter like that might be doing here, but seeing his name on the back, he felt dizzy. He opened the edges of the envelope and, with trembling fingers, pulled out the letter from inside it. He unfolded it carefully, feeling his pulse speed up with each passing second, then began to read carefully the words printed on the white sheet. He read them, holding his breath, and the heart in his chest began to beat harder and harder with each word. Unable to believe what he was reading, he raised a trembling hand to his mouth and covered his lips with it.

This couldn't be true.

This had to be a joke, wasn't it?

When he finished reading this short letter, he started over and over again, unable to believe it was true. He was so engrossed in reading that he didn't even notice that he was no longer alone. Only when he felt a hand on his forearm, he looked up and crossed his gaze with Lisa.

"What are you doing, honey?" The girl asked. "You were supposed to open the wine..."

"Y-yes," he gasped, folding the letter in his trembling hands. He slipped it quickly into his pocket and grabbed the bottle. "I couldn't find the corkscrew," he explained, then grabbed it in his right hand and quickly began to open the wine.

Still, his thoughts flashed back to the letter that now was hidden in the right pocket of his suit jacket.

He couldn't ignore it...

He put the open wine down on the counter and placed the corkscrew beside it, then turned to Lisa and stared at her face for a moment.

"Lisa, I..." he began hesitantly. "I have to go somewhere," he said finally. This time, there was not even a trace of uncertainty in his voice.

Lisa laughed at his words as if what he had just said was utterly ridiculous to her, or as if he had just said a joke which isn't even funny.

"Are you kidding me?" She asked, though it didn't sound like a question to her lips at all. "We have guests."

Jeongguk shifted from foot to foot, feeling himself slowly losing confidence. But he couldn't let go of what he had fought so much for and wanted so badly.

"I know, but it's important. I promise to be back as soon as possible," he explained. "This is very important," he added, then he sank his fingers nervously into his dark hair as he ran his hand over it quickly.

"You can't go out now," she protested, but lowered her voice so much that the guests in the living room by chance would not hear their argument.

"Lisa, I'm sorry, but I have to do this," that said, he leaned in gently and placed a kiss on her forehead, then stepped around her and headed for the exit.

He quickly slipped his boots onto his feet, and without even hesitating to put on anything else, he opened the door and quickly went out into the hallway.

"Jeongguk!" The girl called after him. "What are you doing?! Come back here!"

Lisa was almost screaming, apparently not caring any more if anyone hears her. But when he didn't react, she rushed towards him, but he couldn't stop now.

Not now, when for the first time since breaking up with Tae, he felt as if he was alive again...

***

Taehyung stared at the glowing tip of the cigarette for a long time, watching it burn slowly. He felt a bit like that cigarette now. It seemed to him that with each passing day he disappeared more and more, and finally turned into meaningless ash that would be blown away by the wind, turning him into nothingness. He didn't feel like doing anything. He felt so fucking numb.

He almost automatically raised his hand to his mouth and wrapped his lips around the cigarette, finally sucking on it hard, drawing another dose of nicotine into his lungs. After a while, however, he parted his mouth gently again, letting the gray smoke creep slowly through it, creating gray smoke above his head.

"You're very absent today," a voice suddenly beside him said.

He didn't even have to turn his head to know that his friend had just left the tattoo studio and leaned against the wall next to him. He wiped the ash off the tip of his cigarette and took another puff, as if he wanted the nicotine to soothe his broken heart. The sound of a zippo opening crept into his ears, and after a while a delicate, sweet hint of grapes from flavored cigarettes that his friend was smoking reached his nostrils.

"Is it because of that wedding invitation you found yesterday?" He asked when the redhead was still silent.

Taehyung held the smoke in his lungs until it began to burn, then parted his lips and exhaled the smoke, forming a gray cloud above his head that for a moment also obscured his sad gaze. He raised his right hand, in which he was now holding a glowing cigarette, and ran his fingertips over his chapped, cigarette-dry lips. His lips were continuously dry and chapped since he broke up with Jeongguk, as if they too were literally drying from the lack of his kisses.

"I should let him go, right?" He asked finally, though he didn't expect an answer at all. "I should finally forget about him. Stop looking over my shoulder, because even if I turn a million times, he won't be there a million times... But... Why, the fuck, is this so fucking hard? If it was so easy to fall in love with him... Why is it so hard to forget?

Feeling his throat closing painfully with too much feeling and emotion, he slipped the cigarette back into his mouth. He took a long drag, drawing his cheeks in and closing his eyelids for a moment. However, he lifted them after a few seconds and looked at Yoongi, who was standing next to him. The blond was leaning with his back against the wall next to him, holding a cigarette smelling of grapes in his tattooed fingers and watching him closely, studying his face in silence.

"He called me," the younger finally admitted, convinced that it was Jeongguk who had called him the previous evening from an unknown number. But seeing the surprise on Min's face, he corrected quickly: "I mean... Yesterday, someone called me from an unlisted number... That person didn't say a word, but..." He wet his lips quickly, his mouth feeling dry. "I know it was him."

"If he called you... Then why didn't he say anything?" Min asked cautiously.

Taehyung took a last drag on his cigarette, then, pushing himself away from the wall, turned to Yoongi and looked him straight in the eye.

"I don't know... Maybe he was afraid... Or..."

"So why did he call?" The blond asked.

"Maybe... Maybe he also thinks about me... Maybe he can't forget about me either..." he said, as if he wanted to hear any confirmation from his friend that he was not crazy after all, that it wasn't just in his head.

"I don't know, Tae," Min admitted, sighing heavily. "But if he can't forget about you too, why isn't he here yet?" He asked.

He knew his words were cruel. Perhaps he shouldn't have said it out loud, but he couldn't watch Tae suffer after parting ways with this boy. Taehyung was the best man he had ever met. He didn't deserve what had happened to him. He wanted him to be happy.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, realizing that his words were too painful. "I shouldn't have said that. Just..."

"You're right," Taehyung interrupted. "There are no happy endings. I should finally stop fooling myself and delude myself that one time when I look back, he'll be standing there..."

"T-Tae..." Suddenly, an uncertain voice spoke behind him, and Taehyung had the impression that the ground was about to split under his feet.

He knew that voice.

He knew it so well that he had recreated it in his mind a million times during their separation, being able to imagine how those wonderfully soft lips formed against each letter.

It was his voice.

With his heart pounding in his chest, he slowly turned back and saw a slim brunet, dressed in an elegant suit, staring at him with his beautiful, doe eyes.

It was a dream, wasn't it? He must have been dreaming...

"Tae," the boy repeated, and Taehyung just looked quickly at Yoongi, as if he wanted to make sure that it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him, playing on his emotions, and the young businessman was really here.

Yoongi took a quick puff, then stubbed out his cigarette and threw the cigarette butt into the trash, and then squeezed his hand on the redhead's shoulder as if he wanted to encourage him up.

"I'll leave you two alone," he said softly, then nodded to Jeongguk and, yanking at the heavy metal door, entered the tattoo parlor.

"G-guk," Taehyung finally choked out. "W-What are you doing here?" He asked, trying to keep his voice under control not to show how much the sight of him had distracted him.

His voice sounded remarkably steady, almost impassive, while the heart in his chest galloped so hard he thought it was about to pop out of his tattooed body.

Jeongguk looked nervous. He immediately noticed that his lips were trembling slightly. He was pale, he looked very tired, although his beauty could not be hidden, even though he had visible shadows under his eyes. His hair was short again, neatly combed, just like when he first saw him. The boy wore a blue shirt with an embroidered collar that he had never seen before, and a black suit jacket that accentuated his broad shoulders. The brunet, however, did not stand straight, proudly flexing his figure, as during their verbal skirmish, when they met. Now his shoulders were a little hunched, as if he felt insecure, like someone walking on thin ice, fearing that it might burst under his weight at any moment, letting the black water engulf him.

He waited for the brunet to answer him, but he was silent, just watching him. Only after a moment, which seemed to take almost a century, did he take his gaze away from him. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't put into words all the emotions that ravaged him.

Taehyung was so damn beautiful. He was like the greatest work of art in the gallery, which is breathtaking and will not let you pass by indifferently. But now, being so close, all he wanted to do was lock him in the grip of his strong arms and never let him go again.

The tattoo artist was also silent, studying him closely. After a while, however, the young CEO shifted uneasily, as if feeling a bit uncomfortable, then flinched slightly, as if suddenly remembering something, and slipped his hand quickly into his suit jacket pocket. As he took an envelope out of it, Taehyung saw his hands tremble and looked at them. However, he noticed immediately that the boy's left hand was decorated with a gold ring. Feeling a strange pressure in his chest, he quickly looked away.

It felt a bit as if someone had punched him in the head again. When he saw Jeongguk, he hoped it might mean the dark-haired man broke off the engagement, but once again, life decided to brutally correct him from his mistake.

Instinctively, he took a step back, as if to save himself from the wave of pain that was about to flood him at any moment, and pressed his lips tightly into a narrow line. On the one hand, he wanted to get away, because seeing the love of your life that no longer belongs to you is probably one of the worst things he has faced so far, and at the same time, something kept him from leaving, as if Jeongguk had attached him to himself with that bloody red thread at the same time he entered his tattoo parlor for the first time.

The brunet unfolded the letter in his hands and held it out towards him. However, he did not explain what it might be about. Taehyung looked again at the trembling hand that was holding the paper up to him, and finally, still hesitantly, he grasped it in his fingers.

"R-read it out loud," Jeon asked, as if hearing these words from someone's lips would make everything more real.

The tattoo artist stared at him for a moment longer, staring straight into his eyes, then nodded his agreement and looked at the piece of paper. It wasn't handwritten. The letter was typed on a computer, and at first glance it looked more like official writing. But he immediately saw that it was a letter addressed to Jeongguk. He wet his lips and began to read.

"Dear Mr. Jeon,

Thank you for your interest in our competition and for submitting your works. The competition organized by our Academy has for many years enjoyed great recognition as well as unblemished opinion and reputation. It is from under the wings of our Academy that many great artists, whose works can currently be admired in art galleries around the world, came out.

According to the rules of the competition, anyone who wanted a chance to compete for the final had to submit a minimum of five competition entries. For unknown reasons, You sent only three of Your works. An insufficient number of entries should automatically disqualify You from participating in the next stage of the competition, but our entire jury is very impressed with Your talent, and we all agree that ― as art connoisseurs ― we cannot remain indifferent to such a talent. For this reason, we would like to welcome You as one of the three finalists of the competition.

However, we cannot allow the so far unblemished opinion of the Academy to be violated by failure to comply with its regulations. Due to Your enormous talent, we would like to offer You an additional week to send at least two missing works. If You send these works by the end of next week, You will qualify for the finals of our competition. We sincerely hope that You will not waste this opportunity."

After Taehyung finished reading, he looked up again at the man still standing in front of him. He couldn't help but smile. When he decided to send these works, he didn't know if the shortage of them would give him any chance of qualifying for the next stage, but he knew how damn talented Jeongguk was. He couldn't let such talent hide within the four walls of the TJE business office. He didn't know if the boy would hold it against him, but he knew it was his dream and he wanted to help him make it come true.

He moistened his lips and carefully folded the letter, then looked up and looked at the young CEO who was still standing a few paces away from him. It seemed to him that the boy's body was trembling slightly, his expression was unreadable, and he did not know if maybe Jeongguk was angry with him for making this decision for him.

"It was you, who submitted my works, right?" The brunet asked, although they both knew that he did not need an answer to this question. No one else had access to his work. Only Taehyung could do that.

"G-guk..." the tattoo artist began hesitantly, feeling a strange nervousness. He lowered his gaze and stared at his hands, still holding the sheet of paper. "I know I shouldn't have submitted these works without you knowing, but..." he continued, but he paused after a moment, not knowing how to apologize for something he didn't regret at all.

When he looked up again, the young CEO was already staring at him. Taehyung saw the boy's chest rise a little faster, and he parted his lips to apologize for what he had done, but before any more words could escape his mouth, Jeongguk, on the strange impulse, took a few steps forward, quickly minimizing distance between them and wrapped his arms around him tightly, hiding his face in the hollow of his neck.

He was concerned that Taehyung might push him away, so he tightened his fingers strongly on his leather jacket so that he could continue like that, though for a few more moments, but nothing happened. Contrary to his fears, the tattoo artist raised his hands to wrap them around his trembling body and pull him closer, and hid his face in the embroidered collar of his brother's shirt.

For a moment they just stood there, holding each other in their arms as if nothing and no one else mattered. Their hearts beat again in one common rhythm.

"Thank you," Jeongguk whispered finally, and reluctantly released his grip to pull away from him.

As their eyes crossed again, Taehyung saw that the young CEO's beautiful, doe eyes were wet with tears. Instinctively, he raised his hand and wiped his cheek with his thumb, and Jeongguk nestled into his warm hand for a few seconds, as if he wanted to remember this fleeting touch. The tattoo artist, however, quickly withdrew his hand, knowing he had allowed himself too much. He cleared his throat to control his emotions and took a step back to take a safe distance between them again. He was afraid that, being so close, he would lose himself in him again, and he didn't know if he could survive another knockdown.

"I've always believed you had a chance to win this competition," he admitted.

"You were the only one who always believed in me... Even when I also lacked faith in it... You alone never doubted in me..." The raven-haired man confessed quietly.

There was silence for a moment, though they both felt that there were many unspoken words between them. But neither of them dared to close the gap between them again, as if they feared that if they did, nothing would stop this irresistible force. They were like two magnets that, standing too close, must fall into each other's arms.

Taehyung ran his hand through his fiery red hair, then held the letter back to the young CEO, and Jeongguk took it from him, taking care not to accidentally rub their fingertips against each other.

"What are you going to do now?" The tattoo artist asked finally, breaking the silence. "Are you going to submit these missing works?"

"Yes," the brunet replied without the slightest hesitation. The corner of his lips lifted involuntarily. The young CEO tried to hide his smile, but Taehyung saw it anyway. Jeongguk was happy. "I really want to do it..." he added after a moment.

"I believe you will succeed," the tattoo artist said sincerely. "We may not be together, but I want you to be happy, Gguk. You deserve it all."

Jeongguk was silent for a moment again, as if wondering what to say. He felt a strange pain in his chest at the words of the tattoo artist. They weren't together because of his fault, and he didn't know how to fix it and make Taehyung trust him again.

"My family owns a summer house in Jeju. We used to go there every vacation. My mom... she had an art studio there... She always said that was where her best work was done. I haven't been there since she died, but... That's where I'd like to finish my work," Jeon said suddenly.

He didn't look at Tae as if he didn't dare to. Once again, he felt completely exposed, telling him something he did not dare to tell anyone else.

"That's wonderful, Gguk. I know how much she means to you. Your mom would be proud to know you were painting again..." Kim replied.

He did not quite know why the boy decided to tell him about it, and he did not know how to behave. He wanted to take him in his arms again and hold him until his body stopped shaking, but he knew he shouldn't. So he stared at his hands, staring at the gold ring on his finger as if he were trying to stop himself from doing something reckless.

"The problem is that... I can not do it without you," the brunet confessed.

Hearing these words, Taehyung raised his head and met the gaze of his beautiful eyes. His heart began to beat, involuntarily, as if he had just heard a declaration of love from his lips.

"Please..." Jeon whispered, looking him straight in the eye. "Come there with me."

"Gguk... I..." the tattoo artist began, but the words hung on the tip of his tongue.

He wanted it.

He missed him so much that he felt an almost physical pain now, unable to touch him, but he knew that Jeongguk had decided to marry Lisa, and he couldn't be there and watch the love of his life being with someone else.

"I know that I am asking you a lot. We haven't spoken since we split up, and you probably don't think of me the way you used to... But... You weren't just my partner. You were my friend. Or maybe even someone more important. I can't do it without you," the brunet explained quickly, not letting him come to a word as if he was afraid that if he did, the tattoo artist would refuse. "My family has a private jet. Tomorrow at twelve noon I would like to fly out to Jeju. I know that I am asking you a lot... But... Please, give me this week. Come with me there. Then... If that's what you want... I'll disappear from your life."

"Gguk... I don't know what to say..." the tattoo artist whispered, feeling that in one second he was flooded with so many emotions that he could barely stand on his feet.

He was confused. He loved him and wanted nothing more than to be with him, but he didn't know if Jeongguk was in any way reciprocating his feelings. He knew that if he allows Gguk to get closer to him, he will suffer even more when he has to let him go again.

"Y-You don't have to answer now. Just... Please think about it," Jeongguk replied. "Departure is twelve o'clock tomorrow from Incheon."

The young CEO did not wait for his reply, he nodded at him, then turned on his heel and started towards his car. Taehyung watched him go. The boy walked slowly, as if waiting for the tattoo artist to stop him, but Kim didn't know what to do. His heart was drawn to this elegant man, but his mind was telling too many dark scenarios for their further history.

As Jeongguk reached his black Mercedes, he opened the driver's door and, with his heart pounding, he turned one last time towards Taehyung. He found the gaze of his onyx irises and let another soft confession roll from his lips, to which only the strong beating of two broken hearts responded.

"I'll wait for you."

***

Ayashee:

And yet it wasn't Lisa who was behind the theft of the flash drive, as most of you were betting.

Despite this, the girl quite ruined Jeongguk's plans. Once again, he has failed to break off the engagement, although it seems he finally knows what he wants and is about to fight for himself.

Thanks to Tae Jeongguk, he has the chance to fulfill his dream and win the Academy competition. A joint trip could also change a lot in Taekook story, but will Taehyung decide to go with him?

Is the only desire behind Jeongguk's offer to create the missing arts, or is he also trying to gain Tae's trust and reawaken his feelings?

Should Taehyung give him a second chance?

xoxo