The Timeless Chase

The Timeless Chase

Tae was a time traveler, always seeking new moments, new eras to explore. The past and future were her playground, each new destination an opportunity to discover something forgotten or yet to come. But there was one constant that followed her, no matter where or when she went—Jungkook.

Jungkook was an immortal, a being who had seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations. His eyes held the weight of centuries, and his presence, though rarely spoken, was always felt. No matter where Tae ventured, no matter the time, he was always there, watching.

It began innocently enough. Their first encounter was in 18th-century Paris. Tae had been studying the Revolution, lost in the chaos of history, when she noticed a figure standing by the River Seine. His gaze was fixed on her, and though he said nothing, it felt as though he could see right through her. She walked past him, dismissing it as a strange coincidence. After all, time was vast, and the chances of crossing paths again seemed slim.

But it happened again. Tae traveled to ancient Egypt, to witness the grandeur of the pyramids being built. She stood in awe before the great structures, when she felt that unmistakable presence. Jungkook was there, standing in the shadow of the Sphinx, watching her with the same unblinking intensity.

No matter where she went, Jungkook was there, quietly observing from a distance, his timeless eyes always watching.

It wasn’t until Tae traveled to a desolate future, a world devoid of humanity, that she finally confronted him.

There, standing on the rooftop of a crumbling building, Jungkook awaited her, his expression unreadable. The world around them had long since fallen into ruin, and yet he remained, unchanged, untouched by time.

"You’ve been following me," Tae said, her voice trembling with a mix of awe and frustration.

Jungkook turned toward her, his gaze calm but heavy with the years he had lived. "I do not follow you," he replied softly. "I simply exist. And where you go, I remain."

"Why?" Tae demanded. "What do you want from me?"

Jungkook stepped closer, his voice a low murmur. "You are a traveler, bound by time. I am a being who has lived through all of it. We are the same, yet we are worlds apart."

Tae shook her head, her mind racing. "But you’ve seen everything. Why follow me?"

Jungkook’s expression softened slightly. "I follow because I understand what it means to be trapped in time. You are searching for something, but you do not know what. You jump from moment to moment, hoping to escape. But you will never outrun time. It will catch you, just as I do."

Tae’s chest tightened at his words. "You don’t understand," she whispered. "I’m not trying to escape. I just want to see... everything."

Jungkook’s eyes darkened with something like sorrow. "Everything?" His voice was filled with quiet intensity. "You think you can see everything without consequence? Time is not a playground. Every moment you visit, every second you alter, creates ripples that will eventually swallow you whole. I have lived through those ripples. I have seen them destroy everything."

Tae fell silent, the weight of his words sinking in. She had never considered the cost of her endless journey through time. Jungkook had lived through the consequences, and it had marked him in ways she couldn’t yet understand.

"I don’t want to see you caught in that trap," he said quietly.

Tae looked at him, her heart heavy with the understanding that he had been watching not just her, but time itself. "You’re afraid," she said softly. "Afraid of what I might become. Afraid that my journey through time might be the last one you see."

Jungkook’s eyes softened, a fleeting look of regret passing across his face. "Perhaps," he murmured. "But I am not just watching you. I am watching time. And I cannot let it consume you as it has consumed me."

For a long moment, they stood in silence, the weight of centuries between them.

"You don’t have to do this alone," Tae whispered. "I can help you. We can find a way to make it stop. To make time stop chasing both of us."

Jungkook studied her, his gaze unreadable. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he nodded slowly. "Perhaps," he said softly, "it is not about outrunning time. Perhaps it is about learning to live within it—together."

And so, the chase stopped. Not because either of them had outrun time, but because they had finally learned to face it side by side. Together, they would walk through time, not as separate travelers, but as companions, learning to live within its endless flow, no longer bound by its chase.

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