Ch 2 : A Thread That Never Breaks

[Present Day]

Taehyung stood frozen as Jungkook’s gaze locked onto his.

A shiver ran down his spine, but it wasn’t fear—it was recognition. Even though Jungkook didn’t know him yet, Taehyung could feel the pull, the same invisible thread that had bound them together in every lifetime.

Jungkook frowned slightly, as if trying to place him, before his attention was pulled away by one of his friends. He turned back to his conversation, unaware that the man standing across the hallway had once died in his arms.

Taehyung exhaled, forcing himself to look away.

"Not again."

He had spent lifetimes chasing after Jungkook, surrendering to a love that always ended in suffering. This time, he would be different. He wouldn’t let fate play its cruel game.

He wouldn’t fall in love with Jungkook.

Not again.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jimin asked beside him. “You look like you’ve seen your long-lost lover or something.”

Taehyung let out a humorless laugh. If only you knew, Jimin.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Let’s go.”

But even as he walked away, he could still feel Jungkook’s presence. Like a shadow from another life that refused to fade.

\[Flashback – A Past Life\]

The air smelled of salt and fire.

Taehyung stood on the edge of a wooden ship, staring at the vast ocean stretching endlessly before him. The night sky was endless, scattered with stars, but he didn’t feel free.

Because behind him, on the shore, stood Jungkook.

The prince he had sworn to protect. The man he had betrayed.

“Don’t go,” Jungkook’s voice was barely a whisper, yet it cut through the roaring waves. “Please, Taehyung.”

Taehyung clenched his fists. If he stayed, they would both die. If he left, only one of them would.

“I have to,” Taehyung said. His voice shook, but his resolve did not. “This is the only way.”

Jungkook took a step forward. “I would rather die with you than live without you.”

The words hit Taehyung harder than any blade ever had. But he couldn’t let his heart waver. He had made his choice.

Without another word, he turned and stepped onto the ship.

The last thing he saw before the sails carried him away was Jungkook’s heartbroken face—

And the flicker of a blade in the moonlight.

A sharp gasp. A choked cry.

Taehyung turned back just in time to see Jungkook collapse to the ground, blood pooling beneath him.

No—

"Find me," Jungkook whispered. Then his eyes closed, and Taehyung screamed.

\[Present Day\]

Taehyung jolted awake, his chest heaving. His hands clenched the sheets of his bed as he struggled to steady his breathing.

Another memory. Another death.

He ran a trembling hand through his hair. This wasn’t fair. Why did he have to remember it all? Why was he cursed to relive these tragedies over and over?

His phone buzzed on his nightstand. He reached for it, trying to ground himself in the present.

A message from Jimin.

Jimin: "Party at the rooftop tomorrow. You’re coming. No excuses."

Taehyung sighed. Maybe he needed a distraction. Maybe if he surrounded himself with people, he could forget—just for a little while.

But deep down, he already knew.

No matter how much he tried to escape, fate would always pull him back.

And this time, Jungkook had already noticed him.

It had begun again.

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