Three Years Ago — Somewhere Underground
Taehyung’s screams had echoed off concrete walls like broken hymns.
His wrists were bound above him, metal cuffs digging into bone. Blood dripped slowly from a cut along his temple, tracing the line of his jaw like a lover’s caress. His shirt had been stripped away days ago — or maybe hours. Time blurred here.
The man standing in front of him wore a white suit and sunglasses, even in the dark. His voice was calm, practiced, as he flipped through a black ledger.
> “Such pretty hands,” the man mused, tapping a pen against the page. “Shame if we had to break them.”
Taehyung glared through half-lidded eyes. “You won’t get anything from me.”
> “No? Not even for him?”
A screen flickered on the wall behind the man, revealing footage — Jungkook, sleeping in his dorm room, curled like a child.
Taehyung’s pulse spiked. “Don’t touch him.”
> “Then give us the faculty database.”
> “I don’t have it.”
The man smiled. “You’re lying.”
Present — Estate West Wing
Taehyung jolted awake in his private room, drenched in sweat. The nightmare was always the same. Cold metal. Screaming lungs. And Jungkook’s name on his lips.
He sat at the edge of the bed, panting.
The room was silent except for the clock ticking.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Why do I still dream of that night? he wondered bitterly. Why does my heart still reach for him when I should’ve buried him long ago?
He pulled open the drawer next to the bed.
Inside was a single photograph — old, crumpled. It was him and Jungkook on their graduation day. Jungkook was smiling, cheeks flushed, his arms wrapped around Taehyung's waist. Taehyung's hand was on his head, pulling him close.
They looked… happy.
He tore the photo in half.
But even that couldn’t erase the look in Jungkook’s eyes.
Jungkook’s Room — Midnight
Jungkook lay curled on the bed, the sealed envelope Hoseok gave him now open beside him. The photo. The contract. And one other thing.
A hand-drawn map.
A layout of the facility where Taehyung had been taken — and where he had been found.
He still remembered the day Taehyung came back. Broken. Changed. Angry. Cold.
And he had looked at Jungkook like he was the enemy.
He had tried to explain. He wanted to explain.
But when Taehyung’s father turned up dead in a river three days later, and the cartel disappeared without a trace, everything changed.
Jungkook buried the truth under a lie so thick, not even love could dig it out.
But it was never meant to last forever.
Hoseok’s Apartment — Rooftop
Hoseok stood in the wind, watching the city lights blur into stars. His phone vibrated.
[Text From: UNKNOWN]
> You’re still feeding the rabbit?
Remember, Hobi: rabbits bite too.
He scowled and tossed the burner phone off the rooftop.
Behind him, a voice spoke.
> “You always this dramatic or just when you’re guilty?”
He turned.
Yoongi.
> “I was wondering when the devil would come crawling back,” Hoseok said coolly.
> “I need information,” Yoongi replied.
> “And I need therapy, but here we are.”
Yoongi stepped closer. “You’re hiding something.”
> “You’re damn right I am.”
> “What do you know about the files Jungkook gave them?”
> “Enough to know you were part of it.”
Yoongi’s jaw twitched.
> “And you?” he asked. “Still playing messenger for secrets that can get us all killed?”
Hoseok leaned in, voice low.
> “I’m playing the long game. And you? You already lost your queen.”
Flashback — Two Years Ago
Jimin stood in the rain, soaked to the skin, staring at Yoongi through a fogged window. Inside, Yoongi was with a man in a white suit.
The same man who once held Taehyung captive.
Jimin pressed his hand to the glass.
> Please don’t betray us.
And then Yoongi looked up.
Saw him.
And didn’t move.
Back at the Estate – Garden Terrace
Jungkook stood by the lilies, clutching the map in his coat pocket. His eyes were tired, his soul worn thin. He heard the footsteps before he saw him.
Taehyung.
He was calm. Too calm.
> “Why were you talking to Hoseok last night?”
Jungkook didn’t flinch. “You’ve started spying on me?”
> “I don’t trust you.”
> “You never did.”
Taehyung stepped closer. “I trusted the version of you that didn’t lie to my face.”
Jungkook raised his eyes. “And I trusted the version of you who didn’t punish me for loving you.”
The air snapped with tension.
Taehyung grabbed his wrist. Not violently. Just enough to make Jungkook stop breathing.
> “Tell me what you’re hiding,” he whispered.
Jungkook looked into his eyes.
And saw fear.
> “You think I betrayed you,” Jungkook said. “But I gave up everything to keep you alive.”
Taehyung’s grip tightened.
> “Prove it.”
> “I can’t.”
> “Then I don’t believe you.”
Jungkook pulled away and walked back toward the estate.
But he stopped at the door and said, softly:
> “You don’t have to believe me, Tae. You just have to remember who I was… before all this turned us into monsters.”
Taehyung’s Room – Later That Night
He stood by the window, watching the moonlight dance along the floors.
His heart ached. It hadn’t ached in years.
And yet…
He pulled the torn photo from his drawer again.
The half with Jungkook’s smile.
He stared at it for a long time.
Then whispered:
> “I don’t want to love you. But I never stopped.”
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