Maybe in Another Life

Part 1 - Don't Leave Me

My First Lifetime - 1923

"Come on, Jungkook, she's not going to wait forever for you," Taehyung yelled at me as I hesitantly looked at Bella. It's not my fault she has tried throwing me off so many times.

"Alright, Bella. The faster we do this, the faster we can get him off our backs," I said, patting the side of her head. I got back on the saddle and whipped the reins, signaling her to go.

Taehyung slapped the riding crop on the ground signaling Bella to head towards the obstacle course.

Bella finally began to gallop through the jumping course with ease until we reached the third jump. The significant change in height causes Bella to stop abruptly, the momentum throwing me off her back and onto the ground once again.

"Jungkook, are you alright?" I hear Tae's quick steps as he runs toward me.

"I'm alive."

"You're fine. Walk it off." Taehyung laughed as he stood over me.

"You're not even going to make sure I'm okay?" I pout, sitting up and brushing the dirt off my pants.

"Well, you're running that mouth of yours, so I'm pretty sure you've made it out unscathed."

"Hyung!" I whined as he finally knelt next to me, face inches from mine.

"What?" he laughed, giving me a coy smile. It makes butterflies flutter inside me.

"Some boyfriend you are." I groan, before grabbing him by his collar. I pulled him close and kissed him gently.

"Jungkook, stop! " Tae whines, pushing me playfully. "We're going to get caught." Laughing, he pecks my lips once more before standing up and reaching out a hand out to help me stand.

"I'm sorry, Tae. I can't help it. You were right there looking all concerned and cute." I wrapped my arm around his waist as we walked toward Bella.

💜

I've known Kim Taehyung and his family for as long as I can remember. His parents practically raised me. The Kim family moved onto the Jeon family's property generations ago after being hired as the holsters of our home's many horses. Not only did they tend to the horses and stables, but they also trained generations of Jeon's, including me and my parents. Being that close, with that much history, it almost seemed inevitable that Taehyung and I would be in each other's lives.

But that closeness turned into something different the older we got. Something more than just a love for a friend; or love for a brother. We were in love and it was a love unlike anything either of us could have foreseen or even imagined.

Part of me wondered if I was always in love with Taehyung. Even from a young age, I constantly wanted to be around him- I constantly thought about him. When our parents would talk about us getting older, getting married, and moving on, I would be filled with an anxiety and anger that I always just equated to the idea of losing my best friend. My parents called me a "late bloomer" when they'd talk about the girls in our neighborhood and I'd have no interest. But in reality, there wasn't anyone who made me feel the way Taehyung did. It was him or nothing. And the more my love grew for him, the more I dread the day that he'd find someone, and I'd lose him forever.

💜

On a beautiful day in early spring, Taehyung asked me if I wanted to go riding with him and Bella. Though we've ridden together hundreds of times since the start of our friendship, there was something in Taehyung's eyes when he asked me that filled me with dread. Something in his tone that made me feel like my greatest fear was becoming true.