FACE-OFF | PJM

Chapter 1

Taehyung still couldn't reach Krystal; her phone was off, and she hadn't called him back. It had been two hours since he got back to Seoul, and he had lost track of how many times he tried calling her, but he still couldn't reach her. He also forgot to ask Y/N about what happened to Krystal when they were at the airport. He was worried, so he took his car keys and drove to her house.

He stood in front of the door and took a deep breath before pressing the bell.

Krystal's mom checked the clock; it was late. "Taehyungie, come inside. Why are you here at this hour?"

He entered the house. "I am here to see Krystal, Auntie. Is she okay?"

She was startled. "She is okay, nothing happened."

"Where is she?"

"She is upstairs in her room. Do you want me to call her for you?"

Taehyung nodded politely.

Krystal's dad was in the living room, watching TV. Noticing his presence, he waved at him. "Taehyung, come sit here."

He walked to the living room and took a seat. "Uncle."

"Here, drink some tea." He poured Taehyung a cup of tea. He cleared his throat and stared upstairs. "Taehyungie, do you like our Krystal?" he frankly asked.

Taehyung almost choked on his tea, but he nodded. "Yes."

"You have a good taste." He smiled proudly. "Our Krystal is indeed the best, but..." He sighed, "But Taemin is still refusing to divorce her, she..."

"Dad!" Krystal, who was standing behind the sofa, cut him off.

Taehyung immediately stood up. "Krystal."

"Are you looking for me?" Krystal inquired.

"Yes," Taehyung replied.

"Follow me," she gestured toward the door, quickly changing into sandals and opening it.

"You haven't answered any of my calls for days. What happened?" Taehyung questioned.

Krystal offered a reassuring smile. "I'm right here in front of you now. As you can see, I'm okay."

"Then why..." Taehyung began, but Krystal interrupted him.

"It's late; you can head home now," she suggested.

He frowned but decided not to press further. "Okay, then. I'll go back now. Tomorrow night after work, I'll take you to the food stall."

"I have some things to do tomorrow; maybe next time," Krystal replied.

Taehyung's intuition had been on high alert for days now. Krystal's unresponsiveness to his calls and her altered behavior had been impossible to ignore.

As Krystal tried to slip inside, Taehyung's grip on her wrist tightened. "Krystal, please tell me what's going on. Is Taemin behind this? Is he threatening you to stay away from me?"

Krystal hesitated for a moment before responding, "No."

"Liar," Taehyung declared, his distrust evident. "Then why are you acting like this? Taemin must have said something to you. Krystal, hear me out. I'm not afraid of him, not scared of whatever he might do."

"Taehyung, you don't understand," Krystal said, her voice tinged with helplessness. "He's capable of anything, and he's fixated on me. I don't want to drag you into this mess, so please, just leave me be."

"Why?" Taehyung's expression hardened. "I'm not afraid of him. Why should I be? I care about you. Why can't I pursue you?"

A heavy silence hung in the air after his confession. Krystal was taken aback, her gaze locked onto Taehyung's. "Taehyung..."