THE CONCUBINE || TAEKOOK ||

FIFTY

The Royal Dining Hall — Afternoon

The silence was thick, heavy, pressing down on them like a weight. Jungkook looked from his mother to Taehyung and back again, trying to understand the tension that crackled between them. His mother's face was composed, but her eyes were hard, fixed on her plate.

Jungkook's jaw tightened. He did not know what had happened between them. He did not know why the air was so thick with words unspoken, with anger barely contained. But he was tired of the war, tired of the politics, tired of coming home to find his family at war with each other. So he let it go. He picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of fish, pretended not to notice.

"What was the ruckus yesterday morning?" Hara asked, her voice cutting through the silence. She looked at Jungkook, her eyebrows raised. "Is everything all right?"

Taehyung's chopsticks paused over his bowl. He glanced at Hara first, his eyes flickering with something that might have been fear, might have been anger, might have been something else entirely. Then he looked at Jungkook, and his face softened, but there was worry in his eyes.

Can she not see how tired he is? Taehyung thought.

He said nothing. He took a bite of rice, chewed slowly, waited.

Jungkook set down his chopsticks. His face was calm, but his eyes were dark, distant.

"I am deciding to visit the Kang kingdom," he said.

The silence that followed was absolute.

Hara's face went white. Her hands, which had been reaching for her teacup, froze in midair. Taehyung's chopsticks clattered against his bowl, the sound loud in the stillness.

For a moment, no one moved. No one breathed.

Then Hara rose from her chair, her movements sharp, her voice rising.

"Are you in your right mind?" she demanded. "Do you hear yourself? Do you have any idea what you are saying? Let me tell you, I will not allow this. I will not."

She did not wait for a response. She turned and walked out of the dining hall, her robes sweeping behind her, her footsteps echoing on the stone floor.

The door closed behind her.

Jungkook sighed, a long, tired sound. He set his chopsticks down, pushed his bowl away. The food that had seemed so appetizing moments ago now sat heavy in his stomach, unappealing, unwanted.

He rose from his chair. Taehyung rose with him, his hand reaching out, his fingers brushing Jungkook's sleeve.

---

The Garden — Afternoon

They walked together through the garden, their steps slow, their shoulders nearly touching.

Taehyung watched him for a moment, studying the lines of his face, the shadows under his eyes, the way his jaw tightened when he thought no one was looking. He wanted to reach out, to hold him, to take away the weight that was pressing down on him. But he did not know how.

"Jungkook," he said softly, "are you really—"

"Taehyung." Jungkook's voice was gentle but firm, cutting off the words before they could fully form. "Please. I do not want to talk about this anymore."