Fateful Alliance ∞

ⅩⅠⅤ

The room was still heavy with the weight of their discussion. Papers lay scattered across the broad oak desk, half-drained coffee cups sat forgotten at the edge, and a hush lingered between them, one that belonged to secrets too fragile to be voiced too loudly.

Taehyung's gaze was sharp, his mind still whirring with the puzzle pieces of betrayal and suspicion, when a sudden trill broke through the tension. His phone.

The shrill ringtone echoed unnaturally against the quiet walls. His friends looked up almost in unison, as though the sound itself carried meaning. He reached for it, the sharp lines of his jaw tensing as his eyes landed on the screen. The ID showed nothing familiar. Unknown number.

How strange. At that moment, in the thick of a clandestine strategy session, the timing couldn't have been more suspicious. For a long second, Taehyung didn't move. His thumb hovered above the screen, indecision flickering across his face. Should he answer? Was this connected to the breach? Or perhaps the very traitor they spoke of, trying to rattle him?

The room fell silent. Yeji tilting her head, Hoseok raising an eyebrow, Jimin's lips parting as if he were about to whisper something but thought better of it. Jack's gaze sharpened in curiosity. Four pairs of eyes rested on Taehyung, waiting.

With a slow, deliberate inhale, he pressed the green button. The phone clicked alive, and he set it on speaker, his voice calm but edged with suspicion.

"Hello?"

For half a beat, there was only static. Then-

"Hello, Taehyung."

The voice was soft, pleasant, carrying a familiar lilt that made his brows shoot up in surprise.

"I apologize for disturbing you. Are you in a meeting?"

The tension in his shoulders eased instantly, and something in his chest loosened. He knew that voice. Jungkook.

His lips curved, almost despite himself. "Jungkook! No, I'm not in a meeting." He frowned faintly, curiosity slipping into his tone. "And whose phone are you speaking from?"

A soft chuckle traveled through the line, sheepish but endearing. "This is my phone. We don't have each other's numbers saved yet. that's why it must have come up as unknown."

Taehyung blinked. Of course. He should have realized. A strange flutter of amusement passed through him, and he quickly picked the device off speaker, holding it close to his ear this time. The privacy of the moment seemed suddenly precious.

"Why did you call?" he asked, his voice dropping, softer now.

From the other end came Jungkook's warm timbre, threaded with concern. "Everyone is sitting down for lunch. I was just wondering... will you eat at the office, or are you coming home?"

For a moment, Taehyung didn't answer. The simplicity of the question disarmed him. Few people ever asked after his meals; fewer still sounded genuinely concerned. His world was one of endless schedules, harsh decisions, clipped phone calls with his assistant. But Jungkook... Jungkook asked if he'd eaten.

He cleared his throat, buying himself a second to smother the warmth bubbling inside. "I'll have lunch at home," he finally said. "But don't wait for me. I'll be late."

There was a pause, then Jungkook's voice grew softer, gentler, carrying a note of insistence that tugged at Taehyung's heart. "Okay. But don't be too late. And if you are later, please... eat something. Don't work on an empty stomach."

The corner of Taehyung's lips tilted into the ghost of a smile, unbidden. A small hum escaped him, low and almost affectionate. "Mm."

They lingered in silence for just a breath longer than necessary, as though neither wanted to end the call. At last, Taehyung muttered a quiet "bye," his voice hushed, and disconnected.