YOU, ME, & SHE • |KTH AU| •

nineteen

Tensed silence hangs heavy in the air as Daeun slowly steps up to Taehyung, her eyes ablaze with a mix of desperation and hysteria.

"I have loved you for an eternity," She says hoarsely, sighing softly as the words leave her lips. "I have loved you with an intensity that consumes me, Taehyung. A fire that burns endlessly. If only you'd noticed me, if only you'd seen beyond the surface of my existence. I was right here, but you never looked my way. You were always too occupied with that worthless bitch,"

Daeun angrily points her chin at Jennie. "I don't even know what you see in her, I don't understand why you look at her the way you do. She doesn't deserve you, and she will never love you as much I do. I am your soulmate, Taehyung," She pauses dramatically, sending a venomous glare my way.

"And then there's her. At first you treated her just like me, and then bam, you were all chummy with her. What does she have that I don't?! What's so special about her?" She lets out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "I'm not going to beg you to tell me what I can do so you see me, too. Because I have the solution right here," She waves the lighter in the air, and then positions her thumb to light it.

"Taehyung!!!" Jennie and I both scream in panic.

"I love you, Daeun!" He blurts, taking a step towards her with his arms raised placatingly. "I really do, from the very bottom of my heart."

"He really does," I say, nodding like bobblehead.

"Pfft, please," Daeun says flatly. "Do you think I'm stupid? You've always ignored all my gestures, Taehyung, all the little things I did to try and show you how I felt."

"I'm sorry I never realized that your love for me was so deep," Taehyung says gently, taking another step forward. "But now that I do, just please forgive me and let's start afresh. From now on, you will have my unwavering affection. My eyes will be only for you."

Daeun clenches her hands into fists, a shaky laugh leaving her. "How I wish you meant that."

"I do, baby, I swear. I'm all yours now, your true love. You don't need to do anything assure this. Drop the lighter and come to me, my love," He takes another step, spreading out his arms to her.

"I can never truly be your love," Daeun says, holding up the lighter. "until these two bitches are out of the picture-"

"I want to kiss you!" Taehyung yells desperately. "To show you I mean every word I've just said. I need to feel your lips on mine, darling. Will you let me?" Not waiting for her answer, he quickly closes the remaining distance between them and smashes his lips against hers. She squeals in surprise, but he grabs her shoulders as he deepens the kiss, and then he swiftly reaches down and snatches the lighter from her hand.
He ends the kiss, and then steps away and throws the lighter across the room.

"Noo!" Daeun's crazed scream echoes through the room, sending a shiver down my spine.

A loud banging sounds on the door. "What's on earth is going on in there?!" Comes Iseul's concerned voice. "Why's the door locked??"

"Iseul, call the cops!" Taehyung yells back at her.

"What?!" She shrieks.

"Just fucking do it!" Taehyung screams as Daeun dashes to a shelf close by and grabs a porcelain vase. Brandishing it like a weapon, she lurches in Jennie's direction, who yelps in terror and sprints out of the way. But instead of chasing after her, Daeun makes a U-turn and charges at me.

Unlike Jennie, I can't get away fast enough. She lands a heavy blow on the back of my head, sending white-hot pain shooting through my skull.

Reeling, I stagger backward and sink to my knees as Daeun bends down to swing again, this time catching me on my forehead. I cry out, clutching my head where a lump is already forming. The world tilts crazily as searing pulses of agony throb through my head in time with my frantic heartbeat. Daeun brandishes the vase yet again, swinging at the air as two hands grab her from behind, pulling her away from me.

"For fuck's sake, woman, stop this madness!" Taehyung bellows at her. He snatches the vase from her hand and throws it on the floor, smashing it to pieces.

Daeun slumps in his hold, breaking down into a fit of sobs. "I-it wouldn't h-h-have come to this had y-you n-noticed m-me! A-all I ever wanted was your love."

She continues blubbering but I'm too busy trying to fight the recurring wave of nausea crashing over me. The world spins in dizzying circles as I struggle to stay conscious against the comfortable pull of blackness creeping in at the edges of my vision.

The sound of sirens in the distance is the last thing I hear before everything goes black.

For seconds, minutes, hours, days, I know nothing, floating in a sea of oblivion, my eyelids fluttering open and closed, each time revealing someone different.

Taehyung, Iseul, Jimin, Ara, Hyejin, even Jennie.

Other faces hover over me, unfamiliar people dressed in white coats, coming and going while murmuring in low, worried voices.

A hand holding mine, another caressing my face.

Soulful, chocolate brown eyes staring down at me.

A deep, velvety voice whispering in my ear, saying sorry, telling me that I'll be okay.

Taehyung.

I want to reach up and cup his cheek. To kiss him.

But the darkness claims me again.
And this time, it keeps me.

_______________________________________

I slowly open my eyes, my eyelids feeling weighted down. I fight to open them, blinking once, twice, three times until my blurry vision clears enough for me to see where I am.

My room, I realize, glancing around at the warm toned, familiar space.

What the hell happened after I passed out? What became of Daeun? Hopefully, in her deranged fit, she didn't blurt out any details about my feud with Jennie.

Just then, I become aware of the muted ache in my head, and as I moan and shift around, I finally notice the person sitting in the chair beside my bed: Taehyung.

His black hair is a tousled mess, and there's dark circles under his eyes, but he smiles brightly when he notices me staring.

"Hey," He says, leaning in and taking my hand gently. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

I weakly smile back, saying, "How long was I out?"

"Almost a full day, you have a concussion. The doctors weren't sure when you'd wake up," Taehyung sighs, running a hand through his hair. "You really scared me, Narae... I - I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you got caught up in my shit and got hurt."

A lump forms in my throat. Yeah, sure, I got real unlucky, but none of what happened is his fault. Also, I'm the one who threw myself into his life, so I deserve everything I come across.

"Stop feeling bad. I'm okay now," I say, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "Just a headache - and what of Daeun?"

"She's in custody now," Taehyung says, eyes darkening. "They charged her with aggravated assault and attempted murder. She won't be able to hurt anyone else for a while."

I nod with satisfaction. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

We share a moment of comfortable silence, and then I squeeze his hand again. "Not to be sassy, but you look like you could use some sleep..."

"Yeah, you're right," He says, giving me a faint smile. "Let me go and call the nurse back - Iseul, too. She's been really worried." He starts to get up, but then pauses as he gives me long look. "I realize I haven't been giving you much of my time lately. When you get better, let's go out somewhere, okay? Just the two of us."

My flash him a shy grin, a rush of warmth and longing coursing through my body. "Okay, sounds good."

A/N: Attention, readers! This story is hungry for your votes and comments. Feed it now!
And oh, bye, Daeun 👋