My Professor Agent

chapter 23

Chapter 23: Shadows Between Us

P

OV!
Next day
College

The sun rose, but for Jungkook, it felt like the darkest morning of his life.
Sleep has never come. His eyes were red, swollen from the tears he swore he’d never let fall, and his body felt like lead as he dragged himself into the college gates. He wore his usual confidence on his face, but it was a mask thinner than glass—ready to shatter at the slightest touch.

The moment his eyes found Taehyung across the courtyard, his chest tightened. Taehyung was standing with a few other professors, a polite smile playing at his lips as they discussed something academic. To everyone else, he looked calm, collected, flawless as always.
But Jungkook could see through it. He saw the stiffness in Taehyung’s shoulders, the faint puffiness in his eyes, the way his gaze never lingered too long on anyone’s face.

Taehyung had cried.
And Jungkook knew he was the reason.

He swallowed hard, his feet moving on their own toward Taehyung, but every step felt like a battlefield. The words his father had thrown at him last night echoed with each stride.

> “You don’t know how lucky you are, Jungkook. Taehyung doesn’t have parents like you. You hurt him where he is bleeding the most.”

“Professor Kim,” Jungkook called out softly when he was close enough. His voice trembled despite his effort to keep it steady.

Taehyung’s body stiffened. He turned slowly, his dark eyes meeting Jungkook’s. For a moment, they simply stared at each other—two storms colliding in silence.

“Yes, jungkook?” Taehyung’s tone was cold, professional, stripped of any warmth. He addressed him like a stranger,

Jungkook winced at the tone. His heart begged him to close the distance, to fall on his knees if that’s what it took, but the eyes of others were still on them. He clenched his jaw, forcing a small, broken smile.

“Can we… talk? Privately?” he asked.

Taehyung’s lips curved into a humorless smirk. “Talk? About what, Jeon? Another joke you have prepared for me?”

The words hit Jungkook like a punch to the gut. His throat tightened. He wanted to shout no, to explain, to tell Taehyung that he hadn’t meant it, that he was drowning in regret. But all he could do was whisper, “Please…”

The sincerity in his voice made Taehyung falter for just a second. But then the image of last night—the dinner table, the cruel sentence spilling from Jungkook’s lips—flashed in his mind like fire.

“Professor Kim, we’re needed in the staff room,” one of the other teachers interrupted. Taehyung tore his gaze away, nodded, and turned his back on Jungkook without a single word.

Jungkook stood frozen, his chest burning. It felt worse than being stabbed. Watching Taehyung walk away from him so easily—so coldly—was torture.

---

Later that afternoon

Jungkook found him again near the faculty parking lot. The campus was quieter now, the buzz of students gone. He couldn’t let this chance slip.

“Taehyung,” Jungkook said again, his voice firmer this time.

Taehyung stopped mid-step, his hand tightening around his car keys. “I told you, I don’t want to talk—”

“No, listen!” Jungkook’s voice cracked, desperation leaking through. He stepped closer, his eyes glistening. “I fucked up, Tae. I fucked up so bad. I didn’t mean what I said yesterday—God, I would never mean that. I didn’t know… I didn’t know about your parents. I swear I didn’t.”

Taehyung’s jaw tightened. He turned, eyes cold but trembling. “So what if you didn’t know? Does that excuse the cruelty of your words? Do you even realize how deep that cut, Jungkook? You talk without thinking, and every time you do, it’s me who bleeds for it.”

Jungkook felt the tears pressing against his eyes again, his throat burning. He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a broken whisper. “I know. I know, and I hate myself for it. Tae, I would rather hurt myself a thousand times than hurt you once. But yesterday… I don’t know. I was angry, I was rejected, and I lashed out. That’s not an excuse, I know, but please—please believe me, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Taehyung stared at him, eyes glistening with unshed tears. His heart wanted to believe him. But the wound was too fresh, too raw. He shook his head slowly.

“You always think sorry can fix everything, Jungkook. But sometimes, damage is done. Sometimes, no matter how much you regret it, the words remain. And mine… mine were carved into me long before you ever came into my life.” His voice broke at the end, but he quickly turned away, refusing to let Jungkook see him crumble.

“Tae…” Jungkook reached out, his hand hovering inches away from Taehyung’s arm, desperate to touch him, to ground him. But before he could, Taehyung stepped back.

“Don’t,” Taehyung whispered, almost pleading. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

With that, he got into his car and drove away, leaving Jungkook standing in the empty parking lot, the roar of the engine fading into a suffocating silence.

Jungkook dropped to his knees, hands buried in his hair, the weight of his actions crushing him. For the first time, he realized he wasn’t just afraid of losing Taehyung.
He was already losing him.

To be continued.............