Fight the Alchemy || KTH FF

Illicit Cravings

˚ʚ Taehyung ɞ˚

I leaned against the cold metal railing of the balcony of my penthouse, the chill biting through my sweatshirt, but I barely noticed it. The expansive view of  the skyline stretched out behind me like it always did.





Just lights and buildings.





Nothing to  distract me from what my mind stubbornly fixated on—what it had no business fixating on.

The screen's soft glow exposed the pictures I had almost deleted, only to falter at the last moment. 





Zooming in. Slowly. On her.






My thumb hovered over the image, inspecting every damn detail like I was some kind of art critic.





Without pausing, I zoomed in on another photo, finding her lips first—strawberry red, like she'd bitten into one right before the photo was taken. Soft, ripe and achingly lush.





I ran my tongue over my own dry lips, trying to soothe the dryness in my throat, but it was futile.





 Ever heard the saying "Revealing your rarest treasure to a friend is like handing them the dagger of betrayal"? Yoongi Hyung's lapse in judgment was showcasing her to me long before they were even married, and now I'm left wrestling with thoughts I never should have entertained. 

My gaze drifted down to the dress she wore....





God, that dress, that damn dress looked like it was stitched right out of my fantasies, clinging in all the right places, leaving just enough to make me lose my mind. 





The fabric shimmered under the lights at the gala, highlighting the curve of her waist, her exposed neck.





And those pearls... diamonds... whatever they were. Sinful.





Almost as Sinful as her skin, where her collarbone peeked through.





My eyes had lingered there too long that night. Way too long and she had no idea.





I clenched the phone tighter, jaw locking as the memory of that night played back in my head like some shitty movie I couldn't turn off.





I knew better. I should've kept my distance, stayed the hell away. But no. Like a stubborn bastard I decided to test myself, see if I still had a shred of dignity left. I even had the nerve to come up with a set of imaginary rules to not completely loose myself in the moment.

But the moment I was exposed to her radar, I knew I was done for.





Her eyes found mine for a split second as she casually nudged Yoongi Hyung, that tiny moment was all it took for my pulse to spike, and my so-called rules. The ones I'd been so smug about following, crumbled to dust.

My eyes almost fluttered shut the instant her scent hit me. Jesus, that scent - fruity, floral, and undeniably her - wrapped around me like a fucking ambush.





And Of course, I was convinced that acknowledging her was off the table. But who was I kidding? My own eyes betrayed me with a glance.





And then another. Because apparently, self-restraint is just a theory I've heard of but never practiced.

Before I knew it, my fingers were gripping the edge of the table I was leaning on. Tight. Too tight.





The impulse to bolt from the scene and escape her presence hit me with the speed of a freight train. Probably much faster than my brilliant idea of approaching the table on the first place.





"Got a minute?" I had blurted out to Yoongi hyung, almost afraid of how obvious I was being.





Coward. My insides screamed. Because I knew what it meant to leave her alone in that crowd. I had noticed how she felt when she was left behind. The raw panic and hurt that flared in her eyes the moment Yoongi hyung stood up confirmed it. 

Yet I did it anyway. Clearly, my decency had gone on a long, overdue vacation.





I sighed, sinking deeper against the rail, the metal digging into my skin. A painful reminder of my own irrationality. I shut my eyes, trying to drown out the throbbing in my head, as if focusing on the physical pain could somehow erase the mental one.





This was beyond pathetic. I knew it.





But I couldn't stop. Every image of her hit harder than the last. Like I was willingly getting punched in the chest, over and over, and for what?





Someone who clearly off-limits and practically married to my closest friend.

But here I am. Circling back on her like some lovesick fool, obsessing over a woman I have no right to. Not morally. Not ethically. Not in any universe that makes sense





But deep down, I knew. No matter how much I wanted to, I wasn't going to follow this twisted desire and ruin every shred of sanity left in my life. The fleeting fantasy of having her just once isn't worth the destruction it'll bring - the guilt, the regret, the wreckage of friendships I can't afford to lose. It's not like I love her. Hell, I don't even like her, not in the way that mattered. This was nothing more than a twisted, selfish craving. A reckless urge to taste something illicit.

With a sharp intake of breath, I rested both of my elbows on the rail, tipping my head back, letting the gentle breeze of the night air tousle my hair and nip the exposed skin of my neck. The cold was Uplifting, almost numbing, and it somehow managed to cut through the fog in my head.





I opened my eyes slowly, staring up at the dark sky above, trying to focus on the barely visible stars against the backdrop of the city lights.





The phone in my hand now heavy and locked. A pointless weight I barely registered.

— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ —

Dear Readers!💌



I'm excited to hear your thoughts on this chapter! Tae's POV is making its debut, and I'm curious  to know what you think of his inner musings and how they might shift your perception of his character.✨



Feel free to share your reactions and any insights you have. Your feedback means a lot to me!

On the other note, Also, if you have any suggestions or spot any plot holes, I'd love to hear about them as well.



Thanks for reading and for your continued support! 💜

~Glyndon Rivers🎀