Love Again

3

Taehyung sat in the recording studio, surrounded by the hum of music and voices, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. His fingers absentmindedly traced over the screen of his phone, where his wallpaper-a photo of him and Seokjin from a vacation in Hawaii years ago-stared back at him. In the photo, they were laughing, caught mid-laughter under the sunset. Taehyung remembered how carefree and happy they had been then, how the world felt so much brighter with Seokjin by his side.

A lump formed in his throat as his eyes welled up with tears. He blinked rapidly, but the tears spilled over anyway. He let out a shaky breath, feeling the familiar ache in his chest. He missed Seokjin so much that it physically hurt. It felt like he couldn't breathe without him, and the weight of everything he had done pressed down on him like a crushing force.

Taehyung wiped his face with the back of his hand, but the tears wouldn't stop. He knew he had messed up. He knew he was wrong. The guilt was suffocating, and no matter how much he tried to justify his actions, deep down, he knew there was no excuse for what he had done. He had betrayed Seokjin in the worst possible way, and now, he didn't even know if he could ever get him back.

His mind drifted back to how it had all started-a year ago, when Seokjin was filming a movie in Japan. The project had kept Seokjin away for about six months, and during that time, Taehyung had been lonely. He had missed Seokjin terribly, but he had kept himself busy with his own work. One of those projects had been a collaboration with Lisa, the famous singer and a long-time friend of Taehyung's.

At first, everything had been normal-just work, a lot of long days in the studio, and late-night creative sessions. But through Lisa, Taehyung had been introduced to Jennie, one of her closest friends. Jennie was also a singer, well-known and charismatic, and they had hit it off quickly. What had started as casual meetups between friends had eventually evolved into something more.

The first time it happened, Taehyung had been drinking. He had been missing Seokjin, and Jennie had been there, comforting him, listening to his frustrations. One thing had led to another, and before he knew it, they had crossed a line. It was supposed to be a one-time thing, a mistake that he would never repeat.

But it hadn't stopped there.

Over time, their secret encounters had become more frequent, and though Taehyung knew Jennie had started to develop feelings for him, he had never intended for it to go anywhere. To him, it was just a distraction-something to fill the void while Seokjin wasn't around. He had convinced himself that he could stop at any time, that it was just physical, and that it didn't mean anything.

But deep down, he knew better.

There was something about Jennie that he couldn't deny, something about the way she made him feel when they were together. Maybe it was because she was a woman, and Taehyung, being bisexual, had always been drawn to both men and women. He had been with Seokjin for five years, and while he loved him more than anything, there had been a part of him that had craved something different. He had thought a change might be fun, that it would be harmless.

How wrong he had been.

Now, sitting here in the studio, staring at that photo of Seokjin, Taehyung realized just how much he regretted everything. The truth was, no matter how much he had tried to convince himself otherwise, he preferred Seokjin. He loved Seokjin, deeply and completely. Jennie had been a distraction, a mistake, and now he was paying the price for it.

Taehyung wiped his face again, his chest tight with regret. He had thought he could have both-a casual fling with Jennie and the deep, lasting love with Seokjin-but he had been a fool. He had jeopardized the one thing that mattered most to him, and now, Seokjin was gone.