Crimson Threads

12

Author's POV: -

Days passed in a haze of uncertainty for both Y/N and Taehyung. She'd grown quieter, her messages becoming shorter, her replies slower. The video call had left her with a sense of disillusionment she couldn't shake. As she lay in bed, scrolling through the long thread of messages, she could still see the image of Taehyung's face on that call, a faint grin on his lips, a cigarette lazily balanced between his fingers. For a second, she had felt like she was peering into a part of him she didn't recognize, or maybe didn't want to.

And Taehyung? He felt her slipping away, and the thought haunted him. He tried not to think too much about that video call, about the expression on her face when she had seen him smoking. But now he wondered if that was the moment he'd lost her. Frustrated and restless, he sent her message after message. When she didn't respond from his own account, he borrowed his friends' phones, typing out plea after plea. Each unanswered text felt like a drop of water hitting stone, slowly wearing away his patience but deepening his desperation.

One night, his words came across Y/N's screen once again, this time from yet another unknown number.

Unknown: "Y/N, please. Just tell me what's wrong. I can't sleep. I keep thinking about you. Talk to me."

The desperation in his message weighed on her. She wanted to brush it off, to ignore it and move on, but something in his words made her hesitate. Finally, she responded, fingers trembling slightly.

Y/N :"Taehyung, this has to stop. You're messaging me from all these different accounts—it's overwhelming. I feel like... I don't know if this is even right anymore."

The response came almost immediately, and she could practically feel his frustration through the screen.

Unknown: "Why? I don't get it. I thought we meant something to each other. I thought you understood me."

His words tugged at her heart, but she had to stay firm. The image of him with that cigarette flashed through her mind again, and she took a shaky breath before typing.

Y/N: "Taehyung, seeing you smoking like that—it shocked me. It's not what I expected, and it made me wonder if maybe we're just too different."

For a few long moments, her phone stayed silent. Then, slowly, his reply appeared.

Unknown: "I'm not perfect, Y/N. I know that. But I care about you, a lot. Isn't that worth something? I don't want to lose you."

She closed her eyes, the sincerity in his message making her heart twist. The vulnerability he was showing was real, and she felt torn. She knew he was right—he wasn't perfect. But was she being unfair to judge him on things like this?

Y/N: "Maybe caring isn't enough, Taehyung. I can't just ignore these things. I don't know if I'm strong enough to accept you for who you are, especially when I barely know you."

His next response took a little longer, and she could sense the hurt beneath his words.

Unknown: "If you don't want this, then tell me to stop, and I will. But I thought we had something real. I want to be with you, Y/N... can't you give me a chance?"

Her resolve faltered. For a moment, she almost typed something hopeful, something to reassure him. But then she remembered Hwan's warnings, the caution in his voice each time he'd told her to be careful. Was Hwan right all along? Had she gotten caught up in something she wasn't ready for?

Y/N: "Taehyung, I just... I don't know. I need time to think."

As she sent the message, a pang of guilt hit her. She could imagine Taehyung staring at his phone, maybe even feeling a bit lost, like she was, just in a different way. The two of them were so similar in some ways, both shy and careful, yet here they were, on opposite sides of an invisible line that neither of them knew how to cross.

For the next few days, the silence between them grew heavier, but Taehyung didn't stop trying. Every night, another message would appear, each one shorter, more hesitant. She could feel him slipping away, his words becoming quieter, and, though she'd wanted space, she realized that his absence left a hollow feeling in her chest.

For Taehyung, those days were agony. He checked his phone every few minutes, hoping to see her name light up his screen. He'd never felt so exposed, so utterly at a loss. Y/N was like a safe place he never thought he'd find, and now, he couldn't seem to get close enough to her to explain himself.