SECOND CHANCE (TAEKOOK)

Realization

Taehyung felt like he was running away from his own shattered heart, his feet carrying him to roam around the park in a desperate rush. The air was crisp and cold, biting at his cheeks as he stumbled onto the familiar path. He knows why he ended up here, of all places. Maybe it was because it was empty, like the emptiness that stretched inside him. Or maybe it was because it was the last place he remembered feeling anything other than complete and utter despair.  

As he reached the center of the park, his breath came out in ragged gasps, the weight of everything crashing down all at once. His vision blurred with tears that stung his eyes, but through the haze, he noticed a figure sitting on one of the benches, Jungkook.

Jungkook's head was bowed, his hands clasped together tightly as if he was holding on to something fragile. The sight of him there, looking so lost and alone, stirred something inside Taehyung, a familiar ache. But that ache quickly twisted into frustration and anger. Seeing Jungkook sitting there, like a reminder of all the things Taehyung couldn't fix in his life, was too much. He felt the words bubbling up before he could stop them.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Taehyung spat, his voice trembling with a mixture of emotions he couldn't name.

Jungkook looked up, startled. His eyes widened for a second before narrowing slightly. "I could ask you the same thing," he replied quietly, his tone flat. "I'm just…. trying to clear my head."

"Clear your head, huh?" Taehyung scoffed, his voice rising. "Of course, that's all you ever do, isn't it? Sit there, acting all hurt and quiet, waiting for me to come around. Well, newsflash, Jungkook, I'm tired of it. I'm tired of you."

Jungkook's expression hardened, his jaw tightening as he rose to his feet. "You're tired of me?" he repeated, his voice strained. "What exactly did I do, Taehyung? Because last time I checked, I was the one who was always there for you. I'm the one you keep pushing away."

"Don't act like some kind of saint." Taehyung shouted, the words spilling out like venom. "You've been trying to force this…. this bond on me from the start, like it was supposed to fix everything! You never stopped to think that maybe I didn't want it. That maybe I don't want you."

The look on Jungkook's face was one Taehyung had never seen before. It wasn't just hurt, it was devastation. "You don't mean that," Jungkook whispered, his voice cracking slightly.

Taehyung's chest tightened painfully, his anger faltering as guilt clawed at him, but he didn't know how to stop. He was too raw, too broken to think straight. "Why wouldn't I mean it?" he shot back, his voice shaking. "Everything started going wrong the moment you came into my life. All this talk about fated mates, as if it was supposed to make everything magically fall into place. It was all a lie."

Jungkook flinched at his words, and the silence that followed was so heavy it felt suffocating. "You think I wanted this to happen?" Jungkook said finally, his voice quiet but filled with a quiet desperation. "You think I wanted to feel this way about someone who doesn't give a damn about me?"

Taehyung took a step back, startled by the raw emotion in Jungkook's voice. "Jungkook, I…."

"No, it's fine," Jungkook interrupted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I get it. You're never going to see me the way I see you. You're never going to feel what I feel." His eyes, usually so bright, looked dull and defeated. "I'm done trying."

The finality in Jungkook's voice cut through Taehyung like a knife. He watched, frozen, as Jungkook turned on his heel and started to walk away, his shoulders hunched as though he was carrying the weight of the world. Taehyung wanted to call out, to stop him, to say something, anything that could take back the hurtful words he'd thrown at him, but his voice wouldn't come. All he could do was watch as Jungkook disappeared into the night, leaving Taehyung standing there, alone. 

..........

The days that followed felt like a blur. Taehyung moved through them in a fog, each hour dragging painfully on without purpose. He found himself wandering the campus aimlessly, his gaze always searching, though he wasn't sure what for. He hadn't seen Jungkook since that night in the park, and the emptiness that filled the space where Jungkook's presence used to be was more suffocating than Taehyung had imagined.

It was like the world had become duller, the colors less vibrant. No more random texts from Jungkook, no more quiet moments spent together even in silence. It was as if a piece of his life had just…. vanished. And Taehyung started to wonder if he had been too blind to see the one person who had truly cared for him all along.

He found himself thinking back to Jungkook's face that night, the look of complete and utter devastation. The thought made his chest tighten with something he didn't want to acknowledge, regret.

..........

It wasn't long before Jimin noticed Taehyung's absence from his usual cheerful self. The two of them were sitting together in the cafeteria, but Taehyung barely touched his food, his gaze distant.

"Hey," Jimin said softly, nudging Taehyung with his elbow. "What's going on with you lately? You've been acting strange…. distant."

Taehyung flinched at the concern in Jimin's voice. He hesitated, staring down at the table as if it could give him the answers he was looking for. "I…. I've just had a lot on my mind," he admitted quietly. "I need to tell you something."

Jimin's eyebrows furrowed in worry. "What is it?"

Taehyung took a deep breath, forcing the words out. "That night…. I came by your apartment. I was going to confess to you, Jimin. I've had feelings for you for a long time," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "But then I got to know about you and Yoongi hyung. I saw how you looked at each other, and I just…. I realized that I'd lost before I even had a chance."

(A/n: Don't worry guys Taehyung did not tell Jimin that he saw them sll naked in an intimate condition.)

Jimin's eyes widened with surprise, but there was no anger or awkwardness in his gaze, only sympathy. "Tae…. I didn't know. If I had known, I never would've kept you in the dark."

Taehyung swallowed hard, feeling a lump form in his throat. "You're with Yoongi hyung because…. you're fated mates, right?" He could barely bring himself to say the words.

Jimin nodded, his expression softening. "Yeah, we are. I'm sorry, Tae. I know this must hurt, but I want you to understand…. even if we weren't fated mates, I don't think I would have felt the same way about you." His voice was gentle but firm, the truth delivered with kindness.

Taehyung felt his heart sink, but he forced himself to nod. "I get it," he whispered, his voice hollow.

Jimin reached across the table to place a comforting hand over Taehyung's. "You deserve to find someone who sees you the way you see them," he said softly. "Maybe it's time to let go, Tae. You can't keep holding onto something that isn't yours. Its only going to keep hurting you."

The words hit deeper than Taehyung expected, like a harsh truth he'd been refusing to see. Let go. How could he, when all this time, he'd been chasing after love that was never meant for him? And in doing so, had he pushed away the one person who might have been willing to give it to him?

Jungkook's absence was now more glaring than ever. It was only after he'd driven Jungkook away that Taehyung realized how much he had come to rely on him. He'd taken Jungkook for granted, hurt him over and over again. Now, he was left with nothing but the echoes of his mistakes.

And for the first time, Taehyung couldn't ignore the ache of loss that came not from Jimin's rejection, but from the thought of a world without Jungkook in it.

I hope you liked this chapter.