It was a brisk autumn evening when Jennie closed the door behind her. The finality of the latch felt like a knife twist in her chest.
Seven years - seven whole years of shared memories, laughter, and love, undone in a moment.
She leaned her forehead against the cold surface of the door, wondering how something so perfect could fall apart.
On the other side, Taehyung stood still, listening to the sound of her footsteps growing distant. His heart clenched.
He wanted to chase after her, but something in him broke, the way trust sometimes does. He sank onto the couch, staring at the empty spaces she used to fill, his thoughts spiraling back to the night everything shattered.
It had been a fight, the worst they'd ever had. Jennie had found out about a lie, not one of those easily forgivable ones. Taehyung had hidden something significant - an opportunity to move abroad for his career, an offer he had declined without telling her.
His reason was simple: he didn't want to leave Jennie behind. But for Jennie, it felt like a betrayal, not because he turned it down, but because he hadn't included her in the decision.
"You don't trust me enough to make decisions together," she had said, her voice trembling with disbelief. "You just took the choice away from me, Taehyung. How can we build a life like this?"
They both said things they regretted that night, and in the aftermath, neither of them knew how to piece it back together. They tried for a while, the lingering love between them too powerful to give up on.
But some fractures go too deep, and eventually, they broke up - a clean, quiet end, with promises to stay friends.
They never spoke again.
Five years passed, and life moved on. Jennie built a career in fashion, becoming the creative director of a boutique label. She traveled, met new people, and threw herself into her work.
Every so often, Taehyung's name would pop up in conversations, whispers of his flourishing career as a photographer and artist. She would smile politely, offering no hint of the past they shared.
Taehyung had become a name in his own right, traveling the world for exhibitions. He too had moved on, or so he told himself.
But no matter how far he went, there was always a part of him that wondered how Jennie was doing, what her life had become.
Their paths remained separate until one fateful day - a wedding invitation from their mutual friend, Jisoo.
The day of the wedding arrived, and Jennie felt a flutter of nervousness. It was odd, the idea of seeing Taehyung after so many years.
She had practiced being indifferent, had told herself that it wouldn't matter. But as she stood in front of the mirror, adjusting her pale blue dress, a thousand questions buzzed in her mind. Would he be there? How would it feel to see him again?
The ceremony was beautiful, filled with soft laughter and the glistening eyes of those in love. Jennie took her seat, her eyes scanning the crowd out of habit. And then, she saw him.
Taehyung stood near the entrance, looking effortlessly handsome in a tailored black suit, his hair slightly tousled.
He looked the same yet different - more mature, more grounded. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, and Jennie felt her heart stutter in her chest. She quickly turned away, pretending to focus on the vows, but the words barely registered.
Taehyung had noticed her the moment he walked in. How could he not? She still had that same magnetic energy, the one that used to pull him in without fail.
