IN THE PRESENCE OF YOUR ABSENCE

CHAPTER 26

Y/N sat in the balcony, her knees pulled up to her chest as the cold wind brushed against her skin. The city lights flickered in the distance, and the sound of rain was a soft backdrop to the chaos in her mind. She held her phone tightly in her hand, staring at the blank screen.

Her thoughts raced. She knew that the moment she turned it on, messages from Taehyung would flood in. Worry, panic, maybe even anger. But more than that, Y/N wasn't sure she was ready to face what was waiting on the other side. Turning her phone back on meant stepping back into the storm she had walked away from.

She exhaled slowly, her thumb hovering over the power button. "Do I really want to know what's waiting for me?" she whispered to herself, the weight of her own voice surprising her.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she thought of Taehyung. His frantic calls before she left still echoed in her mind, but it was the feeling of betrayal—something deeper, something she couldn't quite place—that made her hesitate. And then there was Jungwoon, who somehow seemed to have all the answers she wasn't asking.

"Why does everything feel so wrong?" Y/N muttered under her breath, her grip on the phone tightening. She closed her eyes, feeling the cold air wash over her.

Eventually, with a deep breath, she pressed the power button, watching the screen come to life. The familiar hum of notifications immediately filled the quiet air, and her heart raced.

One after another, messages flooded in—most of them from Taehyung, and a few from Jimin.

Taehyung's messages came first:

Taehyung (11:45 PM):
"Y/N, where are you?"

Taehyung (11:47 PM):
"Please come back. Let's talk. You're scaring me."

Taehyung (12:02 AM):
"I don't understand. Why are you doing this?"

Taehyung (12:30 AM):
"Just tell me where you are. I'll come to you. We can figure this out together."

Taehyung (1:15 AM):
"Y/N... I love you. Don't do this to us."

As she scrolled further down, the messages became more frantic, more desperate.

Taehyung (2:05 AM):
"I'm sorry if I did something wrong. Just tell me what you need me to do."

Taehyung (3:22 AM):
"I'm begging you... please don't leave me like this."

Y/N's chest tightened as she read his words. She could feel his panic through every line, but the more she read, the heavier the pit in her stomach grew. Something in her had shifted after everything that happened, and no amount of messages could pull her back to that place.

Then came Jimin's messages, fewer but much more cryptic.

Jimin (12:55 AM):
"Taehyung told me you left. Call him."

Jimin (1:10 AM):
"Don't let things spiral out of control, Y/N. Come back before it's too late."

The next message sent a chill down her spine.

Jimin (2:45 AM):
"You're digging where you shouldn't. Stop while you still can."

Her hands trembled as she scrolled through the last of Jimin's texts.

Jimin (3:00 AM):
"You won't like what you find if you keep pushing. Stay out of it."

Y/N's mind raced. What did Jimin mean by that? Why were they both so desperate to keep her close, to keep her from asking questions?