BETWEENUS//taekook//vkook // Yoonmin

PART 28

In the middle of the night, Taehyung can't sleep. He flips through his notebook, the pages filled with memories and thoughts, until he stumbles upon a familiar phone number he has long deleted from his phone. A mix of nostalgia and curiosity washes over him.

After a moment of hesitation, he decides to call it.

He presses the dial button, his heart racing as the phone rings.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

No answer.

He sighs, feeling a twinge of disappointment. Just as he is about to hang up, he decides to try one more time.

On the fourth ring, he hears a click, and a voice comes through, slightly groggy.

"Hello?"

Taehyung's breath catches in his throat. "Is this... is this you?"

There is a pause on the other end, and he can almost hear the gears turning in the person's mind.

"Who is this?"

"It's Taehyung," he replies, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know it’s been a while."

The silence stretches between them, heavy with unspoken words and memories.

The voice on the other end is laced with a mix of annoyance and hurt. "What do you want, Taehyung? You refuse to marry me, and now you're calling me in the middle of the night?"

Taehyung feels a pang of regret at the reminder of their past. "Stop joking. I have a job for you. By the way, where are you? It's been a while."

There is a brief pause before the person replies, their tone sharper now. "Well, I go out of the country since you refuse to marry me."

Taehyung runs a hand through his hair, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. "I didn’t call to discuss that. I need your help with something important. Can we put the past aside for just a moment?"

The other person sighs, the tension palpable even through the phone. "What is it, Taehyung? You know I’m not just going to drop everything for you after how things end."

"I know," he says, his voice softening. "But this is serious. I wouldn’t reach out if it wasn’t. Can we at least talk about it?"

There is another pause, and Taehyung can almost hear the wheels turning in their mind. Finally, they reply, "Fine. What do you need?"

The person sighs, clearly wanting to end the conversation. "Now tell me the job; I need to go back to sleep."

Taehyung presses on, "But you didn’t tell me where you are."

"I'm in New Zealand, but I’ll be back in South Korea soon," the person replies, impatience creeping into his voice.

Taehyung takes a deep breath, urgency in his tone. "The job is... okay, there’s someone who’s trying to come between me and Jungkook. He wants to separate us. I need you to come and keep him away from Jungkook."

Silence hangs in the air for a moment, the weight of his request settling between them.

---

"Shit, here we go again," the person on the other call mutters, shaking his head in disbelief. "You really think I can just drop everything and fly halfway across the world?"

Taehyung's voice is steady, but there is an edge of desperation. "I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t serious. This guy is relentless, and Jungkook doesn’t see it coming. I need you to help me."