Midas Touch ➸ Taekook

- Forty-seventh -

The silence hung like a leaden blanket. The flickering light from the lamps cast dancing shadows on the walls, but nothing escaped the sharp eyes of the assassins watching the scene. Every muscle tensed, every breath held, as if a single movement could shatter the precarious balance.

At the centre of it all, Taehyung held the vial between his fingers. The liquid inside seemed to capture and reflect light, hypnotic, almost supernatural. But Taehyung could see none of this. His eyes were fixed on those of Jungkook.

Jungkook's expression was not what he would have expected. Behind the tension in his face, behind his clenched fists, there was a glint that chilled Taehyung to the core. No confidence. No assurance. Just cold, almost painful questioning. The kind of look that betrayed an irreparable flaw.

Taehyung felt his heart tremble, but his mask of impassivity remained intact. All around him, the murmurs died away, replaced by the muffled sound of his own heartbeat. Alexandre, a few steps away, seemed ready to pounce, his gaze trained on the vial. Bella, still as a statue, watched the scene with icy intensity. She realised that her life was now in the hands of the person she hated most in the world.

But for Taehyung, everything came down to that silent exchange with Jungkook. Uncertainty reigned in his gaze. The Cajun's eyes were a reflection of his own emotions. If he hadn't doubted Jungkook's sincerity so much, perhaps today the man wouldn't be so afraid of what he might do with that vial.

They had formed a certain alliance: the X-Men were helping them to recover the potion, Bella was drinking it, and the whole thing was behind them. But just as Taehyung hadn't completely trusted Jungkook after the mutant traffic incident, Jungkook doubted him now.

After all, what interest would he have in saving Bella? Absolutely none.

Honestly, Taehyung never thought that seeing this lack of trust would be so painful. There was no point in loving each other if you couldn't rely on each other.

A sad smile played across the X-Man's lips, and he nonchalantly shook the vial in front of Jungkook's eyes.

"I just have one question." he said to him.

He didn't get a verbal response, but he knew he had his full attention. So he continued.

"Are you prepared to do anything to save her?"

This question surprised Jungkook, who widened his eyes slightly. In fact, even Taehyung surprised himself. It was perfidious to ask such a thing. But he needed it. He needed to let the bitterness in his heart speak for itself.

"If you get that potion back, Jungkook, I'm leaving. We'll go our separate ways again."

"Are you asking me to choose between you and my guilt?"

No, between me and her.

Taehyung said nothing. He just showed him the vial.

"Taehyung, give her this vial and let's start again, you and me."

"Is that your answer?"

The two men stared at each other for a moment, until Taehyung felt tears forming at the corners of his eyelids. He swallowed hard, then suddenly threw the vial, which landed in Bella's hands, untouched.

"You've made your choice. Again."

"Tae..."

"Be happy together."

***

The room was plunged into semi-darkness, lit only by the golden glow of a flickering lamp. The flat still bore the marks of the Cajun's rather too drunken evenings. And at the centre of it all, Jungkook, crouched beside his half-filled bag, was still stuffing a few crumpled items of clothing into it. His hands went to and fro, methodically gathering up the few possessions he'd accumulated. There was nothing to betray the restlessness in him, apart from his slightly too dry, too quick movements.

The familiar sound of a door opening softly behind him drew him from his task for a moment. He didn't turn round. He didn't need to. He knew who it was.

"What do you want?"

Bella entered without waiting for an invitation, closing the door with calculated care, as if she was afraid of upsetting the fragile balance that prevailed. Her shadow appeared on the wall, motionless, almost hesitant. But her voice, when she spoke, left no room for doubt.

"They've recognised me as their new leader. The guild is united again." Her voice was low, but imbued with a mixture of triumph and weariness. "Alexandre has disappeared. And so has the Walker."

Jungkook nodded without even looking up, concentrating on the bag in front of him. A waistcoat, a new pack of cards, an old watch he'd found by chance. His world reduced to essentials.

"Good." The word was short, sharp, devoid of warmth or comfort.

Bella took a step forward, crossing an invisible boundary. She was looking at him, but he wasn't looking back. She saw him tense, but resolute. And that hurt more than anything else.

"Are you really planning to leave?" This time, her voice had lost its certainty.

Jungkook stopped for a moment, holding an old pair of gloves between his fingers. He sighed slightly, almost imperceptibly, before putting them back in the bag.

"Yes."

There was a heavy silence. Bella crossed her arms, a gesture of defence rather than authority. She moved closer, as if physical proximity could bridge the gap that had opened up between them.

"Did you drink the potion?"

"Yes. I'm alive again, ready to start my life again."

Her attempt to divert the conversation was not insignificant. She was trying to get his attention back to her, to what they had been through together. On a future they could plan together.

This time, Jungkook looked up, but his gaze was distant, almost absent. Then he went back to his work, adjusting a strap on his bag.

Bella clenched her fists. Her lips trembled slightly before she decided to speak, in a firmer, almost desperate voice.

"I love you, Jungkook. I don't want you to go. We could try, you know. Fix what we had. Life gave us a second chance, why waste it?"

Her words hung in the air, but Jungkook didn't stop. Not yet. When he finally raised his head, his eyes burned with a cold intensity, as sharp as a shard of glass.

"Fix what, Bella?" he asked, with a touch of bitterness. "We never had anything. Our marriage was a sham. It lasted a day. It wasn't real, and you know it."

"It was for me."

"And look where it got us."

Bella wavered under the weight of his words, but Jungkook didn't stop there. His voice was calm, almost monotone, but each word struck like a sharp blade.

"And today, once again, I sacrificed my relationship with Taehyung to save you. To repay that damn debt I owed you. I did it, Bella. But it's over now. I've got nothing left to give you."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he raised his hand, cutting her off before she could say anything.

"What I want now is to make up for my mistakes. To get back to Taehyung, to prove to him that I'm still worthy of him, if that's even possible. So you'd better forget about me."

Bella froze, as if petrified by his words. Her breath was short, her shoulders slumped. She knew that Jungkook wasn't lying. He was sincere, and that sincerity devastated her.

Jungkook buckled his bag and stood up, swinging it over his shoulder. He gave her one last look, but it wasn't a promise or a romantic farewell. It was a final, detached look.

Without another word, he left the room, leaving Bella alone in the half-light. The silence that followed was more crushing than ever, a cruel reminder of what had just been broken for good.

~🌻~

We (finally) finished this arc! Stay tunned for the next one!💕