𝐎𝐦𝐞𝐠𝐚'𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝 [𝗄𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗏]

Chapter Twenty Three

~~~

Jeongguk exhaled deeply, gripping the steering wheel as he parked his car in front of the house, The car that Taehyung send for him hours ago.

The moment he shut off the engine, his heart started hammering in his chest. He wasn't even inside yet, but his body—his wolf—felt like it already was.

A strange, intoxicating scent lingered in the air, thick and sweet, curling around him like invisible hands pulling him forward. His jaw clenched as his fingers tightened around the door handle.

His breathing was uneven.

He didn't understand it.

He had smelled Taehyung before—many times. He knew Taehyung's scent better than his own. It was comforting, familiar, something that had always wrapped around him like a shield, keeping him grounded.

But this?

This was different.

This was calling him.

His wolf, Justin, stirred restlessly in his mind, growling low, pacing like a caged beast.

"Go inside please" Justin pleaded, for the first time.

Jeongguk swallowed hard, stepping out of the car and slamming the door shut behind him. He didn't bother grabbing his bags—his feet moved on their own, each step heavier, as if the ground was pulling him closer.

And then—

The door didn't open.

Jeongguk blinked.

He tried the handle again. Locked.

His brows furrowed. Taehyung never locked his door when he knew Jeongguk was coming, "why he locked the door?"

Without hesitation, he raised his fist and knocked hard. "Hyung?" His voice was steady, but his pulse wasn't. "I'm here. Open up."

Silence.

Then, after a long momen "Go home, Jeongguk." Jeongguk's eyes narrowed. He knew that voice.

"Jimin Hyung?"

A deep sigh came from the other side of the door. "Yeah, it's me."

Jeongguk stared at the closed entrance, his frustration growing. "Why the hell are you answering? Where's Hyung?"

Another pause. Then, Jimin spoke, careful and slow. "He's... busy."

Busy? Busy? After twenty-one months of being apart? After waiting, after missing him—after feeling like something was missing—he was suddenly too busy to see him?

Jeongguk scoffed. "Busy? I just got back after nearly two years, and he's 'busy'?"

Jimin didn't answer.

That was Jeongguk's first mistake—he didn't take silence well.

His second mistake?

Letting his wolf take over.

Because Justin was done waiting.

A low growl rumbled in Jeongguk's throat, unbidden, a deep and warning sound that didn't belong to just him. "Open the door, Jimin," he said, voice dropping an octave.

"I can't." Jimin's voice was barely heard.

Jeongguk clenched his jaw. "Why?"

Another silence.

That was it.

Jimin didn't answer.

That was the last straw.