𝐎𝐦𝐞𝐠𝐚'𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝 [𝗄𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗏]

Chapter Thirty Four

~~~

A week had passed.

The tension within the pack had simmered, but it hadn't disappeared. It lingered like an unspoken threat, a storm that had yet to break.

The pack was waiting.

Waiting for an answer.

But Jeongguk and Taehyung had yet to give them one.

The separation between them had become more than just physical distance—it was a chasm neither had tried to cross.

Jeongguk had been staying at their house alone,
Taehyung, on the other hand, remained at the packhouse, keeping himself at a careful distance.

A sharp knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.

Jeongguk frowned, pushing himself up from the couch, stretching out the stiffness in his shoulders. He hadn't been expecting anyone.

When he opened the door, he found Mingyu and Jaehyun standing there.

Their usual easy-going expressions were gone.

Instead, they looked serious.

Jeongguk leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he took in Mingyu and Jaehyun's serious expressions. Their usual relaxed demeanor was absent, replaced with something heavier, something urgent.

"What?" Jeongguk asked, already feeling the weight of whatever they were about to say.

Jaehyun hesitated, glancing at Mingyu before exhaling sharply. "We found out who spread the rumors," he said, voice tight.

Jeongguk's jaw clenched. He had been expecting this, waiting for the truth to come to light. But now that it was here, he felt something dark coil inside him, something dangerously close to anger. "Who?"

Mingyu's gaze was steady, unwavering. "Soojin."

Jeongguk's hands curled into fists at his sides. The name alone was enough to send a bitter taste to his tongue. "Soojin?" he repeated, voice sharp with disbelief. "How the hell would she even know?"

Jaehyun shifted uncomfortably. "She overheard you and Jimin talking. That day at the training grounds."

Jeongguk's brows furrowed, his mind racing back to that moment. He remembered talking to Jimin, their conversation private but not careful enough. His anger flared hotter. "And she told the whole pack?"

"No," Mingyu corrected. "She told Siyeon."

Jeongguk froze.

Siyeon.

The name struck a different kind of nerve. His ex. The one who had once Jeongguk was dating, but never in the way she wanted. The one he had used to suppress feelings he hadn't understood back then.

His head snapped toward Mingyu. "She spread it?"

Mingyu nodded. "She didn't just spread it—she made it worse. She twisted it to cause doubt, to turn the pack against you both."

A heavy silence settled between them.

Jeongguk exhaled through his nose, forcing himself to think instead of react. His temper was a dangerous thing. He had spent years learning to control it, but this—this made his blood boil.

Jaehyun, who had been silent for too long, finally spoke, his voice laced with guilt. "This is my fault."

Jeongguk's gaze snapped to him. "What?"

Jaehyun clenched his jaw, looking away as if ashamed. "I was the one who brought Soojin here. I thought—" He cut himself off, inhaling sharply before forcing himself to continue. "I thought maybe she was your mate."