BREAKING BOUNDARIES (An RM Fan-fiction)

Chapter 45

Namjoon has learned to live with rumours.

They trail him everywhere—sticky, shapeless things that grow teeth the moment someone repeats them. He's been trained to ignore them, to smile through interviews, to pretend that words don't bruise. But standing in Brianna's living room, jacket still on, shoes by the door like he might be asked to leave at any second, he realises none of that training prepared him for this.

For the way she won't look at him.

"Say something," Brianna finally says.

Her voice isn't loud. That's what scares him. She's standing near the window, arms folded tight, phone abandoned on the coffee table like evidence. The room smells faintly of the hair cream that she always has on. He notices everything. He always does—especially when he's about to lose something.

"Tell me what you heard," Namjoon replies, sharper than he intends.

She turns then, eyes flashing. "Don't do that. Don't act like you don't already know."

Defensiveness rises in him instinctively, a familiar armour. "I don't," he says. "I know there's always something being said about me. I don't know which version reached you."

She exhales, shaky. "They said you're seeing someone else. That it's serious. That she's from your circle—someone 'safe'."

Each word lands like a blow. Not because it's true, but because he knows exactly how believable it sounds. How easy it is to imagine him replacing her with someone quieter, easier, someone who fits better into the image people have of him.

"That's not true," he says immediately. Too quickly. "Brianna, that's not true."

She laughs, but there's no humour in it. "You say that like it should be enough."

His chest tightens. "Because it is the truth."

Silence stretches between them, thick and suffocating. He runs a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping himself. He doesn't want to look guilty. He doesn't want to look like a man scrambling to control damage.

"I need you to understand something," he says, forcing himself to stay still. "People make up stories about me every day. They attach names, faces, intentions. Half the time I don't even hear about them until they've already spread."

"And I'm just supposed to be okay with that?" she snaps. "I'm supposed to hear it from strangers and not feel like an idiot?"

That hurts. He flinches before he can stop himself.

"I never wanted you to hear it like this," he says, voice cracking despite his effort to keep it even. "I never wanted you to doubt me."

"But I do," she says softly. That's why I never want to be with you."
The words sink deep, past his defences, straight into the space he keeps unguarded only for her.
"And this is probably why you don't push for more from me."

He lets out a breath, long and unsteady. "Do you know how careful I have to be?" he asks, frustration bleeding through now. "With everything I say, everywhere I go, everyone I'm seen with? One photo can ruin you. One headline can turn you into a villain."

"So you protect yourself," Brianna says. "And I'm left unprotected."

He looks at her then—really looks—and the hurt on her face makes his chest ache.

"That's not fair," he says, quieter. "I protect you too. Every time I don't mention you. Every time I walk away first. Every time I pretend we're nothing in public."

Her eyes fill, and she looks away. "But we are nothing and it doesn't feel like protection."

"Whose fault is that? I have been very clear in how I feel about you. How about you?" He is getting thrown in different directions, this whole situation in itself is infuriating.