Forbidden Threads Of Fate | TaeKook

42

“Tae, me and mom are heading out to buy some groceries,” Jimin called out as he grabbed his shoes.
“Here, take the key and lock the doors when you head out to meet Namjoon.”

Taehyung caught the key as Jimin tossed it to him.
“Okay,” he replied softly.

As soon as Jimin and his mother left the house, silence crept in—thick and unsettling.
From the shadows beyond the gate, someone had been watching them… waiting.

Taehyung got up from the bed and walked toward his closet, ready to change into something more presentable. But the moment his hand touched his shirt, he paused.

He felt it.

A presence behind him.

His body reacted on instinct—spinning around swiftly, muscles tense in a defensive stance. But the moment he saw who it was, his posture faltered.

“Hyung…” he breathed out in relief, heart slowing down.

Namjoon stood there.

But something was wrong.

Namjoon’s eyes were bloodshot—either from crying or drinking—and his face was twisted in barely contained rage. His knuckles were white, fists clenched at his sides.

“I was actually coming to meet you…” Taehyung mumbled, cautiously scanning his hyung’s face.
“I wanted to talk about the engagement—”

Namjoon cut him off, voice sharp and slurred like venom on ice.
“Oh? You wanted to talk? That’s new.”

Taehyung’s brows furrowed.
“Hyung…”

“What is it you wanted to say?” Namjoon asked, eyes burning. “That you’re not ready?”

Taehyung nodded slightly, voice low.
“Yes. I… I’m not ready for it, Hyung.”

Namjoon let out a bitter, hollow laugh.
Taehyung looked at him, startled.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked, eyes narrowing.

Namjoon’s voice cracked, laced with hurt and fury.
“Which engagement are you talking about, Tae? Oh… that one— the one His Excellency  announced? The one he used just to mock me? To play with my damn feelings?”

Taehyung blinked.
“What do you mean? What are you saying about him?”

“Oh, you really don’t know?” Namjoon’s lips twisted into a mocking grin. He clapped his hands once, sarcastically. “Perfect.”

Then, without warning, he stepped closer—too close. Taehyung instinctively backed away.

Namjoon’s voice dropped, full of trembling desperation.
“Tell me, Tae. What did I lack? Where did I go wrong? Why can’t you love me? Why can’t you even try?”

Taehyung's chest tightened.
“Hyung… I thought I made it clear last time. I’m sorry, but—”

Namjoon reached forward, grabbing Taehyung’s wrists with an iron grip before he could pull away.

“I’ve loved you since training days,” Namjoon said, his voice breaking. “Since the very start. I was there for you, always! When no one else was. When you were crumbling, I was the one who held you together!”