sin | taelice

13. | bitter

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chapter thirteen

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The bar door slowly shut behind Jungkook and Taehyung, the jingle of the handle echoing in the now-empty silence. Lisa stood motionless near their table, her fingers still curled slightly from when she had touched Taehyung's cheek just moments ago. She stared at the empty seat he left behind, the cushion still slightly indented from his weight. For a long while, she didn't move.

She just stood there—frozen. Her mind was spinning.

Everything felt surreal. Like a blurry dream she hadn't quite woken up from.

The half-empty glass of water Taehyung had requested hours ago was still there, beads of condensation trickling slowly down the side. The lipstick stain on his collar, the heat in his gaze, the way he mumbled "I miss you"—all of it haunted her.

She took a deep breath and sat back down in the chair she had occupied earlier. Her body was still trembling faintly, but she wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from something deeper inside her.

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and burying her face in her palms. A quiet sigh left her lips, muffled by her hands.

What the hell was she doing?

She should feel disgusted with herself. She knew that. But all she felt was this overwhelming weight pressing down on her chest, heavier with every breath she took.

Taehyung's words replayed over and over again in her head, like a scratched CD stuck on repeat.

"I miss you..."

"I'm mad at you, even though I know I have no right to be..."

Lisa closed her eyes tighter.

Because if she was being honest—really honest—those words had stirred something in her. Something warm. Something she didn't want to admit out loud.

It wasn't just guilt that burned through her tonight.

It was longing.

It was the way his eyes softened when they looked at her. The way his hand had gently cupped her cheek like she meant something. The rawness in his voice when he said her name.

And that scared her.

Because she wasn't supposed to feel that.

Not when Jackson had always been there for her. Not when he was the one who pulled her out of the darkest place in her life. Not when she'd already accepted the life they were building together.

But tonight—sitting across from Taehyung, seeing him break, watching his defenses fall—it reminded her of something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Connection.

Not the romantic, dreamy kind. Not the heart-racing kind.

But the quiet, painful kind. The kind that makes you look at someone and realize that no matter how much you try to fight it... you understand them. You see the cracks in them. And they see the cracks in you.

And maybe that's what made it so dangerous.

Lisa opened her eyes again and reached for her wine glass, now lukewarm. She took a sip, hoping it would calm the tightness in her chest—but it didn't. She leaned back, staring at the low lights above the bar, watching them flicker slightly.

Jackson's voice from earlier played in her memory.

"I love you."

She bit her lip.