BREAKING BOUNDARIES (An RM Fan-fiction)

Chapter 48

He doesn't stay long. Namjoon knows better than to linger, knows every extra minute is another risk, another headline waiting to happen if anyone notices his car, his shadow.

But he doesn't rush either.

She makes tea they barely touch. He sits on the edge of the sofa like he's afraid of taking up too much space in her life, like this room isn't already marked by him.

"I talked to the company," he says finally.

Her hand tightens around the mug. "And?"

"They want distance," he says flatly. "Silence. Time."

She lets out a humourless breath. "Of course they do."

"They don't get to decide everything," he adds, sharper now. "Not about this."

She looks at him then, really looks. At the fatigue carved into his face. At the way leadership sits on his shoulders even here, even now.

"This is costing you," she says.

"It's always cost me," he replies. "This is just the first time it's been honest."

The words hang between them, not dramatic, not final, just heavy with truth.

"Before anything else," she says quietly, "we need to talk about it."

He nods immediately. No defensiveness. No delay. "I know."

They sit across from each other on the couch, knees almost touching. The space between them feels louder than the street outside.

"The rumour," she says. "About you and her."

His jaw tightens. "Nothing happened."

"I know what you said," she replies. "But it felt like you didn't tell me everything. You know her?" She asked what's been in her mind since the beginning of all this.

He exhales slowly, rubbing his hands together like he's steadying himself. "Yeah, I used to talk to her but that was before I even met you. I didn't want to admit that part because I was scared of what it would sound like."

She waits.

"The picture circulating was months old, almost a year now. She was there," he admits. "At a dinner. With staff. Nothing private. Nothing secret. But I knew how it would look if it got twisted, and I hated that my first instinct was to protect the image instead of your feelings."

Her throat tightens. "That's what hurt."

He looks at her. "I didn't cheat. I didn't lie. But I didn't tell you what is was exactly when the news broke. And I'm sorry."

The apology isn't dramatic. It's honest. It lands.

She nods slowly. "I need to know that this isn't something that frequents Joon, like I said, I value my peace more than anything. I don't want to have to deal with this constantly."

"You're not," he says immediately. "I promise baby. You're the one place I don't feel like I'm performing. I love the peace that I get from being here with you.

Silence settles again, but this time it's softer.

She reaches for his hand. "I am scared and that's not a norm for me but I guess I never had thousands of people dissecting every aspect of my life at the same time in just a span of hours." She chuckled humourlessly.

"I know," he murmurs, squeezing her fingers. "That's why I'm here. I'm sorry about that, people are gonna say anything on the internet, unfortunately, we only have very limited control over that." He said, kissing her knuckles.