The city was still awake when you reached your penthouse.
But inside—
Silence.
No cameras.
No board members.
No family.
Just the sound of the door closing behind you.
And the weight of what you'd done.
Taehyung loosened his tie slowly, eyes never leaving you.
"You understand what tomorrow will look like," he said quietly.
"Headlines," you replied.
"More than that."
He stepped closer.
"My parents will move first. Financial pressure. Political leverage. They'll try to make you regret standing beside me."
You didn't step back.
"I don't scare easily."
"I know."
That wasn't flattery.
It was admiration.
The distance between you thinned until the air felt warmer.
"You didn't hesitate," he said softly. "In front of everyone."
"Neither did you."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"That's different."
"How?"
"I've been fighting them my whole life."
A pause.
"You just joined the battlefield."
You held his gaze.
"I wasn't dragged."
That did something to him.
His hand came up slowly — fingers brushing your jaw, then sliding to the side of your neck.
Not urgent.
Not reckless.
Just grounding.
"You could've protected yourself," he murmured.
"You're not something I need protection from."
The room shifted.
The tension wasn't explosive like before.
It was deeper now.
Charged with choice.
He leaned closer, breath warm against your cheek.
"Do you regret it?" he asked quietly.
You didn't answer with words.
You closed the space.
The kiss wasn't fiery at first.
It was slow.
Measured.
Like both of you were confirming this was real.
His hand slid to your waist, pulling you closer.
Yours gripped the front of his shirt.
The control he always held? It slipped — just slightly.
He kissed you again, stronger this time.
Not to claim.
Not to prove.
But because you had both just set fire to your old lives.
And this was the only steady thing left.
When he pulled back, his forehead rested against yours.
"You have no idea what you just became," he whispered.
"What?"
"My equal."
That hit harder than anything else tonight.
He brushed a strand of hair behind your ear, fingers lingering.
"If they come after you," he said softly, "I won't let you stand alone."
"I won't," you replied, voice steady, "as long as you don't treat me like something fragile."
A faint smirk.
"Fragile isn't the word I'd use."
His thumb traced lightly over your collarbone.
Not rushed.
Not careless.
Intimate.
The kind of touch that says I see you.
The night deepened.
Shoes left by the door.
Jackets forgotten on a chair.
The city lights spilled through the windows as he pulled you closer again — slower this time, more deliberate.
This wasn't about tension snapping.
It was about choosing again.
And again.
And again.
When he finally kissed you like he meant it — hands steady at your waist, yours sliding into his hair — there was no doubt left.
No hesitation.
Just certainty.
And later, when the world outside dimmed and the room quieted —
He didn't fall asleep immediately.
His arm was wrapped around you, thumb brushing absent patterns against your skin.
"You really didn't hesitate," he murmured into the dark.
You shifted slightly to look at him.
"Neither did you."
He exhaled softly.
Not relief.
Not fear.
Something steadier.
YOU ARE READING
ENEMIES WITH BENEFITS//TAEHYUNG FF//
FanfictionHE HATES HER... ALMOST AS MUCH AS HE WANTS HER
