Melancholy

Cataclysm

.

.

~Mixed Signals - Ruth B~

.

.

The bedroom door didn't just open. It yielded under a frantic, jagged push that carried every ounce of fear Jimin could no longer contain.

He stumbled inside, chest heaving like he'd sprinted miles. The soul-bond made every spike of Taehyung's pain feel like his own-lightning strikes across his nerves, phantom pressure crushing his lungs, the terrifying sense that his best friend's world was splintering into pieces too sharp to hold.

"Tae..." Jimin choked out, sinking to his knees on the carpet, one hand clutching his throat as if that could ease the constriction. "Tae, please... I can't breathe if you don't."

On the windowsill, Taehyung sat like a ghost caught in moonlight. His eyes were fixed on the silver moon pendant, thumb rubbing the metal with bruising force. That small, physical sting was the only thing tethering him to the present-the only thing stopping him from slipping fully back into that room where the sun never reached and the man who had become his entire world had kept him.

"He was wearing it, Jimin," Taehyung rasped. His voice sounded scraped raw, dragged across broken glass. "The sun. He was wearing it right next to her. Like those promises... like they didn't mean everything."

Jimin crawled closer, movements clumsy with shared panic. He reached up, trembling fingers wrapping around Taehyung's wrists, trying to pry the pendant away. "It's just a necklace, Tae. Please, look at me. You're spiraling."

"It's not just a necklace!" Taehyung suddenly screamed, the sound tearing through the quiet house like a wound opening. He finally lifted his gaze, and the grief in his eyes was lethal. "He gave this to me and told me it was our balance. He held me and swore that as long as I wore the moon, he would be my sun. He promised me, Jimin... he promised that no matter how much the world tried to tear us apart, we were tethered. And now he's standing there... smiling... acting like those vows weren't written in the middle of a nightmare."

Taehyung's breath caught. "I loved him. I loved him so much it made me forget I was a prisoner. The betrayal... it's suffocating me. How can he just walk away from what we were?"

Jimin froze. He remembered the visits to the UK-Namjoon bringing Jungkook along sometimes. Back then, Jungkook had seemed like just another guy trying to find his footing before he became a big-shot CEO. Jimin had watched Tae grow close to him and assumed it was a healing friendship, maybe a mild crush to help Tae cope with returning to the real world.

"I don't understand," Jimin whispered, voice cracking. "Last I checked, you were still in love with JK. You told me your heart died back in that house with your captor. How could you fall for Jungkook like this? I thought he was just someone who was kind to you while he was trying to start his career. How could a few visits in London lead to this?"

Taehyung's eyes went wide. He had said too much. He had spoken of deep, ancient promises made long before the UK. If Jimin knew that the "JK" he loathed and the "Jungkook" he had welcomed were the same man, everything would burn. Only Namjoon knew the dark history they shared.

"I mean... JK... he..." Taehyung stammered, mind racing. "Jungkook, he... he reminds me of JK. No-I mean-"

The realization of his near-fatal slip acted like a match to gasoline. Panic exploded. Taehyung began to hyperventilate. "I can't-I can't say it-Jimin, it's too heavy-"

Jimin let out a cry of pure agony as the bond doubled the sensation. "Tae! Stop! You're hurting me!"

Downstairs, Mr. Kim and Mr. Park sat in the study. A firm knock broke the quiet. Mr. Kim opened the door to find Min Yoongi.