The Scandal | VSOO

thirty-five | love

Third Person POV

"Jisoo! Wait!" Taehyungs voice echoed down the empty corridor, footsteps quick behind her.

She didn't stop.

"Jisoo, just listen to me."

"No." Her voice was sharp, her pace faster. "I don't want to hear it."

But he caught up anyway.

His hand wrapped around her wrist, firm, but not enough to hurt.

"I said no," she snapped, trying to pull away.

"And I said listen," Taehyung shot back, something desperate bleeding into his tone.

She struggled again, but this time he didn't argue.

He just acted. In one swift motion, he lifted her over his shoulder.

"Taehyung! What are you doing?!" she yelled, hitting his back.

"Stopping you from running away. Again."

"Put me down!"

"No." Taehyung was firm, and he was headed towards his car.

The drive was tense.

Jisoo sat as far from him as possible, arms crossed, glaring out the window. The silence between them was loud, thick with everything unsaid.

When they reached his place, she stepped out immediately, ready to leave again.

But Taehyung was quicker.

"Not this time," he said, blocking her path. "You're not walking away until we talk."

Her jaw tightened.

"Fine."

The moment the door shut behind them, the tension snapped.

"Start talking," Jisoo said coldly.

Taehyung exhaled, running a hand through his hair.

"I didn't know," he began.

Her expression didn't change.

"Those articles of... Sana and I... I didn't see them until after the concert."

Silence.

"They dropped in the morning, Korea time. I was already in rehearsal. Then my concert started right after." He let out a bitter laugh. "Looking back... no wonder my manager had my phone the entire time."

Jisoo's eyes flickered, but she stayed quiet.

"He didn't want me to see it. Didn't want me distracted." Taehyung swallowed.

"By the time I finally got it back... it was everywhere." His voice lowered. "And you were gone. I saw the news, you were moving to New York."

That got a reaction. Her gaze shifted slightly.

"I was a coward," he admitted. No hesitation.

"I knew how it looked. The photos... they were real. I did see Sana behind your back." His voice tightened. "Even if I told myself it didn't mean anything... it still happened."

"I promise I only met up with her to tell her to leave me alone, leave you alone. For her to end whatever thoughts she had of us ever getting back together... I didn't think she would kiss me."

Jisoo's expression hardened.

"I thought I could just leave it in the past and move forward with you." He shook his head. "I should've known better."

He looked at her then, really looked.

"I know what you've been through. I know how betrayal affects you... with your dad, Hanbin, and everything." His voice softened. "And I felt like I was no better than them."

That hit harder than she expected.

"I convinced myself I wasn't good enough for you," he continued. "You deserved someone honest, someone who didn't hide things, someone who didn't start your relationship with lies."

His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "I shouldn't have put myself in that situation at all."

Jisoo's hands clenched slightly at her sides.

"I knew New York would be good for you," he said. "And I didn't want to stand in your way."

A pause.

"I love you too much to disappoint you again."

Silence filled the room. Heavy. Suffocating.

Then—

"Yeah," Jisoo said, her voice trembling, not weak, but angry. "You're right."

He looked up.

"You are a fucking coward."

The words landed hard.

"You don't get to say you love me and then just disappear," she continued, her voice rising. "You left me hanging like I meant nothing."

"That's not—"

"If the roles were reversed?" she cut him off. "I would've fought for you. I would've stepped on anyone who tried to get between us."

Her eyes burned.

"And you just let me go."

Taehyung didn't speak.

"You don't get to call that love," she said, her voice breaking slightly despite her control. "Because to me? Loving someone means choosing them. Every single day."

A beat.

"Not leaving."

The room went quiet again.

Then, suddenly-

He closed the distance.

And this time, she didn't pull away.

The kiss wasn't gentle.

It was everything they hadn't said, anger, longing, regret, colliding all at once. Months of silence breaking in a single moment.

His hands found her waist, then her back, like he remembered exactly where she fit against him.

It felt familiar. Too familiar. Like no time had passed at all.

"I promise to never leave your side." He pulled back just enough to look at her, searching.

She didn't say anything. She just closed the distance again.

This time, slower.

The kiss softened, but it didn't lose its intensity. It deepened, lingering, like they were trying to relearn something they never truly forgot.

His forehead rested briefly against hers, breath uneven.

"Jisoo... I never stopped loving you."

But she shook her head slightly, as if words would only ruin it. Jisoo leaned back in, deepening the kiss.

So Taehyung didn't speak again. Instead, he lifted her, her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her towards the bedroom.

Hours later, the room was quiet.

Taehyung lay asleep, his breathing steady, one arm loosely draped across her abdomen.

But Jisoo was awake. Staring at the ceiling, unaware of the time. Thinking.

The emotions still lingered, too real, too complicated.

Slowly, carefully, she slipped out from under his arm.

She got dressed in silence, gathering her clothes from the floor.

Jisoo didn't look at him. Not even once.

When she reached the door, she paused.

Just for a second.

Then she left.

Without a word.