The Scandal | VSOO

thirty-six | final scene

Third Person POV

Taehyung woke to silence.

For a moment, he didn't move, still caught between sleep and memory, the warmth of the night before lingering in the sheets.

Then reality settled in. The space beside him was cold.

He sat up quickly, eyes scanning the room. Her clothes were gone. Her presence gone, like it had never been there at all.

"Jisoo...?" he called out, already knowing.

Nothing.

He reached for his phone, dialing her number without hesitation.

Once.

Twice.

Straight to voicemail.

His jaw tightened as he tried again, pacing now, running a hand through his hair.

"Pick up..." he muttered under his breath.

But she didn't.

By the time he arrived on set, the weight in his chest hadn't eased.

Staff moved around as usual, lights being adjusted, scripts shuffled, everything normal.

Too normal.

And then he saw her.

Jisoo stood by the monitors, calmly reviewing her script with a staff member. Composed. Focused. Unbothered.

Like nothing had happened.

Like he hadn't happened.

Taehyung walked toward her, his steps slower than usual.

"Jisoo."

She looked up. And smiled, polite, distant.

"Good morning."

It threw him off more than anger would have.

"We need to talk," he said quietly.

Her expression didn't change. She turned to the staff member beside her. "Can you give us a moment?"

When they stepped away, the air shifted.

Taehyung didn't waste time. "Why did you leave?"

She tilted her head slightly. "I had somewhere to be."

"That's it?" His voice edged with disbelief. "After everything?"

Jisoo held his gaze, calm to the point of detachment.

"I just want to finish filming," she said evenly, "so we can go back to being strangers."

The words landed harder than he expected.

"...What?" he asked, quieter now.

"You heard me."

Taehyung stared at her. "What about what happened?"

Jisoo didn't even hesitate. "What about it?"

His chest tightened.

"We were both vulnerable," she continued, her tone steady. "We're adults. It's normal."

A beat.

"To have one-night stands."

The word hung between them.

Taehyung let out a short, disbelieving breath. "That wasn't a one-night stand for me, Jisoo."

For the first time, something flickered in her eyes, but it was gone just as quickly.