Saved || A Jungkook fanfic

18.

My entire body went numb.

I had always known that, at some point, I would run into him again. But I hadn't expected it to be this soon.

Or while I was on a date.

Only a few weeks had passed since I last saw him, though I had hoped for much longer. Maybe indefinitely.

Yet here he was. And suddenly, everything I had bottled up, every suppressed emotion and buried wound, threatened to spill over like an overflowing dam. I don't know why I expected him to look any different. The same Taehyung stood before me—dark, intense, beautiful and familiar in all the worst ways.

His white button-up was casually unbuttoned at the top, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing his forearms in a way that once made my breath hitch. The slouchy black pants hung low on his waist, an effortless look he always pulled off too well. But as I really looked at him, I noticed the subtle changes—the dark circles beneath his eyes, the gauntness of his cheeks, the redness in his gaze that hadn't been there before.

It was like looking at a ghost of the man I used to love.

And yet, I couldn't bring myself to care. Not after everything he had done.

"You look good," Taehyung murmured, his voice low, his gaze dragging over my body in a way that made my skin crawl.

I wrapped my arms around myself instinctively. "Since when do you work here?" I asked, my voice strained. My hand moved to my throat, rubbing soothing circles over my skin as I fought to keep my composure.

"Since you left," he sighed, his tone laced with something unreadable—bitterness, sadness, longing. "I needed another job to cover your half of the rent."

For a fleeting moment, I almost apologized.

Almost.

But then the memories of that night crashed into me like a tidal wave—Namjoon's words at the bakery, the drunken confession, the betrayal. And just like that, the anger ignited once more, searing through me with the force of a wildfire.

"Yeah? Well, I'm sure blondie can help you take care of all your needs." I spat, deliberately emphasizing the last word as I sneered and turned on my heel.

"So you're jealous?" he called after me, amusement curling in his voice.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my pulse roaring in my ears.

Why does he sound so... relieved?

"You're still thinking about that night. About me."

I said nothing. I couldn't. My body betrayed me, every muscle frozen in place.

"So you still love me." He took a step closer, his voice softening. "Seems that even if you left me for him, he isn't doing a very good job at taking you away."

I inhaled sharply.

"I loved you, Taehyung," I finally said, my voice steady but cold. "Past tense. And I didn't leave you for him. I left because you're a liar. A cheater. You're everything I despise."

Silence stretched between us like a chasm.

Then, he exhaled slowly, his smirk never faltering. "No," he murmured. "You want to come back to me."

I whirled around to face him, fury burning in my veins. He leaned on the counter, entirely too smug, as if my mere presence was proof of something.

"I'll never go back to you, Tae." My voice was like ice, but my hands clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms to keep them from trembling.