Obsessed | kth ✓

- twenty-one -

"If I walk out now, what?" Taehyung asked quietly. I didn't quite know how to answer this. Part of me wanted to throw myself at him and beg him not to leave. I desperately wanted him to open up to me at last, but clearly he was still not letting me in.

However, there was another part of me, a slightly bigger, stronger part that was screaming at me not to do that. I couldn't quite distinguish whether it was my pride or my fear of him rejecting me, but deep in my heart I knew what was the right thing to do.

"Nothing," I replied in a flat voice. "Whether you choose to leave or stay is up to you. I can't hold you here by force," I gulped, feeling as if something was clasping on my throat.

Taehyung eyed me silently for a couple of seconds, nibbling on his lower lip. His eyebrows dipped slightly, he was clearly faltering. "I'm so sorry for this, Y/N," he mumbled finally before turning around and stepping out so quickly that before I could blink, he was gone. It was almost as if he didn't want to give himself time to think about it or else he'd hesitate. I couldn't help to wonder what he was sorry about – for the photos or for leaving like that?

I felt a shiver go through my spine, the breeze from the door closing shut piercing through me. Standing there alone, I was sad, but my eyes seemingly couldn't form tears anymore. If Taehyung didn't want to stay with me on his own free will, there was no point in me trying to convince him. I realized I couldn't blame myself for his incapability to trust me. I wasn't going to do that to myself.

A knot of bitterness formed in my upper abdomen when I was reminded of how familiar this situation was. Jimin making me question my feelings for Taehyung and trying to convince me of how bad he was for me and Taehyung hurting me all over again, for reasons he didn't bother sharing with me.

I wasn't going to go through that again. I owed that to myself. I wasn't going to let anyone make me suffer.

Or so I thought.

***

Waking up the next morning was really hard. I didn't even remember how I had fallen asleep on the couch without even changing into my pajamas. I was sharply brought back to the real world by the horrible beeping of my alarm clock. After my usual morning frustration passed, I got ready for work. No matter what a mess my life was, I still had to deal with the real world.

And the dreadful fact that I was certainly going to see Taehyung today.

After getting out of my car, I ran into my work friend Victoria in the parking lot. I had never been happier to see her, I desperately craved some human interaction. I also wanted to share with someone what kind of a mess I had gotten myself into, but I knew better. Being a little bit of a tattle-tale, Victoria was definitely off the list. I could still use the casual chit chat though.

"Traffic on the way here was terrible," Victoria whined, rummaging through her bag for her badge. "Driving is so stressful. I mean, I know I'm blocking the whole way, but can people just stop honking their horns at me?"

"You're killing me," I tried to laugh, but the truth was, I still couldn't shake off the feeling of someone watching me. After seeing those photos, I grew kind of paranoid. Even after getting out of my apartment complex I was scanning the surroundings for silhouetted figures carrying cameras.

"Hey, Tiffany," I waved my hand at our other friend who apparently had already come early and was sorting some concert outfits. When she saw me, her eyes instantly grew wider and her eyebrows shot sky high, her hands dropping the hangers they were holding.

"Y/N!" her voice was a lot high-pitched than usual. "You- you're here."

"Of course I'm here, I have to be at work," I furrowed my eyebrows, a little bit confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"