SECOND LEAD SYNDROME 2 | JJK

7 | loved him

And so a couple years passed again.

I was sure that I no longer loved him.

Seeing him everywhere I went no longer phased me. My breath didn't falter at the sight of him, my heart didn't skip at the thought of him. I was numb to everything he is and everything we had. I'd finally come to accept that we were now our own people, both of us now living our own lives.

Let's be real— I care for him, but the time away from him changed me. It made me me. Add Taehyung into the mix and I hardly thought about Jungkook even if they're siblings. I hadn't planned on fucking his brother, it just happened. I don't regret it one bit because Taehyung was probably the second best thing to have happened to me yet.

But still, I wasn't able to entirely open myself up to him— it was a work in progress.

-

"Baby look what I made you," Taehyung escorts me out of my office and into the hallway leading to it. His large hands cover about half of my face even though they originally intended to cover my eyes.

I was already getting so impatient. He was always surprising me with little gifts and just the sweetest gestures, I suppose the artistic side of him came in handy whenever he wanted to get creative— and he was. For our second anniversary he somehow managed to get an exact replica of the stars in the sky the night of our first anniversary and played all the nights throughout the year after. I wasn't going to ask how long it must've taken to collect all 365 nights and then have it projected on the largest dome in the state of New York. Oh, did I forget to mention that he bought me a NASA certified star?

"Let me see already," I try to pry his fingers but he doesn't allow. I was getting anxious to the point where my own hands were getting clammy.

"Wait," he says and removes one hand to do whatever.

By the time he finally allows me to see, my eyes are blinded by a bright light. It was the lights to a glass of an humongous display case with a painting on a golden easel right smack in the middle.

It was me.

He painted me.

"This is the first photo you took of me," I gasped as I leaned into the glass to observe all of the little attention to details. I was amazed by his craftsmanship as per usual. I'd fallen in love with his talent and his passions, it motivated me to become the woman I am today.

"Mona Lisa couldn't compare," he snuggles his chin in the crook of my neck, arms wrapped out my waist.

"Tch," I snort. "That's a fact.

"Now all my employees will know I'm always here watching their every move," I glance at him and then my portrait once more.

I started my own clothing company within the past two years, upon the second year of my business school studies I developed my first concept for my first fashion line. After I graduated I moved back to Seoul with the promise that I'd stay by Taehyung's side as he'd always did with me. My first line wasn't as much of a success because I struggled to get any social media coverage so that's when I decided to collab with Chaeyoung— sooner or later our articles were being worn by celebrities. That's when my career finally started to skyrocket and now I'm being nominated for one of the most prestige awards in the fashion industry.

"Don't you have a meeting to get to?" I question after remembering that my boyfriend was currently in the process of opening is very own art museum this weekend. He'd been stressed all month with planning the event that he hardly slept— and restless artists were another level of insanity.

He lets out a long, exaggerated groan before twirling me around to face him. "Come with?" He pleads.

"I'd love to but I have to help be at Yeji's birthday tonight, apparently Lisa booked this k-pop group and she got me the opportunity to style them in my new line," I tell him.

Taehyung furrows his brows. "What group?"

"I don't know, some group named BTS. Her daughter's obsessed with them," I recall all the times I ordered BTS merch for one and only god daughter, just seeing the smile on her face when she received it made me the happiest.

Seeing Yeji made me want kids too. But as of now, I couldn't see it happening.

It was yet another heartache of mine.

"I've heard of them," he says. "A lot of people say I look like V."

"Really?" I narrow my eyes and look at his face. "I don't see it."

"What?" He gasps. "I'm practically his twin."

We then both break into a soft laughter followed by a small kiss here and there before we parted ways for the evening. But I couldn't stop thinking about him— every minute, every hour. It's been this way ever since we started dating. It's as if I've been in the honeymoon phase and I wasn't sure if it was going to stop.

I adored him a lot.

"You're smiling again," Jinsoul coos as she leans in to see my face.

I also realize that I'd been scribble random letters for the past ten seconds. I let out a sigh as I now had to redo the entire thesis for this week's profits. "I don't know what's wrong with me, it's like I'm addicted to him."

"Didn't you say you just got out of a relationship before you got with him?"

I nod.

"Maybe it's because you feel attached? And also, he's the first person to make you feel good after something like that," she says. "Plus he's like fucking handsome, he looks like Prince Charming and BTS's V had a child."

Maybe I was attached, but that didn't mean I didn't have actual feelings for Taehyung. I truly did like him and I probably do love him. I'm just not ready to admit that.

"Seriously he looks nothing like V," I sneer.

We both laugh it off and then go back to work until it's time for me leave for Yeji's birthday party. She insisted that I bring her a matching outfit as the band mates before I left, so I had to tailor one an hour before— the things I do for her.

Upon arrival, the band was already there and Yeji was swarming the guys. She swooned with every word they spoke, every gesture they made. I'm pretty sure this is the happiest I've ever seen her in all four years of her life.

After that day, I also realize that Taehyung may or may not look a little like V from BTS.