Jungkook barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, fragments of the previous evening replayed in his mind. The argument. The kiss. Taehyung's expression afterward as he insisted it had been a mistake. Despite that, Jungkook woke the next morning with an unfamiliar lightness in his chest.
He stood in front of the small mirror in his apartment for longer than usual, fixing his tie twice before letting out a quiet laugh at himself. "What am I doing..."
It was just another workday. At least, that was what he kept telling himself. The moment he stepped into the company lobby, however, the confidence he'd built on the walk there began to crumble. His heartbeat quickened as he entered the elevator. Every floor it climbed seemed to bring him closer to an inevitable confrontation.
When the elevator doors opened, Jungkook instinctively looked toward Taehyung's office. The blinds were already open. He was here. Jungkook swallowed before making his way to his desk.
Hannah looked up from her computer and smiled, "Good morning."
"Morning."
She tilted her head slightly. "You actually look... cheerful today."
Jungkook nearly choked on the coffee he had just taken from the pantry. "Do I?"
"A little."
"I slept well." It was a terrible lie.
Hannah narrowed her eyes but decided not to question him further. "Well, enjoy it while it lasts. Mr. Kim has been in since before eight."
Jungkook nodded casually, pretending that information did not affect him in the slightest. It affected him immensely. Inside his office, Taehyung sat perfectly still behind his desk. He had already gone through three cups of coffee without tasting any of them. His tie was immaculate. His suit looked flawless.
Every document on his desk was aligned with impossible precision. Only he knew that none of it reflected the state of his mind. He had spent nearly an hour deciding whether to call Jungkook into his office first thing in the morning. In the end, he decided against it.
Distance. Distance was the only sensible option. A knock sounded on the door.
"Come in."
His assistant entered carrying several folders. "These require your signature."
Taehyung accepted them with a nod. "Anything else?"
"The marketing team requested approval for Friday's presentation."
"Approved."
"The finance department also..." The words blurred together.
Taehyung answered automatically, his attention drifting the moment the assistant left. Against his better judgment, his eyes shifted toward the glass wall overlooking the office floor. Jungkook was there. Head lowered over his computer, typing with complete concentration. As if nothing had happened. Taehyung looked away almost immediately.
An hour later, Jungkook was called into the office to deliver quarterly reports. He knocked once.
"Come in."
The atmosphere changed the second the door closed behind him. Neither of them knew where to look first.
Jungkook finally walked forward, placing the folder on the desk. "The revised reports."
Taehyung opened them immediately. He examined the first page with unnecessary focus. "You corrected the revenue estimates."
"Yes."
"The assumptions?"
"I attached them in Appendix B."
Taehyung flipped through the pages. Everything was exactly as requested. "Fine."
That was all he said. Fine. Jungkook stared at him. "That's it?"
Taehyung looked up. "Is there something else I'm supposed to say?"
"I don't know." Jungkook folded his arms. "You tell me."
"There is nothing to discuss."
Jungkook almost smiled. "There you go again."
"I do not know what you mean."
"You do."
Taehyung closed the folder. "This is an office."
"I noticed."
"We are at work."
"I noticed that too."
Taehyung inhaled slowly, visibly controlling his patience. "If this conversation is finished..."
Jungkook leaned forward slightly. "You really can pretend that well?"
For the briefest second, Taehyung's expression cracked. Only for a second. Then the familiar composed mask returned. "I have no idea what you are referring to."
Jungkook let out a quiet laugh. "You'd make a terrible actor."
Taehyung looked at him coolly. "And you would make an insubordinate employee."
"Probably."
A silence settled between them. It was not uncomfortable. It was dangerous. Jungkook noticed Taehyung's fingers tapping lightly against the desk. Taehyung noticed Jungkook's eyes lingering a second longer than they should. Both of them looked away at the same time.
"You may leave," Taehyung said.
Jungkook nodded. He reached the door before pausing. Without turning around, he spoke softly. "You know..."
Taehyung remained silent.
"I don't regret it."
The room became impossibly still. Taehyung's hand froze over the report. Jungkook waited only a heartbeat before opening the door and leaving. The soft click of the closing door echoed through the office.
Taehyung remained motionless. His jaw tightened. He looked toward the door as though considering calling Jungkook back. Instead, he stood and walked to the window overlooking the office.
Below, employees worked as usual, completely unaware of the storm hidden behind professional smiles. His gaze found Jungkook almost immediately. The younger man was laughing at something Hannah had said, completely at ease again.
Taehyung frowned without realizing it. How could Jungkook smile so easily after everything that had happened? How could he look so... unaffected? The truth, of course, was that Jungkook was anything but unaffected.
Even as he laughed with Hannah, he could feel Taehyung's eyes on him from behind the glass. He resisted the urge to look up.
A few seconds later, curiosity won. Jungkook lifted his head. Their eyes met across the office. Neither of them looked away immediately. The moment lasted only a few seconds before Taehyung turned first, stepping back from the window and disappearing deeper into his office.
Jungkook lowered his gaze again. A small, unconscious smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. For all the effort Taehyung put into pretending nothing had happened, he had just proved the exact opposite. He was running. And Jungkook was beginning to understand that Kim Taehyung, the man everyone believed was fearless, seemed most afraid of his own heart.
The office was nearly empty by the time Taehyung finally shut his laptop. The day had dragged on far longer than usual, not because of meetings or paperwork, but because every passing hour had been spent pretending his thoughts were elsewhere.
They were not. They had remained fixed on one person. He slipped on his coat, locked his office, and took the private elevator down to the underground parking garage. The drive home was unusually quiet. Even the soft jazz playing through the speakers did little to distract him.
When the elevator doors opened onto the penthouse floor, he immediately knew he was not alone. Matt was sitting comfortably on the living room sofa, one ankle resting over the opposite knee, lazily flipping through a magazine he had probably found lying around. A half-finished mug of coffee sat on the table in front of him.
He looked up the moment Taehyung entered. "There you are."
Taehyung sighed quietly as he placed his keys on the counter. "I thought you were leaving today."
"I postponed my flight."
Taehyung looked at him. "Why?"
Matt closed the magazine and studied him carefully. "Because you ran away yesterday morning."
Taehyung slipped off his coat without answering. "I didn't run away."
Matt raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"No."
"You left before sunrise."
"I had work."
"You left a note instead of a conversation."
Taehyung walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. "I wasn't in the mood."
Matt let out a soft laugh. "No, Tae. You weren't in the mood to explain."
Silence settled between them. Matt had known Taehyung long enough to recognize every version of his silence. The one standing in front of him now was not anger. Itwas avoidance.
Matt stood and walked toward the kitchen, stopping on the opposite side of the island. "You've ignored every one of my messages."
"I've been busy."
"You've been hiding."
Taehyung took another sip of water. "I don't hide."
Matt smiled sadly. "You always hide."
Taehyung finally looked at him. "What exactly do you want from me?"
"The truth."
"I've told you the truth."
"No." Matt folded his arms. "You've told me excuses."
Taehyung's patience visibly thinned. "I stopped because I wasn't thinking clearly."
Matt shook his head immediately. "Wrong."
"It was a mistake."
"Wrong again."
"Tired."
"No."
"Drunk."
"You were practically sober."
Taehyung looked away.
Matt's voice softened. "You know why you stopped."
Taehyung remained silent.
"So do I." The words hung quietly between them.
Matt leaned against the kitchen counter, his expression no longer playful. "Tae, we've known each other for years."
"I know."
"I know how you look at people when you care."
Taehyung's fingers tightened around the glass.
"And yesterday..." Matt smiled faintly. "...you didn't look at me once."
Taehyung closed his eyes briefly. "Don't."
"You looked through me." Silence answered him.
Matt sighed. "You weren't imagining someone else."
Taehyung didn't respond.
"You weren't distracted."
Still nothing.
"You were feeling guilty."
Taehyung finally laughed once. A tired laugh. "You make it sound so simple."
"It is."
"No."
"It is." Matt's voice became firmer. "You didn't stop because you didn't want me."
Taehyung looked up slowly.
"You stopped because you wanted someone else."
The sentence landed with enough force to leave the room completely silent. Taehyung's jaw tightened. Neither man spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Taehyung set the glass down. "You don't know what you're talking about."
Matt huffed gently. "I know you."
"No."
"I do."
"You don't understand."
"Then help me understand."
Taehyung rubbed a hand across his face before letting out a slow breath. "It isn't possible."
Matt waited.
"He works for me."
Matt nodded.
"He's younger."
Another nod.
"And..." Taehyung hesitated. "...he's straight."
Matt watched him carefully. "Did he tell you that?"
Taehyung frowned. "No."
"Then you're assuming."
Taehyung looked down. Matt continued quietly. "Tae, the problem isn't whether he's straight."
Taehyung remained still.
"The problem is that you've already fallen for him." The words were spoken gently. Not as an accusation. As a fact.
Taehyung laughed again, though this time there was no humor in it. "I don't even know when it happened."
Matt smiled. "I do."
Taehyung looked at him.
"It started long before you admitted it." Matt walked over and rested a hand briefly on Taehyung's shoulder. "You talked about him constantly."
"I complained about him."
"You noticed everything about him."
Taehyung said nothing.
"You noticed when he skipped meals."
Taehyung's expression softened almost imperceptibly.
"You secretly asked Hannah to feed him."
His silence confirmed it.
"You remembered where he came from."
Another silence.
"You invited him to your home."
Taehyung looked away.
"You gave him your clothes." Matt smiled knowingly.
"You covered him with your coat while he slept."
Taehyung's shoulders slumped slightly.
"You never realized that none of those things were things you would do for someone you merely tolerated."
The room fell quiet again. Outside, the city lights shimmered beyond the windows.
Matt spoke one last time. "You know, being honest with yourself is difficult enough."
Taehyung looked back at him.
"But if you truly care about Jungkook, don't make him fall for a version of you that only exists behind closed doors."
Taehyung frowned slightly.
Matt's expression was calm. "He deserves someone brave enough to choose him in daylight, not just in the dark."
For the first time that evening, Taehyung had no reply. Because every word Matt had spoken echoed with a truth he had been trying desperately not to name.