The rain fell heavily against the windows of the small apartment, turning the city lights outside into blurry streaks of color.

Kim Taehyung stood alone on the balcony, his hands wrapped around a warm cup of coffee. The cold wind brushed against his face, but he barely noticed it. His thoughts were somewhere else—somewhere five years in the past.

There was a time when he believed love could last forever.

There was a time when Jeon Jungkook was his entire world.

The memories still came without warning.

The shy smiles.

The late-night phone calls.

The promises whispered under the stars.

The future they had planned together.

And the heartbreak that destroyed it all.

Five years had passed since their painful breakup.

Five years since Taehyung walked away with tears in his eyes and a broken heart in his chest.

He had spent all those years convincing himself that he was over it.

Convincing himself that Jeon Jungkook no longer mattered.

But some lies were easier to tell than believe.

A sudden vibration pulled him from his thoughts.

His landlord's message flashed across the screen.

"Your new roommate will arrive tomorrow morning. Please make sure the spare room is ready."

Taehyung sighed.

Living alone in Seoul had become too expensive, and sharing the apartment with a stranger seemed like the only solution.

At least a roommate would help with the rent.

At least life couldn't get any more complicated.

Or so he thought.

The next morning arrived much faster than Taehyung expected.

Half-asleep, he shuffled toward the kitchen, preparing himself for an awkward introduction with the new tenant.

The doorbell rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

"Coming!" Taehyung called out.

He opened the door without thinking.

And froze.

The world seemed to stop.

The air disappeared from his lungs.

His heart forgot how to beat.

Standing on the other side of the door was a man carrying two suitcases and wearing a black hoodie.

A man Taehyung would recognize anywhere.

A man he had spent five years trying to forget.

Jeon Jungkook.

The same sharp eyes.

The same familiar face.

The same person who had once held his heart in his hands.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Neither of them moved.

Then Jungkook slowly lifted his eyes to meet Taehyung's.

Shock flashed across his face.

"Taehyung...?"

The coffee mug slipped from Taehyung's fingers and shattered on the floor.

Five years.

Five painful years.

And somehow fate had brought them back together.

Not as strangers.

Not as friends.

But as roommates.

Neither of them knew it yet, but that single moment would change everything.

Because some doors are closed for a reason.

And some doors open for a second chance.

The first week of living together was a disaster.

Not because Taehyung and Jungkook fought.

Not because they hated each other.

But because they were trying way too hard to act like strangers.

And it wasn't working.

Monday morning.

Taehyung walked into the kitchen and immediately stopped.

Jungkook was already there, making coffee.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Jungkook quietly slid a cup across the counter.

"Here."

Taehyung blinked.

"You remembered how I like it?"

The question escaped before he could stop it.

Jungkook looked away.

"Extra milk. Two spoons of sugar."

Taehyung's heart skipped a beat.

Five years.

Five whole years.

And Jungkook still remembered.

The awkwardness continued throughout the week.

Whenever Taehyung came home from work, he would find dinner already prepared.

Whenever Jungkook forgot his gym bag, Taehyung would leave it near the door before he left.

Neither acknowledged these small acts.

But both noticed them.

One evening, Taehyung was sitting on the couch watching a movie.

He had wrapped himself in his favorite blanket.

Halfway through the film, he got up to grab snacks.

When he returned, Jungkook was standing in the living room.

Holding the blanket.

Taehyung frowned.

"What are you doing?"

Jungkook looked guilty.

"This used to be mine."

Taehyung froze.

The blanket.

Of course.

They had bought it together years ago during a winter festival.

Neither had realized it was the same one.

The memory hit them both at once.

A cold night.

Warm drinks.

Shared laughter.

A stolen kiss.

Back when everything was simple.

Jungkook carefully folded the blanket and handed it back.

"You keep it."

Taehyung accepted it without a word.

But his chest felt strangely heavy.

Things became even more complicated on Friday.

Taehyung came home exhausted after a long day at work.

The moment he opened the apartment door, he was greeted by loud laughter.

His eyebrows furrowed.

There were people inside.

Walking into the living room, he found Jungkook sitting with his friends.

Among them were Kim Namjoon, Min Yoongi, and Jung Hoseok.

The moment they saw Taehyung, the room became silent.

Namjoon's eyes widened.

Yoongi nearly choked on his drink.

Hoseok looked like he had just witnessed a ghost.

"Wait..." Hoseok pointed between them.

"YOU TWO LIVE TOGETHER?"

Taehyung wanted the floor to swallow him whole.

Jungkook buried his face in his hands.

Unfortunately, things only got worse.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Namjoon asked.

"Because it's none of your business," Jungkook replied.

"Oh, it's definitely our business," Yoongi said.

The older man smirked.

"Especially considering you spent five years crying over him."

The room froze.

Taehyung stared at Jungkook.

Jungkook stared at Yoongi.

Yoongi immediately realized his mistake.

"...Oops."

Taehyung's heart pounded.

Five years crying over him?

Was that true?

Before he could ask anything, Jungkook stood up.

"I'll walk them out."

His voice was unusually tense.

A few minutes later, the apartment became quiet again.

That night, Taehyung couldn't stop thinking about Yoongi's words.

Five years.

Had Jungkook really been hurting all this time?

Because if that was true...

Then maybe he wasn't the only one who had never moved on.

As he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, he heard soft footsteps outside his room.

Then a quiet voice.

Almost a whisper.

"Goodnight, Taehyung."

His heart squeezed.

It was something Jungkook used to say every night when they were together.

Taehyung stared at the door for a long time.

Before finally whispering back.

"Goodnight, Jungkook."

On the other side of the wall, a small smile appeared on Jungkook's face.

Neither of them knew it yet.

But the distance between them was slowly disappearing.

The days after Yoongi's accidental confession felt different.

Not awkward.

Not exactly comfortable either.

Just... different.

Taehyung found himself paying more attention to Jungkook.

The way he always left a bottle of water on the dining table before leaving for work.

The way he quietly cleaned up after cooking.

The way he still smiled whenever he thought no one was looking.

And the more Taehyung noticed, the harder it became to ignore the warmth growing inside his chest.

One Saturday morning, Taehyung woke up to the smell of pancakes.

Confused, he walked into the kitchen.

Jungkook stood by the stove, flipping pancakes with surprising skill.

Taehyung blinked.

"You cook now?"

Jungkook laughed softly.

"I had to learn."

Taehyung sat down at the table.

The sight felt strangely familiar.

Years ago, they used to dream about mornings like this.

A small apartment.

Breakfast together.

A quiet life.

A future.

The future they never got.

As they ate, Taehyung noticed something on Jungkook's wrist.

A silver bracelet.

His eyes widened.

It was the bracelet he had given Jungkook on their second anniversary.

"You still have it?"

Jungkook looked down at his wrist.

For a moment, he seemed nervous.

Then he nodded.

"I couldn't throw it away."

Taehyung's heart skipped a beat.

Neither spoke after that.

But the silence felt softer than before.

Later that afternoon, Taehyung decided to clean the apartment.

While organizing the storage room, he accidentally knocked over an old cardboard box.

The contents spilled onto the floor.

Photographs.

Movie tickets.

Receipts.

Polaroids.

Taehyung froze.

These weren't his.

They belonged to Jungkook.

And every single item was connected to him.

A movie ticket from their first date.

A photo from a summer trip.

A keychain they had bought together.

Jungkook had kept everything.

Every memory.

Every piece of their relationship.

For five years.

"You weren't supposed to see that."

Taehyung turned around.

Jungkook was standing at the doorway.

Neither moved.

Neither looked away.

Finally, Taehyung whispered,

"Why did you keep them?"

Jungkook's eyes softened.

"Because they were important."

The answer was simple.

But it carried years of emotion.

Years of regret.

Years of love.

That evening, rain began to pour outside.

The weather quickly turned cold.

As thunder echoed across the city, the apartment suddenly went dark.

The power had gone out.

"Seriously?" Taehyung groaned.

Jungkook laughed.

"Looks like we're going old-school."

Together they searched for candles.

Soon, the living room glowed with warm candlelight.

The atmosphere felt peaceful.

Comfortable.

Dangerously comfortable.

As they sat on the couch, Taehyung found himself smiling.

For the first time in years, being around Jungkook didn't hurt.

It felt... right.

The realization scared him.

Because he knew exactly what it meant.

His feelings hadn't disappeared.

Not even a little.

"Can I ask you something?" Taehyung suddenly said.

Jungkook looked at him.

"Anything."

Taehyung hesitated.

Then quietly asked,

"Were you happy after we broke up?"

Jungkook stared at the candlelight for several seconds.

Before finally answering.

"No."

The honesty in his voice made Taehyung's chest ache.

"I wasn't happy either," Taehyung admitted.

For the first time since their reunion, they were finally speaking the truth.

No pretending.

No hiding.

Just honesty.

Jungkook slowly turned toward him.

Their eyes met.

And suddenly, the space between them felt much smaller.

Taehyung's heart raced.

Jungkook's gaze lingered.

For one dangerous moment, it felt like the entire world had disappeared.

Just the two of them.

And the feelings they had spent five years trying to bury.

Then—

The electricity came back.

The lights flickered on.

Both immediately looked away.

The moment was broken.

But neither could forget it.

Because for the first time since becoming roommates, they had both realized the same thing.

The past wasn't the problem anymore.

The real problem was that they were falling in love all over again.