chapter 5

Jungkook spent the entire drive home clutching the bouquet on his lap. Taehyung’s favorite flowers—soft peach tulips, delicate and shy, just like him. Next to them lay a small velvet box containing a simple necklace, thin silver, with a tiny star pendant.

Taehyung always loved stars.

Jungkook inhaled slowly. He was nervous. His heart was beating fast. After months of distance, shouting, and misunderstandings, he was finally ready to take the first step.

He would apologise.

He would talk.

He would hold Taehyung if Taehyung let him.

He stepped inside the mansion quietly.

Minji was the first to see him. She squealed loudly and ran over, throwing her arms around him.

“Oh my god! You bought me flowers and jewelry? Jungkookie, you’re the sweetest—”

Jungkook stiffened immediately.

“They’re not for you, Minji.” he said, taking a step back. “They’re for Taehyung.”

Minji froze for a second. Her expression faltered—just for a heartbeat—but she quickly fixed a bright smile on her face.

“Oh… Taehyung. That’s… great. Really.”

Jungkook nodded once and took a step toward the staircase, but Minji grabbed his wrist.

“Wait! Dinner is ready! I cooked your favourite dish. You’ll eat a little, right? And I’ll bring Taehyung down.”

Jungkook hesitated.

He didn’t trust her completely now. Yoongi and Hoseok’s words from the morning still echoed in his head.

But he also didn’t want to seem rude.

And Minji was his sister. Or at least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

So after a moment of internal battle, he sighed softly.

“Fine. But only a little.”

Minji grinned brightly at her small victory. “Perfect! You sit. I’ll bring Taehyung.”

Jungkook sat at the dining table, placing the tulips gently on the side. He ran his thumb over the velvet necklace box, trying to imagine Taehyung’s shy smile when he saw it.

Maybe everything could be fixed tonight.

But suddenly—

A loud crash echoed from upstairs.

Jungkook shot up instantly.

“Minji?”

He raced up the stairs two at a time, panic clenching his heart, the necklace box falling from his hand.

At the top of the stairs, his blood ran cold.

Minji lay on the floor, tiny shards of a broken glass case around her. A long piece had pierced her palm; blood trickled down her wrist. Minji was trembling, crying loudly, her entire body curled defensively.

And Taehyung stood a few feet away—frozen, horrified, hands shaking, eyes wide.

Jungkook rushed past Taehyung without a second glance and kneeled beside Minji.

“What happened?!”

Minji sobbed harder, grabbing his shirt. “Jungkook… Taehyung—he—he slapped me… and pushed me… he called me a homewrecker… I-I…”

Taehyung gasped. “No—no, I didn’t—Jungkook, listen— I didn’t touch her—”

Minji cried louder, hiding her face in Jungkook’s chest. “He hates me… he’s jealous… he wants me gone… I didn’t do anything…”

Taehyung’s voice cracked. “I didn’t touch her. The case slipped, she tripped—Jungkook, please—”

Jungkook stood up suddenly, eyes filled with blazing anger and betrayal.

“Taehyung,” he said, voice shaking with rage, “why!? I thought we can talk things out and understand what went wrong, But why you again and again do something which hurts others?”

Tears spilled down Taehyung’s cheeks. “I didn’t do anything. Jungkook, please believe me.”

But Minji whimpered from the floor, “It’s fine… don’t be angry at him… I don’t want to ruin your marriage… maybe it was my fault…”

Her trembling voice and bleeding hand made Taehyung’s denial sound weak, unbelievable, desperate in comparison.

Jungkook clenched his fists.

“Taehyung,” he said harshly, “what kind of person have you become…?”

Taehyung’s knees gave out as if someone had cut the strings holding him up. “Why… why won’t you trust me…?”

Jungkook didn’t answer.

He lifted Minji gently into his arms. She cried softly against him, her fingers curling on his shoulder as if she was the victim of some terrible assault.

Taehyung watched, heart tearing apart piece by piece.

Jungkook carried Minji past him without a single glance.

But Taehyung’s eyes were fixed on something behind them.

The tulips.

The necklace box lying on the carpet.

Jungkook had dropped them in his hurry to reach Minji.

And Minji saw it too.

As Jungkook walked past the dining room, Minji tilted her head and saw the flowers on the table. She saw the delicate velvet box lying near the chair leg.

A small, cruel smirk flickered over her lips for half a second—just long enough for Taehyung to notice from upstairs.

Then she hid her face again in Jungkook’s chest, pretending to sob.

Jungkook didn’t see her expression.

He was too focused on getting her to the car, driving her to the hospital, cursing himself for being careless, cursing Taehyung for—something Taehyung didn’t even do.

Taehyung stood still in the silent hallway long after they left.

Then slowly, he walked down the stairs, each step heavier than the last.

He picked up the tulips with trembling hands. A tear splashed onto one of the petals.

He picked up the necklace box and held it to his chest like it was something fragile—something meant for a Taehyung who no longer existed in Jungkook’s eyes.

He sank onto the cold floor, the flowers slipping from his hands.

And finally, in the empty mansion, with no one to see him break—

Taehyung cried until his voice disappeared.

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