Chapter 5: Eyes That Linger

Going out with Taehyung was a mistake.

Jungkook realized it the moment they stepped into the café near campus. It was crowded—voices overlapping, chairs scraping against the floor, the familiar scent of coffee hanging thick in the air.

Normal.

Taehyung, however, was not.

He stayed close. Too close. Close enough that Jungkook could feel his presence behind him as they waited in line.

“You’re tense,” Taehyung murmured.

“It’s crowded,” Jungkook replied, forcing himself to relax.

Taehyung’s gaze drifted—not to the menu, not to the people ahead—but to the ones looking at Jungkook. Watching. Lingering.

“…I see,” he said quietly.

They found a small table by the window. Jungkook focused on his drink, on the cold glass in his hands.

Then—

“Jungkook?”

He looked up to see a classmate from one of his lectures, smiling a little too openly. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Oh—hey,” Jungkook said, surprised. “Uh, this is—”

“He’s with me.”

The words were calm.

Polite.

Final.

Jungkook froze.

Taehyung rested his arm along the back of Jungkook’s chair, fingers brushing his shoulder just once. Casual. Claiming.

The classmate hesitated, eyes flicking between them. “…Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“It’s fine,” Taehyung replied, smiling.

The smile didn’t reach his eyes.

When the classmate left, Jungkook exhaled sharply. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Taehyung turned to him. “He wanted you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do,” Taehyung said simply.

The silence between them stretched.

“You can’t just—” Jungkook stopped, unsure how to finish.

Taehyung leaned closer, voice low. “This world looks at you like it can take you.”

Jungkook’s breath hitched. “…I’m not something to take.”

“I know,” Taehyung replied. “That’s why I’m watching.”

They walked home quieter than before.

Inside the apartment, Jungkook set his bag down, hands shaking. “You were… different today.”

Taehyung faced him fully. “Because someone tried to step into something that isn’t theirs.”

Jungkook’s chest tightened. “…And what is that?”

Taehyung’s gaze dropped—to Jungkook’s hands, his lips, the quick pulse at his throat.

“You,” he said.

The word settled heavy between them.

Outside, the city continued on like nothing had changed.

Inside, Jungkook realized something terrifying.

The line between playful and dangerous had already begun to blur.

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