Chapter 4 — The First Sacrifice
Taehyung found out by accident.
It was a quiet afternoon—rare, precious. He had come home early, a meeting canceled last minute. The house greeted him with stillness and the faint smell of something warm cooking.
Jungkook was in the study.
Not Taehyung’s study—the smaller one, tucked away at the end of the hall. The door was half open. Taehyung would have passed by if not for the familiar name on the screen.
Jeon Jungkook.
Curiosity stalled his steps.
The email was open, not hidden. A formal message. Polite. Final.
Resignation accepted.
Taehyung stared.
Once.
Twice.
His chest tightened sharply.
Jungkook had never mentioned resigning. Never complained. Never even hinted that something so significant had already ended.
Taehyung pushed the door open fully.
Jungkook looked up, startled. “Oh—you're home early.”
“How long?” Taehyung asked.
Jungkook blinked. “How long since…?”
“You left your job,” Taehyung said flatly.
Silence fell between them.
Jungkook’s shoulders relaxed, like someone realizing there was no point hiding anymore. “A few weeks before the wedding.”
Taehyung’s voice sharpened. “You did it before we were even married?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Jungkook stood slowly. “Because once we married, it would’ve been harder to explain. I didn’t want it to seem like obligation.”
“That’s exactly what it is,” Taehyung snapped. “You gave up your career because of me.”
Jungkook shook his head. “Because of us.”
“There is no ‘us’ in a contract,” Taehyung said, words cutting even as something inside him shook. “You had a future.”
“I still do.”
Taehyung laughed, short and bitter. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not,” Jungkook said softly. “I chose this.”
That word again.
Choice.
Taehyung turned away abruptly, anger masking something far more dangerous. “You shouldn’t have.”
“I wanted to,” Jungkook replied.
Taehyung spun back. “Do you even hear yourself? You gave up everything and you say it like it doesn’t matter.”
“It matters,” Jungkook said. “Just not more than you.”
The room went still.
Taehyung’s breath caught.
That—that—was crossing a line.
“You shouldn’t say things like that,” Taehyung said quietly.
Jungkook frowned. “Why?”
“Because alphas say those things before they regret them.”
Jungkook took a step forward, then stopped. Always stopping. Always careful.
“I won’t regret choosing you,” he said. “But if you want me to leave—”
“I didn’t say that,” Taehyung cut in sharply.
Silence again.
Taehyung looked away, jaw tight. “I never asked you to sacrifice yourself.”
“I know,” Jungkook said. “That’s why it was my decision.”
Taehyung left the room without another word.
That night, Taehyung sat alone in his office, lights dim, city glowing faintly beyond the glass.
His chest hurt.
Not because Jungkook had left his job.
But because he had done it so willingly.
Because no one had ever chosen Taehyung without expecting repayment. Because devotion had always come with conditions.
And Jungkook—quiet, gentle Jungkook—had offered everything without demanding anything back.
It terrified him.
In the bedroom, Jungkook lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
He wondered if he had made a mistake—if honesty had pushed too hard, too fast. He had wanted Taehyung to understand, not feel trapped.
Still, if he had to choose again, he knew the answer.
He always would.
From opposite sides of the house, both lay awake, bound by the same thought neither dared to say aloud:
Something fragile had been touched.
And neither of them knew whether it would break—
or finally begin to grow...
....*End....*
hey, are you all really liking it or not. It's my first time writing soo..it is difficult.
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