Chapter 5~

...The Boy Nobody Saved...

Three days later.

Jeon Corporation was standing again.

Barely.

The losses were under control.

The investors had stopped panicking.

The stock market had stabilized.

The media had moved on.

To the outside world—

Jeon Jungkook had saved his empire once again.

A brilliant CEO.

A perfect heir.

A successful billionaire.

The golden son of the Jeon family.

What a joke.

Because right now, Jungkook couldn't even remember the last time he felt happy.

The company cafeteria was unusually quiet.

Employees watched from a distance.

Whispering.

Observing.

Worrying.

Because their CEO hadn't left the building in almost four days.

Again.

Yoongi walked into Jungkook's office carrying breakfast.

The exact same breakfast Jungkook ignored yesterday.

And the day before that.

And the day before that.

He placed it on the desk.

Jungkook didn't even look up.

"Eat."

Silence.

"Jungkook."

Silence.

Yoongi took a deep breath.

"Jeon Jungkook."

Finally—

"What?"

"You haven't eaten."

"I'm working."

"You always say that."

"Because it's true."

"No."

Yoongi pointed toward the mountain of files.

"That's avoiding your problems."

Jungkook froze.

For just a second.

Then continued typing.

But Yoongi noticed.

Because he always noticed.

That same afternoon.

The Jeon family appeared on television.

A charity event.

Cameras.

Reporters.

Smiles.

Fake happiness.

The usual.

Jimin almost threw the remote across the room.

"Oh, I hate them."

Yoongi nodded.

"Same."

On screen, Jungkook's father smiled warmly.

His stepmother held his arm.

They looked like loving parents.

Supportive parents.

Perfect parents.

Jimin laughed bitterly.

"If only people knew."

"If only."

The office fell silent.

Because both of them knew.

And neither could do anything.

That was the worst part.

Watching someone you cared about suffer.

Knowing exactly who caused it.

And being unable to stop it.

Meanwhile...

Jungkook sat through the charity event like a statue.

Smile.

Shake hands.

Take photos.

Smile again.

Pretend.

Pretend.

Pretend.

A little girl approached him.

No older than seven.

Holding a teddy bear.

"Mr. Jeon?"

Jungkook looked down.

The girl smiled brightly.

"You look sad."

His breath caught.

For a moment...

The entire room disappeared.

Because no executive had noticed.

No investor had noticed.

No reporter had noticed.

Yet somehow—

A child did.

Before Jungkook could answer, her mother hurried over.

"Sorry!"

The woman quickly pulled her daughter away.

But the girl's words remained.

You look sad.

Jungkook stared at the floor.

Because maybe she was right.

Across the city.

Taehyung received a new file.

Normally he ignored media coverage.

Today he didn't.

A photograph caught his attention.

Jeon Family Charity Gala.

His eyes narrowed.

The picture showed Jungkook standing beside his parents.

Smiling.

Perfect family.

Perfect image.

Perfect lie.

Something about it felt wrong.

Very wrong.

Years of reading people had sharpened Taehyung's instincts.

And his instincts were rarely wrong.

Jungkook's smile didn't reach his eyes.

Not even close.

It looked practiced.

Forced.

Empty.

Like someone acting.

Like someone performing for an audience.

Taehyung found himself staring longer than necessary.

"Interesting."

That night...

The mansion was quiet.

Too quiet.

Jungkook hated quiet.

Because quiet gave him time to think.

And thinking was dangerous.

His bedroom door opened.

His father entered.

Without knocking.

Without permission.

Without respect.

Jungkook immediately looked up.

"What?"

His father tossed several documents onto the desk.

"A new investment."

Jungkook glanced at them.

Then froze.

The amount was ridiculous.

Even for the Jeons.

"No."

His father stared.

"What?"

"No."

The room became silent.

Dangerously silent.

"You'll sign it."

"No."

"You belong to this family."

Jungkook laughed.

A quiet laugh.

One completely devoid of humor.

"Do I?"

For the first time—

His father looked surprised.

Because Jungkook never talked back.

Never.

Not anymore.

Not after years of learning it was pointless.

Yet tonight felt different.

Something inside him had cracked.

Not enough to break.

But enough to stop bending.

"You should be grateful."

Jungkook slowly stood.

Grateful.

The word echoed through his mind.

Grateful for what?

The loneliness?

The pressure?

The expectations?

The years spent trying to earn affection that never came?

His hands clenched.

Then unclenched.

Because anger required energy.

And he had none left.

"Leave."

His father stared.

"What?"

"Leave."

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then his father walked out.

Slamming the door behind him.

Jungkook sat back down.

Exhaustion washed over him.

Stronger than ever.

He looked around the massive bedroom.

The expensive furniture.

The luxury.

The wealth.

The emptiness.

Everything money could buy.

Except the one thing he'd wanted as a child.

Love.

His phone buzzed.

A message from Jimin.

Jimin:

Did you eat dinner?

Jungkook:

No.

Three seconds later.

Jimin:

I hate you.

Then another message.

Yoongi:

Eat.

Jungkook stared.

Then laughed softly.

For the first time all day.

Maybe the first time all week.

A genuine laugh.

Small.

But real.

At 2 AM.

Most of Seoul slept.

Jungkook didn't.

He stood alone on the rooftop of Jeon Corporation.

The city lights stretched endlessly below.

Beautiful.

Distant.

Cold.

The wind brushed against his face.

For once...

Nobody demanded anything from him.

Nobody expected anything.

Nobody needed anything.

Just silence.

And peace.

A rare combination.

Far away.

In another building.

Another rooftop.

Another lonely figure stood watching the same city.

Kim Taehyung.

Neither knew it.

But they were looking at the exact same skyline.

Separated by miles.

Separated by worlds.

Separated by secrets.

One carried the burden of an empire.

The other carried the burden of a criminal kingdom.

Both were exhausted.

Both were lonely.

Both wore masks.

And both had spent years convincing themselves they didn't need anyone.

The city glittered beneath them.

Unaware that its two most powerful men were standing under the same sky.

Broken in different ways.

And moving closer to each other with every passing day.

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