Chapter 4~

...Echoes of Yesterday...

The following morning arrived far too quickly.

Jungkook had slept for exactly three hours.

Not because of work.

Not because of meetings.

Not because of deadlines.

Because of Taehyung.

Again.

Five years later, Kim Taehyung still had the ability to keep him awake at night.

Jungkook stared at the ceiling of his penthouse.

The city was already awake outside.

Cars moved through the streets.

People rushed to work.

The world continued as if nothing had changed.

Yet everything felt different.

Because for the first time in five years, Taehyung wasn't just a memory.

He was real again.

Close enough to touch.

Close enough to lose.

And that terrified him.

Across the city, Taehyung was having a similar problem.

He sat in his studio with a paintbrush in his hand.

A blank canvas stood before him.

Completely untouched.

For three hours.

His manager watched from the doorway.

"You haven't painted a single thing."

Taehyung didn't look up.

"I know."

"Creative block?"

"No."

The answer came too quickly.

His manager sighed dramatically.

"Jungkook?"

The paintbrush stopped moving.

That was answer enough.

"Oh my God."

"Stop."

"You saw him for one night and now you're staring into space."

"Stop talking."

"You still love him."

Taehyung finally looked up.

"I said stop talking."

His manager raised both hands.

"Fine."

A pause.

"Still true though."

Taehyung threw a pencil.

His manager left before a second object could follow.

Meanwhile, Jungkook sat through a board meeting.

At least physically.

Mentally, he was somewhere else.

"CEO Jeon?"

Silence.

"CEO Jeon?"

Still silence.

Jimin kicked his chair.

Jungkook blinked.

"What?"

The entire conference room stared at him.

One executive coughed awkwardly.

"We were discussing the expansion proposal."

Right.

The expansion proposal.

The thing he normally would have analyzed down to the smallest detail.

Today he couldn't even remember the discussion.

Jimin looked concerned.

Jungkook ignored him.

Unfortunately, everyone knew exactly why their CEO was distracted.

The gossip had already spread.

The famous artist.

The gala.

The reunion.

Executives loved gossip more than teenagers.

After the meeting ended, Jimin entered Jungkook's office carrying a tablet.

"Bad news."

Jungkook looked up.

"What now?"

Jimin placed the tablet on the desk.

An article filled the screen.

The headline immediately caught Jungkook's attention.

Rising Artist Kim Taehyung Seen Leaving Charity Gala With Business Heir Vincent Choi

Jungkook's expression darkened.

The accompanying photo showed Vincent opening a car door for Taehyung.

The image itself was harmless.

Completely innocent.

Yet jealousy isn't logical.

It doesn't care about facts.

It only cares about fear.

And suddenly Jungkook hated that photograph.

A lot.

At that exact moment, Taehyung was sitting across from Vincent at a quiet café.

The meeting had originally been about business.

Unfortunately, Vincent looked unusually serious.

Which usually meant trouble.

"What?"

Vincent sighed.

"Nothing."

"Vincent."

Another sigh.

Then another.

Finally—

"Did seeing him change anything?"

The question immediately killed the atmosphere.

Taehyung looked away.

Outside the café window, people hurried along the sidewalks.

Anything was more interesting than this conversation.

"You're avoiding the question."

"I know."

"Then answer it."

Silence.

Because Taehyung didn't know how.

Had seeing Jungkook changed anything?

Yes.

And no.

The pain was still there.

The disappointment was still there.

The memories were still there.

But so was the love.

The problem was that the love had never left.

Vincent noticed his hesitation.

And unfortunately, hesitation was an answer.

His jaw tightened.

Not with anger.

With sadness.

Because deep down he already knew.

No matter how kind he was.

No matter how patient he was.

No matter how much he cared—

Taehyung's heart belonged somewhere else.

Three days passed.

Then four.

Then five.

No messages.

No calls.

No unexpected meetings.

Nothing.

And somehow that bothered Jungkook more than it should have.

He had survived five years without speaking to Taehyung.

Why did five days suddenly feel impossible?

Because now he knew Taehyung was out there.

Living.

Breathing.

Smiling.

And every second felt wasted.

Finally, on the sixth day, fate intervened.

Again.

Jungkook had a lunch meeting scheduled at a luxury hotel downtown.

A routine business discussion.

Nothing exciting.

Nothing unusual.

At least that's what he thought.

Until he entered the lobby.

And froze.

Taehyung stood near the reception desk.

Looking down at his phone.

Completely unaware.

Jungkook stopped walking.

His heart immediately forgot how to function.

The universe had to be laughing at him.

There were thousands of places in Seoul.

Thousands.

Yet somehow they kept ending up in the same ones.

As if fate was determined to annoy them.

Or help them.

Jungkook still wasn't sure.

Taehyung looked up.

And immediately spotted him.

There was a brief moment of surprise.

Then amusement.

Then something softer.

Something neither of them acknowledged.

"CEO Jeon."

Jungkook smiled.

"Artist Kim."

Taehyung rolled his eyes.

"We sound ridiculous."

"A little."

Their laughter came easier this time.

More natural.

Less forced.

The tension remained.

But it wasn't as sharp as before.

Maybe because the shock of seeing each other again had faded.

Or maybe because part of them had secretly wanted another chance to talk.

"What are you doing here?" Jungkook asked.

"Meeting a gallery owner."

"You?"

"Business lunch."

Taehyung nodded.

For a second, neither moved.

Then—

"Your meeting starts soon?"

Taehyung checked his watch.

"Twenty minutes."

Jungkook looked at his own.

"Mine too."

Silence.

The opportunity hung between them.

Obvious.

Dangerous.

Tempting.

Twenty minutes.

Not enough time.

But more than nothing.

Way more than nothing.

Taehyung noticed the hesitation in Jungkook's eyes.

The same hesitation he remembered from years ago.

Only this time it wasn't uncertainty.

It was hope.

Careful hope.

The kind neither of them trusted yet.

"Coffee?"

The word left Jungkook before he could overthink it.

Taehyung blinked.

Jungkook immediately regretted asking.

Maybe it was too soon.

Maybe it was a bad idea.

Maybe—

"Okay."

Jungkook stared.

"What?"

"You asked me for coffee."

A smile tugged at Taehyung's lips.

"I'm saying yes."

For a moment, Jungkook simply stood there.

Then something warm spread through his chest.

Small.

Fragile.

But real.

Five years ago, they had lost each other.

Today, it was only coffee.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

Yet somehow it felt like the beginning of something.

Or maybe the continuation of something that had never truly ended.

Neither of them knew.

But as they walked toward the hotel café together, side by side, the distance between them felt slightly smaller than before.

Not gone.

Not healed.

Just...

Smaller.

And for now, that was enough.

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