08.hanging By A Thread | Reliability Kth

08. hanging by a thread | reliability • kth

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pairing: taehyung x reader word count: 2.909 genre: drama, light angst rating: pg-13 warnings: cursing au: ceo/office trope: enemies to friends to lovers tags: ceo!taehyung, office!au, best friend!yoongi, unresolved emotional tension, mutual pining, slow burn crosspost: ao3

summary: tae is conflicted between following yoongi's advice and respecting Y/N decision to move on with another man. which one will he choose?

A/N: definitely one of my favorite chapters :’) with the story nearing its end, i had to continue the build up and create a curve that would lead to the apex (which will come in chapter 9). hope you like it!!

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“I guess I should probably go…” was the first thing Y/N said after a few minutes of complete silence. I was leaning against the tv wall with my forehead pressed against the cold marble and eyes tightly shut. I knew she was starting to get uncomfortable and I desperately wanted to say something to make the situation less uncomfortable. Oh well.

“Are you coming back to Vante?” I asked slightly banging my head to make the imminent headache that was beginning to form go the fuck away.

“No, why?” she quickly replied, sounding genuinely confused.

I immediately turned around, “But I apologized”

“You’re missing the point — again” Y/N said annoyed, “It’s not about that. It’s about what’s best for me right now”

“Running away, you mean?” I crossed my arms and took a few steps closer to her.

“Choosing” she got up from the couch with her purse already hanging from her shoulder, ready to leave. “For the first time in a long time, this is something I chose, for myself. Not for you, not for my family, not for anybody”

I think she has a point. After how honest she was today, I can only accept that she no longer wants to work with me, let alone have me in her life, but it's hard. I never thought we would reach this point. Although she didn't consider us friends, I feel like I'm losing one and it’s the weirdest feeling ever. I don't even know what I can possibly say to reverse this situation and make sure that at least we keep in touch from time to time, like college buddies I guess. 

Jesus, this is so lame. I don’t know if I can do it.

The crazy part is that, for a millisecond, I saw something sad in her eyes. Like she didn't want to go away or maybe she regretted this decision. Unfortunately, I can't hang my hopes on a hunch. I shouldn’t have hopes in the first place, she made that very clear tonight.

“I’ll have your paperwork ready by monday morning. Can you swing by the office?”

“Yes, thank you!”

The relief tone she used stung.

“I’m gonna go now” Y/N announced and I moved out of the way taking a couple steps back to let her through.

“I’ll walk you out”

“Don’t worry about it” she gave me a faint smile, “I know the way”

I feel a mixture of contempt, sadness, and shame. She doesn't even wanna be close to me. It's like I don't know her anymore, I'm shocked. I can't even accompany her for the last time, say a proper goodbye. Would I ever see her again?

Before she reached the front door I decided to turn my back so I wouldn't have the image of her leaving engraved in my brain forever. If I didn’t see it then it didn’t happen, it’s not real, she didn’t leave for good, just temporarily.

Entering my bedroom, I grabbed my phone lying on the bed and texted Yoon Gi.

kim taehyung | 11:23pm: she’s gone gone  min yoongi | 11:25pm: what? kim taehyung | 11:25pm: y/n. she left for real this time min yoongi | 11:26pm: why? kim taehyung | 11:29pm: she’s getting married

As soon as I pressed send I knew it would get a reaction out of him and I laughed out loud when my phone rang announcing his call coming through.

“What the fuck?” Yoon Gi bluntly started.

“Yes” I chuckled.

“You’re kidding right?”

I moved up the bed and laid down, propping one of my arms behind my head, “Wish I was”

“Hold on. How is she getting married? To whom? Was she even dating?”

“To some English guy named Eric”

“English?” he sounded disgusted.

“Well, he’s half Korean. His parents moved to England before he was born” I stared at the ceiling recalling the time when I first found this out.

“How do you know that?” Yoon Gi asked like he read my mind.

“Google”

“Taehyung…”

He will think I’m crazy.

“Fine, a private investigator”

“Just because she is marrying him?”

See? Crazy people behavior alert.

“God no, I’m not a psycho” I explained, “I had him check out the first time he appeared, a few years ago. He’s Y/N college boyfriend”

“So you know him”

“No. Technically they met at the MBA program in London not in college but it was around the same time we graduated so who cares…Anyway, one day he showed up at the office to pick her up and she introduced him as her boyfriend”

I remember like it was yesterday, dark hair, bangs almost on his eyes, a kind smile. A full-on goody-goody. Too perfect to be real, raising the biggest red flag on my book of weirdos.

“I thought it was very strange she hadn’t mentioned a boyfriend before so I had him check out just to make sure he wasn’t a serial killer or something, you know?” I continued.

“And at that moment you didn’t realize you had feelings for her?” the way Yoon Gi asked the question I knew he was furring his eyebrows behind the phone.

“What?”

“Please, who does that? You actually paid a guy to look into another guy because of a girl. A girl that was just your employee, by the way. Don’t you think it screams ‘I’m-in-love-with-you-and-incredibly-jealous-of-this-relationship-you-suddenly-have’?”

“Now I do,” I scratched my head and sat up, “at the time I thought I was just being nice and looking out for a female employee. You know how many weirdos exist these days”

“Right…”

I let out a loud sight and got out of bed. Yoon Gi was doubting my intentions and, even though I was unconsciously already interested in Y/N at the time, what I did was perfectly okay. I didn’t do it because I was jealous nor was I trying to sabotage their relationship.

“Did you at least confess your feelings?” he asked.

I paced around the room a little bit before answering, “Not exactly”

“What do you mean not exactly? Either you did or you didn’t”

“We kinda argued about some stuff, then acknowledged we had sexual tension and next thing I knew she was telling me how ever since college she wanted to be my friend or even more”

“Yah!!!!” Yoon Gi yelled, making me almost drop my phone.

“What, what?”

“If I was next to you right now I’d punch you in the face”

“Why?” I asked, kneeling in front of the bed and putting my phone on speaker. Yoon Gi knew how to be scary sometimes.

“I can’t believe she said this and you didn’t confess” he grunted, “That was your cue! What’s wrong with you?” I could hear the non-existent facepalm from miles away. He was disappointed in me, I knew it. Bet he’s thinking how our conversation at the pub didn’t mean shit for me, but it did.

“I apologized though” I paused to get a reaction, staring at the phone. “Wholeheartedly!” I added.

Sometimes I felt like a little boy asking his father's approval. I never did that with mine but I found myself doing it with Yoon Gi every now and then. I always wanted to be cool in his eyes.

“Okay, that’s actually good”

I silently mouthed a thank you and fixed my posture to sit cross-legged in front of my phone to talk to Yoon Gi as if he was on my bed.

“Yeah, but then as I was gathering the courage, trying to find a way to approach the subject she was like since you wanna know about my personal life, I’m engaged, how’s that for personal? and I was just standing there like are you serious?”

I may have mimicked her voice and my voice for theatrical purposes, which made Yoon Gi laugh. He could be so annoying sometimes, I swear. 

“Why you laughing?”

“I’m imagining the look on your face”

“Thanks”

“Go on…” he said, obviously trying to hold his laugh.

“That was basically it. She said it was her choice and I pondered a little bit before agreeing and saying I would have her resignation papers drafted and ready by monday morning”

“Wait, so she’s not coming back?” Yoon Gi’s tone went back to serious.

“Oh yeah, no" I shrugged.

“Wow, you’re fucked” he clicked his teeth.

“Yup” I agreed, infatuating the ‘p’.

“Personally and professionally” he reiterated.

“Big time”

“I don’t know what to say to you right now”

“I was counting on your advice, to be honest” I tittered.

“Now that you thought about your feelings and is sure about them, you have to tell her”

“Yoongi,” I got up and started gesticulating towards the phone as if he could see me, “she’s getting married!”

Did I not tell the story right? Was he not following along?

“She’s not married yet”

He got me there. If we are going to stick to technical terms, I guess Yoon Gi is right.

“On monday morning, when she stops by to get the papers, just tell her” he suggested.

I don't know, there is something about not respecting the boundaries she imposed half an hour ago that doesn't sit right with me. On the other hand, what made me equally uneasy was how sad she seemed when she left.

“It won’t make any difference” I scoffed, sitting down next to the phone and biting my thumb nail.

“You don’t know that” Yoon Gi reprimanded me.

“I don’t think she’ll like it very much” I shook my head nervously.

Come to think of it, she has been sad ever since our talk in the emergency staircase.

“You don’t know that either” he pointed out.

“Isn’t it just rude? I know she’s with another guy and she made it very clear tonight that she doesn’t want to be in any form of relationship with me. She didn’t even let me walk her out!”

“Stop making excuses for yourself and decisions for her. Just tell her. You’ll feel better, I promise”

“Doubtful” I said, face between my hands, the sound coming off a little bit muffled. I don’t know if Yoon Gi heard me or not. He’s right, I know he is, but I just can’t do it. She’ll just start to hate me and if there’s one thing I’m not willing to lose is her respect.

“Listen to me, don’t listen to me, I don’t care. You know I don’t care” he said, “All I know is that you guys would’ve been great together and you’ll definitely regret it not even trying”

“Damn” I looked at the phone.

“What?” he chuckled, “Too harsh?”

“Not more than usual”

That made me smile. Yoon Gi has always been the type of friend who said what needed to be said instead of what you would like to hear. At the beginning of our friendship, I misunderstood his advice for personal criticism especially tailored to hurt my ego. As I got to know him better, I learned his sincerity was a gift and was always accompanied by the best intentions. He really cared. Not about if I liked or not or what I was going to do per se, but how much I was going to let the problem affect me. 

Yoon Gi is an empathic guy, although he doesn't seem like it at first. He is always thinking about how to help other people feel better and I am very grateful to have him in my life. He knows that even if I don't take the majority of his advice, I have too much respect for him to not at least consider what he has to say.

“I was going for painful” he jokes.

“I appreciate you” I smile again.

“I know you do”

“Talk to you soon”

“Bye!”

After ending the call, I had a lot to think about. I needed a plan to talk to Y/N on monday, I couldn't just confess my feelings out of the blue. It's late and I'm too tired. I'll deal with it tomorrow.

******

As soon as I turn left on the street, I can see my house and relief runs through my body. I can't wait to take a shower and sleep! Airplanes are so uncomfortable. But wait, the lights are on.

After parking, I climb the short flight of stairs that connects the garage to the main house and go out into the corridor, instantly being greeted by the delicious smell of something being baked.

“Hi, I’m back!” I say in a sing-song voice, taking off my shoes.

“In the kitchen” a female voice shouts.

Heading in the direction of the voice, and thinking about what I'm probably going to eat, I walk into Y/N separating some ingredients on the island and picking up the mixer.

“What are you doing?” I ask confused.

“Baking a cake?” she replies with a ‘duh’ expression.

I didn't know Y/N liked to cook, I'm quite shocked she is here. How did she get in? I don't remember giving her the keys.

“Okay, and since when do you bake?” I teased taking off my jacket and throwing it on the couch.

She looked up, pointing the spatula at me, “Since the man that I love decided he didn’t want a birthday party”

I smiled and she continued preparing what I gathered was the frosting. I'll never get sick of hearing her say those words. It gives me goosebumps and fills my chest with the warmest, most amazing feeling.

“It’s not that big of a deal” I shrugged.

It really wasn't. I don't care much about my birthday. I used to when I was younger. Once I rented a yacht for the weekend, another time I took my friends to Greece, another year I went to Vegas with Yoon Gi. It's funny to see how priorities change over time because these things sound so trivial right now and don't appeal to me anymore. I did it for fun, not because the fact that I was born was an important event. It was just a date on the calendar where I was allowed to go crazy.

Y/N, however, didn’t see it that way.

“To me it is!”

Inside the bowl in front of her was this beautiful, soft-looking white mixture that made my mouth water and I quickly reached my hand to scoop a little bit.

“This looks good, can I have a tas—” I was interrupted with a slap on my hand.

“No!”

“Ouch” I laugh.

“I’m not done yet” she laughs too and I roll my eyes. Just a tiny bit wouldn’t make a difference, she knows that! Looks so tasty.

“If you behave, I have a surprise set up for you later” she smirked.

“Oh really?” I hugged her from behind, putting my hands on her stomach and leaving a kiss on her cheek. She hummed in response and kept smiling while stirring the mix.

“Can’t wait” I whispered in her ear before kissing her naked shoulder, which unfortunately wasn’t for long thanks to a stupid alarm that started ringing nonstop.

“Aren’t you gonna get that?” Y/N asked me and I shook my head in the crook of her neck. “Tae!” she laughs, “Your phone is ringing”

All of a sudden I feel sad for some reason, “I wanna stay here with you”

Y/N immediately stops stirring the mix and turns around to face me, displaying the most loving look in her eyes as she smiles and hugs me, “But baby, I’m not going anywhere”

And just as seamless it started, seamlessly it ended. When I turned around to pick up my phone and answer it, I suddenly found myself in another place, now totally dark and Y/N was nowhere near. This is actually my bedroom, 4:12 am. It was all a dream.

I sat on the bed, took a few deep breaths, ran my hands over my face and hair, forcing myself to get back to reality and fully wake up from the best and most realistic dream I’ve ever had. It was like a taste of what my life could have been with Y/N if only I had realized my feelings sooner. I hate myself for wasting so much time and energy fighting and suppressing it.

I squeezed my eyes shut trying to remember every detail of her face as she smiled at me. I don't think I have ever gotten this close in real life and wonder how I managed to visualize those beautiful eyes so clearly. Especially the way they formed wrinkles on top of her cheekbones when she smiled and the way her lips practically begged to be kissed.

She seemed so happy with me. And she was baking a cake, for God’s sake. I don’t even like cake that much and yet she made them look like the best creation mankind came up with. Who knew a dream could leave you this worked up. No, stop! I have to remind myself that it isn’t real. She’s not mine, she’s marrying somebody else.

She’s not married yet.

Yoon Gi's voice pops up in my head and that statement is the only thing I can think of as I lie down again and try to go back to sleep. I don’t think I’ll be able to wait until monday to talk to her. I can’t hold it in anymore.

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𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 ❤ 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸! 𝗶 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆

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01. the linchpin | reliability • kth

index | next

pairing: taehyung x reader word count: 1.900 genre: drama, light angst rating: pg-13 warnings: cursing au: ceo/office trope: enemies to friends to lovers tags: ceo!taehyung, office!au, best friend!yoongi, unresolved emotional tension, mutual pining, slow burn crosspost: ao3

summary: a predictable mistake in buying shares becomes the perfect opportunity for taehyung to show everybody in the company no one is above his rules. what he didn’t know was that his plan would backfire making him question what the real meaning of trust is

A/N: this story began as a drabble bc i love dramatic scenes, whether in movies, television or books. confrontation is always one of my favorite things about them so i decided to try to write one for the first time ever. clearly i still have a lot to learn but i hope you like it!

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Another meeting, another group of incompetent people that I can't believe I hired. Sitting at the end of a long wood table, I scrolled through my phone reading a few emails while all the shareholders took their positions. It was absurd that I had to call a meeting on Friday night because of a predictable and, quite frankly, stupid mistake but here we were.

“Mr. Kim, we're ready” my secretary said discreetly as she handed me a folder filled with documents.

“Thank you” I replied as I got up from the chair and started spreading the papers on the table in front of me.

“Good evening! First, I would like to thank you all for coming on such short notice. The reason for this emergency meeting is to talk about the purchase of a few Min Industries shares” I paused and gazed into the eyes of everyone present. Some of them were curious, tired, others frightened and one in particular very angry.

“I believe all of you realized that ever since it happened our company has started to fall into devaluation, thanks to someone’s stupid and hasty decision” I continued while looking at the documents before me. “I don't want an explanation about what happened or why it happened, just how we are going to solve it” I turned and faced my main suspect, “Today”

“Mr. Kim, if I may, I think I speak for everyone here when I say that there is nothing legally wrong with the purchase” said Lee Sung, one of our oldest and most efficient lawyers. Still, it was a matter of principle for me and everyone knew that.

“I understand, Mr. Lee, but this is not what I'm worried about” I began calmly walking around the table while elaborating my thoughts, “You see... although Min Industries doesn’t compete directly with us they have affiliates who do. Therefore…”

“Therefore it’s smart to buy the shares precisely because it gives us more control over the affiliates” said Y/N, interrupting me.

I couldn't help the smirking that escaped my lips. Y/N took the bait and it was all I needed. From the beginning, I knew she was the one leading the expansion project and everything was going well until she put my credibility with Min Yoon Gi in check.

Yoon Gi and I are old friends, practically brothers, but our families have a particular rivalry that has lasted for almost 50 years. It is nothing that explicit or dramatic. An outsider wouldn't see the animosity, for example. I see it as a truce, however, it's still a delicate matter for our parents and grandparents. When we both took over the businesses, we agreed that we would not repeat their mistakes and promised to interfere as little as possible in each other's company. If it was strictly necessary, we would have to talk before any steps were taken. That was the deal and that is why I was furious at Y/N's audacity to make a decision like this one. She was aware of our family's situation even if not exactly about what I had promised my friend.

“Are you serious, miss Y/LN?”

“Why would I be kidding?” she replied looking confused, twisting the pen between her fingers like she was bored.

“I have no idea, but to call that a smart decision, one that immediately impacts my company's profit, not to mention my personal reputation, seems like a joke. And a bad one to say the least” I said, staring at her intensely as I approached her chair.

The atmosphere got heavy and I couldn't care less. I was right and everyone knew it. Y/N took a risk, as she is paid to do, but the risk was not worth it and she needed to take responsibility for it. If it was anyone else I would have already fired without even calling a meeting. Luckily, she's a key part of the company and one of the shareholders as well so I decided to scold her in front of others to send a subtle warning that nothing goes unnoticed by me and that measures will always be taken, regardless of the level of the hierarchy. This is my way to send a warning because I don't do threats.

Y/N gulped and shifted in her chair, visibly uncomfortable with my proximity.

“So I'm going to ask you again, miss Y/N: are you serious?” I crossed my arms and tilted my head to the side, watching her try very hard not to lose her composure. I had known Y/N for a long time and she always managed to be as cold as me, yet on occasions where her professionalism was questioned her replies used to be impulsive.

“Mr. Kim, I'll be frank” she started, standing up and walking towards the pulpit next to the projection screen. “It was indeed a risk on my part to put Vante Enterprises ahead of such a high-profile acquisition and, for the embarrassment caused, I sincerely apologize”

“Why do I feel like there's a 'but' coming?” I asked, sitting on the chair that she left vacant.

“But"

“See?” I turned to Seo Nu sitting on my left. He laughed politely because I laughed first. Deep down he didn't think it was funny and just wanted to suck up to me. Clever.

“But I still believe that in the long run, we’ll reap great results… excellent results, in fact! Here's a chart” Y/N pointed at the screen in front of us and began to confidently defend her decision, clearly and calmly, completely different from the Y/N of a minute ago who I thought would lose her temper.

* * * * * * *

The meeting room broke out in applause as soon as Y/N finished presenting a chain of detailed information regarding the shares, and although I was surprised by the level of research she prepared, I was unable to hide my dissatisfaction as CEO by confirming that Y/N still didn't understand the problem.

“Could you guys excuse us?” I looked at Y/N and then at the other shareholders. Since the person responsible presented herself there was no need to keep putting on a show, right? I got up, buttoned my jacket, and returned to my original spot on the table to organize the papers I had left lying there.

While arranging them all in a pile, the room emptied and Y/N approached.

“You love to exaggerate things, don't you?” she snarled looking me up and down.

“You love to ignore the rules and interfere with what doesn't concern you, don't you?” I fired back mimicking her attitude.

Y/N stopped for a moment and studied my expression. For a split second, I could feel a question in the air as if she wanted to know if that's what I actually thought of her — a nosy and unprofessional person who ignored her superiors on purpose. I didn’t. She looked hurt. Still, her voice gave no indication that my response had affected her.

“I love my work! It's great and you pay me well” she said, taking the papers from my hand. “Oh, what do we have here?”

“Don't be childish, give me the papers Y/N” I motioned my hands and closed my eyes feeling exhausted.

“What are these projections? How come I have never seen them before?” Y/N's voice came out louder than before depicting a mixture of shock and disbelief. “There is no actual proof that these companies are connected, it doesn't make sense” she walked back to the pulpit, eyes glued to the documents to compare the numbers and references with the slides she had spent hours preparing.

“Y/N give me the papers, that information is above you” I demanded in a firm tone. “Besides, my intention with today's meeting was to get you to find a solution to your own mess but even that you weren't able to”

“How can I solve it if I don't have all the information, Tae Hyung?” Y/N lowered the papers she was gripping so tightly in front of her face and I could see red, teary eyes along with the angry tone in her voice. She hadn't called me Tae Hyung since college and that felt like a blow in my stomach.

“If I had known that the companies were connected I would have thought twice before buying the shares... I…” Y/N's voice failed but she cleared her throat and continued “...this is your fault!”

“Mine?” I asked dumbfounded.

“You left me in the dark and I made an important decision without having all the information” she pushed the papers onto my chest and started pulling the projector's wires angrily, “This is not what I call trust”

“Seriously? Are we going to talk about trust? Bit ironic, don’t you think?” I started chasing her around the room while she collected her belongings and threw them into a big purse.

Y/N snorted like what I just said was absurd.

“You know very well the situation between my family and Yoon Gi's. I always made it clear that we don't do business with them and yet you went there and did it” I placed my hand on top of her purse, preventing her from continuing what she was doing. “Where is my trust in you now?” I questioned her almost in a pleading tone.

Y/N pulled the purse off the table in one swift motion and I almost lost my balance.

“You know what? You're right. I was wrong” she said, looking defeated. “I shouldn't have shown interest in shares that involved Yoon Gi's company, but you definitely shouldn't have hidden these documents from me either” she continued taking a few steps back, slowly moving away from me. “And that's where you fucked up. You're still obsessed with secrets and rules, keeping everyone who tries to help you away"

“Wait a minute” I interjected. This was unfair, it was not like that.

“I'm not done talking” she gazed at me very seriously and I had no choice but to stop and listen. “I know that we have differing opinions on many things and I have teased you too much in the past 10 years with my analysis and requirements, but I never... I say never... would do anything that would harm the company”

“I know” I whispered, feeling kind of dumb for blurting it all out like that.

“It doesn't look like it” she placed the purse on her shoulder. “For me, you're trying to find a reason to get me out of here”

My jaw dropped in shock. Y/N had no idea how much I valued her work, and at this very moment, I didn't know what to say first. An apology? An explanation? A plea? I could have said anything, but I didn't. Not even a fucking sound. My mouth remained open as my thoughts flew through my mind at a frightening speed, making it look like I was confirming her impression.

“I’m gonna save you the trouble. I quit”

Y/N gave me what looked like a small bow or maybe a quick nod as if to excuse herself and then left the room without another word, leaving me leaning against the table without understanding what had just happened, finding myself, for the first time in a long time, completely alone.

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𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 ❤ 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸! 𝗶 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ revised version: 09.25.2021

drabble #54

seokjin x reader || angst || 806 words prompt: “i need more time” warnings: explicit mentions of physical injury rating: 18+ tags: established relationship, slice of life!au

Monday, 9:32 am and Jin had not experienced such despair in his entire life. He ran in, completely out of breath, and stopped in front of the wooden counter that said in large bold letters: Severance Hospital, Yonsei University.

“Hi, I’m Kim Seokjin and I’m looking for my wife. Someone from the hospital just called me and said she’s gotten into an accident and was brought here.”

A young woman with dark hair perfecly tied in a ponytail replied, “I was the one who called you, Mr. Kim. I’m Choi Eun Joo” she nodded and pointed with the clipboard to the adjoining corridor, "This way, Dr. Yoo is waiting."

"Mr. Kim?" the doctor standing in the middle of the hallway asked.

"Yes" Jin replied, approaching and bowing.

"I’m Dr. Yoo. I’ll be the one operating on your wife.”

"You mean surgery?" Jin looked at Eun Joo and back to Dr. Yoo, “What happened? Is she okay?"

"A truck suddenly cut her off on Expressway 171 and caused her car to collide sideways into the guard rail" he explained.

"Oh my god..." Jin put a hand over his mouth in total disbelief.

“She was found unconscious with a cut on her head, a fractured wrist, and injuries along her entire left side, especially the ribs” the doctor explained, “We just completed a CT scan and x-ray that confirmed that her lung was punctured."

"Pu-punctured?" Jin stuttered.

“Yes, by one of the ribs. The fracture in her wrist isn’t pretty either so I need to get her to surgery as soon as possible.”

"Alright" he ran his hands through his hair.

"When I'm done, I’ll come back to give you an update."

As soon as Jin bowed once again thanking Dr. Yoo and saw him disappear through the OR door, a horrible sensation ran down his spine and he had to sit in the nearest chair to keep from collapsing. His vision blurred and a high-pitched sound rang in his ears, increasing its volume until he felt disoriented.

"Are you okay?" Eun Joo approached, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, yes, thank you" Jin nodded.

"Nurse Choi, room 408" the hospital's sound system announced, "Nurse Choi, room 408."

Once the nurse left, Jin stood up and took a deep breath. What should he do now? It all happened so fast. The only thing he could think of was the argument he had had with his wife before they both left for work, how rude he was and how scared she must have been when the truck came towards her. She hated driving on the Expressway.

This was all his fault.

If they hadn’t argued, they wouldn’t have lost track of time, she wouldn’t need to go to work through the 171 to avoid being late and she would never have been in an accident. If he wasn’t such a proud guy his wife wouldn’t be laying on the operating table right now. Jin needed to focus! The next step was to sort out her paperwork. All he needed to do was go back the way he came from, turn left, go down the stairs and enter the second door towards the reception. She needed him more than ever.

However, Jin was so nervous he turned right instead of left. The second he realized the stairs weren’t there he freaked out and ran out down the hall, desperately opening all doors. In one of them, much to his surprise, there was a chapel inside.

Something told Jin to come in and sit down. He did so, closing the door behind him. The chapel was small with an extremely modern and clear design. The benches looked like marble and were arranged in three short rows. On the front wall, a single silver cross was illuminated by blue light.

"I need to calm down..." he said aloud, a little awkwardly, as he sat in the right corner of the first row. Jin intertwined his legs and lowered his head, letting all the tension come out in the form of warm, silent tears.

“I need more time” he suddenly sobbed, “Can you help me? I know we don't talk much, but I need to apologize to her. I need to say that I love her.”

Jin rubbed his eyes and looked at the cross.

"Please, I’m begging you. You are the boss, right? You make all the decisions, so tell her to be okay, then” he sniffed, “I shouldn't have said those things, I know, but please don't take her away from me. I promise that I’ll do better.”

Somebody opened the door and Jin immediately wiped his tears again and stood up. After greeting the person who entered, in silence, he looked at the cross one last time and thought: I’m counting on you.

09. careful decision, heartful declaration | reliability • kth

previous | index | final

pairing: taehyung x reader word count: 4.197 genre: drama, angst rating: pg-13 warnings: cursing, tears, lots of angst au: ceo/office trope: enemies to friends to lovers tags: ceo!taehyung, office!au, best friend!yoongi, unresolved emotional tension, mutual pining, slow burn crosspost: ao3

summary: time seems to drag on until taehyung is finally able to pour his heart out for Y/N. everything led up to this very moment. he's ready!

A/N: the amount of work i put into this chapter speaks for itself. i'm very proud of the final result, especially taehyung's declaration. please enjoy and get tissues :')

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SUNDAY, 10:01 a.m.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When I woke up the next morning and checked the time I realized three things: 2 missed calls from my mom, 1 text from Yoon Gi, and 1 very vivid dream still in a replay. My night was agitated, to say the least. I woke up several times, switched positions more than I could count, and my brain refused to cooperate or shut off. Where should I even start?

After breakfast, I decided to call my mom first.

“Finally” she answered the phone.

“It’s 10 a.m., mom” I yawn.

“Listen, Hyun Jae hurt her foot while we were visiting the wedding venue so the ceremony will have to be postponed”

I immediately stop stretching and focus on the gravity of what I just heard, “Oh, wow. Is she okay?”

“Yes, it’s just a bad sprained ankle. We’re at the hospital right now” my mom replied, kind of whispering, “She’ll have to wear that boot thing for a few weeks”

“I see” I glance over to the kitchen clock, “Since you’re in the hospital with her, I assume Ye Jun is too and our visit to the tailors is canceled”

“Yeah” my mom sighed. “Oh, I ran into Y/N” she added more cheerfully, which immediately made me imagine the worst scenario possible.

“At the hospital?” I asked a bit desperate, getting up from the dinner table.

“No, calm down. At the coffee shop near the venue. I stopped by before the meeting and she was leaving”

Phew.

“Was she alone?”

My mom could sense something was up so she asked suspiciously, “Yeah, why?”

“Nothing” I answered with a smile, happy that the english dude wasn’t around,

“Did you talk to her?”

“Just a quick hello” she was still very skeptical of my line of questioning.

“How was she? Did she look sad or something?” I started pacing around the kitchen.

“No, she was smiling, very polite as always” my mom replied obviously fed up, “What’s going on Tae Hyung? What happened between you two?”

“Nothing” I assured her.

“Did you apologize like I told you to?”

“Yes, I did” I paused, “Profusely”

“Then why are you worried? Aren’t you on good terms now?”

Last night’s discussion came flooding back and I had no option to tell her a semi-truth.

“Yeah, we are”

Semi because we reached an agreement but it wasn’t the best or most ideal one. Technically we are on good terms. Realistically? Well, we pretty much ended our relationship. How do you label that? How do you explain this to a third party? Especially to my mom.

“Great!” she cut me off, ending the conversion, “Listen, the doctor is back to discharge Hyun Jae. I gotta go”

“No problem” I turn on my heels, heading to the bathroom, “Wedding postponed, tailor’s appointment canceled. Got it”

What I need now is a long shower to properly wake up, make me forget the realistic dream, and relax. Lying to my mom is exhausting and I don't like doing it, but I'm not ready to tell her the whole story.

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SUNDAY, 12:30 p.m.

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“The answer is no” Yoon Gi tells me when I called him back after his ‘wanna hang out?’ text.

“Come on, please?” I beg.

“For the hundredth time, I don’t play tennis and neither do you”

“How dare you?” I gasp overdramatically, “ I’m an excellent player”

“Excellent faker” he points out.

Maybe I’m not the best player around, but I sure looked cool trying it. Yoon Gi doesn’t get it.

“Can we please just go out and do something productive? I can’t stay around the house. It will give me too much time to think about Y/N”

“We can go to a shooting range” he suggests like it was something completely normal, the only obvious choice.

“To a what?”

“Shooting range” he repeats, “Guns. Bullets. Loud noises. Stress reliever”

“I know what it is” I scoff.

“I don’t hear a no in that sentence, therefore I’m texting you the address right now and will meet you down there in half an hour”

“Yoon Gi!” I protest.

“Hanging up, can’t hear you, goodbye"

And just like that, the call ended. I found myself staring at the screen completely unsure of what just happened and questioning if I consciously agreed to shoot a gun. A real one. Then the text popped up.

min yoongi | 12:35pm: 21 Bongeunsa-ro 2-gil, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu

He is serious, okay.

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SUNDAY, 01:09 p.m.

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The shooting range didn't look as scary as one normally would in movies. From the street, the entrance looked like an ordinary restaurant, to be honest. In my mind, shooting ranges were a dark, tiny and underground space with dim lights and strong manly men judging me from afar. The reality was quite the opposite. Very spacious and colorful with extremely organized rooms and various types of weapons, not to mention the staff, which included men and women of different ages. It had a gym vibe, come to think of it.

After entering, meeting Yoon Gi at the counter, and going over all the bureaucratic stuff that involves shooting a gun, we were taken to a small room with 6 individual cabins.

“You can definitely pretend the target is the english dude” Yoon Gi said after we chose the last two cabins in the back, “I won’t judge you”

“Jesus man, you’re a savage” I replied putting on my safety glasses.

He side-eyed me, “I’m not actually into violence, you know that. It’s just playing pretend. Let loose”

I knew that, but sometimes Yoon Gi's ability to analyze a situation impassively rather than emotionally, scared me a little bit. Sure, I could imagine Eric as my target, but I didn't really want to hurt him, so what was the point?

“Who are you imagining for your target?” I asked genuinely curious.

“Myself” he cocked and fired so quickly and confidently my jaw dropped.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Yoon Gi smirked with eyes still on the target, which he hit perfectly, “Long story”

After that, I pressed the intercom button on the side of my cabin to request staff assistance. I think Yoon Gi invited me here because he needed to, and I could see he had a lot on his mind to stop and teach me how to shoot this thing.

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MONDAY, 08:41 a.m.

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Monday morning finally rolled around, and as I was in the car heading to Vante, a million things came to mind. My playlist was on shuffle and the universe, being the prankster that it is, started playing a terrible sequence of sappy songs that remind me of Y/N. I've never been the guy to get attached and this is all very new. Kind of strange (and wonderful) how I discovered this new side of me thanks to her.

“Good morning, Mr. Kim” Eun Ae got up and bowed as I stepped out of the elevator.

“Morning, Ms. Gwa” I bowed back, “What’s my schedule for today?”

“At 9 you have a conference call with Mr. Song Kang Dae, at 10:30 a meeting with our lawyers and a 1 o’clock lunch reservation at La Yeon with your dad” she followed me into the office.

“Busy day ahead, I see” Y/N smiled and bowed to us.

The second my brain registered it was Y/N's voice, my heart skipped a beat. I wasn't expecting her so early.

“Hi, Y/N”

“Excuse me” Eun Ae said quietly, shutting the door on her way out.

“Eun Ae didn’t see me get in, don’t get mad at her” Y/N explained.

“Mad? No, it’s fine” I sat at my desk, “Your papers should be somewhere right here…”

“Okay” she replied.

A few seconds of very uncomfortable silence passed before Y/N herself broke it.

“So I…”

“Found it!” I shouted, grabbing the file and going around my desk to give it to Y/N.

“Oh, great” she smiled without showing her teeth, which I thought was a bit weird like she was suddenly annoyed for some reason, “Where do I sign?”

“Here, here, and...right here” I pointed to the colored arrow-shaped post-its.

I was trying to be as professional as I could before jumping into the most important part. Finding the perfect segway for a confession is harder than it seems and I was no longer paying attention to what Y/N was doing, all I could do was rehearse in my head what I was going to say next.

“Uh” I began after she and I were finished with the paperwork, “I was wondering if I could talk to you about something else before you leave”

“Sure! I need to tell you something too” she fixed her posture and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Y/N seemed nervous, maybe she should start.

“Yeah? Please go ahead”

“No, you go first!”

“It’s okay, you can start” I insisted.

“First things first, you don’t have to worry about my shares, I’m in the process of selling them back to you. Lee Sung is helping me with that, actually” she dried her palms on the navy blue skirt, “You also don’t have to worry about me working for another company because the NDA I signed is still valid and…”

She paused again as if she was afraid to say whatever it was she wanted to say. Ironically it made me feel better about what I wanted to share. She was just as nervous as I was and that was probably a good sign.

“And?”

“I won’t be working in Korea”

“W-what?” I muttered, eyes wide.

That’s not a good sign at all. In my brain, all kinds of sirens went off.

“I’m moving to London”

And then the sirens stopped, making room for an excruciating silence. I felt like I was deaf because her lips were moving but I couldn't understand a word. My mouth was completely dry. Face was hot, very hot. Hot enough to make my eyes start to sting and the tears come out to relieve them.

“This isn’t how I planned to tell you. I’m sorry” was the first thing I heard when my world started spinning again, “Please know that I’ll always be thankful for you taking a chance on me, teaching so much about the business, and of course, trusting me to help expand Vante beside you” she continued.

“Oh… I…” I stuttered, failing to give Y/N a proper answer.

“It’s a lot to take in, I know” she stared down at her lap.

My facial expression is either hilarious or very scary right now, thank God she's not looking directly at me. I'm trying my absolute hardest to fight back the tears by staying completely still.

“I feel like it’s the right moment to explore other opportunities. I’ve done pretty much the same thing over the last decade and it’s time to try something new” Y/N explained while playing with a loose thread on the sleeve of her white shirt.

“Uh...That’s all I had to say” she suddenly looked up and smiled at me, “Now you go”

Everything I had rehearsed and planned is gone. I have no idea how I was going to start, what I was going to say. I better get straight to the point and just say it. Quick and easy.

“I…”

She watched me intently, eyes searching for something in mine. I eagerly tried to do the same and convey everything I was feeling and that my throat wasn’t allowing with that stupid lump. It was so tight that I thought I was going to die of asphyxiation.

“You...ah” I finally managed to speak and clear my throat, “You ran into my mom yesterday”

“Yeah, I did!” Y/N nodded surprised, “She was so sweet. I hadn’t seen her in a while”

I smiled.

“That’s it? That’s what you wanted to tell me?” she chuckled.

“I know! Silly, right?” I made a silly face and got up, “Anyway, I don’t wanna keep you”

Y/N got up too and as she was talking towards the door she stopped and turned to me, “Isn’t this awkward?”

“A little bit, yeah” I agreed, hands in my pockets, “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Please don’t make this harder” her expression got serious, a bit darker even.

“I’m not. I’m concerned about you”

“I’m not having this conversation with you, it’s not gonna end well” she started walking again.

“I don’t mean to start a fight, Y/N” I grabbed her wrist, “It’s just…" I let her go once she turned to me, “I can’t watch you walk away like this. It hurts too much, especially because it’s all my fault”

“You already apologized, I accepted and we need to move on” she looked away.

“But…”

She immediately turned and looked me dead in the eyes, “I thought a lot about this, I promise you” 

“You quitted in the middle of an argument”

“I did, but as soon as I calmed down a couple days later I thought about coming back”

“What?” I crossed my arms, “Why didn’t you?”

“That’s when the ‘thinking’ began. I spent a month figuring it all out. Once I reached my decision I immediately went to your house”

“But you didn’t say anything that night” I narrowed my eyes.

“I was planning on it but the topic of conversation changed really quickly” she grabbed her phone and looked at the time, “and I feel like it’s going to happen again right now if we keep diving into it”

I was already feeling restless and then the irritation crept in because I needed to know what was going on in her head. I'm tired of this fucking game.

“I get it and I respect your decision, however, I don’t understand it. At all”

“I’m sorry” she took a step backward.

“Don’t apologize for your feelings,” I took a step forward “just explain to me what’s going on and I’ll try my best to be supportive.” I paused for a second, studied her expression from up close, and grew impatient as she stood there with a blank stare, “If you don’t wanna work here because of me, that’s fine” I walked past her, going over to my desk, “The part that hurts me the most though is that we’re behaving like strangers right now and it’s weird”

“We both said things we can’t take back” she justified while I still had my back to her.

“I don’t care” I turned around, “What I do care is if you still respect me”

“What? Of course, I do” she sounded offended.

Now Tae Hyung, say it! Go for it!

“Great, because–”

“Please, you’re making this really hard for me” she interrupted.

Fuck!

“Why?” I sat down and propped my elbows on the table, zero patience left, ready to hear how I’m the one making this hard for her and not the other way around, “Why?”

“Because this is the toughest decision I had to make” she shouted, walking back to the couch and throwing her purse, “You think I wanted to walk away from this? From you? I had to. The argument we had a month ago was just the last drop of water in a glass that was already threatening to overflow”

She paced back and forth a couple of times, took a deep breath, and continued.

“I thought long and hard, the good, the bad, and everything in between. What you don’t seem to realize is that I didn’t recognize myself anymore” her voice was just a whisper. “I had no life, no plans, no nothing. I was on auto-pilot and I couldn’t take it anymore, it was too much. I had to take control of my life once and for all”

Y/N picks up her purse and approaches my desk.

“That’s why I’m starting over. I’m tired of holding on Tae Hyung, I need to let go. Please let me go”

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MONDAY, 10:22 p.m.

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“And that’s the last thing I remember. Her storming out of my office” I said before taking another shot of soju, “I don’t remember my meetings, what I ate with my dad, nothing. What time is it by the way?”

“Around 10, I guess. When did you start drinking?”

“Not that long ago, I think 7?” I squint, trying to look at my watch but it’s out of focus.

“She really fucked you up, huh?”

“Yoon Gi, I didn’t call you here for you to remind me of her” I pointed a finger at my friend, “I don’t wanna talk about Y/N”

“You brought her up” he sipped his drink sounding incredibly amused.

“You know what the worst part is? She didn’t let me talk” I pouted.

“No, I know you. If there’s one thing you do and do it well is talk. I think you had plenty of chances to say what you wanted to say. You didn’t because you were scared”

“I was about to. Twice!”

“If you only channeled the energy that goes to arguing with her towards confessing, oh man, your life would be so much easier”

“Oh, I’m sorry, when was the last time you confessed any type of feelings for another human being?” I took another shot and slammed the tiny glass on the counter of the bar, “What a goddamn expert you are, huh?”

“Tae, let me take you home. You need some sleep”

“No, no sleep!” I waved my hands in front of him, “What I need is to talk to Y/N”

“Absolutely not” he put his drink down and stared at me.

“Yoon Gi, please” I put my hand on his shoulder, “I’m doing this with or without you but I much rather if you were there”

“You...you just said you didn’t want to talk about her! Now you want to go see her?” he pinched the bridge of his nose, “What the fuck? I hate drunk Tae Hyung” he complained.

I shrugged, “I’m not drunk, I just changed my mind"

“I’m clearly in charge of a child. I can’t believe this” Yoon Gi got up and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair.

I did the same, knowing I was in good hands for the rest of the night, “Let’s go!”

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MONDAY, 11:05 p.m.

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“I’ll stay in the car, okay? Dong Hyun will park a little bit down the street so we can give you some privacy” Yoon Gi explained, “If you need anything, call. But try not to, okay? Handle your shit for once”

“Okay” I laughed and hugged him.

“Get off me” he pushed me out of the car.

Standing on the sidewalk in front of Y/N’s house, I waited for Yoon Gi's car to drive away to approach the intercom and press the button. A few seconds later, she answered.

“Yes?”

“Hey, it’s me!” I appeared in front of the camera, “I need to talk to you”

“It’s 11 o’clock” she whispered and I could tell she was pissed.

“Yeah, but I really gotta talk to you, can you just come outside?”

Silence.

“Hello? Y/N” I tapped the camera.

More silence.

I went back to the sidewalk, saw the living room light on, and yelled out her name.

“What are you doing here?” she opened the gate and walked over to me wearing a big cozy coat on top of what I guessed was her pajamas.

“Please don’t go!” I blurted it out.

“Stop!” she was full-on angry and stretched her hand out to keep me at a distance.

I approached her, her hand almost touching my suit, “I’m serious”

“Are, are you drunk?” she bent down to look up at my eyes.

“Drunk has such a negative connotation. I think inebriated is a better word for it”

“It’s late Tae Hyung, go home” she turned around to go back inside.

“I’ll be here all night if I have to” I dared, opening my arms.

She held the gate looking at me, “I’ll call the police

“That’s excessive” I cocked my head, “Do it, I don’t care” and shrugged.

“You think this is funny? Are you enjoying this?” Y/N quickly hushed towards me, leaving the gate open.

“No and no” I replied with a shy smile, “I came here because I need to tell you something”

“We said everything we wanted to say this morning”

“No, you did!” I scowled, “Why are you being like this?”

She hugged her coat tighter, arms crossed, chin threatening to tremble, “Please leave”

“Don’t go to London”

“What?” she blinked.

“You heard me. Don’t go. I need you here, I want you here. You belong with me”

Y/N expression was the purest form of shock, “Excuse me?”

“For the last ten years, I’ve been deeply and blindly in love with you. So much so it’s basically second nature to me. I didn’t have to question my feelings because they’ve always been there. You felt like home. You are home. I’ve been trying to tell you this since you came to my house. I’m so sorry it took this long for me to realize how special you are, how wonderful my life is with you in it, and how incredibly lucky I am to even know you”

Y/N’s mouth was slightly open, her expression more relaxed. No raised eyebrows or any indication that those words were bothering her in any way, so I kept going.

“You drive me crazy but I wouldn’t have it any other way! You taught me so much. You are fierce, smart, and funny. I love everything about you!” I chuckled, “From the way you tie your hair to how you handle our meetings. I’m in awe of how strong you are and how much work you put into everything you do” I paused, staring deep into her eyes, “I’m also very thankful to you for being by my side through many ups and downs. I never meant to take your generosity and support for granted, but I have, and it kills me to look back and realize I didn’t appreciate you while you were around. That I didn’t support you when you needed the most”

I could already see her eyes watering as the wind grew stronger around us. I knew it was cold but I couldn't feel a damn thing. The electricity between us was enough to keep me warm.

“And oh my God, I can’t imagine life without you and the thought of it actually scares the shit out of me so please, even though I’m remarkably late, please don’t marry him. Don’t go to London. Choose me. I’ll make up for it, I promise! I’ll spend the rest of my life making amends to you. I’ve never been this honest before, and not only do I need you to believe every single word I just said but also pay close attention to the following three: I love you, Y/N"

Y/N's tears streamed down her face as if they were a river previously prevented from its natural course. She didn't say anything. She simply lifted the back of her hand to her nose and looked away in embarrassment, squeezing her eyes shut, wishing very badly to stop the river from flowing any longer.

“You’re my choice. My only choice” I confessed once she opened her eyes again and faced me.

“Is everything okay, Y/N?” a male voice interjected, making the both of us snap out of our own little world.

What the fuck is he doing here? This cannot be happening. No, no, no!

Y/N got startled when she heard Eric's voice and quickly wiped away her tears without turning around. I, on the other hand, remained in complete shock and didn’t move a muscle.

“Yes!” she sniffed and fixed her hair, trying to regain a little composure, “Mr. Kim was just telling me something important”

Eric walked out and stopped by Y/N side, “Oh! Then would you like to come inside for a cup of tea, Mr. Kim?”

My eyes were certainly already red from before and started to burn even more now watching this scene. I’m confident that the tear stains were still visible on my face and, even though the street light was not the best, Eric had to be blind not to see it.

This is my karma. Having another man put his arm around the woman I love and comfort her when I should be the one doing it instead of being the asshole who put her in that position in the first place. 

It's time for me to accept defeat. At least I tried.

“No no, it’s fine. I said everything I needed to say. You guys have a good night, alright?” I bowed.

“Thank you, drive safe!” Eric said, bowing back.

“I almost forgot” I looked back at both of them and tried to smile,

“Congratulations on your engagement!” and then focused my attention on Y/N, not caring at all if Eric would notice it, “Be happy”

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A/N²: in this chapter i wanted to express the feeling that we all have when something big and exciting is about to happen and you can't seem to concentrate properly until it does. to me, it feels like there are only fragments of conversations, actions or thoughts being registered into the brain, you know?

you don't pay much attention to the world around you so it's like flashes & there isn't much coherence to them because in the back of your mind the focus is 'the thing' it's about to happen. in tae's case, it's confessing his love for y/n.

hopefully my attempt to demonstrate that came off as natural instead of confusing. thanks for reading <3

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 ❤ 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸! 𝗶 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ revised version: 09.25.2021

A/n when will u come with nxt part???

oh hi anon :)

i know it’s been awhile, sorry. i don’t enjoy taking this long to update but i’ve been putting some extra hours at work — some days i stay until 9/10pm. i don’t mean to be lazy or anything it’s just that adult life gets in the way i guess

i’ll work hard this weekend to give you at least 1 chapter, but hopefully more. let’s see how it goes 🙏🏼

thanks for asking kindly and being interested in my story in the first place. i appreciate you more than you know!

xx

When will the nxt part comes..

oh hey anon! do you mean for reliability? i have two chapters coming up later in the week. thanks following along, i appreciate you ^_^