"seungwan," joy hiccups, resting her head on the older girl's shoulder, "i won't let him break up with me. i won't."

"i know, i know." seungwan sighs, reaching over and patting joy's hair. it was the second time that month joy had broken down in front of seungwan—the first time, joy had refused to tell seungwan anything, and the two ended up making sharp jabs at one another until seungwan, too, had broken down and apologized.

that night had progressed along the lines of, "you pretend like you're high and mighty when you're actually a load of insecurities, as if!" to "well, you're a who thinks she can get anything she wants!" then finally, "i'm sorry, i shouldn't have picked at your scars—you're the one who's stronger than me, even though i looked down at you." and "it's my fault, i was just jealous of you, that you could always do what you wanted to do, without looking back or regretting a single thing."

it made sense—joy and seungwan had been level twenty-three's greatest rivals from the start, joy with her prickly thorns and spoiled heiress flair, seungwan with her stubborn reluctance to let down her veil of pride. but now, the two were perhaps the closest of friends.

the latter had just returned from a day at her newly established employment at irene's company. seungwan had needed a more consistent flow of income since her brother's imprisonment, because although her brother was nothing but scum through and through, seungwan still sought to maintain her responsibility as an aunt to her young nephew's tuition, as well as the living expenses of her comatose father's that didn't tide over from his retirement funds. she'd originally planned on asking irene for a small loan when irene had straight up offered her a stable job in the finance department underneath her instead.

of course, seungwan had protested, but irene had simply argued that taking up the job offer would essentially allow seungwan to work for the money herself. seungwan had accepted on this term, although she knew that such an opportunity wouldn't exist if not for irene's generosity.

"we were so cute together." joy sniffles wistfully once more, "i don't understand."

seungwan lets out another sigh.

"joy, everyone has moments where they just can't see through to things. seokjin's probably overthought one thing or another." she attempts to comfort the younger, pressing her lips into a thin line as, unconsciously, her mind wanders to min yoongi.

perhaps son seungwan was not too far away from kim seokjin in the way that they refused to believe their love for the other could mend the gap in lifestyle that so adamantly presented themselves in their respective relationships. seokjin was afraid that he could never make joy happy, that he would be left for someone better, more interesting, more capable of pampering park sooyoung like she was meant to be. seungwan was afraid that she wouldn't be able to control herself from using yoongi for her own needs, that by letting him take care of her, she'd be blurring the fine line between love and necessity.

that night, as she steps back into her apartment after consoling joy with a dinner of takeout and a disney movie marathon, seungwan can't help but feel a pressing weight on her lungs. staring at her phone in her hands, she takes a deep breath, eyes trained on the contact name displayed on her phone screen.

min yoongi.

but the line goes dead as soon as she presses call. seungwan frowns, biting her lower lip nervously. garnering he had likely changed his number, she scrolls down her contact list for the next best option.

nam woohyun.

three punctual rings, and the line connects.

"hello?" comes woohyun's familiar, guarded voice.

"woohyun? it's son seungwan." her fingers curl around the keys in her hand unconsciously as she adds, "is yoongi with you?"

a pause reverberates soundly, followed by the shuffling of footsteps and a small click that sounded like a door closing.

"no, he's no longer working here." woohyun finally answers in a tone bordering a whisper.

"what do you mean?" seungwan returns calmly, though inwardly she was panicked. where was yoongi, if not with woohyun?

"he's no longer with the house, miss son." woohyun elaborates, perhaps out of sympathy. "left behind the properties, the money, everything. he's off the grid now. take care, miss son, i've got to go."

woohyun made it clear that yoongi had left his existing lifestyle, and cleanly at that.

"wait!" seungwan interjects, but only the terminating beep that told her woohyun had already hung up remains. a minute later, a text message reaches her phone with a startling chime, and a lone, unexplained address lights up her screen.

meanwhile, standing just outside near the elevator, the resident of apartment 2301 receives a call.

"irene, do you have time this weekend?" comes taehyung's deep voice on the other end.

unknowingly, a no-longer-single bae joohyun smiles demurely at the marble floor as she walks swiftly to her apartment door. "what is it?" she asks as she inputs the passcode to her apartment before pushing down on the handle.

"one of my good friends since college is holding a wedding on saturday." taehyung answers warmly, so much that irene can practically hear his smile over the phone. "we're still in touch as business partners, in fact. the bride happens to be one of my distant older cousins."

irene kicks off her heels in favor of her house slippers as she walks to the kitchen for a cup of water. "but, i don't know anyone there. it'd be awkward for me." she hesitates with a light cough. 

irene definitely wasn't the type to attend large social functions all too voluntarily, much less ones with complete strangers. what if taehyung couldn't stay by her side during the whole event? then who would she turn to?

"i'll be there, irene." he assures her smoothly before adding with a spark of humor, "besides, a lot of people attending will have been my classmates in college, including the voted school beauty, whom i may or may not have had a history with—"

"yah, kim taehyung!" irene threatens, the cup in her hands shaking as she laughs quietly with a shake of her head. "if she invites you out, just facetime me the entire duration you're with her."

but taehyung is quick to protest. "what if she mistakes that for an interest in her? i'd technically be filming her the whole time, and irene, i really can't go around holding my phone up." he murmurs with a chuckle of his own, and irene knew that he was right.

"alright, what do i wear?" she asks dubiously, to which he scoffs, answering,

"wear anything and you'll still look more beautiful than anyone else in the room."

"including the bride?" she jokes, although she secretly feels a tingling catch in her lungs from his praise.

taehyung mulls over this for a moment. "since it's her big day, i'll be generous and say everyone except the bride."

ever since she had opened herself to him, and he to her, she'd discovered that kim taehyung was not only attentive, but sensitive to her feelings, seemingly knowing how she felt even before she herself did.

he had learned her habits and quirks quicker than she had thought he would, her likes and disinterests, what the arch of her brow meant and what the slightest curl of her lip suggested. he knew she drank exactly a glass of water every night before bed from the manner in which she placed a certain mug on the kitchen counter. from the way she spoke on the phone at night, he knew she slept on her side, knees slightly curled to her stomach. he knew she didn't like garlic but loved the flavor of cilantro, hated oily foods and preferred a good bowl of soup. he knew that she ate a western breakfast, except that when she scrambled her eggs in the morning, she liked to make them cooked all the way rather than runny. he knew she liked grey tones and pale hues in her closet, and that she had a habit of ironing her suits every sunday.

kim taehyung was like a warm sweater that enveloped her and embraced her entirety. he gave her space when she needed it, and he was close by when she needed him, whether it was a quick brush of the lips over her temple or the feeling of his arms hanging loosely around her waist.

at this point, she knew he was truly attracted to her—she felt the passion in his every action, the warmth in his gaze—definitely, but love? irene didn't want to think about the possibility of him loving her—she didn't know how long this would last—how long, at least, until he grew tired of her, and how long she could keep him in the dark before things would go downhill.

—

on friday night, it is seungwan who irene calls over to help her choose an appropriate outfit, and, with the latter citing that bringing irene to the wedding was a new step up for taehyung in their relationship, irene ends up wearing a classy dress that was both elegant and fitting to her image—or so seungwan had said. taehyung came to pick her up at four the next afternoon, and they arrive at the extravagant venue directly on time.

wedding vows, irene soon discovers, are more beautiful than she had ever imagined. she'd never quite been to a wedding before—invitations she'd gotten, of course, but she'd never felt comfortable going. yet, here she was, taehyung's fingers interlocked with hers between them as she sat and watched the couple say their oaths at the altar, tears welling in her eyes.

i love you. i cherish you—words irene's never heard someone say to her before. her adoptive parents had more or less treated raising a south korean orphan as an act of charity rather than much else, and aside from them, there was no one who possessed the relationship ties with her to be able to say such a thing.

"do you like the experience?" taehyung asks discreetly, shaking her out of her thoughts. his breath blows gently at the shell of her ear as he leans in close with a whisper.

irene nods before her gaze shifts from the altar to stare up at him, and she is surprised by what she is met with.

"i love you" was something they haven't said out loud yet. irene was one to take things slowly, and taehyung was always happy to comply with her comfort zones.

but at that moment, just as the groom concluded his statement with that coveted three-word statement, she sees taehyung's lips move, forming just the right dips and curves—

"i love you," he mouthes in alignment with the groom as he brings their entwined hands to his chest and presses against his heart. he doesn't have to speak for her to see the bright-burning emotions in his dark eyes—of hope, but most of all, of promise.

it is then that irene realizes why she is here, why he had insisted on bringing her. this—the flowers, the rings, the white—was what he envisioned for them, after all.

irene had been wrong, wrong, wrong. taehyung wasn't just attracted to her. she wasn't just some infatuation inevitably encouraged by sharing the same office space for at least three hours a day. their relationship wasn't just a play of cards between two good-looking people who had naturally gravitated together for the time being, no, taehyung wanted something real.

as soon as the attendants are dismissed to the banquet, stands immediately. "taehyung, i want to go home." she tells him with her gaze trained on the ground.

he picks up on the irregularity in her tone—the strange, sudden distance, and stands, hands lightly resting on her shoulders. "of course, are you uncomfortable?" he asks in concern, giving her an up-down glance.

irene doesn't answer, only brushing away his touch before gesturing towards the now-married couple quickly approaching them. "we should say good-bye."

taehyung nods, greeting his friend quickly with a warm smile. "congratulations, baek."

"thank you, tae." the groom, byun baekhyun dips his head to bite back the wide grin cracking across his lips as the bride, now changed into a pretty pink-hued dress beside him addresses irene.

"irene-ssi, isn't it?" she inquires with a kindly giggle, "baekhyun and i were so elated when taehyung said he was bringing you. as your obligatory sister-in-law, you'll have to let me know when i have to beat him up for you." she jokes before baekhyun adds a hum of approval.

sister-in-law. alarm fills irene at that moment—she turns to look at taehyung, seeing the unwavering happiness in his eyes—no, she decides, she can't deceive him and those who are close to him any longer.

"i'm sorry, i have to go." she says abruptly before bowing deeply and heading towards the venue exit. taehyung trails her immediately, worry and a bit of shock mixed on his expression.

"irene—" he begins as they reach the parking lot, grabbing her hand and forcing her to turn back at him. when he registers the tears in her eyes, he freezes.

"taehyung—" she croaks before turning to embrace him.

as she brings her lips to his, she presses her entirety against him, memorizing the feeling of her every curve against the plane of his body because this—irene is sure this is the last time she will be able to touch him like this. so she kisses him hard, harder, with all the energy that is left in her body. his response is uneasy and tense, but ferocious all the same.

"i'm sorry, taehyung." she chokes out finally into a sob, her lips muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

"irene," he cradles her waist, concern laced in the way he calls out her name, his chin tilting down to catch a glimpse of her expression as she leans back and her hands rest on either side of his face. "tell me what's wrong." he coaxes.

"i've been keeping something from you because i thought—" she pulls back grazes her thumb over his cheek, "i thought you were young and would find someone else soon, after you realized i wasn't as interesting as you thought."

the darkness in taehyung's eyes softens. he blinks, clearly hurt by her words, his voice unnaturally thin. "irene, why would i do that?" he asks, lower lip trembling.

she shakes her head. "it's not you, tae, it's me. i used to date before, but i was boring and didn't give them what they wanted. they left me soon enough, but that's not the point, the point is that you're different—you actually want a future with me. the way you looked at me at the wedding, i could see that you wanted a future like that for me and you, for us."

irene inhales sharply as she says, "but we can't have that future, taehyung."

she watches his gentle demeanor break with a small flash of confusion and hurt as he asks, "why?"

"because," irene breaks from his grasp finally, her fingers curling into fists at her side. "my father's right—i'm going to go insane any day, it's in my genetics. and i can't—" her voice breaks a little. "—do that to you, i can't let you watch me go...crazy."