chapter fourteen

Hugging Taehyung felt like the of it all. This story that I had been trying so hard to finish and get over. It was him, the pinnacle. It was ironic however. The antagonist of my life. The antagonist was my protagonist. I couldn't believe that I was letting go of his misdemeanors and once again submitting myself into his luring, dark aroma. It was deja vu. I knew that I was bound to get hurt sooner or later, but I couldn't help it. My hands hung onto him as if my life depended on it. I loved him. No matter how hard I tried, it was hard to escape from all those hills of emotions you've been building up for years.

Everything, however, came to an end. I knew it was. I was just too selfish to realize it. 

A beautiful, delicate and soft voice called out Taehyung's name across the room. I didn't want to leave the warmth of his embrace, but he let go of me first. As always.

He quickly turned away from me and looked behind him in shock.

It took me a while to get accustomed to the sudden loss of warmth, but I soon came to welcome the seeping coldness that penetrated my deflated heart. My hands emptily hung in the air, stupidly waiting for his attention. But nothing came to rescue them. They just slowly and quietly returned to my sides.

At first, I couldn't tell who the owner of the voice was. It was only when I took a step to the side, away from the shadows of Taehyung's broad shoulders, that I noticed a gorgeous lady with beautiful, dyed blond hair standing at the front door with a fancy Chanel bag and the prettiest dress I've ever seen. I gulped. I knew who she was. I might have never seen her, but I did see her hair. In a picture. In the picture. I stopped breathing. Everything suddenly made sense, but it also did not. It made sense who she was, why she was here, why Taehyung would leave me for her. But it did not make sense. Why was she here? Why would Taehyung do that to me? Did he call her? I didn't even want to think about it.

"M-minji?" Taehyung managed to whisper in utter surprise.

But before he could even respond in a more audible manner, someone else by the staircase beat him to it.

"Minji?!" Jungkook called out with the same amount of shock as Taehyung. "What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding almost annoyed and even angry. That took me by surprise. I had never seen Jungkook acting in such way.

My eyes watched as the boy walked down the stairs, across the large living room and towards the girl who looked both startled and scared by his presence.

"J-jungkook?" was the only word she could release from those pouty, pink lips before Jungkook grabbed her slim wrist and took her out of the house.

So many questions were in my mind. I didn't know how to respond. I just felt like an outsider. It was as if everyone in this house knew who this girl was. Except for me. I was just the background character. It felt weird. It sure was a dumb thought, but I never imagined Jungkook with another girl. Perhaps it was because we always spent time together without really knowing each other. That made me realize how little I knew of Jungkook.

The door screeched loudly and slowly in pain as it coerced itself into the doorframe. I stood there in confusion. It was all too much to take in. I wanted to know the answers, I wanted to think through it all, but I just couldn't. I didn't have the energy to find the answers to my questions. And also because I really didn't think I was prepared to know the answers. 

Through all the numbness, I was only able to mutter these few words that came tumbling its way out of my now dry lips.

"Is she the girl?"

It only took those four words for Taehyung to turn around to me again. Why did I only get his attention when I was talking about her? He looked at me in shock, as if imitating a deer caught in headlights. The silence was dreading. It hugged us both and choked me maniacally. I could feel its fingers crawling its way through my skin, piercing its finger through my heart and toying with my emotions.

I gulped.

"It really is her," I answered my own question. "The one you left me for."

It hurt to say those words, but I couldn't tolerate through this torturing ambiguity anymore. Not knowing anything, standing aloof as everything crashed in front of me, being in the unknown, these hurt more than knowing the truth. Or at least that was what I was trying to convince myself.

"Seora, it's not what you think," Taehyung immediately responded, hammering down the silence between us. 

That was what they all said. I forced a bitter smile on my lips. Did it matter what I thought? When I saw the answer right away through my eyes? Were my eyes not enough? Was I not enough? Was that it? I suddenly missed the silence and its threatening presence.

"Then what is it?" I asked sarcastically. "Why is she here in this house? How does she know this place?"

"I-" Taehyung stuttered. He seemed like he was thinking through each and every way