She was glad her next destination was just down the road. She didn’t know how she made it in one piece with so many thoughts running through her head, but she was glad she did.

“Hey beautiful.” Taehyung said as he embraced her into a hug while she merely gave a small smile. “Are you okay?” He asked with concern laced in his voice as she nodded absentmindedly, “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. All good.”

“I have something to tell you actually.” He said as he smiled nervously, and Jihyun turned her attention towards him. She looked around the cafe and finally realised that the whole place was empty, and a bouquet of flowers sat at a nearby table. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“We’ve been dating for almost 3 months now, Ji.” Taehyung started off and Jihyun gulped nervously, having an inkling of where this conversation is heading towards. “I’ve been enjoying our dates a lot, and I think we’re getting along well.”

“Do you think you’re ready to take it to the next level?” Taehyung asked as he took the flowers over and presented them to her while he smiled shyly. “Kim Jihyun, would you be my girlfriend?”

If Taehyung had said this before she had talked to Jin, there was a 99% probability that she’d accept it.

The three months that she had been dating Taehyung were the easiest and most carefree three months ever. She didn’t have to worry about anything, she wasn’t upset, Taehyung took care of her and Junghyun so well, giving them unending attention and love all the time. She was happy, so she ignored that small thought at the back of her mind - the thought that she was still in love with someone else.

The fact that at the back of her head, the thought of Jeon Jungkook had never left her mind. His doe-like sparkling eyes, his melodious voice, the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed loudly, his large hands that fitted nicely over hers.

The words he said that day had stayed rooted in her mind - how he was proud of her, how he missed her, and how he was sorry how it had all played out. She clung onto every single word even though she kept telling herself to forget.

And today after realising that it had all been a huge misunderstanding, she could feel her heart wavering.

She couldn’t lie to herself anymore. Taehyung made her happy and she definitely liked him, but she knew she couldn’t commit fully to him because Taehyung was not Jungkook. And Taehyung deserved more.

He deserved someone who could love him with their entire heart, someone who would give everything to him like how he gave everything to her, someone full of as much love and joy as him to offer to everyone. She knew that person wasn’t her, because she wasn’t capable of giving anyone else her heart except for the man who had stolen it six years ago.

Jeon Jungkook.

So when she looked at him with glistening eyes and an unsure expression, he already knew her answer.

Similar to Jihyun, he had convinced himself. He convinced himself that if he put in enough effort and loved her, one day she’d look his way and tell him that she was in love with him too. He convinced himself that if he loved her enough, he could actually fix her and one day, maybe one day, there was a space for him in her heart too. He thought he was close to succeeding, because she looked happy whenever she was with him, like she was freed of worries, like she enjoyed spending time with him despite how late or early the day was.

He chose to ignore the way her eyes would drift off sometimes to someone else when they were in the practice room, he ignored the way her lips would twitch down worriedly when she saw him struggling with a dance part, he ignored the concerned look she had when he had left early during practice the other day, and he ignored the downcasted expression on her face when she saw him and Nari together.

The happiness he felt with her was enough to ignore all these, he could act like he didn’t know anything as long as he had her by his side.

But when he saw the worried look on her eyes when he asked her the question, he knew he couldn’t ignore any of those telltale signs anymore.

Jihyun was still in love with Jungkook, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

The girl looked at him with sympathetic eyes, tears streaming freely as she sobbed and apologized. He placed the flowers down with a small smile before reaching out to wipe them away, “Why are you apologizing, Ji? It’s not your fault that you’re not in love with me.”

“I-I’m so sorry, Tae. I can’t hurt you like this. I like you a lot, and these past three months have been so wonderful, but…”

“But you’re still in love with Jungkook.” He said with a strained voice, his heart shattering further when the girl nodded solemnly. It was one thing to know the truth, it was another when the girl you loved confirmed that. That feeling .

“I misunderstood Jungkook.” She said softly and Taehyung raised his eyebrows in confusion, “What do you mean?”

She spent the next hour re-enacting the stories that Jin had told her to Taehyung. She owed him an explanation for the way she was reacting, and she didn’t want to lie to him. Taehyung deserved the truth, and that was what she was going to give him. No more lies, no more misunderstandings between anyone, anymore.

Taehyung gaped in shock when he heard the truth about what happened, and he stayed silent, collecting his thoughts. “Wow.”

“That’s a lot to take in.” He chuckled dryly and the girl nodded with a gulp, “It is. I heard it from Jin right before coming here. , To be honest I still haven’t fully collected my thoughts yet.”

“Now that I’m thinking about it logically, it would have been much worse if you’d accepted my love. Things would get a lot more messy.” He said as he carded his fingers through her hair, the action calmed her down as her breathing steadied. “You idiot, you should be angry at me.” She muttered and he shook his head.

“We’re matured adults, and you know I will always love you.” He smiled sadly. Even though he said that there was no commitment and they were merely trying out, he couldn’t ignore the stinging pain in his heart as he felt the sinking feeling in his heart. A lump form