Taehyung's POV
The public declaration at the corporate event had been both terrifying and exhilarating. The whispers had changed to open curiosity, but the weight of the secret had been lifted. Taehyung and Jungkook stood firm, hand-in-hand, facing the world together. The support from his parents and a few close friends was a lifeline, but the most important conversation still loomed.
A few days later, he received a text. From Jennie.
Can we talk? Just us. No anger. Just closure.
The message was a fragile olive branch, a final step they both needed to take. Taehyung agreed, and they met at a quiet, neutral café near her office. He saw her walk in, looking stunning as always, but with a new maturity in her eyes. The anger was gone, replaced by a quiet, almost sad resignation.
They sat down, the silence between them thick with a history of shared comfort and a recent, devastating pain.
"I'm not going to yell," Jennie said, her voice steady. "I'm past that. I just... I need to understand. How long did you know? About... him?"
Taehyung took a deep breath, ready to face the truth. "I didn't know," he confessed, his voice soft. "Not consciously. He was... a feeling I'd forgotten. A piece of me that had been missing. When I saw him again, it was like... like coming home. I'm so, so sorry, Jennie. I never meant to hurt you."
She looked at him for a long time, her eyes searching his. "I know you didn't. You're not a cruel person, Taehyung. But... I think a part of me always knew, subconsciously. That you weren't... fully there. That there was a distance I couldn't cross." A small, sad smile touched her lips. "I loved you. And I deserved more than a man who was only half-present."
Her words were a painful truth, a final, unsparing look in the mirror. He finally understood what he had taken from her: not just his presence, but his heart. He reached across the table, taking her hand.
"You do," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "You deserve everything. And I hope, one day, you find it."
She nodded slowly, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek. "Thank you, Taehyung. For being honest. For not letting us live a lie." She squeezed his hand gently. "Go find your 'forever.' I hope it's everything you thought it would be."
The final words were a bittersweet blessing, a final act of grace that left Taehyung breathless. The apology he'd been holding in his heart for weeks finally found its release. When he stood up to leave, he felt lighter, unburdened. The shame, the guilt, the regret – they weren't gone, not entirely. But they were no longer a suffocating weight. They were scars, a testament to a journey he had to take to find his truth. He had hurt someone he loved, but in doing so, he had found his own peace.
As he walked away, he saw Jennie watching him, a sad smile on her face. He didn't look back. He just knew, with a profound certainty, that he was walking toward his future, leaving the wreckage behind. He pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over Jungkook's name. He had a story to tell him, a story of forgiveness, of closure, and of a future that had just opened up before them.
He was finally ready to share his whole world with Jungkook, no secrets, no lies.