Jeongguk stared at the ceiling, his vision blurred from the tears that just wouldn’t stop. Twenty-one hours. Twenty-one fucking hours and V hadn’t replied. No texts, no emails. Not a damn thing.

He groaned, rolling onto his side, his cheek pressing into the pillow soaked with his tears. His body felt heavy, drained. He couldn’t understand it. He poured his heart out to V—told him everything, all the shit he’d been holding in for months. And V? Radio silence.

"Why the fuck didn’t you reply?" Jeongguk muttered to himself, his voice hoarse from all the crying. Bam, his loyal pup, lay next to him, watching Jeongguk with those big, worried eyes. The room was suffocatingly quiet, the only sound coming from Jeongguk’s shaky breaths and occasional sniffles.

"I thought... after what I said..." Jeongguk's voice cracked as he spoke to no one in particular. He reached for his phone, which had been in his hand the whole time, his thumb hovering over the Telegram app. But it was pointless. Useless. The damn thing was banned in the U.S. now.

He choked on a sob, tossing his phone onto the bed. "Fuck, why’d they have to ban it now?!" His fingers gripped the sheets tightly, knuckles turning white. "Just when I thought we could finally be... something."

The news had hit him earlier like a punch to the gut. Telegram—gone. Banned. And along with it, his connection to V. Sure, they had emails, but that felt so... distant. Impersonal. Everything between them had been through Telegram. It was like their own world, and now it was gone.

Jeongguk closed his eyes, more tears slipping out as memories flooded his mind. All the late-night conversations, the confessions, the teasing messages. They’d never even seen each other’s faces, never heard each other’s voices, yet... the feelings were real. So fucking real.

"I love him," Jeongguk whispered into the dark. "God, I fucking love him."

Bam nudged his side with his nose, sensing the distress, but Jeongguk barely noticed. His heart was too busy aching. He had broken up with Shezam—he thought that meant something. That it was a step toward being with V. He was ready to make this work, to turn their texts into something real.

But V? Nothing. It was like Jeongguk's confession had gone into a black hole.

"Why didn’t you say anything, V?" Jeongguk’s voice wavered as he turned to his side, pulling the pillow closer. "Don’t you feel the same? Were all those messages just... nothing?"

He stared at the dark room, eyes swollen from crying for hours. His chest tightened, breath hitching with every wave of emotion that hit him. He kept replaying the confession over and over in his mind, like a broken record. He’d laid it all out—how much V meant to him, how he couldn’t keep pretending like his feelings weren’t real.

And yet... here he was. Alone. Waiting. Crying.

"Fuck this," Jeongguk muttered, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "This is pathetic."

But even as he said that, he couldn’t stop the tears from falling. He couldn’t stop the pain from gripping his heart. He couldn’t stop missing V, even though he didn’t even know what V’s face looked like.

"I just... wanted something real," Jeongguk whispered. "I thought we had something real."

His phone buzzed suddenly, and for a split second, his heart leapt. But it wasn’t from V. It was just another spam email, like a cruel joke from the universe.

He dropped the phone onto the bed again, defeated. The silence of the apartment was deafening. Bam rested his head on Jeongguk's leg, still watching his owner’s every move. Jeongguk reached down to pet him, finding some small comfort in the dog’s warmth, but it wasn’t enough.

It was never enough.

Curling up into a ball, Jeongguk let himself cry. Really cry. There was nothing else to do. No more texts to send. No more messages to wait for. Just him, his broken heart, and the damn silence.

Jeongguk's phone buzzed, yanking him from his thoughts. He squinted at the screen, seeing Yoongi's name. He hesitated, but eventually, he swiped to answer.

"Yo, hyung," Jeongguk croaked, his voice rough from crying.

"Hey, man," Yoongi’s voice was calm but concerned. "What’s up? You sound like you’ve been through a tornado."

Jeongguk let out a shaky breath. "Yeah, you could say that. Just... waiting on V. Still nothing. I’m losing my mind over here."

"Seriously? It’s been that bad?" Yoongi asked, sounding a bit incredulous. "I thought you’d at least hear something back."

"Me too," Jeongguk muttered. "But nah, nothing. I thought breaking up with Shezam would make things easier. Now I’m just... stuck."

Yoongi sighed. "Man, I know it sucks. But you gotta hold on. I mean, this shit with Telegram being banned doesn’t help. Can’t even contact him properly now."

"Yeah, and that just makes everything worse," Jeongguk said, rubbing his eyes. "I’ve got no idea how to reach him. I’m just... I’m so tired of this."

Yoongi’s tone softened. "Look, Jeongguk, sometimes people need space. Maybe V’s got stuff going on we don’t know about. Just give it a little more time. And hey, if you need to talk or distract yourself, I’m here."

"Thanks, Yoongi," Jeongguk said, managing a small smile. "I just wish I knew what was going on. I really thought we had something."

"I know, man. It’s tough," Yoongi replied. "But hang in there. Don’t let it drag you down too much. You’ve got friends who care, and we’ll get through this."

Jeongguk took a deep breath. "Yeah, you’re right. I guess I just needed to hear that. Thanks for calling."

"No problem," Yoongi said. "I’m here whenever you need. Let’s catch up soon, yeah?"

"Definitely," Jeongguk said, feeling a bit lighter. "Talk to you soon."

As the call ended, Jeongguk wiped his face, feeling slightly better. Yoongi’s support was a small comfort in his rough night. He lay back, still worried, but a bit more hopeful that things might turn around.

The wheels of the plane hit the runway with a soft thud, and Taehyung couldn’t help but let out a long, relieved sigh. Finally, NYC. He spent the next half-hour going through the post-flight checklist, signing off reports, and chatting briefly with the crew. It was his first international flight, and now he was really here.

Once he was done, he grabbed his suitcase and headed outside, the bustling airport already buzzing with people. As soon as he hopped into the cab, the city’s energy hit him. Skyscrapers everywhere, people in a rush, and the streets just... alive.

"New York, huh?" Taehyung muttered, staring out the window as the driver sped through the busy streets. It was insane. And somewhere, in this huge city, JK was here too. That thought alone had him gripping the seat. But then reality hit him just as fast—he had no way of contacting him. His SIM card, his phone, everything had been stolen, and with it, his last link to JK.

"Man, how am I supposed to find him now?" he whispered to himself, trying to ignore the tightening in his chest.

The cab pulled up to the apartment building, and Taehyung’s eyes widened a bit. The place was a lot nicer than he expected. Definitely not luxury, but close. "Damn, the airline knows how to treat their pilots," he thought, stepping out and grabbing his luggage.

The building manager, a tall guy with a baseball cap, met him at the entrance. "You must be Taehyung, right? From the airline?"

"That’s me," Taehyung replied, trying to force a smile through his jetlag. "Is this the place?"

"Yup. Got your room ready. It’s a simple apartment, but should have everything you need. Just fill out this form." The manager handed him a clipboard and a pen.

Taehyung scribbled his details and handed it back. "Thanks. Anything else I should know?"

"Not really. There’s a coffee shop down the block. Oh, and laundry’s in the basement. Your apartment’s on the third floor, 3B. Enjoy your stay, got everything you need in there—kitchen, laundry, the works. Just give me a holler if you need anything else." He handed Taehyung the keys. The manager smiled before heading off.

Taehyung thanked him, dragging his suitcase toward the elevator. "Alright, let’s see what this place is about," he muttered to himself, stepping inside.

The ride up wasn’t long, but it gave him enough time to stress about his situation. He needed to find JK, but without his old phone or the SIM card, he was stuck. No contacts, no passwords... no nothing. Just a new phone with blank messages and zero connections.

When he stepped out onto the third floor, he noticed it immediately—there were three apartments, but the one directly across from his? Messy as hell. The doormat was covered in dust, and it looked like no one had touched it in ages.

"What the...?" he mumbled, staring at the apartment door. "Who lives there?"

"Great, a dusty old door. Just what I needed."

Shrugging it off, he headed to his own place, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. The apartment was nice, way better than he expected—clean, modern, and with a view of the city. He could get used to this.

Taehyung flopped onto the couch, letting out a long breath. He pulled out his phone, staring at the two new SIM cards—one Korean, one American—that the airline had provided.

The problem was... everything else. His Gmail, Wattpad, Telegram—all those passwords were saved on the old device and SIM card that got stolen. And without those, he couldn’t even log in to anything, let alone contact JK.

Scrolling through his messages, he saw a few texts come in—one from Jimin:

Jimin:- "Landed in Daegu! Let me know how New York’s treating you! Miss you, bro!"

He smiled a little, typing back:

Taehyung:- "yay, that's a relief...yaa I just got the apartment! Will have a walk in evening for sure!"

Then a message from Erin:

Erin:-  "Hope you’re settling in well! NYC’s gonna be amazing for you, I can feel it!"

Taehyung sighed, typing back a quick ,

Taehyung:-"Glad you made it. NYC’s... interesting. Still no way to reach JK tho. Feels weird being here without him."

He tossed his phone to the side and stood up, walking to the window. From here, he could see the city lights stretching out in front of him. The place he’d wanted to visit for so long, and now... JK was somewhere out there too. But how the hell was he going to find him without his phone?

"I’m in the same damn city as him and I still feel a million miles away," he muttered, leaning against the window. The frustration was building up again. "Stupid phone. Stupid SIM card."

He thought about the apartment across the hall again. Who the hell lets their place get that dusty? It felt... strange. Like something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Just as he was about to check it out, his phone buzzed. Another text, this time from Erin again:

Erin:- "You got this, Tae. Just breathe, man. Things will work out with JK, I know it."

He smiled at the text, but the knot in his stomach didn’t loosen. If only it was that easy. He replied:

Taehyung:- "Yeah, thanks, Erin. Gonna need a miracle at this point tho."

With another heavy sigh, he collapsed back onto the couch, staring at the ceiling. It was so frustrating to be this close but still feel so far. JK was out there somewhere, and Taehyung had no way to tell him he was here. No way to ask if they could finally meet.

And no way to know if Jk even still cared.

Taehyung woke up groggy, rubbing his eyes. Jetlag had hit him hard, but there was no time to waste. He glanced at the clock. "Crap, already evening."

Rolling out of bed, he stretched, eyes landing on his pilot uniform tossed on the chair. NYC is wild!, he thought, heading straight to the bathroom. A quick splash of water on his face, he pulled on the tracksuit, zipping up and grabbing his cap.

"Man, I need coffee," he muttered, tossing his phone in his pocket and grabbing his keys. The apartment felt too quiet, too still. He glanced around, the clean place making him feel more awake. Except... something was bugging him—the mat outside the weird apartment across the hall.

He yanked open his door and paused. The doormat that was filthy at morning? Now, it was clean. "Yo, what the—? Wasn’t that dusty as hell?"

Shaking his head, he locked up and headed out. No point obsessing. As he hit the streets, the noise of NYC smacked him in the face. Perfect.

He shot a quick text to Jimin:

Taehyung:- "Woke up late. NYC’s wild. Missin’ ya, man."

Tossing his phone back into his pocket, he let the city take him.

Coffee first. Then he’d figure out the rest.

Jeongguk woke up, eyes heavy, the afternoon light creeping through his blinds. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand, screen bright in his face. No texts from V. Not even one.

"Ugh, seriously?" he groaned, his chest tightening a little. He tossed the phone back on the bed, running a hand through his messy hair. His heart felt like it was getting squeezed, and his stomach churned, a dull ache settling in.

He sat up, looking around his apartment. Clothes everywhere, plates still on the coffee table... It was a mess. "Damn, I haven’t cleaned in, what? Two days?" He sighed, rubbing his face. No wonder it felt so suffocating in here.

Grumbling to himself, Jeongguk threw on some comfortable clothes, grabbed his phone, and turned on some music. "Alright, let’s do this," he muttered, picking up a broom, though every bone in his body screamed lazy.

He started dusting the walls, sweeping the floors, and throwing out empty containers. The whole time, his mind drifted back to V. What was he doing? Why hadn’t he texted? The questions gnawed at him while he wiped down surfaces, barely paying attention to what he was cleaning.

When he finally finished, Jeongguk grabbed the trash bag, ready to throw it out. As he opened the door, he paused. Something weird caught his eye. The apartment across from his, the one that’d been empty for a year? There were shoes on the mat.

"Wait... what?" he mumbled, staring at them. Someone had moved in? He shook his head, shoving the thought away. "Whatever, not my business."

He shrugged it off, but his mind instantly went back to V.

(a/n:- please leave your votes behind, it means alot :D )