The morning hit them harder than the alcohol ever could.

Jeongguk blinked against the morning light, his head pounding, but it wasn’t just the hangover—it was the heavy feeling in his chest. The room was quiet except for the sound of Taehyung shifting beside him. And that’s when it all hit him. Last night. Taehyung. Everything.

He groaned softly, rubbing his face with his hands.

What the hell did I do? His mind immediately went to V, the way he had been longing for him, thinking about him, loving him. And now, here he was, waking up next to someone else. Guilt crawled up his spine, making him feel sick.

Next to him, Taehyung slowly opened his eyes, and for a moment, everything was still. But then, reality slammed into him, too. He swallowed hard, the guilt already settling in. JK... what have I done?

Neither of them said anything at first, the air between them heavy. It wasn’t awkward, but it wasn’t comfortable either. Taehyung bit his lip, sitting up slowly, his back turned to Jeongguk as he stared at the floor.

“I shouldn’t have...” Taehyung whispered, his voice barely audible. He ran a hand through his hair, messy from the night before, his heart sinking as thoughts of JK flooded his mind. I love him... what am I doing here?

Jeongguk stayed quiet for a beat, his mind racing with thoughts of V, how much he missed him, how badly he wanted him. How could I do this? The guilt burned deep inside him.

“Yeah...” Jeongguk finally muttered, his voice low. “I shouldn’t have either.”

Taehyung turned to look at him, and for a second, their eyes met—both filled with regret, not for each other, but for the ones they truly wanted. There was no need to say names, but the hurt in their eyes was clear enough.

Jeongguk sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.” His voice was laced with shame. It should’ve been V...

Taehyung nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah. I know.” He hesitated, biting his lip before adding, “It’s just... we were drunk. Doesn’t mean anything, right?” His words were shaky, as if he was trying to convince himself.

Jeongguk leaned back, staring up at the ceiling, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. “Yeah, it doesn’t... but it still feels wrong.” He clenched his jaw, his thoughts drifting back to V, the person he really wanted.

Taehyung looked down at his hands, his chest tight with guilt. He thought of JK, how much he cared for him, how much he wanted *him*, not Jeongguk. “I just... I don’t know how to feel about this,” Taehyung admitted quietly, his voice thick with emotion.

Jeongguk glanced at him, his heart heavy. “Same.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I don’t want to hurt... anyone.”

Taehyung nodded, his eyes dropping to the bed. “Yeah, me neither.”

The silence stretched between them, the weight of their shared guilt hanging in the air. Neither of them loved each other—not in that way—but what they did, it felt like a betrayal to the ones they did care about.

“We... we’ll forget about it,” Jeongguk said after a moment, more to himself than to Taehyung. “It was just a mistake.”

Taehyung nodded, though the guilt gnawed at him. “Yeah. A mistake.”

But the regret lingered, and no matter how hard they tried to push it down, the thought of who they really wanted stayed with them. Even though no names were spoken, the unspoken truth was clear. They didn’t want this.

“I’m sorry,” Jeongguk whispered, his voice soft, filled with guilt. He didn’t look at Taehyung, but he felt the weight of his words.

“Me too,” Taehyung replied, his voice small, full of regret.

They both got up, the tension between them thick. No more words were exchanged as they dressed, both lost in their thoughts, their guilt. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t even lust. It was just... a mistake.

And now, they had to carry that mistake with them, knowing it could never be erased.

Taehyung lay in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, the weight of everything crashing down on him. His body felt heavy, but it wasn’t from exhaustion. It was the guilt, the regret that ate at him from the inside. How could I let it happen? He clenched the sheets in his fists, heart pounding.

It should’ve been with JK. The thought hit him hard, and his chest tightened. He'd lost his virginity to someone else, not the one he truly wanted. And for what? Some drunken mistake? He felt sick.

"Fuck... how am I gonna face him?" He couldn’t shake the guilt. No matter how much he tried to push it down, it kept creeping back up.

Meanwhile, Jeongguk was lying in his own bed, his mind racing in a million different directions. He rubbed his face, groaning.

"What the fuck did I do?" His stomach twisted as he thought about it. He’d promised himself—he’d only think about V. V was everything to him. And yet... he’d fucked it all up. He fucked Taehyung.

"How the hell did I end up sleeping with my neighbor?" He cursed under his breath, frustration building up. "I’m such an idiot."

Taehyung rolled over, burying his face into his pillow. "I let it happen. I let Jeongguk take something that should’ve been JK's."

His heart ached at the thought. And yet... there was this weird, twisted comfort in remembering how he couldn’t stop moaning JK's name. Every time Jeongguk touched him, he thought of JK.

"I still think about him... even then." That small reminder brought a faint, bitter smile to his face, though it didn’t change anything. It was still wrong. He’d still let himself slip, and now he had to live with it.

Jeongguk’s thoughts mirrored Taehyung’s. He couldn’t stop thinking about V. He remembered how, every time Taehyung made a sound, he’d imagine it was V’s moans. He’d close his eyes and pretend it was V beneath him, and somehow, that made it feel... better. But it didn’t change the fact that he broke his promise. He let someone else in.

"I fucking love V..." Jeongguk sighed, feeling torn between his guilt and his emotions.

In the quiet of their rooms, both of them were drowning in the same regret. Their thoughts circling back to the ones they loved, the ones they’d betrayed without even meaning to. Neither of them knew how to face each other, let alone the people they were really in love with.

The last two days had been... weird. Awkward, more like. Taehyung and Jeongguk were basically doing everything they could to avoid each other. Not like they wanted to, but after Shezam’s birthday party? Yeah, things weren’t the same.

Taehyung stepped out of his apartment, keys jingling in his hand, and just as he was about to lock the door—bam, Jeongguk walked by. They locked eyes for a split second before Jeongguk quickly looked away. Taehyung let out a quiet sigh, offering a weak smile.

“Hey,” he muttered, voice barely audible.

“Hey,” Jeongguk replied, just as quiet, eyes glued to the floor.

That was it. No teasing, no jokes like before. Just... awkward tension. Taehyung gave a nod, and Jeongguk brushed past him, barely looking up. They were just existing around each other now.

Taehyung missed how they used to talk so easily, the banter, the laughs. But now? Every little interaction felt like stepping on glass.

Later that day, they ran into each other at the elevator. Taehyung stood there, staring at the floor numbers, praying the door would open faster. Jeongguk stood a few feet away, hands stuffed in his pockets, both of them pretending like the other didn’t exist.

When the door finally slid open, they both stepped in, and the silence was suffocating.

“You, uh... good?” Jeongguk asked after a long minute, his voice almost hesitant.

“Yeah, fine,” Taehyung mumbled, still staring straight ahead. “You?”

“Yeah... fine.”

That was it. Silence again. The tension was thick, and all Taehyung could think about was how wrong this all felt. But instead of saying something, he just let the awkwardness linger, let it choke them both.

Jeongguk, on the other hand, couldn’t get V out of his head. Every time he looked at Taehyung, all he could think about was how he’d betrayed V, even though V didn’t even know. Guilt twisted in his stomach. He wasn’t supposed to feel anything for Taehyung, yet they’d crossed that line, and now everything was messed up.

By the time they both got off on their respective floors, it felt like a weight had lifted. They didn’t have to deal with each other’s presence anymore. For now, at least.

That night, Jeongguk lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. His phone buzzed with a notification, but it wasn’t from V. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"How the hell did I let this happen?" His thoughts wandered back to Taehyung, to how Taehyung had moaned that some name he couldn’t remember... but tye only thing he knew it was not his name either.

"Fuck," Jeongguk cursed internally. He hated how he couldn’t stop thinking about V. "This wasn’t supposed to happen."

On the other side of the hall  Taehyung was sitting on his couch, scrolling aimlessly through his phone, hoping for some sort of distraction. His mind kept drifting back to JK—how everything he did with Jeongguk was a mess. "I love JK. What the hell was I thinking?" Every time he thought about it, guilt gnawed at him.

The next day, Taehyung was at the grocery store, minding his own business when he spotted Jeongguk from the corner of his eye. They made eye contact, but instead of talking, they both quickly turned away, pretending they hadn’t seen each other.

As he grabbed a carton of milk, Taehyung muttered under his breath, “Shit’s just... weird now.”

Jeongguk, a couple of aisles down, sighed. He thought about to talk to Taehyung, but guilt held him back. Instead, he shoved his phone in his pocket and walked out of the store without another word.

This was their new normal—ignoring each other, avoiding eye contact, and burying themselves in their own guilt and longing. Neither of them knew how to fix it. All they knew was that the distance between them wasn’t getting any smaller.

Taehyung’s phone buzzed, snapping him out of his thoughts. He glanced at the screen—it was the airline. Heart racing, he swiped to answer.

"Hello?" His voice sounded more shaky than he liked.

"Mr. Kim Taehyung? This is a courtesy reminder that tomorrow is your last full day in America. Your flight back to Korea is scheduled for the day after tomorrow evening."

His heart dropped. Already? It’s been 2.5 weeks since he’d arrived here. No sign of JK. Nothing. His chest tightened. Taehyung froze, the weight of the words hitting him harder than he expected.

"Oh... uh, yeah. Thanks." He thanked the agent quickly and hung up, sitting there in silence, phone still clutched in his hand.

What the hell am I supposed to do now? JK had gone radio silent
Not a single word from JK. No texts, no emails. Nothing. He groaned, rubbing his face in frustration. He could have mailed Jk too but he didn’t know his email account as thdy both deleted their email right after sharing...and Telegram...there's no sign of his ID over there.

"What the fuck, JK... where are you?" His heart squeezed, the longing for JK hitting him harder than usual. But that wasn’t all. There was Jeongguk.

Things were just... off. Taehyung had no idea how to fix the awkwardness between them.

He hadn’t seen Jeongguk much these past few days—not really. Sure, they’d pass each other sometimes, maybe exchange an awkward smile, but it was... tense. Weird. Taehyung hated it. He wanted to say something, fix whatever this was, but every time he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

He got up, pacing the floor. Maybe I should text Jeongguk? He thought about it, but his fingers felt heavy. He shoved his phone back in his pocket, cursing under his breath.

“Why does this feel so fucked up?” He muttered to himself. "It's not like I love him. I shouldn’t... but why do I keep thinking about him?"

His mind raced back to that night. The alcohol, the heat, the mess they made. He felt a strange mixture of guilt and... something else. Every time he saw Jeongguk now, that guilt crept up, but so did another feeling—one he couldn’t name.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed again, and his heart leaped, thinking it might be JK. He grabbed it, only to see a notification from a random app.

“Of course,” he muttered bitterly, tossing the phone onto the couch. He sank down next to it, head in his hands.

God, what am I doing? He thought about JK, about how he hadn’t heard a single thing, and it hurt. But Jeongguk… Jeongguk was in his head too, and he didn’t know why.

He groaned again, flopping back against the couch, staring at the ceiling. “I’m so fucking screwed.”

(a/n:- ngl, the realization and the guilt hit hard!....anyways, you all gonna see cursive quotation marks from now...cause my tablet is not working properly and i need to type all this down in my laptop..,it sucks honestly😭💀)