Isabella exhaled deeply as she walked through the university library, the scent of old books and freshly brewed coffee settling her nerves. The quiet hum of students flipping pages, typing on laptops, and murmuring in hushed voices filled the space.

This was her safe place.

Books. Order. A world she could understand.

Not the chaos that had invaded her mind since that night.

No matter how much she tried to push it away, Jungkook lingered at the back of her thoughts. His gaze, his presence—it was like a shadow she couldn’t escape.

And the worst part?

She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to.

She shook her head, frustrated with herself.

Get it together, Isabella.

Sliding into her usual seat by the large arched window, she pulled out her notebook and tried to focus on her studies.

Minutes passed. Then an hour.

And for a while, she lost herself in the comfort of routine.

Until—

A shift in the air.

A shiver down her spine.

The feeling of being watched.

Her fingers tightened around her pen as she hesitated before glancing up.

Nothing.

The library was the same—students absorbed in their work, lost in their own worlds.

You’re being paranoid.

Isabella let out a slow breath and forced herself to look away.

But deep down, something told her she wasn’t imagining things.

Elsewhere, in the heart of the city…

Jungkook sat behind his expansive desk, fingers tapping against the polished wood as he listened to the security report.

“She left her apartment at seven-thirty this morning. Walked to campus. Spent three hours in the library. No interactions with anyone suspicious.”

Jungkook nodded, barely glancing up from the document in front of him.

“She’s predictable.”

Taehyung, lounging in the chair across from him, smirked. “That’s what makes her interesting to you, isn’t it?”

Jungkook didn’t respond.

Because Taehyung wasn’t wrong.

In a world filled with deception, ambition, and hunger for power, Isabella was… different. She was untouched by darkness.

Untouched by him.

Yet.

Taehyung swirled the whiskey in his glass. “You’re keeping tabs on her.”

Jungkook finally looked up, his gaze sharp. “I like to be aware of things that belong to me.”

Taehyung let out a low chuckle. “She doesn’t belong to you.”

Jungkook smirked. “She will.”

Later that night…

Lily tapped her fingers against the bar counter, her heart beating a little too fast as she watched the entrance of the club.

She wasn’t supposed to be here.

But something had pulled her back.

Or rather, someone.

And when Taehyung finally walked through the doors, his presence commanding even in the dim lighting, she knew she had made a mistake.

Because one look at him… and she knew she was already in too deep.