Closer Than This...(vsoo)

19.

The guests rose to their feet as the doors to the ballroom were opened. Jisoo’s heart pounded in her chest as she stepped forward, Taehyung beside her.

The aisle stretched before them, the grand hall filled with the weight of expectations and promises neither of them truly believed in.

Her aunt watched from the sidelines, tears of joy in her eyes, oblivious to the inner turmoil Jisoo was experiencing. To her, this was a fairytale come true. To Jisoo, it was a well-rehearsed performance.

As they reached the altar, Jisoo’s gaze flickered to the front, where Kim Taehwan stood with a smug smile, his eyes gleaming with victory.

The manipulations, the lies, the schemes, it was all coming together for him. But Jisoo had her own plan. This marriage wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning.

The ceremony began, the priest’s voice carrying through the room, asking for the vows, for the promises. Jisoo’s hand was placed in Taehyung’s, and for a moment, the world seemed to shrink around them.

Everything was in this moment. Everything hinged on this.

And yet, despite everything, despite the lies, despite the games, despite the manipulation... Jisoo couldn’t help but wonder if there was still a flicker of something, something unspoken between them.

She looked at Taehyung, her future husband, and wondered, was this truly just an alliance, or was there something deeper buried beneath the surface?

The vows were exchanged, but as Taehyung’s voice met her ears, she felt a knot in her stomach. This was her future now, bound by these words. But it would be her terms that shaped it.

As Jisoo and Taehyung stood at the altar, their hands still clasped, there was a subtle tension in the air.

The vows had been exchanged, promises made, but the underlying reality of their situation was far from a fairy tale.

The final moment of the ceremony was fast approaching-the kiss. The one tradition that marked the end of it all, the sealing of their union in front of family and guests.

Jisoo’s heart raced as she looked at Taehyung. His cold, controlled expression was unreadable, but she could feel the heat of his presence. For the first time that day, she wondered what he was truly thinking.

She glanced at the crowd, her aunt beaming with joy, the guests watching eagerly, the weight of their expectations pressing down on her. But her gaze also found someone else.

In the back of the room, standing near the entrance, was Jungkook.

His eyes met hers across the crowd, and in that instant, everything else seemed to blur. He looked both proud and hurt, as though he was silently mourning a loss that he had never spoken aloud.

Jisoo turned back to Taehyung, her pulse quickening. The priest’s voice interrupted her thoughts, asking them to seal their vows with a kiss.

The moment felt too heavy, too charged. Jisoo knew what was expected of her, but the thought of kissing Taehyung in front of everyone made her stomach churn.

She wasn’t ready for it, she wasn’t ready for this role she had to play.

Taehyung, sensing her hesitation, turned his gaze toward her. His hand gently cupped her chin, lifting her face to meet his. His touch was firm, yet there was a subtle gentleness to it.

He leaned in, his lips brushing against her cheek as he whispered, his voice low and intimate.“You don’t have to do this. We don’t have to pretend for them.”

Jisoo froze, the words striking deep into her heart. But she knew that it wasn’t just for them, it was for everything that had been set in motion. For the future she was unwilling to surrender.

Her eyes searched his, and she saw a flicker of something in his gaze, a momentary vulnerability that made her heart twist.

But before she could process her thoughts, the guests stirred in anticipation, and Taehyung closed the gap between them, his lips claiming hers in a kiss.

It was quick, calculated, and filled with an almost forced tenderness. His lips were warm, yet distant, as if they were both trying to fulfill a role rather than share an intimate moment.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but to Jisoo, it felt like an eternity. The taste of him lingered on her lips, and she felt a rush of conflicting emotions.

She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to feel, was this part of the plan, or was this something else?

As they pulled away, Jisoo’s breath hitched in her chest. She caught a glimpse of Jungkook again, his face unreadable but his eyes full of something that made her heart ache.

The silence that followed the kiss felt suffocating, like a weight pressing down on her.

Jungkook wasn’t just a bystander in all of this. He was tangled in this web with her, and now, as the kiss had sealed her fate with Taehyung, she realized that the bond she shared with Jungkook wasn’t something that could be easily erased.

After the ceremony, the guests cheered, and Taehyung led her down the aisle, but Jisoo couldn’t shake the feeling of Jungkook’s gaze burning into her back.

She knew that the road ahead would be more complicated than ever before, especially now that her plan was set into motion. She would use Taehyung, yes, but her heart... her heart was torn in two.