Your Eyes Tell

I

Taehyung doesn't even remember how it started.
One second, they were talking, no, arguing, and the next, his voice was already raised, the words spilling out faster than he could filter them.
"I said I'm done, Jungkook."
The room feels too small. Too bright. Too full of years neither of them ever addressed.
Suffocating.
Jungkook lets out a sharp, disbelieving laugh, running a hand through his hair. "Done with what? What are you even talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."
"No, I don't," Jungkook snaps, stepping closer. "Because this-" he gestures vaguely between them, frustration cracking through his voice "the fanservice, has never been a problem for you before."
Taehyung clenches his jaw.
That's the problem.
"It was," he says, quieter now. Tighter. "You just didn't notice."
Jungkook frowns, like the words don't even register. Like they don't make sense in the version of reality he's been living in.
"We had a deal," Jungkook continues, his tone hardening. "We both agreed to this. The fans like it, the company likes it, it keeps things playful and simple."
Simple.
Taehyung almost laughs. It comes out as something bitter instead.
"Yeah," he mutters. "Simple."
Because what's simpler than pretending your heart isn't slowly tearing itself apart?
Jungkook exhales sharply, clearly losing patience. "So what, now it's suddenly a problem? After all these years?"
"Yes."
The word lands heavier than he expects.
Jungkook stares at him, something flickering in his eyes, confusion, irritation...something else Taehyung refuses to name.
"Why?" Jungkook presses. "Give me one actual reason, Tae, because right now this just sounds-"
"I'm tired of being used."
The silence that follows is immediate.
Claustrophobic.
Jungkook freezes.
"...What?"
Taehyung swallows. He didn't mean to say it like that. Didn't mean for it to come out so sharp, so ugly.
But it's out now, and he's too far gone to take it back.
"I'm done with you using me for photos and TikToks," he continues, voice colder than he feels, "to feed into the whole thing. To give people something to talk about so they don't focus on whatever girl you're being linked to this week."
Jungkook recoils like he's been slapped.
"That's what you think I'm doing?" His voice drops, low and wounded in a way that makes Taehyung's chest tighten. "Using you?"
He doesn't answer, because if he does, his voice might break.
"I never used you," Jungkook says, more firmly now, stepping closer again. "I care about you. You know that."

Do I?

The thought is sharp, unwanted.
"Do I?" Taehyung echoes, before he can stop himself.
Jungkook's expression falters.
And for a second, just a brief second, Taehyung almost caves, almost takes it all back. Laughs it off. Says he didn't mean it like that.
But he can't.
Not anymore.
Jungkook shakes his head, frustration bleeding back in, like it's easier to hold onto than whatever else is underneath. "Then explain it to me," he demands. "Because I don't understand what the hell changed."
Taehyung looks at him.
Really looks at him.
At the boy, no, the man, he's loved for years without ever saying a word about it.
"You know why," he says softly, hesitantly.
Jungkook blinks.
"What?"
"You know why," Taehyung repeats, his voice trembling now despite everything in him trying to keep it steady.
Because how could he not?
All those lingering touches.
All the times he thought, hoped actually, Jungkook could see through it.
That he had to.
Jungkook stares at him, something unreadable crossing his face before he looks away.
"No," he says quickly. "I don't."
Taehyung's chest tightens.
"Stop lying."
"I'm not-"
"Stop." His voice cracks, louder now. "Just, stop pretending you don't know."
Jungkook goes still.
Silent.
He doesn't look at him, and that hurts more than anything he could've said.
"Say something," Taehyung breathes.
Nothing.
"Jungkook."
Still nothing.
The silence stretches, heavy and unbearable.
He feels it in his throat, in his chest, in the way his hands are starting to shake.
"Say something!" he snaps, shouting, the words breaking out of him, desperate now. "Anything. I deserve at least that much!"
Jungkook's shoulders tense.
For a moment, he looks like he might, like he's right on the edge of it.
But then...
Nothing.
Just silence.
Just avoidance.
Just distance.
And that's it, that's the answer. That's apparently what he deserves.
Something in Taehyung finally, quietly, breaks.
He lets out a hollow laugh that doesn't sound like his own, shaking his head as he steps back.
"Right," he mutters.