Stigma [Book 1]

Chapter 20 : Broken

He stared into her eyes and was lost in them.

They looked sad.

It made him hurt.

A huge part of him wanted to go up to her and engulf her into an embrace.

But he knew he couldn't...

He couldn't afford to make things harder for her or her group.

After a few seconds, he looked away. 

He couldn't bear to look at her sad face anymore.

He walked away from his spot and made his way to the cafe counter quietly to order a drink as his members followed him. Jimin went up behind him and rubbed his shoulder. 

Tzuyu's eyes never left him, as she watched him walk away. For a brief moment, she felt that she could forget the sadness she was feeling and be happy once more. She sighed once more and placed her head face down on the table as the other girls tried to comfort her.

Meanwhile, the boys quietly stood behind Taehyung as he ordered their refreshments. They quietly looked at each other, wondering what to make out of this unexpected encounter between the two. After a few minutes, a waitress handed Taehyung 7 drinks on a tray, to which he carried back to a table far away from the girls. The table was placed near the end of the cafe, where she wouldn't be able to see him without turning around and making it obvious, while he had a clear view of her.

He quietly looked on as the other members sat in silence, not wanting to make him feel worse. They wanted to comfort him. However, none of them knew exactly what they wanted to say.

"Hyung... do you want to go for a walk outside?" Jungkook asked.

Taehyung slightly shook his head, signaling a no for his response.

Jin placed his and on his arm and rubbed it, understanding how he felt at the moment the most.

Taehyung stared into his cup of hot cocoa he ordered. He smiled a bit as he reminisced of the last time he was in a cafe drinking hot cocoa. He looked up and imagined Tzuyu seated in front of him in the early hours of the morning, sharing hardships and getting to know one another better. At that point in time, he was still testing the waters. Checking to see if his anger could get the best of him. Checking to see whether or not he could suppress the urge to snap at her for what she did to him in the past.

Checking to see if he was still able to fall in love with her...

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as the boys turned their attention to the front door of the venue right outside of the cafe when they heard it open. A pair of footsteps were easily heard as whoever walked in was practically stomping through the hall. The person made their way into the cafe and made his way towards TWICE's table while taking off the pair of sunglasses they were wearing, before breaking out a large smirk on their face. 

"Hey there... babe,"

Tzuyu mentally groaned and clenched her fists as she brought her head back up to see none other than Park Jinyoung, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"Hey..." she said weakly.

"Aww c'mon... you've got to show more enthusiasm than that when your boyfriend greets you!" he said loudly.

"That wasn't part of the deal. I only agreed to be with you for the publicity. There's nothing going on between us," she said coldly.

Jinyoung slammed his fist on their table, causing the other 5 girls to jump back a bit. However, Tzuyu remained unfazed. Jinyoung pulled out his phone and turned it on.