Twisted Every Way || Vmin/Yoonmin {Complete}

4 -- Singularity

"I'm sorry," Taehyung said again, his voice also starting to quiver, still too cowardly to look at Jimin's face.

"Don't apologize for that," Jimin said, reigning in his emotions. "None of it was your fault, and I was never mad at you. Just at the circumstances."

"Me too," Taehyung sighed. It wasn't that he regretted studying abroad; he knew it had been good for him. That was why when his father told him it would be happening, he did nothing to fight it. He'd known even then that he had a difficult path ahead of him to make a name for himself. He knew that, even though it was horrible, he couldn't let a friendship--or even a crush--get in the way of his future success. 

Perhaps he had long known, even before news of his studying abroad, that his and Jimin's paths wouldn't be aligned forever. They were from separate worlds. That was why Taehyung had been so certain that when he left that their paths would be separated forever. He would likely go into business and Jimin wanted to be a performer. He had no idea that Jimin would be hired by his family's company just a few years later. He had left just as Jungkook was being discovered, and it wasn't until his fame rose that the studio started being used as it was presently.

"And Tae?" Jimin spoke up. Taehyung's eyes flickered only briefly up toward the blond before looking down again. "You remember the day before you left... don't you?" Taehyung was still and silent. It was only when he felt the sudden warmth of Jimin's hand resting on top of his that his eyes widened and he slowly looked up. Instead of enjoying the hint of affection and savoring the moment, he instead let his mind be flooded with confusion and hostility at remembering what had happened a day and a half ago.

"Jimin," he said coldly, carefully pulling his hand away. Jimin, in turn, looked at him with shock and frowned, still with a hint of mist over his eyes. Taehyung's expression clouded over with guilt and he cursed at himself under his breath. "Why did you want to meet me here?" he asked, much more softly.

"To be honest, I wanted to talk to you about the other night," Jimin answered. Taehyung gave a firm nod, visibly giving the blond his full attention. "And, well, I wanted to apologize for turning you down. It's not that I didn't want to, I just..." Taehyung gulped, but tried not to interrupt him. "My evenings have just been busy for the past few months."

"Is that so?" Taehyung mused, his voice tense but otherwise void of emotions.

"Yes. You said that you didn't know I could sing so well, but I only could because I've been taking vocal lessons," Jimin explained.

"Vocal lessons?" the redhead echoed him blankly.

"Mm, in my dressing room most evenings," the blond replied, with total sincerity. "And I was supposed to have one that night. My teacher would have been upset with me if I had cancelled so last minute for other plans."

"Do you sleep in your dressing room, too?" Taehyung asked bitterly, without taking a moment to think about what he was saying. Jimin, confused, blinked at him for a moment.

"No, not usually," he answered earnestly, knowing the only reason why he couldn't say 'never' was because of the morning before. Still, he had never stayed overnight on purpose.

"Alright," Taehyung said with sarcasm in his voice. "Will you tell me who you're getting these lessons from?" Jimin hesitated and thought for a moment, never breaking his eye contact with Taehyung.

"I will because I trust you," he decided at last. "But... can you promise to not repeat this to anyone?"

"Sure," Taehyung said with a forced smile and faux calmness. "You can trust me." He sat as patiently as he could while Jimin took a deep breath.