"It was somewhere in late October 2017," Taehyung recalled. "I went to look for you at the art faculty."
"It can't be, I never saw you-"
"You looked happy," Taehyung carried on. "I remember Seokjin-ssi coming to pick you up, and you were smiling as you both walked to a nearby Japanese restaurant and enjoyed a meal together. The whole time, you were talking and laughing, and I thought - maybe it didn't take you that long for you to get over me."
"You're such an idiot." Jisoo pursed her lips. "Just because I was smiling, I was happy? Did you know how tired I was, constantly having to put on a mask for the people around me just so they wouldn't worry? Inside, I was crumbling, and you couldn't see it at all, so you just left?"
Taehyung hesitated, before nodding slowly.
"Kim Taehyung, let me tell you one thing-" Jisoo said as she leaned towards Taehyung, shaking her head slowly. "Not a single day passed in which I didn't think about you. I never got over you - not back then, five years ago when you left; not three years ago when you came back. Even when every single trace of you was wiped off the social media, even when I feared coming to school because I knew I wouldn't see you here, even when all the memories we shared seemed like a fever dream that only I had, I never forgot about you, I still missed you and longed for you every single day of my life."
Taehyung's eyes shimmered under the dim light in their car, since it was getting dark outside. "What about... now?"
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"I'll tell you..." Jisoo bit her lower lip, hesitating for a while. "If you tell me what's your relationship with Lisa-ssi."
"Me and Lisa?" Taehyung frowned. "What about us?"
"You and her... are y'all dating?"
"No."
"Do you like her?"
"No."
"Does she like you?"
Taehyung paused. "Yeah."
"So she likes you but you still keep her by your side?" Jisoo gasped softly. "You must like her, even if only by the slightest bit. You even said you were gonna look for her tomorrow."
"Excuse me, Kim Jisoo-ssi-" Taehyung sighed exasperatedly. "We're practically business partners, so we see each other everyday. And I believe that I've already explained how her family was the one who saved me at my lowest point?"
"See! There! You're admitting it!" Jisoo pointed at Taehyung accusingly. "So she's your saviour now, huh? Do you wanna be with her? What are you still doing here then? Go look for her!"
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"No, I don't understand what you're- wait a second-" A small grin played at Taehyung's lips as he pointed at Jisoo cheekily. "Are you being jealous right now?"
"What?" Jisoo spluttered. "No, I'm not? Why should I be? I'm still mad at you, don't change the topic."
"I think you're being extremely jealous right now though?" Taehyung grinned as he leaned in closer towards Jisoo. "Avoiding eye contact, blinking rapidly, scratching the back of your neck... Kim Jisoo, I told you about Lisa and I so it's your turn - how do you feel towards me after all these years?"
Jisoo bit her lower lip and looked away shyly. "I don't know, don't ask me right now."
"Why is your face getting red?" Taehyung grinned. "You must really like me, huh."
Jisoo sat there in her seat, frozen for a few seconds, before she finally spoke. "Mm. After all these years, I still really really like you and no matter how much I tried to get over you, I simply couldn't."
Taehyung backed away, surprised by Jisoo's sudden frankness.
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"Not even now," Jisoo said quietly after a long pause, her eyes shifting uncomfortably between Taehyung and the steering wheel in front of him. "Take your phone out and look at the password of my personal hotspot - KTHPB. I have never changed it - not even once. And I am sure that even if you left forever, you'd always still be living inside a small special little corner in my head. I hate to admit that, but it's true. And regardless of what your relationship is with Lisa-ssi, this is a fact that will never change."
"Lisa and I..." Taehyung swallowed hard. "There's really nothing between us - nothing compared to what we have."
"Kim Taehyung," Jisoo said with a serious expression on her face as she looked into Taehyung's eyes. "What am I to you?"
"You, Kim Jisoo, are my first and last love..." Taehyung bit his lower lip, as tears sprung to his eyes. "My one and only."
