RIEUL

V.

From the first glance, I don't like it.

But Jungkook's happy, and I'd do anything to keep him that way as he bounces up the huge staircase. Right before we reach the guard, I pull him gently behind me and show him the tickets.

I wouldn't take a single chance with anything that'd get Jungkook hurt today.

The guard takes a swift look at us. We obviously don't look like we belong, but the tickets are real. And his job isn't to question, it's just to do.

"Welcome to V."

Jungkook squeaks into his hand.

The moment we come inside, I can feel Jungkook struggling to hold back an excited yelp as paintings after paintings fill my eyes. They're hung everywhere, in wide, expensive-looking frames.

I can't help but gape.

"Are these all—"

"No, no, no." Jungkook shakes his head, and points to the center of the huge space. "Noona, these are paintings that Taehyung-ssi chose to display. His real paintings are there."

I follow his fingertip, to a veiled piece of canvas.

"You know a lot about here, don't you?" I laugh, making him blush shyly as I ruffle his hair. "Did you do your research, Kookie?"

He nods, a quick shake of his head.

So adorable.

"Come on!" He grips my hand, pulling me over to a row of paintings. "There's still a bit of time before the showcase, Noona."

And I'm about to get dragged when a suited man suddenly comes up to the two of us. He taps my shoulder, and Jungkook looks around in surprise.

"Excuse me. Are you Jeon Rieul and Jungkook?"

"Yes...?"

"Good." He bows curtly, before straightening back up. "Mr. Kim has requested to see the two of you before the unveiling."

_________________________

"This way."

Jungkook. He's so busy looking at all the art that I'd had to practically steer him like a horse. And art was nearly everywhere here, hung on the walls.

The guard finally opens a pair of wooden doors.

And I hear cursing.

My eyes go wide when I see Taehyung, his black pools turned coldly down to a woman who's crying at his feet. She reaches for him, and I bite back a scream when he lets the wine glass he's holding crash to the floor.

It shatters to pieces.

When the woman screams, the first thing I do is turn to Jungkook. I had to cover his eyes— his ears—

But I realize he hadn't even noticed. He's completely distracted, doe eyes fixed straight at the stained glass artwork in the front of the room.

I breathe in relief.

There were times when Jungkook did this, when he saw nothing except for one thing.

"Take her out of here." Taehyung hisses, and the guard takes the crying woman out of the room. The glass is still on the floor.

The moment the door closes, he turns to me like nothing had just happened.

"Good. You came."

"Taehyung-ssi." I say firmly, and he raises a brow at me as I hold on tighter to Jungkook's hand. "I don't know what just happened, but you shouldn't have done that."

He tilts his head.

"Done what."

"Dropped the wine glass on her." I say, clenching my hands. "That could've hurt—"

"Why?"

The words fade from my tongue. And for the first time, I really look at him. I really look at him— eyes and all.

His full lips curve upwards in a smirk.

"Now you look at me, Miss Jeon." He says, and I just stare until he shrugs his shoulders. "With the glass— I did warn her. She was the one who chose not to listen."

A psychopath.

His eyes glitter gold at my silence. Like he knows exactly what I'm thinking, and he's enjoying every expression that passes on my face.

"So this is your brother." He muses out loud, and Jungkook finally snaps awake. He smiles wonderfully at Taehyung.

"I-I love your work." My sweet brother says, going through the speech he'd practiced all day yesterday. "I looked at all of them I could find."

Taehyung smiles. All fake.

"Is that so?" He says, adjusting his collar. "And which one did you like the most, Mr. Jeon? Which one pleased you the most?"

Jungkook looks the happiest I've ever seen him as he talks to Taehyung, listing out artwork titles and his favorites.

And Taehyung nods along, speaking in a way that terrified the hell out of me.

So sweet, like honey and silk. He had this way of charming someone, this way of talking that could convince a person to jump down to their deaths.

I pull Jungkook away.

"That— That's nice." I say, squeezing on Kookie's hand. "I'm really sorry, but I think we'll have to leave now, Mr. Kim. Thank you so much for inviting us here."

Jungkook whips to me in shock.

"What? Noona, but we still have to see the unveiling! That's the best part of V!"

"Yes, Miss Jeon." My eyes narrow into a glare towards Taehyung, his beautiful features almost otherworldly. But it's all calculated, perfectly planned.

"You should stay. I insist."

Insist my @&₩&.

_________________________

The painting.

It's just like him.

"Like I expected." His silken voice comes from the shadows when I look away with a frown. "You're the only one who isn't drawn to it."

Taehyung.

His raven eyes meet mine, filled with amusement and that obsession. And I slip my hand away from Jungkook's, keeping a close eye on him as I walk furiously over to the painter of the piece.

But I might as well have looked away for four hours.

Jungkook's focused again, I can tell. This time on the painting, and I knew that nearly nothing could snap him awake when he was in this state.

"You." I hiss, pinning Taehyung against the wall. His dark eyes look down on me in warmth when I trap him, and it makes me want to yell in frustration.

All fake, all fake, all fake.

"Don't mess with my brother."

His fingertips reach up to brush against my jaw as I glower up at him, eyes narrowed. Remember that the warmth is all an act. It's not real.

"Jungkook is someone I love most in this world." I growl, breathing roughly as he continues to touch my cheek. "Leave him alone. Leave me alone."

"Rieul."

My name on his lips.

My name on his lips. My mind blurs with memories, and I struggle to push them down before they can rise up again.

"I know— I know you're the one who put the tickets in my jacket." I say sharply, squeezing my eyes shut. Forget about that. Don't try to think.

"And I also k-know that every smile you give is fake. It's all part of a plan." I say, my head dizzy. I had to get away from him. "Your voice. That warmth."

It's pathetic of me, that I don't have the courage to look at his face after saying all that.

But I need to tell him.

"I'm not going to be one of your thousand muses, Kim Taehyung."

_________________________

TAEHYUNG

"Taehyung-ah."

My eyes flash open in the darkness.

"Kim Taehyung. Look at me."

Terror freezes my body to the bed. The blankets feel like harsh bonds against my skin as I slowly let my eyes shift towards the direction of the chilling voice.

"Y-You." I whisper when I see her, her eyes blood red in the dark. My heart seizes with fear when she reaches out with a thin hand, brushing her cold fingers across my face.

"Oh, Taehyung." She snarls, and I suck in a harsh breath when she grips my chin in a rough hold.

She's not real. She's only in my mind. There's nothing to—

"You don't think I'm real?"

I instantly stop thinking. But it's already too late, and she laughs softly, lips stretching into a terrible smile as her fingers trace the shape of my mouth.

"Taehyung, you think that you've found your princess, don't you?"

I release a strangled breath when she presses a palm against my chest, coming closer. And then she whispers into the curve of my ear, voice taunting.

"It's just too bad she doesn't want to be yours, hm?"