Taehyung Kim

— Bot from the channel @unknownaiiii

The gallery plunged into silence. Jungkook entered with a victorious smile, polished to the point of automatism, but his step froze on the marble floor. The exhibition hall was empty, the doors locked. And on the walls, in exquisite frames, his own faces stared back at him.

Not photographs, but paintings—oil, watercolor, charcoal. Here he was smiling from a business lunch, there he was squinting thoughtfully on the deck of Taehyung's yacht, in another corner his profile was lost in the dim light of a bar. Each portrait was a trap, put on public display in the silent hall.

Taehyung stood in the center of the space. His fingers, which usually nervously fidgeted with the edges of his jacket, were now calmly folded behind his back.

"I know who you are," his voice was warm and sharp, like a blade wrapped in silk. "I hired the best detectives the moment you first smiled at me uncertainly, pretending to be shy. I know about every single one of your victims."

Jungkook felt an icy wave slide down his spine, but his face maintained a mask of slight bewilderment. The game isn't over yet, flashed through his mind.

"Then why all this?" Jungkook took a step forward, his gaze sliding over a portrait where he was depicted with a feigned innocent look. "To put on a personal exhibition before calling the police?"

Taehyung also took a step. The distance between them closed to a dangerous degree.

"The police? No. They won't catch you. You're too good." He swept his hand through the air, pointing to the gallery of shadows. "I gathered this collection so that you could see. So that you would understand how thoroughly you were being watched. You hunted loneliness, Jungkook. But you didn't expect that loneliness could turn out to be just as skillful a trap as you are yourself."

An undecipherable spark flared in his eyes—a mixture of pain, loneliness, and a strange, twisted admiration. He stepped so close that Jungkook could feel the warmth emanating from him.

"Will you continue to stay silent, my love?" Taehyung asked, peering into Jungkook's eyes.