Jungkook had left the office before Taehyung's driver pulled up, but the difference between their worlds showed brutally once they were both on the road. Jungkook's bicycle was worse than he had realized in the evening light. One pedal slipped every few rotations, the chain clicked sharply as if ready to give up, and the handlebar shook whenever he tried to go faster.
His palms were still burning from the earlier work. The heavy files Taehyung had made him carry had dug sharp corners into his skin, leaving red marks. Every squeeze of the handlebar sent a fresh sting up his arms. His leg throbbed each time he pedaled, pain blooming in uneven bursts. He tried to ignore it, stay balanced, and to look less pathetic than he felt.
He kept adjusting, shifting, and breathing through the embarrassment he felt. His focus was on getting home, not falling again, and on pretending that he belonged on that road.
Behind him in traffic, Taehyung's car moved steadily forward. He sat in the backseat with a perfect posture, face unreadable, and eyes drifting lazily across the line of vehicles. He looked bored, indifferent, and almost resting. He didn't expect to see Jungkook at all.
The line of cars slowed to a crawl, boxed in by a traffic signal. As they advanced inch by inch, Taehyung's eyes flicked toward a small commotion ahead. Three men were arguing with someone on a bicycle. Someone who kept bowing repeatedly, apologising in a panicked voice. Someone with dark hair and trembling hands. Taehyung frowned.
Jungkook bowed again, head lowered almost to his handlebars. "I am sorry, please let me pass. I did not mean to block the way." His voice was breathless, worn thin. When he lifted his head, his chest rose sharply, like each inhale was an effort.
One of the men laughed at him. Another nudged the bike with his shoe. Jungkook flinched, his hands tightened, pain shot through the bruised skin on his palms. His injured leg gave a small wobble. He looked ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion and humiliation.
Taehyung watched the entire thing in silence, expression darkening with each passing second. He opened the car door without a word.
Jungkook didn't see him coming at first. He was too busy trying to steady his bicycle, bowing again, and apologizing softly. Only when a hand gripped his arm firmly did he startle and look up sharply.
"Mr. Kim…?"
Taehyung said nothing. His face remained calm, but there was an unmistakable sharpness in his eyes. He pulled Jungkook away from the small crowd with steady force, not giving him the chance to protest.
Jungkook stumbled, limp obvious now that he was not balancing on the bike. He dragged his injured leg awkwardly and winced when his palm brushed against Taehyung's sleeve. "Sir, wait. My bike…"
Taehyung looked at one of the men standing near the bicycle, gaze flat and cold. "Move that from the road."
The man nodded immediately. No laughter this time. No teasing. Just plain obedience.
Jungkook watched helplessly as his battered bicycle was dragged away. "Mr. Kim, that is the only thing I can use to go home. It still works. I can fix it."
Taehyung kept walking. "You should not be riding anything in this condition."
Jungkook blinked, breath shuddering. "Condition…?"
"You are limping," Taehyung said simply. "Your hands are shaking. And you look like you are about to fall."
Jungkook looked down. His swollen leg. His scraped palms. His trembling fingers. He had tried so hard to hide it all day. It was humiliating that Taehyung had noticed so easily.
Taehyung opened the car door and looked back at him. "Get in."
Jungkook hesitated, heart racing. "Mr. Kim, I really can walk. My apartment is not that far…"
"Get in," Taehyung repeated, voice hushed but final.
Jungkook obeyed with a single nod and an obvious gulp.
The door shut behind Jungkook with a muted thud, and the quiet inside Taehyung's car felt heavier than the air outside. The leather seats were too soft compared to the ache in his body, and he sank into them awkwardly, unsure where to put his hands or how much space he was allowed to occupy.
Taehyung slid in beside him a moment later. He didn't look at Jungkook. He didn't speak. He didn't sigh or scold. He simply lifted one hand and gestured for the driver to start the car.
The silence that followed felt suffocating. Jungkook sat stiffly, fingers curling and uncurling over the hem of his blazer. His palms stung each time the fabric brushed against the raw skin. His leg throbbed painfully now that he wasn't moving, and he tried to shift subtly, hoping Taehyung wouldn't notice.
He knew better. Taehyung noticed everything. Outside the window, traffic inched along. Buildings blurred past. People walked freely, unaware of the tension inside the black luxury car.
Jungkook swallowed hard. "Mr. Kim… I really am sorry for the trouble. I was not trying to block anyone."
Taehyung finally glanced at him. Just one look. Sharp. Assessing. Quietly annoyed.
"You apologize too easily," he said.
Jungkook blinked, unsure if that was criticism or observation. His throat tightened. "I thought it would make them stop."
"It did not."
Jungkook lowered his gaze, heat prickling at the back of his neck. "I know."
Taehyung studied him for a moment. He didn't look angry. He didn't look surprised. He looked irritated at the world, at the situation, at the fact that Jungkook had been caught in something so pathetic.
Jungkook's fingers trembled again, and he tucked them under his thighs to hide it. "Thank you for helping me, Sir. You did not have to."
Taehyung looked forward again. "You work under my building. You should not be stopping traffic or getting mocked by strangers."
It wasn't compassion. Jungkook didn't expect compassion. It was the same tone Taehyung used when pointing out a crooked picture frame or a misplaced file. Something out of order that offended his sense of control.
Still, something warm flickered weakly in Jungkook's chest. The car rolled forward smoothly, leaving the noisy intersection behind. Jungkook let out a shaky breath, feeling exhaustion wash over him all at once. His eyelids felt heavy. His shoulders sagged despite his best effort to sit properly.
Taehyung's voice cut through the quiet. "Your leg."
Jungkook straightened instantly. "It is fine, Sir."
"It is not."
Jungkook's mouth opened and closed uselessly. He stared at his knees. "I will manage."
"You already failed to manage."
Jungkook flinched. Not because of the words, but because of how plainly they were spoken. Taehyung didn't raise his voice. He didn't scold. He simply stated the truth, leaving no room for argument.
The car slowed as they approached Jungkook's neighborhood. Narrow lanes, cheap streetlights, and uneven pavement replaced the polished roads they had left behind. Jungkook wished the darkness would swallow him whole.
Taehyung glanced out the window with an unreadable expression. "You live here."
It wasn't a question.
Jungkook nodded. "Yes, Sir."
His voice was barely audible. Taehyung leaned back, studying the old apartment buildings as if they personally offended him. There was something almost irritated in the way his jaw tensed.
When the car stopped, Jungkook reached for the door immediately. "Thank you again, Mr. Kim. I will be on time tomorrow."
Taehyung's gaze locked onto his face, sharp and unwavering. "You will not arrive on that bicycle again."
Jungkook froze. "But Sir, I need it. I cannot afford anything else."
"That is not my concern."
Jungkook lowered his eyes, humiliation crawling up his spine.
Taehyung spoke again, voice low. "Walk. Take a bus. Do whatever you want. But do not ride something that collapses under your weight."
Jungkook nodded quietly. He stepped out, clutching the door handle for balance. His leg shook beneath him. Taehyung's eyes followed the movement, but he said nothing else.
The door clicked shut. The car pulled away.
Jungkook stood alone on the dimly lit street, exhausted, aching, and completely overwhelmed. Yet the echo of Taehyung's presence lingered stubbornly in his mind, cold and suffocating, as if the man had carved a space inside him without permission.