The show ended with the kind of heat that stays on your skin. My shirt stuck to my back as we walked offstage. The hallway behind the curtain felt cooler, quiet, washed in soft yellow light. Crew members moved around, packing equipment, talking in low voices. It felt like the world had dropped in volume for a moment.
Taehyung walked beside me. He was close. Close enough for me to feel the pulse in his fingers when they brushed mine. I knew it was risky to let it linger, but I did not pull away. My hand turned slightly. His fingers curved around mine for a short moment. It lasted only a breath, but it warmed my chest.
A camera clicked.
We both heard it. We both froze for half a second. A staff photographer was adjusting his lens. He did not look at us again. He walked off. Maybe he did not notice what he captured. Maybe he did.
Taehyung whispered without looking at me.
"It looked natural."
I whispered back.
"It felt natural."
We did not touch again. The whole group gathered near the dressing room. Everyone was tired and loud. Jin complained about his knee. Hoseok danced around like he still had energy. Namjoon kept dropping things. Jimin inspected his hair in the mirror. Yoongi sat on the couch, quiet, watching all of us with those small, sharp eyes that catch everything.
Jimin noticed me and Taehyung walking in together. He raised a brow.
"You two disappeared for a bit."
Taehyung stretched his arms and avoided the comment.
"We were breathing. That stage was hot."
Yoongi looked up at us. He did not say anything. He only hummed. It was the kind of hum that means he knows something.
We changed clothes. Managers talked to us about tomorrow's schedule. It felt normal, safe, routine. That safety lasted about forty minutes.
Then someone knocked on the door.
Our assistant walked in, holding his phone with a tight expression.
"Hyung… something leaked."
He handed the phone to Namjoon. Namjoon squinted at the screen. His eyes widened.
"Oh no."
He turned the screen to us.
It was the photo.
Me and Taehyung in the hallway. Our hands touching. The lighting soft. The angle perfect. It looked intentional. It looked intimate. It already had thousands of reposts.
Jin let out a quiet whistle.
"Wow. That is… artistic."
Hoseok put a hand over his mouth.
"The fans are going to explode."
Jimin walked closer, staring hard at the picture.
"They will analyze this for months."
Taehyung looked calm at first. Then he ran a hand through his hair.
"Should we say something?"
Namjoon shook his head.
"If we address it directly, it gets bigger."
I spoke before thinking.
"We can go live. Not to explain. Just… be normal."
Everyone went quiet.
Yoongi spoke from the couch.
"Normal, right. You two have a different kind of normal."
He was teasing, but he was not wrong.
Taehyung looked at me.
He nodded once.
So we did it.
We sat in the dorm living room. The lights were warm. My hair was still damp from the shower. Taehyung wore a loose white shirt that made him look impossibly soft. The comments flooded in fast.
"Are you two together?"
"Explain the picture."
"Why were you holding hands?"
"Is this real?"
We ignored them.
Taehyung talked about music.
I talked about food.
He teased me about eating too fast.
I nudged his knee with mine.
He laughed softly. The kind of laugh that comes from the chest, not the throat.
We sat close enough that our shoulders touched.
None of it was bold.
None of it was loud.
But anyone watching would feel it.
At one point Taehyung looked at me for a second longer than he should have.
My cheeks felt hot, and I tried not to show it.
The comments went wild.
We ended the live after forty minutes.
The room felt quiet again.
Taehyung stretched his arms above his head and looked at me.
"We made it worse."
I leaned back on my hands.
"Maybe worse is not bad."
He smiled, soft and tired, like the day had been long but meaningful.
"Yeah. Maybe not."
When I went to my room later, I checked the trending page. The photo was everywhere. So was our live. Fans noticed everything. The shoulder touches, the eye contact, even the pauses in our breathing.
I should have been nervous.
Instead, I felt warm.
Warm and settled.
Warm in a way that tells you the world is loud, but your heart knows exactly where to rest.
The tension outside started climbing.
Inside us, something felt calmer.
And this was only the beginning.