Chapter 13 - The Almost Kiss

The Almost Kiss

The school's Business Gala was everything Y/n hated.

Glittering lights. Velvet dresses. Champagne glasses that clinked with fake smiles and forced laughter.

She arrived late on purpose wanting to avoid the spotlight. But the second she stepped into the ballroom, everything stopped.

Or at least it felt like it.

Because across the floor, in a tailored black suit with his hair slicked back and a drink in hand, was Kim Taehyung.

And he was staring at her like she was gravity.

Y/n swallowed. Hard.

"You clean up nice," he said when he finally reached her, eyes scanning her wine-colored gown with the kind of reverence that made her skin warm.

"You don't look too bad either," she muttered, avoiding his eyes.

He leaned down. "You always get this tense around me, or is it the heels?"

She scoffed. "You wish it was about you."

Later, after their staged congratulations and speeches, they found themselves alone on the balcony overlooking the Seoul skyline.

City lights blinked like stars below them.

"Do you think it'll always be like this?" Y/n asked, voice softer than usual. "Pretending? Performing?"

Taehyung looked at her. Really looked.

"I don't want it to be."

She blinked. "Then what do you want?"

He stepped closer. "Something that feels real."

The silence between them thickened. Electric.

And then slowly he reached out, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Y/n froze. Her skin burned where his fingers brushed. Her breath hitched when he didn't pull away.

His hand lingered by her cheek. His eyes dropped to her lips. Hers flicked up to meet his.

The distance between them disappeared inch by inch... until—

"Kim Taehyung! Speech time!" someone called from inside.

They pulled apart like magnets being yanked back.

He stared at her for a second longer.

Then he whispered: "Next time, I'm not stopping."