Chapter Eighty-five "Phoenix in His Arms"
Three Years Later
Time had changed many things, but if there was
one thing everyone in Phoenix Ridge University agreed on, it was that Professor
Kim Taehyung had become a living nightmare.
If he was strict before, he was downright
merciless now. The once composed and cold professor had transformed into a
ruthless perfectionist, a man whose fury could send shivers down anyone’s
spine.
No one dared to cross him, and even the most
confident professors found themselves hesitating before knocking on his office
door. Students avoided speaking in his classes unless absolutely necessary, and
the staff whispered among themselves about how he had become a ticking time
bomb, ready to explode at the slightest inconvenience.
It wasn’t just his demeanor—Taehyung had
completely buried himself in work.
For three years, he had taken over every
responsibility his father once handled, juggling his duties as both professor
and president of the university while also managing his family’s extensive
business empire.
He practically lived at the university, only
returning home when exhaustion forced him to. He worked tirelessly, pushing
himself beyond limits, and when his body could take no more, it would shut down
on its own, forcing him into sleep wherever he happened to be.
Despite the fear he instilled in others, there
were moments—rare, fleeting moments—when his mask slipped. When he would sit in
his office, staring blankly at nothing, lost in thoughts no one could pull him
out of.
His friends—Hoseok, Yoongi, Namjoon, and
Jin—had tried everything to bring him back to the Taehyung they once knew. They
tried distracting him, forcing him to take breaks, even planning interventions,
but nothing worked.
“Taehyung, let’s grab dinner together
tonight,” Hoseok suggested one evening, leaning against the doorway of
Taehyung’s office.
“I’m busy,” came the flat response.
“You always say that. When was the last time
you had a proper meal?”
“I don’t remember. Now leave,” Taehyung
muttered without even looking up from the documents in front of him.
Hoseok sighed and exchanged a glance with Jin,
who had just entered the office. “Tae, come on. You can’t keep going like
this.”
“I can,” Taehyung said coldly. “And I will.”
Everyone in the university knew why he had
changed.
Three years ago, Jungkook and his
friends—Niki, Soobin, and Jimin—had left for overseas to continue their
studies. Initially, it was only supposed to be for a year. Taehyung had
prepared himself for that, telling himself that he could endure twelve months
of separation. But then, the four had decided to pursue their master’s degrees,
extending their stay for another two years.
None of them had returned home even once.
Too much workload, too many commitments, too
many responsibilities—those were the excuses Jungkook gave every time Taehyung
asked him when he would come back. And Taehyung, as much as he longed to see
him, had never once let Jungkook know how much he was suffering. He had never
told Jungkook how the house felt too empty without him, how his nights were
restless, how his heart ached every single day.
Instead, he simply told Jungkook to focus on
his studies, assuring him that everything was fine back home.
“You should at least let Jungkook know how
you’re feeling,” Yoongi said one day, arms crossed as he sat in Taehyung’s
office.
“There’s no point,” Taehyung replied, his tone
void of emotion.
“You’re miserable, Taehyung. You think we
don’t see it?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters!” Yoongi snapped,
slamming his hand on the desk. “You’ve turned into a damn machine, and it’s
painful to watch. He deserves to know.”
Taehyung’s eyes darkened. “I said it doesn’t
matter.”
Yoongi sighed, shaking his head in
frustration. “You’re an idiot.”
But everything was not fine.
Taehyung had changed. His friends saw it. The
professors saw it. Even the students felt it.
And though no one spoke of it out loud, they
all knew that the only person who could fix him was the one who had unknowingly
broken him in the first place.
Kim Jungkook.
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