Close Quarters

(Taehyung’s POV)

The warning arrived just after midnight, delivered by a trembling messenger whose uniform was damp from the rain. A plot had been uncovered—assassins meant for the prince, moving silently through the palace. My grip on my sword tightened, knuckles white beneath my gloves.

I should have expected this. Danger never announces itself. It slithers through shadows, striking when you least expect it. And tonight, Jungkook would not see it coming.

“Your Highness,” I whispered, kneeling beside him as he read the notice in the dim light of his study. “We must move—now.”

He looked at me, dark eyes flashing. “Are we running?”

“No,” I said firmly, rising to my full height. “We are surviving. Follow me exactly as I say, and you will.”

Even though I spoke with authority, the tension in my chest betrayed me. I could feel my pulse racing, each heartbeat loud against the quiet of the palace halls. It wasn’t just fear for his life—it was fear of failing him, of letting him see the part of me that cannot remain untouched by him.We moved quickly, silently, through a side corridor I had memorized for emergencies. The walls were close, the lantern light flickering, casting shadows that danced like ghosts. Every footstep, every movement, was calculated. Every inch we advanced felt like walking on a blade’s edge.

At one point, the corridor narrowed. I had to guide him through, and for a moment, there was no space between us. My shoulder brushed his. His breath hitched slightly, and I froze—heart hammering.

“Your Highness…” I murmured, almost inaudible, but he understood. He didn’t step back.

I could feel his warmth, faint but undeniable, radiating against me. My instincts screamed to pull him closer, to shield him in a way that went beyond duty. But I remained stoic, keeping my emotions under lock, even as the ache inside me deepened.

We reached a hidden stairwell that spiraled downward, descending into an unused tower room I had cleared weeks ago for contingencies. The heavy door closed behind us with a thud that echoed through the quiet night.

We were alone.

The air between us seemed to compress, heavy with tension and the shared knowledge of danger outside. Jungkook leaned against the wall, arms crossed, but his eyes did not leave me.“Taehyung,” he said softly, voice carrying both command and… something else I couldn’t name. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” I lied smoothly, though my arm throbbed faintly from the guard duty earlier. I did not want him to see weakness—not now, not ever.

He stepped closer, and I could feel his presence pressing into mine, forcing my focus inward, drawing my attention to him in a way that no threat could. I could smell the faint scent of his hair, the warmth of his skin just above the collar of his robe. I wanted to look away, to remind myself of my oath, but I couldn’t.

“You’re tense,” he said, his hand brushing mine—accidental, maybe, but deliberate enough. I felt the heat spike in my chest.

“I am always tense when protecting you,” I murmured.

His lips curved into the faintest smile, one that softened the sternness of his face. “I should be tense too,” he said quietly. “But somehow… I trust you.”

The words struck me harder than any blade could. Trust. He trusted me, completely, with his life and perhaps more than he realized. I wanted to confess that I would die a thousand deaths to keep him safe, that the pull I felt toward him was stronger than my own discipline—but I couldn’t. Not yet.

Instead, I simply bowed my head, feeling the warmth of his proximity like a quiet fire.“Stay close,” he whispered, almost a command, almost a plea.

I obeyed without thinking, standing beside him, shoulder to shoulder, ready to move at the first sound of danger. Our breaths mingled faintly in the cold air, hearts beating in ways that neither of us fully acknowledged.

Outside, the palace was alive with shadow and threat, but inside that small room, there was an intimacy that was forbidden and yet unavoidable. I could feel it in every brush of his sleeve against mine, in every glance that lingered too long, in the unspoken understanding that we were alone in the world and yet bound together.

Minutes stretched like hours as we waited. My hand hovered near my sword, but my attention was mostly on him—on the subtle rise and fall of his chest, the way his gaze kept returning to me, the unguarded vulnerability he allowed me to see even for a heartbeat.

The danger passed without incident. Guards eventually cleared the corridors outside, the assassins turned back by the palace defenses. But the storm inside me had only grown stronger.Jungkook finally spoke, breaking the silence. “You’re still here. Why?”

I swallowed, steadying my voice. “Because you commanded it… and because I cannot leave you.”

He looked at me then, fully, his eyes soft yet piercing. “Even after tonight?”

“Even after tonight,” I whispered, though my heart betrayed the truth—I would remain close to him long after every night, every danger, every command.

We remained side by side for a few moments longer, each of us unwilling to break the fragile spell of proximity, the closeness that had grown from duty into something neither of us dared name. The moonlight fell across his face, illuminating the curve of his jaw, the faint shadow beneath his lashes, the subtle tremor in his hands that betrayed his calm exterior.

I knew, then, that this was only the beginning.

Because no matter how fiercely I tried to bury my feelings, no matter how strictly I maintained my duty, the prince had already claimed something I could never give willingly—my heart.

And I would guard it as fiercely as I guarded him, even if it destroyed me.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***