Rain, Rewind, Repeat || TAEKOOK

Taehyung's question doesn't echo.
It resonates.

"Do I know you?"

It lands softly but slices deep.
Jungkook forgets how to breathe. For the first time in countless loops, Taehyung asks. Not with the warmth of a stranger or the politeness of a barista, but with uncertainty, like something inside him is aching to remember.

Jungkook stares, trying to hold back the weight pressing against his chest. He's lived this moment a thousand times. But never this version.

"I... don't know," Jungkook says truthfully. "Do you?"

Taehyung tilts his head. His brows knit, like he's reaching for something just beyond his mind's reach. "You seem familiar," he murmurs. "But maybe it's the rain. I always feel strange when it rains."

That makes Jungkook smile. A sad, knowing smile.
"You said that before," he whispers, almost to himself.

Taehyung blinks. "What?"

"Nothing," Jungkook lies, because how does he begin to explain that he's been watching Taehyung die for what feels like forever?
That he's memorized every word, every smile, every glance.
That he's whispered "I love you" to the sky too many times, hoping it would reach a version of Taehyung who could still hear it?

Poem: "If You Remember"

If you remember me, even in a dream,
Let the rain carry my name across your skin.
If you feel a pull toward someone you've never met,
It's me—I've loved you in every ending that never stayed.

I stitched my grief into the wind,
Hoping it would touch your cheek like a song.
I waited in time's cruel hallway,
Where doors open only to slam shut again.

If you remember... even a flicker,
Then maybe I haven't lost everything yet.

Taehyung frowns slightly, drumming his fingers on the edge of his cup. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Not anymore," Jungkook answers softly.

There's something in Taehyung's eyes—a pull, like gravity, like a thread trying to find its other end.
Jungkook wonders if fate is finally bending. If time, worn down by his sorrow, is beginning to crack.

"Do you believe in déjà vu?" Taehyung asks suddenly, his voice light but distant.

Jungkook looks up slowly. "I live in it."

That earns a laugh—short and confused, but real. Taehyung smiles, a little crooked, like he's not sure why he finds that funny. Maybe it's the rain. Maybe it's the grief leaking from Jungkook's eyes in ways he doesn't notice.

"I had a dream last night," Taehyung says after a pause. "I was standing in the middle of a road, and someone was calling my name. I turned, but I couldn't see their face. Just... light."

Jungkook swallows hard.
He's been that voice in the dream. He's screamed Taehyung's name as the headlights rushed forward, again and again.
But he always wakes up too late.

Maybe... maybe Taehyung is finally hearing him.

"I think it was you," Taehyung adds, softly. "That voice."

Jungkook's hands shake under the table. Hope is terrifying when you've lived without it for so long.

"If it was," he whispers, "I'm sorry I couldn't reach you."

As the rain intensifies outside, the world inside the café grows still. Taehyung doesn't speak. He stares down at the swirls in his coffee like they hold secrets of the universe.

Jungkook wants to stay. Wants to keep talking. But something inside him warns that time is running again—and if the loop is shifting, then so is fate.

He stands up.

"Taehyung," he says softly, "don't go near the intersection today. Not after 5 PM. Please."

Taehyung looks up sharply, confused. "Why?"

Jungkook hesitates. "Just... promise me. Stay somewhere safe."

Taehyung blinks. "Okay," he says, slowly. "I... will."

There's no certainty in his tone. But there's no mockery either. No disbelief.
Just... trust, like something unspoken is passing between them.

Jungkook walks out of the café with trembling hands.

For the first time since the rain began,
Taehyung didn't die today.

End of Chapter 5.