The file didn't leave Jungkook's hands.
Even after everything Namjoon said… even after the room fell silent… he still stood there, staring at the paper like it would suddenly change.
Like the words would rearrange themselves into something that made sense.
But they didn't.
They stayed the same.
Cold.
Clear.
Unforgiving.
Marriage Certificate.
Jungkook's jaw tightened.
"…This isn't real," he said again, quieter this time.
Namjoon didn't respond.
That silence irritated him more than anything.
"Say something," Jungkook snapped, finally looking up. "You're just going to stand there and expect me to accept this?"
Namjoon sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. "I already told you the truth."
"Your version of truth," Jungkook shot back.
He slammed the file shut and threw it onto the table.
"I don't remember this," he said firmly. "That should mean something."
"It does," Namjoon replied calmly.
Jungkook frowned. "Then explain it."
A brief pause.
Then—
"You signed it without reading."
The same answer.
Again.
Jungkook let out a frustrated laugh. "You keep saying that like it makes it okay."
"It doesn't make it okay," Namjoon said. "It makes it real."
That shut him up for a second.
Jungkook looked away, clenching his fists.
"…Why would I sign something like that?"
Namjoon's gaze softened slightly, but his voice remained steady.
"You were desperate."
Jungkook's head snapped back toward him.
"For what?"
"Freedom," Namjoon answered simply.
The word hit harder than expected.
Jungkook frowned. "Freedom from what?"
Namjoon didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked closer, picking up the file Jungkook had thrown and opening it again.
"Do you remember the debts?" he asked quietly.
Jungkook's expression stiffened.
"…What debts?"
Namjoon looked at him.
Really looked.
"The ones your family left behind."
Silence.
Something flickered in Jungkook's eyes.
A memory.
Unclear.
Blurry.
Uncomfortable.
"I handled those," Jungkook said quickly. "They're gone."
"Yes," Namjoon said. "Because of this."
He tapped the paper.
Jungkook stared at it again.
His chest tightened.
"You're saying…" he began slowly, "I got married to pay off debts?"
"You signed a contract," Namjoon corrected. "Marriage was part of it."
Jungkook laughed.
But there was no humor in it.
"So I sold myself," he said flatly.
Namjoon didn't like that.
It showed in the slight tightening of his jaw.
"That's not what happened."
"Then what did happen?" Jungkook demanded. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks exactly like that."
Namjoon closed the file again.
"You were given a choice," he said.
"What choice?" Jungkook snapped.
"To either face everything alone… or accept help."
"And the price was marriage?" Jungkook's voice rose.
"Yes."
Silence filled the room again.
Jungkook turned away, pacing slowly.
His thoughts were a mess.
Fragments of memories tried to surface—
Late nights.
Phone calls.
Stress.
Papers shoved in front of him.
"Sign here."
"Just a formality."
"It will fix everything."
His breathing became uneven.
"…I don't remember agreeing to this," he whispered.
"You didn't understand what you were signing," Namjoon replied.
"That's the same thing!"
"No," Namjoon said firmly. "It's not."
Jungkook stopped walking.
"Then what is it?"
"It's a mistake," Namjoon admitted quietly.
That caught Jungkook off guard.
He turned slowly.
"…A mistake?"
Namjoon nodded once.
"But it's still legally binding."
There it was.
The truth.
Brutal.
Unavoidable.
Jungkook let out a shaky breath, running both hands through his hair.
"This is insane," he muttered. "I don't even know who he is."
Namjoon hesitated.
Then said—
"He knows you."
Jungkook frowned. "What?"
"More than you think."
Something about that made Jungkook uncomfortable.
"…How?"
Namjoon didn't answer directly.
Instead, he picked up another paper from the file and handed it to him.
Jungkook took it reluctantly.
It was a record.
Transactions.
Expenses.
Details.
Everything.
His eyes moved quickly across the page.
Then slowed.
Then stopped.
"This…" he whispered.
Namjoon spoke quietly.
"Your house. Your education. Your lifestyle."
Jungkook looked up, confusion mixing with something else.
"…All of this?"
"Yes."
"From him?"
"Yes."
Jungkook stared at the paper again.
Every number.
Every detail.
Every part of his life.
All connected to one person.
A stranger.
"No," Jungkook said suddenly, shaking his head. "No, I didn't ask for this."
"You didn't refuse it either."
"That doesn't mean I wanted it!" Jungkook snapped.
His voice echoed through the room.
Breathing heavily, he threw the paper back onto the table.
"I lived my life thinking I was free," he said bitterly.
Namjoon watched him silently.
"But I wasn't," Jungkook continued, his voice dropping. "Was I?"
No answer came.
Because none was needed.
Jungkook laughed softly, but it sounded broken.
"…I don't even know what he looks like."
That realization hit him all over again.
Harder this time.
"I'm married to someone whose face I've never seen."
Namjoon finally spoke.
"He'll be back."
Jungkook's head lifted instantly.
"…What?"
"Soon."
Something shifted in Jungkook's expression.
Not relief.
Not excitement.
Something darker.
More complicated.
"Good," he said after a moment.
Namjoon raised an eyebrow slightly. "Good?"
Jungkook's lips curved into a faint, dangerous smirk.
"Yeah."
He stepped back, crossing his arms.
"Because I have a lot to say to him."
A pause.
Then, colder—
"And this time…"
His eyes hardened.
"…I won't be signing anything blindly."