After a few days.
The room was wrapped in silence, broken only by the soft sound of rain tapping against the glass window. Katherine stood near it motionlessly, her fingers lightly clutching the curtain as she stared outside without truly seeing anything. Rain always reminded her of him. Of memories she could never erase no matter how hard she tried. Her throat tightened painfully at the thought.
Taehyun.
Even now, his name alone was enough to make her chest ache. Back in their original world, he had been an idol loved by millions, someone untouchable beneath bright lights and flashing cameras. But to Katherine, he had been much more than that. He had been comfort during her darkest nights, warmth hidden behind tired smiles, and the person she had admired so deeply that his death had shattered something inside her permanently.
She still remembered the day the news spread across every screen.
Taehyun found dead. Suspected suicide.
At first she refused to believe it. It felt unreal, impossible. Taehyun wouldn't do that. He couldn't. But reality had been merciless. Katherine remembered crying until she physically couldn't anymore while Ana stayed beside her silently because there were no words capable of comforting that kind of grief.
And now somehow fate had placed him in front of her once again. alive and breathing.
Existing only a few steps away from her.
Yet somehow farther than ever before.
Because this William/taehyunknew her.The real Taehyun/ William his name in their world never knew of her existence.And now he is her husband.
He didn't remember the world they came from, the stage lights, the music, or even the life he once lived. Most painfully of all.
Katherine slowly closed her eyes, trying to steady the storm inside her chest. The first moment she had seen him in this world still replayed vividly in her mind. The shock had stolen the air from her lungs. For one brief second she thought fate had returned him to her completely. But then he looked at her with familiar eyes, calm and possessive like they knew each other from ages. She didn't knew whether to be happy or sad.
The soft sound of the bedroom door opening pulled her from her thoughts.
Taehyun stepped inside quietly, loosening the cufflinks around his wrist. His dark hair was slightly damp from the rain outside, a few strands falling over his forehead effortlessly. Katherine's breath caught for a moment because he looked exactly the same. Beautiful in the same heartbreaking way she remembered. But there was also something different about him now. This version of Taehyun seemed calmer, less exhausted, less weighed down by invisible pressure. Yet his eyes still carried traces of sadness that cameras could never fully hide in his previous life.
"You've been standing there for a while," he said softly.
Katherine quickly looked away. "I didn't realize."
Taehyun studied her quietly. Ever since their marriage in this world, he had noticed strange things about her. She stared at him as if he was someone else.She often stared at him like she was searching for someone she had lost a long time ago. There were moments when her eyes filled with tears just because he smiled at her unexpectedly. At first he dismissed it as imagination, but slowly he began noticing the grief hidden beneath her silence.
He stepped closer slowly. "Katherine."
She stiffened slightly at the sound of her name. "Hm?"
"You cried again."
Her breath faltered. Instinctively she turned away further. "I didn't."
It was an obvious lie.
Taehyun sighed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "You always say that."
Katherine bit the inside of her cheek painfully because she truly didn't know how to explain herself. How could she possibly tell him that she had once mourned his death? That she had cried for him in another world where he no longer existed? That every time she looked at him now, her heart couldn't decide whether to feel grateful or terrified?
Silence settled between them heavily.
Then Taehyun spoke again, his voice quieter this time. "You can ask me."
Katherine looked up slowly, confusion flickering across her face.
"Whatever it is you're hiding," he continued. "You look at me like there's something you want to say but can't."
Her heartbeat quickened instantly.
No.
She couldn't tell him.
What if remembering hurt him again? What if the pain from his previous life returned? The mere thought terrified her.
"I don't know what you mean," she whispered weakly.
Taehyun stared at her for a long moment before slowly walking closer until only a small distance remained between them. Katherine's breathing became uneven instantly. No matter which world they were in, he still affected her the same way.
His gaze lingered on her face carefully, almost searchingly. Then his brows furrowed slightly.
Taehyun noticed the way her breathing hitched.
"Katherine—"
"I missed you."
The confession escaped her lips before she could stop it.
Silence consumed the room.
Tears rolled freely down Katherine's cheeks now as she shook her head weakly. "I missed you so much."
Taehyun's breath caught. There was too much pain in her voice for it to be fake. It sounded like someone grieving a loss they never recovered from.
Katherine let out a weak laugh through her tears." I never thought I would love someone so much that them not existing would make me hurt so much that it felt like dying."
That word echoed strangely inside his mind.
Taehyun stepped closer instinctively, his voice gentler now. "Katherine one moment you are confessing to me and the next treating me like stranger. I am your husband and only I have the right on your tears your mind the whole of you. Will you stop behaving as if you're mourning someone or share what is making you cry."
Without thinking, Katherine covered her face with trembling hands as sobs escaped her uncontrollably. "I hated you for leaving," she cried softly. "Do you know how much I hated you?"
Taehyun froze.
Leaving?
Before he could even process the meaning behind her words, Katherine continued crying, months of buried grief finally pouring out all at once.
"I kept thinking maybe if someone noticed sooner… maybe if people loved you louder… maybe if someone stayed beside you…" Her voice cracked painfully. "Maybe you wouldn't have been alone."
Taehyun stared at her silently, confusion and something deeper twisting painfully inside him. Her tears felt personal somehow, like they belonged to him too.
"We just got married few days ago when did I leave you?"Taehyun asked hearing her strange words.
Katherine suddenly wrapped her arms around his middle and pressed her cheeks against his chest and kept sobbing.
"Katherine will you stop crying." Taehyun hesitated before wrapping his arms around her trembling figure.
"I missed you so much. A world without you felt like hell. I can't survive being in a world where you are not their".Katherine said
The moment these words left her mouth Taehyun paused and felt a strange pang in his chest. His heart aches hearing her sobbing and painful world's.
He slowly detangles themselves and cupped her cheeks. "I don't know why you are behaving like this but remember you are my wife and now one will ever be able to take you away from me. You are mine now and I will never let you go neither will I ever leave you. Did you get it. Now stop crying and let's go to bed and rest." He said and pressed a lingering kiss on his forehead.
He dragged her slowly towards their bed and made her lay down on her back and got himself on the bed and covered their bodies.
He pulled her in his arms his chest touching her back.
Katherine slowly calmed down and turned around in his arms and hugged his chest.
He tightened his hold and said,"let's sleep now".
They both drifted to sleep and layed in each other's arms finding their solace.