Empress Handbook

Yoongi Ending | Soulmates

Yeoreum arrives at Jungyong Palace, holding a gentle smile. She is in an oversized white hoodie and a pair of sweatpants that looks like regular tights on her—obviously, she came prepared for physical labour.

"Good morning," Yeoreum says. "How are you going, Kim Taehyung?"

A bitter-sweet feeling rushes up Taehyung's chest. In a split second, he feels like he got pulled back into the stream of time, reliving the moment she led him into her school.

Taehyung hasn't seen Yeoreum in casual clothes for a long time. More accurately, this is the only time he has seen her in casual clothes. Right, he didn't exist in Yeoreum's life before The Selection, nor was he ever a part of her normalcy, a more idyllic version of her life he was never meant to intrude.

"You came," Taehyung stammers after a long silence. "Thank you."

"No problem. I told you I would come," Yeoreum says. She looks at the boxes neatly piled aside. "So, are these the things you're going to take?"

"Yeah," Taehyung says. "The boxes have all been labelled."

Yeoreum nods and quickly moves to help him, arranging everything into different cardboard boxes according to their materials and sizes.

They work together collaboratively, like their minds are in sync. Perhaps it's because of how well they know each other. They manage to work smoothly without sharing a word throughout the process.

"So, what are you going to do?" Taehyung says. He tapes the last box and gulps. "Are you going to be with Min Yoongi?"

"Yes," Yeoreum utters without a glimpse of hesitance, just as if she is admitting to a well-established fact.

A smile cracks through Taehyung's features, but he stubbornly refuses to raise his head from the box. "I wish you both happiness," he says solemnly.

Yeoreum folds her lips. "Thank you. I hope you'll be happy too."

"Yes, hopefully," Taehyung says. He takes a document out of his drawer and puts a foundation pen beside it. "Here."

Yeoreum's heart wrenches at the words Divorce Application. The stark black words sting her eyes just as if every stroke is covered in invisible needles. Her fists tighten and loosen, but she fails to convince her legs to move.

"This is really the end," Yeoreum says with a dry laugh.

Taehyung turns away from her and nods.

"You can fill in your part first."

"All right."

Yeoreum drags herself to the paper, and her hands shudder to reach the pen. She fills in her section, stroke by stroke, like she is carving the weight of every detail into her heart. Finally, she puts the pen down.

"I'm done," Yeoreum says, taking a tremoring breath. "Your turn."

Taehyung steels himself before he grabs the pen and races through his section. He ensures every box has been filled out correctly before he slips the document into a plastic sleeve.

"All right, it's all done."

Taehyung looks to Yeoreum with a faint smile. The second they meet each other's gaze, the tears they have been trying to hold back dash down their faces at the same time. They stare at each other's wet cheeks for a while before bursting into laughter.

"Our marriage started shittily, but in the end, I think I was happy for half of it," Yeoreum utters. "Even though I don't think I can call our mutual support love, I still deeply care for you, my dear work partner."