Still With You | KOOKV (ON HOLD)

Seventeen

Vante's Story as annotated in his paintings

Breathe.

Indeed. Life was nothing but merely breathing.

Just breathe...and everything shall happen.

Breathe...

...but the moment you reached for my hand, gone were the days spent breathing alone.

You made me live.

Born out of a union of an ambitious man and a powerful European woman, a marriage with no love but that of a mere acquisition of power and societal status, I was taught to be no less than perfect.

Even before I could understand everything, I knew my life was not mine to live. In exchange of the position my father had acquired after proving his loyalty to the previous King, I was bound to be the concubine of the prince, now the current King.

In the eyes of everyone, my future was something to be envied. Being a concubine was such a privilege. Therefore, I must be perfect.

I had to be perfect, for every mistake resulted to pain inflicted not to myself but to the people around me.

Thus, I chose to lessen other's burden by confining myself in my own world, caged and barred.

But that was until he came and forced his way inside.

Jungkook.

He was difficult to read with his blank eyes that always trailed after my every move. He was a young knight, age on par with mine, but that did not lessen his capabilities to protect me.

Indeed. He protected me, and in return I gave him my trust.

I gave him my heart.

It was a mistake, I know, for I have no right to give what was not mine to begin with.

Everything that I am was for the King.

I am his.

However, like a flower being swayed by the gush of a strong wind, I allowed my emotions to rule.

I took the risk, and he did too.

All those moments we had to spend in secrecy... those times that we had to abandon our status and be nothing but two people in love.

Every moment felt like a dream.

A dream I never wanted to end.

However, like any other dream, it had to end and give way to reality.

A reality that only caused pain for the man I have learned to love.

The man I could never be with.

Jungkook.

He was hurting.

Every word I uttered were all lies, but I had to say them.

I had to watch as his tears fell down his eyes, full of pain and disbelief.

I had to hurt him and send him away, far away from me where no one could harm him.

I had to.

For him.

As I saw him turning his back away from me, with every step he took further, I knew I would never see the love in his eyes again.

Not for me.

And this alone felt like death.

If only I did not try to change my fate...

Maybe Jungkook would still be by my side, even just as a knight.

As he left, he took with him my everything, and for the very first time, I finally learned breathing alone would not suffice.

I need to live, but without him, I would rather be met by death.

Jungkook,

I shall meet you in the afterlife. Maybe then, I could finally say that my heart belongs to you.

That after all. I love you.

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Just a sneak peek of Vante's backstory.

I will have a week or two free time to get back into writing again before the beginning of another school year. I'll update my ongoing books as many as I could before the school starts again.

Thank you for waiting!

Love you.💜