𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗

Cinders and Ashes

Hi y'all!

> So I say this every time but you do this every time so what can I do? YOU BLOW ME AWAY WITH THE SPECTACULAR RESPONSE TO THE LAST CHAPTER! I had not thought in my wildest dreams what monster this story would become and how amazingly you would all accept and welcome it! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

> Also, I think I need to warn you. This chapter is burning things to the ground. It is angsty. Stuff happens. But have faith. Good times shall come once the past has been purged. I hope the mystery lives up to its anticipation and that you enjoy it. This is another one of the longer ones, though not as long as the last one.

Happy reading!

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Chaeyoung fidgeted on the couch, blinking at Jungkook as he took in deep breaths, her heart pounding. Whatever this truth was, Chaeyoung knew it was bad. Like really bad. Like change her life forever kind of bad. She knew Jungkook well enough to know that was the reason he had been so reluctant to tell her anything. She gave him the time to gather himself, the fact that he was doing so telling her this was not easy for him either.

Finally taking a deep breath, Jungkook pinned her with his gaze, slowly taking a hold of her hand, linking their fingers together and she squeezed back softly, letting him take whatever strength he needed to talk.

"I need you to promise me something, Chaeyoung," Jungkook looked at her earnestly, his voice almost a whisper as the cool night air blew in the open windows, the soft light of the lamp softening his features.

She looked into his eyes, searching them. "How can I promise you something without knowing..."

"I know," he interrupted, tightening his hand over hers, his eyes, his voice beseeching. "Chaeyoung, I need you to promise that you will not leave, not put yourself in danger after you know the truth. I will understand if you wish to get away from me. I will give you all the space you want. But please, don't leave."

Chaeyoung blinked at him, her heart sinking. "For my safety?"

Jungkook nodded. "For your safety."

Chaeyoung considered him, looking at his honest, open face and nodded slowly. "Okay. But tell me everything, Jungkook. No more lies."

Jungkook's eyes closed and his head bent down before he slowly got up from the couch and walked to the window, gazing outside, lost in his own thoughts. Chaeyoung watched his muscular side profile, her foot tapping on the floor nervously.

"The first time I killed a man with my bare hands, I was 17," he began, looking out into the darkness, into the darkness of his own past, his face haunted.

Chaeyoung remembered the conversation she had had with Anatoly and nodded, muttering. "The Claw."

He turned to her in slight surprise and she explained. "Anatoly told me."

Jungkook nodded, turning back to the window, looking out, seeing nothing but dark moonless grounds. "When my parents were murdered, I was a boy. I had hidden in the house when the men had come in and I saw them die right in front of me from where I had hidden. And I hadn't been able to do a thing, because I knew they would have killed me too. And I couldn't have let that happen. I couldn't have left Seulgi alone to survive in this world. She needed me. So I had stayed quiet and once the men had left, I had picked up Seulgi and left the house, knowing that I had to do the ugly things to protect ourselves. To never be that helpless again. I wasn't a boy anymore."

He paused and Chaeyoung's heart clenched and her muscles ached with the need to go to him. To comfort him. She fisted her hands and waited, her heart throbbing for him. He had seen so, so much. He had survived so much, and he still had such a big heart, so full of love, so capable of love.