"Taehyung," Namjoon called out gently.
"Please... I don't want to see anyone... Please leave me alone," Taehyung pleaded.
"No one is here, child... It's just me," Joon reassured him.
"Please... Leave me alone..."
"Taehyung, you're alright, child. Nothing happened. Please, let me come in."
Taehyung sobbed. It had been five weeks since he woke up, finding himself in a wheelchair without a hand. Tears flowed freely from Taehyung's eyes.
Namjoon called out to him again and walked closer, gently touching the boy.
"Dad," Taehyung cried like a child.
*********
"Everyone hates me... They locked me in here, and they've all gone away from me," Jungkook shouted from his cell.
"No progress," the doctor sighed, listening to Jungkook's repeated shouts.
"I want my boy back," Joon said to the doctor. "Whatever happens."
"I will do my best, sir," the doctor assured him.
********
"Move the hand... Try to move," the doctor encouraged Taehyung. They had fitted a duplicate hand for him.
He struggled to move the hand. "It's very difficult," he said.
"You will get used to it," the doctor reassured him.
"Yes," Taehyung agreed.
"Dad," Taehyung called Joon. "I want to see my Jungkook."
"Not now."
"Why? I need to see him, Dad... Otherwise, I will die... Please, Dad..."
"We can," Joon conceded, offering Taehyung some food.
***********
"One man and one lady... They were standing there," Jungkook told the doctor.
"What did they look like?"
"They don't have eyes," he said in fear. "They're trying to go inside me."
"Don't let them go inside you; that will affect your well-being."
"Really?" Jungkook looked at the doctor.
"Yes, tell them you don't like them. Okay?"
"Okay," Jungkook agreed.
"That's it," the doctor said, observing the scene.
"Can I go to him, doctor?" Taehyung inquired.
"No, if he sees you like this, it will affect him badly," the doctor said.
Taehyung stared at the glass wall. There was Jungkook, speaking alone, crying alone, and sometimes smiling alone. Sometimes he called for his hyung, sometimes he asked for his child...
************
It had been six months since Taehyung met Jungkook. He had dedicated all his time to physiotherapy and meditation, determined to regain his ability to walk so he could reunite with his family in the snow.
Taehyung's steps were slow, like those of a small baby taking its first steps. He finally came to know what had happened to his family.
"Thanks, Dad. My child needs all the happiness," Taehyung said, tears streaming down his face. A handicapped father and a mentally imbalanced mother had left him overwhelmed. "I didn't even see his face, Dad..." He sobbed, falling into his father's comforting embrace..
********
What are you feeling now?" the doctor asked Jungkook.
"I don't know, but I feel like sleeping," Jungkook replied.
"What about the man and woman?"
"Who?" He looked at the doctor, who smiled. "Nothing."
"Where is my child, doctor?" Jungkook inquired.
"With Yoongi and Jimin... Do you want to see him?"
"No... Let him be happy with them," Jungkook cried.
"That's a great decision," the doctor said.
"Did everyone go abroad? Does no one want me?" Jungkook questioned.
"Yes, everyone has gone abroad except one," the doctor explained.
"Who?" Jungkook asked.
"Your hyung... He's waiting outside for you. He loves you very much, more than anything."
"Isn't that right?" Jungkook asked.
"Yes," the doctor confirmed.
*******
'Do you hate me, hyung?' Taehyung, his voice gentle, replied, 'No, Kook, I don't.'
A glimmer of hope in his eyes, Jungkook continued, 'Are we going to be happy again?' Taehyung's smile was reassuring as he said, 'Yes.'
Curiosity got the better of Jungkook as he inquired, 'Where is our baby, hyung?' Taehyung's eyes lit up with excitement. 'With Jimin and Yoongi. Only Dad knows where they are,' he explained. 'After two or three weeks, we can go to our child.' Taehyung's joy was evident as he smiled broadly.
Jungkook sought confirmation, 'Can we take care of him?' Taehyung held him close and affirmed, 'Who else can? He is our child.' He planted a loving kiss on Jungkook's head. 'The three of us will live here... happily ever after.'
Jungkook sighed, his thoughts drifting. 'Yes... but where has Dad gone?' They were in their apartment, the three of them living together for the past three months. Taehyung had adapted to his disabilities, and Jungkook seemed to be doing better, behaving more normally.
As Jungkook began serving the food, he couldn't help but wonder aloud, 'Where is Appa?' Taehyung, concerned, decided to call their father, dialing the number, but to no avail."
"Taehyung and Jungkook waited patiently for Namjoon's return, the only link to their missing child. They endured long, lonely nights turning into days, days into months, and finally, months into years, like fallen leaves drifting away. The once-prosperous Kims Industries lay dormant, yet they still received financial support every month. But they held onto a dwindling hope that Namjoon would come with their child, even as their days became an endless wait in their luxurious, empty apartment. Through it all, their love for each other remained steadfast, and Taehyung kept his promise, this time without deceiving Jungkook with false hope." Kim Namjoon and their child vanished into the vast expanse of a distant galaxy, leaving Taehyung and Jungkook to navigate the quiet cosmos of their own love and longing.
