SHADOWS OF DESIRE|JK FF| S1

CH-48 : SECRETS TO UNCOVER (2)

(Y/N POV)

We all gathered in the living area, the air thick with tension. I sat next to Jungkook, our knees brushing against each other, his hand resting on mine for comfort. Across from us, Soobin sat with his head down, still grappling with guilt, while Taeyong leaned back in his chair, his face unreadable.

"Before I explain everything," Taeyong began, his voice steady but low, "I need to ask you something. Do you remember that one little guy from your childhood? Your dad's friend had two sons."

I furrowed my brows, memories swirling as I tried to recall. There was a vague recollection—distant and almost forgotten. Jungkook glanced at me, and we both nodded, the memory coming back slowly but surely. 

There had been another family... The boys, they were always around when we were young.

"I remember," Jungkook said, his voice tight with confusion. "But how do you know that? How do you know about our childhood?"

Taeyong exhaled softly and locked eyes with both of us. "Because I was one of those boys. The younger son of that family—Lee Taeyong. The 'dummy' from back then, if you remember."

I froze, my heart stuttering in my chest. The words hit me like a sledgehammer, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe. 

Lee Taeyong? From our childhood? The one who we thought...

Jungkook's eyes widened as he sat up straighter. "Wait—what?"

Taeyong nodded, his expression unreadable but heavy with unspoken pain. "Yes. I'm the Taeyong from your childhood. The one you thought died in that birthday incident... but I survived."

Everything stopped. The air left the room as silence fell over us. My brain was struggling to catch up to his words. No, it couldn't be. 

He couldn't be... Taeyong, our Taeyong, had died that day. 

All of them had. 

There was no way...

But the look on his face, the steady confidence in his voice—it was undeniable. The boy i had mourned was sitting right here in front of us, alive.

"How... how are you alive?" I finally managed to ask, my voice a strained whisper.

Jungkook seemed equally shaken, his hand tightening on mine. "You were supposed to be dead... i saw the flames later on, the wreckage..."

Taeyong's gaze softened slightly, though there was an edge of bitterness behind his eyes. "That's what everyone was meant to believe. I was pulled out of there before things got out of control. My father... he made sure of that. But... not everything went as planned. I was separated from my family, and for a long time, We had to disappear—. And I did, but I wasn't the same after that day. No one was."

I could barely process what he was saying. The birthday incident—my birthday. That day had haunted me for years. I remembered the chaos, the smoke, the flames... It was supposed to be a day of celebration, but it turned into a nightmare. We had lost so much that day, and now... now Taeyong was telling us that he was alive. All this time.

"We all thought you were gone," I whispered, the disbelief and shock still strong in my voice. "Everyone..."

Taeyong's lips pressed into a thin line. "That's what they wanted you to believe."

The weight of his words pressed down on us, and for a moment, no one spoke. We were all trapped in our own thoughts, trying to piece together how this could be possible. Jungkook leaned forward, his jaw clenched. "If you've been alive this whole time... why didn't you come back? Why now?"