Echoes In The Wood|| Taekook|✓

6. Beyond the Forest

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The forest, once haunted by shadows and scars, now stands serene, having laid bare its secrets and echoes, finally cradling its loved one in peaceful silence.

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One Year Later

A year had passed, yet the memories lingered as if they had only happened yesterday. The trees towered above Jungkook like silent witnesses, stretching their long limbs across the sky, creating a canopy that swallowed him whole as he walked deeper into the forest. The same forest that had taken Taehyung’s life. The same forest that had brought them together.

He stood still for a moment, eyes closed, allowing the wind to brush his skin like a soft caress. It felt different now. Not the eerie, cold gusts that had once made his skin prickle with fear. No, this wind was warm, kind—a silent whisper of the forest’s gratitude. The trees, once ominous and foreboding, now seemed to bow to him as he walked, the rustle of leaves echoing words he could almost understand.

Taehyung.

His name, the boy who had appeared from nowhere and left without a trace, except for the heavy weight he had left on Jungkook's heart. It had been a year since he had uncovered the truth about Taehyung. A full year since he’d fullfilled the promise to bring justice to the boy who had suffered in silence, lost and hidden in the shadows of the forest.

Jungkook’s breath trembled as he continued along the familiar path, the same path they had wandered together. The sun had started to dip below the horizon, painting the forest in golden hues. The eerie sensations of the past had vanished, replaced by a peace he couldn’t explain.

As he walked, the trees seemed to part for him, as if guiding him back to the place where everything had started. Where he was together with Taehyung.

The stream came into view, the water glimmering in the dying light, its gentle flow a stark contrast to the torrent of emotions inside him. He knelt beside it, fingers brushing the surface. This had been their spot—the place where Taehyung had hidden his reflection, the place where the truth had started to creep in, even if Jungkook hadn't been ready to see it.

He could still remember how Taehyung had gently swirled the water to hide his face, how his fingers had trailed over the bruises on his neck, the pain in his eyes, veiled behind that soft, heartbreaking smile. And yet, Taehyung had always smiled—through the pain, through the secrets, through the fleeting moments they had shared.

Jungkook's fingers trembled as he pulled the scarf from his pocket. Taehyung's scarf, once worn tightly around his neck, the one he had seen soaked in blood the day they met, now faded and stained with the truth of his death. It had been buried in Taehyung’s bag, along with the diary that had sealed his fate—the diary that had told the story of his abuse, his fear, and the moment his husband had caught him and taken his life.

Jungkook gripped the scarf tightly, his knuckles white with the pressure. How could something so beautiful have endured so much? Taehyung, with his gentle laugh and his curious love for the forest, had carried such pain—pain Jungkook had only learned about after it was too late to save him.

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Jungkook whispered, his voice breaking as tears filled his eyes. "Why didn’t you let me know you pain?"

The wind picked up, stirring the leaves around him. He could almost feel Taehyung’s presence beside him, as if the boy was standing there, smiling softly, just out of reach. His chest ached with the weight of it all—Taehyung's absence, his smile, his spirit that lingered within these trees.

“I should have known,” Jungkook whispered, tears streaming down his face. “I should have known you weren’t meant to stay.”

He had known, deep down. Somewhere in his heart, he had known that Taehyung wasn’t his, that their time together had always been borrowed. But it didn’t make the loss any easier. It didn’t make the ache in his heart any less unbearable.

Jungkook closed his eyes, letting the soft murmurs of the forest fill his senses. The wind, the leaves, the water—all of it seemed to be singing for Taehyung, carrying his memory through the forest like a song that would never end. He could almost hear him again—his laugh, his quiet voice teasing him, telling him to stop worrying so much.

“Some people are meant to meet only once.”

Taehyung’s words echoed in his mind, the same words that had confused him a year ago. Now, they felt like a knife to his chest. He understood them now, more than he had ever wanted to.

Taehyung had been like the forest—a mystery, beautiful yet untouchable. He had appeared in Jungkook's life as quickly as he had vanished, leaving behind memories that would never fade, and a love that would never die. Jungkook had fallen for him in those brief, stolen moments, and he would carry that love with him for the rest of his life, no matter how painful it was.

The trees whispered again, a soft, comforting hum. It was as if the forest itself was thanking him—for uncovering the truth, for bringing peace to one of its own.

“Thank you, Taehyung,” Jungkook whispered, his voice trembling. “For everything.”

He stood, wiping the tears from his cheeks as he looked around the forest one last time. The sun had fully set now, casting the woods in a soft twilight glow. But instead of feeling lost, instead of feeling the cold chill of the past, Jungkook felt warm. Safe.

The forest had changed. And so had he.

And as he turned to leave, walking the now-familiar path back to the world outside, he could have sworn he heard a soft, warm voice—Taehyung’s voice—whisper back.

“You’ll never be lost again.”

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In the forest’s serene hush, the presence of a beloved soul lingers like a protective breeze, their love a silent shield amidst the calm.

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