From Reluctance to Desire: A Mafia Story [JJK]

✨ EPILOGUE: A NEW DAWN✨

Almost a year later...

Jungkook POV:

The sound of Y/N's cry shattered every ounce of calm I had managed to fake since she first clutched her belly in pain.

She was in labor.

We had been having dinner—just us and our closest circle. Taehyung, Jimin, Alex, Luca, Jiwoo, and me. The room had been full of laughter, soft lighting, and the scent of Jiwoo's handmade pasta. Y/N was glowing in her loose ivory dress, one hand occasionally rubbing her belly, and the other wrapped around mine under the table.

Then everything stopped.

A sharp inhale.

Her back tensed. Her fingers clenched mine like a vice. Her fork clattered to her plate.

"Y/N?" I shot to my feet, the world tilting on its axis. "What's wrong? What is it?"

She looked up at me, her eyes wide, glassy with fear and pain.

"Jungkook... I-I think it's time."

Silence.

Utter silence—for a single breath.

And then chaos exploded.

Chairs scraped back. Plates clattered. Everyone jumped to their feet like a bomb had gone off.

"Jiwoo—bag!" Alex barked like a soldier in combat mode. Jiwoo was already sprinting down the hall, her slippers half on.

"I GOT IT!" she yelled.

"I'll unlock the car!" Alex said, bolting out the front door.

"Should we—like—boil towels or something? That's what they do in movies, right?" Jimin asked, his eyes wild.

"This isn't a 1950s movie, dumbass!" Taehyung snapped. But even his voice cracked, and his hands were shaking.

"I'll drive!" Luca shouted suddenly, pulling keys from the bowl by the door.

"You?" Alex shouted from down the hall. "Fine. Just don't kill us."

"You drive like GTA on steroids," Luca muttered.

Through all of it, I was only looking at her.

Her hands were shaking now, her lips pressed tight, trying not to cry. Another contraction hit, and her entire body curled inward.

"Come here," I murmured, sweeping her into my arms. She gasped, burying her face into my chest, and I held her like she'd shatter if I let go. "I've got you. I promise. You're okay."

I carried her out to the car as everyone scrambled around us like panicked, over-dramatic backup dancers. Jiwoo flung the door open, shoving the hospital bag into my lap like a quarterback passing a football. Alex guided us with his phone flashlight, as if we didn't know our own driveway.

Y/N's hand clutched mine so tight, it hurt—but I didn't let go. I wouldn't. Ever.

Inside the car, her pain escalated. She cried out again, her whole body shaking. Her breathing grew uneven. She was fighting the pain with every fiber of her being.

My brave, beautiful girl. My Areum. My Y/N.

And I could do nothing.

Nothing but hold her hand and whisper reassurances I wasn't even sure I believed.

The others were unusually quiet. For once.

Jimin sat beside me, his hand nervously tapping against his thigh. Taehyung stared ahead from the passenger seat, lips pursed, jaw clenched. Alex sat in the back, eyes darting between Y/N and the window like he was silently praying.