IN THE PRESENCE OF YOUR ABSENCE

CHAPTER 31

FIVE YEARS LATER

The wind held its breath as if nature itself mourned. The quiet chill seeped into Y/N's bones, and a muted, gray light cast the graveyard in a somber veil. Y/N took each step with purpose, but her heart quivered beneath the weight of her grief, a pounding beat of love that could never fade.

Clutched in her trembling hands were white lilies—the flowers he once called "little pieces of heaven." She brushed her fingers over the soft petals, imagining, if only for a second, that Taehyung was beside her, his voice wrapped around her like warmth in winter. But her hands were cold, and her fingers shook as she placed the flowers gently on his gravestone.

Five years, she thought, the ache of it echoing through her heart like a bell tolling. Five years since she'd last seen him, felt his laughter breathe life into her, and now she knelt here, alone with memories that only grew sharper with time. Memories of a love so deep it felt eternal, yet here she was, leaving lilies for a love that was buried too soon.

Beside her, her little boy, Taewoon, watched her quietly, sensing something even his young mind couldn't grasp. He looked up at her, his wide, questioning eyes filled with the innocence of a world that had only shown him love, laughter, and his mother's protective arms. To him, Jungkook was his father, the one who lifted him high and chased away the dark. He knew nothing of the man she mourned now, the man who had given him life.

They reached Taehyung's grave, and Y/N knelt down, pressing her lips together to keep herself from breaking. She placed the lilies on the cold, granite stone, arranging them gently. For a moment, she closed her eyes, as if hoping he might somehow feel her presence from wherever he was.

Taewoon, observing his mother's silence, took a step forward, his small hands reaching up to cup her face. "Mama," he whispered, his brows furrowing in concern. "Why are you sad?"

Y/N swallowed hard, her voice caught between the weight of the truth and the tenderness of her son's gaze. She pulled him close, cupping his tiny hands in hers, feeling the warmth she'd once felt with Taehyung, now pulsing from the life they had created together. Her heart swelled with love, and the bittersweet sorrow in her voice as she answered him reflected the unspoken loss she carried.

"There was someone...someone who loved me very much," she said, her words drifting like a quiet prayer. "And he would have loved you, too." She smiled, fragile as glass, and Taewoon's eyes grew wide with the awe of a child's wonder.

"Did you love him too?" Taewoon's question echoed in the stillness, his small, innocent voice the only sound that filled the space. Y/N paused, her heart twisting as she looked at him. How could she explain the complexity of the love she had shared with Taehyung? How could she find the words for a love so deep, so all-encompassing?

She pulled Taewoon closer, her hands shaking slightly as she held him tight. "Yes, my love," she whispered, her voice soft but filled with emotion. "I loved him very much. More than words could ever say."

Taewoon furrowed his brow, looking up at her with the purest curiosity. "More than Dad?" he asked, his words simple but cutting through the silence like a question that carried more weight than it seemed.

Y/N's heart tightened, and for a long moment, she was lost in the depths of the past, in the echoes of Taehyung's laughter and his touch that still lingered in her memory. "Not more," she said softly, her voice trembling with the truth. "But not less, too."

Taewoon's small hand rested on her cheek, his innocent touch grounding her in that fragile moment. "But he's gone now, right?" he asked, his voice so small it barely made a sound.