Midas Touch ➸ Taekook

- 31.1 -

We're starting the second part of the novel. I've never done this before, but this chapter is a bit special. It's very short (half a chapter), but it was a moment that I couldn't fit into another chapter. You can think of it as a prologue to the rest of the story. But of course, even though it's short, YOU MUST READ IT before continuing the story.

~🌻~

~ One year later ~

The sky was grey, with not a ray of light to be seen. The cemetery was plunged into semi-darkness, bathed in a thick mist that floated between the rows of tombs. A man was moving forward, his steps slow and shuffling, yet every movement marked by a firm determination. He knew this place by heart, every stone, every bend. He walked, staring straight ahead, a bouquet of red roses clutched between his fingers, the stems pressed down until his knuckles were white. The flowers were fresh and bright, like splashes of vivid colour in this grey and dreary setting, and the deep red of their petals was reminiscent of blood.

Eventually, he came to a halt in front of one grave in particular, simple, modest but well cared for, a testament to the regular care it received. He took a deep breath, as if to summon up his courage, and gently bent down, placing one knee on the ground. He placed the bouquet delicately at the foot of the grave, his gesture so soft and slow that it was as if he wanted to be as discreet as possible, as if not to disturb the person who lay there.

As if he didn't want to wake them. So that they would never notice his presence.

Then, in a heavy silence, he raised his head to read the epitaph engraved in the stone, each letter drawn with a particular talent: 'Bella Dona, daughter and wife, gone too soon'.

These words, though he had read them dozens of times before, seemed to stab his heart a little more each time. His gaze was fixed on that name, his ruby eyes betraying great pain.

He didn't need to speak for his emotions to be obvious. More than sorrow, it was this crushing guilt that had never left him since that famous day. He would probably never stop blaming himself, because everything could have been different.

Suddenly, a noise drew him from his thoughts, light footsteps echoing behind him. He jumped to his feet, alert, turning to discover the source of this unexpected sound in such a deserted place.

And what he saw froze him in place.

A silhouette, a woman walking towards him. The first thing he noticed was the long blonde hair floating gently in the wind, surrounded by the same mist that haunted the cemetery. A shiver ran through him as he watched the face staring back at him from the distance.

His eyes widened in shock. He stared at her, as if unable to believe the vision before him. He didn't know whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, after all he'd been through recently, or whether it was real. He found it hard to believe that what he was seeing was not an illusion. And if it was, he didn't like these mind games. It was a vision... that he didn't want to see at all.

Yet the woman did not move, and her silhouette seemed more and more real to him. Then his lips parted, and in an almost inaudible whisper, as if he feared that speaking louder would make the apparition disappear, he uttered the name he hadn't spoken for five years.

"Bella...?"

~🌻~

Just a reminder: this story contains no cheating. Whether it's Jungkook or Taehyung, there's no doubt about their feelings for each other (from our point of view), and there's no love triangle. You can get on with the story (Jungkook is madly in love with Taehyung, and no one else).