cowboy like me - yoongi x reader

you're a cowboy like me

february 1800

the king is dead.

they don't know who caused the fire. some say it were angry servants, others say it were power hungry noblemen, and some even declare it was the king himself. it's hard to tell, since he had so many enemies.

ahri writes about how the guards rushed to the king's chamber when the smoke reached the hallways, but by the time they managed to open the door, it was already too late. everything inside was burned. they only found some scraps of the king's clothing.

yoongi died without an heir, so the palace is in panic trying to find the next king. the council is arguing, their professional meetings about a successor turning into loud shouting.

you hate it, the way everyone is fighting and plotting for power, looking like vultures looking for scraps. they don't even see how they're losing all their honor in their pursuit for the highest one.

you've always known the palace to be a snake pit, but now that the biggest snake is dead, it seems like all the venom has been released.

reading her letter, your mind takes you back to the conversations you and yoongi shared before, about the possibility of his death and what would happen afterwards. he was always worried about what would happen to the country, worried about how he'd be remembered.

your anger rises every time you think about their selfishness. yoongi had been a good king, maybe not the best, but certainly not the monster they made him out to be. it's like they forgot all the good things he'd done too. he had loved his country, had fought for it, had sacrificed everything for it.

and now, it's all just a game of thrones to them. they don't even know what they're fighting for. you've seen what it did to yoongi, how he lost himself in the process, how he lost his own happiness, how it cost you both everything.

but as you take in the surroundings of your new home, you remind yourself that's all in the past now. you promised yourself you'd let it go. you have other things to prepare for, to be ready for what's to come, and most importantly, who.

as you continue to walk through your father's old family home, you look at the walls that are lined with cracked wood, you listen to the floorboards that creak even at a gust of wind, and think about the kitchen that has a worn table and shelves that jihae has yet to replace. despite all of that, it feels like home nonetheless. and with the money of the jewelry yoongi gave you some time ago, you'll be able to make the house as good as new again while still having enough for sugui when she's older.

you pass by the small room that used to be your father's bedroom. when you first got here a couple of months ago, it was covered in dust, the wood nearly eaten away by bugs, and as many spiderwebs as the eye could see. but most importantly, some of your father's toys lay on the ground, in a messy manner that probably means he was called during playtime.

you bend down carefully, grabbing one of the toys as your fingers trace the ragged edges. he carved his initials in the wood, and it's getting discolored with how much you've let your fingers slide over them.

the door to the room creaks open. sugui, now 2 and a half years old, waddles in. she stretches her chubby arms up to you, asking for a hug with a soft squeal.

you never could have prepared yourself for the joy you felt when you saw her again, how relieved you were when she still recognized you after all those months. it was like no time passed at all. she didn't seem mad for you leaving, or sad, just so happy. like she understood why you left. she accepted you into her family like she did the first time.