The morning light crept into the room, soft and golden, but it didn’t warm Jungkook’s heart. His hands trembled as he packed Byeol’s small bag, her favorite toys neatly tucked inside. Tears were still fresh on his face, streaks of sorrow and helplessness painting his skin. Each drop that fell seemed to weigh a little more, the pain a little deeper, but his heart was a hollow echo of its former self.
Jungkook knew there was no other option. The truth was crushing him, slowly suffocating the remnants of his hope. He had tried to find a way, any way to escape, to shield his daughter from the monster that Taehyung had become. But there was only one path now. To comply. To follow Taehyung’s demands, no matter the cost. He had no choice.
"Are we going somewhere, mumma?" Byeol’s innocent voice broke through the fog in his mind. Her bright eyes, full of curiosity, looked up at him, unaware of the storm swirling around them. Jungkook forced a smile, his lips trembling with the weight of his answer.
"Home," he whispered, the word tasting foreign on his tongue.
"But home is this? This is our home, right?" Byeol asked, her voice laced with confusion. She had always known this house as their home—the place where she had laughed, played, and loved. The place where she had been safe.
Jungkook’s heart tightened, a pang of guilt slicing through him. "Yes," he murmured, wiping a tear from his cheek, "but we have to go to Appa now."
The words felt like a dagger, each one stabbing deeper into the wound. He had no choice but to say them. To pretend that everything was okay, when in reality, nothing was.
Byeol’s small face puckered into a pout, her brows furrowing in concern. "But why didn’t Appa come to meet Byeol?" she asked innocently, her little voice tinged with hurt.
Jungkook opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak, the door creaked open, and Taehyung stepped inside. His presence was like a shadow that fell over the room, darkening everything it touched. He walked towards them, each step calculated, measured, like a predator closing in on its prey.
Taehyung crouched down to Byeol’s level, his cold eyes softening only for a moment as he met her gaze. But it didn’t last. His lips curled into a mocking smile, one that chilled Jungkook to his core. "What's it baby? Aren't you ready yet?" He asked and byeol pouted, "why didn't appa come to byeol?" She asked innocently and taehyung chuckled, smirking
"Because you mumma wanted another man," Taehyung said, his voice laced with venom. The words stung with the intensity of his accusation, but it was the way he said them that made Jungkook’s chest tighten, the air around him thick with fear.
Byeol’s eyes widened, her little mind struggling to comprehend the meaning of her father’s words. "Another man?" she repeated, her voice small, confused. Jungkook bent down to byeol, pushing taehyung's hand away. "Stop speaking like that to a child hubby" he said with his eyes firm yet pleading. "Oh, and why not? Isn't it truth?" Jungkook glared at him. His eyes bringing tears. "You know I... I never looked up at anyone except you." He said softly. "Don't create a mess. She is a child"
Taehyung’s eyes flicked to Jungkook, his gaze sharp, possessive. Yet again with mocking smile he spoke. "Your mother is full of lies, Byeol," he continued, his voice low and dangerous. "he doesn’t care about you. All he cares about is himself." He stood up, his gaze never leaving Jungkook’s, like a lion sizing up its prey.
Jungkook’s breath hitched. He wanted to shout, to deny every word that fell from Taehyung’s mouth. But the words were stuck in his throat. He had no strength left to fight. He had no way to protect Byeol from the man who had once promised to love them both, only to turn everything into a nightmare.
