𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 ( 𝐀 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬)

•29•

The garden was quiet, the only sounds the faint rustling of leaves and the occasional chirp of a night bird.

"I don't know how to start again, Namjoon," Hyejoo whispered, her voice trembling. "Everything I did... everything I couldn't do... It feels like it's too late for us. Too late to fix anything."

Namjoon looked at her, his eyes soft but serious. "Mom, it's not too late. We can't go back, but we can move forward. The first step is just being here. Trying."

"I don't know if I can make it right," she said, her voice breaking. "I just... I couldn't protect her."

Before Namjoon could respond, the sound of footsteps broke the moment. Taehyung stepped into the garden from the house, his face tight with frustration.

"It's easy for you to say, isn't it?" Taehyung's voice was sharp, his words slicing through the air. "Just move on. Just forget everything that happened. Like it's all gone now, like we can all just pretend it's over. You're talking about healing like it's something simple. It's not."

Namjoon turned to him, a flicker of irritation in his gaze, but he held back, his voice calm. "Taehyung, this isn't about forgetting. It's about trying to find a way forward."

Hyejoo's eyes filled with tears, her hand trembling as she wiped her face. "But how do I do that? How do I live with the guilt?"

As the three of them stood in the garden, the tension thickening between them, Jungkook suddenly appeared, stepping out from the house with a fire in his eyes. His steps were purposeful, and his gaze was locked on his mother.

"Find a way forward?" Jungkook's voice was bitter, and it echoed through the garden. He didn't hold back. "It was your fault she's gone. All of this..everything that happened it's because of you!"

The words dropped like a bomb, and for a moment, everyone froze. Taehyung stared at Jungkook, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"What are you talking about?" Namjoon asked, stepping forward, his voice low but controlled.

Jungkook's eyes flashed with anger as he turned to face Namjoon. "She's dead because of you. Because of you, the mafia, all of it. Don't act like this wasn't your fault. You were too busy with your business, with whatever plan you were trying to pull off, and she- she ended up dead because of it."

Hyejoo gasped, her hands shaking as she looked at her son, her heart breaking. "Jungkook... I didn't want this. You think I wanted any of this to happen? You think I wanted to lose her too?"

Before Jungkook could snap back, the heavy creak of the back door interrupted them. Jongsuk, stepped outside, his face worn and tired, as if the weight of the past few years had finally caught up with him.

"What's going on here?" Jongsuk's voice was rough, but there was a certain sadness in it that couldn't be ignored.

Jungkook spun around, his eyes filled with rage. "What's going on? This whole damn family has been living a lie! You all act like it's just a mistake, that it wasn't your fault! You're all sitting here talking about moving on like you didn't have anything to do with her death!"

Jongsuk stepped forward, his eyes narrowing but his voice still steady. "Son, you think it's that simple? You think we wanted any of this to happen? You think we planned this? You think we wanted to lose her just as much as you did?"

Jungkook's fists clenched at his sides, his jaw set. "You don't get it. You never did. You all got caught up in your stupid mafia business, in all your power games, and she... she paid the price for it! And now, you expect us to just forgive you?"