What May Change [Min Yoongi FF]

Epilogue part 1

[A/N: Alright I'm the literal world's biggest asshole coming back to write this epilogue after almost a frickin YEAR, especially knowing that I wrote "I'll write the epilogue tomorrow" after publishing the last chapter. Also, I owe yall a FUCK TON of bonus chapters because I literally cannot FATHOM how well this story has done, but I've already started several other stories (and have several more in my mind, unwritten) SO please comment if anyone out there really wants them and I will do what I can. Comment if you want bonuses and who you want them to focus on, and I shall get to those. It is physically impossible to reward you as much as I promised I apologize just know it is because I honestly didn't think this would go well at all lmao. THANKS FOR OVER 4K READS YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARDS. BACK TO THE STORY!]

"Whimsy-ah!" Yoongi's voice called from the other room.

"Yeah?" I yelled across our apartment, fixing my hair one last time. It was a new style I was trying out tonight for the Rehearsal Dinner, one Soomin was sure to whistle at. I wondered if she'd be drinking tonight, remembering all the crazy times we'd had that year in high school and occasional times beyond when Taehyung volunteered to take the baby or the two got a sitter. I wasn't huge on children myself, at least not yet, but I always looked forward to baby Nayoung, who was the perfect mixture of her insane, theatrical parents.

"Am I doing this tie thing right?" Yoongi asked, entering the bathroom worriedly. As a producer at the company working under a stage name, he rarely had to concern himself with fancy dress, more often than not donning sweatpants and hoodies he could sleep in for several days in his studio without coming home, laboring at his work. If I didn't bring him food, he wouldn't even remember to eat. I was just glad he'd found a way to love music and apply his gifts once again, after losing both his chances at piano and boxing. Nevertheless, the kid who never had a dad to teach him to tie a tie still looked fire as heck in an all black suit, oozing class only many of those sweet, sweet royalties could afford to buy. I once again found myself proud as hell to flaunt the engagement ring he'd just bought me with that hard earned cash. 

I smirked. "It looks amazing, and so do you; good God in Heaven. I know it's customary to kind of stunt and try to wow your friends with how cool and successful you've become after a while, but we don't want anybody passing out, so maybe turn it down a notch?" I warned. He grinned back in that devilish way of his wrapped his arms around me, planting a kiss on my forehead. 

"Same to you. Who knew a lawyer's salary was going to pan out so well?"

"Literally everyone."

"Literally no one considering you're lobbying for reasonable Entertainment industry laws and defending entertainers in contract and malpractice cases," He retorted. "Now if you were defending wealthy people in court for crimes they totally committed, that's another story. But you just love yourself some stray cats and underdogs, don't you?" Yoongi chortled.

"Guess I can't help myself." I replied. 

"Well, we should get going. We need to pick up Jungkook on the way. Does he know how to to tie a tie? I mean, he's been in..."

"It's okay, Yoongi, his dad is there to help him get ready. He just had to work later and couldn't make the rehearsal."

Yoongi nodded absent-mindedly, only a little soothed. I knew he'd never let go of the guilt that came with Jungkook's imprisonment for the stabbing of Namjoon's mob Don father, but he'd been excited for weeks about his release and bringing him back into the world. The whole crew was so excited, Jin and Eunji had intentionally planned their wedding for the day after his sentence ended, so that he'd have a proper celebration with everyone he loved present. There was sure to be one hell of a party tomorrow night before the happy couple went off on their glamorous honeymoon. I mean, having seen what the kids used to throw together in a warehouse with nothing but some loose mob connections and business ingenuity, what they'd do with real money was almost concerning to consider. 

Out the door we were and into the car we'd finally decided to purchase. While Yoongi normally shied away from the spotlight as much as possible, preferring to hide in the shadows of his dimly lit studio, the recognition he was getting recently for some of his songs had risen to the point that he could no longer take the subway and still maintain his hermit-y preferences. He was never a fan of wealthy perks as they reminded him of his parents, and cars took years compared to the lightening speed of the Korean subways, but in the end his reclusive tendencies won out. 

We reached the juvenile detention center in record time, and I could tell Yoongi was antsy as we walked towards the main entrance by the way he fidgeted and his hands trembled slightly. I took one of his in my own and smiled reassuringly at him. There was no way Jungkook was holding what happened against him. In fact Yoongi visited him almost every week for the entire three years since the trial, and Jungkook was always in good spirits. I guess in part Yoongi was afraid he might not be as happy to see other members of the group who hadn't had the chance to visit as much, though all had written letters. Namjoon had been known to visit every chance he got, and the two were tighter than ever, but no one had gotten the chance to see him out in the real world for an extended period of time in over three years. He'd been inside with a nasty cast of people for a long time, and that no doubt would have changed him, but how? Only time could tell.

I recalled the trial itself and we pushed through the doors of the Juvie. The defender who'd represented Jungkook and later gotten the rest of them off the hook for all the other minor infractions was what had inspired me to choose my career. Being around several people in the entertainment industry and seeing the sickening ways in which performers and idols were treated helped me find a focus for my passion and before we knew it here I was, an up-and-coming lawyer doing my best to bring change to the system. 

"Hyung! Noona!" A voice caught both of us off-guard and pulled me from my memories in the crowded lobby. Many, it seemed, were waiting for a pick-up that day, but there was only one kid on our radar and apparently he'd found us first. It was Yoongi he crashed into first, squeezing him in a giant bear hug.

After he'd done the same to me, I took a step back to get a good look at him. The boy had grown significantly in the last few years. I mean, puberty, yeah it does that. But it still felt like he'd changed so much physically as to be almost unrecognizable. For one thing, he was actually taller than Yoongi now, only seventeen years old. He was also built like a rock and clearly had been spending a lot of time at the gym. To top it off he'd lost almost all of the baby fat in his face, which aged him considerably. He still had an air of soft youth to him, but in his eyes lied the most marked difference. They weren't the twinkling balls of wonderment they used to be, staring at the entire world with awe. They were dimmer, older than his true age. While the boys had mostly done their best to keep him out of trouble before the incident, they couldn't protect him all the time he was inside, to say nothing of the mental damage nearly stabbing a man to death came with anyway. Still, while the extent of trauma was yet to be determined it seemed he'd managed to keep hold of his humanity. 

Jungkook smiled broadly at us both. "I'm so glad to see you guys," he gushed. 

"We're so happy you're here too, Kookie." Yoongi managed. "The others can't want to see you. Tae especially. He keeps saying you'd be the perfect big brother to Nayoung. Just wait til he sees you, the age difference is going to finally be apparent to him!" It was true, somehow in Taehyung's mind lil' Kookie was always twelve. Even though he'd been fourteen last they saw each other. Also Jungkook was only two years younger than Tae, who'd become a father (and husband) at the ripe age of eighteen. A mere two years later and I guess fatherhood had Taehyung overestimating the age difference between him and his younger friend. 

"Then what are we waiting for!" Jungkook burst. "Let's get to the party!"