Terrible Things

Epilogue

October 13th

15 Years Later

The sun peeks through a cloudy sky, too shy to come out and fully get rid of the chill that comes with autumn. Leaves litter the ground, a sea of reds and golds against a fading green background. They crunch under our feet as we walk, the sound soothing me as it always does when I make this trip.

"Are you okay?" Hoseok speaks up from beside me.

"I'm fine," I tell him. I can feel his eyes on me, looking for any sign of a lie, but I keep my gaze straight ahead.

"I know how hard this can be on you."

"We do this every year, Hoseok." I stomp on, pulling ahead of him. He rushes to keep up, more leaves crunching under his soles. "I know this is the first time you've come along, but really, I'm fine."

"I was just worried," he mumbles.

I appreciate his concern, I really do, but it's unfounded. It's true that I struggled in the beginning. But now, 12 years later, I find myself looking forward to our annual trip. I take one final step forward, a smile pulling at my lips as I stop in front of the stone. My eyes peruse the marble slab, watching as it glints in the sunlight.

"Hi, Jiminie," I whisper, crouching down in front of the tombstone. "I'm back."

Bickering reaches my ears and I turn towards the voices, not surprised to see Taehyung and Jungkook moving towards us.

"I said I'm fine, Kook. I can walk on my own," Taehyung sighs, pulling away from Jungkook. He waddles a few steps before Jungkook catches up again, wrapping his arms around Taehyung's waist.

"You're two weeks from your due date, Tae. At least let me-"

"For the last time, Kook, the baby and I are fine," Taehyung says, rubbing his hand across his swollen belly. "The doctor said it's good to move around, keeps your muscles strong." Taehyung turns forward, his eyes meeting mine. He smiles at me. "Hi, Dad!"

I stand, holding my arms out. He steps into them quickly, bending slightly to hug me. I squeeze him to me gently, careful of the bump between us. Taking a step back, I hold him at arm's length. "How are you?"

"Despite whatever someone-" he cuts his eyes at his mate "-may think, I'm perfectly fine." He runs his hand across his stomach, cradling the bump. A breeze blows through, tousling his pink locks - my breath catches as I think about how much he looks like Jimin. "I swear," Taehyung continues, "I can't take two steps without Jungkook rushing to my side."

"I'm not that bad," Jungkook objects from behind Taehyung's back.

"Cut him some slack," I chuckle. "It's hard to try and balance the instincts that tell us to protect our mates. Sometimes he'll go overboard."

Taehyung rolls his eyes, but a smile sneaks its way onto his lips. He reaches out, squeezing Jungkook's hand a few times. I let my arms drop back to my sides, my heart warming at the sight of them together.

Having known they were meant for each other since they were children, it came as no surprise to my friends and I when Jungkook and Taehyung got together as teenagers. A few years later they decided to marry and now, at 21, they were having a little baby girl. They were ecstatic, as were all of us.

"How are your dads?" I address Jungkook. Jin and Namjoon were on vacation in Hawaii for their anniversary and while we've spoken a few times, we haven't really gone into depth about their time there.

"They're good," he tells me. "Apparently they took some cooking classes together for Hawaiin cuisine and Dad may or may not have started a small fire."