Destined {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Epilogue

43 YEARS LATER

"Mr. Lee!" An excitable child, no older than thirteen, bounded down the street, waving exuberantly. Mr. Lee, an old man now, paused where he stood on the sidewalk, mail he'd received tucked away neatly under his arm. He really had gotten used to the smell of the city – after all this time, it was barely anything more than a lingering stench.

The child jumped to a stop in front of him, a wide grin spreading over his features, one that caused a mirror reaction in the old man, a slow smile creeping up the edges of his face. "I got my report card back," the boy's grin widened, "I did good this year."

Mr. Lee felt bad for the child – his parents too aloof to give much care to a child so brilliant he rivalled the sun. He deserved more than what he got, the hand life had dealt him too thin, though, a part of him hoped that it had all been so that he could watch over him again.

"Good for you, Jaehyuk, I'm proud of you." He bent down, ruffling the boy's hair. Their resemblance was uncanny – he knew the moment this family moved next door that the Moon Goddess had granted them a small mercy for all they'd done. "If you swing on by later I'll give you some candy." The boy's face brightened significantly, his grin widening.

He still had such a sweet tooth.

For a thirteen-year-old, most would consider him immature or childish – Mr. Lee, however, was simply happy that he finally had the time to behave like a child for all the years he'd lost the last time. Enjoy your life, he told him, whenever he could. You can do great things if you try.

As the boy jumped around, throwing himself into a dialogue of the day's events, Mr. Lee's eyes fell upon the chain linked around his neck, the chain that held a single golden band, the other safely tucked away in a box. Of course, Jaehyuck had no idea of the origin behind the rings, no idea of their weight, their importance.

"One day, when you find someone you truly, truly love, you can give them the other one, and then you'll be together forever," he'd said. The boy's eyes had widened in wonder, still naïve, still unsure about what love really was but still finding it beautiful – it was so fitting for them.

It didn't surprise him that, years later, when Jaehyuck was barely past the age of seventeen, he ran into someone he deemed to be his person, a connection made instantly, almost bafflingly so, but there was no denying the love that continued to grow and grow and grow, the universe guiding them to one another, time and time again.

"Mr. Lee," Jaehyuck said, holding hands with a boy with wide eyes and a quirking smile, an identical chain looped around his own neck, undoubtedly holding the second ring – the ring that had once belonged to one of his closest friends. "This is Munhee, my... my boyfriend." They both blushed as he said this, and, taking one of his hands in his, he smiled as brightly as he could.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you." His chest tightened, an ache that had grown both familiar and dull over the years filling it once more every time he saw their all-too-familiar faces. "I hope you both find happiness." He hoped that, this time, the Goddess would allow them to simply live, drift along in such a mundane existence they would be nothing but happy, never troubled by a world far beyond their understanding, a world they had given their lives to protect, time and time again.

This time, destiny would protect them.

As the pair walked away, so obviously in love, clinging to one another and laughing so loudly until the wind swept them away, Mr. Lee's husband appeared behind him, resting a gentle arm across his back, the touch still filling him with warmth despite how much time had passed. "I'm glad She granted them a final shot at life," he mumbled into his shoulder, and Mr. Lee smiled.

"So am I. I just wish... they'd survived the last time." His voice was nothing but a whisper as tears welled in his eyes. The war had shattered them all into indistinguishable little pieces, left them to pick them all up again. He would never be able to forget how it had felt, how he'd simply known they had died, how they had heard the howl of their new Alpha, half-burned and covered in new scars, carrying a man who was now also blind – all sacrifices they had made for peace.

They still visited the monument, sometimes; the one that had gone up in an effort to remind the different supernatural species that coexisting was the only way they would ever be able to live in peace, lead fulfilling, long lives, unlike those who had been unlucky enough to be born in their time, a time of war.

It was the monument of the Four – the vampire, the hybrid, the wizard, and the werewolf. It stood proud and tall in the depths of their woods, and he hoped that, for generations to come the heroics of those depicted in that statue would be told in legend.

"It's better this way," Changbin huffed despite the tears welling in his own eyes. "The Goddess has put them through hell, but this time... this time, they'll never know of our world. They'll live in peace and tranquillity and will need nothing more than their love."

And Felix knew that well; after all... what else was destiny for?