Briar Rose - Taekook

Chapter 38

XXXVIII: Taehyung

"They've come to take you away."

I watch as Jungkook processes the news, cocking his head for a split second. His face transforms from shock, to disbelief, and finally, mirth. The way most people do when faced with news they don't want to accept.

He laughs. "Stop playing games, Tae. Tell me the real reason they're here." When I don't return his smile, it fades, bit by bit until a horrified expression takes its place.

"Y-you're being serious," He whispers. "You actually want me to... go away?"

"I'm sorry," I weave my fingers through his hair. "It's the only way I can think of that can guarantee your safety."

"But why are you making me go away?" He asks, gripping onto my tunic, panic evident in his eyes. "What's so bad that I can't be with you anymore?"

"You're not safe with me, Jungkook," I say, "Being by my side will only hurt you. My problems are mine alone. It won't be fair for you to get mixed up in them. Especially when I am the one who created it in the first place."

"How long will it take?" I can see tears starting to form at the corner of his eyes. "How long will we have to be separated? A year? Two years? A century?"

I sigh. "I don't know. But I'll come back to you as soon as I can. We'll be together again, I promise you. I vow it on blood and bone." I pull him into a hug, and even though he doesn't pull away, his body is as stiff as a board. His eyes are confused, as if he still doesn't believe what's going on. 

"But where am I even going?" He whispers, and I exchange a glance with Jimin. At first, I had thought of the human world, to send him back to his parents. But since now he was a vampire, that choice was off the table.

Which left only one other option.

"After I became king, I rebuilt my childhood home on the edges of the Sirius clan. Initially it was supposed to be a type of second home, but I haven't been there in years. You'll be going there. You'll like it. It has flower fields, lakes―"

"But you won't be there," He cries. "How am I supposed to like it when you're going to be so far away?"

"I'll be just a door away," I say, cupping his cheeks and wiping the stubborn tears away. "The house is connected to it. The green, to be exact. Whenever you feel like you want to see me, just come to the door. It'll make you feel better, I promise.

Jungkook sniffles. "But you won't ever come, will you? That's even worse; having a way to reach you be so tantalizingly close, but never in my grasp. You won't visit me, and I can never visit you. How can you think I'll be happy in a place like that?"

"You'll be safe there," I say. "And that's the most important thing. If I go, that will unravel the whole purpose. The house itself is guarded by fey magic. Bad... things won't be able to harm you there. Jimin and Baekhyun will also be going with you, so you won't have to be alone. Come, now." I reach out my arms, but he only backs away, shaking his head frantically. His fingers clutch at the ring I gave him, as if to give himself strength.

"N-no. I'm not going. I don't care how dangerous it is. I'm staying right here with you."

"Kookie―" I try, but he's having none of it.

"Why?" Tears freely stream down his face now, and my heart hurts against my chest. "You―you said we would always be together. What can be so bad that all this separation needs to be done? What is it that you fear so much but can never tell me? What―" As he speaks, light starts to dawn in his eyes. An old memory resurfacing. For a moment, neither of us speaks, and I can feel the sweat on my palms.