The Letter Never Sent

His hands trembled slightly as he picked it up. The paper felt thin, slightly aged. He placed the album beside him, his gaze fixed on the neat handwriting on the envelope.

To Jeongguk

From his Tae!

Jeongguk's breath hitched. A letter! Addressed to him. What did that mean? He didn't know what to react. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat in the silence. After all this time...

He held the letter, poised to lose it, his mind a whirl of confusion and a sudden, terrifying surge of hope and dread.

Why here? Why now? Why this date?

His body went rigid, frozen by the weight of the past in his hands, when suddenly, two small arms wrapped around his neck from behind. Tiny fingers squeezed gently.

He gasped, eyes wide, startled out of his reverie. A little girl, warm and solid, hopped onto his back, settling her weight comfortably. Her hair tickled his ear.

In her small hand, clutched tightly, was a photograph. He craned his neck slightly to see it. It was a picture he recognized - taken years ago, at some casual gathering. Taehyung, laughing, his silver hair bright. And standing close beside him, smiling softly, was Park Jimin.

The little girl nestled her head against his, her voice a soft murmur right by his ear.

"Papa?" she mumbled sleepily, her tiny fingers pointing at the picture. "Who's the pretty guy beside Mumma?"

Jeongguk froze completely, the opened letter from Taehyung still in one hand, the weight of his daughter on his back, and the photograph showing his husband standing beside his vanished best friend clutched in her innocent fingers. The past, the present, and an uncertain future collided in that moonlit room, leaving him breathless and utterly speechless.