Jungkook’s PoV.

                “You’re here.” I said, staring at him with a dumbfounded expression.

                He nodded slightly.

                I sobbed, stumbling forward and hugging him. He winced, as if he thought I would hurt him.

                He put his arms around me as I sobbed onto his shoulder. “Y- You came… Why are you here? Why did you leave me? Why were you hiding? I-” I broke down into tears in his embrace.

                My heart burned as I thought about him and Taehyung for the third time that day.

                It seemed as if the past wanted to come back and haunt me, then ruin my beautiful view with this broken image of Dad.

                It looked like he hadn’t aged a day past 23, but his eyes showed the wisdom and pain of a thousand years. I didn’t want to see him like this.

                “Wh- Where’s Taehyung, dad?”

                Dad stayed silent. I pulled out of the hug, looking at him with wide eyes. “Dad…?”

                “D- Dead…” He spoke.

                I stared at him. Your voice… It’s so different… The warm, rich, and welcoming tone of my youth was replaced with a raspy and angry voice as he repeated himself. “My Taetae is… dead…”

                I shook my head violently. “No. NO! He’s not- He can’t be- Dad, why are you lying to me? You- You’re not telling the truth. You can’t be.”

                Yoongi’s hands shook as a tear slipped down his cheek. “I- I haven’t seen him… In so long…”

                “No.”

                “We were so close…”

                “No. H- He can’t.”

                “They found us, Kookie. I couldn’t see him.”

                I stumbled back from my Dad, falling down onto the ground. I didn’t bother to try and get back up.

                There was no point.

                My dad wasn’t anything like before, and Taehyung was dead.

                There was nothing left of the Jungkook I used to be.

                I curled up into a ball, sobbing violently as Dad stood there.

Jin’s PoV.

                Namjoon and I separated so that we could search faster. My stomach felt like a dark abyss in my body, waiting to be filled with food.

                I walked quietly through the woods, careful to leave markers for myself with stones, pieces of wood, or distinct leaves. The last thing I wanted was to lose my way. It was one of Namjoon’s ideas, so that we would be able to trace out way back to our little clearing. He was a true genius; I was sure that I would have gotten myself lost a thousand times over without him.

                Back and forth, back and forth, I kept trying different paths to get to water. I didn’t know how to find it, so I was walking around blindly. How long had it been?

                The sun was still fairly close to its position from when I left, so it hadn’t been that long.

                As I picked up a small stone, I noticed that the bottom of the stone was damp. Excitedly, I set it down and scampered forward.

                Through bushes, trees, and more land, I ran excitedly, crashing through anything in my way as I looked for any source of water.

                And I saw it.

                A small stream, barely a sliver of water, s its way between trees. The water reflected rays of sunlight, as if it were a photo out of one of my textbooks. I grinned as I knelt next to it, cupping my hands and drinking the water excitedly.

                I don’t think anything in my life had ever been as amazing as taking a sip of the water after not having had any for the past few days. It felt as if my throat wasn’t scratchy for the first time in days. I tried to repress a smile unsuccessfully. We found water.

                I quickly took out two canteens that I had taken with me and filled them with water, standing up and following my markers back towards the clearing.

Namjoon’s PoV.

                I was lucky, I had found a rabbit nibbling at some wild plants.

                Its fur was milky white, and its teeth reminded me of Jungkook. I smiled.

                I was unlucky, because I found out that catching a rabbit is harder than it looks.

                By the time I had finally subdued the small rodent and was walking towards the clearing again, I heard Seokjin rustling the leaves.

                “Seokjin?” I called out. He looked up, smiling.

                “Joonie, I found water!”

                I smiled at the nickname, taking one of the canteens of water and sipping it slowly. “Thank you, Seokjin.”

                He kissed me softly, smiling. “You got food?”

                I nodded, holding up the rabbit by its limp neck. Seokjin frowned slightly, but nodded. “Poor animal…”

                I took his hand, squeezing it softly. “I’m sorry, Seokjin. But I had to, you know?”

                He nodded, squeezing my hand back. “I know. Come on, let’s not keep Kookie waiting. I want to eat soon.”

                I nodded, walking with him and following our markers back to the clearing.

                As we entered, I noticed three things.

                Jungkook wasn’t alone.

                The man Jungkook was with had a gun.

                And that man was holding the gun up to Jungkook’s head.

Jungkook’s PoV.

                Dad changed. First, he had been happy with Mother. Then he was sad with her. Then, he was happy with Taehyung. Then, he was sad without him. And after that, he grabbed me up off of the ground and pointed a gun at my head, facing Namjoon and Mr. Kim as they entered the clearing again.

                Mr. Kim practically screamed my name and Namjoon dropped the rabbit he was holding in shock.

                I looked up at Dad, my eyes wide. “Wh- What are you doing?”

                His hands were shaking as his grip on the gun tightened, pressing the nozzle into my temple. “Don’t move!” He yelled to Namjoon and Mr. Kim.

                I stared at my Dad, eyes still watering. “No, Dad, don’t!”

                “D- Dad?” Mr. Kim said, staring at me.

                Namjoon seemed to catch on quickly. “Min Yoongi, is it?”

                Dad didn’t answer. “D- Don’t move, or I- I shoot Kookie!”

                I was too scared to move. I had always thought that I was ready to face anything, but not this.

                Dad looked down at me, his lip trembling. “Kookie… I’m sorry… They- They said Taehyung was still alive… They said that I could see my Taetae if- if I killed all of you…”

                “N- No, please!” I sobbed, looking at him hopelessly. “Please, dad!”

                Namjoon looked at Dad. “Yoongi, listen to me. Jungkook told me everything. I know you love Taehyung, and how much you miss him, okay?

                “But Jungkook is your son, Yoongi. You’ve lost Taehyung, you can’t lost your son, too. Can you?”

                “Shut up.”

                “Please, just listen, Yoongi. You’re hurting, and I can see that. But just… Just think about this before you act.”

                “Shut up!” His hands were shaking.

                “Think about what Taehyung would want. Would he want you to kill Jungkook for this?”

                “STOP TALKING!” He yelled, tears forming in his eyes.

                “Imagine if he were here. What would Taehyung tell you if he saw you now?”

                Dad laughed, trembling. “You’re funny. You think he’s not already here.” He lowered his voice, and spoke softly with his next words. “He’s always here, torturing me in my thoughts. And I’m putting an end to it.”

                And he pulled the trigger.