"Where... is... Seokjin?"

 

 

Jungkook will not be afraid. He's not afraid.

 

"I won't let you hurt him."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prince Taehyung laughs, almost crying at the same time. His sword gleams from the almost setting sun. "Of course! Of course... and that is because you love him, I suppose?"

 

Prince Jungkook stood still and steady.

 

"Yes. Hyung, I love him. He loves me."

 

With a quick move, Taehyung points the sword right at Jungkook, only inches away.

 

"SHUT UP!" he yells, "Just... shut up!" He lowers the sword shakily. The young prince takes a step forward.

 

"Taehyung, I... I didn't know it would end up like this," his voice breaks. Seeing his older brother like this, so heartbroken, feeling so betrayed... it pains him as well.

 

"You are disgusting, Jungkook," Prince Taehyung spit out. "Now, tell me where my Prince Seokjin is. Tell me."

 

His eyes were filled with fire, burning almost as much as the sun. Jungkook knows that whatever Taehyung has in mind is not good.

 

"Let's get you home first-"

 

"NO!"

 

Taehyung whips his hand away from the younger prince, breathing hard.

 

"After all of this, I can not just go home! You don't know how I feel! I feel so worthless, I am not strong anymore. I use to be fit to be king, I had believed that Seokjin loves me!" the prince cries. Prince Jungkook could see the tears flooding his eyes but they vanish as a different emotion settles inside Taehyung.

 

"But he.. he..." Prince Taehyung almost couldn't bear saying it, "He loves you! And he'll have to be punished for what he did to me."

 

The rage comes back.

 

"I will ask one last time. Where is Seokjin?" he says lowly. His lips trembled and his fist is white from gripping his sword.

 

Jungkook didn't answer. Taehyung won't listen to him so he'll just have to give Hoseok and Seokjin more time to get as far away as possible.

 

"Not going to talk now I see," Prince Taehyung lifts his chin, "He's in the woods, isn't he? Over there?" He points to the direction that Prince Seokjin and Hoseok went in. Jungkook's eyes widen.

 

"I'll go by myself," he starts to walk in the same direction but the young prince blocks him from going any further.

 

"You can't do this. I am not afraid to stop you," Prince Jungkook doesn't realize how strong he's holding his flute. He can't be afraid if he wants to save Seokjin and Taehyung. His brother isn't himself, and the young prince needs to find a way to bring him back.

 

Taehyung raises his brow. "Oh? Little Jungkook has grown up this much already? Ha, bet he's still a weak, scared little prince," he swings his sword dangerously close to Jungkook, laughing as the young prince dodges the sword.

 

"Once, I catch Prince Seokjin, you know what I'm going to do?" he whispers. Jungook freezes at the voice.

 

"I'll tie him up, nice and tight, then have my way with him. Such a lovely prince, I need to have a bite, I need to taste him. I will touch him, violate him, make love to him whether he wants me to or not," he says excitedly like a child. The smile on his face says it all, that what he said is serious. 

 

"Now, move-"

 

He swings the sword carelessly at Jungkook again but this time, instead of dodging the sword, the young prince grabs the sword with both hands.

 

His sharp, smooth flute drops onto the snow, left forgotten.

 

Jungkook exhales shakily as blood slowly runs down his hands, staining the white snow. Taehyung looks annoyed.

 

"Let go! Do you not hear me! I said let go!" Prince Taehyung yanks the sword back and forth, trying to free the blade from the younger prince. 

 

Even though Jungkook screams from the sword cutting more into his plams, he wouldn't let go. Eventually, he fell onto his knees but Taehyung wouldn't give up either. He practically drags Prince Jungkook on the red snow.

 

"T-Taehyung, I won't let you hurt Seokjin," Jungkook groans, "You're sick. You need to see the doctor. Please, listen to me."

 

His arms quiver and his hands start to feel a bit numb. He doesn't know how strong his hold is anymore but Prince Taehyung is still struggling to get him to let go. He even kicked the younger prince a few times with no success.

 

Jungkook is now on his back, still holding the sword. He's fine with losing his hands; however, he can't lose Seokjin.

 

At this point, Taehyung has grown more furious. "You are not going to let go anytime soon, are you? Fine. Suit yourself," he looks around and gets an idea. Jungkook doesn't even hear him. He could only hear the pounding in his head.

 

Prince Jungkook lets out a choked scream. His eyes dilates and he looks down at his body.

 

His most cherished instrument is staring at him, in him.

 

Prince Taehyung had dug Jungkook's flute into his abdomen. Who knew that such a delicate and harmless thing could cause this much pain. His hands finally lose their grip and Taehyung lets out a satisfied grunt.

 

The young prince reached down and attempts to take the flute out of himself. Even without his slippery, bloody hands, there's no way that he can take the instrument out so easily.

 

Taehyung picks him up, dropping his sword to have more access. He lift the younger prince up until they were face to face.

 

"H-Hyung...help- help m-me," Prince Jungkook stutters, not able to speak properly. His stinging hands hold on to his older brother's coat, painting red on that too. Taehyung scoffs.

 

"Take a closer look," he forces their faces closer. Jungkook gasps at Taehyung's eyes.

 

"Your hyung is gone. The sickness has eaten him alive. But it's okay. I'm here now. And I will help you instead, Prince Jungkook."

 

Suddenly, the flute is forced out of the young prince, who coughs out blood. 

 

He isn't able to move his body and after what seemed like days, his body falls backwards. He falls into the icy lake. The thin ice breaks, washing him in wintry water that bites his flesh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~~

 

Jungkook's eyes open and he sits up in Prince Jungkook's bed. The museum is empty like every night. He finds himself breathing frantically and calms himself. 

 

"What? What happened?" he asks to no one in particular. He looks around the room, searching for Prince Taehyung.

 

"Prince? Prince Taehyung?" the teenager raises his voice. He really can't take all of this in at once.

 

The spirit doesn't answer his call. He doesn't even show up. Jungkook gets out of the bed. He checks his hands to see if they were bleeding. They weren't. He checks his adbomen. No, he's fine there too.

 

It was so realistic.

 

"Prince Taehyung?" he calls a bit louder this time. He steps out of the room, and roams the museum in search of the spirit. After several minutes of looking, he hears the same voice from the very first time he heard Taehyung.

 

"Hyung's sorry... Jungkook-ah, hyung's sorry..."

 

He follows the voice, which leads him outside. As he walks on the soft grass, he realizes that this is where the butterfly garden originally is. He hears the voice again and look up.

 

Prince Taehyung is sitting on the balcony, staring at the moon that won't stay for long. He looks so pained, Jungkook knew immediately that it wasn't the prince's fault for anything. 

 

"Hyung," he whispers out automatically. He doesn't know why he chose to call him that but Taehyung heard. His eyes shone from the moonlight with surprise.

 

"Come down," Jungkook says, showing affection in his voice. It's almost as if they were actual brothers. Well, they were.

 

Prince Taehyung shakes his head, "You will hate me- no, you already hate me. I, I should have followed the doctor's orders. I didn't take enough of that medicine... But still, I- I don't know why I did what I did on that day."

 

Jungkook was going to ask the prince to come down again but the spirit walks away.

 

"That is all. Go home," he says.

 

"Hold on!" the young boy raises his hand up even though it can't stop the spirit, "Is that the end of the story?"

 

Prince Taehyung pauses.

 

"No. You know the truth about Prince Jungkook's death, but you haven't discovered what happened to Prince Seokjin and I."

 

~~

 

"One... Two... Three!"

 

*Snap!*

 

Jungkook walks over to the snack table and takes a water bottle. Currently, the actors are getting pictures taken. He makes sure that he doesn't spill or stain his clothes.

 

As he ate, he watches the two actors of Prince Taehyung and Prince Seokjin get their pictures taken together. They were handsome and somewhat similar looking to the princes but its not on point. It's a bit weird. And off.

 

"Jungkook, you're done for the day. You can go home now," Namjoon informs the young boy, who has his mouth filled with food.

 

"Oh, really?! That's great. I'll change out of the clothes then."

 

Jungkook didn't go home. It's the weekend and it's only afternoon. Still worried about Prince Taehyung, he stuck around. When he sees the spirit go down the stairs of the basement, he follows him. 

 

"What the?" he twists the doorknob but the door is locked. But Prince Taehyung just went through the door.

 

Ohh.....that's right. He did indeed went through the door.

 

"He's a freakin ghost! Of course he gets to go through locked doors and I can't," Jungkook mumbles to himself as he goes outside. He'll have to go through the back basement window again.

 

"Prince Taehyung! I know you're in here," Jungkook folds his arms and taps his feet as he waits for the spirit to show up.

 

"I've got all day. Might as well finish the story now-"

 

Just as he was speaking, he feels tired all of a sudden. He yawns and in quick seconds, he finds a dusty chair to sit on. Once he's seated, he's out.

 

~~

 

"Hoseok! Let go!" Prince Seokjin yells over and over. He can't leave Jungkook behind. All Seokjin can see now are snow covered trees.

 

"I can not do that, Prince Seokjin," Hoseok repeats, "Prince Jungkook will be fine. I am certain that Prince Taehyung will listen to him- Wha-"

 

Seokjin slips out of Hoseok's grasp and makes a run for it. Usually, Hoseok is the faster runner but this time, it's like they switched bodies. Soon, he can't see Hoseok anymore but that doesn't make him slow down.

 

He's almost there! It's this long already and he can see the end of the woods coming near. He clung onto a tree and laughs, ready to tell Jungkook how he escaped from Hoseok. It comes to a deadly silence when he lifts his head back up.

 

The body of Manerin's youngest prince float lifelessly in the freezing waters, blood spreading in the lake. 

 

Prince Seokjin lets out a deafening shriek.

 

"JUNGKOOK!!!"

 

He waits no longer and runs as fast as he can towards the lake. The closer he got, the more fear strangles him.

 

"NO! OH GOD, NO!!" Seokjin screams. He jumps into the water too fast. His legs freeze up immediately but he uses his arms to pull Prince Jungkook back.

 

"Prince Seokjin! What's going on?!!" Hoseok finally catches up to Seokjin. He helps him pull the young prince out of the lake.

 

"Hoseok, Hoseok, you said that he'd be fine!" Seokjin cries, "Jungkook! Jungkook!" The prince wouldn't wake up. Hoseok sees the horse that Prince Taehyung left behind and left to get it. 

 

Prince Seokjin hugs Jungkook's body close to warm him but his own body is cold. He could tell that there is a lot of blood loss so he yells at Hoseok to hurry.

 

"Here! Use my coat instead!" he takes off his dry coat and gives it to Seokjin. He waves his arms frantically, "Go! Go! Go!"

 

Prince Seokjin puts the coat on Jungkook quickly before taking off. They are already late but Seokjin won't give up hope. The horse raced across the empty fields of snow. Seokjin holds onto one of Jungkook's hands but gasps when he felt a strange gash.

 

'His hands!'

 

Low mumbling emits from Jungkook and Seokjin's hope soared.

 

"Jungkook, hold on! You are going to be okay! Just stay with me until we get to the castle!" he assures the prince, who still couldn't open his eyes but Seokjin knows that he heard at least some words he said.

 

Jungkook is still bleeding, but not as much as before since he fell into water. Seokjin is bloodied but it's the least thing he cares about.

 

"Don't you dare leave me! Promise me that the doctor will heal you! Promise me that you'll be back with me!" Seokjin sobs. Jungkook couldn't say anything but Prince Seokjin thinks he felt his arm move.

 

Very lightly, the young prince breathed out the words, "I will always love you."

 

~~

 

As Prince Taehyung searched for Seokjin in the woods, he hears a shriek in the distance. Following it, he went back the way he came from. His eyes were dull and it was like his body is being controlled.

 

He arrives at the lake.

 

Suddenly, the dullness left his eyes and his normal self came back. Prince Taehyung shakes his head to clear the fuzziness in his vision and mind. He groans, "What is with me today?"

 

He looks ahead and almost fell over.

 

"Jungkook..."

 

Across the lake, Seokjin and Hoseok pulls Jungkook out of the water. Seokjin is left caressing the young prince, who's shirt is completely red around his abdomen. The snow near them is also the strong red color of blood.

 

Prince Taehyung wonders how he even got here. Why is Jungkook hurt? Why is he...

 

Taehyung's hands shook as he stares at the objects in them in horror.

 

Why is he holding a bloody sword and... Jungkook's bloody flute?!

 

He drops the items that burned his hands. Now he has his red hands accusing him of killing his own brother.

 

"No! No! I didn't do anything!" Prince Taehyung throws his hands into the lake, washing the red substance away. He gives up when he sees that there's more on his clothes. 

 

So he sits on the snow, shivering as he watches Seokjin leave with Jungkook on a horse.

 

"I'm sorry..."

 

~~

 

Prince Seokjin stands up abruptly, along with the king and queen, who were just as worried about their son. The doctor comes out and rubs his hands together anxiously. The look on his face answered all of their question. 

 

Seokjin, who is too scared of the answer, faints before the doctor could say anything.

 

The queen, king, Hoseok, and Mr. Min all broke down at the same time when the doctor's words left his mouth.

 

"The young prince could not be saved."

 

~~

 

Yoongi goes into his room, sobbing quietly. He should have done better. He knew that something bad was going to happen. Yet, he didn't do anything to stop Jungkook from seeing Seokjin.

 

Now he lost his best student, a friend, and the most outgoing prince. All three in one.

 

He sits at his desk, takes out his notebook, and writes his next entry:

 

'30/12' the 30th day of the 12th month, also the birth date of Prince Taehyung. He scribbles in messy handwriting.

 

'The prince had been killed.'

 

 

~~

 

When Prince Seokjin wakes up, he turns his head and sees Hoseok crying next to his bed. The man's eyes were red and his hand covers his mouth.

 

"Hoseok, don't tell me..." the prince sits up slowly. It really can't be true.

 

"He's kept in the throne room," Hoseok says.

 

Without another word, Seokjin gets up and forces himself to walk. He doesn't want to see what's next but at the same time, he has to know.

 

He reaches the grand staircase, and stiffens. The memory of Jungkook waiting for him at the bottom of these stairs makes him squeeze his eyes shut. 

 

Time goes by slow but not slow enough because when Seokjin stands in front of the doors to the throne room, he's already crying. The knights bowed solemnly and carefully opened the doors for the prince.

 

Prince Seokjin sees a beautiful casket at the end of the room. The throne room is completely empty, with the exception of Jungkook and Seokjin.

 

The young prince is cleaned up and now dressed in silky clothes, warm but Jungkook can't feel the same. His skin is already paler than before.

 

Seokjin sits next to Prince Jungkook, choking back sobs. He told Jungkook not to leave him behind. Now he's gone...

 

He the prince's soft, raven hair affectionately. His other hand is placed on the prince's cheek. His brave prince.

 

Prince Seokjin stays in the throne room until they had to take Prince Jungkook away. He begs to let him stay longer but it's not possible.

 

~~

 

Three days later, the king and queen finally feel ready to talk to Prince Taehyung and Prince Seokjin.

 

"Prince Seokjin, is it true?" the queen asks, tears b her eyes.

 

"I can not lie. Yes, I have always been in love with Prince Jungkook," Seokjin whispers. He lowers his head.

 

"Oh, how could this happen?" the king rubs his head. He turns to the queen, "What about the wedding then?"

 

"It must go on," Prince Taehyung declares loudly, with a different person in his voice. "We can't break a promise. Think of the king and queen of Solia. They want this."

 

After negotiating, the wedding is moved up and will occur in five days.

 

Prince Seokjin stands up and leaves the room, not bothering to look back.

 

He will not marry Taehyung. The one he loves and will only love is Jungkook.

 

"Jungkook, wait for me..."

 

~~

 

Then, only two days later, a maid's shrill scream made nearby workers crowd a specific chamber. Hoseok is one of them and he forces his way inside by pushing the others out of his way.

 

"The Prince of Solia has been poisoned!!" another maid cried hysterically.

 

Hoseok nearly collapses. There, on the floor, in the middle of the large room, laid Prince Seokjin, cut off from life.

 

Prince Taehyung rushes in and tells everyone to leave, to stop creating such a big commotion. Once he saw what the commotion was all about, he runs to Seokjin, picking him up. "Get a doctor!"

 

He panics and searches for blood, which is nowhere to be seen. A small clink is heard, making Taehyung look down. A small bottle had fell from Prince Seokjin's hand, rolling away as one last dangerous drop drips out.

 

"Seokjin!" Prince Taehyung shakes the soulless prince, "Why?!"

 

He leans over the body, sobbing. He had killed not one, but two people that he loved. 

 

~~

 

Mr. Min, stands in the front of the civilians of Manerin, outside of the royal palace. He takes a long, shaky breath in before holding a scroll in front of him.  

 

"As the King of Manerin has stated, the ties with the kingdom of Solia are no longer present. His highness will maintain the throne as of now, due to the tragic loss of Prince Taehyung, the supposedly future king," he states firmly.   

 

A man from the crowd shouts out, "But there's the second prince! By traditions and rules, shouldn't he be the next king then?"

 

Yoongi stiffens. Again, he looks at the scroll held out, "Prince Jungkook has passed away before Prince Taehyung from assassination. The assailants have never been found."

 

This causes an uproar. The king won't be able to rule for another decade and the princes are gone. All of them. They predict that with this many deaths in such a short amount of time, everyone else is going to die, that the once powerful and strong Manerin Kingdom will turn into nothing but ashes.

 

Mr. Min turns and leaves as yells of anger and despair continue.

 

It's all a lie.

 

He hates that they're feeding the people of Manerin lies. That Prince Jungkook had been assassinated when it was really the first prince who did it. That Prince Seokjin is poisoned when he really did it to himself. That Prince Taehyung killed himself afterward after losing his love. 

 

But Taehyung didn't kill himself. He had plead the king and queen to put him to sleep before he could hurt them too. He's hurt his brother, love, and he doesn't want to do the same to his parents.

 

Most of all, no one else knows about Prince Jungkook and Prince Seokjin's love for each other. No one. Those who did know does not dare speak another word, ever again.

 

The kingdom managed to go through all of this trouble, almost losing itself multiple times, but never gave up. Years passed and a story is born, told from generation to generation:

 

Once upon a time, a strong prince of Manerin, Prince Taehyung, and a handsome prince of Solia, Prince Seokjin, fell in love after being brought together. An evil, mysterious person murders Prince Seokjin by poisoning him, just a few days shy of the wedding. Prince Taehyung will not love another person, thus taking his own life to be with Prince Seokjin. The two are now at peace, finally together in the afterlife, where they'll remain together forever...

 

No Prince Jungkook is mentioned at all in the story, neither does he have any significance in the love story that people now believe in. He's just the simple prince that died in an unfortunate turn of events, nothing too interesting. Not as interesting as a tragic love story.

 

~~

 

Jungkook's vision comes back and he takes a moment to remember where he is at. Oh, that's right, the museum's basement. He's still in the same chair. The only difference is the amount of light coming from the window.

 

His right foot is asleep, making him shake it to get the flow going again. His body aches slightly from the uncomfortable position that he was left in on the hard chair.

 

But he still feels stunned. In absolute shock, startled and in some way, astonished. Carefully, he turns his head around.

 

Prince Taehyung is still no where to be seen. Now Jungkook understands why.

 

The raven haired boy stands up, feeling his body relax. He breathes calmly as he looks at an empty chair in the corner.

 

"Prince Taehyung, please, show yourself," he starts, taking a step forward. After a few seconds, nothing happens. "Don't blame yourself for everything. You didn't know what you were doing."

 

Again, nothing. Jungkook closes his hands, balling them into fists.

 

"Prince Jungkook does not hate you," he says firmly. But then, he feels a new rush fill up inside his chest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I don't hate you," his small voice starts to tremble. He feels a presence in the room but the spirit is still nowhere.

 

"I still love you... Hyung!"

 

Prince Taehyung appears out of thin air and hugs Jungkook, who hugged back just as tight. They cried together, nothing else.

 

"Hyung loves you too, Jungkook-ah. You will always be my brother, no matter what."

 

~~

 

The first day of the museum's opening is a huge success, just like Namjoon predicted. Because of Jungkook's identical look to Prince Jungkook, he's the most popular, which is surprising and not surprising.

 

His mom had come and took tons, if not, hundreds of pictures of Jungkook, who turns red from embarrassment. He's not used to such much attention. Jimin came like he promised and could only talk to Jungkook for a while before the younger boy had to go back to "character."

 

It's been announced that the special event will only be for a week, so those who are interested must hurry to the museum.

 

At the end of the day, Jungkook is tired, but that doesn't mean that he'll miss a night at the museum. The story is finally over now, but Prince Taehyung needs something from him. 

 

It's still amazing that he gets to know what really happened. Even if Mr. Min wrote in his diary, he didn't include such things besides the fact that the prince is killed.

 

He met Prince Taehyung again but has not changed out of his Prince Jungkook clothes. Taehyung is even more stunned.

 

"It's like I'm seeing him again," the spirit says breathlessly.

 

Finally, they got down to business. The reason why Prince Taehyung needed Jungkook is because he is a trapped spirit. He needs to have two things for him to be free and reincarnate.

 

"First, I need the Golden Band of Love, located in the Field of Violet. Then, I must have Drops from an Ending," Prince Taehyung lists.

 

He would've done it himself if he could, but he cannot leave the castle which also explains why he needs Jungkook to help him.

 

"Okay, I'm sure I can find these things," Jungkook says with determination but Prince Taehyung warns him.

 

"Jungkook, you will only have three days."

 

"What?! Only three days?!" The young boy exclaims.

 

Prince Taehyung looks down in shame; he hates that he's bothering Jungkook with this mission.

 

"What am I waiting for?! I must go!" Jungkook laughs cheerfully before waving goodbye to the spirit.

 

Prince Taehyung laughs very softly, eyes glistening.

 

"Thank you, Jungkook."

 

~~

 

By then, it's already to dark to do anything, so Jungkook heads home and spent time online searching for any leads.

 

The only thing it lead to was Jungkook falling asleep on his laptop.

 

~~

 

The first day starts the next morning and Jungkook is up early. He must go to the museum and dress as Prince Jungkook again.

 

While working, the boy couldn't concentrate at all. He could only focus on trying to figure out the first thing.

 

"The Golden Band of Love... in a Field of Violet..." he mutters lowly under his breath but the actor of the queen heard him.

 

"Field of Violet? That reminds me of the old plum orchard that use to be here," she says and Jungkook gasps so loud that it startled her.

 

"That's right! Thank you thank you!!" Jungkook beams brightly. Even though he can't leave yet, he at least has a lead now.

 

~~

 

Jungkook jumps with happiness when the museum closes one hour earlier. The older actors chuckled at the excited teenager.

 

He changed out of his clothes in a flash and is out, heading to the plum orchard.

 

But as he runs around, he starts to slow down, until he's completely confused. Where is the plum orchard?

 

He thought that he knew where is it because it's where he- no, Prince Jungkook and Prince Seokjin use to go to. But he doesn't see any plum trees, just regular green trees everywhere.

 

An old woman happens to be walking past not too far away, walking her dog and Jungkook runs to her.

 

"Excuse me, do you know where the castle's plum orchard is?"

 

She looks up at him before cracking into laughter, "Oh, dear! You silly boy, you're standing right in the middle of it!"

 

Jungkook doesn't want to keep her from walking her little dog, so he thanks her quickly and bows.

 

When she leaves, he looks around him. If he puts in some imagination, the familiarity comes to him. It is the plum orchard... just with the plum trees replaced with ordinary ones.

 

"Okay, okay," he keeps himself from getting too excited, "So I found the Field of Violet. Now where's the Golden Band of Love?"

 

It takes only a few more minutes for him to finally realize what the golden band was.

 

A ring! Just like Prince Seokjin's golden wedding ring!

 

He slaps himself. It's so easy! How could he overthink this?

 

He looks up at the trees. Is the ring up there somewhere? So he climbs a tree and searches the branches. He repeats this until he's too tired to climb anymore.

 

Sitting against one of the trees, Jungkook goes into deep thoughts once again. If it's located here, then where? It's not in the trees.

 

He rips out some of the grass by him. When he got dirt on his hands, another idea hits him.

 

So he runs back to the museum, trying to find a shovel. He came back with a small one and starts digging.

 

Hours pass and Jungkook almost forgets what he's looking for, since he's been digging by trees after trees after more trees.

 

A thud stops him from digging more. Maybe it's a miracle that made him have such luck.

 

A wooden box is dug out and Jungkook sits it in his lap. With sweaty hands, he opens it.

 

There it is. The ring is still full of luster and Jungkook closes the box, not wanting to lose it.

 

~~

 

"Jungkook, you did it!" Prince Taehyung takes the ring with great care. He stares at it lovingly before putting it away in his pocket. "You may have guessed already but it was Prince Seokjin's."

 

Jungkook nods. He comes closer and with a knowing voice, "You still love him, don't you?"

 

Prince Taehyung sighs, "Yes, I do. Prince Seokjin will never love me but he will always be in my heart. I love him very much."

 

~~

 

The second day is harder because Jungkook struggled with finding the Drops from an Ending.

 

Again, when he's done with work, he head straight to the biggest river in Manerin. Drops remind him of water, and rivers do come to an end. This one ends at a big lake, and Jungkook is already tired.

 

He shuffles the items in his bag and takes out a bottle. Filling it up with the water in the lake, Jungkook feels like this may not be it.

 

~~

 

"Prince Taehyung! I have the Drops from an Ending," Jungkook says when he meets the spirit again.

 

Taehyung's face lit up once again as he takes the bottle. "It's amazing how you got so much."

 

Jungkook watches him take out the ring and sets both things on the windowsill. He waits. Jungkook waits.

 

Nothing happens.

 

"Why isn't it working?" Jungkook asks. He walks over to the windowsill while Prince Taehyung picks up the bottle.

 

"Perhaps it's not the right thing," he said.

 

Jungkook takes the bottle and pours it out of the window.

 

"I'm sorry, Prince Taehyung. Really, I am. I'll see what I can do," he says with discourage.

 

The prince shakes his head, "Don't be sorry. You have done so well and have already found the ring. There is still one more day left and even if you can't find the drops, you will not be at fault."

 

Jungkook nods even though he's still very disappointed in himself.

 

If Prince Taehyung doesn't have the two things, he won't be able to reincarnate. Taehyung admits that he doesn't know what he will become if he doesn't make it in time. He might be a ghost forever, get sent to another realm, or just vanish into thin air. Jungkook can't allow any of that because he knows that the prince wants to move on to another life.

 

He'll find the last thing.

 

~~

 

The first half of the day is the same, with Jungkook going to the museum again. Then for the rest of the day, he goes to other rivers and tried other ideas. None seems to be right.

 

He panics when the sun starts to set. What should he do?! He only has a few more hours and he doesn't know what to do with them.

 

Drops from an Ending... Drops from an Ending...

 

Jungkook really does not know what to do. He goes to more rivers.

 

~~

 

It's almost midnight when Jungkook trudges into the museum. His face is casted down and he almost couldn't bear to look up at the prince. 

 

He had failed.

 

Prince Taehyung knows this too when he sees the younger boy. But he doesn't get angry. Instead, he motions him to come closer. Jungkook waits for Taehyung to show him his disappointment but it never appeared. 

 

The prince places his hand on Jungkook's shoulder and looks at the clock displayed on the wall. Only ten minutes left.

 

"Jungkook, look at me," Prince Taehyung says lightly. When the raven haired man did so, Taehyung smiles sadly at him.

 

"It is time to say goodbye," he says. Even if he can't reincarnate, it's still the last time Jungkook will ever see him. 

 

"Hyung, I'm so sorry..."

 

"Jungkook, do not blame yourself." Prince Taehyung means it. Things will never always be perfect.

 

Jungkook hugs him one last time, savoring the moment. "Thanks for taking me on such an adventurous journey. It's something I will always remember and cherish. I'll miss you and the story."

 

Prince Taehyung breathes deeply. "I'll miss you too. But remember this," he pulls away to look at Jungkook, "Your own story is beginning. Even on the darkest times, you will always find a light to get through it. Be happy, Jungkook."

 

There is only five minutes left.

 

Jungkook cries and seeing him made the prince himself cry too. They don't say anything else but enjoy each other's presence.

 

Suddenly, there is a small glow that starts in the middle of Prince Taehyung's chest. It expands and Jungkook looks at the clock.

 

11:59

 

"What's happening?" Jungkook asks as the glow expands throughout Prince Taehyung's body.

 

"Drops from an Ending!" the prince exclaims. "Jungkook, we did it!"

 

It took Jungkook a moment to understand. The tears of their final farewell is what Prince Taehyung needed. He'll be reincarnated at last!

 

He starts to slowly fade as the glow grow more intense, lighting up the entire room. Prince Seokjin's wedding ring is in his hand and he smiles happily at Jungkook.

 

"Goodbye, brother..."

 

~~

 

The very last day of Jungkook's job is today, which made him a bit sad. He had gotten a lot of attention and it was fun to act.

 

It was lunch and some of the actors, including Jungkook, were allowed to go grab something quick to eat if they want something from somewhere else.

 

Jungkook is still in his prince clothes when he walked down the street. He has another 30 minutes before he needed to head back.

 

While he strolls down the sidewalk, he sees a little girl and her mother laughing across the street. When he looked forward, a man was carrying a bag of flour so big that it covered his face.

 

Jungkook takes out his phone and was going to text Jimin if he would like to join him when-

 

"Ah!" a yell sounded and Jungkook is glad that he's far enough not the get dirty.

 

Flour is everywhere and the man that was carrying them cough violently.

 

Jungkook goes to him and help him get up. "Are you okay?"

 

When the man couldn't respond, Jungkook sees a small stream in the distance and takes another approach. "Let's get you cleaned up first."

 

The flour covered man nods while Jungkook lifts him up.

 

As the man washes his face with the clean water from the stream, Jungkook chuckles, "I don't know who you are but why did you have such a big bag of flour?"

 

"My father works at the bakery not too far," the man pauses to rinse his face again, "I had to get extra flour."

 

"You look funny covered up in flour."

 

"So do you! I'm mean, you're not powdered in flour but at least I'm not dressed like I'm from a hundred years ago."

 

Jungkook snickers a little bit as he adjusts his Prince Jungkook clothes and introduces himself. "By the way, I'm Jungkook."

 

The man looks up and his bangs stuck to his forehead. His cheeks were rosy, smooth and soft. His eyes were kind and his lips were tempting.

 

Jungkook could not believe it.

 

"Hi there, Jungkook. My name's Seokjin."

 

 

 

 

 

————————————————————

Author’s Note: Hello! Like all of my stories, I’ll talk at the end of each one. This is the end of More Than A Lifetime, no sequels or anything. Yeah, just to put it out there, this story was inspired by the drama “Roy Mai.” I really enjoy writing this story and like I always say, THANK YOU for reading!