[[CONTENTID1] Back [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] Chapter 19 [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3] [/CONTENTID3]

[CONTENTID4]

Taehyung opened his eyes.

He felt arms around him, hands on his back—bodies close to his own, like a shield.

Remembering what had happened last night, he closed them again.

He didn't want to see anything more. The world. The house. The truth.

Slowly, he lifted Jungkook's arms. He didn't want to wake him up. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He looked behind him at Namjoon. His hand was still on his back. Taehyung didn't know what to feel. He felt empty. He tried to recognize at least a few feelings, but there was nothing. He turned his head around and saw Yoongi sitting on a chair. He was staring out the window.

"You're awake...?" he whispered.

"Did you spend the whole night here?" asked Taehyung.

Yoongi just nodded.

"Why?"

"We didn't want you to be alone. Not even when you were asleep."

Taehyung just sighed. Slowly he got up, Jungkook moved, but he didn't wake up. Taehyung wrapped him in the bedsheet, turned him over, Namjoon's hair, and put a pillow under his dongsaeng's head.

"I'm leaving now." he declared.

Yoongi just looked at him. "I thought so."

Taehyung was taken aback. Not a word, not an attempt to stop him. Yoongi was a former street kid. he understood him. His feelings.

"I'll leave the key here, too. I don't plan to come back."

"That's what I thought. Keep your cell phone. At least Jungkook will have a chance to contact you. If he wakes up and you're not here, he'll freak out."

Taehyung nodded.

"Do you want me to keep you company for a while?"

Taehyung shook his head. "No. I want to be alone. I've always been alone. Since I met you guys, I've had the best time. But also the worst. I managed to live alone for years. I've gotten used to it. I can't stand the house. Him. The memories."

Yoongi gave him some money. Taehyung wanted to say something but covered his mouth when he met Yoongi's gaze.

"I'll check on you from time to time, okay?"

Taehyung closed his eyes. He nodded.

Jungkook stared at the bed.

At Yoongi.

"You let him go?"

Yoongi nodded.

"Why? Why didn't you stop him?" Jungkook was having trouble standing. When he had woken up, and his hyung was gone, he had known immediately that he had left.

"There was no point in trying. He made a decision, and I accepted it. You have to accept it too. It's his life. He decides what he wants to do."

Jungkook burst into tears. He wanted to lunge at Yoongi, to hit him. Scream at him.

But he couldn't.

He left the room and walked down the stairs. His body just followed its normal rhythm. He went to the kitchen, made coffee, and sat down at the kitchen table. 

He got up again, filled Taehyung's cup, and put it in front of him. "Morning..." he mumbled.

He had messed up. He had lost his trust again.

Taehyung walked toward the hospital. Yoongi had told him that his uncle had called again yesterday to tell him that Soobin had to stay another night.

Taehyung wanted to leave the world he lived in. The beautiful world. The street was hard, and he struggled. But at least there was no pain. There was loneliness and depression, but he had learned to suppress them. Ever since he'd met that damn high school kid, his life had been a roller coaster of emotions. And he didn't like it. It scared him.

Taehyung entered the main hall and walked to the elevators. He entered it, pressed the button, and waited for the metal doors to open. He turned right as he stepped out.

He knocked on a door.

"Come in, son." he heard his uncle's voice.

Taehyung wasn't even surprised that he knew it was him.

He walked in and sat down on a chair.

"I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me." he whispered.

His uncle smiled at him. "You left the key in the house, right?"

Taehyung nodded.

His uncle rummaged in his pocket and pulled out another one.
"I don't know how you feel now, son. If you never want to come back, that's your decision. Jungkook will accept it too, maybe tomorrow, maybe in a few years. The only thing I ask is that you keep this key. Even if you never use it. I need to know that you can come back. Promise me you'll keep it."

It was the first time he had seen his uncle getting emotional.

He could see that he was fighting it. That he was trying to keep his composure. He was trying hard to stay calm and wasn't forcing it that. He was trying to understand him.

"Promise me that you will keep it." he pressed out between his teeth.

Taehyung took the key. "I promise."

His uncle wiped away his tear. "If you're hurt, come to the hospital."

Taehyung nodded.

He turned and opened the door.

"I love you, son." he heard his voice.

Taehyung gritted his teeth and left the room.

Jungkook picked up his phone.

He wanted to call him and to hear his voice. It was okay if he yelled at him and cursed him to death as long as he would hear his voice. But he didn't dare.

Taehyung opened the door to Soobin's room.

He was asleep. And for that, he was grateful.

He sat down at his bedside. He had been strong. Since he had woken up, not a single tear had left his eyes. But now they were coming again. It was the first time he looked at him sincerely like a hyung looking at his younger brother. To protect him. To guide him through his life. He took out his brother's ring and placed it on the small desk. He wondered if Jungkook had found it yet.

He stood up again and took one last look at Soobin. He looked better. Not so sick anymore.

He took a deep breath.

And left the hospital.

He walked toward the park. The place, where he wanted to be. It would take him a few days to get his turf back. He would have to fight a lot.

Somehow he understood Namjoon's sister now, why she had chosen to live there. It was hard, but at least there was no pain—the pain of losing people or leaving them.

When he