PRESENT

Y/N

"Jungkook. Please . Please. Stop running. Please stop running!!"

My body jolted upwards from the bed and my eyelids flew open. My breaths shuddered. My hands and legs felt restrained against the bed with astonishment. My eyes instantly wandered around the surrounding, to assure where I am plunged to .

A relief.

The cold tiles were not what my eyes captured. It was wooden wall. I tilted my head to either side and blinked my eyes twice and then thrice to confirm , where am I. The peels of wooden splinters hung from the ceiling and side walls are all I could see.

"sunflower, please don't leave me. Why did you leave me baby?" He gently held my shoulders with his two hands. I gazed at his hands. The right hand that had tattoo inked perfectly.

" Jungkook I am sorry. I am sorry . Please." My words got caught at the mid of my throat as my eyesight couldn't focus on his face , clearly. All I could see a blurred of face of him.

"Its ok baby, I know. I know. Stop looking further ok. stop looking further... mmm." He shook my shoulders gently.

" no. The other Jungkook. He is alive. I remember him, Jungkook. I remember his face. We need to help him." Tears spilled from my eyes.

"He is dead, Y/N." He retorted.

" no! he is not dead. He is never was. Paxson sent him to asylum! he must be in danger , we need to help him."

" Stop it ,Y/N. Jungkook is dead!" His grip at my shoulders turned firm.

" No! I think I saw him somewhere . He is alive. He was sent to the asylum, I remember everything, Jungkook. I saw him at the police station, I saw Paxson talking to him. Please help him." I wailed. My body shuddered.

"God STOP It! Y/N." He shook my shoulders firm.

" You lost Ian. Your Mom. Jungkook is only ounce of blood left for you. Your only family. I have to save him, Please. Please , Please." I ranted.

"For fuck sake ! Jungkook is dead!" He jerked my shoulder and shook them vigorously." wake up! . Wake up! Fucking! wake up!" My eyesight out of nowhere focused in a snap at the familiar face.

I gasped.

"Jungkook is dead, Y/N. Please he is dead!" Jungkook's voice faded slowly and leisurely. His voice set forth to pull back in a slow motion.

All of sudden there was replacement of his voice by a familiar voice.

" Y/N! Y/N.! Breathe ! Breathe!" The voice gently swayed into clarity. So was the figure of my Jungkook displayed in front of my blurred vison.

I blinked my eyes. Once.

A half cent clarity of the figure and voice waved in, concurrently sweeping off my hope and aspirations.

"Y/N.! Look at me " the familiar voice snapped into definition. And so did the figure that shook my shoulders vigorously.

I gasped.

" Y/N. Its ok.." the voice was precise with sharpness and gentleness.

" Jimin..." I whimpered as my eyes and mind perceived that I am not in arms of my Jungkook. It was Jimin.

Wait. Why is even Jimin here? How did he find me? I was tied up in a fucking chair with a man in a white coat and my uncle Paxson. And then Roy. He was there too. How did Jimin found me?

" No no..." I shook my head. " I have to go.." I smacked away Jimin's hand from my shoulders with a hard jerk and set my feet to the wooden floor only to be dragged and crash down to the floor. The duvet twisted around my ankle as I set my feet to the floor with a force concurrently pushing Jimin from me. The duvet yanked me mercilessly down.

" Y/N!" Jimin rushed to me and held me gently. He unraveled the duvet around my ankle. " Stay calm."

"No, Jimin. I have to go..I have to save my Jungkook," My voice shuddered with urgency as I pushed myself forward. "He was in an accident. Paxson's men..they ran a car over him." My throat tightened, the memory sliced through me like glass. "They hit him... and he..he didn't stop running after me, even when I begged him to."

" No. Y/N. ! God please!" He bellowed and jerked my shoulder again.

"No! My Jungkook needs me! I can't leave him to die there!" I bellowed, my voice tore from my throat . Pain exploded in my chest. I clutched my sides and breathed hard. "The other Jungkook... he is still alive, Jimin. Paxson drugged him..he sent him to a fucking asylum!" My eyes blazed with tears, my heart pounded like it was trying to break free from my ribs. "He needs help. I have to save him too!"

My eyes locked on Jimin's. "He is the only family my Jungkook has left. Do you get that? The only one. I couldn't protect Ian. I couldn't protect his mom. But I can protect him. I have to..."

My voice ruptured and I swallowed hard.

"I have to save them both."

"No God! For fuck sake, Y/N. Jungkook is dead. Paxson is dead. The other Jungkook..he is dead too .."His eyes blazed with frustration.

"No, Jimin. I have to go..I have to save my Jungkook," . My limbs trembled beneath me, but I didn't care. "He was in an accident. Paxson's men..they hit him with a car. He didn't stop running after me, even when I told him to... even when I begged him not to..." my vision blurred with tears. My heart raced like I was still on that road, ten years ago.

Jimin grabbed me by the shoulders again. "Y/N, stop it."

"I saw it! I saw him fly through the air. He...he was bleeding. I have to find him, Jimin!" I clutched his arms like he was the only thing holding me to this earth.

"Y/N..!!!"

"He needs me!"

SLAP

The sharp sting blazed across my cheek before I even registered what happened. I blinked, stunned, breath caught in my throat. Jimin's hand was still raised. His eyes was teary with fierce and desperate ,locked against mine.

"You are not there anymore," he growled. His voice was hard and tight. "You are not on that road! You are not in that car! It was ten years ago.!!!"

I just lingered there. Silent and trembling. Reality, gradually struck me.

"Paxson is dead. Clark is dead. And the other Jungkook is dead too. You are here. With me. Right now. And you are alive, Y/N." His voice sliced rupturing through the fog in my mind. "But you keep reliving it like you are still there. Like it's still happening. And you are letting it swallow you whole."

I collapsed. I shattered into tears and sobs.

Give me that tongue.

You think you can leave after making me come in my pants.

I am one and only your Incubus! I WILL COME EVERY TIME TO DEVOUR YOU, SAVOUR YOU,RUIN YOU DESTROY YOU, EAT YOU, I WILL FEED ON EVERY DROP OF YOUR CUM , sunflower.!

Its JUNGKOOK!!.I AM THE ONE HERE.! JUNGKOOK IS YOUR GOD NOW!

You are never a pawn sunflower. You will never be. I will not let that happen.

Why? Why the fuck do you want to wear his ring Y/N, when you are fucking mine

Reset people. It is the wedding of Y/N Parker and Jeon Jungkook

Y/N Parker, Will you marry me?

Baby please run take the gun and run

Baby snap the finger and drop the meat

Did I ever say I love you and fucked you on my bed.?

I love you, Y/N

Anything for my sunflower, are they done eating him yet?

Whoa baby did you see that ? I blew off the helicopter.

Y/N get out right now, he is not the Jungkook we think. He is an assassinator.

" Y/N. " Jimin voice sliced in as my head was replaying every moment I had with my Jungkook.

Every fucking moment. Our first kiss at the club. The very first time our body blended into one , on the night of my engagement with Roy. Our wedding and its crash. The first moment I realized how much I love him when my biological father, Paxton took me from him. And how much we fought for each other when we were parted by Roy and Paxson. Our first fight , when he lied to me he didn't love me but wanted to trap Paxson and Clark. Our first kill, when we tied Enzo to the bed and crushed his balls. Our combined combat when we fed Paxson, and Clark to our alluring pets.

Every moment with my Jungkook played like a film inside my head. It was relentless.

"I remember everything," I whispered, the words fell out of me like ash. "Every scream. Every heartbeat. Every second before it all shattered..."

" I remember...." I whimpered ."No... no... My Jungkook." My breath shook as I slammed my fists to the floor, over and over. Pain shot through my knuckles, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. The agony inside me was far worse than anything I could feel in my body.

"We were in love," I sobbed, tears streamed down my cheeks like a flood I couldn't stop. "We were in so much love..."

The words barely left my mouth before a harsh wave of grief took me under.

" They tore us apart. Those monsters, my mom, my dad ,Paxson!!!" I roared and clutched my hair in to my fingers." they ripped him away from me. Ruthlessly. Without mercy." I gasped through the storm in my chest. "And he..he never once gave up on me."

I bent forward, and clutched myself.

"He was there. Every single time I needed someone... when I was falling apart, when the world was too much, he was always there.

My voice ruptured.

" It wasn't the other Jungkook... it was my Jungkook. He is the one I fell in love with. He is the one I gave everything to. The one I saw my future with...my Jungkook.."

I looked up at the empty room. The sheets. The bed. The dried up blood that was beneath me on the floor. His dried up blood which might have spilled when I left him chained to this fucking bed by stabbing him with a glass shard, letting him to bleed. " Jungkook.." I sobbed and traced my fingers to the dried flood glued to the floor.

"Y/N..." Jimin called me softly.

" I am sorry. So sorry . I ruined everything, baby.." I whispered, like he could still hear me. "We had happiness... real happiness. Just us. He smiled for me even though he was dying inside. "

I immersed my face to the floor and sobbed to it. My tears soaked the dried blood and it smeared to my cheeks as I inclined my face firmer to it crying for him. " Please Jungkook, baby..come back. I am sorry. I am sorry..baby, I fucking ruined everything, come back. Come back to your sunflower, Jungkook. Please." The blood smeared over face more deeper.

" Y/N..stop.." Jimin's voice wobbled.

My hands balled into fists again. "He did everything for me. He went against everyone. He killed his own parents. not because he wanted to, but because he had no choice. Because he wanted to protect me. Because he knew they would throw me away like a trash ."

Tears streamed harder now.

"He came for me. He fought for me. When no one else did, he did. He faced my mother. He stood against Paxson. All to keep me safe. "

I clutched my chest like it might stop the ache.

"My Jungkook. He was all I had... and I was all he had too."

" Y/N... please." Jimin rubbed my back gently. " Its not your fault....,"

" It is ! It is my fucking fault!!" I thumped my hands to the floor. " My fault! Everything was my fault. if it all I listened to him once, I would have never lost him. I would have never killed him with my own fucking hands. " I screeched. The pain tore my chest. "I wish I was dead. ..."

" Stop it, Y/N." He sighed ,yet tears spilled from his eyes.

" I am so sorry,.." I whimpered as my mind swirled with his last words before I pushed him ruthlessly into the flames.

Baby, please pull me up. You can't exist without me. I want to live with you, sunflower please pull me, up.

" No.." Tears spilled down from my eyes. His blood drenched hand clung to the edge of the stairs commenced to haunt my head.

" I killed him. I never let him speak when he wanted to. I just. ..." I sobbed again.

"Y/N, Stop crying. All Jungkook wanted was to protect you. And the other Jungkook..." Jimin cut in as he precisely know I was about to break down. " He is dead too , Y/N. He is gone. Remember what Freya said? " He gently rubbed fingers at my back as he held me. " He died right in front of our Jungkook's eyes, Y/N. at the police station. And Ian, we can save him. "

" Yes. "I sniffled, barely holding myself together. Then, like a punch to my chest, the image Travis had shown me surfaced in my mind, my Jungkook, standing over a grave. The grave of the other Jungkook... and his mother.

But something struck me. Again. The Police station. " Jimin, we don't know what happened after the other Jungkook was taken to the police station. We don't know how he died .We never saw proof of what happened to him. And how did my Jungkook end up in juvenile prison with you, pretending to be him? What if... what if we are missing something? What if he is still alive, or something else happened in between?"

" Y/N.." he sighed. " What makes you think..."

" Because I want him to be alive, Jimin," I cut him off, tears rolled down from my eyes. " I need him to be alive. I need to believe I at least saved his brothers, Ian and the other Jungkook. If I didn't save him, then what was the point of any of this."

Jimin's eyes mellowed at me.

" Jimin, what if Paxton knows something about the other Jungkook.? "

He blinked. "You are not making any sense, Y/N."

" No. Listen to me. I mean, Jake carpenter was the one who took Paxton with him from my Jungkook. What if Paxton knows something about the other Jungkook and Jake is trying to get that information from Paxton." I panted.

" The other Jungkook is dead ,Y/N. For God sake ! " He bellowed. " I know. The guilt is burying you inside but that doesn't mean we can go and look for a dead person. We cannot chase a ghost. And Ian. I will get him from Jake. You, on the other hand, are staying here."

" No we have to go. " I said firm.

" Where?"

" to Jeons residence " I snapped.

"Fine. But if we find nothing there, you are staying here with Freya. No more chasing. No more delusions. You will wait here until I bring Ian back. Do you understand me?" He spoke through his clenched jaw.

I nodded. But no. I am not going to wait. I am going to save Ian too.

-------------

Pinky?

Promise.

I told you I will come for you.

My Jungkook's voice sliced in as I affixed my feet at the exact spot where my mother shoved me into the cold and dark night at the middle of the streets. Stripped. All naked. And the warmness of his hoodie was still remembered by my skin.

It felt good. Yet it felt like it was murdering me slowly.

No Y/N! Dont leave me! Please dont! Baby please.

I switched my glance at the street where Paxson left my Jungkook to bleed and dragged me away from him to his car.

Then my eyes landed on the house, my house, where the massacre had unfolded. A hard yellow strip of tape stretched across the front door and gate, written in bold black letters: POLICE LINE — DO NOT CROSS.

I stood there immovable.

In an instant, my mind spiraled back to the night. The blood. The screams. The chaos. The way the floor was tainted with my mother's , Jungkook 's father and mother blood. The way my mother's head rolled over the floor with strips of fleshes still clung to her sliced neck.

A sharp flash of that night jolted through my mind like lightning.

I flinched, my body instinctively curled inward, like it could somehow shield me from memories too brutal to relive. But it was too late.

I was already back there. " Jungkook." I whispered.

Its ok sunflower. Its ok. Its over. It's just you and me now.

" Y/N!" Jimin's voice hurled me from the scene.

I gasped and looked at him." Are you okay?"

I nodded. " I have unlocked the door. I will just get inside. Just stay here ok. Just stay low. " He whispered gently.

I gave him another nod. "Wait. What exactly you want me to find from the house?" He queried. " Because Y/N, if its about other Jungkook we must go to the police station... "

I swallowed down.

" You didn't bring me here for that reason? Did you?" He shot me a gentle glare.

" Ummm...Jimin. I want to..."

" Spit it out ." He snapped.

"I want to know about my Jungkook too. Remember, the letter ,the maid, I mean the lady who he called as her mother, eomma.." I inhaled sharply. " Carved on the wooden wall. That, there were no anesthesia and they were taken out cut open..."

Jimin's brows furrowed deep and gave me a realization nod.

" Something terrible happened... and I believe Mr. Jeon did hide something. That's why he might have killed the maid , I mean Jungkook's mother, his eomma..and tried to kill Ian and Jungkook. "

Jimin's eyes widened slightly, but I didn't stop.

"But that's not even what matters most right now" My breath trembled " Jimin... I need you to get Ian's medical records. Especially the report from his birth. There should be something about the condition he has, about his arm and leg. I just... I just want to know what it is. I want to take him to a real doctor and help him."

I looked away, and blinked fast trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

"His mother and father... they didn't do a damn thing about it. They ignored it like he wasn't even worth saving. But he is. Ian is worth it. And if no one else will care, then I will. Please, Jimin. That's why I brought you here. I need you to find those files. Please."

He gave me gentle smile and his eyes mellowed. " I will..."

And he turned his heels towards the Jeons house. As he walked further, his figure disappeared into the house.

I stood there watching out.

" Y/N..."

A strange, distorted female voice slithered through the air, slicing right into my chest. My head jerked toward the house.

" Y/N... why don't you come in here... and find out what's really in the basement..."The voice was raspy, almost playful, but soaked in venom. It sounded like it echoed from the walls. My breath shortened. Every hair on my body stood on end.

"Come in." it fizzled again, more forcefully this time, like it was tugging at something inside me. "Come see what you were so eager to clean up, you piece of shit..."

I was immobilized. My body went rigid.

The door creaked open slowly by the cold gale, revealing the darkness beyond. My feet, it was like they weren't mine anymore and started to move forward. Trembling. Reluctant. Drawn.

The voice... it was inside the house now.

I crouched low and carefully moved not to disturb the yellow caution tape stretched across the gate. I slipped under it and crawled inch by inch like a caterpillar until I passed through.

The front door stood, just like it had been that night.

I moved slowly. My heart pounded and knelt beneath the yellow strip that sealed the entrance. I didn't dare touch it. I ducked low, holding my breath, and slipped through the open door like a shadow.

The awful scent waved to my nose, clawing my throat to throw up. My eyes gazed at the dried up blood like a rust stain lingered at the spot where my mother's head rolled down. The spot where he made the other Jungkook to slit his father's throat, while he crushed his boots at his mother's throat.

Hold on. He killed his parents to save me from being dragged out of the town to Roy, but why did he made the other Jungkook to slit his father's throat while he crushed his boots to his mother's throat.? Why did he give them most painful death to his parents? He promised Ian he wont hurt them, then why Did he give them most gruesome death?

But that doesn't change the fact what they did to my little sunflower and me.

His words swayed inside my head which he blurted out before he crushed his foot on his mother's throat. Which means, his parents were involved too?

A sudden creak sound from floor at upstairs sliced in pulling me out of my thoughts. I slowly scrambled the stairs and then reached my room. I opened the door slowly. The door let out a creak sound as I opened it.

My heart thundered in my ears as I stood frozen in place. My eyes flicked toward the bed, our bed, where I used to cry myself to sleep, whispering my Jungkook's name like a prayer, begging the universe to bring him back to me. I glanced at the window, the same window he used to softly tap on before slipping inside, carrying strawberries in one hand, sunflowers in the other. It was our secret sacred world.

A single tear slipped down my cheek.

pull your legs in. If she sees a toe, we are dead.

We are leaving tomorrow night.

I am here for you, Sunflower.

His voice echoed in my mind like a warm phantom.

Then, suddenly, I heard it. A slow footstep behind me.

I gasped and whipped around.

"You piece of shit!" my mother's voice thundered, so close it felt like it tore through the skin of my chest. Her face shoved into mine with terrifying speed and twisted in a wrathful snarl. She was wearing that leather apron again, soaked in blood. Her hands, her feet, were dripped with it. It smeared down her arms in trails of red, thick and dark.

"No... no. This can't be happening," I choked out and stumbled backward.

She reached for me. "Get your worthless ass to the basement and clean it up!" she bellowed.

I collapsed and curled into myself on the floor and flew my arms tight around my knees. "No. You are dead. You are dead, Mom. This isn't real." I whispered over and over like a chant. "My Jungkook got rid of you. This isn't real."

I squeezed my eyes shut tight, trying to immerse myself into darkness.

But then..,

A breath.

Close.

"Come downstairs, Y/N..." the whisper came again, curling around my ear like smoke. But she disappeared from the room. "Don't you want to see what Mom has been hiding in the basement...?"

My eyes shot open. The room was cold .The air was dense.

My bare feet met the cold floorboards as I hoisted up myself .The air felt heavier with every breath I pulled in, like the walls were exhaling something they had buried long ago.

"Y/N..."

I took each step Slowly. Measured. Terrified.

I closed the door of my bedroom, leaving behind the echo of strawberry scented nights and sunflower petals crumpled in my palms.

Then I marched toward my right, where the door to the basement sat tucked beneath the staircase. It was closed. Each step I took resonated loud . The floor beneath my feet creaked like the house was listening. Watching.

My hand hovered over the knob. It was the same door I had passed a thousand times growing up. The one my mother would always shove me down to clean her mess. The one I cleaned blood near without knowing what had happened just beyond it.

I swallowed hard. My fingers curled around the cold metal. I opened the door with a click.

The metallic scent rushed up to meet me. Like something dead had been hiding there for far too long. My hands brushed the wall, and trailed my fingers across peeling paint and old nail holes.

Then I reached it. The top of the stairs.

"Come see what Mom was hiding..."

The voice came again, closer now. Inside the house. Inside me. My hand reached for the light switch. I Flicked it.

Nothing.

Darkness.

Of course.

I inhaled a sharp breath and placed my foot on the first step. Then another. Each creak beneath my weight sounded like a scream muffled by walls.

The further I descended, the colder it got.

The basement was breathing.

I could hear it.

My foot hit the final step, and I reached the bottom. The shadows wrapped around me like fingers.

A voice, like a child, called me again. "You cleaned it all, didn't you?"

My pulse roared.

The walls felt like they were pulsing. Every inch of this place felt wrong, and familiar in the worst way.

And then a faded scream pierced in. It was faint at first. Like wind was whispering through a crack.

Then louder.

Screams. Screeches.

High pitched. Fragile. Children.

"No..." I whispered, and stood paralyzed at the spot.

The cries grew sharper, sliced through the tranquility like glass. I clutched my ears instinctively, and shook my head. "No. Stop. It's not real! it's not real.!"

But the sound didn't stop.

I turned and suddenly, I could see them.

Stretchers.

Six. Maybe seven.

Lined up in the middle of the room like a twisted and sick hospital ward.

Tiny bodies. Strapped down.

Eyes wide.

Mouths gaged with a ball gag

Screaming.

Pleading.

Blood ran down from electrodes tangled in their hair. IV tubes hung loose, and tainted red.

One girl turned her head toward me. Her voice wobbled and turned to me.

"Help... us..."

"Help us"

"Help us"

My heart thundered. My breath caught in my throat.

"No. No, this isn't real. it's NOT..."

I stumbled back.

My spine slammed hard against the cold iron cupboard behind me.

The impact jolted through me and the cupboard trembled violently. A stack of old files perched at the top came loose and tumbled down with a thud, and scattered across the dusty floor.

The screams vanished.

Gone.

The stretchers were gone too.

My chest hoisted up and fell rapidly as I stared at the scattered files. Sweat clung to my temples. My fingers trembled.

And I picked one into my hand and flipped it open. The dust flew to my face.

A name.

Written in bold.

"Project: Cognitive Shift – Subject 31: Nathan mist

My eyes widened. My breath trembled.

I flipped the next page. Project: Cognitive Shift – Dr. Rey Parker "

Subject: Juvenile Trials – Phase III.

I opened it.

And the first thing I saw was a photo, a boy, not older than six. Pale. Lips slightly parted. Tiny wires stitched into his temple like roots burying into his skull.

I turned the page.

And my heart collapsed.

Objective: Increase cognitive retention and brain plasticity through direct stimulation of the frontal cortex via Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and chemical enhancement. Subject responses recorded over 14 day intervals."

There were names.

Dates.

Timelines. I flipped the pages with phase.

" Subject 16: Failed. Neural overstimulation. Convulsions began on Day 4. Subject deceased."

"Subject 13: Showed signs of high memory processing. Vocal cords ruptured due to prolonged distress calls. Sedated indefinitely."

I clapped a hand over my mouth. My stomach churned. My heart ached so hard I thought it might stop.

Another page...

"Emotional conditioning initiated through visual stimuli. Subjects shown imagery of maternal figures while brain activity is recorded."

" Subject 9: Recognized maternal figure and cried for 17 hours. Brain spike reached 93%. Labeled unstable. Discarded."

"Discarded..." I whispered.

Discarded. Like trash.

Children.

She used children.

Not data. Not theories. Not simulations.

Children.

Screaming children.

Every bloodstain I had once cleaned. Every odd smell in the basement. Every time she told me to "keep my mouth shut and wipe faster" ,all of it crashed into me like a storm.

"Oh my God... oh my God, mom, what did you do?"I sobbed, the file slipped from my hands and fluttered to the floor.

And at the very bottom of the next page, written in red ink, Note: All records of Subject 31 are restricted. Further analysis pending. Neural resistance unusually high. Recommendation: Continue trials."

Help us, Y/N.

Help us.

Help us.

Several tiny hands tried to reach me.

"No no. " I screeched and plummeted down to the floor with a force. " No! No!" I slapped my hands to my ears. " Please I am sorry..."

The room spun. My legs locked beneath me as the edges of my vision began to darken. My breath came out uneven and panicked. My heart thudded against my ribs like it was trying to tear its way out.

I couldn't breathe.

The screams I imagined, the wails of children still echoing through the cracked walls, through the walls, through my head, they were everywhere.

"No more... please, no more..." I whispered.

"Y/N!"

My head barely turned as I heard the voice, that was muffled like it came from underwater. My eyes fluttered.

"Y/N,hey! Hey, look at me!"

I felt arms wrap around me before the terrifying screams swallow me whole.

The wrap was strong and familiar.

Jimin.

He dropped to his knees and pulled me to his chest. He gently patted the back of my head. "Hey, hey, come on. Look at me! Its ok. Its ok! I am here...I am here.."

I clung to him and my fists curled into the fabric of his jacket." I told you not to leave. Why did you ..." He trailed off.

" My mom..my..she experimented on them. On children, Jimin. She drilled into their skulls. And I..I cleaned it. I cleaned it without knowing... I cleaned all of it..." I sobbed to his chest.

"Its ok. Its ok. you didn't know. You didn't know.." Jimin whispered, and pressed my head to his shoulder. "You were just a kid. You were scared. You were trying to survive. Its not your fault."

"I can still hear them..."I whimpered. "I can still hear them screaming..."

" Its ok! Its nothing..." he murmured, and tightened his hold. "You are not alone . I am here .I am here."

He held me for few seconds, and gently rubbed my back slowly to calm the storm swirled inside me. And then suddenly, his strokes came to cease as if something caught his attention.

" Stay here, Y/N. " He gently placed me to incline against the nearby wall. He moved away from me fixing his gaze to the files that scattered on the floor.

He curled his fingers around the file and picked it up. A loud gasp escaped through his lips." Oh my god..." He muttered. He flipped the pages one after the other. " Fucking ..." He mumbled. His breath shortened. His eyes ran like a ping pong balls across the file.

And then he flipped another the page. " What the fuck?" He bellowed almost.

I quaked and looked at him.

His eyes were wide as he looked at the file and then his eyes switched to me. " What?" I asked softly as I was curling on the floor.

His eyes glanced to the file again. He scanned the file again like he was going to lose his mind. " Fuck..no.." he mumbled. He swallowed hard. Sweat beads coated his forehead and travelled down his temple.

" Jimin, what is it?" I queried witnessing his breath being hyperventilating.

His limbs trembled. He turned to another page. His lips quivered and tears roamed from his eyes , escorted to his lips.

" Jimin, ...."

" Y/N! Get up. We have to get out of here.." His voice was coarse and thick. He snatched a file from the bundle and folded it. He plunged the folded paper at inner side of his jacket ."Come on, move!" He shoved towards me and instantly curled his hand around my arms and then hoisted me up.

" Come on.." he rushed me to climb the stairs.

---------------

" I told you not to leave. I told you to stay low, Y/N. Why dont you just fucking listen to me for once?" Jimin growled in exasperation gazing at me, while I was gulping down ounces of water.

I set the bottle at the dashboard of the car with a thud. I wheezed. " Care to speak what happened down there?" He rebuked , pulling out the paper napkins from its box.

" I dont know, Jimin. Something called me inside. " I grasped them from him and blotted against my sweat.

" What?"

" My mom..she called me inside. Like she was waiting for me. Inside the house. At the basement." A chills, transverse through my veins.

" Your mom is dead , Y/N. " He sighed and rubbed his fingers at his temple.

" She is still alive inside my head, Jimin..."My voice came out in a fragile whisper. My hands trembled as they reached up to press against the sides of my skull. "She is still there, screaming, yelling, whispering things I don't want to remember. She never left me. Not really."

I stared blankly ahead for several seconds and my heart pounded so loud it drowned out everything else. " I tried... I tried so hard to forget. But it's like she is stitched into the lining of my mind, Jimin."

And then, like a harsh thrash to the chest, the realization hit.

My eyes widened. I staggered back and gasped. "Oh my God... that's why he did it.""

Jimin's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

My voice ruptured ."The gene therapy... the injections... the 'treatment' Paxson started. My Jungkook didn't just want to erase the trauma. He didn't just want to take away the blood and the screams and everything my parents did to me." My hand pressed hard to my chest, as if I could hold in the ache swirling through it.

" And He didn't want me to remember the other Jungkook..."

I looked up at Jimin, tears spilled down my cheeks.

" Yes. And that asshole literally lied to me about his identity." Jimin gritted his teeth. But it was not out of wrath, may be frustrated because all he wanted was to grab his collar to ask just why he lied.

"No. I know. I can feel why he erased the other Jungkook from my head. Because he wanted that identity for himself."

Jimin froze.

"He wanted to become him. He didn't want to be himself anymore. Not the Jungkook who was born from violence and lies. Not the assassinator . He wanted to be the other Jungkook, the boy I once tried to save. That's why he erased himself. That's why he stepped into my life as the other Jungkook. He Took his name. His past. Everything."

I choked on a sob. "He might have thought if I forgot the other Jungkook, I would never question it. I would never realize he wasn't the one I thought he was. That he wasn't the boy from the closet... he was the boy who burned everything down for me. "

Jimin's jaw tightened. His throat moved, but he said nothing. Not yet.

"He carried it all alone, Jimin," I whispered. "All that guilt. All that pain. He thought he had to become someone else just so I could love him. He was so convinced he didn't deserve to be loved as he was." A sob ruptured.

"I didn't even recognize him... I let him carry it alone."

Jimin placed a hand on my back. His voice was quiet, nearly broken."Maybe he thought becoming the other Jungkook was the only way he could protect you. Maybe he thought... being himself would destroy you."

My lips quivered. I shook my head, helpless and hopeless. "But I didn't want him erased. I didn't need him to be perfect. I needed him to stay. Even with all the darkness inside him... I will still love him."

My voice broke into pieces. "I still love him, Jimin. I just want him back. My Jungkook. He fucking erased himself just to save me. He fucking erased our love . The love we had ten years ago.."

"And yet the universe let you both fall in love even after ten years. " He gently bristled his fingers at my hair. " Or should I say that asshole had it planned to fall in love with you pretending as the other Jungkook. " He chuckled weakly. " May be he doesn't want you to dig the past and know what happened to the other Jungkook and leave you guilt wrench or what happened to Ian and his birth mother "

He placed the file on my lap.

I gasped gently. My fingers trembled and hovered over the file. " You got it?" My eyes went wide.

He nodded.

I opened the file. My fingers trembled as I unfolded the brittle edges of the paper that Jimin tossed on my lap. The file was labeled in dull red ink: "CONFIDENTIAL – BS-0717-OB." Something in my chest twisted the moment I saw their names, Jungkook. Ian. "issued by Bliss Fertility & Research Institute "

Bliss? Bliss Psychiatric hospital and mental asylum. I recalled the hospital name which I read from the file named Caroline Bryce.

So Jungkook's parents knew something about Ms. Caroline Bryce. And who the heck is she?And why,why did Jungkook keep this file hidden? Buried beneath in the basement of the cabin like it was never meant to be found. Like he didn't want me to find it.

But he kept it safe.

Why?

My mind plunged further into the file I read when I found it in his cabin's basement.

Name: Caroline Bryce.

Admission age :16

Physical condition: Pregnant.

I hesitated. My breath loitered at my throat. I brushed it off and focused on the file that was clung to my hand. The file Jimin found from Jeons residence.

I don't want to read the file but I have to.

My eyes moved line by line, each word another dagger.

"Gestational Surrogacy Agreement. Embryo transfer successful: Twin gestation confirmed."

Intended Parents: Mr. Jeon Junghwa and Mrs. Jeon Ha un.

Biological Material:

Egg donor ID : AN-2375-21 . Anonymous.

Sperm Donor ID: AN-9841-11 . Anonymous.

My stomach dropped.

Child A: Jeon Jungkook.

Child B: Jeon Ian.

They weren't just my Jungkook and Ian.

They were surrogates... they were created in a lab, chosen, engineered, not born out of love. And their mother? Not even Ha un. She was just a name printed next to the word "Intended." And Mr.Jeon was not even his father ?I blinked, but the words didn't change.

My head swayed. My pulse pounded in my ears.

I fell back against the seat. The file slipped halfway from my grip. My vision blurred as I kept rereading the same line.

"Anonymous Egg Donor. Anonymous sperm donor."

Which meant... they didn't even know who their parents were.They dont even know who was their mother and father?

My Jungkook...

He never knew. Or maybe, maybe he did. Maybe that's why he hated himself. Maybe that's why he ran from the Jeon name. From that house. From the Jeons.

A sob tore through me . My chest knotted. My throat burned.

All this time... I thought they were just broken boys from a cruel family. But they were experiment put into flesh ,blood and bones .

"Surrogacy..."I whispered , the words twisted like a scythe at my chest.

"They weren't born like I thought... They were chosen. Created. And hidden."

My gaze froze on the cold black print.

Egg Donor ID: Anonymous. I glanced it again , in a hope what if I read it earlier would be false.

No. It was not.

"Which means..." my voice cracked. "They never even knew their mother or father. Not really. They didn't know they were brothers born from science, not blood. They were lied to. Used.

But they were never even wanted, not the way children should be.

The file crushed under the pressure of my fists as I clutched it to my chest. My knees teetered, and I collapsed like my bones and fleshes no longer worked.

Tears streamed silently down my face. I glanced at the file to read further.

EMBRYO TRANSFER & BIRTH RECORDS:

Twin embryos successfully transferred.

Gestational confirmation: 2 fetuses

Delivery Date: 1 September,1992

Birth Names:

Child A: Jeon Jungkook

Child B: Jeon Ian

NOTES:

Child B (Ian) presented signs of developmental variance in lower limb and upper limb coordination (to be referred for pediatric neurologic consult by age 3). Condition is genetic.

My heart shattered the moment I read Ian's condition. The words on the paper blurred as a single tear slid down, landed softly on the edge of the file. It smudged the ink slightly, If only they had consulted a pediatric neurologist, If only they had cared enough to do something, anything.

He could have been just like my Jungkook.

Strong and whole.

But they didn't. They let him suffer. They let him grow up without answers, without help, without hope, like he was nothing more than a mistake they were too ashamed to fix.

Motherfuckers. The condition is genetic and yet they treated him like trash as if it was his fucking fault.

I read further.

Due to family confidentiality request, records sealed post-delivery under Family Protection Act.

Surrogate Mother Details:

Name: Withheld by request (registered under code RE-417)

Agreement Signed: yes

Surrogacy Type: Gestational (non-genetic)

They weren't born. They were made. They were fucking made and treated like a cursed mistake.

"Jungkook... Ian... They were created. Designed in a petri dish, carried by someone who didn't even know them. An anonymous woman..." I whimpered and swallowed hard trying to shovel down the lump at my throat." and that anonymous women who gave birth to them was their,..."

" Eomma..." Jimin whispered. " She was not a maid , Y/N. She was their birth mother. They used her like a vessel." He sniffled as tears rolled down from his eyes.

They used them. They were never born out of love. Maybe that's why he looked at himself like a shadow, like something unworthy of being loved. Maybe that's why he always said I was his home.

My chest seized with grief so raw it clawed at my ribs. I clutched the paper to my chest, and sobbed my throat tore raw. All the nights he cried in my shoulder. All the times he held me like I was everything.

You are my everything ,sunflower

I pressed the paper to my face, to my lips, like maybe I could kiss away their pain through the ink or through the fucking piece of paper.

"I am so sorry," I whispered through my sobs. "I am so ,so sorry you were born into this. I didn't know. I didn't know..."

My Jungkook and Ian... they were never truly born like the rest of us.

And still... all my Jungkook ever wanted, was love. Me. He just wanted Me.

Like every child, he just wanted to be held. To be told he mattered. To be chosen.

But they didn't choose him. They chased him like he was garbage, like he didn't belong. They hunted him. Treated him like a threat. A mistake. A monster.

And their so-called mother... the woman who gave birth to them wasn't even their real mom, just a surrogate. And yet she was the only one who protected them. She gave her life for them when no one else ever would.

How many nights did he cry into a pillow, knowing he wasn't "normal," knowing he was just a scientific outcome? A number on a file?

How many nights did he wonder why no one could love him?

He deserved it. Every damn drop of love this world could offer.

My Jungkook.

Ian.

They deserved love. The kind of love that he gave me.

He consumed up every ounce of pain, sealed it with a smile, and still chased after me.

Because I was his only light.

His only hope.

The only thing he thought was worth living for. The reason for his existence. He hid everything. He never let it slip, never let me carry any of that pain. He loved me, like loving me was the only thing keeping him alive.

That's why he came into my life. Not to use me, not to trick me.

But because I was the only thing that ever made him feel human.

That's why he became the other Jungkook.

Even though he hated the name, the identity, the pain of it. He took it anyway, because being that person meant he could stay beside me.

Because he was willing to wear someone else's skin, someone's face, if it meant I would be safe. That's why he joined NIA. That's why he hunted Paxson. Clark. Roy.

To protect me. To save me.

He didn't want to be Jungkook.

He wanted to be a silhouette. My silhouette.

He just wanted me.

And all I did was love him too late.

All I did was cry now, when all he ever needed, was for me to hold his hand and say, "I am not going anywhere. I wont leave you."

I sobbed, cradling the truth like it was his broken body in my arms. I wish I could hold him now in my arms and cradle him to my chest .

He gave up everything just to exist in my world.

And now he was gone.

Because this world never deserved him.

But I did.

___________