Y/N

Two weeks later

The sky swayed low imparting grey and dark all over , mirroring our mourn. The wind was soft but cold, bristled through the quiet graveyard like a breath that carried names of the dead. My fingers trembled as I gently knelt before the grave. Tears dripped down on it.

I placed the sunflowers down ,gently and softly just above the stone written.

JEON IAN

(1992-2025)

Beloved Brother.

Beside it was ,another grave. The One that shouldn't have existed at all. Its inscription set forth the cold gale to claw all over my spine.

ARON SILVER

(1997-2025)

A boy stolen by the dark and lied that was planted all over his head. A name that was never his. But it was and he never knew. My heart clenched leading me to shudder. One had burned to save us. The other burned trying to destroy everything.

"If he had just... listened to me once..." Jungkook's wobbling voice sliced in beside me. "If he had listened just once, none of this would have happened." His fingers slid between mine and squeezed. Tight. As if I might vanish if he didn't hold on. I looked up at him, and his eyes were lost and haunted. Shadows clung beneath them. Sleep hadn't touched him in days. Neither of us had truly rested since that night. It haunted us. It hunted us. Our eyes never shut ,we were clung to each other's arms at Jimin's place. Freya and Jimin took care of us. They didn't invaded in our mourning. They couldn't. Because they knew , we lost something we could never get back.

Every night, Jungkook jolted awake, crying out Ian's name like it was the only word left in his soul. And each time, it felt like someone wrapped a string of guilt and grief around my neck, pulling tighter with every breath he took.

For fourteen nights straight, I held him. I pulled him into my arms, pressed his head against my chest, and rubbed slow circles along his back, trying to steady the shudders wracked through him. His sobs were muffled against my heart, but they echoed louder in my bones ,fleshes and every fucking nerves of mine. He clung to me every night like I was the only thing anchoring him to this world. His arms were tight around my waist, His breath always shuddered, his fingers always dug into my skin like he was afraid I would disappear too.

And all I could do was cry with him. Cry, and whisper over and over," I am here... I am here, baby... I am not going anywhere." Because we both knew, we had lost something we couldn't ever get back.

He wasn't just grieving Ian. He was grieving himself. The parts of him twisted and used, the brother he didn't get to grow up with. The mother who left the world in silence just to save him. She let the fire swallow her, so her sons could rise from it.

My gaze drifted to the third grave nearby.

EOMMA. And there was no name on the stone. My eyes squinted at it. There was no inscription and date was carved on it. But I didn't barge to ask about it as it was not the right time. Not when his pain is still strangling him.

And just beneath, it there was another name carved smaller , it was faint.

"Jeon Ian." My chest collapsed into sobs.

"I didn't know..." Jungkook murmured. His voice was so soft such that I almost didn't grasp it. "I never knew Ian made it out that night. I never knew he was alive... All these years." I leaned into him and let my head rest on his shoulder. " I thought I lost him..." His words wobbled as his fingers brushed against the cold stone. "So I thought... it was only right to keep his name, at least beneath Eomma's. To let them rest together, even if he didn't make it."

My chest tightened and twisted.

He lowered his head, and whispered. "I somehow slipped out of the basement. I don't even remember how, I just remember running. Through the woods, barefoot, bleeding and screaming for help..."

His hands trembled. I watched him, watched his soul unraveled in front of me like a broken reel as he spoke ."I made it to the road... stood in the middle of it, waving my arms, crying out, falling on people's feet." His breath caught, as if he was already pulled onto that road. "I begged them, begged them to help. To pull Eomma and Ian out of the fire."

Tears rolled down his cheeks.

"But some ignored me. Some just kicked me away like I was a stray dog. Some pitied me but... they didn't help. And there were some.." He let out a shuddering small laugh.." some people had the fucking audacity to ask me to clean their windshields. Said they would only help if I did it." He looked at me with crimson eyes and shattered soul. "Can you believe that? While Eomma and Ian were burning, they made me clean their fucking car windows."

A long tranquility passed. I gritted my teeth in rage. I am going to find that fucking bastards and going to give them most gruesome death possible.

"I begged until my throat went dry. I fell to the ground, cried so hard I thought my heart would stop. And then, finally, some homeless people came. Strangers. They didn't ask for anything. They ran to help, they shouted, they called for more people. They tried." His voice sank again. "But... before real help could arrive... it was too late," he whimpered, his eyes were empty, staring past me, as if seeing the flames all over again. "The fire had swallowed the whole place...they helped me find Eomma's body. Burnt... charred... and still, calling out my name." He clenched his fists. "Her flesh was... it was barely even clinging to her bones."

His lips trembled, and he turned away, to swallow the pain that was visibly ripping him apart. "She only spoke one word. Just one..'Ian.'"

My breath trembled. He blinked back tears. "They brought me the burnt body of a little boy. Small. Lifeless. I...I thought it was Ian. I had no one else. Only Yaze stood by me. We buried them together. The same grave."

A long silence filled the space between us. A grave kind of silence. "But later... I found out it wasn't him," Jungkook whispered. "The night I saw Ian again... alive... in that damn wheelchair...with Jake... I mean .Aron.."

He broke. The weight of a thousand nights of guilt crumbled on his shoulders. And finally, I let the tears fall. Freely. Without trying to hide.

"Maxwell... he took Ian..." I whimpered, my words barely pushed past the lump in my throat. My body trembled as if the words alone stole the last warmth from me. Jungkook pulled me into his chest, holding me tighter than air. His voice shredded right into my ear, soft and strangled. "I know, baby... I know..." He kissed the side of my head as I sobbed into him, like he could somehow pull all my pain into himself and carry it with his own. "I fucking know everything , baby.."

We stood there in silence for what felt like hours. Tranquility that bounded by grief , hurt and pain.

He closed his eyes. Exhaled a trembling breath. He pulled me more tight , while I grooved my face more deep into his chest like I want to just plough inside his skin. Inside his flesh. May be he was right we were meant to be sewed together, skin o skin, nerves to nerves, bone to bone, flesh into flesh, so that no one can apart us. Fucking no one.

"Let's go," he finally whispered. I pulled back gently. However my heart wrenched when I pulled myself from his skin.

I nodded. Our fingers laced again, tighter than before. He walked me slowly to the car, not saying a word. And even as we drove away, I kept looking back, at the graves, at the sunflowers, at the names carved in stone.

Because even though Ian was gone. He was never really gone.

He is carved into our story forever.

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

"Bun always said he would protect you," Jungkook murmured, as the smoke trailed slowly from his lips as he sat on the edge of the bed with his white shirt hung loose from his shoulder with exhaustion. The moonlight filtered through the glass of the window and casted on the smoke swirled around his lips. The room was dark and exhausted as if it was listening to us, to our mourns. His hand shook slightly as he brought the cigarette back to his mouth. "And he did... he fucking did it... just for me."

I was curled beside him, half wrapped around his bicep like a child clinging to warmth after a nightmare. I didn't say anything. My breath was caught somewhere between the memory of Ian's last smile and the guilt crushing my chest.

"Baby..." I called him softly. His exhausted eyes looked down at me. He gently pulled his arm and curled his arm around my back and drew me into his chest. "It was because of me, wasn't it?" I whimpered. "Everything. All of this..." I hoisted my head to meet his eyes. Though I didn't have a pinch of courage to face them, in guilt.

He kissed me before I could answer. His lips swallowed mine. His lips were rough with agony, but still soft when they touched mine. A few swirls of smoke tasted in his lips and it was fucking relishing. He pulled back and curled his lips inwards tasting me. "Don't," He whispered, though the string of his saliva was still barely holding my lips not wanting to part. "Don't ever say that, baby. You were never the reason..."

"But I did this to you," My words trembled out of my throat as my eyes flicked toward the side of his head. The soft strands of his dark hair shifted to the side as the cold gale whirled inside through the window. My eyes welled up as they plastered on them.

The hearing aid.

It sat behind his ear, a crescent shaped, flesh toned device, curved to follow the back of his ear like it belonged there. But it didn't. It fucking doesn't belong to him. A clear, plastic tube coiled from the device into his ear canal, where it disappeared, silently doing what his ears could no longer do for him. What I had taken from him.

Every inch of it mocked me. My vision blurred as I stared at it. That tiny thing, it was a reminder of every scream he never heard. Every breath he missed. Every I love you that I whispered, thinking he could hear it.

A part of him was gone, lost in that fire. And I had chased it, chased the truth like it wouldn't cost anyone anything.

"How can you say it's not my fault, Jungkook?" I whimpered.

His jaw clenched. "Baby... that was a fucking accident." He turned toward me, the pain flared in his eyes. "It wasn't your fault. Don't talk like that. Don't feed that shit to yourself." He pulled me in again and kissed me harder. The smoke still lingered on his lips, but I kissed him back anyway, because I needed to feel alive. Again. The smacking and slapping of lips resonated in the dark room.

"I should have listened to you," I breathed against his mouth. "I should have just let the truth go. I should have just stayed."

"Why, baby?" he whispered hoarsely. "Why does the truth have to cost so much? You found it, yeah? And now it fucking hurts. It hurts me, too."

Tears stung my eyes. I arched my palm inwards at his cheeks gently. He inclined to my palm. His tiny pore, the teeny weeny acnes bristled my palm. And his streaks of small burnt marks on his chin and cheeks teased my palm. It felt paradise. It felt good to feel his face inside my palm. I didn't wait ,kissed him again. "You know what?" I pulled back. "After everything came back... I still remember the good parts. I wanted to remember. I am glad I remembered..."

He blinked, and stared at me.

"I remember the way you came to me every night like a secret," my fingers brushed his cheek. "The way you held me after my mom left me in the rain. That night...you remember? You climbed us up to my room through the window and we wrapped ourselves tight...for first time."

His lips parted, but he didn't speak. I took the chance and sucked his lips. "Baby..." I pressed my forehead to his. "You carried me when no one else even noticed I was breaking."

And then my voice shook. "The night you came to take me away from the monsters... you were so close. I saw you. I almost made it to you. But my mom..." The memory gutted and knocked me. "She stopped everything. She called the cops because you were the boy who murdered the Silver bloodline." The words slipped out before i could gather them back to my tongue. And I felt them burn in my throat the second they landed.

Jungkook stiffened. His eyes went a little wide.

"Jungkook... I didn't mean.."

He held up a hand to my lips. "It's okay," he spoke gently. He took a slow, deep drag from the cigarette. The tip glowed orange blended with crimson in the dim light, and casted shadows across the scars on his chest. "She called them because I was the boy who killed monsters," he muttered, and let out the smoke pour out between his clenched teeth. "Because I was wiping out a bloodline of abusers."

He turned to me. His eyes glistened like glass that it would rupture into tears by any second. "You know everything now," he said. "So I will tell you the rest."

I reached for him and scooted forward. But he was already spiraling into the memories he never wanted to show me. "Me and Ian were eleven when I saw you for the first time at that hellhole called Arms of Rey," He spoke softly. "You were just three... a baby."

He took a slow drag from his cigarette, the smoke curled around his face and moved away bristling his hair. "I couldn't even see your little face clearly through that cracked basement window, just the shape of you... this tiny thing behind rusted iron bars. But even then, something in me ached. Like... I needed to hold you. Like if I could just wrap my arms around you, the whole fucking world would fall back into place."

Tears welled in his eyes. I curled my arms tighter around his bicep, and perked my ears to listen. It ached. We lingered like that for a while, our foreheads pressed, breaths tangled, hearts broken in silence, until he finally spoke again. "I still feel it," he whispered. "The pain... like a phantom limb. When Dad sliced Ian off me, it was like tearing a part of my soul out. He didn't just rip skin... he tore away my other half."

My breath caught in my throat. Jungkook stared ahead, as eyes lost in to some distant of the cruel memory. He ran a shaking hand through his hair. "When we exposed him in front of everyone, something in him snapped. That night, he stormed into the little birthday celebration Eomma threw for me and Ian. No presents. Just a small cake. Laughter. Peace. But it didn't last. He...he just stormed... sliced me away from Ian." He whimpered and curled his lips inward to stifle his sobs. I flinched, holding my breath, my hand trembled around his as I recalled the footage of the cruel night.

"I can still hear Ian's screams," He choked. "That pain never left me."

I wanted to scream. To cry for him. For Ian. For the child versions of them that were never protected. "He warned Eomma to get rid of Ian," he whispered. "Like he was a disease. But she refused. She loved us both. And then, when I was fourteen... he came back."

The realization hit me like a thunderclap. My lips trembled as I whispered, "Ian wore your sweater, didn't he? To pretend to be you... And your dad, he set the cabin on fire, after finding out it was Ian and you were in the closet..."

Jungkook's head snapped to me.His eyes went wide.

"You couldn't stop him," I continued, "because Ian locked you in the basement." His silence was confirmation enough. It killed me.

"Baby..." he breathed.

"I know," I nodded tearfully. "I read the scribbles on the wall."

And then, brokenly, I whispered what I feared most. "It was because of me, wasn't it? Ian walked me home that night. He wanted to make sure I was safe. And your dad... he must have seen him. Found out Ian was still alive because of me..."

I broke, a sob punched through my chest.

"No," He shook his head vigorously and his voice was suddenly strong and desperate. "No, baby, no." He held my cheeks. I leaned to his palm. His rough hand caressed gently my skin. He pulled me toward him like the truth would kill me if he didn't hold me close enough. "Shhh... hey, hey, sunflower... look at me." The cigarette still clung to his fingers , but he didn't let it to blaze my skin.

And then he kissed me, hard and harsh as if he was kissing the guilt out of me, breathing his truth into me. His lip piercing scraped my lips. I parted my lips gently , his tongue shoved inside and gave a gentle suck to my tongue and pulled back just enough to whisper against my lips, "It was never your fault. Not even close. You are the one who saved me. Back then, and even now. Don't ever say you were to blame."

I thrashed my face to his chest and sobbed into his chest. I inhaled his scent, his warmth, his heartbeat, everything I needed to hold me together. He gently tucked my head beneath his chin. His fingers combed through my hair with slow and soothing motions.

"Being with you," he murmured. "watching you sleep on that bed... it felt like heaven, baby. Like I finally found a place where pain couldn't reach me."

His grip tightened. I pressed myself deeper into his embrace and clutched his shirt in my fists. This was my place. His heart. His arms. And he, broken and beautiful, was my home. My Jungkook was my home.

"I still remember Ian's words," He words caught in his throat, yet they made out. "Kookie, I will pretend to be you. He won't find out. I promise."

His lips trembled as he spoke. Pain radiated through every syllable. "But I knew," he choked, "I knew he didn't believe that. He just didn't want me to die. He wanted to face it alone... because he knew if our dad found both of us, he would end us. And Ian..he always protected me."

Jungkook's eyes welled with tears, and glistened under the low light. "And without giving me a second to argue... he shoved me into the closet in the basement. Locked it from the outside. I..I pounded on the door, screamed his name, but he wouldn't open it. He just kept whispering through the crack,'Stay quiet. No matter what, stay quiet, Kookie.'"

He paused and bit back a sob. "Eomma hadn't even realized what was happening. She didn't get the chance to react because before she could, he came in. My father. I was locked down there... helpless... listening. I heard the door slam. I heard Eomma scream. I smelled the smoke before I saw the flames. And I knew..I knew what he had done."

I rubbed his back gently trying to soothe away his choking sob. "Every time Dad came looking for us," Jungkook whispered, "I would stand there, trembling, and lie straight to his face. I would tell him Ian was gone. That he had vanished. That he wasn't coming back." He swallowed hard. "And this time... he did it again. He saved me. He saved you, too,by burning in that fire, with the other Jungkook...with Aron.."

His voice came out as a shuddering breath. "He didn't just die in that fire... he chose to. So we could live." He held me tighter, his arms wrapped completely around me like he was trying to shield me from the memory. But I couldn't stop shaking. His lips pressed into my hair, his own breath was unsteady. I sobbed ."Shh, baby... Ian wouldn't want you to hurt like this," he whispered hoarsely. "He did what he did because he loved us. Because you, you gave him something to believe in. Just like you did for me.""

I wrapped my arms around him, letting myself break completely in his warmth. For a long moment, we just stayed like that. Tangled in grief, in love, in all the things we never got to say to Ian.

"After that night... the night everything burned and I survived..."Jungkook continued. "I didn't know where else to go, so I went to your house. I stood there, watching you sleep on that bed... just breathing. Peacefully. It was the only thing that made sense to me in that moment." He sniffled quietly, his gaze was, haunted. "Then... that night you told me about your mom. About what she made you do in the basement." He swallowed hard. "I couldn't sleep after that. So I went there, to the basement. I needed to see it with my own eyes."

His jaw tightened. "The smell of iron hit me first. The blood... it was everywhere. On the walls, the floor, soaked deep into the concrete like the house was holding onto the screams. I stepped down slowly. The stairs creaked under my feet,.."

He ran a hand through his hair. "And then I found them. The files. Stacked high inside an old cupboard, covered in dust. I didn't know what I was looking for, but when I opened them...It was all there. Pages and pages. Pictures. Notes. She had kept records of everything she did to those kids." He looked up at me. "And then I found your file, ... I mean,," He cleared his throat. " You were just a child. . But she punished you like you were some criminal. Made you scrub blood off those walls as if you were cleaning away someone else's sins. Like it was your burden to carry."

I felt my breath clasped tight at my chest. My hands trembled.

He reached for me, his thumb brushed gently under my eye as a tear escaped. "What broke me the most, was knowing no one ever truly listened to you. Not even the other Jungkook. He was too caught up in his own world. He was supposed to protect you..but he didn't."

He let out a weak chuckle. "And it killed me, watching him stand by your side. It was me who should have been there, holding you, shielding you. Not him."

His gaze hardened. "I couldn't stay silent anymore. I had to know who they brought in to replace me. So I went back, to the Jeons' residence. I broke in while they were gone. I searched every drawer, every locked cabinet until I found it. A file."

He looked down, his fingers clenched slightly. "That boy... the other Jungkook... wasn't born to love you, baby. He was born to erase me. They didn't want a son. They wanted a puppet. And they used him to rewrite everything I was supposed to be."

He looked at me then,with his teared eyes. "But they couldn't erase this." He placed his hand over my heart. "They couldn't erase us."

I whimpered and held his hand over his chest.

"I found him," He continued. "The truth behind everything... It started with Enzo. He was adopted from the Silver family. Maxwell handed him over to my father...because my dad specifically requested a baby boy. Just born. No questions asked."

His fingers curled into tight fists. "But Enzo wasn't some helpless orphan. He was fifteen when it all began. Fifteen... and already carrying blood on his hands."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"He assaulted a girl," Jungkook spoke with clenched jaw. "She worked as a maid for the Silvers. Young. Innocent. He ruined her. And her parents reported it..to Maxwell. But instead of justice, Maxwell saw opportunity."

Jungkook scoffed . "The Silvers were royalty, baby. Old money. Prestige and corruption buried deep. Maxwell knew Enzo's crime could stain the entire bloodline. So he struck a deal instead of exposing him."

I held my breath. "What kind of deal?"

Jungkook turned to look at me. "He asked Enzo for something in return. Something... alive. A child."

My chest tightened. "For Aron?"

He gave a small and hollow nod. "Yes. Aron Silver. Enzo's sister's newborn son. Her child, offered up like payment. Like some bargaining thing to protect the family name."

I covered my mouth in astonishment.

"But it didn't end there. Enzo... he started to feel it. That guilt. Because in that family, to protect their bloodline, they married within, step siblings and cousins. It was all about keeping the Silver name pure. So giving up Aron, a male heir was gut wrenching for them. When his parents found out what he had done, they were furious. They demanded he bring Aron back. But..."

He took a sharp inhale. "It was too late. My parents had already paraded him to the world as Jungkook. As their son. As me. That boy grew up in my place. In my life."

My heart pounded.

"And when Enzo tried to undo it... Maxwell laughed in his face. Told him it was done. Sealed. But then..."Jungkook hesitated.

He looked at me, his words started to shred. "Then he saw you."

My eyes widened.

"You were just a baby. Giggling. Smiling in Rey's arms. And right then, Enzo said to Maxwell, 'When she turns fifteen... give her to me.'"

The words sliced through me like a knife.

My breath clutched. "why me?"

"because no one would ask , if you were gone baby. But they failed to find that you had a shadow monster protecting you." He gave me gentle smile. "I read it all," Jungkook rasped. "Maxwell kept digital files. Hidden. Encrypted. But I found them. Dug into his filthy little system and tore it all out. And when I saw that... when I learned what they planned to do to you..." his voice wobbled with fury, "I lost it. That's when I started hunting them."

His knuckles turned unpigmented from how tight he gripped his knees. "Every male in the Silver bloodline. I tracked them. One by one. Until I could find Enzo."

I could barely speak.

"But he ran. Coward. He knew I was coming, so he went underground. Hid like the rat he is. That night, I took out eight of them. Eight men from that twisted bloodline .because if not Enzo any male descendent would hunt you .."

He let out a trembling laugh. "I was going to take you away that night. I had it all planned. But your mom,she ruined it. She always ruins it."

He turned to me. His eyes mellowed. "That's why I came back. Why I stayed close. Why I watched you sleep and breathed when you breathed. Because you weren't just some girl to protect. You were the reason I survived that hell. And when I saw what they planned for you, I made a vow,they would never touch you again. Not while I am still breathing."

"So Enzo was after me..." my voice came out small. "Because he gave up a male heir to your dad?" My lips trembled. "Not because you were hunting the Silver bloodline?"

Jungkook's jaw clenched hard, his chest hoisted up and down, broken breaths. He tossed the cigarette bud after taking a long huff and puff. His fingers dug into his thighs, like he was holding himself back from smashing something.

"No, baby..."he fizzled. His voice trembled with restrained fury. "It wasn't just because of me. It was because of you. Because to him, you were his way out. His redemption."

I stared at him.

He leaned in."Enzo knew he had already betrayed his own bloodline. That guilt was eating him. He couldn't get Aron back,not after what my parents did. So he looked at you... and thought maybe, maybe, he could fix it. If he could just earn heirs through you."

My stomach twisted and knotted.

"He didn't want you, baby. Not like I do," Jungkook spat. "He wanted your womb. Your blood. He wanted to breed heirs from you and pretend like that made things right."

I couldn't breathe.

"And that's why I hunted them" Jungkook snarled. "Every goddamn male descended from that cursed Silver bloodline. I slaughtered them, one after another. Because I knew what he was planning. I knew his type. I knew that even if I killed him, they would still come for you, unless I ended them all."

He stood abruptly, and walked in back and forth. His hand ran through his hair in a frenzied motion. "I wanted him to feel what it's like to lose everything. To be left with nothing. I wanted him to suffer,"he growled. "He thought he could marry a dozen women, build a new line, start over? No." He growled. I flinched. "I made sure that even if he tries a thousand times, there will be no one left to carry his filthy name."

He turned back to me.

"I did it all for you. So he could never have you. So he could never touch a hair on your head. I burned his future to the ground. And if I had to, I would do it again. A thousand times. Thats why I was wiping out the male heirs of silver bloodline, if not Enzo, any of the male heirs would come for you. But I will kill them all before they even learn your name, sunflower."

He stepped closer. "Because you are not a sacrifice, Y/N. You are not someone's redemption. You are mine. You always were. My dark queen."

He knelt in front of me, and gently clasped my tear streaked face. "Sunflower," he breathed. "I would have sliced off the world if they laid a single wrong glance at you. I don't care if they call me a monster. I will be a monster for you."

I clutched his wrists, and inclined into his touch like it was the only thing kept me anchored to this filthy world .He kissed the tears off my cheeks, one after another, gently, like I was sacred. His forehead rested against mine, and we stayed there in the stillness of that moment and trembled against each other.

"Can I ask you something...?" I swallowed hard.

Jungkook's eyes softened. He nodded slowly and sensed the weight in my tone. I hesitated. but I needed to know. I needed every broken piece to fit. "Why did you frame the other Jungkook for the murder of your mom and dad... just like my mom wanted to?"

He blinked, almost startled. His jaw tensed, the question clearly clawed into a scar he hadn't let anyone touch.

"Baby..." he murmured. "You really wanna know that?"

I gave him a firm nod.

He looked away. He let out a sharp exhale. Then his gaze returned to me. "I was fifteen," he began and slowly sat beside me. "I had nothing. Ian was gone. Eomma was dead. I was alone and lost, wandering the streets like a ghost without a grave. And then... Yaze found me. He took me in. Said he saw something in my eyes. Wrath and fire."

He scoffed .

"He brought me to Marco. That was the first time I learned what it meant to become a weapon. He trained me, groomed me to be an assassin. At first, I took small assignments. Learning, killing. Bleeding. Until I was good enough to target them, the male heirs of the Silver bloodline."

I listened, my breath caught in my throat.

"But it wasn't enough," he continued. "Sniping wasn't enough. I wanted more. Bigger. Louder. I needed them to fear me. And I needed every man in this world to know , not just hear, but know what happens when they touch what's mine. They needed to tremble Before even thinking about your name and that's why I decided to be the kingpin. Marco warned me, told me not to get involved with the kingpin of the global syndicate. Said that man was too dangerous. But I didn't care." His lips curled into a sinister smile.

"I went to the kingpin. Told him I would wipe out his enemies one by one if he gave me the weapons I needed. He looked me dead in the eye and asked why. Why the obsession. Why the bloodline."

He paused. "And I told him... it was for my girl. For my sunflower."

I felt my heart clench.

"But then... he laughed," Jungkook growled. "And he said, 'Then bring the girl to me. Let me have a taste., he mocked me."

I quaked. "Jungkook..."

"I didn't let him finish the sentence," he scoffed. "I sliced his head clean off right there. No one, no one talks about you like that."

He leaned forward, with wrathful eyes. "That night, everything changed. They started whispering my name like a curse. I became the kingpin. Not because I wanted it. But because I made them fear loving something too deeply." I stared at him, completely silent. Every breath, every heartbeat felt like thunder.

I gulped down and licked my lips before speaking." and why was Yaze addressed you as 'Ian'? I asked hesitatingly.

"Ian , He loved to collect butterflies and preserve them in jar. And I would collect them for him and place them on his knuckles to make him perceive he collected them by himself. " He nodded his head gently. And I recalled the jars that had butterflies in it, from the basement.

"Yet.." He continued. " he felt he was weak and a curse, so I wanted the world to be petrified when they hear the name Jeon Ian. So I bestowed my name as Ian to every sick morons and cowards. However, Yaze knew my name was Jungkook but he liked me calling as Ian. And I didn't disagree for that. I liked that. "He offered a gentle smile to me.

He looked at me like I was the center of his universe with equal parts of salvation and destruction.

He leaned forward and exhaled deeply, like the weight of the entire world still sat on his shoulders. "I took control over the global syndicate," his words enclosed with authority." And then I established JI organization. Jeon Ian organization to wipe out the Silver bloodline. I sent my assassinations' team to wipe them off. Snipers. blasts. explosives. Every sick thing to hunt them down" I swallowed hard ." You established an organized group to hunt them...? "

"For you ,sunflower. Before the Male descendent could whisper you name I wiped them off." He chuckled. " And yeah everyone worked beneath me."

"Beneath you?" I echoed, though I already felt the answer like a shadow stretching through my chest. "Everyone?"

He glanced at me, a tired smirk swayed on his lips.

"Mafias. Gangsters. Drug lords. Arms dealers. Mobsters," he said, like he was listing off groceries instead of global criminals. "I did a deep cleansing when I took over. Anyone trafficking children and women ,shot dead. Anyone pushing poison to kids in schoolyards, gone. Anyone gave illegal drugs to teenagers, shot dead. I burned the rot out. And the ones who remained... I gave them rules. Strict ones."

I swallowed down my panting. "What kind of rules?"

"I made sure the drugs we moved weren't the kind that destroyed lives, baby," he spoke, gently. "They were medical grade. Life saving. For people who couldn't afford them legally. Painkillers. Anti-seizures. Cancer meds. Shit that could have save hopeless people."

My lips parted, but no sound came out.

"That's why you always know which drug helps what pain..." I whispered, as if finally seeing the missing puzzle piece.

He nodded slowly. "Exactly, baby."

A beat of silence passed. It was heavy with revelation.

"So... every mafia works for you?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Mmm hmm," he hummed with a little nod.He was almost amused by the disbelief on my face.

I blinked, stunned. "Like, everyone? Across all countries?"

"All 173 of them," he confirmed, casually. "Even your uncle ,Paxson and your dipshit dad, Paxton. They never knew. They were moving products and drugs for the man they thought was "The Phantom,' but that ghost was me. but they didn't go with right terms."

My hands came up to my cheeks in disbelief, curling into my skin as if I was trying to make sure I was awake. My heart pounded like a drum in my ears."You helped millions, didn't you?" I whispered. "All those girls they said were missing... you got them home. I mean the girls you mentioned at NIA during the final statement..?"

He smiled , but it didn't reach his eyes. It was a quiet kind of pride, like a man who had done unspeakable things but still slept knowing he had done them for something good.

"I made sure they were safe. I made sure the boys those were addicts, they had jobs, support, lives worth living. And no one ever knew it was me. Not my name. Not my face. Just whispers."

"That's why they call you Kingpin," I murmured.

"Yeah." He looked away for a second. "But the other Jungkook, I mean when he was in NIA, found out. Somehow. Probably got in through one of the old men who stayed loyal to the last kingpin." I took a slow breath, piecing together a new version of the man in front of me, one far more dangerous and selfless, than I had ever imagined.

"How do you even manage all of that?" My eyes went wide. "How can one person carry that much?"

He let out a long sigh, and abruptly moved a hand through his messy hair. "I have men in every city, in every nation. Thousands. I don't sleep like normal people, baby. I don't live like them. I don't get to just breathe and forget. I watch everything. I track everything. I delegate, I punish, I reward. But it's still me, behind it all. And sometimes..." He looked down. "Sometimes, I wonder if it's all gonna kill me one day."

A long silence stretched between us.

And in that moment, I wasn't looking at the infamous kingpin of the criminal underworld, I was looking at the broken boy who lost his brother, his mother, his name... and still chose to use his pain to save others. And me.

"You are not a monster," I whispered.

"Maybe not," he said softly. "But I sure as hell ain't a hero either."

"And what if someone breaks your rules without you knowing?" I asked, my voice flashed curiosity, but also afraid of the answer.

He tilted his head, a flicker of that dark command glinted in his eyes. "Curious baby," he murmured. The murmur was fondly. "If they slip under the radar, they don't stay hidden for long. My men always find out. And when they do... they get shot. No trial and questions. Just done."

He paused. "Paxson and Paxton" he continued. "They crossed the line. Illegal drugs. Human trafficking. It was all brought to my attention." He looked at me .The stare had my skin to prickle. "But I stopped the execution order. You know why?"

I swallowed hard.

"Because they were the monsters who took my sunflower," he gritted his teeth. "I didn't want to just kill them. I wanted to drag them through hell first. And I did."

He looked away. "There were confidential files about me... buried inside the NIA," he admitted. "Everything, the truth about who I am, my real name, the crimes, the network, the bodies. All of it was in that damn file."

I held my breath.

"Jake," he whispered. "I mean, the Aron, he found it. It was hidden beneath his nose the whole time. And when the moment came, he threatened to reveal everything. Not just about me... but also about the Silver Bloodline. If either of those files ever reached the higher officials..." he stopped."...they wouldn't have just come for me. They would have come for you."

My heart sank.

"That's why I had to destroy both of them. No matter the cost."

He paused again, and something about him shifted. His countenance immersed into sorrow.

"Jimin's uncle..." He sighed. "He worked for me. Arms and ammunition smuggling. He was anonymous, just another ghost in the system. But Jimin eventually found out. He caught on to what his uncle was doing, and the kind of men he was supplying. He tried to warn the authorities."

He blinked, and a tear spilled down his cheek. "His uncle retaliated... by assaulting Jimin's little sister."

My breath caught. "Oh my God..."

"And I still feel it," he whispered. "I still carry that guilt. I was the one who brought his uncle into the fold. I should have known. I should have seen it coming."

"Baby, no," I whispered quickly, and held his cheeks. "That wasn't your fault. You were trying to clean the dirt... not knowing how deep it went."

His eyes closed at my touch, as if my hands were the only thing tethered him to the present. "I wanted to make things right," he continued. I wanted to step into the NIA myself, to wipe the files, protect Jimin, protect you. I knew Jimin was in juvenile prison after he killed his uncle. He did it to protect his sister. He is not a criminal... he is a brother. And I believed being with Jimin would cleanse off my guilt..."

"So I decided to follow your mom's plan," He bit his lips and spoke. "I needed access. I needed a way inside. I thought if I framed the other Jungkook... if I took his place, I could erase everything."

He broke then. A tremor ran through him.

"I didn't want to kill my parents," he said, voice raw. "But I knew your mom would, and if she did... she would take you away from me forever. I couldn't risk that."

My chest ached.

"So I killed them myself," he confessed. "And framed it all on the other Jungkook so I could take his identity... so I could step into the system, into the juvenile prison. But things... things went wrong. Paxson and Clark showed up. They took you. And they took him."

His hands were trembled. He was no longer the kingpin of the world. He was just a boy who had lost everything. "I still remember the way he looked at me," he whispered. "The way he called me 'Hyung' one last time... before they took him away. Before he closed his eyes. And I' have never heard anyone say it the way he did like I was still his brother... even after I betrayed him."

"Paxson and Clark..."his voice wavered, "...they arranged a fake funeral for the other Jungkook." He paused, a broken breath escaped from his lungs like it weighed too much to hold. "And I believed it," he whispered. "I watched it happen... hidden in the trees, standing in the shadows like a ghost. I saw them lower that empty casket into the ground, and I... I broke." His jaw clenched as his eyes filled again. "I broke, baby. I sobbed like a child. And every chance I got, I would visit that grave. Over and over. Like apologizing to someone who would never hear me."

And then it hit me. That was the photo Travis had shown me. The one that wrecked my heart. My Jungkook, standing at the grave. Crying. Apologizing.

I wrapped my arms around him, clutched tightly as if my touch could undo his pain. "That night, the massacre," he continued. "I wanted to take him to the orphanage. I wanted to take you to Eleanor. Get you safe. That was the plan. But..." He didn't need to finish it. I felt the tremble of his chest under my palm. He had failed. Life had shattered the plan before it even began.

"Later... after you left me, after we had fight at the cabin" he whispered, "I started noticing things. Jake's words. His behavior. It didn't add up. Something wasn't right, and it was eating at me."

He pulled back slightly, just enough to look into my eyes.

"So I dug. I ripped through everything. And that's when I found it, the adoption file at Maxwell House. Jake Carpenter was never just a stranger. He was him. He was the other Jungkook. Alive. Adopted. Renamed."

My breath caught.

"I missed it, baby, He was right there in front of me. Breathing. Walking. Laughing. But not as my brother. As someone else."

His fists clenched at his sides.

"They fed him lies, Paxson and Clark. They rewrote his whole world and handed it to him like truth. He thought he controlled them. Thought they worked for him. But he was just a pawn. A goddamn puppet. And he never even realized it."

A choked sob escaped him. I held him tighter, our bodies trembled together like two waves crashing.

"But..." he clasped my face with both hands, his thumbs brushed the corners of my eyes like I was fragile glass. "Do you know what gave me a piece of my soul back?"

His eyes locked on mine. "Ian," he whispered. "Seeing Ian again."

I blinked, tears already spilling. "If you hadn't left me... I would have never found him," he breathed. "All these years, I thought that fire had taken him from me. I thought I lost him forever. But you,you,brought him back into my arms."

His forehead came to rest against mine. "So don't you ever blame yourself," he whispered. "It wasn't because of you that I lost him... It was because of you that I found him again."

"After ,my hands slipped from you.." he spoke again. My heart pounded to my ears when he mentioned that he slipped from my hand into the flames. But it was actually me who pushed him, yet he didnt say that because he knew that would break me. " I was about to immerse into the flames, before the flames tried to swallow me,JI 55 shoved in and let the flames take him. He died right in front of my eyes..." A tear slipped from his eyes. I caught it in my thumb. " And then my head, hard to the floor , it lead to concussion and..." He trailed off because his next words could kill me. The terrible fall lead him to lose the sense of hearing me and the world.

" I was rushed to the doctors. I had been in a mild concussion for days, and when I finally woke up, I didn't wait. I couldn't. All I wanted was to save you. Save you from Aron. Even with my head pounding, I pushed through. His men were already tearing through mine, slicing them down like animals, but I kept fighting. I tried to save Yaze, begged him to stay with me, to track you before it was too late. Then it hit me, Jimin. Jimin might be with you. Because that sucker promised me he would protect you and be with you when I am not there beside you. I fucking knew that's why I wrote the letter on that wall for you ,baby..."I whimpered.

"I begged Yaze to help me. To track Jimin's phone. And he did. That's how I found you. But ,You were standing at the edge trying to throw yourself into death." His hands trembled as they touched my skin.

"I read the letter you left for me, Jungkook," I whispered, my voice trembled. "On that wall... it shattered me. I just..." I sucked in a breath, my throat twisted." I just wanted to die."

Before I could say another word, his lips crashed into mine. The kiss was desperate, wild and aching. "Don't talk like that," he murmured against my lips. "Please, baby. Don't ever say that again."

But I pulled back, needing to speak. Needing him to hear it all.

"No, Jungkook... I read every word. Every letter you carved into that wall. Like you knew. Like you knew all of this would happen."

His gaze dropped. "Yeah... I knew," he confessed. "That's why I wanted you to stay with Eleanor. It was the only place I thought you would be safe."

Something clicked inside me.

Eleanor Bryce.

Caroline Bryce.

"Can I ask you something?" I said without any delay. He looked up. His eyes were soft. "Anything, baby. Of course."

"Who's Caroline?" I asked.

The name hit him like a bullet.

His whole body stiffened. His eyes widened, panic slashed across his face. His chest rose sharply, as if the air had turned to knives. "Where did you hear that name?" he asked. His voice was tight and firm. "Did you, did you find her?"

He panicked. It jotted all over his face. His breath came quicker. "Jungkook, hey... hey, look at me," I placed a hand on his chest. "Calm down. I am not accusing you of anything. I just... I just want to know who she is."

He swallowed hard. A long pause. "She was..." he rubbed the back of his neck and struggled to work with his words. "She was Eleanor's sister. Caroline Bryce. She has been missing for years. Since... since she got pregnant."

He looked away for a second. "We have been searching for her. She escaped from Bliss Asylum... you know, the one they used for the unstable women.."

I nodded slowly, trying to process. "So she is still missing?" I asked softly. He looked at me again. His eyes were haunted.

"Yeah," he whispered. "And I don't know if she's alive or... if they got to her." I reached for his hand and gripped it tightly.

"Anything else you want to ask, baby?" he murmured, and brushed his thumb at my knuckles.

"One more question," I spoke quietly. He smiled softly, like the sound of my voice was enough to calm every storm inside him.

"Ask me as much as you want, sunflower," he replied, the nickname spilled from his lips like it belonged there. I looked up at him, my heart thudded. I had to know. I needed to know.

"Why do you call me that?" I asked. "Why sunflower?"

He blinked, caught off guard, not by the question, but maybe by the way I asked it. Like it meant the world to me. Like I was hoping his answer would confirm what I already felt deep down, that he was my right person. That he had always seen me that way.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed.

"We were twelve," he spoke softly, "when we decided to end ourselves. Me and Ian."

He looked down at the floor. My heart thrashed to my chest.

"That day, our dad... he did something. Humiliated us in the worst way imaginable. Made us feel like nothing. Less than dirt. Eomma, she found out. She took us away from those monsters, even though she had nothing. No money, no food. But she saved us." He gave a weak laugh. " We don't even know Eomma's name. We never asked. We don't know where she was from, she didn't even had anyone in her life. Just me and Ian. No one came looking for her in that cabin, that's when we learnt she had no one in her life."

It struck me, that's why there was no name of her at the grave.

"She tried her best. She really did. Fed us with scraps. Gave us clothes that were hand me downs from some rich kids, too big, stained, but she made them work. Sometimes she wouldn't eat for two days just to make sure Ian and I had rice in our bowls."

I bit down on my lip to keep from crying.

"It killed me," he whispered. "Seeing her like that. So we walked. Me and Ian. To Jeon residence. Thought maybe... maybe he would help."

Jungkook's voice hardened. His jaw tightened. "He said if we wanted food, or any kind of money, we had to earn it. So he threw his shoes down and told us to clean them."

My heart dropped.

"We did it. We cleaned his fucking shoes. But it wasn't enough. He laughed, then told us to clean them with our tongues."

He shuddered.

"I can still taste the dirt," he whispered. "Still remember the smell of the spit mixed with leather. And Ian, he looked so broken after that. We couldn't take it anymore."

He looked down at his forearm where his tattoo curled around, and trace the faint scar that ran like lightning across his skin.

"We walked," he said. "Didn't even know where we were going. Just... walked until the road turned to dust and dust turned to flowers. A field of sunflowers."

I could see the moment flicker in his eyes.

"We walked through it... golden heads swaying in the wind like they were alive. We didn't stop until we reached the edge of a cliff."

He trembled.

"Ian turned to me and said, 'We were never meant to be born, Kookie. Maybe Eomma would have had a better life without us. Maybe she would have smiled more.'"

His eyes filled. "And I... I believed him."

He paused, his breath wobbled. "I said, 'Let's end it.' Just like that. And we stood there, our feet halfway off the edge, the wind pulling at us. It wanted us to fall. I held Ian's fingers tight. The cliff was too high and we know if we throw ourselves down , not even our bones would be found." And then he smiled like salvation had tasted like sunlight and snot.

"Then I felt this little tug at the back of my shirt."

He turned to me slowly. "Tiny fingers," he whispered. "Clutching the loose hem of my shirt like they were trying to anchor me to life."

He swallowed hard.

"I turned around... My eyes met a pair of pretty eyes .The eyes I met when it smiled back at me when I was in the basement at Jeons residence."

I gasped softly. " you.." He whispered.

"You had a runny nose," he said, and laughed through a tear. "Snot dripping. Dirt on your cheeks. You were smiling up at me like I was the safest thing in the world."

He inhaled deeply. "You said, 'Do you want sunflower? At least get me one.''

The tears fell like a cascade, his and mine.

"I looked at Ian... and he just smiled. Smiled like he knew. Like he always knew. He looked at me and said, 'Get her sunflowers, Kookie. You always said you wanted to hold her... didn't you?''

I couldn't breathe.

Jungkook reached up, and grasped my hand where it clung to his arm. "That was the first time we held hands, baby," his voice shredded completely. "You reached out with those tiny, chubby fingers... and I wrapped mine around yours."

He kissed the back of my hand gently.

"You saved us, baby," he whispered. "You didn't even know it. But you pulled us back from that cliff." He touched the side of my face. "You were four years old and you gave me a reason to live."

"And then I walked further into the sunflower field," his voice was soft, like he was still lost in that day, buried in its golden light. "I wanted to find you the perfect one. Not just any flower... but the best. The brightest. Like you."" I watched him as his lips curled into a small, delicate smile. His eyes glistened from the emotion strangled his chest.

"I picked it carefully, avoiding the coarse hair near the base. I turned back to you, proud, and handed it to you with both hands like I was offering you my heart." He laughed quietly. "And then you looked at me with those big eyes and asked... 'Do you want one?''

I let out a tiny gasp.

"I nodded," he chuckled, "because how could I say no to you? You gave it to me right away. But just as I reached for it, something coarse I hadn't noticed pricked my finger. Blood... it started to drip down my hand."

I cupped his fingers gently now, as if I could go back in time and protect him from that pain. "But before I could even react, before the flower hit the dirt, you snatched it out of the air with those tiny hands of yours. And baby," he looked at me with the softest eyes, "you just... crushed it. Right there in your chubby little fingers, like you thought the petals themselves had hurt me. You were so mad at that flower."

My lips parted as tears rolled down. My chest ached from the image, little me, fists full of sun yellow petals, trying to protect him in the only way I knew. "And then you gave it back to me," he whispered. "Just a crushed little bundle of broken yellow and green. But I held it like it was a sacred thing. Like my life depended on it. And I still have them preserved in the basement.."

He blinked, the tears finally escaped down his cheeks. "You kept one for yourself, too. Tucked it under your arm like it was treasure. And just when I thought you were about to walk away forever... I called out' Hey, what should I call you?;"

He held my cheeks with both hands. "And you turned around with the softest little smile, tilted your head... and said, 'Sunflower.''

My tears fell freely now. He kissed my forehead for long minutes and it was warm and trembling. "I never forgot that day," he murmured against my skin. "Even when everything else broke. You were light in that dark. A little sun in the middle of a nightmare."

I pressed my forehead to his, both of us wobbled ."That was the first time we met...". I whispered.

"And the first time, I knew what it meant to want to live."He whispered.

I couldn't take it anymore.

The moment his voice broke, I collapsed into his chest, and sobbed so hard it felt like my lungs were tearing apart. Jungkook's arms wrapped around me immediately in a tight embrace.

"Baby..." he whispered into my hair, his lips bristled my scalp. I looked up at him through wet lashes. His face was soaked with tears, yet still he tried to smile. "You smiled at me that day, And in that moment, I didn't want to die anymore."

"Jungkook..." I held his face into my palm "You have been carrying this alone for so long. You should have told me."

He leaned his forehead to mine. "I wanted to. So many times. But how do I explain that you were the reason I didn't jump? That you, a little girl, saved two broken boys with one sunflower and a goddamn smile?"

I let out a broken laugh through my tears." You should have said it. I would have held you. I still will."

"I didn't think I deserved to be held," he whispered. "Not after what I have done."

"Stop," My hands framed his face and my thumbs wiped his tears even though mine kept falling. "I don't care. You are here. I am here. I remember now, and I am not leaving. Ever."

Jungkook's jaw clenched, and he kissed me, hard. His lips were salty with grief and ash and pain. Our teeth scraped, our tongues tangled. We slurped and drank our mouth liquids like it was the most sacred lotion. His fingers clawed to my hair .My nails dug to his biceps , deep and hard. He moaned to my lips. I bit his lips and pressed my teeth harder on his soft flesh. When we pulled back, both of us breathless, he rested his head on my shoulder.

Jungkook let out a soft, broken whimper and pulled me tighter. We sat like that on the edge of the bed, two broken hearts pressed together, bleeding, healing. Grief swayed heavy in the air, but love heavier.

He buried his face in my neck. " You brought me back from that death once, baby..." I held him tighter. My tears his shirt. " And I will do it again. As many times as it takes."

That's it. He clutched my waist and pulled me on to his lap. Our lips crashed again, while his hand slid into my dress to unhook the bra, while his other hand gently stroke my nipples.

____________