Five years later

The landscape outside glimmered past like the scenes of a never-ending flip book. The low rumble of the train's engine provided a pleasant background and faded into the picturesque visuals. Signs of the threateningly growing 'urbanisation' were evident as the cityscape lasted longer before shifting to the coolness of pasture. Flocks of birds and cattle wandered aimlessly over large plots of farmland. It looked as though it was taken right out of a Wordsworth's poem. One could almost imagine the melancholic melody of the solitary reaper as she worked tirelessly on one such fields.

Kira peeled her eyes away and looked over at Taehyung. He had managed to fall asleep. His shoulders heaved with every breath and his head leant heavily over the cold glass window. She sighed. It was only at moments like these that he truly looked peaceful. But these moments were hard to come by. Ever since the death of Jungkook, Taehyung was a changed man. He was not the same and he never could be. For, a part of him had perished along with Jungkook and Yeongjin in that abandoned warehouse.

Kira had seen him hours after the incident; bloody and broken. He couldn't bring himself to neither speak nor cry. They'd arranged the funeral soon after and he had managed to show up in black. And then, he vanished. For over a year, no one knew where he went or what he did. No one bothered enquiring, for they knew that he needed time to heal. Kira liked to believe that Jungkook was his soulmate. Loosing him was the kind of pain she couldn't even fathom. Taehyung was never at peace. Survivor's guilt on top of that questioned every minute of his existence. He believed this to be the god's way of punishing him for his previous crimes. His goofy carefree smiles were a myth, only to be seen at very precious occasions. Kira could only hope to be there for him when he needed warmth.

Kira was startled with the sudden onset of her phone. She answered the call only to be greeted by Jin from the other side. Ever since she moved out, phone calls had turned into their lifelines. Of course, they still saw each other everyday but that didn't stop them from calling her anyway.

"Got there yet?"

"No. We're still in train. Half an hour more to our station."

"How is he?"

"He's sleeping for now."

"Good. Guess where I am?"

"Where?"

"Wait, I'll give you a hint." Kira listened as the phone got transferred over to someone else.

"Hello?" An elderly voice spoke.

"Hello, Professor Jung." Kira smiled. "Having a good time?"

"Yes, I am! My two sons are taking me fishing." He replied excitedly.

"That's nice." Kira chuckled. "I hope the boys are not troubling you too much."

"Of course not! I-" His voice was suddenly cut off and was replaced with Hoseok's. "Oi Kira! You sound like a mom. Stop hogging our time, will you?"

"Gee thanks,I feel special." Kira replied sarcastically.

"Alright, we got to get going. I'll send you pictures! Text me when you get there. Bye!" And with that, the line went silent. Kira switched the phone off and smiled to herself. A few years ago, Hoseok had finally mustered up the courage to open up to his father. It had been a pleasant journey ever since. Professor Jung had cried his eyes out the day he got his son back. He had initially been guilty, abstaining to call Hoseok his son, for he believed he didn't deserve it. Hoseok let him know that he bore no such hard feelings and that was he was actually glad that he was adopted. He wouldn't be who he was today without his parents who loved him. Upon learning that Jin was his adopted brother, he had hugged them both tight and declared that he now had not one but two sons.

Both Namjoon and Jimin had returned back to the states with the promise of returning more frequently than before. Aside from working, Yoongi continued with his music production. After the breakthrough of a piece, he got steady demand and quit his job at Mirai to work full time on music. Despite his busy schedule, he managed to make time for them. His grandmother unfortunately took leave to rest eternally.

Across her, Taehyung stirred in his sleep and blinked his eyes open. He looked over at Kira and then outside the window to know where they were. Kira smiled at him. "We'll get there soon."

***

Kira opened the faucet and gathered the cold water in her cupped hands. She splashed it on to her face and watched her dripping reflection in the mirror. She pulled out the towel and dabbed her face dry. This house had always reminded her of gloominess and now, it was only getting gloomier. It was unanimously accepted that Jungkook be buried in a beautiful place and there was no other place more suited than this island. With a stunning view of the sea, the raised island was an ambassador of green. Kira looked outside the window to watch Taehyung sitting across Jungkook's grave. They came here once every year so that he could talk his heart out to his friend. He'd been sitting there for hours now, talking non-stop. Kira had watched him ramble, laugh and cry all alone but she did not want to interrupt him.

Now, as the sun was slowly showing signs of its departure, Kira decided to go to him. She took her time and got out of the house, put on her sandals and walked slowly over the porch towards the elevated land. She moved towards him, careful not to eavesdrop on their conversation and sat silently next to him.

"She's here. I can finally tell you the best thing that happened this year." Taehyung took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers. "I asked her to marry me. She said yes and we got married a month later." He tenderly kissed her ringed finger. "It was beautiful. You'd have loved it. They cleared up our spot by the forest and turned that place even prettier. That place is special and this made it even more special. She looked gorgeous. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I would have been completely shattered if it weren't for her."

Kira understood how open and genuine the conversation was. Kira could almost imagine seeing Jungkook, smiling, sitting cross legged across from them. She could almost hear him say "Ah Hyung, I am so happy for you." Instead, resting beneath the erected stone was a bouquet of fresh yellow flowers. Kira felt a pang of pain go through her chest. She missed him. She missed his ever-radiant smile.

"I kept my promise" Taehyung continued. "I did my part of the deal but I wanted to read it out to you here anyway." He took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and cleared his throat. "Five years ago, when I had just realised my feelings for Minjee, I remember being terrified. Jungkook had been with me back then and he had noticed my nervousness. He had told me that life was too short for petty revenges and that I should simply go ahead and talk to Minjee. I did and good heavens, it turned out she liked me back. Jungkook had joked back then that if I were to marry her, I had to give him credit when he inevitably became my best man. The deal was that I repeat the exact same words in front of everyone. Here it goes: 'Jungkook is the only reason why the sky still has clouds, the water glints blue, the birds chirp melodiously and essentially why the world still lives. There is no greater man than my best man. All hail the ferocious, ultimate, handsome, supercool, badass King Jungkook! Let's get this bread, everyone!' I don't think any other words could honour his presence more. I raise this toast to my best man, Jeon Jungkook. May his soul rest in peace."

Kira's eyes filled up and she blinked to let them run down her cheeks. Next to her, Taehyung was crying too. "I miss you. I miss you so damn much." He whispered as he tightly gripped her hands.

***

Droplets of fading sunlight glittered onto the dark waves of the sea. Kira kicked her legs back and forth, hitting the stone walls that they sat upon. The water whooshed far below their feet, tirelessly washing over the jutting rocks. The wind blew pleasantly over their faces as though trying to take the sadness away. Next to her, Taehyung breathed in the fresh air, his hair fluttering over its parting. His loose blue shirt stuck to his chest while his arms spread open to take in the breeze. They'd both been quiet for a while, letting nature do all the talking.

"I never really told you where I went... The year I..." He took a deep breath. "The year I left." Taehyung spoke, breaking the silence.

Kira shook her head.

"For the most part, I wandered aimlessly. I just wanted to get out of here. Or any place that would remind me of him for that matter. I was disturbed. No place seemed good enough. Anywhere I went, I would try find something to relate to him. It's like... I wanted an excuse to escape. I was going crazy."

She listened intently.

"In the end, instead of trying to forget him, I thought I should take a journey seeking a path of repentance. And then, I came across this small village. It was so detached from the city that I wasn't even sure where I was. I was there for over a month in an inn by the river. It was pretty but more than that, it was peaceful. Gave me a lot of time to think... and grieve. He'd always wanted to go somewhere like that. He's old fashioned that way. As ironic as it sounds, he preferred the calm and quiet of a village over the bustle of a city. Maybe it's because he was born and brought up in a city that the idea of a rustic place amused him. I've done a lot of bad things, Minjee; and I couldn't help but feel as though he got the worst end of it." He sighed, his eyes wandering further and further away. "But I've learned to accept it. If I try hard enough, maybe I can outdo the bad with good. I can only hope that I do enough good for him too." A comfortable silence settled over them.

"I think he's sitting there; you know?" Said Kira after a while.

"Where?"

"The meadow." She replied smiling at the sea. This certain ledge that they sat on held a significant place in her castle of memories. She was determined to make more with him.

"The one from your vision?" He asked. Kira noticed how he used the word she'd used an year ago: Vision. Not a dream but a vision. A dream would imply that it was just a figment of her imagination but a vision carried a certain amount of hope to it.

"Mhm. He was perfect there. Like he was an essential part of the scenery itself. I still don't know why I saw it that day but every time I think about it, I can't help but feel that it was a signal. A signal that says he's happy wherever he is." Kira scooted closer to her husband. "Can you imagine, Tae? Jungkook startling poor lost souls like me with his laugh. It was so clear. He giggled like it was a melody on its own. He's having a good time, yellow flowers all around him. He won't get lonely because he'll meet people who accidentally stumble across that place and he'll have a good time teasing them."

Taehyung smiled along with her. "I can imagine that."

"If he ever gets bored, he can always look down upon us." Kira used the long sleeve of her t-shirt to wipe away the tears that stuck persistently onto his cheeks. "He'll smile back if he sees you smiling. He knows that you 're always there for him. So, give him plenty reasons to smile, yeah?"

"Yeah." He sniffled. He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. He kissed the sides of her temple and chuckled softly. "Yeah." He repeated again.

As the sun started its descend, they held onto each other. It was just him, her and their silent conversation with the sea. Life had much more in stock for them but moments like these healed and recharged them to face it head on. If she were to recount everything that had happened to her until now to herself from six years ago, she'd have dismissed it as a silly tale. But no matter how ridiculous the world seemed, nothing happened without a purpose. Kira had good enough reasons to believe that she found answers to hers.