"Where are you, for God's sake!" Taehyung shouted against the night sky, as if it would answer him. His gaze wandered back to the shore of the lake, relying on the hope that he might have missed something, not seen her, sitting hidden behind a tree or bush. He had been looking around for more than half an hour, refusing to accept that she was gone, hoping. Taehyung mentally shifted every possibility over and over, looking for a sign that he might have missed a place or a sign to take him to her.
The November cold was slowly seeping under his coat, reminding him how much he lacked the warmth of her body. He reached into his pockets, wrapping around himself to protect from the biting tongue of the wind. His fingers touched the ring in his right pocket, and he pulled it out, lifting it against the moonlight. The cold glare reflected in his eyes, piercing his heart. "Do you know where she is?" he whispered, turning the ring against the soft light.
"T ... Taehyung?" he straightened his back and turned slowly. The frantic rhythm of his heart pounded, drowning out the sound of the waves from the lake.
She was standing there, just a few steps away. Her hair gleamed in the moonlight, her eyes wide with surprise at seeing him, sinking and drowning in tears as her hands clenched her fist over her chest.
Unsure if he was hallucinating anymore, he took a step toward her, but she stepped back, shaking her head. The pain on her face could destroy him. "Princess?" he reached for her and took another step, but she backed away.
Taehyung took another step, but she turned and ran, stumbling. Taehyung froze for a moment, but quickly recovered and ran after her. "Mina!" he shouted, but that only made her quicken her pace. Cursing low, he also accelerated, quickly catching up with her. It wasn't hard for him to catch up, his hands pressed against her shoulders, but she stumbled again, dragging him with her, and the two of them scurried across the wet grass, stopping inches apart. Taehyung stood up deftly, catching her before she could escape again. "You're not going anywhere, princess!" he strained, locking her to his chest as she began to struggle, trying to free herself from his grasp. "Let me go, Taehyung!" she cried, trying to slide down his body to get under his arms. Taehyung squeezed even harder and slumped to his knees, forcing her to sit on his lap.
Her elbows dug into his ribs as she struggled, her fingernails digging into his skin, trying to open his arms, but to no avail. He was stronger and determined to keep her. Out of breath, she dropped her shoulders and head, and her body shook with her sobs. "Please ..." Her low voice was barely audible, torn by her sobs. Taehyung rested his forehead on her back, hugging her tightly as she trembled, cried, and begged him to let her go. Her powerless attempts to get rid of him only made him press on her even more. He simply held her, rocking her like a small child, letting her cry and pour out her pain as her suffering drained his strength and tore every part of him that loved and suffered on an equal footing with her.
M

ina was crying, torn by pain, guilt, and self-hatred. Accusing oneself, punishing oneself for unconscious sins. Part of her punishment was never to see Lily and Taehyung again, and she had to accept it. She had to live without them, to continue, hoping that one day she would be able to pay the price of her sin, that one day, her friend's death would be compensated by the suffering of her killer.

Mina punished herself by going around the place of her death, experiencing it again and again in her mind, while the doubts and questions that tormented her remained unanswered.
Could she have saved her? Why hadn't she been careful? They had played in this place so many times, where had she gone wrong that Kaya paid with her life? She had to pay, she had killed her, she had taken an innocent life, and she had to suffer.
"I'm sorry, princess, I'm so sorry." Taehyung whispered as he felt her weight in his arms. "I'm sorry I only thought to myself that I wasn't with you when you needed me." his voice crept slowly into her mind, and her sobs began again. "I'm sorry I let you suffer alone while you did your best to make Lily and I happy." he felt her begin to press against him, relieved that he was able to reach her, despite all the pain. "I'm sorry for my selfishness, I'm sorry I didn't even think of getting to know you before I forced you to be mine, I'm sorry I put you through all this without even thinking about your feelings, I'm sorry I never asked you what you want ... "he continued as his own tears wet her coat. "Forgive me, princess, shout and hit me, hurt me as much as you want, but don't leave me!" her hands slid over his, intertwining their fingers. "Let me help you, princess, let me take as much as I can from this pain!" he sighed and rubbed his face against her back.
"I killed her, Taehyung, how are you going to take away even a small part of that guilt?" she whispered, relaxing wearily in his arms. Taehyung gritted his teeth, raised his head, and turned her on his lap to see her face, her red eyes fixed on his. "It's not your fault, Mina, you were a child, there was nothing you could do!" he kissed her cheek gently, absorbing her tears with his lips. "It was an accident." his breath warmed her face. "You've paid more than enough for something you're not guilty of, Princess, it's time to move on, to think about what Kaya would like to do, how she would feel if she now saw her friend suffer and be punished without fault? " Taehyung rested his forehead on hers.
"I could have saved her, Taehyung, only if I hadn't been scared, if I hadn't thought only of myself ..." she cried, closing her eyes. "No, you were too young to do that. You can't blame yourself for not having the thoughts and reactions you have now as a child, Princess. You know I'm right, it's time to realize it and be happy and because of her. " Taehyung tilted his head to see her face better. "You hav'to be strong and for Kaya, Princess, to experience everything she can't, that's the best way to honor her memory." he sighed and kissed her softly. "I miss her, Tae, I miss her so much!" her body shook again, and she hid her face on his chest. "I know, honey, I know." he placed his chin on her head as he hugged her tightly, trying to take some of her pain as he had promised.
"But it's time to start living. And you'll start when you get home. Our daughter is waiting for you." he smiled. "She must be mad at me?" Mina looked up uncertainly as he lowered his, shaking his head. "She misses you, but she thinks you have a job and that's why you're gone, so she'll forgive you quickly." he assured her, kissing her forehead.

T

aehyung leaned on his arm, staring at the woman sleeping next to him. His gaze shifted down her bare shoulders to the quilt-covered breasts, and they landed on the ring of her hand he had placed back.
Now everything would be different, they would fight their demons together, he would pay more attention to her, they would talk, they would be happy.
He couldn't wait to take her home and start preparing for their wedding. He wanted to pamper her, to make her face hurt constantly from her smiles. He wanted to make her feel confident, to realize how strong she really was.
His smile widened as she sighed softly and slammed into him, curling into a ball. Proprietary, he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her on the head. "Everything will be fine now!" he thought before pressing her tightly, resting his head on hers, falling asleep.