Taemin stands next to me as I stand frozen in front of the door to my house.

Seeing my state, he grasps his fingers around the door knob and pushes the door open to be welcomed by eerie darkness.

With wavering breaths, I step into the house and run my fingers along the cold wall till they reach the switches and I flip it on. The sudden burst of light contrasting with the darkness made me squint till my eyes adjusted to the light.

Finally finding my voice, I shout,
" Eomma? It's me! Are you home? "

Silence.

The deafening silence rang in my head as I take quick steps to the kitchen, switching on the light to be met with the same empty rooms.

I run my fingers through my hair and Taemin says softly,
" We haven't checked upstairs yet.. let's go. "
I nodded, trying to find a light at the end of this dark tunnel slipped further and further away from me as the stairs creaked under our feet.

The first place I went to was her room and I opened the door.

Darkness.

With panting breaths, I rush to my room and jerk open the door.

Empty.

I plop down on the edge of my bed, dust flying up as I stare mindlessly at the baby pink wall.

She's gone..
She's gone, and it's all my fucking fault.
Where could she possibly have gone? She has nowhere else to go.
She wouldn't go back to my father... Would she?
No, she wouldn't do that.. after what he's done, nobody in the right mind would go back to him.

The sinking of fabric next to me pulled me out of my thoughts as I turn my head to see Taemin looking at me with pity in his eyes.

It was a different side of him that I haven't seen before. He looked vulnerable, like his veil of kindness and smiles had been snatched away to reveal a broken man on the inside.

" I understand how you feel.. " he says with a slight waver in his voice.
" My father took off when I was 3 and left my 19 year old mother to raise me by herself. I don't remember anything about him, all I have is a picture. Sometimes I wonder, what made him leave and that's where my feelings connect with yours. It's like a piece of your life is incomplete, and no matter how desperately you search for an answer, you don't get one. "

I pull him into a hug and he places his chin on my shoulder.
I'm glad I finally found someone that feels what I feel.. that knows the numbness that nibbles at my soul day by day. Jimin is the only one that can fill my emptiness, but even then, there's a corner that stays shrouded in the shadows, rotting in silence.

" I'm sorry.. " I say, rubbing his back. He pulls away and says with a little smile,
" Thank you.. but I'm fine. I'm a grown man, and I have learned to take care of myself. The past is nothing but a shadow that follows me around, but I don't cry over spilt milk. You can't change the past, but you can learn from it. "

I frown as a thought pops up in my head,
Maybe.. just maybe, that's how I can help Jimin. He's been holding onto the death of his uncle for so long. His silent mourns go unheard and it's only destroying him from the inside out.

I look at the time and sigh.
9:54 p.m
" W-we should probably get going.. it's late already. " I say, directing my eyes to the picture of Eomma and I placed on my dresser.

He nods and I turn off the light and close the door silently. We were just about to go down the stairs when something caught my eye.

I snap my head towards the one room we didn't check.
" What is it? " Taemin asks.
" I-I see light! There's a light on in the room.. " I say in disbelief.
" That room was my father's when we come here for vacation but it's always locked now.. "
Without further delays, I take hurried steps to the door and slam it open.

There she was, her short auburn hair hugging her delicately wrinkled face as she stared out the balcony from the bed.
" Eomma!! " I say, rushing to her and taking her in my arms.
" Eomma.. I'm so sorry I forgot, I really didn't mean to.. I love you so much.. " I say breathlessly.

I furrowed my eyebrows when there was no response from her side and I pulled away from the hug to look at her. Her face was the epitome of sadness, depression, pain, and emptiness. My eyes land on the picture held tightly by her dainty fingers.

It was a picture of Eomma and Dad before I was born. They were sitting at a table with a vase of red roses set in the center and multiple candles dimly lighting the area. It looked like they were on a beach from the sandy floor that lay beneath them.

Somebody else had taken this picture, so they weren't looking into the camera. Instead, they were looking into each other's eyes. One hand was gently held in my father's while their free hands entangled in a love knot as they took a sip of wine from glass cups.

I could see the overflowing love emit from both of them even though it was just a picture, and my eyes travel back to Eomma's glassy eyes.

" Hello, my dear.. " she says in a raspy voice as a smile finally makes its way onto her face.
I smile, tears pooling in the corner of my eyes as my heart tugged in relief, sending waves of love through my body.

" I missed you so much.. " Eomma says, looking into my eyes and wraps her arms around me, pulling me into a warm hug. I bury my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her lavender perfume that I haven't smelled in so long.

" I'm sorry I didn't- "
" Shhh.. you have nothing to apologize for Y/N.. I'm the one that should be sorry. "
" Why would you ever think that you're a weight on my life? " I ask, my tears now falling onto her neck.
" I'm so useless, and old, and- "

" Eomma, I don't know where I would be without you! With everything that has happened with dad, you still stayed by my side when you could have easily walked away.. "

" I know.. now I've realized my mistake. I kept thinking that I was the disease holding you down, when in fact you were my cure all along.
Y/N-ah.. I love your father very much and it pains me to see the man he has become, but loving the person he has become only destroys me further.. and now I've realized that I have to let him go.. "

Let him go... Taemin had to let his father go to learn from his past.. Eomma has been clinging onto dad and now she's healing by letting go..
Jimin is holding on to his uncle and hasn't let go yet, and it's destroying him.

This is it! Jimin has to let go of his uncle.. he isn't gaining anything from mourning. It's only pulling him deeper into the abyss of darkness and pain, and if I don't do anything soon, he's gonna go to a point where nobody can pull him out of it.. not even me. And I would never forgive myself if that happens..

We hear a sniffle from behind us and I see Taemin standing at the entrance, looking at us.
I chuckle and wipe my tears gesturing with my hand for him to come closer.
He sits on the bed next to us and I say,
" Eomma.. This is my friend Taemin. He brought me to the hospital and here. "

Eomma smiles and taps his back.
" Nice to meet you Taemin.. sorry that you have to see me like this. "
" No no, it's alright Mrs. Kim.. I don't mind. Y'all got me shedding a few tears over there.. "

We laugh and I turn to Eomma and tell her about Jimin and I, and how he let me stay with him including our complicated relationship. I didn't tell her about his uncle because it's not my story to tell, and I don't wanna be blabbing this out to everyone I know.

" I leave for ONE month, and you've already been through a relationship. Ms. Y/N, you're in for some chores after this. " Eomma says, pointing at me with her index finger.

We laugh and I feel my heart warm up as I finally feel relaxed to hear Eomma's voice after so long.

" Eomma, are you staying here for the night? Because if you are, I can call- "
" Y/N, Y/N.. you can stay over at the Parks for another night and I'll come to meet them tomorrow morning. I'll be fine here.. I bought some groceries too. "

" Are you sure? " I say doubtfully.
" Yes.. I'm looking forward to see Jimin the most. " She says with a wink and I bury my face in my hands.
" This is why I don't like telling you anything, Eomma.. "
She laughs and pats my shoulder, saying,
" Run along now.. it's 10:30 already. "

I lift myself off the bed and give her one last hug before bidding her goodbye and getting into Taemin's car.

*Time skip*

We pull up in front of their mansion of a house and I turn to Taemin before pulling him into a hug.
" Thank you, again.. you're a good friend. "
He pats my back and says,
" Thank you too.. now you better hurry before Jimin goes hulk on me. "

I chuckle and step out of the car, waving as I watch it disappear down the road.
I turn on my phone and see messages from Jimin.

Lollipoop💩🍭
Be home late tonight..

Jimpanzee🐵💖
Why? It's already 9:00.

Hello? Is everything alright?

Y/N, half an hour is up and you're nowhere to be seen.

Ok, is this a prank? You can come out now.

You're freaking me out. Where are you?

Missed call at 9:48 p.m

Missed call at 10:05 p.m

Missed call at 10:20 p.m

Uh oh, why do I always leave my phone on silent?

A/N : decided to put in another update to make up for my absence. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Also, great news. I got a message from an " Author Liaison " from Webnovel saying,

Should I do it?

Lots of love,
Kim 💖