•Chapter fifty•

You're back? 

Taehyung mindlessly handed Chaewon to the guard, passing him a stern look that warned the guard to not do anything to his daughter. 

He looked back in front and just stood still for a second, taking a while to search out all the little memories he even had about his Namjoon hyung. 

There were very few. 

All the memories he had were faded. 

That's exactly why his heart squeezed when Namjoon's eyes remained cold as he looked at him. He didn't recognize him; his eyes were dark brown at the moment so he didn't understand who it was. 

His scent would've changed too, and Namjoon must've forgotten what he smelt like when he was a child. 

Right at that moment, he was a complete stranger to his own brother. The thought hurt much more than it should, considering that they weren't in touch for so long. 

things would be different if Namjoon had been here, right? He would've been much happier with both his brothers by his side as he grew up. He needed both of them with him because they were all he had back then. 

Why did he leave in the first place? 

Namjoon loved him much more than anyone else, then what caused him to part from the person he was closest to? 

Until now, Taehyung never felt mad at Namjoon for leaving. 

But seeing him here again made him upset and overwhelmed with happiness. His heart hurt more because he knew he had somewhere deep down concluded that he wasn't going to meet Namjoon again and they had parted for good. 

Somewhere deep down he had started thinking he had just one brother because he didn't even remember his other brother. 

Why didn't he come to meet them if he really did need to stay away from them? Why did he not send letters? Why did he not come when Taehyung wanted him so much? 

Taehyung was glaring at Namjoon now. The tall and buff alpha just looked back with the same cold face, but all of it changed when Taehyung's eyes turned ember. 

Namjoon's arms that were folded before his chest went down to his sides, and his lips fell apart. 

There wasn't much emotion, but what was there now was much more than what there was before. 

Taehyung fisted his hand, clenching his jaw. He continued to glare at Namjoon, looking incredibly close to running to him and punching him so hard that he falls to the ground. 

He didn't manage to do that. His angel was whining and grabbing his shirt near his collar, probably not liking the guard's rough hands. 

Taehyung didn't look at Chaewon and did neither did Namjoon look anywhere away from those beautiful eyes he missed so damn much. He was slightly surprised that they had been brown because when he was here, they had been ember the majority of the time and turned brown only when he was very calm. 

Those eyes reminded Namjoon of so many things. 

It reminded him of his mother, the one he knew much more than his brothers. It reminded him of the time that he spent with his brothers after their parents' death. 

Unconsciously, he took steps forward, eyes turning so so much softer after he acknowledged the rage that his baby brother's eyes held. His shoulders brushed past the beta king of the Kim kingdom, Seokjin. 

Taehyung didn't look at the man beside his brother, but he could practically feel the coldness from him, the judging and scrutinizing eyes on him. It was much more powerful than his hyung's eyes. 

But that didn't matter at the moment. 

All that mattered was that his brother was here and was taking timid steps towards him. 

"Baby..." 

Namjoon's voice was so deep that it sent shivers down Taehyung's spine. It was hoarser and rougher than any other voice he had heard. 

"Why?" Taehyung growled, eyes turning sharper. "You don't remember my name?"

Though he did look scary while menacingly glaring at him like that, Namjoon only smiled a tight-lipped smile, taking one last step forward before easily lifting Taehyung off the ground. 

His hands were wrapped around right below Taehyung's butt, and even though his legs were dangling in the air, Taehyung remained on a lower level than Namjoon, having to look up at him. 

Namjoon was about a foot and a half taller, and he was the tallest normal blooded alpha Taehyung had seen. He was even taller than his royal blooded mate. 

But all that mattered now was that he was being carried like a baby by someone he was so mad at. 

Taehyung grabbed Namjoon's collar, glaring at him even more than he was before, but the reason Namjoon's smile fell was not the glare but the tears that were present in those eyes now. 

"Taehyung," Namjoon said, speaking in the softest tone he can. Taehyung reeked of another alpha, and Namjoon did very well in ignoring that fact at that time. 

"Why did you leave?" Taehyung asked, sniffling, his hands slowly letting go of Namjoon's collar. The alpha was holding him effortlessly, making him seem like he weighed nothing. It comforted Taehyung who had slowly started feeling his anger turn into sadness. 

"We were a family; what was more important t-than being with us?" Taehyung asked. Namjoon's eyes were completely different now than the way it was. They were soft now, holding the same pain he himself was holding. 

But Namjoon knew no answer to that question. 

He left behind people who mattered the most to him selfishly. He left them because he wished to forget what happened. 

Out of the three, he was the closest to his parents. If he was alone, he would've just lost all hope to live after seeing his mother die after screaming for hours to give birth, just after a few days of their dad's death. 

He had seen how much his parents' wished to have an omega. How was he not supposed to feel the pain when he saw his youngest brother grow without those people who would cherish him the most, who wanted him the most. 

It hurt, but he needed to take care of his brothers. 

He did everything he can. 

Yoongi and Taehyung had never known that he had left home after both of them slept to run to the other village and try to steal anything that could be worth it. None of those efforts were enough.

It hurt so much more when Taehyung had cried in hunger and they had nothing to feed him. Yoongi and Namjoon lived off water, but Taehyung was too young to even drink that. 

Namjoon had been the happiest of the three when they shifted to the palace. He was the one who had smiled the brightest smile when he saw Yoongi and Taehyung making friends in the palace and settling happily there. 

But the past remained something that came back in memories to haunt him. 

The pain from the nightmares and the sweetest memories of his parents couldn't be healed by anything that Atlas had to offer. 

So he left. He left in search of the person who everyone had said was in such pain that no one could imagine. He needed an answer: Could seeing someone suffer more than me make my pain any less? 

He left behind his brothers only because he was sure they were happy. They could grow without any problem, and Youngmi had promised him to take care of them. 

He left in search of an answer, and it took much longer to find an answer than he thought it would. 

He hadn't found the answer yet. 

He broke his promise of coming here before finding the answer, his happiness, because he sensed something was wrong here. 

"I'm sorry," Namjoon said; that's all he could say. "I had to go. It hurt to stay here, so your selfish brother left you alone here. I'm sorry. Were you not happy here? I said Yoongi to take good care of you... did he not take care of you?" 

"Hyung, you could've just left without asking him to take of me," Taehyung was still sobbing, but his words didn't make sense to Namjoon. "He took w-way too much care of me." 

Namjoon laughed at that, finally understanding what Taehyung meant. 

Yoongi had always been different from Namjoon. He had the power to make sure things in his hands go in the right way, and he was someone who wasn't selfish like him and cared overly about everyone around.

"I missed you," Every bit of it felt so honest that Taehyung had to lower his crying sounds to hear the honey-like sweetness of the words Namjoon muttered. "I missed you so much."

 "I did too," Taehyung said. "You missed out on way too much than you think you have." 

"I can tell," Namjoon said in a more serious voice now. He looked hesitant to say the next words, but he sighed and just let them out. "Have you mated already, Taehyung? I don't see a mark, but the smell of an alpha from you is so strong that I--" 

"I got imprinted." 

That changed the look on Namjoon a little. 

Actually, not little. Namjoon's face completely dropped. 

At this point, if it was Yoongi in Namjoon's place, he would have started yelling at everything and everyone. 

"By who?" Namjoon asked, his voice holding nervousness. This just proved how he was more patient than Yoongi. "What's all this, Tae? You're so young. Imprinting? How could you consent to this? Mating is better than Imprinting, bay. Do you not understand that you're stuck with the person forever now?" 

Taehyung smiled. "If he was an assho-- a mean man, I would also be this mad. Actually, I was so angry and upset when I found out about this myself because I hadn't intentionally wished for it. It just happened, but it happened with someone people see dreams about." 

Namjoon hears a small sigh from behind, and his eyes slightly widened. 

These are the same things Jin... 

"I'll be leaving now," the beta, Jin announced. "I'll be expecting you to be back after you're done speaking to them. The matter with the spy... handle it yourself. I'm not attacking the kingdom just because your family lives here, but you know what happens if such a thing happens again." 

"What's he on about?" Taehyung wasn't putting any effort into hiding his annoyance. "Who is he anyway." 

Namjoon let Taehyung stand on the ground again and turned back to bow softly at Jin, "I'll take care of it." 

Taehyung watched the man leave with a frown, asking Namjoon right after, "What is he to you? Why was he speaking like that?" 

Taehyung expected Namjoon to roll his eyes and mutter about how the man was a pain in the ass or was too bossy, but surprisingly Namjoon grinned sweetly and shrugged, saying, "I'll tell everything about it later. first, finish what you're saying." 

So Taehyung did. 

With a deep sigh, he started and told Namjoon about most of the things that happened after he left. 

"You have a child?" Namjoon's voice was so shaky that Taehyung felt so sad for him. Even though he was Taehyung's brother, he didn't even know about his niece. How unfortunate it was for him. 

"You don't understand Tae," Namjoon gulped back his tears. "You don't understand how scared I am right now. Have you ever wondered what would happen if just that alpha let you go? He faces no harm at all. You're saying you'll be a queen and you'll get married in a while, but do you understand how many risks you have on you now? I have no right to question your decision but..." 

Namjoon's words and his way of speaking created a tiny little doubt in Taehyung. 

Was I soaring too high with my desires and thoughts? My entire goal was to become a mother, a wife, and a queen, but I didn't think about the drawbacks at all because I blindly trust...

As he thought of the person he was speaking about next, his hesitation vanished completely. I blindly trust Jungkook, and he's more honest and loyal to me than anyone else. 

 "Do you know Jungkook, hyung?" 

"He was a kid when I left," Namjoon muttered like it didn't matter at all. All he was worried at the moment was about his brother. "You cannot rust someone so much, Tae. No matter how pure they are, they're not worth it." 

"Why do you say so?" Taehyung asked, now genuinely curious about why Namjoon was so anxious about these matters. "Jungkook has loved me for much longer than I have loved him. I know this blind trust in him cannot harm me at all." 

"Have you ever wondered what would happen if this pure love of his is stained with evilness later? If he lets you go then you won't be a queen. If you have your daughter, you'll be the single parent of the girl who will be mistreated for being thrown away by her fat--" 

"Stop," Taehyung's frustrated voice said. "You don't know him, hyung. You don't know him at all. The man you're speaking about is the one who holds his daughter to sleep every night and carries her around every moment because he cannot stand being away. How can you say he'll throw her away? How can he throw him away?" 

Taehyung tried to keep his voice low, but he couldn't do so. 

It hurt much more to hear something so bad about Jungkook than to think about the possibilities of those things being true. 

"But think, Tae--" 

"Petal, you were taking Chaewon to Jimin hyung, right? Why did you hand her to a guard?" Jungkook's voice made Taehyung stiffen as it startled him. 

He turned around, finding Jungkook holding Chaewon dearly, rubbing his chin on her head to remove every little trace of the guard's smell from her. 

When Jungkook looked up, his innocent eyes first landed on Taehyung before they snapped towards the taller figure behind him who was looking at him with judging eyes. 

Chaewon kept kicking Jungkook with her chubby little feet, and he made no effort to stop her, knowing she was enjoying it to kick his neck and shoulders. 

His concentration was completely on Namjoon. 

And it didn't take too much time for him to recognize him. Unlike Taehyung who had seen Namjoon in a painting just a while ago, Jungkook hadn't seen him for years. 

But he recognized him. How was he supposed to forget what his loved ones' looked like?

"Namjoon hyung?" Jungkook's voice held pure happiness. Taehyung glanced at Namjoon, asking him with his eyes how this man could do anything wrong at all. "You're back, hyung? When did you come back? Why are you standing there?" 

Jungkook walked up to them before smiling brightly. "Tae, hyung is back." 

Taehyung's eyes softened. He wrapped his hands around Jungkook's neck, confusing Jungkook as to why he was being shown affection when Namjoon was the one who deserved it. 

Taehyung's next words shocked both Namjoon and Jungkook, 

"If you dare to hurt me, Jungkook, if you dare to cause mine or Chaewon's downfall, I'll make sure you reach the darkest place in your life too. You know me, I'm not going to suffer alone. If you're the cause of my suffering, I'll kill you before I die myself."  

Jungkook heard his words clearly. "Why are you telling me this now, Tae?" Jungkook asked softly, snaking one hand around Taehyung, trying not to react to Chaewon's melodious giggle on being squished between Jungkook and Taehyung. 

"You should be talking to Namjoon hyung, right? Suddenly..."

"It's to assure him," Taehyung said, breaking away to look at Namjoon who was at ease now. "You know me way too well, Kookie. You know better than to mess with me in any wrong way, but I need to assure my hyung who worries so much about me." 

Jungkook smiled, looking back at Namjoon. "I assume you heard everything that happened, hyung. Don't worry about it; Yoongi hyung has already told me quite a few times that he's going to kill me if I do anything wrong." 

"So you won't do anything wrong because your life is at stake?" 

"Yes," Jungkook's smile just kept getting brighter. It made him seem so innocent that Namjoon knew why Taehyung trusted him so blindly. "My life is at stake, but it's not because of Taehyung or Yoongi's threat to kill me but because..." 

He didn't complete his sentence. 

Namjoon understood him anyway. 

If Taehyung was his life, Jungkook would cause his own downfall and would be the first one to hurt himself when he hurts Taehyung. 

He's just like me... Namjoon thought. I trust him as much as I trust myself, but I don't trust myself completely too. 

"Look at my daughter now," Taehyung said, proudly showing off his most prized possession. "Look at your niece, hyung. Can you look at her and understand how happy I am at the moment? You would understand why I love my life after you hold her." 

Namjoon smiled, and for the first time, he looked at the tiny angel in Jungkook's hands who was now playing with his face, patting and slapping everywhere. 

"Five months old, right?" Namjoon's heart fluttered. "She seems to be growing well." 

Jungkook tried to give the girl to Namjoon, but she grabbed his collar and screamed a shrill and soft scream when he tried to part from her. 

And every moment that passed only showed Namjoon how right Taehyung was when he spoke about Jungkook. 

But he will continue to hold a doubt against Jungkook for the rest of his life, just to be safe. 

"Go, angel," Jungkook cooed. "Go for a while. Go slap him instead of me; it isn't much of a difference anyway, right? Namjoon hyung doesn't have facial hair just like me too." 

But she didn't listen. She began crying big tears when she finally reached Namjoon's hands, and Jungkook's hand itched to bring her back to him. 

She stared at Jungkook only, her lips drooping down at the corners. Jungkook encouraged her by nodding at her and mouthing a few words at her. 

"She doesn't do this much when she gets away from me," Taehyung rolled his eyes. "I had her in me for nine months, but she only acts like the world's going to end when it is who Jungkook lets her go." 

In all this confusing situation, Namjoon managed to see her bright yellow eyes. It immediately brought back so many memories to him. 

His mother's eyes... They had been the same. There was absolutely no difference at all. Taehyung's eyes were a bit less yellow and had a bit of brown in them, but this child and Namjoon's mother had exactly the same eyes, the same bright and piercing yellow color.

Namjoon unconsciously just let her go back to Jungkook who accepted her happily as his heart was breaking by hearing her cry.

"The same eyes," Namjoon muttered in an airy tone, knowing he had taken so much today.

He thought Yoongi and Taehyung would be just the way he left them. He thought they would've grown in height, become a bit more mature and just be adults.

He didn't know about Yoongi yet, but after seeing Taehyung hugging his mate and right now, patting the head of his distressed daughter who was glaring at Namjoon just the way Taehyung had been a while ago, he knew he couldn't expect something small.

Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't mated yet that was making him so shocked that Taehyung already had a family.

Or maybe it's just that... when he left, Taehyung had been a child--a small kid who created problems and had fun being mischievous--that it was hard to believe that he had his own child now.

"She's beautiful," Namjoon said. How could we not find her beautiful? She had the prettiest eyes, and chubby cheeks that were red now because of crying and had the same pouty lips Taehyung has.

Her tiny hands were clutching Jungkook's shirt. After she was done glaring at Namjoon's soul, she turned back in front and stuffed her face into Jungkook's chest.

It made Namjoon happy.

Looking at Taehyung and Jungkook now when they were both looking at Chaewon with concerned eyes, he knew they were happy. Their happiness made him happy.

He didn't want to question them about their decision or loyalty anymore.

It was obvious that things were perfect.

"We found a spy in our kingdom a few weeks back so we closed the ways between the kingdom. The spy was from a royal, and I insisted that we come here to find out the matter before taking any other decision, so King Jin and I came here."

Jungkooo grew serious, and he passed Namjoon a look that let him know that he wasn't behind it.

"It was Mira. She had sent spies to watch over both of Taehyung's brothers, so you must've found one of them. I apologize for it though; I know how such things anger the royals of a kingdom."

"Well," Namjoon nodded, "take care it doesn't happen again. King Jin takes stuff like this much worse than you think."

"Yeah, of course, he would." Taehyung rolled his eyes. "He was so rude before; I can tell he's an aggressive and rude man."

"People need to be like that to rule a kingdom, isn't it, Jungkook?" Namjoon asked with a smile. "How they behave when the kingdom's protection is at stake is different from what they are."

Taehyung patted Jungkook and pointed towards the stairs that lead upstairs.

"You go work. Jimin hyung said he was waiting for me, but I'm sure he would've gone to his room to sleep by now so you can stop by his room and hand Chaewon to him."

Taehyung didn't give Jungkook a chance to stay and speak anything else, so the alpha just sighed and nodded, bowing to Namjoon before leaving.

"Now," Taehyung demanded his brother's attention. "Tell me about that man. You seem to like him a lot. Is he your mate? It doesn't seem so. Who talks to their mates like that--"

"Woah, Woah," Namjoon placed his hand on Taehyung's shoulder, forcing him to calm down. "Cool it with those questions, yeah? I still need to meet Yoongi, and he's going to ask me the same questions you are. I'll tell it to both of you at once."

Taehyung whined and shook his head, not able to wait to hear what happened with Namjoon.

He grabbed Namjoon's hand and took him outside the palace to the garden and made him sit down on one of the chairs before saying, "If not the entire story, tell me what you have for him."

"Me?" Namjoon thought carefully. "I have similar things for him that you have for Jungkook."

That made a smile spread on Taehyung's face. "It seemed like you hadn't loved anyone when you told me that you're afraid of my future, but it seems like you love someone too."

"I said I have similar things for him. Not the same."

"How's it different?"

"There is a lot of difference between loving a man who imprinted you and loving a man who's imprinted by someone else."

"What?" Taehyung asked, not understanding the meaning.

"What?!" Taehyung yelled, after understanding the meaning.

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