Jungkook's POV-

"You're sure you're okay with this?" Chanyeol asks nervously as we follow Hi to my Grandfather's office.

"If she thinks it will help." I say, gesturing to where Hi is waking ahead of us. "It's worth a try."

"I'm not suggesting you lie and tell her what she did was right, I just think it will help her if she sees you. If you can talk to her. It will help her know that you don't hate her." Hi says over her shoulder.

"I don't hate her but that doesn't mean I want to see her." I mumble.

"Jungkook," Chanyeol says, putting a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from walking forward. "If you don't want to do this you don't have to."

"No, she's right. She does need to know I don't hate her. And maybe if I talk to her she'll get it. Maybe she'll open her eyes."

"If you think so. And I'll stay there with you, that is unless you want it to just be the two of you. Or just you, her and your Grandfather. Then I can wait outside."

"I'd appreciate it if you were there." I purse my lips as I look at him before saying, "I don't know how this is going to go. I'm going to try not to make her feel attacked, because that won't do anyone any good.

"I'll try but it will be nice to have someone I know is on my side because I don't know where my Grandfather will stand once we're in there. I'd imagine it would be with her since she's his daughter, but I don't know."

"I'll be there. And if you ever feel uncomfortable or as soon as you're ready to leave, we will. I'll get you out of there and back to Yoongi and Tae." He says with a smile before we begin walking again.

"Can I get your opinion about something?" I ask after a short stretch of silence.

"Absolutely." He answers quickly.

"My Grandfather said that they have confirmed that my mother and I aren't being targeted by anyone besides Irene. He said that when Tae is ready he would send protection with us and take us somewhere. The three of us."

He nods before asking, "The only reason your mother brought you here was because of the terrorists, right? Her not knowing if they were looking for you both?"

"Yes. Tae wants to leave, and I do too, but..." I take a deep breath as I try to find how to explain what I'm thinking.

"Tae has put his life on hold for me. He's made so many sacrifices that it's impossible to count them all. Everything he's done has been for me.

"He took care of me, let me love him and loved me back even though he knew I would remember Yoongi and leave to be with him. Even though he knew his heart would break, he did it anyway. Now he needs me to be there for him, but the problem is..." I trail off and tuck my bottom lip between my teeth as I begin to tear up.

"I understand." Chanyeol says, walking closer to me as he puts his arm around my shoulder and I lean into him. "He wants you to be there for him, but he doesn't want to be selfish and take you from Yoongi."

I nod. "I owe Tae so much and I want to be there for him, but I don't want anyone to be hurt. This is all just such a mess and I-" I take a sharp breath in as I blink away my tears. "I don't want Yoongi to feel like I'm leaving him for Tae. I'm also worried that if I do go, no matter how much I try to say that that's not the case, he's not going to believe me."

"Have you spoken with Yoongi about any of this?"

"No. But I also haven't really had a chance to. We haven't been alone just the two of us yet." I pout before saying, "He's spent more time with Tae than he has with me since he's been here."

"Isn't it a good thing that they're getting along? Doesn't that give you hope that maybe he'll be more open minded about this all?"

"I guess."

"I know it's going to be a hard conversation, but talk to him about what you're feeling. In fact, the three of you should have an open conversation about this."

I look up at him surprised by his words. "The three of us?"

"I don't know why you three are so set on it being you and Yoongi verses you and Taehyung. You lot have been side by side through all of this. In my opinion, the best way for you all to actually deal with the emotional distress and damage of this all is if you support each other. Like a support group, but just the three of you."

I stare ahead and get lost in my thoughts as we continue to follow after Hi.

Tae had been open to spending time with Yoongi , which shocked the hell out of me, and Yoongi hasn't seemed to mind staying with him either. But staying somewhere together just us? I don't know if that would work. I don't know how long the peace will last.

I continue to ponder what Chanyeol has suggested as we turn down a few more hallways before arriving at a large set of familiar looking double doors with two soldiers stood in front of them.

Hi tells the guards what we are there for before one of them turns to knock twice on the door. Hyuk is the one who opens it, stepping aside when he sees us to let us in.

As I walk through the door with Chanyeol behind me, he stops to talk quietly with Hyuk, presumably about what Tae said about the phone.

I follow Hi towards a couch in the corner of the office that my mother is seated on with my Grandfather.

I've been angry at her, but seeing her like this does soften my heart. She looks so fragile and I feel guilty to hope for this, but I hope with how upset she looks it means that what has happened is beginning to resonate with her.

Her eyes are closed and she's leaning against my Grandfather's chest as she dabs her running nose with a tissue.

"Eomma?" I call out gently.

Once I'm closer I crouch down beside her, resting my hand on her knee. She slowly opens her eyes, lifting her head from my Grandfather's chest to look at me.

She smiles tiredly. "I'm so glad to see you."

"I came to check on you. I know you were looking for me." I say as I brush a few strands of hair out of her face.

She throws her arms around my neck as she nuzzles her face against my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Bunny."

I don't say anything, I just rub her back slowly as she whimpers and cries.

I'm not going to tell her it's fine, that it wasn't her fault or that she doesn't need to worry about it. It's not fine, it is her fault and she should be worried. I don't want to escalate things, but I'm also not going to lie just to make her feel better.

"Thank you for coming to see me. I know you're upset. And I know Taehyungie is too." She sighs.

Upset. That's all Tae feels. I think as I wait for her to continue.

"How is he?" She asks.

"He's heartbroken, Eomma." I say softly.

"Poor boy." She says and I'm taken back by the lack of sincerity in her tone.

I'm hoping I just misheard her as I am still holding her tightly and her voice is a little muffled.

"He has always been so sensitive." She says in the same tone of voice.

I pull away from the hug, placing both hands on her shoulders as I stare at her in disbelief. "You think he's just being sensitive?"

She sniffles as she brings her tissue to her nose, without answering my question.

"How do you feel about all of this?" I ask.

"What do you mean? I'm hurting too!" She says in a raised voice.

"Not like he is." I answer abruptly.

"You know how Taehyung is." She groans. "Everything's a production."

My eyes widen and I stand up and step away from her. "A production?"

"He's the one who-"

"He's the one who seems to understand the reality of what's happened." I say as she stares up at me with furious eyes.

"How dare you talk to me like that! Everything I've done has been for you. You are everything to me and I would kill hundreds of people if it meant keeping you safe."

I scoff, letting my emotions get the best of me for a moment as I say, "So you admit it. You killed him."

"It's a figure of speech. And I didn't do anything to him, she did!" She yells angrily. "You and Taehyung both need to understand that."

How can she be so deeply in denial. It's maddening.

My ears are beginning to ring and I can feel that I will be getting a headache soon, but I choose to ignore it.

I need to help her understand what's happened. So, I say something I know will make her listen.

Something that will hopefully help her put this into perspective, but I also know will be hard for her to hear.

I take a deep breath. "Do you remember how hard it was to be a widow? Or what it was like to raise a child by yourself so unexpectedly?"

She lets out a choked gasp and I see my Grandfather's eyes widen behind her while his jaw drops.

I can hear Hyuk start to object behind me but when he doesn't continue I assume Chanyeol must have stopped him.

She doesn't answer, but I didn't expect her to. The room is completely still, with no one saying a word or making a noise.

"I'll tell you how I remember things being for me as the child of a widow and a single mother." I continue softly.

"I remember how I would ask you why my friends had fathers when I didn't. You would fight back tears, stumbling over your words when you tried to give me an answer to what I thought was a simple question. I remember how hard it was for you to tell me about him, or for you to look at me at times as I got older because I was starting to look more and more like him."

At this my mother stumbles back onto the couch, dropping next to where my Grandfather is sitting. Her eyes are as wide as saucers as tears stream down her face, but she doesn't make a sound.

I gulp before adding, "And I remember how you would cry yourself to sleep around the anniversary of his death, clinging to a picture of you and him. That woman is now a widow, Eomma. And someday she is going to have to explain to her little boy why he doesn't have a father just like you had to do with me."

"Jungkook, please." My Grandfathers says with sad eyes staring up at me. "She's not ready to hear this."

After my Grandfather speaks, as if wanting to prove his point, my mother speaks up again.

"How dare you say that I'm a bad mother!" She wails as she stands up from the couch and starts stalking towards me. "I did the very best I could to make a good life for you. To keep us safe! And, I kept things about the reality of our lives from you because that was my burden to bare.

"You were a child and I wanted you to stay my sweet, innocent boy for as long as you could. I wanted you to be happy and carefree, not worrying about the things that I had to."

I sigh, trying to level my voice and soften my tone. "That's not what I'm trying to say. I don't think you're a bad mother. I also don't think I had a bad childhood. I didn't realize it at the time, but with everything I've learned about what you and my father went through, what I thought was you being overbearing was you doing everything you could to keep me safe."

"Everything I've done has been for you, Bunny." She says in a more calm tone that gives me hope that maybe something's getting through to her.

"I'm so thankful for you, For all the sacrifices you did and continue to make, I just want you to try to understand what's happening. He is so hurt but it seems like you are brushing that off and I don't understand why. How can you watch what's happening, hear how it's effected someone you consider to be a second son, and feel nothing?!"

"You think I don't care? I am hurting too! I've lost one of the most important people in my life and I don't know if he'll ever forgive me! The worst part is that I can't be mad because it is my fault. It is, okay? I admit it." She says with a deep frown. "I'm the only one to blame. Is that what you wanted to hear?!"

As she continues to raise her voice I feel my heart rate start to pick up, the room slowly beginning to rotate around me while the ringing intensifies.

"He needs to take some responsibility too. He didn't have to get involved. He could have said no at any point."

"Are you insinuating that he chose this?" I ask, eyes wide in surprise.

"He had plenty of chances to quit."

"You know as well as I do that Tae would never turn his back on me!" I say as my anger begins to slowly rise and I feel myself swaying a little.

"Jungkook," I hear Chanyeol begin to say before a hand is placed on my shoulder. "I think we should go."

"You're right. He did all of this for you, someone who won't even give him the time of day." She hisses.

"Why are you saying this?! This doesn't sound like you at all."

"I'm telling the truth."

"Oh, now you're choosing to tell me 'the truth?'" I say, clicking my tongue in annoyance.

She doesn't offer any answer or comment back. Only an angry scowl.

"He knows I care about him."

"Do you? Since when? You wrote him off as soon as you met Yoongi. Speaking of him, do you realize that without him that girl would never know who you were? He is the only connection between you and her. If you hadn't met-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." I growl, bringing my hand up to my temple as the humming intensifies.

My mother gasps in shock at my tone.

I take a step towards her, intending to say more to defend Yoongi, but my knees start to give out.

Thankfully, Chanyeol is still close by and catches me before lowering me to the floor slowly.

"You know what I'm saying is true. None of this would have happened to Taehyung or you, if you would have never met Yoongi." I hear her say coldly.

"We're leaving." Chanyeol says angrily under his breath. He is just as upset as I am at my mother's words. Her blaming Yoongi for all of this.

"It's not true." I say slowly as my breathing picks up and my eyes begin to get heavy. "It's not his fault. It's not... true..."

"Hyuk, can you help me with him?" I hear Chanyeol say faintly as I close my eyes.