❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎

Seokmin held Joshua's hands as he sat back on his wheelchair before gripping the handles loosely.

He had been given a wheelchair to use for movement while he rehabilitated his legs. The doctors said it wouldn't take too much time for him to strengthen his leg. muscles and walk again but for his own good, he needed to use a wheelchair for the next few months.

Finally, after one maddeningly long month, Seokmin had been discharged, freed from the hospital and sent into Joshua and Wonwoo's care. Everything was back to normal.

Parker, Tom and Seokmin's father had been declared dead by the police after a long one month search and Henley had taken over the company, although he was still adjusting to everything.

A part of Seokmin missed his father but not because he loved his father but because he yearned to be loved by his father at least once before he passed but that never happened.

Seokmin was ready to move on to the next phase of his life, with the people who lived him by his side.

Joshua rolled Seokmin into the elevator while Wonwoo followed with a duffel bag full of Seokmin's clothes and all the necessities he'd required while he stayed in the hospital.

Saying Joshua was overjoyed was an understatement. He was elated at Seokmin's discharge and he was even more ecstatic at the fact that Seokmin had chosen to stay with him, to permanently move in with him instead of just buying his own apartment.

Still, Joshua would have paid for it if Seokmin wanted it.

But no, Seokmin wanted him and Joshua was feeling like the luckiest guy on Earth.

Seokmin on the other hand was feeling a bit restricted since he had to use a wheelchair and he hadn't really gotten used to it even though he'd been using it for about a week now while simultaneously strengthening his leg muscles.

He was feeling sore all over from the constant rehabilitation sessions and although his medications did relieve some pain, Joshua was the true cure.

His touch did wonders and made Seokmin forget about the bandages he had all over his body and the numbness in his legs.

Seokmin was over the moon at the fact that he was actually moving into Joshua's home. They weren't being separated. Joshua actually wanted to be beside him and he wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Are you okay Mon Coeur?" Joshua asked, bending down to Seokmin's ear. Seokmin nodded, stretching his back. "Yeah, just tired... and a bit hungry too." He said as his stomach growled grabbing Wonwoo's attention.

"Told you."

They all chuckled as the elevator opened and they got out. "What do you want to eat?" Joshua questioned and Seokmin shrugged, "I don't know, anything really... I have been craving naengmyeon lately."

"I'll get it." Wonwoo and Joshua said in sync before looking at each other, conversing telepathically with their stares. Seokmin giggled at their cute little rivalry. They were both so protective of Seokmin along with their personalities being complete opposites.

And of course instead of uniting to protect Seokmin, they just had to clash heads like dummies. Even though they claimed to be "best of friends."

"I'll get it, give you two some time alone as well." Wonwoo spoke up as they reached the door to Joshua's apartment. Joshua finally calmed down, nodding in appreciation. "Thanks."

Wonwoo shrugged as Joshua put in his code and opened the door, letting them all in. Joshua moved Seokmin into the house while Wonwoo quickly dropped the bags by the coat rack and headed out.

"Be back in a jiffy... or an hour, depends." He informed them as Seokmin groaned, "Please don't starve me hyung!" which made Wonwoo laugh.

"I'll try not to." He promised before closing the door, leaving to buy Seokmin his naengmyeon and to give them ample space to talk things out once and for all and enjoy their reunion.

Maybe he and Mingyu weren't destined to be, maybe their relationship suffered a terrible fate but that didn't mean Joshua and his brother had to as well. He wanted it to work out for them.

He saw how his brother's eyes lit up in the presence of Joshua, how he smiled at every little thing the doe-eyed man did and willingly even suffered with him and he knew that it was love.

He knew that his brother needed Joshua Hong.

They needed each other and Wonwoo would make sure of it. He would be their biggest wingman until he left the Earth and joined his lover in heaven.

Joshua dropped his things on the counter top while Seokmin stayed in the living room, still in his chair. Joshua watched as Seokmin tried to get up but failed, biting his lip to endure pain. He sighed, walking over to him.

"I'm sorry, baby." He patted Seokmin's leg, giving him a warm kiss on his forehead. Seokmin chuckled, tilting his head slightly. "What for?"

Joshua breathed out as he bent down in front of Seokmin. "I'm sorry for not giving you a chance to explain that day. I know you don't want me to be sorry about it, but I am, I just... when I found out the truth..."

Joshua's breath hung, his smile slowly fading as he avoided looking at Seokmin. "Hey, look at me." Seokmin gently lifted his chin up, their eyes meeting with a loving gaze from both of them.

"Talk to me, you know I'll always be here to listen." Seokmin moved his hands to Joshua's, intertwining their fingers and keeping them on his lap. He didn't want Joshua to feel sorry because there was nothing he had to be sorry for.

But he was willing to let Joshua talk about his feelings before be interjected. He wanted to hear how Joshua felt while they were apart.

Joshua smiled, appreciating Seokmin's encouragement. He took another deep breath before continuing, "When I was growing up, from a young age I'd already been told that no one in my family loved me and I was only conceived so I could take over the company one day and continue my family's legacy."

His words hooked in his throat and his grasp on Seokmin's fingers hardened as he swallowed the lump in the throat that tried to silence him. "My parents and my other family members would hit me and cage me and do all sorts of horrible things because they wanted me to learn how to stand up for myself, how to fight, how to kill. They said it would make me a good b-b...businessman."

A tear fell out of Joshua's eyes landing on the varnished wooden floor. Seokmin maintained a comforting expression even though he also started to tear up.

"I suffered so much because of them and I never made any friends because no one liked me, they all thought I was a spoiled rich kid, they'd insult me and call me names right to my face and I didn't want to report to my family because they were evil people with inflated egos, Seokmin, they would've killed my classmates and their parents if they'd ever found out." Seokmin pulled his right hand out of Joshua's grasp, lifting it up to clean away Joshua's tears.

"Then I met Jeonghan and it was like love at first sight, at least for me it was, but then after everything, he cheated on me with someone who had always hated me from when we were younger, Choi Seungcheol and then he even conspired with your father to kill me." Joshua's words came out slowly as he struggled not to break down in tears or become incomprehensible.

"And overall, so many people have betrayed me no matter how many chances I gave them to right their wrongs so when I found out about your father's plans and everything else... I was so hurt Seokmin, I was so hurt because I love you so much." Joshua leaned unto Seokmin's laps, moving his head sideways.

"I should've given you a chance to explain yourself but I just closed down immediately, it felt like all I could do to comfort myself from the fact that you never loved me. But now, I know you love me, now all my questions have been answered and now, I know the truth." Joshua looked up with his face covered in tears.

"I'm sorry for not giving you a 2nd chance then, for causing you all this pain and suffering. I'm so sorry Seokmin, please forgive me."

Seokmin wiped Joshua's face with his sleeves, drying the tears off. He had come to understand that Joshua had been traumatised a lot as a child which was why he was apologising for something that wasn't his fault in any way.

It was a pity that Joshua's immediate family had passed away already, Seokmin was eager to dig them up and kill them again.

"I don't want to invalidate your feelings love but you don't need to apologize for anything. I was the one who betrayed you and broke your trust. I need you to understand that you don't need to apologize because you did nothing wrong, I did everything wrong which is why I'm apologising." Seokmin clarified, caressing Joshua's cheek.

"I know I already did with the letter but that was just me being scared, being afraid to actually tell you the truth myself because I knew you would leave me and I was selfish so I continued to lie, but I know my mistakes now, I know that I really hurt you so I just want to apologize and I don't mind begging for your forgiveness as long as I need to until you accept me again. I'm sorry and I love you Joshua Hong, I want you to know that."

Seokmin was done with the lies. The constant guilt, the fear. He had let everything go completely. After almost losing his life and battling with life and death, his eyes had opened to the reality.

He had to free himself from the captivity of his own mind. He had to treasure those around him, not hurt them and that was what he intended to do.

Never hurt Joshua again.

"I forgive you love, I forgave you a long time ago." Joshua confirmed, taking his hand to the back of Seokmin's neck and pushing his head closer until their foreheads touched.

"And I love you too, Mon Coeur, I always will."

As they leaned against each other, their hands intertwined and their hearts connected fully with no obstructions, no interference, the rest of the world faded away and the orange rays from the sun as it set casted on the two of them, brightening up their love and adoration for one another.

.............

After Seokmin finished eating his naengmyeon and Wonwoo left for an event, Joshua and Seokmin decided to go outside just to enjoy nature.

As they reached the park, the beauty of the sun setting hit them and they stared at the way the clouds and the sun merged together, the red-orange mixture one very pleasing to the eyes.

"So what are you thinking about doing with the company?" Seokmin asked taking a bite of his corn dog. Joshua leaned on Seokmin's shoulder, staring into the distance.

"I'm going to hand it over to Vernon." He replied and Seokmin turned his head to face Joshua. "Really?" He asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. Joshua beamed, nodding.

"He'll do well as the CEO and with Seungkwan by his side, he'll be unstoppable, even better than me." Joshua justified his decision. He knew Vernon would be an amazing CEO because he actually loved his job.

"No one's better than you, love." Seokmin kissed the top of Joshua's head sweetly making him giggle. "Thank you love but he will be. I don't actually enjoy my job, I only kept at it to not disappoint my family and to carry their legacy because I felt like that was the one thing I could do that would actually please them for once... but now I understand that I don't need to do that."

Joshua inhaled a sharp breath as he stared at the clouds.

"I don't need to please dead people who never showed up for me when they were alive." Joshua shrugged and Seokmin smiled at his growth, holding his hand with his free one.

"I'll still be the owner of the company and the biggest shareholder but I don't want to work there anymore, I want to be free, with you, find interests, find something I actually like to do." Joshua started to swing their arms slowly while Seokmin nodded in agreement.

"That makes the two of us. All my life I've been an assassin, now I also want to find something else I'd like to do, one that doesn't have to do with taking people's lives."

Joshua turned to Seokmin, offering him a comforting pat on the head. "We'll do it together then, that's why we have each other." He promised putting out his pinky which Seokmin wrapped his around.

"So are we still dating or did we break up?" Seokmin questioned after a peaceful moment of silence. Joshua's eyebrows raised, a bit taken aback by his question. "Sorry, I just don't really-"

Joshua quickly rushed to get something and Seokmin watched as he faded into the crowd. Where was he even going? Was he running away?

Seokmin noticed Joshua had left his phone on the bench and concluded that he was going to come back, if not for him, at least for his phone.

He bit off the last chunk of his corn dog, still waiting when he heard heavy footsteps coming towards him. He turned to see Joshua with a medium-sized bouquet of roses and a little white bag.

Seokmin paused in shock before smiling and then giggling at Joshua's efforts. "May I be your boyfriend, again, Lee Seokmin?" Joshua got on his knees, offering the bouquet to Seokmin who took it and placed it on the bench beside him before opening his arms.

"Yes, you may. I would love that!" He squealed as Joshua entered his arms and they almost merged into one another, sharing their body warmth, laughter escaping their mouths naturally at the situation.

They were boyfriends again. They were dating again, for real this time. No fake personas, no secret plans, no lies, no guilt and no burdens.

Just their true, free selves.

As they let go, Joshua opened the bag, getting out a golden necklace with silver accents. Seokmin tilted his head, confused until he saw the initial dangling at the bottom. 'S'.

Joshua had replaced the necklace.

Seokmin's eyes widened in surprise as Joshua placed the necklace around his neck, hooking it at the back. As Joshua smiled at him, he burst into tears, overwhelmed by emotions and thankfulness.

"Don't cry, I'm just replacing the one that didn't belong to you with an even prettier one that does."

Joshua cleaned his tears with his sleeve and once Seokmin calmed down, he captured Seokmin's lips in a sweet, soft kiss which sent butterflies flying around his stomach.

Seokmim responded to the kiss, placing his arms around Joshua's neck as their mouths engaged in a gleeful dance, their happiness shining through the meeting of their lips.

Once they parted, they kept their foreheads together, smiling before hugging each other again. "I love you Lee Seokmin!" Joshua yelled, catching Seokmin off guard.

"I love you Hong Joshua!" Seokmin declared, his voice a little throaty and the two cringed as they hid in each other's arms, giggling at their craziness.

They were in a crowded park but they didn't care. Their declaration of love was far more important and it would always be.

As their laughter faded into soft smiles and their arms stuck to each other like glue, their memories blossomed into joyful ones no longer haunted by the mistakes of their past but instead blessed by the thoughts of their future, together.

Joshua would forever be Seokmin's and Seokmin would forever be Joshua's. There was nothing and no one in hell, heaven or earth that could pull them apart.

They were physically, emotionally and mentally bonded and they would continue to be now, forever and until the end of time.

❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎

𝐀/𝐍 1 - hope you all enjoyed this book and i actually can't believe it's come to an end, I'm going to cry. this was the very first book i planned for this account and seeing all your support makes me so happy ! this book will have 3 epilogue chapters which will be released in order tomorrow, thursday and on friday !

𝐀/𝐍 2 - the next book in my seventeen series pt. 1 will be my soonhoon book, The Master Plan which will have its prologue drop on saturday but will officially begin on monday ! If you're interested, don't be afraid to check it out !

𝐀/𝐍 - Finally here are some more songs that I think suit them and their story:
After Hours - The Weeknd
I love you, I'm sorry - Gracie Abrams
Nothing Without You - The Weeknd

Xoxo, iris ! 🖤

Ⓒ︎𝐎𝐇𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐎𝐇𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐎𝐇
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 - 06/10/2024
𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 - 05/11/2024