72

Taehyung

"We'll be there in ten minutes, Boss," Hoseok said from the driver's seat.

"Hmm…"

"What if it's a trap?"

"I don't think it is. Not after I tortured their president and we killed half of their men in minutes. They're too scared," I muttered, looking out of the window.

I hated being away from Jungkook but when the new Min family head called and told me they had an idea of Byungchan's whereabouts as clemency, I had no choice.

Two weeks and he went into hiding again.

He had left the country the same day we found Jungkook.

A fvcking coward he was.

Shaking my head in disgust, I fought the urge to break something. He was a threat I had to get rid of as quickly as possible.

As long as he was alive, Jungkook was in danger.

My Angel was in danger.

I looked down at my phone, debating if I should call Jimin or Seokjin. It was the first time I had been away from Jungkook since we rescued him.

Jungkook was still the same.

Little to no improvement.

My Angel hadn't touched the piano again.

No matter how much I urged him, he still hadn't spoken a word.

It felt like it had been years since I heard his voice.

If I didn't feed him, he wouldn't eat.

We had quickly come to realize that he would only eat if I fed him.

Jimin had once tried and Jungkook refused to eat even a bite.

I looked down at my watch - Twenty minutes since I'd left the estate. Jungkook was asleep when I left him and I hoped he stayed asleep until I got home.

Five more minutes.

I would walk in, get the fvcking information, walk out, and then I would be on my way back to Jungkook.

Five fvcking minuMy phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. Glancing at the screen, I saw Seokjin calling.

I quickly answered the call, "What is it? What happened?"

"Taehyung," he started but never had a chance to finish.

I heard a scream in the background.

"No!"

Panic coursed through me, and I sat up straight, my hands shaking.

"What's going on?" I snapped, my voice was heavy with fear. I saw Hoseok glancing at me in the rear-view mirror, his expression worried.

There were more screams, then someone was sobbing.

Jungkook!

"Taehyung, it's Jungkook," Seokjin said quickly. "He woke up and didn't find you there. Fvck! He completely lost it. I don't know what to do."

His voice sounded strange.

My heart clenched.

Was he crying?

"I tried to get him to calm down, but as soon as I came near him, he would start screaming. Even Jimin and Hae-sook can't calm him down. He wouldn't let anyone near him, we're worried he'll hurt himself," Seokjin continued.

Something crashed in the background, and I sat, horrified, as I listened to Jungkook screaming and crying.

"Taehyung, he wants you. He won't respond to anyone else. We tried. We fvcking tried, but as soon as you left, he woke up. Jimin was with him, and Jungkook completely snapped when he didn't see you."

"Seokjin, do something, please!" I heard Jimin cry through the phone. "He's going to hurt himself."

I heard Seokjin swear, my heart stammered painfully.

I closed my eyes as a wave of pain went through me.

"Can you get close enough to give him the phone?" I demanded. "Make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

I heard screaming again.

It was filled with so much pain and I blinked away tears.

What have I done?

I should have never left him.

I opened my eyes to see Hoseok nodding at me.

Without me saying anything, he was already changing the route and doing a U-turn.

Fvck the Mins and Byungchan.

My Jungkook needed me now.

I heard sobbing through the phone, my heart lurched.

"Angel," I said gently.

Jungkook only cried.

"I'm sorry, Angel. So, so sorry. I'm coming home, okay? I will be there quickly. I didn't leave you. I would never leave you. I just had something to take care of and now I'm coming back home to you," I whispered, hoping my voice would bring his back.

"You are so strong, you know that? The strongest person I know, I am in awe of you. Don't cry, my sweet Angel. I am coming home and won't leave you again. I'm not going anywhere," my voice broke over the words.

I closed my eyes as Jungkook continued to quietly cry, it was heartbreaking and an agony to hear.

"Shhh… it's okay. It'll be okay. When I get back, I'll take you to the creek. We'll spend some time there. Just me and you, okay? What do you think? Would you like that?" I said, my fingers tightening around the phone, "Will you play for me tonight?" I asked softly, "Or maybe do you want to dance? Remember how we danced before and you were smiling, laughing. You were so beautiful, my Angel. You took my breath away that day."

I held the phone tighter, desperate to get my feelings across to him, "I'm coming home. Just a few more minutes and I will be in your arms again."

I kept talking even when I knew there would be no answer.

Jungkook's sobbing gradually dissolved to small hiccups.

When the car finally stopped in front of the house, I breathed out.

"I'm home, Angel," I said before hanging up.

I opened the door and quickly got out.

"Inform them, Hoseok. Go in my stead."

He nodded and left.

After leaving Hoseok with my instructions I ran up the steps. I was at the door when a sharp pain shot through my wounded leg. I limped and winced at the pain then I heard sobbing, I pushed the door open. My knees almost gave out at the sight in front of me. The room was completely trashed, Hae-sook and Jimin were hugging each other next to the door, crying.

Namjoon paced the room while Seokjin stood in the middle, facing the corner next to the bed. My hands curled into fists at my sides, and I moved forward slowly. Jungkook was on the floor, next to the nightstand. He sat against the wall, his knees pulled up to his chest, rocking back and forth as he cried. He was curled into himself as if hiding from everything and everyone.

My heart stuttered at the sight, Jungkook looked so broken, so fragile.

I turned to Seokjin, he looked in pain.

Shaking his head, he walked out of the room.

My gaze moved back to Jungkook, his face was hidden behind his arms. I walked forward and knelt in front of him, "Angel," I whispered.

Jungkook's head snapped up, he choked back a sob. His eyes were red and gushing out tears, cheeks flushed and wet. He looked at me with so much emotion that I couldn't take.

So much pain.

Sadness.

Anger.

Betrayal.

Hurt.

I knew, he felt too much, too fast.

Jungkook let out a loud cry, in a flash, he was in my arms. We sank to the floor and climbed into my lap. With his face hidden in my chest, he burrowed deeper into my body like he wanted to hide in me. I wrapped my arms around his and rocked his back and forth.

"Shh… it's okay, Angel. I'm here now, I am not leaving you," placing kisses on his head and face, I held his tighter, "I got you, Angel."

Jungkook's arms went around me, holding me. His fingers dug into my side as he cried in my chest. He never uttered a word, I didn't urge him to, I held him and knew it was enough for him.

As long as he was in my arms, it was enough for me too.

The door closed behind us as everyone left, we stayed on the ground as Jungkook continued to cry. I talked to him as I did before and carried him to bed. We laid under the covers, holding each other.

Jungkook's tears eventually stopped and when silence fell upon us, I stopped talking too. I slightly pulled away and saw that his eyes were closed. I brushed his tears away and softly caressed his cheeks.

We stayed like this for some time and finally, Jungkook slowly blinked his eyes open. I tried to smile but found it hard to.

My heart was in agony.

It hurt so fvcking much, it was almost impossible to breathe.

When Jungkook stared at me, I sucked in a harsh breath.

The emotions I had seen in them before were now gone.

"Angel," I whispered, "Let me see you… cry, be angry. Hit me. Scream at me but I can't bear to look into those empty eyes anymore."

He continued to stare in silence and then closed his eyes.

That was it.

I sighed and waited for his breathing to even out.

I slowly moved away and got off the bed.

My leg continued to ache, the muscles contracting painfully as I limped.

After removing my coat and slacks, I examined the wound. It wasn't bleeding but it hurt as if the stitches were being ripped away from my skin.

"You… are… hurt."

I was taking off my shirt when I froze.

My eyes widened, my mouth falling open.

That voice.

That beautiful voice.

The words were so softly spoken, the voice slightly scratchy but I heard it. My throat was suddenly dry, my heart drummed so loudly that I heard it in my ears.

My chest tightened.

Swivelling around, I faced my Angel.

Jungkook was staring at my leg with his lifeless brown eyes but he fvcking talked.

To me.

I held my fist to my mouth, holding back my emotions before clearing my throat.

"I'm… okay," I replied, taking a step forward.

His gaze stayed fixated on my wound for another minute before he looked at me.

We stared at each other.

Blue to brown.

No more words were spoken by him.

Eventually, he closed his eyes and burrowed deeper under the cover.

This time, I smiled.

I had promised to give Jungkook back his wings.

And I would continue to fight until my Angel could fly again.