Misery /✔/ Taekook

Chapter Forty-One

Taehyung made sure to shorten the assassin's prison time as promised but he only shortened it to meet the length of the murder by shortening the other charges he had against him. Taehyung promised to shorten his time, he didn't promise to make the time short enough for him to get out. And if he did, Taehyung would make sure he couldn't get parole.

After the search, the storm slowly cleared and the waters became calm. Rioters and protesters opted for peaceful meetings where they helped Taehyung by suggesting things that would make not only their lives but the kingdom as a whole better. Children were back outside playing as they should. The ducks, the geese, and the other birds appeared back in the huge fountain in front of the castle. Taehyung got landscapers and gardeners in the forest around the castle to help cut the vegetation that began to creep through windows and the door that led to the gorgeous forest. Taehyung had taken Haeun several times before as a way to calm her down when she was having a bad day. And when Hanseok and Hana finally moved in, he made sure to tell them how important the area was to him.

When Hanseok moved into the castle, it took Taehyung a while to finally tell him what happened to Jungkook. He knew it would break the little boy's heart to pieces knowing he wasn't going to have his Kookie around anymore and Hanseok was so excited to be back with Taehyung after a year In a half of being apart. He couldn't do that to his son, but Taehyung knew Hanseok had a right to know. So after a while of letting his kids get a feel of their new home and their new baby sister who was by then one years old, he finally sat Hanseok down one evening and told him what happened.

"Jungkook isn't coming back," he had started, watching Hanseok's smile slowly disappear.

"Why not? Did you break up?" The nine-year-old had asked.

It then dawned on Taehyung that he had been a terrible parent during this entire situation. He hadn't even let the kids go to Jungkook's funeral which they had a right to do. He didn't let them have their last goodbye even if they may or may not understand what exactly was happening.

Taehyung didn't know how to explain to his baby that his favourite person besides himself had died and he was robbed of the chance to say goodbye. But after a long bit of silence, the king sighed and said,

"He died."

Taehyung watched all the life exit his nine-year-old: his lips flattened out as his entire face dropped, tears welled into his small eyes, and his breathing became shallow. Taehyung could only hold Hanseok tightly against him as his nine-year-old cried. He too shed a few tears that landed atop the crying boy's head. He rubbed Hanseok's back and said nothing, allowing his little boy to cry as much as he wanted until he was ready to talk again. His mother had advised him not to tell Hanseok right now, but Taehyung knew he would regret not telling him. Hanseok was a smart boy and he understood death by now — Taehyung couldn't hide away the fact that Jungkook had died and he definitely wasn't going to keep it from their son.

That same day, Taehyung took Hanseok to Jungkook's grave. He had done it before with the two girls, making sure to introduce Haeun to her father and tell her how amazing Jungkook was and how excited he was to meet her. When he took Hanseok, he let the boy walk to the grave alone while Taehyung stood a few feet back. He wanted to let Hanseok have his own private moment with Jungkook since Taehyung owed him that after not allowing him to go to the funeral. He made sure to tell the boy that it was okay to cry again and to never be scared of crying.

Minutes went by with Hanseok just staring down at the grave before he brushed his chubby fingers over Jungkook's name. He finally turned around and ran towards Taehyung who opened his arms wide. Hanseok crashed into his arms and buried his face wet with tears into Taehyung's neck.