In The Heart of Darkness

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The sunrise was beautiful the following day. The cool winds of autumn were slowly changing into the colder gusts of winter. The leaves were all fallen, covering the ground in a vast array of colors, and Jieun stood on the back porch of the house, leaned against the railing, simply taking it all in along with trying to process the previous evening's events.

She had checked her phone countless times, but no messages from anyone came. Not even from JK back at the main house. If Lee had managed to take out Taehyung, Jimin, and Hoseok back at the hotel, then he probably wouldn't have stopped there. Her chin dipped a bit at the realization that probably all was lost.

But she had Yoongi. If nothing else, she had him. He would be her entire world now. She would be happy to start a new life with him, living it out in some town or city, maybe even a small village where no one would know them, raising their family and living a life that would honor their fallen friends.

A cold breeze gusted by, and as she began to wrap her arms around herself, a pair of arms slid around her waist, clasping at her stomach. She smiled and sank into the familiar hold, looking down at the hands holding her close. The touched the slender fingers and sighed softly as a head rested on her shoulder.

"Stop thinking about it all. If I hear anything I will let you know," he murmured against her neck, butterfly kisses being left in the wake of his lips. "I don't like seeing my fiancé worried," he said, laying a final kiss on her neck just behind her ear.

Jieun shivered and nodded softly. "I'm sorry. I feel bad for enjoying this peaceful moment when I'm almost certain our friends are-"

Yoongi's hand left her waist and rested a finger on her lips. "Jieun, you can't live this way. They wouldn't want us to. Let's honor their memory and be happy, hm?"

He tugged and turned her in his arms, smiling as her hands slid up to his shoulders and around the back of his neck. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes glistening with unshed tears. His hands reached up and rested against her cheeks, his thumbs brushing away the wetness from her eyes. "You're beautiful. I'm so in love with you. I think about the day I found you, what could have happened if we hadn't found you in that trunk. I think about your head laying in my lap and how beautiful you were then, even though you were a mess." He chuckled as she pretended to look a bit offended at his words.

"You're a blessing to my life, Jieun. You brought light to something I thought would forever be dark and cold. You brought warmth and light to my heart. Honestly, Namjoon has you to thank for his life. You changed me to be more humane, compassionate. Before you came along, I probably would have left him to rot in the driveway." His hands removed from her face and back down to her waist, tugging her even closer.

Jieun shook her head, her own hands slipping down to his cheeks. "Min Yoongi, I don't think you have it in you to be cold and heartless. I was naive to think so in the beginning. But once I started to get to know the real you, I could see there was a big ol' softie somewhere in here." She poked his chest and grinned, enjoying the way his eyes crinkled and practically disappeared when he smiled.

"Well, now I'll have to kill you," he said, his smile slowly sliding into a blank expression.

Jieun felt a moment of panic. "Wh-why?"

Yoongi leaned forward so their noses were almost touching. "Because you know my deepest secret," he whispered just before breaking out into a gummy smile, laughing as she beat at his chest with her fists.

"You jerk! Don't say things like that!"

"I could never kill you. If I ever killed you, it would be with all of my love, and I don't think that's possible. I plan to be the most obnoxiously attentive lover you will ever know. Matter of fact, I plan to be the only lover you ever know." His eyes narrowed and he lowered his lips to hers, noting the coolness of them from the breezes, and falling more in love with the softness of them.