3rd POV
"Y/N.... he's...... gone Jihyo...." Derek said to Jihyo with a tone of sadness.
Jihyo was silence as those words sank in her mind. She was contemplating whether she's just dreaming or all of this was real.
"Please tell me this is joke..." Jihyo asked as she choked in her own words.
"I wish I could say Jihyo... I wish I could say..." Derek said as his mind made him remember that time in Afghanistan.
Flashback
"Viper 6-2, you've got someone coming your way! Watch out!"
One of the Apache pilots saw an injured Taliban walking fast towards the Chinook and reported it to the pilot of the Chinook.
Y/N and the others, hearing the chatter looked around as that Taliban was now running towards the Chinook wearing a suicide vest.
"S VEST!"
Before they could do anything, Y/N was already running towards the suicide bomber. Both shouting, Y/N pushed himself onto the bomber as far away as he could get from the helicopter.
'This isn't over 'till it ends. That's when they're all dead, or we are.' Y/N thought to himself as him and the bomber fell to the ground.
'I'm coming home Jihyo.... I'm coming home my love.'
The bomb exploded, sending Y/N away from the explosion. Jackson and Derek immediately ran to Y/N, only to see him without an arm and leg. Jackson checked his neck for pulse, but nothing.
"Come on Y/N! Not you too!" Jackson shouted as he started doing CPR on Y/N.
The whole team went outside and stood near the two, as they couldn't do anything but to watch Jackson desperately and helplessly save Y/N.
"Ghost... stop it..." Gary said to Jackson, but he didn't stopped.
"Ghost, he's gone... You have to stop it—"
"No! He's not yet dead! He can't be dead!" Jackson shouted as he continued doing CPR on Y/N.
"Jackson! Snap out of it!" Gary shouted again and pushed Jackson off of Y/N.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Jackson angrily pushed Gary as the two started a fist fight, but was quickly stopped by the team.
"Y/N is gone okay?! He's gone! Look at him! There's nothing we can do!" Gary pointed at Y/N's lifeless body as tears started dropping from his eyes.
Jackson walked a few steps backward and fell to the ground, hugging his knees as he started to sob.
"Atlas 1-1 Actual, this is Overlord. We're receiving reports of an explosion near your LZ. What's your sitrep, over?"
The team heard the chatter from their radio, but they couldn't do anything.
"Atlas 1-1 Actual, do you copy?"
"Atlas 1-1 Actual, this is Overlord Actual. Do you read me?"
The man from the radio kept talking, but they couldn't speak.
"All Atlas 1-1 elements, this is Overlord. Could somebody please tell me what's going on down there?"
The man called all of them on the radio, as Derek grabbed his radio.
"Overlord, this is Atlas 1-1. We read you Lima Charlie. I pass fallen Alpha." Derek said on the radio.
"Atlas 1-1, say again your last?"
"Atlas 1-1 to Overlord, I say again, I pass fallen Alpha. We lost Actual..."
Back to present...
Jihyo's mind was nowhere. She couldn't hear anything, her vision was getting blurry, she felt her body getting weak when suddenly she fainted, with Derek quickly catching her.
Mina was already crying with Chaeyoung comforting her as the news about her brother dead had her heart crying out in pain.
"Wait.... But where's Jackson-oppa?" Momo asked, as she started to tear up as well, worried about his boyfriend.
"He's safe. He's on his way to Japan for a Casualty Assistance Call." Gary answered her, with Momo sighing in relief.
Mina then looked up from Chaeyoung and walked in front of Gary.
"Japan? I'm going there as well. Tell Jackson-oppa to wait for me at the airport." Mina said as she walked away from the group.
"What? Mina wait!" Nayeon then ran to Mina and held her arm, stopping her.
"What?! I have to go to Japan! I have to be there for Eomma and Appa!"
"But you can't just go there! We have to tell this to JYP-nim!" Jeongyeon ran to them.
"Please tell him for me unnie. I need to go." Mina told her and started walking away.
"But Mina—"
"LET ME GO UNNIE! PLEASE!" Mina screamed in Japanese as she started crying again.
Mina couldn't hold her emotions and was already breaking down. Nayeon and Jeongyeon saw Mina's state and figured that she has to go.
"Don't worry. We'll go back to the hotel to get her things, and I'll go with her to Japan. I'll also talk to JYP-nim about this, he'll understand." Their manager-unnie told the 2 oldest as Mina and their manager made their way back to the hotel.
TIMESKIP
Kobe, Japan
10:40 AM
Jackson and Mina met up at the airport and drove their way to Mina's house. The drive was silent as neither of them tried to break them. Jackson, respecting Mina for the death of her brother, and Mina, respecting Jackson for the death of his best friend.
"Hey oppa..." Mina decided to break the ice.
"Hmm?" Jackson kept his eyes on the road while driving.
"Thank you...for being the one to tell my parents about what happened to Y/N." Mina said to him.
"No problem. I'm actually Y/N authorized representative to notify his next of kin. He specified me on his CACO form. We hoped that this day would never come, that we would notify our families with this kind of news." Jackson said to her as he tried to keep his emotion intact.
(A/N: CACO means Casualty Assistance Call Officer.)
The two then arrived at Mina's house, parking the car by the street.
Mina was wearing a formal black dress while Jackson was wearing a formal military uniform, worn during awarding ceremony and...funerals.
Jackson walked to the door and rang the doorbell. Mina stood behind Jackson as they waited for someone to show up.
The door then unlocked and opened, revealing Mina's mom in her casual outfit. Mina's dad showed up behind her who stopped tying his shoes.
The moment Mina's mom saw Jackson in his formal uniform, and Mina behind her wearing a black dress, she already knew what's going on. She loses her grip on the door knob and fell down on her knees, while Mina's dad helped his wife stand up.
"Okay.... okay...." Mina's mom said softly as she and her husband moved to the side, so Jackson and Mina could enter. The two then entered the house with Mina's mom, as Mina's dad closed the door.
Mina's mom was crying in the couch with Mina comforting her, while Jackson sat on the table with Mina's dad, showing him a contract from the U.N.
"It was Afghanistan right? We saw you on the news back then." Mina's dad asked Jackson, but the latter didn't say anything.
"I said... it was Afghanistan...right?" Mina's dad asked him again, but Jackson remained silence.
"I'm sorry Myoui oji-san. You know that I can't say anything right now. I can't say anything..."
Y/N and Mina's parents already know Jackson, Derek, Gary and Keith like they were their sons. Y/N introduced his team to them after their first op, happy to have brothers he can trust with all his life.
"Do we want media coverage? Do we want the country to know what happened?" Mina's dad read the content of the contract.
Although their organization was created by the U.N., it was led by the U.S. military since they were the one handling all their operations.
"I am asking you Jackson. Do we?" Mina's dad asked again.
"It's up to you Myoui oji-san..." Jackson answered him.
"Is it?" Mina's mom looked up from Mina, stood up and walked to Jackson, with Mina following her.
"How are we supposed to make a decision like this if we don't even know what happened?!" Mina's mom angrily shouted at Jackson while Mina tries to stop her mom.
Jackson knew this was going to happen. He understood her. He understood her ranting He understood her pain. Because he himself is feeling the same way.
"Why don't I have a brother anymore oppa?"
Jackson looked up to Mina, who's looking at him intently, waiting for an answer. She has always wanted to ask that.
Jackson sighed deeply and calmed himself down.
"The short answer: he was killed in action..." Mina's mom started crying loudly again as Jackson continued.
"The long answer: he gave his life, the ultimate sacrifice to save us, his brothers." Mina and her parents looked to Jackson as they calmed themselves and listened to him.
"He died a hero. He saved lives. He saved many, many lives. Y/N....was dedicated to a life. He was dedicated to something that was bigger than himself. Much bigger..." Mina and her mom continued crying in silent as her dad kept himself calmed.
"It's why he stepped in for us when we were in trouble. Whis is why you and your family are paying the price now. You're paying the ultimate price now. If only I, his second in command, was careful, Y/N would still be here, and I'm sorry. I am truly sorry for your loss, and it is your loss." Jackson then bowed his head down to the 3 as Mina's dad started to sob, patting Jackson's shoulders.
"You still came back Jackson. Knowing that you and the others came back safely, Y/N will be happy to know that." Mina's dad said to Jackson.
"Should the country know?" Mina's mom asked.
"Hai. The world should know. The world. Because if they know, then he lives on forever." Jackson said to them.
"Okay... okay..." Mina's dad nodded his head as he signed the contract that Jackson gave him.
"Where and when will he be buried?" Mina's dad asked Jackson.
"He wanted to be buried in the U.S., next to his parents in a week." Jackson said to them as they all nodded their heads.
———————————
With the tragic news, TWICE still continued their world tour to America. JYP announced that Mina will be on hiatus due to anxiety, as a cover up for taking a break due to her brother's death. The group knew that Mina took it hard, especially Jihyo who's dating Y/N, but Jihyo had to be strong.
Even tho she lost the love of her life, she has to be strong. Mina already broke down, so she promised that she'd be strong for Mina.
She knew this day was going to come. Although she steeled herself for this, she would cry out her feelings every night. The members could her crying in her bed every night, and would wake up every morning with puffy eyes.
It was their second week in the America. Morning came and the door opened, revealing Sana and Derek who went to check on Jihyo.
They saw Jihyo sitting on a chair while looking outside the window.
"Hey Jihyo, you wanna eat something?" Sana asked her leader.
"I don't want to eat. I want to find a bat or whatever, and break everything in this room...." Jihyo started crying again as Sana couldn't help herself feeling bad for not being able to help her friend.
"I want to break everything I see unnie..."
"So do I Jihyo-ah... So do I..." Sana went to Jihyo and hugged her tightly, crying together with her.
"I'll be here if you need me Jihyo-ah. I hope that you'll get better. It's better to have all of you part of the time than part of you all the time." Sana said as she stroke Jihyo's back.
Few minutes passed and the two decided to leave her alone. As they walked back to their room...
"Oppa, how do you... how do you do this?" Sana asked her boyfriend.
"Hmm?" Derek stopped in his tracks and looked at Sana.
"Just how do you...deal with death all the time? I mean, I get that special forces like you, are supposed to run towards the bullets and all that, but still..." Sana fiddled with her fingers as she felt arms wrapped around her waist.
"We usually...don't do these kinds of things when it comes to one of our guys' girls. I can't even imagine." Derek said to her.
"Promise me you won't end up like Y/N-oppa..." Sana asked Derek as she looked at him worriedly.
"I promise Sana. I promise." Derek kissed her forehead and continued walking to their room.
Meanwhile, Jihyo stopped crying as she find herself staring again outside the windows.
'I have to stop being like this... Y/N oppa wouldn't want to see me like this...' Jihyo thought to herself as she stood up and made herself a ramen on a cup.
While eating, her eyes stumbled on her laptop. She figured that maybe watching something might help her. So she grabbed her laptop and opened it.
But as soon as the laptop turns on, the screen showed the two emails that Y/N sent to her back then. She remembered that she hasn't even opened it since the day she received it, and the thought of it made her cried again.
She then opened the first email that Y/N sent to her.
Hey Jihyo. It's 11:35 PM around here so I'm figuring you're sleeping. Just wanna tell you some things that happened here. Our trip here was really rocky. Like we're in a rollercoaster but we don't have any seatbelts and the track was not fixed properly. Jackson almost puked during the ride, but he held it in. We had to fight the cold there since we were flying above the clouds.. Can you imagine that? I bet you had flying that high in your bucket list. Anyways, we took care business here, adding more people on the list that we saved. I believe that for every terrorist that we took down here, is equivalent to hundreds of people that we saved around the globe, that's why I'm happy. How you doing there? How's your comeback? I can't wait to listen to it once we get back there. And I can't wait to come back to you. I'll see you soon Jihyo. I love you.
Jihyo smiled at the way Y/N wrote the email. He promised to her that whenever he's away on a long-term mission, he would always call her when he has time. If he can't call, then he'll send a text or an email. Whatever means, as long as they can know each other that they're okay and they're doing fine.
Jihyo then opened the second email that Y/N sent to her on the day that they performed the first concert of their world tour.
Hey Jihyo. A few days left and we're flying out. I hope you're doing okay there. I know you're busy performing in your concert. Just the thought of you having fun with the girls there, performing in front of your fans makes me happy. I know how much you love singing and dancing in front of many people. So because of that, I'll make it to your concert once you land in the U.S. Just a few days more Jihyo, and I'm coming home. We're gonna see each other again, and I can't wait to see you again. I love you.
Jihyo finds herself smiling sadly at the thought of how Y/N couldn't wait to see her again.
She then remembered the letter that Derek gave to her back then.
Y/N's last letter.
She grabbed the envelope from the drawer where she kept it. She tore it open and found a letter from Y/N and his dog tag. She then unfolded the letter and started reading it.
FLASHBACK
As the whole team do their own things before it was time to start their mission, Y/N and Jackson were on their beds, writing their "Just in case" letters. Y/N heard Jackson sighed as he rip out the paper from his notebook and threw it on the trash. Burying his face on his hands, he sighed again and turned to Y/N who's now looking at him.
"If you die, that's the letter you and Momo are gonna wish you wrote." Y/N said to him.
"I made her a promise that I'm coming home. I ain't writing a letter that says I broke it." Jackson answered as he stood up and starts fixing his gear.
"You never know brother... You never know..." Y/N then turned to his letter and continued writing.
Jihyo, my love. My north star, my jigglypuff, my everything. I'm gonna have to apologize that I won't be able to come home. I won't be able to be in your arms again. I won't be able to hear your beautiful voice, your cute laughs. I won't be able to see your irresistible charms. I'm sorry that I made you wait, only to see me inside a box.
I don't expect you to understand how to live what little life your broken heart can. How you'll always remember the moment God took me away from you. How the weight of the world was placed on your shoulders on that moment. And I'm sorry for having you go through all of this.
As the years move on, if you still remember me, and I hope that you'll still remember me, these questions will take shape. Are you getting stronger? Or is it time shifting its weight?
I hope it won't be the latter. Because I don't want you to burden yourself. I want you to be free as always. I want you to be happy. The Jihyo that I always love to see. The Jihyo that everyone loves to see. The Jihyo that has been taking care of TWICE. The Jihyo that I met at that cafe.
If the afterlife is really true, then I hope that fate will bind us together again. And if it did, then I'll make sure that we'll be together until death.
There will be a time that you'll forget loving me. I know that and I won't be able to stop it. But at least, I want you to think of me. As I will always think of you.
I'll see you again my love.
Y/N finished writing his letter and wore his gear, as he and his team walked out of their rooms to the helicopters.
END OF FLASHBACK
Jihyo found herself crying again as she finished reading Y/N's last letter. At the right time, the door opened as all the girls walked into the room.
Seeing Jihyo crying again, they immediately go to her and brought her in a group hug. Words of encouragement and sympathies came from the girls as they try to comfort their leader.
Even tho her heart aches for the death of her love, her heart still beats for the love of her girls.
Meanwhile, Jackson was drinking by himself at the bar of the hotel. He was already in his 7th glass of whiskey, but it was not enough to free himself from his guilt.
As the second in command, it's his duty and responsibility that their team leader, Y/N, is always safe. Now that Y/N is gone, he's blaming himself.
As Jackson continued drinking, Gary sat on the free chair beside him. He figured that Jackson would drink himself to death. Jackson didn't mind Gary as he continued drinking.
"It's funny ain't it?" Gary started to talk as he ordered a glass of whiskey too.
"We find more peace in the battlefield than we ever do at home, you know?" Jackson turned his face to Gary who's sipping his glass.
"You realize that guys like us, there's a fairness in war. Kill or be killed. That's it. And I take great comfort in that simplicity."
"Just get to the point Gary." Jackson annoyingly said to him.
Gary then placed his glass down and faced himself to Jackson. Little did Jackson know, everyone was also there. Jihyo, the girls, Derek and his girl, Momo.
"The threat that you can't shoot, that's what messes you up the most. You know, what you're going through right now, Y/N's death? We're in it too." Jackson then turned his attention to Gary as the latter continued talking.
"We can't snipe it. Can't throw a grenade at it. Can't even fire a damn RPG at it. But what we can do is to stand up and face this damn thing head on. I haven't seen a situation that we haven't been able to fight our way out of. And it ain't no different now. We've already lost countless brothers, and I know Y/N is special. But there's nothing we can do, but to face it and beat the odds. We all know Y/N won't want us to mourn for him."
Jackson suddenly flinched when he felt a pair of arms wrapping him from behind. He turned around to see Momo pouting at him. She then placed her head on his head, comforting him.
"Come on Jackson. We need you buddy. The team needs you. The 141 needs you. Y/N needs you. Get back to the fight." Gary said to him as the others nodded their heads.
"I need you..." Momo muttered as Jackson chuckled at her. He then kissed her forehead and nodded his head to Gary.
"Thanks man. I won't be able to get over this without you boys."
———————————
The next day...
It was Y/N's time to be buried. He decided back then that when he died, he'd like to be buried among his biological parents. Mina's parents understood his decision, and respected it. General Shepherd offered his respects and apologized to Mina and her parents about their loss. He also apologized to Jihyo, but they all forgave him.
As his coffin descends underneath the ground, everyone couldn't help but to cry again their emotions, for losing a boyfriend, for losing a brother, a son, and a friend.
With the 21-gun salute, Jihyo finally said goodbye to her love.
Captain Myoui "Y/C/N" Y/N
Task Force 141
September 21, 1995 - May 3, 2020
To those before us, to those amongst us, to those we'll see on the other side. Lord let me not prove unworthy of my brothers.
After the funeral, everyone went out to drink. It was their tradition to drink for their fallen brother. The girls joined them as they have 2 days before their next concert.
Surrounding the bonfire, the boys and the other soldiers from the TF141 had their glasses full, with the girls behind them holding a drink of their choice.
"The organization expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If I get knocked down, I will get back up, every time." Jackson started talking, then followed by everyone as the girls watched them.
"I will draw on every ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish my mission. I'm never out of the fight. We demand discipline. We expect innovation. The lives of my teammates and the success of our mission depends on me. Our training is never complete. We train for war. We fight to win. I stand ready to bring the full spectrum of combat power to bear, in order to achieve my mission and the goals established by my leaders. The execution of my duties will be swift and violent when required, yet guided by the principles I served to defend. Brave men have fought and died building the proud tradition and feared reputation I am bound to uphold. In the worst conditions, the legacy of my teammates steadies my resolve and silently guided my every deed. I will not fail."
"To Y/N." Jackson raised his glass.
"To Y/N." Everyone spoke as they raised their glass and drank.
"May you always be remembered Y/N. I'll always think of you, as you always Think of Me." Jihyo mumbled softly as she joined everyone.
(A/N: Finally finished this book. Very sorry for taking so long to update the final chapters, but I'd really like to thank you all for supporting me 'till the end. So glad that you guys are still reading this even though I've been MIA for months. I'll see you guys in the future! And if you want, you guys can join our discord server if you wanna talk with us and other fellow wattpad authors! Link is on bio so I'll see you guys there too!)