The corridor leading to the holding cells felt longer than usual.
Every step Jungkook took echoed too loudly, as if the estate itself was watching him walk toward something he didn't want to accept. His chest felt tight, his breath shallow. By the time he reached the iron bars, his hands were already trembling.
Yoongi looked up.
Despite the chains.
Despite the cold stone.
Despite everything.
He smiled.
"Lord Jeon," Yoongi greeted calmly. "You came."
Jungkook couldn't speak at first. His throat burned, his vision blurring as he stepped closer to the bars.
"I'm… I'm sorry," Jungkook whispered. "My family… they're going to kill you. Because of me."
Yoongi's smile softened.
"That is not your burden to carry," he said gently.
"It is," Jungkook insisted, voice breaking. "If I hadn't asked you to help me… if I hadn't been so selfish—"
Yoongi shook his head slowly. "You were never selfish."
Jungkook's tears finally fell, his shoulders shaking as he bowed his head. "I didn't want this. I never wanted this to happen to you."
Yoongi stepped closer to the bars, lowering himself so they were at eye level. His voice was calm, steady—like it always had been.
"I chose this," Yoongi said. "And I would choose it again."
Jungkook let out a quiet sob. "How can you say that?"
"Because," Yoongi replied, smiling softly, "I am happy to have been at your service."
The words shattered something inside Jungkook.
He covered his face, tears spilling freely now. Yoongi reached through the bars, resting a hand on Jungkook's shoulder, warm and reassuring.
"It's alright," Yoongi murmured. "Crying suits you better than silence."
"I don't want to lose you," Jungkook whispered.
"You won't," Yoongi said calmly. "Not in the ways that matter."
After a long moment, Yoongi gently urged, "Go back to your room, Lord Jeon. You should rest. You've been carrying too much."
Jungkook nodded weakly, wiping his tears, and stood on unsteady legs. He looked back once more before turning away—afraid that if he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to leave at all.
Back in his room, Jungkook collapsed onto the floor.
"This isn't fair," he muttered, clutching his chest. "Why does his life have to be like this? Why does my great-great-grandfather have to suffer this much?"
He laughed bitterly, tears still falling. "This has to be a dream. A bad one. I can wake up… I can change it."
He pressed his palms against his temples. "I can stop this. I have to stop this."
Suddenly—
Pain.
A sharp, blinding headache struck him, forcing him to curl forward as memories flooded in—too vivid, too real.
The vision returned.
A man standing in front of him.
A sword raised.
Blood staining the ground.
But this time…
The face was clear.
"Yoongi—!" Jungkook gasped.
He watched helplessly as Yoongi stepped in front of him, calm even in death, eyes steady, body unmoving as the blade struck.
"No… no, no—!" Jungkook screamed, clutching his head.
The pain was unbearable—not just in his mind, but in his heart.
The vision faded, leaving him gasping for breath, tears soaking the floor beneath him.
It wasn't a dream anymore.
It was a memory.
A future.
And Jungkook realized, trembling—
Yoongi didn't just die for him once.
He was always meant to.
And that realization hurt more than anything he had ever known.