A/N: I noticed that a lot of you had this question about why Alison and Jungkook couldn't tell Chaerin about what happened. While the latter chapters will talk about it, I wanted to just drop a little explanation/spoiler for it.

I think it is essential to put yourself in both their shoes and understand what they are going through to make sense of their decision. For Jungkook he knows how stubborn Chaerin is and that she would never leave him if she knew he was being forced so the only way he can keep her away from his father's anger is by making her hate him so she herself wouldn't want to come back. Sometimes love can be letting go for the sake of the other person.

For Alison, she is looking out for her child more than her best friend. No matter how good friends they are, at the end of the day everyone is a little selfish. Do you think Chaerin would have voluntarily let Alison take Jungkook away? Sometimes you have to draw the line on how much you can sacrifice for other's sake and even though Chaerin has largely been a very nice and kind hearted person, she isn't a saint. She would not have allowed this marriage. None of their actions make them the villain. It's just human behavior and how different people deal differently with difficult choices in life.

The mood was grim. The scent of burning incense filled the room as faint smoke clouded the air against the light. In the side of the room, Chaerin sat as she rested her head against the wall. A black Hanbok dawned her body along with a white band wrapped around her arm. There were bandages all over her face for the injuries she sustained due to the fall. For the past 48 hours she hadn't slept or eaten and all energy seemed to have been drained from her body.

Her face depicted no emotions. The grief was so bad that it left her devoid of the ability to express the pain. She blankly stared at the picture of her parents that settled there. It seemed like she was in some parallel reality where all this couldn't happen. Her mind had deluded her into thinking it was a bad dream and when she woke up, it would all be gone.

Beside her sat Jimin who held her hand tightly, unable to let go of Chaerin in this moment. The man too drained his eyes out to the point he couldn't cry anymore. This did not feel real at all. His heart broke for his sister who had experienced three of the worst losses of her life. The loss of family, friendship and love.

Across them sat Jennie, the toughest of the lot. At least she had enough mental will and strength to compose herself to address and bow to the visitors who came. She stepped in place of Chaerin, being the older cousin who always looked out for her sister. Their parents who were Chaerin's mom's siblings handled the rest of the ceremony, each one of them broken with the death of their sister and brother-in-law but put on their bravest faces as the elders of the household.

"Chae", Jimin called out to the younger, stroking her hand. "You have been up all night. Take some rest. Do you want to eat?"

"I am fine", came the reply even though she did not bother to look at him.

"Chae", he called again. "We are here, just for a bit, go to sleep"

"Leave me alone Jimin, I said I am fine", she replied but it came out more like a mumble. The latter not wanting to stress her out, thought it was best to not say anything again. He pulled her towards himself, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder as he stroked her head. As he did this, he saw a familiar face walk in.

Taehyung stood there, dressed in a black suit as he came to pay his respects. His eyes fell on Chaerin and Jimin who were sitting there in silence. His heart broke as he looked at the woman there, seemingly exhausted and numb with pain as she clung to her brother for support. He could feel his eyes tear up seeing her like this. Like a mortal body that had lost its will to live.

She on the other hand didn't even bother looking at him. His eyes met Jimin's next who still wasn't talking to him. Even though the former knew it wasn't the other's fault, he simply couldn't associate himself with a person who's family had hurt his own this much. Taehyung tried taking a step ahead to initiate conversation but Jimin looked away, gripping Chaerin tighter as a way to indicate that he shouldn't approach the either of them.

Defeated Taehyung turned back as he bowed to Jennie in acknowledgment before getting on his knees to pray to the deceased. He stood up later and took a few steps back to get to the end of the hall. He wanted to stay and help in whatever capacity he could. He hoped his presence at least comforted the duo even though none of them probably wanted him around.

He halted as he heard footsteps there. He turned around to see Alison and their mother standing there and behind them was Jungkook. He clenched his jaw, not knowing why his mother was here even after he had clearly told her to not show up to the funeral and distress Chaerin. And to make matters worse, Alison came as well. It boggled his mind how those two could come after what they had done to her.

He glared at Jungkook but the latter seemed to have not noticed as he was busy looking at Chaerin. Every bit of Jungkook's heart shattered as he saw the woman sitting there, He felt like a stone was stuck in his throat as he saw her condition and it didn't help that he was responsible for her suffering this much. All he wanted to do at this moment was hug her tightly, hold her in his arms and protect her. He couldn't even control himself as tears pooled in his eyes as they glided down his cheek.

Alison saw her best friend and then the pictures of her parents there. Their death felt like a personal loss to her. When she had come to know of this news from a mutual friend, she had a breakdown and panic attack because she was unable to fathom the events. After that she had spend the entire night awake, crying and hoping Chaerin was okay.

She wanted to visit the hospital but couldn't get herself to do it. The thought of not seeing them off and paying her respects ate her up so she mustered every bit of courage and came to the funeral. She knew when she faced her best friend, she'd be filled up with guilt and the realization of what she had done.

Chaerin who had been till now dormant, looked up as she saw footsteps approaching. Her eyes went from being blank to flaring in anger as she realized it was Alison standing there. And behind her was Jungkook. She immediately let go of Jimin's hand as she stared at the woman. Alison's eyes met her, not sure what to say to the person who was once her best friend.

All of the people in the room went rigid as Chaerin stood up and walked towards the other woman. Jimin looked at Jennie, motioning with his eyes if the other knew what their youngest cousin was about to do. Pin drop silence took over the funeral hall as everyone anticipated Chaerin's next move.

All of a sudden, a loud noise was heard. The whole room gasped as Chaerin slapped Alison hard onto the face. The latter's face fell to the side, her hair covering it as she let the other hit her, almost as if she was accepting it as a punishment for her actions. Before she could even recover, Chaerin raised her and slapped her a second time with so much force that her finger prints were etched in red on the other's skin. "Chae!", Jimin said, exasperated as he pulled her back.

"Alison", Jungkook quickly rushed to her aid, taking the woman away from Chaerin. He stopped as he looked at the latter who met his eyes next.

"How dare you show up here?", Chaerin asked, tears rolling down her cheeks and her voice shaking. "HOW DARE YOU SHOW UP HERE AFTER WHAT YOU DID", she screamed like a maniac. Tears also rolled down Alison's cheeks as she could hear the raw pain in her best friend's voice. "YOU PLAYED WITH ALL OUR EMOTIONS, MADE US ALL CRUMBLE IN PAIN AND YOU THINK YOU CAN ATTEND MY PARENT'S FUNERAL YOU FUCKING TWO FACED BITCH"

"Chaerin. Chaerin. Chae, calm down", Jimin tried to pull her away once again. She wrestled herself out of the man's grip, pushing Jimin into the wall as she lunged towards Jungkook. Holding him by the collar, she shoved him as hard as she could. Jungkook resisted, trying his best to not hurt her and make sure the impact of the force didn't hurt Alison either who was pregnant.

"Get out, get out of here. GET OUT", she screamed. "AFTER ALL MY PARENTS DID FOR BOTH OF YOU, YOU DONT DESERVE TO BE HERE. YOU ARE THE REASON THEY ARE DEAD. IF YOU HADN'T DONE WHAT YOU DID, THEY WOULE HAVE NEVER COME TO SEE YOU AND TODAY THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN ALIVE", she cried.

"YOU DONT DESERVE TO SEE THEM OFF IN THEIR LAST MOMENTS. LET THEM LEAVE IN PEACE", she cried, falling to her feet. "LEAVE THIS INSTACE", she shrieked her throat out. "LEAVE..."

"Let's go", Jungkook whispered in Alison's ears. "Leave me", Alison resisted his hold on her. "I want to be with her. She needs me", with that she tried to approach Chaerin.

"She doesn't want you here and your presence is upsetting her. If you care about her and the baby, let's leave right now. Let her grieve in peace. We have done enough damage and the least we can do is uphold her wish for the last time", he spoke, helping her up. Alison met his eyes and the man was almost pleading her to go.

Knowing that Jungkook's words were right, Alison stood up. One last look at Chaerin who was crying in Jimin's arms, she took a step back. Unable to hold back her own tears, she watched how broken her best friend was. And she was the reason. She took away all the precious people from her life and she felt like a monster right now.

Had her parents not drove all the way to her mansion to talk to her, they wouldn't have gotten in that accident that killed them. It was all her fault. Involuntarily she let Jungkook take her out of the room. With one last look at the woman, she walked away, not knowing that this was probably the last time she was going to see Chaerin.

———•••———

Chaerin was back in the house. After pleading Jimin and Jennie for hours, they finally let her be by herself and left to go to their own homes. She sat on the sofa as she looked around the space that was now empty. That one spot in the kitchen where her dad opened his cookbook and leaned over the counter to read it. Or that small space in the living room where her mother put a swing so she could watch her crime shows in peace. All those spaces were now empty.

The house felt like a shell and Chaerin couldn't bear to look at it or live in it. Every nook and corner had memories of her with her parents. This was the house they raised her in and without them she wasn't going to stay. She stood up to grab her phone. Opening the browser, she found herself booking a one way ticket to the states.

She was sick and tired of this city. Nothing nice had come from moving here. She was exhausted because of the people here who had drained out every bit of happiness from her and now all she wanted to do was ghost them and leave forever.

She paid for the ticket as she walked to her room to gather her things. She had no plan or outlook for the rest of her life. Her only priority was escaping from here and then she would move to some city in the US where she could start fresh.

After what felt like hours of packing, she removed three full suitcases and put them in the living room. She stood in front of a picture from her parent's wedding as she looked at them.

"Mom. Dad. I cannot live here anymore. I don't like this place. I don't like this city. It is suffocating. I feel like there is an invisible hand gripping my throat and I cannot breathe. I hate it here. I hate it so much, it is driving me crazy. I know this is random. I haven't even finished grieving. But I have to leave. I cannot continue to live in a place where I am not welcome", with that tears rolled down her eyes as she picked up the photo frame.

"I will preserve your home the way it is. Every bit of it just the way you left it. Maybe one day I will come back and talk to you both. But until I find the strength to live here, I should go. I should probably take some time to heal, to mend this broken heart. I have to take care of myself. I know you would say the same. I love you both so much, even though I never said it to you....", her voice trailed off as she tried to fight back tears again. "I hope you are happy wherever you are. Chaerin will take care of herself and grow into someone you will be very proud of. Till we meet again, goodbye"

With that she grabbed her bags as she walked towards the main door. Taking one last look at the house, she grabbed the lock to finally close this chapter of her life.

———•••———

"Mam, will this take time? If then, I'll park to the side"

"Just a minute", Chaerin said to the taxi driver as she stood outside the mansion that Jungkook and Alison were in the future going to call home. She stood there as she kept looking at the place, relieving the memories from the day she confronted his dad.

"You were right Ali", she spoke softly. "When you told me not to be this nice to the world. Because good people get taken advantage of", with that she laughed a bit. "Look what happened to me. Being good did take me far except in the wrong direction"

"Was I that bad a friend? Was I that bad a lover?", she continued her monologue. "Did I hurt you both in any way that made you take the steps you did? I must have done something to deserve this. Because if not, why did you do this to me? Was it fun toying with me or were you both just indifferent to my feelings?"

Silence took over where the only sound was the crickets chirping. In the distance Chaerin could see someone walk right across the living room whose giant windows faced where she was standing.

"All I wanted in life was to be happy, to be loved and to give love. To cherish the people who meant the world to me. But you got me entangled in these dirty little games of yours. Took away everything I had without giving it one thought. Squeezed the life out of me and then left me to die. Rich people — they love their power, money, wealth and grandeur, don't they? You think your fortune can buy everything? Let's see if it can buy your way out of your own doom. I'll come for each one of you and take away your happiness exactly the way you took away mine — piece by piece"

A/N: Its going to be bad bitch Chae era and I want you all to get geared up for it!!