Taehyung was true to his promise. He was persistent in his effort to be in Jungkook's life, in whichever the tiny capacity the prince allowed. He made his presence so frequent in Jungkook's day, that the latter gradually started to miss it when withdrawn. Jungkook started to miss the flower branches on the days he didn't get them, even though he hardly acknowledged it on the days he did. He didn't even know when he started to anticipate Taehyung to wait for him after work, only realizing it when his heart felt heavy on the days the latter was not there.

Jungkook was especially rude to Taehyung on the few rare occasions where the latter tried to give him something bought with money. Taehyung might not have realized that the reason for Jungkook's anger is that he didn't want Taehyung to spend money, but he took note of Jungkook's distaste and only brought stuff like flowers and fruits from then onwards. Flowers, at least, didn't get thrown back at him.

A few months passed like that and both Jungkook and Jimin adjusted to their new lives well. They had a steady income, it wasn't much but it was enough to get them through the day. Yoongi tried to lower the rent a few times, under the reasoning of Jimin being a long term tenant now, but the latter didn't accept that. Jimin knew Yoongi's intentions, or at least he could make a solid guess about it, and it was not a route he was ready to explore yet. Jimin had made up his mind to devote his life completely to Jungkook. He couldn't afford the luxury of starting something new.

Jimin's perception of Taehyung started to change gradually as well. He was angry with Taehyung in the beginning, much more than Jungkook even. But with time, he was able to look past the anger and see why things happened the way it did. He was no stranger to not having any choice and obeying orders. He was angry on behalf of his prince, but now, he didn't really bear any animosity towards Taehyung. Not after seeing the effort he is putting in his apology.

That's why, one day, he was waiting for Taehyung, as he accompanied Jungkook when the latter returned from work. Jimin saw how Taehyung watched Jungkook walking into the house, without saying anything. Taehyung's face had a neutral expression until the prince was out of sight, and then it fell into a painful one. The disappointment and longing was so clear on his face, even his footsteps lacked the usual energy as he walked back.

Jimin waited till Taehyung was closer, before coming out of his hiding place, making the latter let out a tiny gasp in response.

"Dear God!" Taehyung exclaimed. "You scared the shit out of me!"

Jimin shrugged his shoulders. "Not my fault that you're a scaredy cat."

"I'm not. You just popped out like a ghost."

They walked side by side for a few minutes. Taehyung waited patiently, as he knew Jimin wouldn't be here unless he had something important to say.

"Jungkook probably will not go to work tomorrow."

If Taehyung was surprised, he didn't show it. "Is that so? Does he have some other work?"

"Not really."

It's not unusual for Jungkook to take a day-off but Jimin's seriousness in this matter clearly told Taehyung that there was more to it. "Then?"

Jimin's reply came a few seconds late. "It's his birthday tomorrow."

"Oh." Taehyung was speechless for a minute. "So he will be busy with celebrations?"

Jimin chuckled humorlessly. "No he won't."

"Huh? But you said-"

"Because it's also the death anniversary of his mother, the Queen."




_________________________________





When Jungkook woke up, he was really expecting it to be a bad one. Usually, he, along with his father and brother, spend this whole day in mourning. The King tried to have some sort of a celebration for the Prince's early birthday but ever since Jungkook understood what this day means, he refused. The king and crown prince would clear their schedules for the whole day, and would spend it as a family, remembering the love they lost.

When he was young, Jungkook used to ask so many questions about the Queen. About what kind of a person she was, was she kind, was she pretty, would she have loved Jungkook... but as he got older, he stopped asking those questions. For one, he already knew the answer to most of those questions. For another, he began to read the look of pure agony in his father's eyes.

So now, they spend the day in quiet mourning. At least, that's what he did all these years. But today... Today he is alone, and honestly, he didn't know what to do. He never prepared a memorial table so he didn't know how to do it. He could ask from Jimin, but it somehow felt like an intrusion on their family time. Jimin did ask a few days ago whether he wanted to prepare for a memorial service but Jungkook refused for that very same reason. He didn't exactly tell Jimin why he didn't want one, but as always, the latter accepted the prince's decision without any question.

He was honestly expecting to spend the day in misery, when Jimin asked him whether he wanted to go out with him. Jungkook asked a few times where but Jimin didn't answer. Finally, Jungkook had enough.

"If you don't tell me where we are going, hyung, I don't think I can come with you."

Jimin sighed, mentally scolding himself for agreeing to this, before looking up at Jungkook. "Taehyung asked me for a favor."

"T-taehyung?"

"Yes. I don't know what I was thinking by agreeing-"

"Since when do you and Taehyung plan things together behind my back?"

"Kookie, I swear it's not like that." Jimin quickly walked towards Jungkook and held his forearms. "Just this once, trust hyung."

After a few seconds of a pause, Jungkook nodded his head. Jimin gave a soft smile in response before turning around and leaving the room. He came back within a few seconds and handed over a small parcel to Jungkook.

"You should wear this."

Jungkook opened the parcel to see the black hanbok, and he fell onto the bed with tears in his eyes.




_______________________________





To say Taehyung was nervous, was an understatement. It took a lot of pleading to get Jimin to agree to bring Jungkook here. Jimin didn't know exactly what the royal family did for the queen's memorial service but he did have a fair idea. Jungkook had already refused when Jimin offered to make arrangements for the same so they weren't sure how Jungkook would respond to Taehyung doing it. So far, Jungkook hadn't really acknowledged anything Taehyung did, even though he didn't seem against them either.

Taehyung waited nervously, even after the agreed time passed. His eyes were hurting from looking at the direction of their arrival for so long, but his heart was hurting even more. Finally, after about half an hour later than the agreed time, Taehyung could see two figures clad in black walking towards him.

Taehyung waved his hand, although it was highly unlikely for the two newcomers to not notice him. He was clearly visible in his black hanbok as well.

Jungkook's eyes had a sort of melancholy look in them, something Taehyung had not seen before. Gone were starshine in them, and even his complexion looked a little pale.

Taehyung quietly waited for them to reach where he was standing, before guiding them towards the river bank, where he had prepared the memorial table. The table didn't have even one eighth of the food items that the royal palace had but even this seemed like a luxury to Jungkook. He couldn't imagine how hard Taehyung had to work to get this ready.

He honestly didn't have words to express how grateful he was.

The rituals were performed to the best of their abilities. Jungkook had to ask for Taehyung's and Jimin's help a few times, even though he was the one with yearly experience of this. Together, the three of them managed to complete the service.

In addition, Taehyung had prepared some floating lanterns, and he helped Jungkook to light them up and put them in the river. The three of them watched until the lanterns floated out of sight.

"We should have done that at night." Jungkook's voice was barely above a whisper.

Taehyung smiled. "We should have. But I wasn't sure whether you would have agreed to come, if it was night time."

"Hmm.. I probably wouldn't."

Jungkook sat down on a log and stared at the river. The flowing water made his mind calm down a bit. After a few minutes, Jimin sat down on a tree root, a little away from where Jungkook was sitting. Taehyung remained standing, as he didn't want to leave Jungkook alone.

After a few minutes, Jungkook started to cry. No, he wasn't sobbing. Just silent tears flowing down his cheeks. Jungkook didn't care to wipe them, no did he care who might see it. He was crying for a long time, until there weren't any more tears for him to shed.

"I miss them." Jungkook whispered. "I miss them so much."

"I'm sure they miss you too." Taehyung's voice sounded soft. "They must be going crazy with worry as well."

Jungkook didn't respond to that. They stayed silently for a long while. This was the first time Taehyung felt welcomed in front of Jungkook. And that very thought was making him feel like he's flying in the sky. Not that he would show it, as this was a time of sorrow for Jungkook. After what felt like eternity, Jungkook was the one who broke the silence.

"I don't care what your intentions are in doing this but-" Jungkook looked up at Taehyung, with a strange look in his eyes. "Thank you."

Taehyung bowed his head. "Anything for you.. my prince."