I had so long with Taehyung and Jungkook, so long that you don't see the end coming. Though I tried not to think of the next and final soulmate date, sometimes I imagined that Jungkook would do just as he intended, keeping me locked away in our apartment with Taehyung guarding the door for any person who dared approach on the day. Sometimes I wondered if we'd have enough of each other or if one of our arguments would go too far and ruin the relationship, ending us without expectation before the date even approached.

None of that compared to what actually happened.

Things did grow more tense in that last year. While we tried to stay hopeful that avoiding meeting my next soulmate would somehow result in the end of the prophecy, we stayed on edge. Jungkook was testy, leading us to so much bickering that I accused him of trying to sabatoge the relationship until Taehyung intervened, urging us to take a few hours away from each other. I couldn't, following him up to his studio within five minutes only to find him in tears and terrified that he'd lose me.

Taehyung was the opposite, almost too happy. So much so that I knew that he pretended to be even when things weren't great. In moments when I expected us to have a disagreement, he'd kiss me until I forgot why we were getting upset. I realized he didn't care if we were having the best or worst time, hanging on to everything while he could.

There's a part of me that felt selfish when the life we built came crashing down because I didn't want to let it go no matter the circumstances. I was at a point in life where I never felt more secure or confident in myself, my career, and our relationship even with its natural ups and downs.

Our apartment became more crowded over the years, Taehyung picking up and mastering multiple instruments so that there were pieces crammed into nearly every free area in the living space. When Jungkook tripped over the cello case that made a home between the kitchen and hallway for the third time he became irate, insisting that we start looking for a house.

He was already in the midst of closing on a building that he planned to use as an art gallery. He wanted to showcase his work and that of other artists he connected with. I'd never been more attracted to him than the first time he took me to the empty building that would become the gallery or seeing him scroll through small properties that could become our home.

"I have a vision. Just wait, it'll be perfect." The galaxy inside me whirred every time he spoke the words, blank walls and renovations holding no chance against whatever plans existed in his mind.

He leaned over the kitchen island, half-rimmed glasses on the tip of his nose as he looked over the sheets of paper spread over the marble countertop, covered in his scribbled ideas and loosely sketched plans. We hadn't stepped foot in an actual house yet but he was already planning on designing the perfect kitchen and decided that putting a mattress in the living room would be the most brilliant idea he ever had.

Taehyung pulled me away from where I stood against the counter next to Jungkook, spinning me until we were in the living room. He'd put on a tape to play, Ray LaMontagne's soulfully folksy voice playing over Jungkook's constant stream of thoughts that he spoke aloud. He leaned into my ear as the song played, humming along to the words and holding me so that we moved in tandem.

When the song changed from one filled with emotion, a slow sadness to the tune into a more lively, bouncy melody, he flitted us all around the apartment. He danced us through every open space until I was breathless and giggly, cheeks flush with pure joy.

"Someone keeps calling your phone Sel." Jungkook kept his eyes on sketching, waving my phone in the air with one hand as Taehyung and I pranced back up the hallway. We slowed by the kitchen so that I could grab the phone, a number I didn't recognize disappearing from the screen. There was a display of two missed calls and a voice message from the number before it started to ring again.

I held up a finger as I slid the door to the balcony open, stepping through and answering the call. "Hello?" The greeting came out as a question, already prepared to hang up since it was likely a spam caller.

"Seline? Hi, it's Donna." I recalled the voice of the woman who had been helping my dad run the restaurant. In all of our years knowing each other there'd never been a reason to call.

On top of her calling me something about her voice sounded off, a tell that she was delivering bad news. "What's going on?" My brow furrowed, ignoring Taehyung as he made silly faces through the glass door.

"Have you spoken to your dad yet?" She questioned.

So she wasn't calling to tell me he was gone. "Not since Wednesday. Is everything okay with the restaurant?" My heart hammered behind my chest and Taehyung could see the worry in my expression, pulling open the door to join me.

She let out a heavy breath, frustration behind the twinge in her tone. "I wanted him to tell you. He's been sick for a while and I've been begging him to talk to you about it so that you can come home." She started to rant, repeating statements that she'd surely made toward my dad. "I told him to talk to you as soon as he moved but of course he's being bullheaded."

It felt like everything blurred out around me as she spoke, the feeling of Taehyung's hand in mine, the view of the skyline and even her voice obscure among the questions flooding my mind.

"How long?" I muttered, unsure of whether I was asking how long he'd been sick or how long he had left.

She answered the former. "He's been getting treatment for five months. They recommended he participate in another trial so he moved out to Rochester a couple of weeks ago."

My mind was piecing together the little information I had, knowing that Minnesota was the base for the Mayo Clinic, one of the top research and treatment facilities for cancer patients. "Okay." I exhaled shakily.

It was difficult to know what to say and though I would, I couldn't appreciate her taking the initiative to call me in the moment. I needed to talk to my dad.

She apologized for the situation again before saying goodbye and I hesitated to pull the phone down from my ear when the call ended, knowing that Taehyung was already looking to be let in.

My hand shook as I turned my attention to my phone, lowering it to cast my sight down from his inquisitive eye. "I need to make another phone call." I stated matter-of-factly, not ready to relay any information.

"Seline." He sighed as soon as a blink pushed a tear from my eye, the droplet landing onto my phone screen.

"I need a minute alone." My voice cracked when I met his gaze, eyes brimming with concern and love. He searched for any sign that I didn't mean my words before pulling my knuckles to his lips in a care filled kiss before stepping back inside.

My dad was listed at the top of a short list of favorited contacts and as I stared at the slightly blurred picture I'd taken of him last holiday, when he refused to be still after tasting his proclaimed best sandwich in the world, I couldn't control my emotion.

The strongest part of me was angry with him. We talked on the phone at least twice a week, which meant he lied by omission over fifty times by telling me that he was fine. Knowing that he was sick, I couldn't bring myself to lean into the anger. Underneath it, the all consuming part held so much pain that I didn't know what to say to him.

As always, he picked up by the second ring, sounding like he was half asleep before his voice transitioned into a more upbeat and cheerful tone. "Sellie." He greeted.

I froze, unsure of whether to say hello, scold him, or sob into the phone, my voice soft and achy as I replied. "Donna called."

There was silence, a shuffling through the speaker that preceeded his sigh. "Everything is fine Seline." He barely got the words out before I was cutting him off.

"Don't lie to me anymore. Just tell me what's going on. Tell me how bad it is." I choked.

"It's at stage 3A in my lungs now. Obviously I should've listened to your mom and quit smoking earlier than I did." He chuckled.

I sighed. "I can't laugh with you about this dad." My follow-up question one that I didn't want the answer too but needed to ask. "What have they said about your chances of surviving?"

"Don't worry about that part." He replied, scolding me when I smacked my lips at him. "I don't want to give you all the medical jargon because it makes things confusing. My doctor is hopeful about this trial that just started. I'm going to be fine." I couldn't be sure if he actually believed what he was saying or if he only sought to convince me.

"I'm coming home." I sniffled, rubbing at my damp cheeks with the back of my hand. "Well, to where you are." I corrected, remembering that he moved for his treatment.

He grumbled with disapproval. "You don't need to do that. I'm taking care of myself."

While I understood that he had months to process the news, his lack of alarm bothered me. I hadn't been given the same courtesy. "I'm coming to take care of you. Donna wouldn't have called me if I didn't need to and you can't stop me. I'll be there soon" My tone was snappy, hating that he'd been going through everything by himself.

He didn't argue with me anymore and when I told him I loved him before hanging up, the words felt heavier. I pressed my hands together, letting my head fall against them as I uttered a single word that was an undefined prayer and plea for him. "Please."

When I looked up again the apartment was completely silent, Taehyung and Jungkook looking at me cautiously as I joined them in the living room. I could barely meet their eyes as I recanted the sliver of information from my dad, the first sob erupting as soon as I finished.

"Just tell us what you need." Jungkook breathed into my hair. I was enveloped in two pairs of arms, a crushing hug that practically squeezed the tears out of me. They fell into my every emotion and response to the pain I was feeling, sinking to the floor with me when my knees buckled so that they continued to hold on to me.

The low tick of a wall clock that I usually tuned out sounded louder than ever with every second that passed, a reminder that in multiple ways, I was losing time.

After a gross taming that involved a snotty tissue that Taehyung held on to, the chest and sleeves of Jungkook's shirt wet from wiping my face, I pulled myself together, hardly lifting an ounce of my weight as they helped me up.

While Jungkook immediately moved into action, going to the kitchen to grab a glass to fill with water and tucking a box of tissue under his arm, Taehyung stood still next to me. He kept his hand clasped in mine, waiting for me to do or say anything.

Jungkook went as far as to pour water past my lips until I'd hydrated enough for every tear I cried. "I need to pack." I spoke decisively, dropping Taehyung's hand to walk to my bedroom.

With my mind on a task, something I could control, I pulled my luggage down from the top of my closet. The wheels clanged against the floor, the top flopping open as I reached into my closet to jerk out clothes in a fashion that was somehow both organized and frantic.

"Can one of you book me the next flight to Minnesota? My travel card is in my wallet by the door." I sat on the floor, beginning to pull items from hangers that I rolled neatly to fit as much as I could into my suitcase.

Taehyung was quick to follow my req uest, scurrying down the hallway for my purse, but Jungkook squatted beside me, laying a hand over my halfway filled bag.

"I need that backpack I took to Nice last weekend for my carry-on. Can you grab it from the bedroom?" I asked, continuing to reach into the open drawer next to me for t-shirts.

"Sel, slow down. What are we doing here?" He inquired.

I swallowed, shaking my head and unable to think about the we in giving my answer. "I'm leaving."