When Jungkook wakes up the next morning he panics when he doesn't see Taehyung laying next to him.

He shoots up out of the bed, any trace of sleep gone as he looks around the empty bedroom.

    "Taehyung?" He calls, walking to the bathroom and opening the door, it's empty.

He rushes out of the main bedroom, calling Taehyung's name again as he darts down the stairs.

The living is empty so he rushes to the kitchen, heaving a sigh of relief when he sees the brunette sitting at the table.

His relief is short-lived as he notices the tears in his soft brown eyes.

"What's wrong, Tae? What happened?" He asks worriedly, placing a hand on his back to try and comfort him.

"Jungkook." The brunette chokes out, looking up at the younger with teary eyes. "S-Something's wrong, Jungkook. Something's wrong."

"What's wrong, Tae?" Jungkook asks, making an effort to keep his voice calm and concerned, not wanting to upset Taehyung with his panicking.

"H-He's gone." Taehyung sobs, pushing Jungkook away as he stands. "V's gone."

"What?" The younger asks as Taehyung runs out of the kitchen. "Wait, Taehyung."

Jungkook starts to follow him before he sees a sheet of paper with cursive writing on the front and back.

He picks it up and he sees it's a letter addressed to Taehyung.

Taehyung,
I don't exactly know where to start or how to say this but I'd rather you find out this way than any other way. I'll start by saying that V loved you, very much. He loved everyone in this system despite his disposition. Minseok, though he rarely understood you or your decisions, loved you too. More than he could ever tell you. They both loved you.

It's hard to explain what they've been going through without hurting you but I'll do my best.

I think it was known that Minseok had his struggles in life. He has been troubled since he was a child and he fought everyday to live but some people can't overcome their trauma. Minseok kept his trauma away from the system, he was selfless in that way. But the longer he kept those memories the heavier their burden became.

Hajoon tried to share the burden, he was willing to take those memories, or at least some of them. But Minseok refused to let them hurt anyone else other than himself.

You were unsure about Minseok's eating disorders, I'm here to tell you that he had multiple that went unnoticed. More pain that silently went unnoticed by you and the rest of the system. Minseok was a protector and just like any other protector he had to deal with a lot of trauma. Minseok wasn't like V, he wasn't strong enough to handle the things he went through or know what to do with his anger and his pain.

V was a good person. He never saw himself that way but he was. He did horrible things and caused a lot of pain but he saved our lives enough times to be forgiven for the things he's done. He's the reason every single one of us are here today. V, just like every human being, had a breaking point. And he was bound to reach it at some point.

V was so strong for so long and he had to be for most of his existence. Things changed drastically for V when he found out about your mother's condition, Taehyung. He didn't take that news well, I don't think anyone did.

V fought hard not to let it affect him but it was inevitable. I can't explain his conflicting emotions to you but the pain is all the same when your abuser dies or is dying. He was in so much pain and he couldn't handle it alone.

Both V and Minseok were close to reaching their breaking point and they needed each other to survive.

V needed Minseok's ability to reason and his ability to remain silent when necessary. He needed Minseok's will to live and the strength to keep his emotions at bay when he felt like falling apart.

Minseok needed the fire that burned deep inside of V. He needed V's strength as much as V needed his. He needed V's voice and V's confidence to say what needed to be said and to do what needed to be done protect you and everyone else in the system.

There's definitely no easy way to break this news to you Taehyung, I know you loved V and Minseok very much. I know that it'll feel like you lost them or that they aren't apart of you anymore but I promise that they aren't completely gone. They both exist through me, Taehyung. Their memories, their habits, their mannerisms, and everything else about them are apart of me.

Their pain, their anger, their sadness, and their trauma are all apart of me but I'm so much stronger than they were. I'm meant to handle what they couldn't. And even though it'll be hard to over come what they've been through I'll do my best.

I'm still your protector, Taehyung. I'm still everyone's protector.

I know I'll never be V and I know I'll never be Minseok but I promise I will always keep you and everyone else safe.

I promise.

I don't know how you'll take this new information but I understand if you'll need time to write back.

Taehyung, you're the host of this system now and we're depending on you just as much as you are depending on us.

Live your life as you want to live it. Go places, meet new people, experience new things and trust the people closest to you.

But most importantly, allow yourself to love and to be loved.

Love can't cure everything but it can help to heal what's broken. You deserve to be loved, Taehyung. And you deserve to have someone love you.

I love you just as much as V and Minseok did, Taehyung. I love all of you just as much as they did. Please don't forget that.

Best,
Vic

Jungkook drops the letter, tears forming in his eyes as he processes the information.

He quickly tries to pull himself together as he rushes upstairs to find Taehyung.

"Tae?" He says looking around the empty bedroom, his voice shaking with emotion. "Where are you?"

The brunette's small cries come from behind the closet door.

Jungkook walks over and opens the door, his heart breaking when he sees Taehyung with his knees pulled to his chest and tears cascading down his face.

"Taehyung." The younger says sitting down next to him and pulling him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Tae."

"I don't know what to do." Taehyung sobs against Jungkook's chest. "I-I can't be the only host, Jungkook. I can't live without them. W-Without V."

"Yes you can, Tae~"

"I can't. My whole life I had V I can't just~"

"Listen to me, Taehyung." Jungkook says firmly, stroking Taehyung's hair soothingly. "You can do it. If you weren't strong enough you'd never be put in this position. You may not think you're strong enough but you are now."

Taehyung cries harder, fear and loss causing the pain in his chest as he longs for V's presence.

He longs for the times where V and Minseok would stay close to the front whenever he was having a hard day.

He longs for the feeling he got when he first recognized their presence and the warmth he felt when he knew that he was safe no matter what.

He wishes he could write to them one last time and apologize for the nights where he wished he was "normal" and when he wished they'd go away, he wishes he could apologize for hating V so much in the beginning, and he wishes he could apologize for not recognizing Minseok's disorders sooner so that he could get him the help he needed.

He wishes he could just thank them individually for all they did and all they've done because without them he wouldn't be alive.

He wants to thank Minseok for protecting the system from his trauma and he wants to apologize for not thanking him more often for living through what none of them were strong enough to live through.

He wants to tell V that he's forgiven for all the things he's done to them as a system and all the things he's done to the body, he wants to tell him that he's sorry for being angry at him.

He wants to say so much, thank them so much, apologize for so much but he couldn't.

It's too late to be sorry and it's too late to be thankful.

They weren't gone, their rolls in the system are still being fulfilled, but it felt like Taehyung was losing two people that he never thought he'd have to say goodbye to.

He lost two protectors but he gained another that was strong enough to take the pain that V and Minseok couldn't.

Even though it hurt him, he knew it'd hurt V and Minseok more to continue existing separately.

He knew it'd hurt them more.

🔒🔒🔒