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Alternate epilogue

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3rd person

What happens after death?

A question that comes had boggled people's minds over the course of decades - even centuries, even the smartest people cannot give a proper and clear answer to the question of the next stage after one's demise. The reason for this is because we humans can only collect information from something that we can touch, see, hear, and taste. No man - no living creature has yet explained the afterlife because, well, they're dead.

Although there are such events where the dead are brought back to life, they all give different responses to the questions which cause more confusion and does not give a proper answer to the question.

Min Yoongi begs to differ.

After closing his eyes, knowing that it was his last moment alive on Earth as he slowly succumbs to the darkness with nothing but silence around him — he could hear his heart beating loudly against his chest and feeling his body floating as the water that was surrounding him muffled all of the noise outside, Yoongi never would have figured that those were the last things that he would remember before he closes his eyes.

"Min Yoongi, time of death twelve-thirty p.m."

Now, Min Yoongi is dead and the whole world knows about it and nothing else. The company did not give out any other details about what really happened and what led to this situation but the people were thankful to hear something from each of the six remaining members of the band. They all posted a picture — an unseen photo of their beloved member, six different photos that they have taken themselves, back when there was still no problem — back when Yoongi was still alive.

And so Bangtan was finally able to walk Yoongi down the aisle. Only, he is in a casket, being brought down the aisle of his own funeral instead of a wonderful venue that they would have picked, not exactly the picture that they had in mind.

They stood there, watching as their one and only is being buried six feet deep underground, with Yoongi's own family crying and sobbing. They knew that even though they made sure no one else other than family and friends can be at the funeral, the paparazzi will still make a way and they could feel, out in the distance, cameras are clicking.

Sejin and Dowon stood there side by side, tears streaming down their faces as they try to put up a tough persona. After all, they both knew that Yoongi wouldn't want to see them crying.

The six, on the other hand, are silent. Compared to everyone else who could be heard sniffling, whimpering, and sobbing around them, Bangtan — no, Seokjin, Namjoon, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung, Jungkook stood there with the heavy weight of guilt being pressed down on their shoulders.

Guilt. They were being drowned by guilt as if it was suffocating them. Even shedding a tear would feel wrong because they all know, they don't have the right to do so. When Yoongi was shedding tears because of them, they only neglected him.

They could all feel the pain, the bite mark on their scent glands that was also known as the mating mark had lost one of its members and their wolves are howling — literally screaming in pain inside of them but they could not do anything. The only person who could stop the pain was now being buried underground and it is all their fault.

Pain. There was only pain.

Right among the crowd stood two beings.

Attending one's funeral is a solemn and sacred ceremony, honoring someone's death or someone that has passed onto the other side in which involves dressing the lifeless body and encasing it in a coffin before burying it six feet underground. Friends and family gather and watch as their beloved's coffin is being buried underground. With all of them dressed in either black or white, flowers surrounding the coffin, and a priest to pray for the body and the soul of the deceased.

Min Yoongi would have never expected that he would be buried at the same cemetery he used to pass by, let alone stand among the crowd at his own funeral to commemorate his own death.

Everyone that he knew in the land of the living came to his funeral to pay respects for him even though he is standing right among them, watching as his body that is encased in a coffin slowly being brought down six feet underground is an eerie experience that brought chills down his spine but he also feels remorse for his own lifeless body.

"You're dead, Min Yoongi," Says death beside him as the two of them watch his body being buried.

He hums, "I know."

"Loving them was the most exquisite form of self-destruction," Yoongi had spoken after watching the humans in silence for the past hour or so. There was nothing that he could feel as they watch the scene unfold, almost feeling numb at the sight in front of them.

"But was it worth it?" Asked the other who was standing right beside him. "You, Min Yoongi, had died after loving those six men who are crying out for you."

The said man — spirit — looks up to the entity that was standing right beside him, although he could not find any sign for their eyes before looking back to the funeral in front, "Death. I chose death over pain."

Once again, just like every other human being that had walked this world, as he watches his family and friends mourn for his death, watching as his lifeless body — now only a vessel for the soul it once carried be buried.

A question crosses over his mind: What comes after death? Was it worth it? Dying?

Death is the one that was standing right beside the spirit of Min Yoongi. Just like what he had always done ever since the beginning of time, he picks up the souls of the deceased — of the people that had once walked the planet. The spirit had requested that they stay to watch his funeral as a farewell gift to himself before he crosses to the other side where souls resided after death.

The entity looks at the spirit and asked him the question that had many answers, "Will you be able to answer my question before I take you to the other side? Tell me, what did they do to Min Yoongi?"

If he still has a beating heart, he would be in unbearable pain, but even though he is merely a soul now, it was as if he could still feel the pain that was etched in his now unbeating heart.

Pain.

Pain.

Pain.

"They neglected me."

***