Time || YeonGyu AU✔

epilogue

June 23, 2024

          The day was grim and grey. A strong gust of wind blew in from the west, and rain poured down on the city below. The sky was dark with overcast clouds that blocked out the sunlight and cast a dreary gloom over the capital. The streets were quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the occasional clank of footsteps as people walked past.

          The weather matched the mood that had settled over the people in the cemetery. Everyone’s faces seemed heavy, their bodies weary. There was a heaviness to all of the eyes. They all carried grief and sorrow around with them wherever they went. Their faces showed it, too, but no one spoke about it. No one really wanted to speak about it, or maybe even acknowledge its existence at this point.

           Heartbreaking cries of a mother could be heard echoing throughout the entire cemetery, where a certain grave was adorned with beautiful flowers covered in the same rainwater that had soaked through the graves of many more people. A few feet away from them, Beomgyu could see teary-eyed Huening Kai trying to console Taehyun who was crying heavily into his chest. He was doing well at hiding how upset he was. Beomgyu felt terrible for the two of them – they had lost one of the most important people in their lives, but mostly, Beomgyu felt sorry for himself because he had fallen into Soobin's trap in both worlds and now he was suffering the consequences - he had lost his Yeonjun as well as the Yeonjun who belonged to that dimension.

          He let out a soft, but heavy sigh which contained his own tears and every piece of his grief as he directed his wistful eyes to the sullen sky. His heart ached like a thousand broken ribs, each of which was punctured by the agony of regret that filled him every second that passed. But what made it so hard was that he knew it would never go away. Never would it stop hurting, and Beomgyu just wished he could disappear forever. It would be better if he had died instead of Yeonjun.

           Everyone was very devastated and confused by the accident and no one could understand why Soobin had suddenly decided to murder his friend or why Seojun was trying to kill Yeonjun before that. Now both of them were in jail, but neither of them would say the truth, including Beomgyu himself, knowing everyone might assume that they were crazy if they did. That's why Yeonjun's case was remaining a mystery and unsolved.

          What was Beomgyu supposed to do now? Should he go to his mom and tell her he was his lost son? Would she accept him? Beomgyu couldn't just stand there silently and watch his parents suffer. He had to be useful and provide some comfort to ease their pain, but how could he? He couldn't just walk up to them and announce the truth out of nowhere. Beomgyu needed to get used to the fact that he had lost his parents like he lost Yeonjun. This was his only reality now after all.

          Tears dripped onto the ground from Beomgyu's chin and he wiped them off. He sniffled slightly as he tried to calm himself, and regain some form of composure before entering the home again which wasn't really his in that world. He had accompanied his parents there, so he could spend some time with them instead of leaving them alone in their grief. Beomgyu knew they needed some type of consolation now and he wanted to be there for them even if they didn't know that he was their son, more likely, Aeri's.

          "He always dreamed of a bright future with you", Aeri said with bloodshot eyes as they sat on the couches in the living room, "He was always talking about you like you were the only human in his life"

          Beomgyu took in another deep breath and nodded slowly, not trusting himself to speak. He didn't want Aeri to notice how much he was trembling. As he closed his eyes, he saw Yeonjun beaming at him, giving him the brightest smile he had ever seen. It broke his heart that Yeonjun had dreamed of the future he could never have because even if he was alive now, it wouldn't change the fact that they were brothers. Maybe it was a good thing that Yeonjun had died because he survived a possible heartbreak like that, unlike Beomgyu who would have to suffer for the rest of his life now because...

          He had lost everything he had ever had.

                                * * *

          The rain had become even heavier over the course of an hour or so, and there were several thunderstorms brewing as well. The sky was starting to darken and there was still no sign of it clearing up anytime soon. If anything, it looked even darker and more ominous, and it was getting harder and harder to see.

          It was almost 9 PM when there was a knock on the door and Aeri hurried over to answer it. Once she opened the door, she saw a young man around the age of 30 give him a polite smile from the other side. He was dressed in suits and held a black umbrella over his head to protect himself from the rain. Aeri had never seen him before.

          "Good evening, miss", the man greeted while bowing his head slightly, "I'm Kim Namjoon, a professor at your son's university. I've to taught him a lot of subjects"

          Aeri gave him a small bow as her heart tightened at the mention of his son, but she tried to bite back her tears.

          "I'm sorry for what has happened to you. I'm really sad that Yeonjun had to leave us like that"

          Aeri nodded slightly and gestured towards the hall, inviting Namjoon inside. He stepped inside cautiously, his eyes flickering around the place with a hint of satisfaction.

          "I'm here for a reason...", he started once they reached the living room and gave the woman a small, apologetic smile, "Ever since his first year in the university, I noticed that Yeonjun was much smarter and more educated than any other student and he was capable of a lot, so I gave him some project to do since I wanted to test his capabilities. That morning before he died he called me and told me that he had finished working on the necessary formulas. He was supposed to bring them to me at the university to show them to me but unfortunately, you know what happened so... I hope you won't be upset if I ask you to look for them in Yeonjun's room since it's really important for our university..."

           Aeri frowned slightly, wondering what kind of projects Yeonjun was supposed to have worked on. She then quickly nodded his head as she didn't want to appear impolite, and said, "Alright. Take a seat. I'll go to Yeonjun's room"

          Namjoon nodded his head and seated himself on the couch while Aeri went upstairs to enter her dead son's room. Namjoon stayed there alone and scanned his surroundings, distracting himself until Aeri could be back.

          When he got informed about the death of his student, Namjoon felt really bad. Yeonjun had always been his best student and he'd been teaching him for most of the semesters. He was a brilliant guy. He never missed his classes. He was always smiling. He was cheerful to the point where he brightened up everyone's days in the class. He had an incredible personality. He was the student Namjoon was closest to...

          After seeing what Yeonjun could be capable of with that genius brain of his, Namjoon decided that he could gain some benefits from the boy's skills. He gave Yeonjun an important project and he didn't care if it took years, he was ready to wait until Yeonjun could complete it. Namjoon even promised him a good amount of money in return, because that project had nothing to do with their university, it was about Namjoon's and his friends' personal interests, so Yeonjun basically used to work for him, and kept it a secret from everyone, even his boyfriend. However, unfortunately, Yeonjun wasn't given the possibility to finish the project completely, but it was such luck that he managed to find the right formulas at least. After all, Yeonjun had been working on them for 4 years and it wasn't surprising that he had managed to get half of the job done.

          Soon Aeri came back with some papers in her hands, causing Namjoon's eyes to brighten up in excitement at the sight of them. He got on his feet as Aeri approached him and handed him the papers, making Namjoon's elated eyes dart to them.

          "That's what I found in his room... I suppose it must be the formulas you're looking for"

          Namjoon smiled and thanked her. Then his eyes returned to the papers to examine them and make sure whether Aeri was right. His expectant gaze fell upon the words written on top of the first paper, his heart accelerating in excitement when he read the following words:

𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝙼𝙰𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙴

          Now it was time for Namjoon to contact his colleagues, so they could continue working on the project together which could change their lives.