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———
september 1st, 2021.
six young men approached the man and woman standing before a grave. at the sound of their footsteps, the older couple turned around. though she had been crying and tears still glistened on her cheeks, the woman smiled at them.
they all took turns hugging both of the grieving parents.
"how have you been, mr and mrs jeon?" seokjin asked politely.
"we're hanging in there," the man replied, delicately holding his wife's hand.
"it still doesn't seem real. i still get up and expect him to greet me in the mornings or help me make breakfast," mrs jeon responded, her voice raspy from the sobbing she had done.
the boys smiled sadly at her in understanding. it's still hard for them to believe he's gone.
"we're going to go now, boys. take care of yourselves and don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." mrs jeon hugged the boys once more, gently pecking each of their cheeks.
"before you go, mr and mrs jeon, here." yoongi handed them a little envelope. "i hope you can come."
"thank you. i love you boys."
"we love you too, ma."
they waved to the couple as they left before turning back around and facing the grave before them. they exchanged looks, silently asking each other who wanted to go first.
jimin stepped forward, hoseok in tow. they kneeled down, staring at the engraved stone.
"jungkook... we miss you so much. my heart still hurts when i think of you..." jimin trailed off, quickly becoming choked up.
hoseok placed a hand on his shoulder. "it's okay jimin. nobody here will mind if you cry."
nodding, jimin took a deep breath before attempting to speak again. "i really do miss you, kook. it's hard to think that you're really gone, but i know i have to accept it. you'll always be my little brother. hyung loves you, jungkook."
he wiped his eyes and turned to hoseok, gripping his hand. "go ahead, hobi."
"like jimin said, we miss you a lot.. i miss you a lot. you were my best friend and i don't think anyone will ever be able to replace you in my heart. i love you, jungkook."
the two stood up, allowing others to speak as they quietly cried together.
"jungkook," seokjin began, tears already welling up in his eyes. "the diner had been so lonely ever since you left. it has a completely differently vibe. everything seems to have a completely different vibe now.. i miss you and love you bunches, kid."
"my tuesdays and thursdays haven't been the same since you left. i don't do any tutoring on those days anymore. i don't really do much on those days at all, really. i use the time to reminisce." namjoon wiped a stray tear off of his cheek. "i love you and wish you were here."
finally, yoongi and taehyung stepped forward, their fingers interlocked. yoongi nodded to the younger, signaling for him to speak first.
"jungkookie... i really miss you, ya know. it took a while for me to recover and m-move on from you," taehyung paused to take a breath. "i really didn't think that i would be able to love anyone ever again, b-but you already had that covered. thank you for bringing yoongi and i together. he's helped me heal and recover from losing you. thank you for letting me love you, even if it was for a short time. it wasn't time wasted. i'll always miss you, jungkookie. i love you."
yoongi used his thumb to gently caress taehyung's hand in an attempt to comfort him for the moment.
"hey brat," he slightly chuckled. "we all miss you a lot. i miss you a lot. i miss your constant messages and your fanboying and encouragement whenever i would show you a song i was working on. i miss a lot about you, kook. i also would like to thank you for allowing me the chance to meet someone and really fall in love with them. thank you, from the bottom of my heart. i know you approve, but i hope i have your blessings. i promise that he's in good hands. i'll never hurt a hair on his head. i love him a lot and i love you as well, jungkook." as he finished, yoongi wrapped his arms around taehyung, holding him tightly.
the six boys then sang "happy birthday" to the boy, tears flowing down all of their faces as they did so. they followed their singing up by placing flowers at the resting place of their dear friend.
each of them thanked jungkook, in their minds, for bringing the six of them together.
happy birthday jungkook.
———
back at home, mr and mrs jeon opened the envelope that yoongi had given to them. reading the information on the card inside, they smiled. mr jeon nodded to his wife and she grabbed her phone, sending a quick text message to yoongi.
'we will be there. we wouldn't miss it for the world. we love you.'
'we can't wait to see you there. we love you too!'
———
"do you, min yoongi, take kim taehyung to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"i do."
"do you, kim taehyung, take min yoongi to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
