Perfect Match | SOPE ✔️

venit omittere | 2.1.2

Ruby did not respond to the name. Instead, she removed Jungkook's hands from her face. She bit her lip, unable to stare at Jungkook's hurt expression longer. This is why she had stayed away from him, not making any contact with him. She knew that he would be able to recognize her from a mile away. No one else was able to recognize her, but she knew he would.

"That's not my name. I go by Ruby now." she responded quietly."I don't want to hear the name. There's a reason why I changed it."

"Wait, what the hell's going on?" Yoongi asked."Jungkook, you know Ruby?"

"Her name is Aaliyah." his jaw clenched, looking at Yoongi with clouded eyes."Jeon Aaliyah."

Jeon Aaliyah.

Ruby watched as Hoseok and Yoongi's expression morphed into shock. There was recognition in Yoongi's eyes as he closely studied her, mouth agape.

"You're the Jeon that disappeared." Yoongi realized."The oldest. The one that would have taken over the government once your parents met their demise." 

"I abandoned the title a long time ago." Ruby said coldly."I go by Ruby. That's it. That's my name. Has been for the past two years. Do not call me Aaliyah."

"You've been here this whole time," Jungkook said flatly, anger starting to come out of his voice."All this time? You left Taehyung. You left my parents. You left me!" 

"I did what I had to do to stay alive!" she snapped."My death had already been marked. I left so that I wouldn't die. I was going to get killed Jungkook!"

"You still could have sent something." Jungkook snapped back."A postcard would have sufficed. You left. You had our parents believe that you had died. They thought you were dead. I thought you were dead. We had a whole funeral for you! I don't care if you were going to get killed. You should have left a note. You should have told us something. You should have."

Jungkook's voice began to shake, eyes already puffing from tears. He wanted nothing more than to hug Aaliyah, but he was too hurt to consider the option. Here she was, his sister, the one presumed dead all those years ago. She was here. In front of him.

Not six feet under like everyone had thought.

"I didn't want to risk getting caught." Ruby stated."Besides, you could have known." Everyone watched her silently as she took off her shirt. Her Perfect Match mark could be seen, but it wasn't glowing like Yoongi and Hoseok's. It was had taken on a dark color and looked like a parasite on her skin, clinging on to her skin and making it look decayed and grotesque."Tell me, Jungkook. How many times had you seen Taehyung's skin after I left? If I had died, the mark would have faded in time, faded to nothing. But it didn't."

"Why does it look like that?" Yoongi asked, interested. He'd never seen a Perfect Match mark take on such a despicable state and it fascinated him.

"It's simple. He tried to kill me, so much I lost count." Ruby put her shirt back on."He injured me, but each time he couldn't fully kill me. The mark is like that. It causes you pain if you try to harm your Perfect Match, increasing your pain tenfold. The more you hurt your Perfect Match, the more you suffered. I thought I was safe. He couldn't hurt me. It would kill him in the process. But he resorted to other measures. If it hadn't been for Namjoon informing me, I would have actually died."

"Oh right. It makes so much sense that Namjoon knew. Of course, he knew." Jungkook's eyes narrowed."And you didn't tell me either!"

"I've hidden a lot of stuff from you Jungkook." Namjoon replied smoothly."It was not my place to say anything. She didn't want to send you anything. she didn't want me to tell you anything. Believe it or not, I respect people's decisions."

"Great." Jungkook snorted."So let me suffer blindly, mourning over the loss of my sister, and all you do is keep your mouth shut. Amazing. You didn't even make things right with Mom and Dad." He said turning back to Ruby. "You just left. They thought you left because of the arguments you constantly had with them. They knew you didn't agree with the perfect match system but they made you do it anyhow. So you left. They thought they had failed as parents. They died, thinking that it was their fault that you disappeared."

"I forgave them a long time ago!" Ruby almost yelled."It is not my fault that those arguments and everything coincided with each other. That's not my problem. I will not apologize for prioritizing myself over you. I don't care that it hurts you. You act like it didn't hurt me. Like it doesn't hurt me. When the funerals were held for Mom and Dad, I was there. I was there as you all laid them down into the ground. I saw them. I saw you. But I couldn't get to you. I was already risking it. Had I gotten any closer, Taehuyng would have felt it. He would have known I was there."

"It doesn't excuse what you did." Jungkook said venomously."You left me. I was sixteen. You left a few days before my birthday. How do you think that felt to me?"

"I told you already Jungkook." Ruby's jaw clenched."I will not apologize for saving my own skin. You haven't even bothered asking me why Taehyung was trying to kill me. All you are concerned about is how I hurt you by leaving."

"Does it matter why he tried killing you?" Jungkook scoffed."Does that really matter? You know you are at fault for Taehyung going crazy. For him doing all the things he did. You know without your Perfect Match you start deteriorating! You did that to him."

"Are you seriously going to defend the man that killed our parents?" Ruby said, looking at Jungkook incredulously." You're going to defend Kim Taehyung, the last person that should be defended. Seriously? Did you forget he also tried killing Yoongi and Hoseok? The guy is mental Jungkook. He deserves everything that happens to him! He sees no use for people that aren't ideal for his society. 

"He killed our parents so that he could assume influence over you. He tried killing Yoongi and Hoseok because they were a same-sex match. He tried killing me because I am infertile. I was infertile and I wasn't interested in him. Not like I was interested in girls. You remember his sister right? He caught us together. He killed her sister as well and blamed it as suicide. I was there."

Jungkook looked taken aback, the anger receding from his expression."Taehyung did that?"

"Taehyung would bring anyone down regardless of attachment to bring the world to his knees. He loved his sister and in anger killed her. He only keeps people that are of use to him." Ruby breathed out."I understand that you are angry, I do. I will not apologize. I'm sorry. Hate me for the rest of our days. What I did, I did out of survival. I still hurt as you did. I still love you."

"I know." Jungkook finally said."I-i just. The shock, you know? That you're here and not in another world."

"I'm trying to make a better world. One without Kim Taehyung." Ruby smiled sadly."A better place. For you. For all of us. Kookie, come here."

Yoongi watched them hug, squeezing Hoseok's hand lightly. Hoseok smiled at Yoongi, looking back at the Jeons making up. A tear trailed down Ruby's cheek, hugging her brother tightly. All he knew was that one individual had wreaked havoc among loved ones for his selfish needs.

Kim Taehyung had a price to pay and Min Yoongi would stop at nothing to make sure Taehyung was buried six feet under.

a/n: folks, it really do be like that sometimes.