Chapter 32 🏇

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Taemin stands next to me as I stand frozen in front of the door to my house.

Seeing my state, he grasps his fingers around the door knob and pushes the door open to be welcomed by eerie darkness.

With wavering breaths, I step into the house and run my fingers along the cold wall till they reach the switches and I flip it on. The sudden burst of light contrasting with the darkness made me squint till my eyes adjusted to the light.

Finally finding my voice, I shout,
" Eomma? It's me! Are you home? "

Silence.

The deafening silence rang in my head as I take quick steps to the kitchen, switching on the light to be met with the same empty rooms.

I run my fingers through my hair and Taemin says softly,
" We haven't checked upstairs yet.. let's go. "
I nodded, trying to find a light at the end of this dark tunnel slipped further and further away from me as the stairs creaked under our feet.

The first place I went to was her room and I opened the door.

Darkness.

With panting breaths, I rush to my room and jerk open the door.

Empty.

I plop down on the edge of my bed, dust flying up as I stare mindlessly at the baby pink wall.

She's gone..
She's gone, and it's all my fucking fault.
Where could she possibly have gone? She has nowhere else to go.
She wouldn't go back to my father... Would she?
No, she wouldn't do that.. after what he's done, nobody in the right mind would go back to him.

The sinking of fabric next to me pulled me out of my thoughts as I turn my head to see Taemin looking at me with pity in his eyes.

It was a different side of him that I haven't seen before. He looked vulnerable, like his veil of kindness and smiles had been snatched away to reveal a broken man on the inside.

" I understand how you feel.. " he says with a slight waver in his voice.
" My father took off when I was 3 and left my 19 year old mother to raise me by herself. I don't remember anything about him, all I have is a picture. Sometimes I wonder, what made him leave and that's where my feelings connect with yours. It's like a piece of your life is incomplete, and no matter how desperately you search for an answer, you don't get one. "

I pull him into a hug and he places his chin on my shoulder.
I'm glad I finally found someone that feels what I feel.. that knows the numbness that nibbles at my soul day by day. Jimin is the only one that can fill my emptiness, but even then, there's a corner that stays shrouded in the shadows, rotting in silence.

" I'm sorry.. " I say, rubbing his back. He pulls away and says with a little smile,
" Thank you.. but I'm fine. I'm a grown man, and I have learned to take care of myself. The past is nothing but a shadow that follows me around, but I don't cry over spilt milk. You can't change the past, but you can learn from it. "

I frown as a thought pops up in my head,
Maybe.. just maybe, that's how I can help Jimin. He's been holding onto the death of his uncle for so long. His silent mourns go unheard and it's only destroying him from the inside out.

I look at the time and sigh.
9:54 p.m
" W-we should probably get going.. it's late already. " I say, directing my eyes to the picture of Eomma and I placed on my dresser.

He nods and I turn off the light and close the door silently. We were just about to go down the stairs when something caught my eye.

I snap my head towards the one room we didn't check.
" What is it? " Taemin asks.
" I-I see light! There's a light on in the room.. " I say in disbelief.
" That room was my father's when we come here for vacation but it's always locked now.. "
Without further delays, I take hurried steps to the door and slam it open.

Reins of Love |PJM| ❌ DISCONTINUED ❌Where stories live. Discover now