Hometown

-Three Days After Jin Left-

It's been three days since Jin left them, and Tae hasn't stopped crying. Since they received the message from him,

"I'm not going to do anything bad. Leave me alone. Don't search for me. Thanks."

Tae's world has felt like it's been falling apart. Jimin and Jungkook are doing everything they can to comfort him, but there's a helplessness in their eyes that none of them can hide. 

Hobi and Lisa, though they try to keep their own emotions in check, are also doing their best to help, each in their own way.

But the emptiness in their lives is growing. Jin's absence feels like a void, not just physically, but emotionally too. 

Meanwhile, NJ, who's been tirelessly trying to get in touch with Jin, still has no idea where he is. 

His house feels cold, echoing with a silence that reminds him of the emptiness in his life. The world outside seems more distant with each passing day. 

It's not that NJ hasn't been through breakups before, but this one cuts deeper than expected. He can't move on, not when it feels like part of him is gone.

Lisa and Jimin are temporarily taking over office work to manage things, while Hobi does whatever he can to keep the team together, even if it's just through small gestures.

- Jin's Pov -

Jin has returned to his hometown, the place he ran away from years ago. His mind drifts through memories, though they seem increasingly distant, as if covered by a fog. 

He expected to feel a surge of emotion, but instead, it's just numbness. There's no sign of his father. Jin doesn't care enough to look. 

He's been on his own for so long, and yet something about being back here feels almost... freeing. 

He's not hurting, but he's also not healing. As he wanders, lost in his thoughts, a figure from his past appears—one that makes his heart stutter. His hands tremble, and his vision blurs as he tries to process the scene in front of him.

The woman standing there is someone he never thought he'd see again. She drops everything in her hands and runs to him, her arms wrapping around him in a desperate, almost frantic hug. Jin can't hold back. He cries, pulling her into his arms as if she's the last thing keeping him tethered to reality.

After the whirlwind of emotions subsides, they end up at a nearby restaurant, sitting across from each other. The woman, who Jin finally recognizes, is his mother.

Jin: "I don't even remember your face... Thank you, though, for the photo I still have of you."

Yujina (Jin's mother): "Seokjina... Please forgive me. I know I've caused you so much pain, and I was stupid. I'm so sorry."

Jin: "You were dead. Why... why didn't you just stay dead? All those lies? What's the point?"

Yujina: "You cannot understand"

Jin: "I'm in mood to listen everything, Care to explain ?"

-Flashback-

 Yujina Pov

Yujina's voice cracks as she begins to speak."I'm sorry for leaving you all. We were so young, and so stupid. I couldn't handle everything. 

When I found out I was pregnant again, everything became too hard. After your brother was born, I asked my sister to take him to your father, and I lied—told them I was dead. 

I thought that way, no one would search for me. But somehow, your father found out, and he started pestering everyone about me. 

I couldn't take it. I ran away to Ilsan, thinking I could start fresh... but that wasn't true. My guilt ate me alive. I became an alcoholic. My life spiraled out of control."

"I thought I could just disappear. I thought you were all living well without me. I cut ties with everyone—my family, your father. 

But then, few years later, I had an accident in Ilsan, and I was forced to come back home. It was then that I learned what had been happening to you all these years."

"I tried to see your father after the accident. When I did, he was different. He wasn't the man I had known before. We fought, and he begged me to come back. But then, that night... it all happened to you. 

He... he beat you, Jin. He beat you until you collapsed. When he went out 

When he back home, saw someone else, he thought you had been attacked, and he chased that person down. That's when the police got involved. He was arrested for assault."

Jin: "Which guy? He beat me, and then he went out and beat someone else? I should have reported him. He's the one who abused me..." 

Jin's voice breaks as the truth settles in.

Yujina: "Jin, you've misunderstood. You don't remember what really happened that day, do you? 

After your father left, someone else came into the house. They abused you while you were unconscious. When your father returned and saw what had happened, he chased that man down. 

The police arrested him for assault. He explained what happened with police, police require to meet you and they called me. We came back to house for search you. But then you were gone. You disappeared."

Jin: "I didn't know... I had no idea." Jin is stunned by the revelation. His emotions churn, and for the first time in years, he feels a mix of anger and sorrow. 

He'd always blamed his father for everything, but now... now he realizes how much of it was a misunderstanding.

Yujina: "Jin, you don't remember, but your father searched for you. We both did. We did everything we could to try to find you."

Jin is silent, absorbing the weight of what his mother has just told him. His thoughts are a whirlwind, trying to piece together the truth that's been hidden from him for so long. He feels betrayed, but also guilty for not knowing the full story. 

He remembers his father's violent outbursts, but now he understands that something more complicated was at play.

Yujina: "How is your brother ? What is his name ? Please, Jin. Please tell me his name. I want to make things right. You owe it to him. 

Jin: I'll bring you there, Its on you. If he forgave, he will tell the name. for me you both are stay dead. 

Jin looks at her, his heart heavy. He agrees to bring her to meet Tae, but deep down, he knows he can't bring himself to face his father. Not yet. There's too much pain, too much unresolved anger.

He knows his father didn't abuse him in the way he thought, but the emotional scars are still there. The wound is still fresh, even if the cause wasn't what he originally believed.

It had been almost a week since Jin left, and nothing felt the same. The anger that had burned inside him had finally subsided after hearing his mother's point of view. He realized now that what he saw or thought he understood wasn't the whole story. There was always more—layers he hadn't considered.

Sitting on the hotel balcony, Jin's thoughts were a storm of guilt and regret. His mind kept drifting back to Namjoon. It wasn't fair to him. Jin had walked away without giving Namjoon a chance to explain, shutting the door before the truth could be shared. Running away wasn't the solution—it never had been.

Even though the realization came late, Jin held onto the hope that it wasn't too late to make things right. Better late than never.