Jungkook groaned as the loud knock on his door echoed through his spacious room. He threw an arm over his eyes, trying to block out the morning light streaming through the tall windows.

The knock came again, more insistent this time, followed by the unmistakable voice of his grandmother.

“Jungkook, get up! You’re going to be late!”

He sighed, pushing himself up on one elbow, his muscles rippling as he moved. Eight years of rigorous discipline had transformed him from the grumpy, rebellious teenager into a man of undeniable presence.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, his bare feet touching the cold marble floor, and ran a hand through his tousled hair.

Jungkook stood, the blanket falling away to reveal his well-defined torso, the result of years of physical training.

His hair fell messily over his face, the dark strands framing his sharp features. With a quick flick of his wrist, he gathered his hair into a man bun, tying it back with practiced ease.

As he moved towards the wardrobe, he muttered under his breath, “She always has to be on my back, doesn’t she?”

He opened the wardrobe, pulling out a crisp, tailored suit—yet another requirement of his royal upbringing.

A few maids entered the room quietly, their presence almost ghost-like as they carried in his shoes, freshly polished to a mirror shine, and his suit, impeccably ironed.

They set everything down, bowing slightly as they prepared to assist him. Jungkook raised an eyebrow at the fuss but allowed them to help him dress.

As they smoothed out the fabric of his suit and adjusted his tie, he glanced at himself in the mirror.

'Prim, proper, and absolutely perfect.' He rolled his eyes at the thought. 'Just the way she likes it.'

The last of the maids handed him his shoes, and as he slipped them on, he took a deep breath. He straightened his posture, smoothing down the lapels of his suit, and plastered on a neutral expression.

He had learned to suppress his emotions, to hide his true thoughts behind a mask of calm and collected demeanor. This was who he had to be now.

Jungkook opened the door, stepping out to greet his grandmother. He bowed slightly, the gesture precise and respectful, though inwardly he loathed it.

“Good morning, Grandmother,” he said, his voice steady and polite.

Charlotte’s eyes swept over him, and a pleased smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“Good morning, Jungkook,” she replied, her voice softened with approval. “You look… most presentable.”

“Thank you,” he said, though the words tasted bitter on his tongue. He had become a master at hiding his true feelings.

Together, they walked down the grand corridor, their footsteps echoing off the marble floors. Jungkook’s strides were measured, each step deliberate and controlled.

The wild, rebellious streak from years ago had been carefully beaten out of him, replaced with the poised grace expected of someone in his position.

As they reached the library, a place Jungkook once dreamed of burning down, his eyes flicked to his graduation degree hanging on the wall.

It had been a week since he had graduated from Oxford, a fact his grandmother had been all too eager to display. He suppressed a smirk at the irony of it all.

They entered the vast library, the scent of old books and polished wood filling the air. Charlotte moved slowly now, her once formidable presence diminished by age.

She scanned the shelves, her eyes landing on a particular book. She pulled out a Spanish manuscript, its leather binding worn from age.

“Do you remember this one?” she asked, holding the book up for him to see.

Jungkook glanced at it, a small smirk playing on his lips. “Of course, abuela,” he replied in perfect Spanish, the language rolling off his tongue effortlessly.

“Un libro tan antiguo, pero tan aburrido como siempre.”, he said.

(Translation: "Such an old book, but as boring as always.")

Charlotte chuckled softly, shaking her head. “You’ve always had a sharp tongue,” she said, tucking the book back into its place, "But I'm glad you speak fluent Spanish now. I couldn't imagine you being so 8 years ago."

As they reached the large windows overlooking the sprawling gardens, Charlotte paused, her gaze distant.

Jungkook could sense the shift in the air, the subtle tension that had been building since the morning.

“Jungkook,” she began, her voice softer now, almost wistful. “I called you here today because… I remember a promise I made to you years ago.” She turned to face him, her eyes filled with a rare warmth.

“You’ve grown into a fine man, one I’m proud to call my grandson. You’ve done everything I’ve asked, and more. You’ve become everything I hoped you would be.”

Jungkook remained silent, watching her carefully, waiting for her to continue.

Charlotte smiled faintly, her gaze drifting back to the gardens. “You’ve become so much more than I could have imagined. And now… now that I see the man you’ve become, I’m happy. Truly happy.”

She sighed, a contented sigh that echoed the weight of years of expectations and dreams.

“So, my dear, what is it that you wish for? What can I give you, now that you’ve proven yourself? I wish to fulfill the promise I gave you 8 years ago.”

Jungkook chuckled softly, a sound that held more bitterness than humor. He straightened his posture, his expression unreadable as he prepared to ask the question he had been waiting years to voice.

“Grandmother, there is something I want. Something I’ve wanted for a long time.”

Charlotte turned to him, her eyes narrowing slightly in curiosity. “Oh? And what might that be?”

Jungkook took a deep breath, the words forming on his tongue.

“I want to marry the woman of my choice.”

The air between them seemed to still, the weight of his words hanging heavily. Charlotte’s smile faltered, her expression freezing as she looked out at the garden, her gaze settling on the Napoleonic sculpture that stood proud among the flowers.

The silence stretched on, long and uncomfortable, before she finally spoke.

“I see,” she said quietly, her voice carefully controlled. “I suppose… that is a reasonable request. After all, I am growing old, and it’s only natural that I would want to see you settled, married, with children of your own.”

She spoke fondly, the warmth of a grandmother’s love evident in her tone. “I would love to see you happy, Jungkook. To see you find a woman who will stand by your side, who will give you the family you deserve.”

Jungkook nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. “Thank you, Grandmother. That means a lot to me.”

Charlotte continued, oblivious to the storm brewing beneath Jungkook’s calm exterior.

“There are many fine families here in the UK, families with daughters who would be honored to marry you. You can take your time, meet them, and choose the one who—”

“Grandmother,” Jungkook interrupted, his voice firm but respectful.

“The woman I want to marry… she’s not British.”

Charlotte’s words caught in her throat, and she turned to face him fully, her expression one of quiet shock.

“Not British?”

Jungkook met her gaze, his own steady and unyielding.

“She’s Korean.”

For a moment, Charlotte didn’t speak. She simply stared at him, her mind racing as she tried to process what he had just said.

When she finally spoke, her voice was calm, but there was an edge to it, a subtle undercurrent of tension.

“Jungkook, you are a British royal. You have a duty to this family, to uphold its name and its legacy. You should let go of your Korean lineage and embrace the future we’ve built for you here.”

Jungkook’s jaw clenched, but he forced himself to remain calm. “With all due respect, Grandmother, I want to marry a Korean woman. It’s my wish.”

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed, her composure slipping ever so slightly. “You’re a royal, Jungkook. You shouldn’t be entertaining such notions. Your duty is here, to this family, to this country. You should focus on finding a suitable match among the British elite.”

Jungkook’s patience finally snapped. “We’re outcast royals, Grandmother,” he said, his voice low and harsh.

“Not true royals of the British royal family.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened in shock, the blood draining from her face.

For a moment, she looked at him as if she didn’t recognize him, as if the young man standing before her was a stranger.

“What did you just say?” she whispered, her voice trembling with barely restrained fury.

Jungkook didn’t back down. He took a step closer, his eyes blazing with a fire that had been smoldering for years.

“You chose to marry a Korean man, someone not from British descent. That’s why the royal family of Britain threw you out. All this luxury, all this wealth—it’s nothing but charity from the royal family. You’re a royal in name only and money.”

Charlotte’s hand trembled as she gripped the back of a chair, her knuckles white. “How dare you—”

“You loved my grandfather,” Jungkook interrupted, his voice rising with each word.

“You loved him, didn’t you, Grandma? You loved Grandfather so much that you gave up everything—your title, your status, your entire world—just to be with him. You sacrificed everything to be with a Korean man because British royal family didn't allow you to marry a man outside English race”

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. Her silence only emboldened him.

“You still love him,” Jungkook continued, his words laced with a raw edge.

“After all these years, you still carry his name, Jeon-William Charlotte. If you despise Koreans so much, why haven’t you let go of his name? Why didn’t you erase that part of yourself?”

“Enough,” Charlotte’s voice was sharp, almost trembling, but Jungkook pressed on.

“And when Dad was born, you allowed him to marry a Korean woman. You let him follow the same path you did. You understood, didn’t you? You knew what it meant to love someone so deeply that nothing else mattered. So why now? What’s changed? What’s the problem?”

Charlotte’s face tightened, the air between them growing heavy with tension. “Allowing your father to marry a Korean was the gravest mistake of my life,” she spat, her voice cracking.

“If I had known the pain it would bring, I would’ve never allowed it.”

Jungkook’s heart pounded in his chest, confusion and hurt swirling within him.

“What happened, Grandma? What could have gone so wrong that it turned your heart this cold? I’m half-Korean, too. Look at me—my name, my face, my very existence is a testament to that heritage. And yet, you still hold on to Grandfather’s name. If you truly hated Koreans, why didn’t you give me a British name? Why did you allow me to carry this legacy?”

Charlotte’s eyes flashed with something dark—fear, anger, regret—something deep and twisted.

“If I had known what kind of woman your mother would become,” she seethed, her voice shaking with suppressed rage, “I would’ve never let you be named Jeon Jungkook. Never. Your father was named Jeon Jaehwa by my husband, and I let Jaehwa give you a Korean name because of that.”

Jungkook bowed his head slightly, his voice dropping to a quieter tone. “Is it because Dad was killed that you’ve grown to hate Korean women?”

Charlotte visibly recoiled, her face pale as the color drained from it. “How… how do you know that?”

A bitter, cynical smile crept across Jungkook’s lips. “You really thought you could keep it from me, didn’t you? That you could keep lying, pretending that Dad was just… busy? When in reality, he was murdered. Here. In this very castle. Shot dead by a Korean woman.”

Charlotte took a shaky breath, her composure faltering as she stared at him in horror.

“How do you know that?” she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Perhaps having access to so many books gave me access to some old, vintage letters. Love letters to be exact. Love letters between Dad and someone else… someone named Minji."

Charlotte’s face contorted with anguish, her eyes filling with tears she refused to let fall.

“Your mother is Jeon Mirae,” she insisted, her voice desperate, clinging to the last shreds of the story she had built.

“The mother on paper?” Jungkook’s voice was sharp, cutting through her like a knife.

“The mother in name only?”

Charlotte’s voice was barely above a whisper. “What do you know about it?”

Jungkook sighed, his expression softening slightly, though the hurt was still evident in his eyes.

“I don’t know much, except that my mother wasn’t Mirae. It was Minji. And I’ve been lied to for so long.”

Charlotte’s face crumpled, her defenses breaking down in front of him. She had spent years building up walls, creating a narrative that suited her, but now those walls were crumbling, and she was powerless to stop it.

“I discovered this four years ago,” Jungkook continued, his voice low and filled with sorrow.

“Here, in this library. There were love letters exchanged between Dad and Mom. One of them even mentioned me… It was written after my birth. After my real mom, Minji, gave birth to me.”

Charlotte shook her head, her voice shaking as she tried to protest. “No… no, it can’t be…”

But Jungkook didn’t let her finish. “It is,” he said firmly. “I’ve lived with this knowledge for four years, and I’ve kept quiet because I wanted to understand why. Why you would lie to me, why you would hide the truth. But now, I think I finally understand.”

Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears, but she quickly blinked them away, refusing to break down in front of him.

“Why, Grandmother?” Jungkook asked, his voice cracking with emotion. “Why did you hide the truth from me? Why did you make me believe that Mirae was my mother?”

Charlotte looked away, unable to meet his gaze. “I did it to protect you,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

“Protect me?” Jungkook’s voice was incredulous. “By lying to me? By making me believe in a life that wasn’t even real?”

"Grandma please, please tell me. I deserve this much atleast to know who my real mother is!", Jungkook cried.

"Yes," she finally whispered, her voice barely audible. "Yes, Minji was your mother. Mirae… she was never Jeon Mirae. She was Song Mirae, always just… Song Mirae."

Jungkook felt his heart drop. He had suspected it, but hearing it from Charlotte’s mouth made it real. The life he thought he knew was built on lies.

Charlotte sighed deeply, looking at him with a sorrow that seemed to age her further.

"You need to understand… Jaehwa, your father, fell in love with Minji the moment he saw her. She was everything to him. They were perfect together, a match made in heaven. She wasn’t like the women we knew, but she was special, vibrant, full of life. She brought something new into our world, something we didn’t know we needed."

Her eyes seemed to drift back in time, reliving memories that were both beautiful and painful. "They were so happy, Jungkook. They were the ideal couple—Jaehwa, the loving husband, and Minji, the spirited wife who brightened every room she walked into. And then you came along, and it felt like everything was falling into place. We were a family, the kind you read about in fairy tales."

Jungkook listened, his throat tight as he tried to reconcile the image she was painting with the reality he knew.

"So what went wrong?" he asked, his voice edged with desperation. "If everything was so perfect, why did it all fall apart?"

Charlotte’s face darkened, her expression hardening as she recalled the darker parts of the story. "Jaehwa was blinded by love, and so was I. We didn’t see what was happening to Minji. She was a commoner from Korea, suddenly thrust into the world of British royalty, a world she didn’t understand or belong to. She hated it here. She hated the wealth, the expectations, the constant scrutiny. She hated… us."

Jungkook felt a chill run down his spine. "Hated you? Why?"

"Because she believed that we trapped her," Charlotte said bluntly, the words heavy with regret.

"We brought her here, to a place where she felt like an outsider, and we expected her to conform, to become one of us. But she couldn’t. The languages, the customs, the formalities… it was all foreign to her. And we never realised that she was suffering with this alienation. We couldn't help her. She grew to despise the life she had married into, and that hatred… it consumed her."

Jungkook’s heart ached at the thought of his mother, a woman he never knew, spiraling into despair.

"And then what happened?" he asked, needing to know the rest, needing to understand.

"When you were born, things were… better, for a little while," Charlotte continued, her voice softer now.

"But it didn’t last. The pressure, the loneliness, it all became too much for her. She began to resent Jaehwa, and me, and even you. She felt trapped, suffocated by the life she had chosen, a life she thought would bring her happiness but only brought her misery."

Jungkook’s breath hitched, the pain of hearing these words piercing him deeply. "So that’s when… Song Mirae came into the picture?"

Charlotte nodded, her expression sad. "Yes. Jaehwa and I were desperate. Minji was falling apart, and we didn’t know how to help her. We brought Mirae in to try and… fix things. To help Minji cope with her struggles. Mirae was a psychologist, a good one, and we thought she could help Minji find some peace."

"But Minji didn’t see it that way, did she?" Jungkook asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," Charlotte admitted, her voice heavy with sorrow. "Minji saw it as an invasion of her privacy, she thought that we perceive her as a crazy mad woman. She felt betrayed by us, and she lashed out. She hated Mirae, hated everything she stood for. But we were so scared, Jungkook. We were afraid Minji would do something… drastic. We couldn’t take that chance, so we forced her to accept Mirae’s help."

"And what about me?" Jungkook’s voice was sharp, filled with anger and hurt. "Where was I in all of this?"

Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears. "You were so young, barely a year old. Minji couldn’t handle being around you. She was too consumed by her own pain, her own demons. We had to keep her away from you… to protect you. That’s when Mirae stepped in. She took care of you, loved you, in the way Minji couldn’t. She thought it was her duty, her moral obligation to give you the care you weren’t getting from your mother since your mother was her patient."

Jungkook’s chest tightened, the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. "So, Minji just… abandoned me? She left me to be raised by someone else?"

"She didn’t want to," Charlotte said quickly, trying to explain, trying to make him understand.

"She was lost, Jungkook. She was drowning in her own misery, and she didn’t know how to be a mother. We thought keeping you away from her was the best thing for you, for your safety."

"And Dad?" Jungkook asked, his voice barely a whisper now. "What about him?"

Charlotte’s expression darkened again. "Jaehwa tried to hold on. He loved Minji, despite everything. But as she withdrew further, as she pushed him away, he became… desperate. He didn’t know how to save their marriage, how to save her. That’s when Mirae became more than just your caretaker. She became his confidante, his friend… someone he could talk to."

Jungkook felt a sickening twist in his gut. "And Minji saw them together, didn’t she?"

"Yes," Charlotte admitted, her voice filled with regret. "Minji saw them, here in this very library. Jaehwa was just talking to Mirae, but to Minji, it was the ultimate betrayal. She accused him of having an affair, of cheating on her. It was the final blow to their marriage, the last straw that broke her completely."

Jungkook swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he asked the question that had been haunting him. "Did they… did they have an affair?"

"No," Charlotte said firmly, shaking her head. "Jaehwa never crossed that line. He was loyal to Minji, even when she wasn’t to him. He loved her until the end. But Mirae… she fell in love with him. She couldn’t help it. She was drawn to him, to his kindness, his sorrow. And when she realized that she was falling for a married man, she knew she had to leave. She couldn’t stay here, not with those feelings."

Jungkook felt like the ground was slipping out from under him. Everything he thought he knew, everything he had believed, was crumbling around him. "So, she left?"

"Yes, she did," she admitted, her voice soft but steady. "Mirae… she couldn’t control her feelings for Jaehwa. But she didn’t want to destroy your family. She didn’t want to be the one to break everything apart."

Jungkook felt his chest tighten, his breath coming in short, uneven gasps. "And what about Dad? How did he feel about her?"

Charlotte sighed deeply, as if the weight of the past was too much to bear. "Your father… he had a soft spot for Mirae, but it wasn’t romantic. He cared about her, deeply. She was there when Minji was spiraling, when everything was falling apart. He saw her as a friend, someone who understood his pain, who listened when no one else could."

Jungkook’s voice was barely a whisper now. "So what happened? Why did it all go so wrong?"

Charlotte hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath, as if bracing herself.

"One day, Mirae came to me, saying she had to resign. She couldn’t stay here, not with the way she felt about Jaehwa. She has this brutal quality in herself and that is, she is brutally honest. It was tearing her apart, and she didn’t want to be the cause of more pain. But your dad heard her speaking to me"

Jungkook’s heart twisted at the thought of Mirae, a woman who had loved him like her own, suffering in silence. "Dad… he heard this?"

Charlotte nodded slowly, her expression pained. "Yes. He overheard our conversation. He walked in just as Mirae was telling me how much it hurt her to be around him, knowing she could never be with him. Jaehwa… he felt terrible. He blamed himself for her pain. He was an honorable man, Jungkook. He would never have crossed that line, but he couldn’t help feeling responsible for her heartbreak."

Jungkook’s voice was thick with emotion. "What did he do?"

Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears. "He apologized to her, over and over. He told her how sorry he was for causing her so much pain. They both… they were both crying, so much emotion between them. And then… in a moment of shared grief, they hugged. It was just a hug, but it meant so much to both of them. Your father even kissed Mirae on the forehead, telling her that she would always have a place in his heart, even if it wasn’t as a lover."

Jungkook swallowed hard, his throat tight with the effort to hold back tears. "And Minji… she saw this?"

Charlotte’s face twisted with regret. "Yes. But she only saw part of it. She didn’t hear the whole conversation. She didn’t understand what was happening. All she saw was Jaehwa and Mirae, in each other’s arms, and she assumed the worst. She thought they were having an affair, that Mirae was trying to steal her husband away. It was the final blow. It pushed her over the edge."

Jungkook’s heart was pounding in his chest. He felt like he was drowning in the weight of everything he was hearing. "So, what did she do?"

Charlotte’s voice was trembling now, the memories clearly haunting her. "Minji… she decided to hurt Jaehwa in the worst way she could think of. She started seeing another man, a Korean commoner, someone she knew would get back at him. She didn’t love this man, she just used him to make Jaehwa suffer, to make him feel the pain she thought he had caused her."

Jungkook felt sick to his stomach. "And Dad… how did he react?"

Charlotte’s eyes were filled with sorrow. "By that time, Jaehwa was… numb. He had tried so hard to save his marriage, to bring Minji back from the brink, but he couldn’t. He had already lost her, and he knew it. When he found out about the affair, it broke him, but not in the way Minji had hoped. He didn’t fight back, didn’t show any anger or hurt. He just… accepted it, like he had accepted that their marriage was over."

Jungkook felt tears sting his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. "And Minji… she couldn’t handle that, could she?"

"No," Charlotte said, shaking her head, her voice filled with regret. "She wanted him to feel the pain she was feeling, but instead, she only pushed him further away. It made her furious, and she became even more destructive. She started hurting herself, lashing out at everyone around her, including you. That’s when we knew we had to get you out of there."

Jungkook’s voice was shaky, barely holding together. "So you sent me away… with Mirae."

Charlotte nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I couldn’t trust anyone else with you. Mirae loved you, she had always been there for you. I called her one night and begged her to take you, to keep you safe. She took you to the US, far away from all the chaos here. For two years, she raised you as her own, giving you the love and care that Minji couldn’t."

Jungkook’s heart was breaking, but he needed to know the rest. "And Minji… what happened to her?"

Charlotte’s face darkened, her voice trembling with emotion. "After you left, we tried everything to bring Minji back to some semblance of normalcy, but nothing worked. She was too far gone, consumed by her own demons. And then… one night, she… she killed your father."

Jungkook’s breath hitched, his eyes wide with shock. "She… she killed him?"

Charlotte’s voice was barely above a whisper. "Yes. She shot him while he was sleeping. I found him… lying in a pool of his own blood. My son… gone, just like that. And then Minji ran. She knew all the secret routes in the castle, and she escaped in her car. But on her way out, she crashed. The car exploded… we never found her body. We don’t know if she died in the crash or if she somehow escaped. But that was the end of it. Minji’s chapter was closed."

Jungkook felt like his world was collapsing around him. Everything he thought he knew was a lie, and the truth was so much worse than he could have imagined. "And me?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Why didn’t you bring me back sooner?"

Charlotte wiped her tears, her voice soft and filled with regret. "We wanted to keep you safe, away from the scandal, from the media frenzy that followed. For two years, all of Britain was consumed with the news of your father’s death, of the tragic end to our family. We were outcasts, and I couldn’t risk bringing you back into that mess. But then… one day, Mirae called me. She couldn’t stay in the US anymore. She was heartbroken, grieving for your father. She wanted to go back to Korea, to her roots. So she brought you back here, to London."

Jungkook stood there, his chest heaving with anger and confusion. His mind was racing, trying to piece together everything his grandmother had just told him.

The truth had been like a knife to the heart, but he wasn’t done yet. He needed more answers, needed to understand why his life had been built on so many lies.

"By the time Mirae brought you back to Britain, you had no memory of Minji. You clung to Mirae, refused to let her go. You didn’t remember anything about your real mother, and Mirae… she allowed you to call her ‘Mom.’ She was fond of you, Jungkook. Not in the way a mother loves her child, but she cared for you, even if it wasn’t complete, unconditional love.”, Charlotte said.

Jungkook’s fists tightened at his sides, his nails digging into his palms. “Then why did you let her take me away? Why didn’t you keep me with you?”

Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears, her voice trembling with regret. “Because I realized that keeping you here, in Britain, would only cause you more pain. This place… it holds too many memories, too many secrets. I knew that one day, you would learn the truth, and your young mind… it would have been too fragile to handle it. I couldn’t bear the thought of you growing up with the knowledge of what had happened here, of what your mother had done.”

Jungkook’s anger flared again, hot and fierce. “So you just sent me away? Left me with someone who wasn’t even my real mother?”

Charlotte shook her head, her tears spilling over. “I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t leave Britain, Jungkook. This is my home, my life. I’m bound to this soil, to this chateau. I stayed back because I thought it was the best thing for you, to keep you away from all of this.”

Jungkook felt like his heart was being torn in two. “Then why did you bring me back? Why did you suddenly decide that I should come back here?”

Charlotte took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “Mirae called me one day, out of the blue. She told me about your behavior, about how you were acting out, how you were becoming… defiant. She said your actions reminded her of Minji, the woman she hated. Mirae… she loved you, no doubt about that, but she wasn’t your biological mother. She didn’t have the same endless capacity for love that a mother should have. She was tired, Jungkook. Tired of the drama, of the lies. She gave me three days to bring you back to Britain.”

Jungkook’s heart pounded in his chest, his mind racing. “She just… gave up on me?”

Charlotte’s voice was heavy with sorrow. “She didn’t want to be part of this mess anymore. She was exhausted, emotionally drained. She told me that she couldn’t handle it, that you were becoming too much like Minji, and she couldn’t bear to see that. So she asked me to take you back, and I did. I brought you here, back to where you belong.”

Jungkook’s voice was thick with emotion, his throat tight with the effort to hold back tears. “So that’s why you don’t want me to be with a Korean woman. Because you think she’ll be like Minji?”

Charlotte looked at him with pain in her eyes. “I didn’t want you to go through what your father did. I lost him because of Minji, because she couldn’t handle the pressure, the expectations. And I see so much of him in you, Jungkook. But I also see Minji. The defiance, the anger, the need to rebel against everything around you. It terrifies me. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you like I lost my son.”

"I can’t bear the thought of you marrying someone who might not be able to handle this life, who might grow cynical, who might turn against you like Minji did. I’ve already lost one son to this nightmare, I can’t lose you too.”

Jungkook felt hopelessly trapped.

"Promise me, Jungkook. You won't ever speak of marrying a Korean woman. Promise me."