Bloom In the Ruins
Chapter 1: Ashes & Echoes
Silence was the first thing he remembered.
Not the crash.
Not the screams.
Not even the searing pain that tore through his spine like a thousand needles.
Just… silence.
Like the world had paused.
Like someone had pressed mute on the universe.
Jungkook blinked slowly against the sterile white of the hospital ceiling. His body didn’t move. It couldn’t. There was a dull, drugged fog settling over his limbs like dead weight. He tried to speak, but only a rasp escaped. He felt a hand—warm, trembling—grasp his.
His mother whispered, voice tight with emotion.
Where was…
His wife?
His Jiwoo?
His mother nodded, tears flooding his eyes.
Kim Seokjin
She’s okay. She’s with us. She’s safe.
But he didn’t say the name he needed to hear most.
He turned his head, slowly, and saw the truth in his silence.
The funeral was a blur. He didn’t attend.
Jungkook had sat in his wheelchair, staring out the rain-slicked windows of the hospital, while people lowered her body into the earth.
They called it an accident.
But it felt like punishment.
They said it was the truck driver’s fault.
But all he could think about was the argument they’d had in the car, seconds before the crash.
All he could think about was her reaching for his hand right before everything went black.
He'd woken up broken.
She hadn’t woken up at all.
Kim Seokjin
Please, Jungkook. Eat something.
Seokjin pleaded, placing a bowl of porridge in front of him weeks later.
Jeon Jungkook
I’m not hungry.
Kim Seokjin
Jiwoo needs you.
Jiwoo.
His one year old daughter.
Giggles like her mother. Eyes like his.
He saw her from a distance now—heard her soft sounds in the next room. But he hadn’t held her since that night. He was afraid. Afraid she’d look at him and see what he’d lost.
He was less than a man.
Less than a father.
Barely a human being.
A month passed. Then two.
Namjoon took over the company, quietly slipping into Jungkook’s place. Yoongi came by every few days, dropping off music and pretending not to be worried.
Jungkook ignored them all.
He lived in his chair, in the silence, in the memories that clawed at him like ghosts.
Until one day, he overheard them talking in the hallway.
Kim Seokjin
We need someone to help with Jiwoo
Seokjin said, voice strained.
Kim Seokjin
She’s starting to notice he’s not there.
Kim Namjoon
We can hire a live-in. A student, maybe. Someone young.
Kim Namjoon
He’ll have to deal with it.
Jungkook sat in the dark that night, eyes hollow, breath shallow.
Let them bring someone.
Let them hire help.
He didn’t care anymore.
As long as they didn’t expect him to feel again.
Chapter 2
Taehyung shifted in his seat, the cold vinyl of the university bench pressing into his back as he scrolled through job listings on his cracked phone screen.
His stomach growled, but he ignored it. He’d gotten used to that kind of hunger—just like he’d gotten used to waking up alone in a quiet apartment filled with echoes of people long gone.
It had been two years since the orphanage shut down. Since he aged out and stepped into the world with a scholarship, three boxes of clothes, and no one waiting for him anywhere.
He whispered to the screen, refreshing again.
Kim Taehyung
Just one that isn’t sketchy or soul-sucking.
Most were the usual: late-night convenience store clerk, café work, dishwashing.
He’d done those before. He needed something steadier now—something that paid enough to keep the lights on and left time for his final exams.
Taehyung blinked. Then clicked.
The listing was brief but formal. No contact name—just “Jeon Household.”
His thumb hovered. He’d heard the name before.
Widowed in a car accident. Paralyzed from the waist down
The news had covered it like wildfire. His wife… what was her name? Ji Eun. She had died instantly. The baby had survived.
Taehyung didn’t know them. But he knew loss. He knew what it meant to be left behind.
Without letting himself think too hard, he hit apply.
The Jeon estate was nothing like what he imagined.
Not flashy. Not cold. It was massive, sure, but there was something heavy in the air, like grief had soaked into the walls and settled there like dust.
The man at the door—Omega, warm eyes—extended his hand.
Kim Seokjin
I’m Seokjin. Jungkook’s mother. Thank you for coming.
Kim Taehyung
Thank you for having me.
They walked through the foyer. It was quiet. Too quiet for a house with a toddler.
Seokjin said, reading his thoughts.
Kim Seokjin
And Jungkook... well, he keeps to himself.
He didn’t ask more. He could feel the tension before they even reached the living room.
Namjoon sat there—tall, Alpha, measured gaze.
Kim Namjoon
We’ve read your file.
Kim Namjoon
Impressive, considering your situation.
Kim Taehyung
I need this job. And I’m good with children. I took care of the little ones in the orphanage.
Kim Seokjin
You’ll meet Jiwoo, of course. But…
Kim Seokjin
Jungkook is very particular. If he says no, there’s nothing we can do.
The moment Jungkook entered the room, Taehyung felt it.
Like winter had walked in.
Black sweater, dark jeans despite the wheelchair. Hair longer than in his press photos. Eyes like iron—cold and heavy with something unspoken.
Jungkook didn’t say a word. Just looked him over slowly
Jeon Jungkook
You look young.
Kim Taehyung
I’m twenty-two.
Taehyung replied, trying to hold his ground.
Kim Taehyung
I’m responsible.
Jeon Jungkook
I don’t need someone to talk back. I need someone who doesn’t break things.
Kim Taehyung
I don’t break.
Something flickered in Jungkook’s gaze—something unreadable.
Seokjin started, but he was already wheeling away.
He hadn’t expected it to be easy.
But damn.
Kim Seokjin
But he doesn’t have the final say anymore. You’re hired.
Taehyung’s head snapped up.
Kim Seokjin
You start tomorrow. Jiwoo will love you. She has a good instinct.
He swallowed, heart racing.
Maybe he hadn't impressed Jungkook.
But if he could make the baby smile… maybe he’d earn his place.
Maybe this house needed someone a little broken, too.
Chapter 3
Taehyung stood in front of the nursery door, clutching the small backpack he brought with him. Just the essentials—a few clothes, some books, and a worn-out picture of the kids from his old orphanage.
His world, crammed into a bag.
He took a breath, then stepped in.
The room was warm and soft—sunlight spilling through pale curtains, toys scattered across the floor in quiet chaos. And in the center of it all, in a tiny pastel onesie with little bears on the feet, sat a wide-eyed baby girl.
She blinked up at him with dark doe eyes, her mouth wet and round with curiosity.
Taehyung crouched slowly, hands visible.
Kim Taehyung
You must be Jiwoo.
She tilted her head. Then reached out and slapped his cheek—gently, clumsily, with a gummy laugh.
Taehyung froze. Then burst out laughing too.
Kim Taehyung
Okay, fair. I guess we’re doing this your way.
By mid-morning, she was clinging to his shirt, babbling nonsense into his collar as he carried her from room to room.
Kim Seokjin
She never does that
Seokjin said, watching from the hallway. Her eyes glistened.
Kim Seokjin
It took her weeks to warm up to her own uncles.
Taehyung said softly, bouncing Jiwoo gently.
Kim Taehyung
She knows who needs who.
Jungkook sat by the window in his study, unmoving.
He could hear Jiwoo's laugh echo down the halls. That sound—uncontrollable, soft, pure—hadn’t filled the house in months.
He hated how it felt like betrayal.
Ji Eun used to make her laugh like that. Ji Eun would’ve known what those sounds meant.
Now this stranger had walked in, wearing cheap clothes and wide smiles, and Jiwoo had opened her tiny arms like he belonged here.
Taehyung found him in the lounge after lunch.
Kim Taehyung
I changed Jiwoo and put her down for a nap.
Kim Taehyung
She fussed for a minute, but she’s out cold now.
Jungkook didn’t look up from the window.
Jeon Jungkook
You didn’t have permission to take her out of the nursery.
Kim Taehyung
I’ll ask next time.
Jeon Jungkook
There won’t be a next time if you overstep again.
Taehyung took a slow breath.
Kim Taehyung
I understand you don’t trust me.
Jeon Jungkook
I don’t need to trust you. You’re here for her, not for me.
Kim Taehyung
Then I’ll earn her trust first.
He turned to leave, but paused.
Kim Taehyung
She misses you.
Kim Taehyung
She looks at the door like she’s waiting for you to come in.
For a moment, Jungkook said nothing.
Jeon Jungkook
You don’t know anything about her.
Kim Taehyung
But I want to.
He left before Jungkook could speak again.
That night, Taehyung curled on the small cot they’d set up in the room next to Jiwoo’s, arms behind his head.
The house still felt cold.
But not the baby’s room.
Not anymore.
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