Feathers And Carnations Chapter Twenty-six

*One month later*

A gentle breeze ruffled Jisung’s hair as he watched the sun set slowly over the Nightfield estate. Today, Chimera was officially disintegrated and gone for good. 

On the night of the attack, a few of the machines were freed while others were killed off due to being completely brainwashed. Many of the cruel enforcers of Chimera were taken in the attack on the facility and the rest were taken into custody by law enforcement.

After such a brutal attack on an unknown compound, the army had been sent in, which sent Nightfield and other members of the mafia running. From there, the government investigated and found almost nothing due to the destruction of Chimera, which led to them closing it as a cold case.

After weeks of laying low, Nightfield was slowly beginning its regular operations with their newly formed alliances that helped bring Chimera down. Seungmin had taken over Minho’s group, and after some negotiations, decided to band together with Nightfield permanently. All seemed to be going well.

Except for Jisung. Despite healing from his injuries fairly well so far, he hadn’t gotten back into his role as informant. He couldn’t bring himself to move much, and he spent most of his time on this balcony, watching the sun take its course across the sky.

Since losing Minho several memories had returned to the surface, which only made the loss more difficult to accept. A lost love, freshly reformed, was torn apart before it could truly blossom.

Jisung didn’t move when he heard the door to the balcony open. “I’ll come eat when I’m hungry. I promise, Chan.”

“Ouch, you really thought I was Chan?” Seungmin asked, joining him at the railing.

“Oh, sorry. By the way, do you want me to call you ‘sir’ now?”

“No, that would make me vomit. I like being a second in command, and it’s going to stay that way. Felix is a good partner in crime.”

Jisung smiled. “Well be careful, Eui is after your position.”

Seungmin scoffed. “She can try to take it all she wants, the little pest will never succeed.”

“Just marry her already.”

“Shut the hell up. I came up here to talk to you about something important and you’re distracting me.”

Jisung smirked but gave in. “Okay, what is it?”

Seungmin went quiet for a drawn out moment as he sobered. “I thought I’d give you some time before giving this to you and I think it’s time.” He held out a small, white envelope. It was blank, save for Jisung’s name written in small, perfect lettering.

Jisung took it, a fist squeezing his heart as he could already guess what this was. But he asked anyway. “What is this?”

“Minho wrote this out while you two were hiding out at the cabin. He was always good at being a few steps ahead and in this case, he was… prepared for when he died. He wanted me to give this to you if Chimera claimed his life.”

Jisung’s smile was wobbly. “A letter, how cliche.”

Seungmin gave him a soft smile. “He wrote one for me too, and I was just barely able to gather the courage to open it. So you don’t have to read it yet, or at all, if you really don’t want to. But I had to give it to you.”

“Thank you, Seungmin. How are you doing, by the way?”

He rolled out his shoulders. “I’m doing better, I think. Being here in Nightfield with you has helped a lot. Grief is heavy, but you eventually learn how to carry its weight.”

Jisung let that sink into his bones and his shattered heart.

Seungmin backed away. “I’m heading down to dinner. The letter is in your care now.”

The letter felt heavy in Jisung’s hands. And he couldn’t open it.

⧫⧫⧫

Another month passed, and Jisung nearly felt like his lungs could work again as he slowly returned to his role within Nightfield. He’d grown fairly close with Eui, and they, along with Changbin, had become a chaotic trio capable of accomplishing missions efficiently and easily. Jisung’s heavied heart was lifted, if just a little bit, when he was with them.

After a long day of running around the city on a new mission, Jisung made himself some tea and sat out on the balcony to unwind. A lot of things reminded him of Minho, but every time he drank this tea, he was brought back to the moments he shared with him. As he finished the drink, the letter came to mind and for the first time in weeks he didn’t hate the thought of opening it.

A few days later, Jisung found himself holding the letter after getting ready for bed. He sat staring at it for a long time, fighting with past and present emotions. Would this help him move on?”

Finally, he opened the envelope and pulled the folded paper from its confines. A ‘hi’ was written on the fold beside a strange little face. That made Jisung smile a little, and he unfolded the letter.

My love,

Should I start this in a cliche way and say ‘if you’re reading this I’m dead’? Or is that in poor taste? Just kidding, I won’t be doing that. I hope that you never have to read this. I hope I’m writing this for no one.

But here I am. I could talk to you for several lifetimes, but I’ll have to fit what I can onto this little paper. 

Death isn’t scary. It’s necessary. It’s dark and quiet. It seems cruel on the surface as it takes souls from loved ones. But death can be comforting to those who have fought too long. It’s… freeing.

I’ve been a prisoner all my life. I’ve never truly escaped Chimera, and I don’t know if I ever will. When I’m gone, don’t worry about me. I’ll finally be free.

But it wasn’t all bad. All these years I’ve had you to hold onto. You brought light and comfort to my prison, and I’ll forever be grateful for you. No matter how short my time is, I’m glad I got to spend it with you.

I want you to find joy and freedom. I want you to have everything I never did. As you taught me, life is messy and confusing, but it’s precious. Hold onto it for as long as you can, and enjoy it. Keep messing with Seungmin, keep loving the rain. Thanks for giving me a chance instead of stabbing me that first time I flirted with you.

I’m okay.

And you will be too.

I love you, even in death. And if we live a thousand other lives, I will find you in each one.

Love, your handsome mafia don- Minho ♡

P.S. I’ll try to give you a carnation if I get the chance. If I don’t, I’ll give you one in the next life.

A warmth settled over Jisung’s body, like a hug from something beyond, and through his tears, he smiled.

—————— If you’re still reading, hoping for that happy ending, I love you. Thanks for reading