"Hyeong, did you move the towels?" Lee Nuri inquired as he opened the closet in Ko Jimin's bedroom.
"On the top shelf." The older man called from the kitchen of the two-bedroom apartment shared with his primary soulmate and their son. As Nuri reached for the towel on the top shelf, he accidentally knocked over a box sitting next to the towels. This caused its contents to lay strewn across the floor. Nuri picked them up and looked through them. There were wrappers for all his favorite candies, a lock of hair, and a handful of photos. Putting aside the candy wrappers and gently placing the lock of hair back into the box he started to go through the pictures. All the photos were of him in relaxed and candid poses. In most of them, he wasn't aware of a camera. He was so engrossed in looking at the pictures that he hadn't realized that Jimin had walked into the room. Suddenly the photos flew out of his hands and into Jimin's.
"You weren't supposed to find that." The older man whispered.
"Why?"
"That is my memory box. I want to remember every moment we spent together in this cycle."
"Are you planning to leave me?" Nuri asked Jimin, tears streaming down his face. "Are you planning to break our bond? Is that why you've been extra kind to me this weekend? You found someone better than me to be your soulmate?"
"No, of course not," Jimin said firmly, walking close to the man he had spent years calling his soulmate. "But whenever you find someone better than me, I'll let you go. I've been collecting memories so it will be easier for me to move on."
'I'm sorry Nuri-yah. I won't be around anymore. And you'll forget me soon enough.' Jimin thought to himself, his heart breaking into a million pieces at the thought of what he had to do. He kept reminding himself that this was the only way to save his soulmates. Knowing why he was doing it did not make it easier.
Nuri suddenly realized something startling. The reason why Jimin had been avoiding him. The reason his access token to Evernight Manor did not work anymore. The reason Jimin insisted on Nuri finding his romantic soulmate. And the reason why Jimin looked like he was dying.
"You are powering the wards with your life force, aren't you?"
Jimin's silence was all the answer Nuri needed.
"Please Hyeong" Nuri begged "Don't do this. We can find another way to power the wards. Momo-San and Feng-ge can help you. I'll talk to Shushu, he likes you. Your dads can help you."
Ko Jimin looked at his soulmate with tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry Nuri-yah. But I have to. I am the only one who can."
"Why?" Nuri cried as he held on to his Hyeong for dear life."They don't deserve you. They use you. You know what they are doing to you… What she ordered them to do to you. Why would you do this for them…for her?"
Jimin pulled away from the hug and cupped Nuri's face in his hands thumbing away his tears. "What is our pack motto?"
Nuri whispered as he looked away "Family above all."
"No matter what they did to me, they are my family and they need me." Nuri continued to weep as Jimin pulled him into a hug.
"What about me?" Nuri whispered "You are leaving me so you can protect them. Who will protect me, Hyeong?"
"We will." Nuri turned to see Ibuki and Anakin walking through a portal.
"Hia Kin, please help me convince him to stop. It's going to kill him." Nuri threw himself at the Thai man who looked equally devastated.
"I'm so sorry, Nong." Kin whispered as he stroked Nuri's hair. "Trust me, I have tried. It's out of my hands. Hia Min has made up his mind."
Jimin walked up to the two crying men and quickly wiped Kin's tears, he pulled Nuri into a hug. "Shhh. It's OK, pup. I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere."
The lie made him feel uneasy but Jimin would say and do anything to make things easier for his soulmates. Not letting go of Nuri, Jimin used his free hand to grab on to Kin and slowly moved the three of them to the sofa. After helping Kin get settled l, he sat next to the man and pulled Nuri on top of him. He gently stroke Nuri's hair, letting his magic weave into Nuri's memories.
Kin remembered having the discussion with Jimin about what the clan head would be willing to sacrifice to protect his soul group. He also knew he wouldn't forgive himself if he didn't try to stop him.
"Hia Min. Please don't leave. Stay with us, please. Kin moved closer to Jimin, reaching out to push a stray lock of hair off his face.
"The cycle will not stop unless I die, Nong." Jimin said softly. "I have to protect them from her."
"But Hia, what if you don't return?" Kin didn't want to lose his soulmate. Just thinking about it made his heart clench in fear and worry.
"That's why I'm trusting you to handle our soul group," he said softly as Kin watched his soulmate lay their primary soulmate on his lap before getting up.
Jimin-San," Ibuki said softly, wiping tears from her eyes. "We have to leave."
Jimin nodded and turned to Kin, bending down to pull the seated man a hug and holding him close. "Nong, I trust you with our soulmates."
Kin knew it was useless to convince Jimin to stay. Jimin was the stubbornest man he had ever met.
"Don't worry Hia Min" Kin said softly, letting him relax into the hug. "I'll make sure they are safe."
Kin pulled away first because he knew if he let the hug continue he would break down in tears. He silently watched his Alpha soulmate walk out the door knowing that the next time he saw the man he wouldn't remember who Kin was.