he never would have thought that this yule break would be any different than the previous ones. it was supposed to be filled with going to pureblood events and hanging out with his older siblings, especially jaesun. he had signed his betrothal contract with regulus black the previous winter. the morning of his fifteenth birthday was when he has signed it with his parents as witness. he knew that a life with reggie was what he wanted. taehee could tell from the moment they went on their first date, coming home to gush to their older brother about the date. there was nobody else that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. so being in a pureblood society, he made sure his parents started the process. he was looking forward to spending time with his betrothed, as reggie was extremely nervous about going home that break. the youngest min thought that it was because of sirius no longer being at grimmauld place, but it was worse than he could ever think of.
taehee knew well enough that his future spouse was a death eater. he also knew that reggie didn't want any part of what they were doing and was only in this mess because his mother served him up to the dark lord on a silver platter. the brunette had gotten ready to head over to grimmauld place to spend some time with regulus when his parents had called a family meeting. he wasn't sure what it was about, but it probably had something to do with why jaesun was in a mood for the last couple of days. he headed to one of the side rooms off of the main parlor in the min manor that was often used for meetings like these. noticing the blank looks on his parent's faces, he knew that they were hiding behind their masks.
it wasn't long before all of the min children were in the side room. their father and papa gave each other a shared look, communicating in a way that they often did before breaking the news that had jaesun in a foul mood. their parents were bound to each other from the time they were eleven. they went into the details about what happened, which caused a scene between jaesun and jiwoo. sungjin had left after his eldest son to explain and console him. taehee expected the family meeting to be over as his siblings left the room, but his father, jiwoo, called out to him.
" i need to speak to you about something important, taehee. "
he knew it was serious by the way his full name was used, so he stayed in the room. he racked his brain for thoughts on what his father wanted, but nothing came up. his father took a deep breath as a frown appeared on his face.
" it's about regulus. i got a letter from walburga this morning. he's dead, taehee. regulus supposedly went out on a mission for the dark lord and was supposed to be back by today. however, there are rumors that he went against the dark lord and for reasons unknown, he had regulus killed. i know how eager and excited you were to begin the betrothal stage of courting, but unfortunately that won't happen. i do apologize for dropping this on you right after telling all of you about what i did to your papa. i also apologize for the fact that you didn't get to say goodbye. "
the youngest min blinked and all emotions were gone from his face. his pureblood mask perfectly on his face. after hearing that the love of his life and soulmate was dead, he had slammed his occlumeny walls into place even harder. they were always up but now he made sure that no one would be able to get into his mind. he was perfectly numb to anymore news that could hurt him. all he could think about was how regulus probably cried out for him in his final moments and that he never did get to say goodbye. he wouldn't be able to spend more time with reggie or get married to him. then there was the issue that he would never know how he truly died and that there would always be speculation. hell, he didn't even know if there was a body to be recovered. he had never felt more heartbroken and lost than he did now. he nodded his head in response to what his father said before saying a soft excuse me as he headed out the door and to his room. he instructed the elves to bring him his meals when the family had dinner and to not let anyone in. after that, he let down his occlumency walls and just completely broke.
he cried and raged, throwing things around the room in anger. he should have known something more was wrong with regulus. he could have prevented his death if only he had talked to him. by the look on his father's face, he knew what his son's betrothed did. taehee had eventually exhausted his anger and just collapsed in the middle of the trashed room and sobbed and wailed for the future that he would never get. he wouldn't be able to hold regulus's hands or wrap his scarf around reggie's neck cause he forgot his. he wouldn't be able to have the kind of love that his parent's have, but in a healthier way. he knew that there was no one else that could replace regulus black and no one ever would. no matter how hard they would try, his heart would always remain loyal to regulus arcturus black.