Jewels of Busan: the Jeon brothers.

Chapter 10: Hoseok.

"We need more money. When should we expect a transfer?" Mrs. Jung said in a demanding tone of voice.

Hoseok shook his head and sighed. "I sent you last week a thousand dollars, what the hell did you buy?"

"Food." Mrs. Jung lied. "Come on poppet, you do owe us, you know. You have to take care of us now."

Hoseok shook his head. It was never enough for them. Nothing he ever he did was good enough, just for one mistake he did as a child. "Fine. How much do you need?"

"How about..." She seemed to cut the line for a moment, probably talking to Mr. Jung. "One thousand five hundred. You know, food and stuff." She chuckled.

Hoseok covered his face with his hand. He didn't see anything funny regarding their conversation. The amount she asked for, was leaving him almost broke. "I don't have that kind of money. I can only send you eight hundred at most. I need to survive too."

"Just like our angel survived?" Another moment of silence followed. This time, she deliberately did it to make her son feel guilty. In her eyes, the misery of their family was thanks to him...

"Poppet, you better make sure I have that amount in my account by the end of the day. Otherwise, your father will personally come to tell your boss that you killed our unborn child. You can starve for all we care." She said, venom filled her words.

Hoseok's entire body started shaking. He closed his fist and opened it again. The guilt he carried all his life, was drowning him. Suffocated him to the point it gave him nightmares. "Fine. I'll do a transfer."

"That's all we need poppet." She laughed sarcastically.

The call suddenly dropped, and he could finally breath. Hoseok stopped caring about their lack of affection a long time ago. Yes, he did a very stupid thing at the age of seven, thing that broke his family apart. It wasn't done on purpose, he was just a child who had no idea what he was saying. He didn't want his parents to fight. He didn't want his family destroyed.

Growing up knowing his sin, was already too much. After the ordeal, he was cast away. His parents cared only about the money he would send them. He had no idea how he even survived this long on his own. Leaving home at the age of twelve, doing meaningless jobs and work himself to exhaustion. Even resorted to begging on streets for food and water. That until they found him. When his father found him at fourteen, he was beaten to an inch of his life. There wasn't a place on his body that would show the color of his skin.

The only good thing that happened in his life, his parents sent him to school. In college, he met Jungkook and as much as he tried to stay away from the boy, Jungkook kept on coming back somehow. Before he knew it, they became friends and his life also became easier. Jungkook talked to his twin, Hoseok's current boss, and he actually got a job well paid. He moved cities and now he was living on his own, having contact with his parents just when he was supposed to send money. He loved his job, got a wonderful best friend, and he was happy. Well, as happy as he could be, considering that his sin followed him everywhere.

He needed a release. He needed to forget that he was a killer. He quickly made the bank transfer, took his leather jacket and drove to Jungkook's apartment. The ride was short, probably a couple of minutes away. As soon as Hoseok arrived, he punched in Jungkook's code and entered the apartment. It was a normal thing to do, they used to live together for a while, there weren't secrets between them, although Jungkook was never one to share his feelings. Hoseok could understand him, some things are better left unsaid.

He found his best friend on the balcony with a glass of wine in his hand, looking at the horizon, the sun was setting down, casting it's orange and purple hues over the city. His legs were stretched on the balcony rails, he looked peaceful, too much inside his own world.