DUAL

//36

Dawn arrived, yet sleep was nowhere to be found for both. Jungkook's back was pressed against the wall, and he held Chaeyoung close as she sat in between his legs, her head on his shoulder. His fingers faintly brushed about the soft, chilly skin of her waist.

Chaeyoung had silently cried after recalling what happened, and though Jungkook believed Chaeyoung told him the truth, that Hanbin and his men hadn't touched her in that way, it still didn't eradicate the ire within him. Still, they had harassed her with their words, assaulted her physically. Even the attack that had happened in front of Jungkook was already painful to see. A thousand year might pass, he would probably never be able to forgive himself for what happened. She was never supposed to be involved.

"If I may ask..." Chaeyoung said, her sniffing had stopped. She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked softly into his eyes. "...you don't have to answer me if you don't wish to," she said, assuring him as she softly rubbed his chest.

Jungkook nodded.

"Is it true that this feud between you and him... started with your father murdering his?" she carefully asked, biting her lips.

Jungkook's eyes downcast, recalling the first time he had met Hanbin who had cornered him on the very first day of being accepted as a Newcomer. He had known Hanbin as one of the most talented children of the Defense Sector. He hadn't really expected to make friends with the other Newcomers, but never had he expected to gain an enemy on his first day either. He had thought of Hanbin's first words to him as a joke, but as more days passed, especially with them being paired up as sparring partners, the words were graver than a mere joke.

I just simply cannot wait to kill you, Jeon.

Jungkook drew a long breath with closed eyes, feeling slightly calmed when Chaeyoung's fingertips brushed against his skin as she gently pushed the strands of his hair falling onto his forehead.

"Yes," he answered. Opening his eyes, he saw the frown hanging on Chaeyoung's face.

"But you are not the traitor," she said with a dejected sigh, placing her palm on his cheek. "Your father is."

Jungkook shot her a grateful smile. He had an instinct saying that his grandfather had told her everything about what happened in his family. His father's betrayal and the death of his mother and grandmother.

"But I'm his son. To them, disloyalty runs in the blood."

Chaeyoung sighed, her brows furrowed further.

"Hanbin's sister was a Dual," Jungkook said after a moment and Chaeyoung's eyes snapped toward his. "Her secondary ability was healing. It was identified when she was a mere six years old."

Chaeyoung was briefly frozen in his lap before she exhaled. "What happened to her?"

Jungkook remembered being told of this story by Hanbin. He was walking home after the training ended, only to be ambushed by Hanbin. They had fought one on one and Jungkook had spat at him with questions, probing the older male the reasons why he hated Jungkook with all his guts. Hanbin had told him what happened with a promise in the end, that he would end Jungkook no matter what.

"His family submitted her before she turned into the final form of a Dual," Jungkook said. "They turned her in, even when they loved her dearly. Like any other Duals should, she was exterminated."

Chaeyoung's shoulders slumped, her hand placed over her chest.

"Did my grandfather tell you that my father helped a Dual to escape?" he asked, and she slowly nodded. "Hanbin's father managed to capture the Dual that my father wanted to help, the Dual whom he's in love with. Hanbin's father was the one who caught her. But my father interfered and helped the woman, by killing his father."

Jungkook had empathized with Hanbin, and understood his reasons for hating the Jeons with all his heart. He had admitted, though never spoken aloud, that he'd probably hold the same wrath as Hanbin's if he was in his place. Hanbin had all the rights to feel that the world was unjust. He had the right to feel angry at how Jungkook's father betrayed the village for the sake of the woman he loved, while Hanbin's own family willingly sacrificed the family member they loved to stay loyal for the village and to keep the village and the people safe from future harm. Hanbin had all the rights to have such hatred toward Jungkook's father who wasn't a Dual but betrayed the village by killing a fellow Defender who was only doing his job.

But Jungkook's empathy had reduced at how Hanbin was treating him unjustly. Jungkook, too, lost his family members because of his own father who had gone to an extent of taking the lives of his own mother and wife. Jungkook had once believed that he deserved the hate, but as he grew up, he firmly believed that no one else deserved this treatment other than his own father who had caused so much pain to the people. He loathed his father.

Jungkook let a heavy sigh escape his mouth, his head leaning back at the wall. He felt Chaeyoung's hands easing the tension on his stiff shoulders, allowing him to feel at ease. Her hands slid down his chest, and Jungkook sighed in pleasure when Chaeyoung planted soft kisses on his collarbone.

"I believe that you are not a traitor," she said against his skin. "You will never betray the people."

Jungkook smiled, feeling content. He knew that she wasn't the only one aside from his grandfather to believe that. For some reason, though, he felt better listening to her assuring him with that.

"You would submit me if I was a Dual, right?" Chaeyoung asked, and Jungkook's eyes shot open.

His smile was gone, gaze instantly locked on hers, his heart stopping. He swallowed. "What are you saying?"

Chaeyoung breathed softly, her gaze dropped from his. She dampened her lips. "If I tell you that I am a Dual, would you let me go?"

Jungkook straightened himself. His hand cradled her face and he made her look straight into his eyes. "What are you- What do you mean?"

It couldn't be. She couldn't be. Impossible.

Her brows dipped. "Tell me, what will you do if I am a Dual?"

Jungkook frowned heavily. "You're not a Dual. You're not a Dual."

"But if I am?"

He had sworn to never be like his father. No matter what happened, he would never betray the village. He would never do anything like what his father had done. He wanted to prove that he was nothing like his father.

But now with Chaeyoung questioning him about what he would do if she was a Dual, Jungkook found it difficult to give her the right answer. He couldn't bear seeing her being beaten. Could he endure the pain of sending her to death if she was a Dual? Could he be able to withstand the agony of losing her for the sake of everyone else? He knew that the answer was absolutely no for both. But would he choose to betray everyone for her to live, or would he prove to them that he never inherited his father's cursed trait?

"Are you going to let me go if I am a Dual, Jungkook?"

Jungkook found himself shedding tears as he took her hands in his, raising them up to his lips. He couldn't lift his head up as he pressed a long kiss on her knuckles. With a heavy heart, Jungkook inhaled the deepest and breathed out his answer.

a/n: hi, um... the update is not much i'm sorry. trying to get back to writing is hard after so many months of having life getting in the way, but i guess getting bored while recovering helps a little. thanks for reading <3 wishing the best of health for everyone, hope you have a good day :D