Crush (A Jeon Jungkook Fanfiction)

Busan

 Kim Nana-

It's always so peaceful here in Gamcheon-dong. Nothing much ever happens in the town. It's usually very tranquil, no scratch that, it's pretty boring actually. But nothing is ever boring in my life. With my brother Jihoo around, things are never peaceful. He loves to play hide and seek the most. He's really good at climbing trees and always hangs out in the big tree in our backyard. He collects insects in a jar and observes them for fun. He's autistic. The doctors said he'd die at 10 but he's pushing 15 now. The doctors said he could go anytime now.

Anytime now.

It has always been me, my dad, and Jihoo at home. My dad's a cop.

Being a cop has its cons, for one, He isn't home a lot which gives me a lot of alone time with Jihoo. With Jihoo, it's always so unpredictable. You never know what he's gonna do next, he can be hard to deal with and at times, you really love him for him. You can never let your guard down when you're with Jihoo, we usually play a lot, especially hide and seek. That's his favorite game.

 Dad usually comes back home by 8 pm but it can take a lot longer than that if he's working on a big case. Our mother was never really in the picture. She died giving birth to Jihoo. I was three at the time so I barely have any memories of her but Dad always told me that she loved me so much and called me her "little miracle". Since then, It has always been us three for as long as I can remember.

Hyeko, a close friend of my Dad homeschools Jihoo. She's always been in the same town and worked at Soohyun's convenience store as a cashier. She was a nice lady, always greeted me, and often gave me candy when she saw me around. She has a son, Taehyung, who's a year older than me.

Taehyung used to play with me and Jihoo a lot as kids. He always recommended some great music, turns out we have similar tastes after all. 

It was obvious that my Dad and Hyeko had feelings for each other but neither confessed. I was ten when they finally started dating. I was 12 when they got married and bought a bigger house in Gamcheon-dong since we're no longer three people but five now. It was bittersweet leaving our old small cozy cabin but it was for the best. We're now a family of 5 people and every day was fun. It took time for me to get used to living together but it got easier as days went by. 

2022 February 6
6:44 pm

I set the box full of canned fish down before sitting down and arranging them neatly on the shelves according to their brands.

"Nana! You have a delivery!" Donghoon shouts across the aisles as I stand up and walk over to the cashier. "Mrs. Jung has made an order"

"Alright, I'll go, Jihoo let's go!" I say putting on my brown vintage leather jacket before grabbing the keys to the ford.

"Donghoon uncle, can I have two of these?" Jihoo asks, holding up two bars of chocolate.

"Why, sure Jihoo, you can have them" Donghoon responds, smiling endearingly at the boy.

"Whoa," Jihoo's face lights up, and rips open the packaging. "What do you say, Jihoo?"

I ask. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you" he repeats excitedly before rushing to the car.

I shake my head and make my way to the car, catching a glimpse of Jungkook smoking along with his friends on the sidewalk.

He's wearing an ocean blue shirt underneath a black leather jacket, his dark hair disheveled on top of his head sways ever so gently against the breeze. His sharp eyebrows remain furrowed as he speaks with the cigarette between his lips. He looks annoyed and appears to be arguing with one of his friends who I think is called Jimin.

His eyes meet mine for a second, the same annoyed look on his face as I look away and get inside my car hearing His eyes meet mine for a second, the same annoyed look on his face as I look away and get inside my car hearing Jihoo fuss over how slow I am.

I secretly had a crush on Jungkook since last year. I never told anyone about it mainly because he was dating one of the rich girls, Sunhee. But they broke up a month ago. Sunhee is someone who is nice to you only when she thinks you're worthy of her standard. I never really liked her. I had a lot of classes with Jungkook last year but we never really talked. He always got into trouble at school mainly because of his temper. He's a good guy but he has trouble keeping his temper in check especially considering the rich kid tactics that happen on a daily basis at school.

The school I go to is pretty prestigious, it's in the town next to Gamcheon where all the rich kids live. All the rich kids go to the same school. So I've grown used to the nasty stares from the rich kids on a daily basis. It's not just me though, all the street kids of Gamcheon, who are not privileged enough experience the same thing. Some of them tend to accuse underprivileged students of the slightest inconvenience. So it's pretty obvious that both parties don't get along.

So when Jungkook, a street kid from Gamcheon, started dating Sunhee, a privileged girl, everybody nearly despised them. Both of them experienced backlash from their friends and family. The memory of Sunhee walking up to Jungkook near the lockers and full-on making out with him gaining ooh-aahs from the students is still clear in my memory. The surprise and disgust on everyone's faces were comical. They broke up last month when Sunhee found out Jungkook was selling weed to some people on the streets with his friends. Sunhee never liked Jungkook's friends so this was the last straw for her.

After finishing my deliveries I drive back to Fresh food and fare and check over the aisles and the counter one last time before ending my shift. I get inside my ford. "You ready to go home, Jihoo?" "Ready to go home" he drags and swipes his nose, twitching cutely. I smile at him and ruffle his hair and start the engine.

As soon as we reach home, Jihoo makes a beeline to the living room.

I notice Miss Song Hyorin in her garden, a middle-aged lady who lives right next to our house, approaching me. She's almost like family to us, always bringing cakes and cookies for Jihoo and us, she's quite fond of Jihoo especially, never once raised her voice at him no matter how stubborn he could be at times. "Hello, Miss Song," I say politely, noticing a small basket in her wrinkled hands. "Hello, sweetheart, out working overtime again?" "I want to go to college in the city miss molly, so I try hard to save up," I say smiling politely.

 "You ought to be less harsh on yourself, child," she removed the napkin placed on top of the basket to reveal delicious pies and pastries, the aroma of fresh bread and blueberries almost made me drool.

 "There, I've made an abundance of these, surely an old woman can't eat all these by herself, I figured you and your brothers could enjoy these" "why, you didn't have to, thank you so much, Miss Song, Jihoo really enjoy your treats just as we do" I take the basket from her quivering hands as she tilts her head, a small smile on her face. "I'm glad you enjoy my treats, be sure to tell Hyeko to come by sometime, I do miss her company around" "oh yes, sure, definitely," I said nodding as she bids me goodnight and strolls off to her house.

I walk into the house and carefully remove my shoes when Taehyung approaches me and takes the basket. "Miss Song, give you this?" he queries, counting the treats in the basket as he walks into the kitchen. "Yeah," I say, taking off my coat. "Pig" I scoff as he immediately grabs one small pie and stuffs it into his mouth. "The hell did you just call me pea-brain?!" he fails to sound threatening as his voice comes out muffled with his mouth full.

"Hey honey, come on, I've made Japchae!" Hyeko smiles at me warmly, still wearing her blue apron. "I'll be down in a minute" I nod and smile back at her.

"Here comes the monster raaaaawrrfdh" Dad screams while chasing Jihoo before scooping him up in his arms. Jihoo squeals and giggles loudly while squirming as Dad takes him to the bathroom to bathe him. I laugh at them before entering my bedroom.

Setting my jacket on the small chair, I drag myself to the bed and plop myself onto it. I stare at the beige ceiling, sensing the feeling of exhaustion creeping in. Feeling my body relax against the softness of the bed, my eyes slowly flutter close as I give in to a much-needed deep slumber.