Seokjin and the Heirs of the Korean Miracle - BOOK 1 ✔

Chapter 19 : Trust me, not him - Memories (part 7)

Seeing Namjoon waiting for him outside the door, Seokjin felt a furious urge to rush into his arms for comfort after closing the door. But the memory of Mr and Mrs. Kim's words regarding his relationship with their sons prevented him from doing so and he just cried, starting to go back to get his things in Namjoon's room, holding his injured hand against his chest.

"Hey, Jinnie," Namjoon said grabbing his arm.

"No, don't come near me," Seokjin whined, breaking free and running to Namjoon's room under the pained eyes of the elder who followed him slowly.

Seokjin began to painfully gather his things with his left hand alone. He wanted to hurry to leave the mansion and join his mother. Namjoon joined him in the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Without a word, he approached Seokjin and hugged him.

"Let go of me," Seokjin told him trying to push him away.

"You're not like usual, I don't like it," Namjoon said without letting go, letting his chin rest on Seokjin's shoulder. "You're crying but you refuse to talk to me."

"It's because we're not friends anymore," Seokjin sobbed, still clutching his injured hand.

"Don't say that," Namjoon replied frowning, stepping away from him but keeping his hands on his shoulders. "Of course we are friends!"

"No, not anymore," Seokjin moaned as he continued to cry.

"Come here," Namjoon told him, dragging him to his bed where they both sat down.

He grabbed his hand gently and squeezed it between his own, stroking it dutifully to soothe his pain.

"I know what my father did and I'm sorry he hit you. He is an evil monster."

Seokjin's eyes widened between her tears.

"Y-You know?"

"Yes, I know. My father has been beating me since... since always, actually," Namjoon confessed.

"Oh my God, why didn't you ever say anything?" Seokjin said, horrified to learn that. "Is Tae getting beat up too?"

"No, Tae never got hit, if he had, he perhaps wouldn't have become so temperamental or maybe it would have been worse, who knows," Namjoon said grimly. "Are you asking me why I didn't say anything? To whom? Why ?"

"To the police! To denounce him!"

"I'm not going to denounce my own father," Namjoon replied, "he'll disinherit me!" 

"Is it worth suffering?" Seokjin asked, stunned.

"Yes," Namjoon simply stated with a shrug. "You don't know what it's like to be an heir, the only thing we have, since we don't have the affection of our father, is the promised money and the goods that he will leave us. If I don't have that, I would have suffered for nothing. I refuse. And for you too, you will see that it is worth suffering, you will have something good afterwards."

"What?!" Seokjin said, flabbergasted, "But I don't want to suffer! And I don't want you to suffer either! So it's better to-"

"Jinnie," Namjoon abruptly cut in a harsh tone that he had never used on Seokjin and which scared the younger one, especially since his gaze had also become hard and cold. Namjoon squeezed his injured hand harder: "I forbid you to report my father, you hear me?"

"J-joonie, please let me go, you're hurting me," Seokjin whimpered as he tried to pull his hand away from the other's hand, which gripped him like an eagle's talons around its prey.

Realizing what he was doing, Namjoon let go of him and saw Seokjin immediately back up on the bed to get away from him and look at him with concern.

Namjoon suddenly reminded Seokjin of his frightening father, he had a sudden glimpse of the coldness of the one he had always felt safe with. He remembered what Taehyung had been able to do to him when he got angry because he had not obeyed him, and what Mr. and Mrs. Kim had just done to him just to warn him what would happen to him if he didn't respect their wishes.