Jungkook-hyung! || Jinkook

15. What do I do now?

After sitting in the forest until sundown waiting for the machine to magically reappear, I decide that I need to get going somewhere. Staying here will do me no good. I have to get over the fact that I can never go back home. Sounds harsh, but it's what needs to be done. I get up and brush off some moss from my pants. My butt is wet from sitting in a moist forest for half a day and now that the sun is gone, it's starting to get pretty cold even though it's summer. My stomach is growling too. 

Without any hurry whatsoever, I walk back to the road where I left Seokjin's bike. My body is still exhausted from speeding all the way over here and also from trying to open the door to the damn machine. 

As I walk, I begin to wonder; Was this always destined to happen? Did the me that I met in the past get stuck here too? Did he end up having to living out his life in the wrong time? I guess I'll never find out the answer to that. 

The red bike eventually comes into view and I reluctantly pick it up and start biking back towards Yangsan. It'll take a while before I get back there.

← C H A N G E →

It's probably around midnight by the time I see the familiar neighborhood in the distance. I can barely drive the bike in a straight line and it's a struggle to keep my head up. I haven't eaten all day and both my body and mind are exhausted. This is without doubt the worst day of my life. 

By habit I end up in front of Namjoon's house. The lights are on in the kitchen, but otherwise the house is dark. Do I go back there? Can I? I've already been staying here for free and I didn't feel very bad about it since I thought it was temporary, but now that I'm stuck here... I need someplace to live. I've already told them I'd be leaving, so what will they think when I come back with my tail between my legs? 

As I'm contemplating my options, I see a figure in the kitchen window. Before long, the front door opens and I see Namjoon in the doorway, staring at me with a shocked face as I sit on the bike near their driveway. He's still dressed in the same clothes he had this morning. It's a regular school day for him tomorrow, so he should've already went to bed. 

"Jungkook-hyung?!" he says in surprise. "Why are you still here?!"

I try to answer him but I end up just sighing and covering my face with my hands in defeat. Gosh, I feel so pathetic. This wasn't supposed to happen. 

Namjoon throws on some shoes and runs up to me. He doesn't say anything but I feel his eyes on me. Is he worried because I'm acting like such a loser?

"So it really is true," he says, more to himself than to me. "You're from the future and now the machine went back without you."

"You believe me first now?" I say back in a much more annoyed way than intended. He simply blinks at me in response and I shake my head. "Sorry, didn't mean to be so harsh. I just haven't had a very good day."

"Yeah, no kidding... What are you gonna do now?"

I get off the bike and let it fall to the ground so I can pace around a bit. Namjoon is silent and the only sound that can be heard are the sharp breaths through my nose. 

"I don't know," I finally say with a shrug. "I don't know! I have no fucking idea what to do next!"

I bite my lower lip to try and keep in the frustration but I just can't. If there's ever a point in my life that I get to be angry, it's now. I turn around to give Seokjin's bike a hard kick and Namjoon jumps a little in surprise. 

"I'm fucking stuck here now," I growl as I give it another kick. "All I've ever done is to try and be nice and what do I get in return? I get to spend the day in police custody!"