It seemed that each attempt to mend the fractures in his relationships had only deepened the wounds.
As he stared at the wall before him, its neutral surface offered no solace, no answers to the questions that echoed in his troubled mind. The painted facade seemed to mock him, its smoothness was reminiscent of the ease with which others moved through life, unburdened by the weight of their mistakes.
Jungkook couldn't help but wonder if he was destined to be forever trapped in a cycle of missteps and disappointments. The memory of each rejection was etched into the very fibers of his being like indelible ink staining his soul.
If he had any remnants of motivation left, they were now mere embers, on the brink of being extinguished. Every stumble he made left behind the bitter residue of missed opportunities and shattered expectations. The mere thought of trying again seemed like a Herculean task. Perhaps he should get out of the house for a bit, the walk he had taken for coffee had calmed him before meeting Taehyung had set off the domino chain of disaster. It would be better, at least that way he wouldn't bother anyone.
He had donned his jacket and was just about to go and grab his hat when he heard singing. Despite his resolutions, he ended up going to check it out. There were many things that he was expecting but a beaming Jin had not been one of them (or had been on the list of possibilities at all).
If this was any other day, then he would not have even batted an eyelash, but after the hurricane that was today, it seemed like a rarity to see someone content, let alone actually radiating with happiness.
"Ah, Junkook-ah," Jin beamed at him, looking like he could rival the sun. He kissed Jungkook softly on the forehead. "Care to join me?"
He wanted to say no. That he was planning on going for a walk. Because wouldn't it be better to leave before he fucked something else up again? But this was the first form of comfort since this morning, no month. Their schedules had been so hectic that they'd barely gotten to see each other. Was it really so wrong to want to let it last?
Jungkook nodded, his heart fluttering when Jin beamed at him again. Determined to prove himself, Jungkook donned an apron. Soon, the aroma of sizzling spices filled the air, teasing the senses with promises of a delectable feast.
Jin, the master chef of the group, orchestrated the culinary symphony with precise movements, his graceful hands gliding effortlessly over the stove, transforming raw ingredients into culinary works of art.
He stood beside Jin, trying to mimic his graceful motions, but his enthusiasm sometimes outpaced his finesse. As he reached for a delicate glass measuring cup, his fingers fumbled, and with an unfortunate twist of fate, it slipped from his grasp and shattered into a thousand glittering shards on the kitchen floor.
Time seemed to halt as Jin's eyes widened in disbelief, the color draining from his face. The shattered fragments lay scattered across the cold tiles, mirroring the fractured state of Jungkook's life, a tangible reminder of his inadequacy. Jin's frustration bubbled up like an erupting volcano, his voice a sharp blade cutting through the air.
"Jungkook, how could you be so careless?" Jin's tone was laced with a mixture of disappointment and exasperation, his words landing on Jungkook's ears like bitter shards of glass. "Seriously, you're supposed to be the 'golden maknae' or whatever, but you can't handle a bloody measuring cup? Are you fucking kidding me?" The weight of Jin's scolding pressed heavily on his chest, squeezing out any remnants of self-assurance he had mustered.
It was as if Jungkook had once again inadvertently stirred a tempest in a teapot, unleashing Jin's wrath with a single misstep. The kitchen, once a sanctuary of hope (hope that he might not ruin this, hope that he's not fucking things up, hope that he can prove something, anything), now resembled a battlefield strewn with broken dreams. Jungkook's heart sank, feeling as fragile as the shards of the shattered glass beneath his feet.
Jin's piercing gaze held a mixture of hurt and frustration, his disappointment casting a long shadow over their connection. The crackling tension between them was palpable, as if an invisible barrier had formed, separating them like oil and vinegar.
The shards of the broken utensil seemed to reflect his shattered confidence, leaving him questioning his worth and place among his talented hyungs. As he glanced down at the fragments, he couldn't help but see himself reflected in them – broken, flawed, and desperately yearning for redemption.
"Go," Jin's made each syllable hang in the air, heavy with the weight of their implications. "Just go, I don't care where, just go."
"Jin-hyung—"Jungkook started, his voice shaky, only to get cut off.
"Just go, before you break something else again." Jin's tone held no room for argument.
Jungkook's shoulders slumped, burdened by the weight of his own disappointment in himself. He felt small and insignificant, like a fragile porcelain figurine teetering on the edge of a precipice, one wrong move away from shattering completely. When he removed the apron with trembling fingers his eyes dropped to the broken glass at his feet, his gaze avoiding Jin's piercing stare. He couldn't bear to witness the disappointment etched on his Hyung's face, couldn't bear to see the shattered image of himself reflected in Jin's eyes.
For the fourth time that day, he wanted to turn back time, to rewind the clock and rewrite this unfortunate chapter, like he did his songs. And with regret consuming his thoughts, he flew out the door not even bothering to grab his cap.
◇──◆──◇──◆
YOU ARE READING
Candle Queen | OT7
FanfictionBeing the maknae, despite what people thought, wasn't just about being the youngest; it was about being the heart that beats at the center of their unity. And as everybody knows, in order to stay alive, the heart can't stop. ...
