|| Bonded: Together ||J.JK

Chapter 03

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ #03
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The garden outside the headquarters is a special tribute to Chief Jungsuk's passion for flowers and plants. Every single plant in this garden was personally planted by the Chief. He believes that having a garden outside might make the headquarters seem less intimidating.

Jungkook stands in front of the Chief's beloved Japanese Maple Tree, admiring its red leaves. He recalls a time when he asked the Chief about it and received an unexpected response. The Chief shared that during the summer, the leaves of the tree turn red, and red happened to be the favourite colour of someone very special in his life.

The Chief doesn't often talk about his personal life with the team at headquarters. They assume that before starting the headquarters or maybe even while working on it, he had a family. However, this could be a misunderstanding because nobody here really knows anything personal about the Chief. They are all here solely for work, focusing on their tasks.

As Jungkook admires the tree, he feels someone else entering the garden. He turns around and sees Natasha walking towards him and stops where he is, and she starts by saying, "I thought you left."

Jungkook looks at her and then to the tree before speaking, "Yeah, but I thought I should come here before I leave." He looks back at her and continues, "Is hyung back?"

Natasha's lips lift up slightly as she says, "You care about him, Jungkook. So why do you two always get into fights? Like hating each other too much, huh?" She ends her statement while sharing a meaningful look with Jungkook.

Jungkook lets out a soft scoff and turns to Natasha, his hands in his pockets. "I don't hate him, Nat. I just sometimes disagree with his stupid opinions and statements," he explains.

Natasha maintains the teasing smile on her lips as she responds, "Of course," she brushes some strands of hair away from her face and adds, "Oh, by the way, Si-won asked about you too when you left the quarter."

"I didn't ask, though."

"Thought you'd like to know," Natasha beams a smile, earning an eye roll from Jungkook. He shakes his head, clearly showing his annoyance towards Natasha's talk about Si-won.

Natasha loves to tease Jungkook and Si-won, knowing that deep down, they care about each other. However, they rarely show this caring side and mostly argue with each other. Si-won has a poker face that is hard to read, and Jungkook is good at keeping his feelings to himself. And these hidden sides only become visible when they are caught up in their everyday arguments.

Natasha's teasing smile fades away as she moves closer to the tree. She bends down to pick up a red leaf from the ground and stands still, then turns to Jungkook. "Oh, did you tell your mom yet? About you leaving Korea," she asks.

Jungkook simply shakes his head and replies, "Not yet. I'm heading home now, so don't worry, I'll let her know soon."

Natasha steps closer to Jungkook and gently slides the leaf into his jacket pocket. She smooths the fabric and speaks earnestly, "You should. This time, it's not just another mission in Korea where you can lie to her and say it's work for a project. You're leaving Korea, and it could be for months or even longer. She's your mother, Jungkook. Let her know soon, okay? Otherwise, she'll be worried as hell."

Jungkook looks down at his feet and kicks a little rock nearby. He lets out a sigh while thinking that Natasha is right. This time, he's not going to other cities in Korea; he's leaving the country. It makes him feel sad because he won't see his mother for a long time. But he knows he doesn't have a choice. It's his job, and he's doing it for his country and its people. He promised to do anything to keep the people safe. He's doing all these things because he wants to save his country, his people, and even the whole world from getting worse. If something bad happens while he's in charge of a mission or when he's on a mission, he blames himself for it.