Apricity//Jungkook fanfiction//

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞

⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊ - ❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱

          Throwing the yellow envelope on the desk, Jungkook's father clenches his jaw, showing his frustration through a heavy sigh. "That's all?" — he asks through gritted teeth. His assistant bows at ninety degrees and bites his lip nervously before giving his answer. "I'm afraid so, Sir." — he answers in a shaky voice and clears his throat right after. It's been one week since he started digging into Jang Y/n's life and everything he knows so far is her present personal data. He found no trace of any past. He tried his best. He even gathered a small team to help him find something sooner. Still, it wasn't enough.
          "What about her parents? Her family? Is she all alone in this world?" — Mr. Jeon's deep voice echoes among the four walls of the office and Iseul flinches. The assistant bows lower. "We're still looking into it, but we found no previous record of her parents. It's like they didn't even exist. We only found out that she was raised by her aunt. She died two years ago." — the assistant gives his answer and his boss leans on his elbows, suddenly interested. Iseul straightens his back, relieved that he has a moment of appreciation among all those in which he felt like a worm trapped under an elephant's foot. Mr. Jeon raises one eyebrow. "I see." — he says almost absently. "Do you have a name?" — he asks and Iseul answers immediately. "Kim Mi Ran."
          Hearing the name of that woman, Jungkook's father frowns. For a second, he can't seem to breathe properly since her name hits him in the back of his head. He stares at one spot on his desk for a good minute and the name that has been circling around his head all that time rolls down his tongue under the form of a frightened whisper. "Mi Ran?"
          Ringing joyfully, the doorbell mocks Y/n's miserable state. The woman covers her head with a pillow and groans, pulling the blanket over her body too, isolating herself from the world. Breathing heavily, she tries to fall asleep again in the following second, but, alas, she can't. A few moments of silence circle around her and then, just like a cursed alarm that had been set too early, the doorbell rings again. This time she curses under her breath instead of just groaning and drags her feet after herself all the way towards the front door, yawning twice. Opening the door, she looks at the person with a poker face painted over her face, in hopes that the person would understand her situation and go away.
          "Good morning..." — says Violet excitedly at first, but her voice fades as she notices Y/n's miserable state. Her hair is gathered in a messy bun and it looks so tangled that it makes Violet's skin crawl, her clothes look awfully outworn, covered in food stains and the dark circles from under her eyes explain more than the redness or puffiness which surrounds her dark brown irises. Clearing her throat, Violet looks left and right, as if she's recalculating her route. "Did I knock at the wrong door? Excuse me, tired single mom, I'm looking for my hot ass friend, Y/n. Have you seen her?" — asks Violet with as much sarcasm in her voice as amusement. "Fuck you!" — answers Y/n and invites her friend in as she steps to the side, letting a giggle escape through her lips.
          Violet was her classmate in Highschool and they even went to University together until Y/n decided to drop out because of financial problems. However, despite the different roads they took, they still found some time in their schedule to meet at least once a month and keeping in touch for so long connected them. They are good friends and usually Y/n gets all excited when Violet suddenly shows up at her apartment's door. It means that today is an only girls day. And, any other day, Y/n would have felt happy about it. Just, not today. Today is different. This whole past week has been different.
          Flopping on the couch, Violet clicks her tongue and looks into Y/n's eyes in a way she used to a lot of times before. "Did someone dump you again?" — she asks the question she's asked so many times before and Y/n doesn't answer verbally. She simply just nods and her face immediately shrinks into a contorted expression as she starts to cry again. Dragging her feet after herself, Y/n sits near Violet and lets her head fall on her friend's shoulder as heavy sobs make her chest hurt again. Violet clicks her tongue once more and throws one arm around Y/n's shoulders, stroking her left arm with the other. "He's stupid. He will never find someone like you. Ever again." — says Violet and Y/n feels another bunch of tears stinging her eyes. She knows better than anyone that Jungkook isn't stupid. He's just protective. He doesn't want her life to be in danger. However, in contrast, Y/n would walk even on the edge of a knife if that meant staying beside him. But he pushed her away. So easily, he said goodbye and left, making Y/n lose her balance and fall into a dark hole which opened beneath her feet. She is still falling. She's been in a continuous fall for the past week. And she doesn't know how to put an end to her pain. She feels helpless.
          "It's Saturday. You shouldn't stay locked in your house, crying your eyes over some boy that doesn't deserve your tears." — Violet's voice resounds among the thoughts in Y/n's head. She smiles. Again, she knows better than anyone that Jungkook is a man who deserves her tears. He deserves that and even more.
          Grabbing her hands, Violet drags Y/n off of the couch and the latter whines as her legs almost give up on her. However, to her surprise, she finds some balance in her jelly knees and follows her friend wherever this one may take her. "Let's have a shower. We need to get rid of this divorced middle aged woman appearance of yours." — says her friend and Y/n nods as she lets Violet lead the way to the bathroom. However, after three steps her brain makes the connections between Violet's words and she stops in one place, raising one eyebrow. "Together?" — asks Y/n in a tone that sounds maybe too high pitched and Violet hugs Y/n's waist, lifting her up and running with her in her arms. "This is my moment to turn you gay. Women are better than men!" — yells Violet excitedly and Y/n chuckles as her friend pushes her inside the bathroom. "Still, our love will remain platonic." — admits Y/n as she takes her clothes off and drops them on the bathroom floor. "We'll see about that after this shower." — says Violet, biting her lower lip right after as she pulls Y/n inside the shower cabin and turns the water tap on. With a loud chuckle, Y/n lets her friend take the lead and laughs every time something happens, be it a tickle, a kiss on the cheek or one of them almost slipping on the floor. She allows herself to have fun and feels so thankful to Violet that she showed up to lift her mood. She needed this. After a week of depression, she needed to come back to normal. Well, having an afternoon shower with her friend wasn't necessarily normal, but it was a start.
          Wrapping her hair in a towel, Y/n huffs as she straightens her back. For a moment, she can't see since her brain resets after the sudden move, but, soon, her vision clarifies and she notices Violet, still naked, with her upper body hovering over the sink counter, her face close to the mirror. Y/n frowns and walks slowly towards her, careful not to slip on the wet floor. Reaching her friend, Y/n slaps Violet's thigh and the latter hisses. Y/n scoffs. "Cover this sexy body or else I might turn gay for real this time." — she says with a chuckle as she tosses a body towel at Violet. Violet catches the towel in mid air and hisses again as she massages her thigh. "We both know that you're gayer than you let it show." — she says with a smile and Y/n laughs out loud. She notices a few strokes on the foggy mirror in the corner of her eye and turns her head towards right, curiously. She gasps. "This is so beautiful!" — exclaims Y/n as she observes the rose Violet drew on the foggy mirror. Violet smiles. "Since I didn't buy you flowers on my way here, I figured I should draw you one." — says Violet and pouts right after. "You deserve all the flowers in the world and even more, Y/n. You're a flower yourself. Please don't allow yourself to wither." — adds Violet with a soft, motherly smile and Y/n can't stop a tear from falling as she hugs her friend tightly. She knows her worth. Just... she never thought that she would get so attached. However, she knew what she would get herself into the moment she accepted Jungkook's ride to the hospital, the moment she drew a silly sketch of him in her tattoo sketchbook and the moment they danced at the wedding. The moment they kissed. That moment changed her whole life. She knows this too well. And she also knows that Jungkook grew deep roots inside her heart. Cutting him off wouldn't be easy. Getting rid of him forever would be even harder.
          Cupping her friend's face, Violet lifts Y/n's gaze. "Let's find a cute outfit. I'm taking you out." — says Violet and Y/n chuckles as she wipes her cheeks. "To buy me flowers?" — asks Y/n. "Even better. To buy you books." — answers Violet, wiggling her eyebrows and winks before Y/n's happy squeal fills the bathroom.
          Sipping her Strawberry Latte Boba Tea through a straw, Y/n follows her friend towards Starfield Library, one of the largest libraries in Seoul. Munching on the soft Boba pearls, Y/n thinks of a title that she would like to see on the shelves, but, to be honest, in her moment of excitement, she can't remember any of the books she read, is reading or wants to read. They all become a mess inside her brain and everything she sees before her eyes are books. Loads and loads of books. The only escape from life which really helped her through her hard times. Drinking made it worse, smoking didn't appeal to her, but books... A book is the only place in which Y/n can forget about her life and become someone else. She can become someone who isn't suffering. Even for a few moments.
          So, letting Violet choose a book for her, Y/n sits down and doesn't get up for the next three hours as she gets lost among the pages of the complex story. She becomes one with the main character. A powerful self-made woman who made her life her own paradise. Something she aspires to become one day. However, for now, she can only pretend.
          "So?" — asks Violet as she sits down near Y/n, who has been reading for the past couple of hours without a single break. "Do you like it so far?" — she asks again and notices the crumpled napkin inside Y/n's fist. Leaning her head against the wall Y/n sighs with a smile. "She had a nightmare. A horrible nightmare in which her boyfriend was shot by a man with a black hood. She woke up and her boyfriend was there beside her. Safe and sound, he was stroking her back, telling her that it was just a bad dream." — says Y/n and takes a pause to inhale a sharp breath before her lower lip trembles. "And now I wish I just woke up from this and he was there beside me. I wish he would kiss my forehead and tell me that this was just a bad dream. That our relationship didn't end." — she adds in a croaky voice and starts to cry fresh tears, closing the book and leaning on Violet's shoulder again, finding the support she needs in her friend's strength.
          Hugging Y/n again, Violet scolds herself mentally for choosing a book that brought back Y/n's pain. "Tell me about it. Maybe you'll feel better. Why did you guys break up?" — asks Violet and Y/n chuckles through tears. "It's such a complicated story that I don't even know where to begin." — she admits and wipes her puffy eyes with the napkin once again. The soft material feels like sandpaper, scratching her skin, but she wipes her tears nonetheless. "Tell me anything about it then." — says Violet, using the friendly voice of a therapist and Y/n smiles as she stares at a row filled with books. "Our relationship didn't feel real. I'm telling you, everything that I felt when I was with him was something new. Something that I didn't even know existed until I met him. He made me like dogs, Violet. He made me like Christmas, for God's sake!" — says Y/n with a sad smile and Violet's eyebrows spring upwards as soon as she hears the last remark. "Christmas? Not even I managed to make you like that wretched holiday." — says Violet with a pout and watches Y/n as she searches for the silver necklace which fell underneath her sweater. "He did." — she adds with the same sad smile and holds the rectangular silver pendant in her palm, allowing Violet to read the words which were written on it. 'Once upon a December...'
          Enclosing the silver pendant inside her right palm, Y/n squeezes her eyes shut, trying not to think of the Yin tattoo which probably stands out near her thumb. Feeling Violet's hand on her shoulder, Y/n gives herself a second to take a shaky breath in. She knew that this recovery would be hard ever since she watched Jungkook walk down that wretched hall. "It shouldn't have ended like this." — whispers Y/n, feeling another bunch of tears waking up from their sleep and rolling down her cheeks, leaving behind cold traces on her skin. "You know, some stories don't end when the author types the last dot." — says Violet and places a strand of hair behind Y/n's ear. "If he means so much to you, it also means that your story isn't over." — she adds and caresses her friend's arm when Y/n shakes her head. "He ended our story. He made it pretty clear." — answers Y/n coldly and Violet almost flinches at the sudden tension that penetrates Y/n's muscles. "Listen." — demands Violet and takes a clean napkin out of the package. Wiping it softly against Y/n's cheeks, she smiles. "I have an intuition with these things. You two will get back together. Maybe not tonight. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not even next week. But, let me tell you something. When two souls love each other, the sea can drown the mountains, but those two souls won't stray. Not even for a second." — says Violet in a calm, soothing voice and places one of her hands on top of Y/n's heart. "What you feel is real, Y/n. And pain only makes you stronger. Let me tell you, as a woman who went through a lot of breakups, I can assure you that this isn't the end of your story. It's the end of a chapter. And, when both of you will be prepared, you will turn the page. And you will start a new chapter. Have a little bit of faith."
          With tears burdening her eyelashes again, Y/n hugs her friend closely, whispering a 'thank you' which makes Violet tear up too. They stay like that for a few good minutes. Simply just appreciating each other. Appreciating that they are enough. Enough to get up and face another challenge.
          Getting out of the library, Y/n sighs when she sees that rain is pouring outside. She is ready to pull her phone out of her pocket and call a taxi, but, before she gets the chance to do so, a man hands her a dark green umbrella. "Here! You can take mine." — he says and Y/n looks at his face before she declines his offer politely. She's never seen him before. However, he seems to know her since he shows a friendly smile and hands her the umbrella. "I insist! And now, if you would like to follow me, there's someone who would like to meet you, Mrs. Y/n." — says the stranger and Y/n raises her eyebrows when she hears him calling her by her name.
          The man steps out in the rain and walks towards a black car which is stationing near the sidewalk. Y/n knows that she shouldn't follow strangers, but something pulls her towards his car like a magnet. Maybe it is just curiosity. Holding the stranger's umbrella above her head, Y/n steps into the puddles of water which gathered on the asphalt and feels a bit sorry when she notices the man's wet clothes and hair. However, unbothered and with the same friendly smile on his lips, the man opens the rear door and bows respectfully. Y/n bows her head too, but before she gets into the stranger's car, she bends down to take a look at the driver. The man, seemingly the one who wanted to meet her, turns around to look at her and shows a forced smile as he keeps one of his hands glued to the steering wheel. And, to her surprise, this man isn't a stranger. She's seen him before in a picture frame she broke at Jungkook's house. Despite the bunch of questions which roam inside her head, she returns the smile towards the man she recognizes as Jungkook's father.