The One He Tried To Forget | 18+ |

24

Jung Kook stood inside the plush lobby of the elegant office building and looked out of the framed glass walls to the busy thoroughfare outside. He was seething because Jin was late.

The meeting with Yoon Gi's vendor had ended an hour ago at the exact time that Yoon Gi had estimated. But when Jung Kook and Yoon Gi stepped out of the lift in the main lobby, expecting to see Jin and his black town car waiting for them under the Ionic portico, they were greeted with an empty sight.

Yoon Gi had waited for fifteen minutes before turning away from Jung Kook to call Jin, thinking the man might have been stuck in traffic, but his call went unanswered before going to voicemail. He had tried a few more times but kept getting the same automated instruction to leave a voicemail. It annoyed Yoon Gi because it was reminiscent of the time when he tried to call Jin after the man took ill and was not able to perform his duties as Yoon Gi's driver for weeks. Irritated, Yoon Gi had asked the receptionist in the lobby to call for a cab.

Jung Kook had suggested that his cousin call Hobi to find out what was holding Jin up but Yoon Gi refused. Instead, the older man muttered that he was going to summon his friend to his office so he could chew him out about his unreliable driver and to request that he be replaced immediately. Preferably with someone that didn't have loose morals like Jin.

Jung Kook had been taken aback by Yoon Gi's harsh opinion of Jin. He knew his cousin was disturbed by Jin's pregnancy but he didn't think Yoon Gi had the right to pass judgment in such a manner.

Yes, Jung Kook was upset that Jin was pregnant. Yes, he wished that circumstances had been different and that he was in a relationship with Jin so he would have been the one that had gotten him pregnant. But far be it for him to judge Jin for his choices. It was nobody's business what Jin did with his body.

Nonetheless, Yoon Gi's behaviour had alarmed Jung Kook. So when the cab arrived, Jung Kook had declined his cousin's offer of a ride back to the hospital, and told him that he would wait for Jin. Yoon Gi had pursed his lips, unhappy with Jung Kook's decision but he did not try to persuade him otherwise. Jung Kook had been grateful as he waited but he didn't expect Jin to take so long.

Another half hour passed before Jung Kook finally saw the familiar town car pull up to the front entrance. He waited until Jin got out of the driver's side before slowly going through the revolving glass doors to approach the vehicle. He took a deep breath to keep his anger in check because it wouldn't do to upset someone who was pregnant but, for Jin's sake, he had to make Jin aware that his tardiness would not be tolerated a second time.

Jung Kook frowned when he noticed how pale his former boyfriend looked. His worry increased when Jin placed his hand on the boot of the car as if to steady himself. Jung Kook realised that Jin was unaware he was being watched because he paused to catch his breath. This was out of character for Jin who always went out of his way to show a calm and collected demeanour when in Jung Kook and Yoon Gi's company.

Jung Kook wondered what was wrong with his ex and why he seemed to be having difficulty breathing. He was about to call out to him when there was a ringing nearby. He realised it was Jin's phone when the man reached inside his coat pocket to pull it free.

"Hi Tae," Jin answered softly. "Yes, I got here fine."

A buzz began at the base of Jung Kook's skull when it hit him that Jin was talking to Mr Sweet. The buzz soon spread to his ears where a roaring threatened to drown out Jin's voice as he continued talking into his phone, still blissfully unaware that Jung Kook was a few feet away. The buzz then dropped to Jung Kook's belly where it turned into a ball of acid, threatening to liquefy everything in sight. Jung Kook recognised it was jealousy as bile rose up to burn a path in his throat.

"I'm fine, Tae. Please don't worry," Jin continued. "Yes, I will go home after this. No, you don't have to come to my place to check on me. I've already taken advantage of your precious time when you came to see me just now."

Came to see me? Just now?! Jung Kook raged. So that's why you're late picking me up?! Because you were with your lover?! You were with that bastard who got you pregnant when you're on my time?!

Jung Kook wasn't certain that Mr Sweet was the father of Jin's baby but he knew his ex-boyfriend. Jin wasn't the type who whored around despite the vicious rumours that circulated when they were in school. He was loyal so there was no other conclusion but that Mr Sweet was the grubby tosser who was responsible for the bun in Jin's oven.

The horrid thought tore through Jung Kook's heart and brain. It overwhelmed his senses and he suddenly found himself thundering over to Jin to reach for his phone as he continued to coo at the man on the other line. He wanted to grab the device and smash it so he wouldn't have to hear Jin speak Mr Sweet's foul name ever again.

At the back of Jung Kook's mind, a faint memory resurfaced. Of himself doing something similar to someone whose face he could not make out, and then breaking their phone. But Jung Kook could not remember ever being in a situation where he would have done such a thing. Was it a dream? His brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of it.

Jin's shocked gasp and his frantic scrambling to get away broke Jung Kook from his momentary trance. He was stunned to see that Jin had gone even paler and was trembling violently though he tried fervently to hide it. But it was the look in Jin's eyes that broke Jung Kook. In all the time that they had been together, Jin had never looked at him like that and it hurt to see it now.

Jin looked at him like he was the most frightening thing he had ever seen. Earlier when he answered his phone, there had been a tender look in his eyes that slowly turned into something resembling deep affection. Seeing such contrast between the way his ex-boyfriend viewed him and Mr Sweet angered Jung Kook, and he found himself spewing words that he never thought he would ever say to his one and only love.

"Kim Seok Jin, you are a slut! How dare you be with your lover when you are supposed to be working?! We are paying for your time and you have the audacity to waste it by making us wait while you hook up with him!" Jung Kook spat. "You haven't changed at all since school, have you, Kim Seok Jin? Did you think I did not recognise you when I saw you again? Did you think I would not remember you?"

Jung Kook felt a thrill of satisfaction run down his spine when Jin's eyes widened at his revelation. He had been planning to divulge his connection to Jin for months. Had been dreaming about doing it in a romantic fashion filled with loving declarations so it would lead to a reunion that he had long hoped for. But it had all come to naught because this was not how it was supposed to go. Vomiting words of poison and filth that he did not mean. All because he was driven by his jealousy of the other man in Jin's life.

"You made me fall in love with you in school when you had no intention of giving me your love. You used me. You used my money and my name to further yourself in school but look at where you ended up. You are a shameless hussy. And you are fit for nothing but to be some rich man's plaything. You should have taken more care and not gotten pregnant. Now you will amount to nothing but a used up whore. Fuck you, Kim Seok Jin! Rot in hell!"

And Jung Kook walked away into the snow that had begun to fall. He kept walking even as his hair and his coat turned white from the snow, not wanting to see the tears that had begun to trail down Jin's soft cheeks at his accusations, and not wanting to care that Jin's chest probably hurt as he tried to breathe through the pain caused by Jung Kook's vicious comments.

Because Jin had hurt him first. And it was a wound that Jung Kook still suffered.