• M a k t u b : Spirit of the desert • [ Taekook ]

36. Jungkook, listen

.
.
.

His legs were still aching as he had just stepped off the ship. He had Taehyung by his side and in his mind he was still at the airport with his son in his arms.

Jungkook remembers every kiss and smile before he handed him over to Nadira and sent them to Morocco. As soon as he felt the pangs of conscience awakening in him, he immediately shook his head, trying to concentrate on the present moment.

- Hey, darling, are you okay? - Taehyung asked as he caressed Jungkook's pale face with a tender look. If he could, at that moment he would have hugged him so hard that the younger one would start coughing from the tightness in his chest.

And he would kiss and kiss him until the new day dawned. But he couldn't. Taehyung didn't want to scare him and drive him away, not now when he needed to be patient a little more and then everything would have its meaning in life again.

- Yes, we are here. - he pointed with his hand towards a small house decorated with a flower garden. The view from this house was divine. The blue horizon is something Taehyung could wake up next to all his life.

By the sea with Jungkook in his arms.

He quietly knocked on the door, not daring to look at the other man. After a while, the thin old man opened the door and immediately a smile crept across his face. A few seconds later, he finally spoke.

- Jungkookie my son? Oh it's you, my dear boy... - and the young man just found himself in the weak embrace of the man he had known all his life.

- Choi. - he whispered softly, hugging the other tightly.
.
.

Coffee was served, together with cakes. Jungkook was placing on the table in front of Taehyung as he quickly caught his worried look.

Choi sat in his armchair covered with a small light blanket, with his legs raised on a small stool. The man was so skinny and weak that Jungkook couldn't let him bother with coffee and serving.

When he took his place on the couch next to Taehyung, Choi looked at him with a smile.

- You know, you never resembled your father more than you do now. Infinitely kind and dear, the dearest in fact. - with a small smile he said each word carefully and Jungkook couldn't help but notice a small glint in his eyes.

Choi looked much worse than Jungkook imagined.

If he knew it was this bad, he would have made sure to come earlier, maybe organize some help for him. He couldn't imagine how hard it was for the old man to cook and prepare house by himself in such a state.

- Choi, I can send you some help... I don't want you to do everything by yourself... I...

- Oh no, boy, no need. I've spent almost my whole life alone, I'm sure I can deal with it alone... - the older man's voice had a comforting note in it, something that brought tears to Jungkook's eyes.

- Loneliness hurts... I'm sure you'd like someone to keep you company...

...at the very end. - he wanted to add, but stopped.

There was no need to emphasize something that was inevitable and so obvious.

Choi was dying. It was only a matter of time, and then Jungkook would be really even more lonely than he was. Although he wasn't in daily contact with that man, he knew that he was there somewhere, alive and that he always had his back. Choi was the only thing that always reminded him of his father's presence.

- Temporary numbing of pain, Kookie. I have lived through much worse and much lonelier days. - and then with a spark in his eye, as if he could rewind the movie in his head, he smiled at the memories that came back to him like a time machine.