A HEART FOR AN EYE.

CHAPTER 5: ADVENTURES OF THE DEAD.

Jeon Jungkook looked around the familiar cold cell. So many years had passed since he had last been here, yet not much had changed. It was still teeth-clatteringly cold. The walls were still stained with dry blood, feces, and vomit, and he still hurt everywhere from the heavy beating he had received earlier. Yet he couldn't help the calming feeling that washed over him.

The cell was the last place he had seen his mother smile through her tears at him. It was where his father had promised to watch over him every step of the way from above. Even his uncle Jin had threatened to scold him if he ever looked down from the clouds and caught him crying. In a twisted way, coming back to this cold, unyielding cell held more sentimental memories for him, and he was glad he was brought back here too before his impending death.

Jungkook let out a slow, trembling breath, his eyes tracing the dark stains on the walls. Memories flooded back, each one a dagger of both pain and solace. He remembered his mother's voice, soft and soothing, telling him stories to distract him from the harshness of their reality. She had a way of making even the grimmest places seem like a sanctuary, a gift he could never quite master but always admired.

"Funny," he whispered to himself, "how this place feels more like home than anywhere else."

Unlike little Jungkook, who was so weak, vulnerable, and scared, thirty-five-year-old Jungkook was too resigned to his impending fate to care. He looked forward to welcoming the serenity of death with open arms if it meant accompanying Park Jimin to the pits of hell.

For this inevitable fate, he had prepared all his life. All the pain, hunger, and abuse he had endured were to lead to this moment when he would gladly die with his arch nemesis.

He roughly scratched his arm to relieve some of the stiffness of his scars. The old ones itched like a bitch, and the new ones stung. But none of that mattered or even fully registered in his mind as he folded himself in one corner of the room and patiently waited for the news of Park Jimin's death.

"Every scar, every bruise... they all brought me here," he thought, his fingers tracing the jagged lines on his arm. "A map of suffering, leading to this moment. Was it worth it? To trade my soul for vengeance? Yes... yes, it was. Because he took everything from me."

Jungkook's eyes burned with a mix of hatred and resolve as he thought of Jimin. He remembered the countless nights spent plotting, the relentless drive that kept him alive when giving up would have been so much easier. The darkness of his cell mirrored the darkness in his heart, but it also reflected his determination.

"Bloody Parks," he murmured, almost reverently. "You thought you could break me, destroy everything I loved and walk away unscathed. But you were wrong. Every step you took, I took a thousand for the mend. I will tell you I was gutted just to be here, so close behind you in this race. Every breath you took, I was counting down to this day."

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, pulling Jungkook from his reverie. His heart rate quickened, and a slow, cold smile spread across his face.

"This is it," he whispered. "The final act in our twisted play."

The bloody Park Jimin. He hated him with a passion. For being born into the family that took away his own. For living happily with that same family while he slowly rot away in the cold with barely any food to eat. For all the pain, for every single strike of a whip that marked his body, he resented him even more. For loving a family that robbed him of his childhood and the promise of a future.

He closed his eyes and allowed the memories of his family and his childhood to wash over him one last time. He could almost hear his mother's lullaby, feel his father's protective embrace, and see his uncle Jin's reassuring smile. They had all been taken from him, and soon he would be reunited with them.