Forlorn

9

"Where the hell did you go, Jimin?" Mrs. Park shouted at him.

"To meet someone," he said without looking at her.

"Are you drunk?" she asked.

"Just one peg for my guest," he replied.

"How dare you? Are you also starting to drink like him?" she shouted. "Unni!" She called her sister-in-law.

"Why are you shouting, Yoona?" Mrs. Kim came to the hall.

"Look, your beloved boy is drunk," Mrs. Park said to her.

"Jimin?" Mrs. Kim called him.

"Sorry, Aunt," he looked down.

"I can understand your feelings, Jimin. You lost your love, more than that, your best friend, your brother, cheated you," Mrs. Kim said while looking at Taehyung. "But please don't repeat this. You are the only one we have," she smiled. "Forget him, Jimin. Aunt will find some better person for you, and please stay away from cheaters," she walked inside. Jimin looked at his mother and walked into his room. Taehyung chuckled bitterly and sat on the floor. "Only one we have," he repeated the words his mother said.

Mrs. Park walks towards Taehyung... "Happy now? My son, who always after you, who always gives you everything... He wished only one thing, but you can't give that to him... Please leave my son alone... You feel ashamed of yourself, Taehyung, for leaving here like a leach"... She grits her teeth and goes towards Jungkook's house...

Taehyung just sits their ,hugging himself, feeling the weight of leaving when everyone hates him, except for Jimin and Jungkook, who will be with him. His eyes well up with tears.

********

"Kooki..." Mrs. Park knocked on the door. "May I come in?"

Jungkook gets up from the bed and looks at her. "Why are you asking like this?" He smiles.

"I mean, now things have changed, so..." she sits on a chair. "Three years ago, when we went to his father's house visiting his grandmother, he said to me he loves you. He started loving you since school. Even Taehyung knows that."

"If he had told me before, I would have accepted him. He is my lovely Hyung, but now... I can't."

"Why, Jungkook? Do you want to tear apart this family? Your father or brother will never accept Taehyung... I mean, not accept Taehyung, who knows his character. Jimin is the only one who treated him better, but now Jimin also starts to stay away from Taehyung."

"What?" Kooki looks at him. "Jimin hyung would never do that..."

"He will... What the hell to do with a cheater?"

"Cheater? It's me who rejected the proposal... Tae doesn't know anything about that... It's..."

"What? But he still knows everything... He basically cheated on my son..." She spat out bitterly. "Jungkook, now it's your choice. If you choose Taehyung, you'll destroy this family. Your father... How pitiful that man is... Widowed at 28, yet he sacrificed all these years for you and your brother. And now, what are you giving him in return? Look at you... A school dropout, indirectly responsible for your mother's death, incapable of contributing anything to the family or the business. But see how your father and brother still treat you... Like a  child... Do something to make them happy, Jungkook. Choosing Taehyung is akin to murdering your own family... Think about it..."

Jungkook starts to cry... But I...

"I thought you were an innocent boy, but..." She spits out with venom. "My son drank today because of you and Taehyung... You know, my son worked tirelessly for Arcadia... And this is how you and your family repay him... Don't you dare forget that..." She stands up, eyes filled with contempt. "You're nothing but a selfish brat..." She storms out, lingering outside to relish the sound of Jungkook's loud sobs echoing from within the room.