Challenging The Fate

chapter 37

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"Close the window that hurt you, no matter how beautiful the view is."

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The question hung heavy in the air, a bomb detonating in the peaceful night. Jungkook's breath hitched. The woman, her face etched with a mixture of hope and something darker, stared expectantly. Taehyung, his earlier nonchalance replaced by a guarded tension, squeezed Jungkook's shoulder in silent support.

Jungkook didn't recognize her. Her face, lined with worry lines and framed by carefully coiffed hair, held no memory for him. Yet, there was a subtle echo in her eyes, a faint resemblance to his grandmother perhaps?

"Who are you?" He finally managed to ask, his voice barely a whisper.

The woman's lips trembled slightly. "Jungkook," she began, her voice choked with emotion. "It's me, 'Lee Jiyun' your mother."

Taehyung's grip tightened on Jungkook's shoulder, his expression hardening. This unexpected turn of events had thrown him off balance. He knew about Jungkook's past, the abandonment by his birth parents, the loving embrace of his grandmother who'd raised him.

Jungkook stared at the woman, his mind reeling. Mother. A word that had always felt foreign, a void in his life. Yet, here she stood, claiming that title, her voice thick with an emotion he couldn't decipher.

"My… mother?" he repeated, the word sounding alien on his tongue.

A single tear escaped the woman's eye, tracing a glistening path down her cheek. "Oh, Jungkook," she choked out, reaching out a hand towards him only to be left in air as jungkook took a step back. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything."

The raw emotion in her voice tugged at something deep within Jungkook. A sliver of hope, a desperate yearning for the missing piece of his past, flickered to life. Could this be real? Could this woman, a stranger with familiar eyes, truly be his mother?

Taehyung, however, remained unconvinced. He saw the calculated glint in her eyes, the studied display of sorrow. Years of navigating the cutthroat world of business had honed his intuition. This woman, whoever she was, was not giving him good vibes.

But seeing the flicker of hope in Jungkook's eyes, Taehyung held back his skepticism. This was Jungkook's moment, his chance to confront the past he'd never known.

Taking a deep breath, Jungkook spoke, his voice trembling. "Why… why did you leave me?"

The question hung heavy in the air, shattering the fragile facade of the woman's grief. A flicker of something dark crossed her eyes, a fleeting glimpse of a cold calculation that replaced the feigned sorrow for a moment.

But then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. She composed herself, tears welling up again. "It wasn't our choice, Jungkook," she sobbed, her voice thick with supposed regret. "We were not ready, um.. scared… there were circumstances beyond our control."

Jungkook felt a surge of anger, a raw bitterness that had festered in him for years. Circumstances? What did she mean by circumstances? Did his sexuality, a truth he'd always known about himself, become an insurmountable obstacle for them?

Sensing his rising anger, Taehyung squeezed his bicep, a silent reassurance. They would get through this together, whatever this woman's motives might be.

"What circumstances?" Jungkook pressed, his voice firm despite the tremor in his heart.

The woman hesitated, then reached into her purse and pulled out a worn photograph. It was a picture of a younger version of herself and a man, his smile strained but his eyes filled with a hesitant affection.