BunBun Mine // taekook

Chapter 10

Jungkook noticed that his brother hadn’t been doing well for the past two days. Yoongi wasn’t in his usual self—he no longer smiled or spoke the way he used to do. His face had taken on a stony, hardened expression. Over the past two days, Jungkook had only seen him eat twice, and even then, Yoongi pushed his plate away halfway through the meal and left. This sudden change in his brother’s behavior weighed heavily on young Jungkook’s heart. He had been waiting for the right moment to talk to him, but the opportunity never came.

The house was in chaos with wedding preparations. The noise filled every corner. Organizing a wedding in three days wasn’t easy, and Jungkook didn’t understand why it had to be so rushed. Ever since their father, Hoseok returned, he, along with their uncle and aunt, had spent an hour and a half in a closed room discussing something. The very next day, the groom’s family came to see Suzy. Suzy had cried so hard that day, sobbing until she had hiccups. She refused to eat and spent the whole day begging their aunt not to force her into marriage.

Jungkook felt deeply upset. Could a simple letter really be the reason for a rushed marriage? Why were their father, uncle, and everyone else so strict about love? Jungkook didn’t know the real reason behind the rift between his father and his aunt. Ever since he could remember, Jin had been banned from their house. Was it because of his love marriage, or was there another reason? Suzy's older sister dressed Jungkook in a sky blue coloured dress and said, "You look so beautiful, Jungkookie. So grown up in this dress, even though you’re still just a little kid."

Immediately, sharp words escaped Jungkook’s lips, "If I’m just a kid, then what about Suzy? Why are they rushing to marry her off like this?"

Suzy’s sister sighed deeply, her voice heavy as she replied, "We have to accept whatever the elders decide, Kookie. Suzy’s fate is to marry at this age, and that’s why it’s happening."

Tears welled up in Jungkook’s eyes. Suzy’s sister blamed fate so perfectly. Jungkook went to Suzy’s room and saw that today, Suzy no longer had that sad, hollow look on her face. Without hesitation, she was getting ready for the engagement ceremony. Jungkook left the room and went downstairs. Yoongi was busy making sure everything was perfect on the stage. Jungkook stood behind him and called out in a trembling voice, “Hyung!”

Yoongi turned his head slightly and his eyes locked on Jungkook. He looked at him for a moment before turning fully and saying softly, "You’ve turned from the sleeping beauty of the bathroom into the cloudy beauty today, Kookie baby."

"Suzy looks even more beautiful than I do." Jungkook said in a steady, soft voice. Yoongi was startled. For a moment, it seemed like his naive little brother had finally started to understand. Yoongi handed a garland of flowers to the decorator and, with a forced smile, said, “I’ll have to see Suzy too and decide if she looks more beautiful than my baby or not.”

Tears streamed down Jungkook’s face, smudging the eyeliners under his eyes, turning it into a faint black smear. His voice was filled with quiet sobs as he said, "I know everything, hyung. I saw you holding Suzy’s hand and crying on the rooftop last night. If needed, I’ll beg dad not to marry her off."

Yoongi was speechless. Darkness settled over his expression. People moved about everywhere, listening in as the relatives often did. Cautiously, Yoongi grabbed Jungkook’s hand and led him to the pond, where he whispered urgently, “Don’t tell appa anything. I couldn’t stop my heart from falling for Suzy, and that’s my failure.”

“So you’re just going to accept it?”

Jungkook’s sobs grew louder. Yoongi pulled him into his arms and stroked his head. Deep inside, Yoongi’s heart was bleeding in silence. The truth was stuck in his throat, every word knotted and tangled. He gathered his broken thoughts and, in a firm voice, said, "Do you know what Suzy told me last night? She’s agreed to the marriage now. She really likes the groom. I realized then that what I meant to her was nothing more than a fleeting emotion. It’s better this way—I won’t have to carry the burden of that false emotion for a long time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to recover from it later."