Veil of Vengeance | JUNGKOOK FF

Chapter 8

Jeongguk turned a page, lost in the book which he was reading, while Yoongi snoozed peacefully on the couch at the student lobby area. The other two, taehyung and jimin were distracted by their phones, waiting for the next class. The peaceful silence was then broken by Jimin's ringtone and he glanced at Jeongguk with a playful smirk and answered, "Hey, Chaewonie! What's up?"

Jeongguk didn't look up, but he could sense Jimin's mood shift. Jimin's smirk faded as he listened, his eyes widening. "What do you mean? Wait Chae Chae, are you being REALLY serious right now??" he asked, his voice dropping. The others started to pay attention, sensing something was off because Jimin was never the person who got anything serious to his head and this scene was new to the other three.

Jimin stood up, walking away from the group, his face paling. "When did this happen and how, why?" he asked, his tone urgent and disbelieving. There was a pause as he listened to the response, then he muttered, "Oh my dear god! I... I can't believe it."

Yoongi stirred from his nap, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on?" he mumbled, glancing at Jimin, who was now pacing. Jeongguk put away the book he was reading as he stared at the grave expression that Jimin had on his face.

Jimin finally turned back to the group, his expression grave and his eyes welled with tears. "It was chaewon who called me and ughh.. she.. she just told me... Ji Eun passed away," he said, struggling to keep his voice steady.

As Jimin delivered the news, Taehyung and Yoongi gasped in shock and immediately turned to look at their Jeongguk who was staring at jimin in disbelief. "You're joking, right?" he said, his voice tinged with a mix of confusion and anger. "This isn't funny, Jiminie hyung. You should never joke about someone's passing"

Jimin shook his head, his eyes serious and filled with sorrow. "I would never joke about something like this, Jeonggukah" he replied firmly because he knew he had to tell this to the younger one way or another. "Ji Eun is really gone."

Jeongguk's expression shifted as the reality of Jimin's words hit him. The gravity of the situation began to sink in, and a cold wave of despair washed over him. It felt like the ground beneath him had crumbled away, leaving him free-falling into a void. His mind raced, filled with thoughts of Ji Eun. He had just found her again, after 10 years, and now she was gone, lost forever before he got to talk with her even for a mere second.

Tears welled up in Jeongguk's eyes, blurring his vision. The weight of guilt pressed heavily on his chest, suffocating him. He hadn't had the chance to talk to her, to make things right. Now, that chance was gone, and the pain of that lost opportunity cut deep. The overwhelming sense of loss made it hard to breathe, and he fought back the sobs that threatened to escape.

Taehyung slowly walked to Jeongguk as he rubbed the younger's back soothingly.

"We are so sorry for the loss jeonggukah. And please do not keep anything to yourself. Let your emotions out because we are there for you all the time" he said making sure to convince the younger that he always had the support of his three hyungs.

"I really don't know how i am feeling hyungs. I am so so so sad that Lily passed away and that I couldn't even speak a word with her to let her know how thankful i am towards her, even after 10 years. I thought i had time but it looks like i didn't" jeongguk said letting a tear fall down his face.

"What has happened to her hyung? How has my lily passed away?" Jeongguk asked again from Jimin because he remembered the elder asking for the reason from chaewon.

"Apparently she has been sick Jeonggukah. That has made her to leave us so soon" jimin said and looked at yoongi and taehyung.

"We are to pay respects to her at the funeral hall of Hagwon University Hospital. Final rites will also be happening in the evening" jimin said implying that they should get into mourning clothes soon since they didn't have a lot of time.