JEON JUNGKOOK - "Ashes of Obsession"

36. kookie

The days that followed their wedding were quiet, marked by small, intimate moments that Jeon carefully curated. He was determined not to repeat his mistakes, to show her that he could be gentle, that he could be the man she might one day trust.

In the mornings, he would kiss her forehead softly before heading to work, a small gesture that felt almost natural. In the evenings, he would sit with her on the couch, watching movies or just talking—anything to spend time with her without pressure or force. Sometimes, they would sit in his vast garden, the silence between them broken only by the chirping of birds or the rustling of leaves. Jeon made a point to share meals with her, taking time out of his day to sit across from her at the dining table, their plates filled with food that often went uneaten as they exchanged a few words.

Yet, despite his efforts, Y/N remained distant. She was there physically—sitting next to him, eating with him, watching the same movies—but her mind seemed elsewhere. It was as if she had built a wall around herself, and though Jeon could see her, he couldn’t reach her.

On the other side, Y/N was slowly coming to terms with her new life. The reality of being married to Jeon was settling in, and she was starting to accept it as her new normal. She wasn’t happy, but she wasn’t fighting it anymore either. She had resigned herself to this life, trying to find small moments of peace amidst the chaos of being the wife of a dangerous mafia boss. It wasn’t easy, but she was learning to survive, to make a habit of this forced life.

_______

One evening, Jeon came home after a long day of work. He found Y/N sitting alone in the garden, her gaze lost in the distance. He walked over to her, a bouquet of tulips in his hand—their bright colors a stark contrast to the quiet sadness in her eyes. Tulips had always been her favorite, a detail he had made sure to remember.

A small smile touched her lips as she saw the flowers, but it quickly faded when her eyes met his. She accepted the bouquet with a quiet "thank you" and set it down beside her, returning to her silence.

Jeon sat next to her, the air thick with unspoken words. After a moment, he asked, "How was your day?"

"Fine," she replied softly, her voice barely above a whisper. Her answers were always short, as if she couldn’t bring herself to engage more than necessary.

After a pause, Y/N broke the silence with a question that had been weighing on her mind for days. "Jungkook, why did you marry me? Was it just to take revenge or to show your power to my father?"

Jeon looked at her, the weight of her words settling between them. He could see the hurt in her eyes, the uncertainty that had been gnawing at her since the day they were forced together. He took a deep breath and decided it was time to tell her the truth.

“No, it wasn’t about revenge or power,” he began, his voice gentle but firm. “It was about something much more important to me.”

He looked into her eyes, hoping she would see the sincerity in his. “Do you remember playing in Central Park when you were five? There was a little boy you used to meet there every evening. That boy was me, Y/N.”

Y/N’s eyes widened in surprise, her breath catching in her throat. The memories rushed back—memories of a carefree time, of laughter and games, of a boy she had called "Kookie." She hadn’t thought of those days in years, but now, as she looked at Jungkook, it all came flooding back.

“I never forgot you,” he continued. “You were my only friend, the only one who made me feel like a normal kid. When you stopped coming to the park, I felt like a part of me was missing. I searched for you for years, but I couldn’t find you. You became my best memory, the one thing I held on to when everything else was falling apart.”

Jeon paused, his voice thick with emotion. “When I found out that Kim Y/N was the same Y/N from my childhood, I knew I couldn’t let you go again. I married you because… because you were the one person who ever made me feel like I mattered. And I couldn’t lose that, not again.”

Y/N stared at him, her mind reeling from the revelation. “Kookie,” she whispered, the name slipping out before she could stop herself. It was the name she had called him all those years ago, a name she hadn’t spoken in so long.

Jeon’s expression softened at the sound of it, a small smile playing on his lips. He reached out and took her hand, holding it gently in his. For the first time, Y/N didn’t pull away. She looked at him, really looked at him, and saw not just the dangerous mafia boss but the boy she had once known.

To be continued...