Hate you, Love you

3.

Even after Jungkook went to Canada for his studies, his father frequently mentioned Taehyung as a hardworking and talented employee at his company. Taehyung often heard about Mr. Jeon’s son but never knew his name. Had he known it was his ex, Jungkook, he would have been the first to say no.

The reason? Taehyung never understood Jungkook. It was difficult for him to comprehend ordinary emotions, let alone Jungkook's, who always attached some kind of emotion to everything he did. Living with him was practically impossible for Taehyung. But what can he do now that all the wedding preparations are complete, including the invitations being sent? Besides, for whatever reason, he can't let his boss down. He idolized that man too much to do that.

And here he is, standing at the airport, waiting to receive Jungkook along with his future in-laws.

...

As soon as Jungkook landed, he rushed in to see his parents, whom he hadn't seen in four years. He found them standing with Taehyung, who seemed really uncomfortable. Taehyung stepped forward and awkwardly took his luggage. To avoid dwelling on it, Jungkook hugged his mother and father.

“Kook-ah, how are you, dear? Have you not been eating well? Look how lean you've gotten. Eating all that foreign food—”

“He just landed; no need for your nagging,” his father cut her off.

“You know nothing. Who knows what my baby had to go through after you sent him off. Come, Kookie, let’s go. Leave this old man here.” His mother took his hand and started walking ahead, with Jungkook grinning at his parents.

“You saw that? That’s how your life is going to be too,” Mr. Jeon nudged Taehyung.

“Did you say something?” Mrs. Jeon asked, giving him a side-eye.

“No, nothing, honey,” he quickly replied. Even though Taehyung didn’t understand everything, he knew it wasn’t bad. He quite liked the warm, fuzzy feeling in his head and just went along with it.

They all settled in the car, and the ride was surprisingly silent with Jungkook watching out the window. Taehyung noticed how his eyes twinkled when he saw something that hadn’t changed over the years, and how his nose scrunched as he peeked out the window more whenever he got a scent of food. He certainly didn’t know what to do with these details but made a note of them anyway.

“Rest today, Kook. Taehyung can show you around the office tomorrow, okay?” The older man looked expectantly at the younger couple.

“Sure, sir. I’ll be just a call away.”

“Taehyung, no need to be so formal. We’ll be seeing each other often. I don’t care much for formalities,” he said, waving it off, causing Taehyung to nod in agreement.

...

Jungkook sighed with contentment after a refreshing shower as he flopped onto the bed. Nostalgia washed over him as he noticed the familiar pastel green walls and smelled Aunt Lee Shin’s cooking wafting through the window behind the bed.

“Aunt Shin!” he called out from the window, making an older woman in her 40s appear on her balcony, visible from where he stood.

“Is that our Jungkookie? When did you get here?” she shouted back, motioning for him to come downstairs. Without a second thought, he rushed down the stairs and out the door to see Aunt Shin next door.

“Aunt Shin,” he grinned at her, his bunny smile stretching wide as he walked into her home without hesitation. He headed straight to the kitchen and took a bite of bulgogi right from the pan. Aunt Shin followed him inside from the balcony.
Jungkook yelped as she playfully smacked his hand for eating directly from the pan.

“Patience, Koo,” she warned as she quickly set the table for him and sat down after serving him. She watched him focus intently on stuffing his mouth full of food.

“Your food ish the besht,” he mumbled with his mouth full.

“I know, I know. Eat first. I’ll go tell your mother you’re eating here,” she said as she walked out. Jungkook continued his meal without a care in the world.

There’s no better place than home. Marriage or not, he’s not leaving Korea. And he’s definitely not leaving these people.

Aunt Shin moved in with her husband Lee Jihoon after marriage when Jungkook was just five. They unfortunately couldn't have a child and Jungkook got too attached when his sister, Mina was born. Mina needed their attention as she was very weak when born and with aunt Shin's love and attention, he didn't even feel his mother's absence.

"Where were you, Jungkook?"

"Why do you care?" Jungkook said nonchalantly as he dropped his bag on the table carelessly and walked towards the stairs. His mother tugged his hand forcefully, turning him around.

"I am your mother. Of course I care. Now tell me." She raised her voice, trying not to lash out at him.

"Mom, it's nothing big. Just some... things. You don't need to know," he said tiredly.

"I don't need to know? I already know, Jungkook," she said, making him halt in his steps.

"This is the seventh time you took Shin to a parent-teacher meeting. I didn't even know it happened," she continued, making him go stiff.

"Just some school stuff. Nothing bi—"

"It's not nothing, Jeon Jungkook! It's been months since you ate here, months since you even talked to us properly. You almost sleep there every day, and I can go on like this. Why do y-"  Unable to contain herself, she raised her voice before he cut her off.

"Because I see her more as a mother. She is better at being a mother to me than you." The words barely left his mouth before he was met with a slap. His eyes filled with tears as he stared at her in disbelief. Without another word, he threw his ID card and tie aside, rushing out despite his mother's desperate cries.

The sound of plates clanging brought him out of his memories. There Aunt Shin sat herself to eat. She hadn’t changed at all in these four years—her brown-dyed hair left loosely over her shoulder, a few wrinkles near her eyes, her pale yet tanned skin spotless, and her dull, faded red lips stretched into a big smile. He sighed, leaning against her shoulder.

"What happened, Koo?" She was the only one who called him that.

"Just... I missed you. There was no one to check on me when I was sick. I won't go anywhere again," he mumbled, settling his head on her lap as she threaded her fingers through his hair.

"Says who. Did you forget you're getting married?""I don't care. I'll make him come here. If not, I'll leave him there and just stay here," he said, knowing very well it couldn’t happen. He wouldn’t be home again for another three years.

"Where's Uncle?" he asked, shifting the subject, and she didn't dwell on it either.

"Some colleague of his is retiring, so there's a send-off party. He’ll be late," she said, earning a hum from him.

She continued, "Taehyung’s house is down the road to the right. When he started constructing a house nearby, your father had him stay at your place for a few months until the construction was completed. He didn’t seem like such a bad guy, you know."

"I know. It was just... a really wrong time for us to date. He wasn’t a good lover, but he was a good person, I know that. He had issues he didn’t even know he had, and I was immature. I acted out a lot, and he couldn’t handle many things. I don’t hold grudges, but just because it was necessary doesn’t mean I like being with him," he explained.

"Why is that, Koo?" she asked gently.

"He made me feel so... overwhelmed? I couldn’t handle it well."

"Overwhelmed? As in?"

"As in... he was dependent? On me?" He let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright, alright, don’t think too much. Just sleep. You already look tired." She hushed him to sleep, humming a soft song. And he did on her lap finally with no worries.

_____

Note: ngl I wrote this for long and still feel like it's not enough. Anyways.. completed this one on 3.20 pm 31 Aug 2024.