IN THE PRESENCE OF YOUR ABSENCE

CHAPTER 7

FLASHBACK (A WEEK BEFORE THEIR BREAKUP)

JUNGKOOK'S POV

The house was still, the kind of quiet that fills the air right before everything shatters. I stood in the hallway, staring at the living room door where I knew my parents were waiting. I didn't want to go in, but there was no avoiding it this time. The tension had been building for weeks, and tonight was the breaking point.

I stepped into the room, my stomach twisting as my eyes met my father's cold gaze. He sat stiffly in his chair, his hands gripping the armrests as if to restrain himself. My mother stood by the fireplace, her face set in the same hard lines that I had come to dread.

"Sit," my father ordered, his voice low but filled with an unmistakable edge.

I reluctantly sat down, feeling the weight of their disapproval pressing down on me.

For a moment, no one spoke. The silence was suffocating, thick with the tension of what was about to unfold.

"We need to talk about your behavior, Jungkook," my father started, his tone controlled but laced with anger. "You've been nothing but a disappointment lately."

I swallowed hard, already feeling the sting of his words. This wasn't new, but somehow, it hurt more tonight.

"We've done everything for you," my mother chimed in, her voice sharp. "We've given you every opportunity, supported you in every way, and this is how you repay us? By throwing everything away?"

Her words hit like a punch to the gut, but I tried to keep my expression neutral.

"It's not like that," I started, but my father cut me off.

"Not like that?" he repeated, his voice rising. "Then what is it, Jungkook? You've done nothing but waste your time, drifting aimlessly. You're lazy, you're irresponsible, and frankly, you're acting like you don't care about your future. What kind of son are you?"

The words sliced through me, but before I could even respond, my mother added her own blow.

"Sometimes, I wonder why we even bother," she said, her voice quieter but no less cutting. "You've been nothing but a burden, Jungkook. It's like you don't even want to be part of this family. Maybe things would have been better if you weren't born at all."

I froze, her words crashing into me with a force I hadn't expected. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel my throat tighten as I tried to keep my composure.

"You don't mean that," I whispered, but the look on her face told me otherwise.

"Don't we?" my father added, his eyes hard as stone. "You've done nothing to prove otherwise. All we've asked is for you to take responsibility for your life, but all you've given us is failure. You're worthless, Jungkook. Worthless."

Worthless. The word echoed in my head, over and over. I felt like I couldn't breathe, like the air had been sucked out of the room.

"Stop it," I muttered, my voice shaking.

"Stop what?" my father sneered. "Telling the truth? You need to hear it. You need to understand that this isn't a game. We're done making excuses for you. We're done pretending you'll ever amount to anything."

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them away, refusing to break in front of them.

"I'm not a failure," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm trying... but I can't live the life you want for me. It's not who I am."