Broken Melodies (NCT)

Jungwoo

"Bella!" Jungwoo said, calling over the dog. "Bella, come here!"

The beagle wagged its tail as it cuddled against his body. Jungwoo had some sort of special connection with this particular dog. He had found her as a pup wandering the streets, emaciated and crawling with fleas, and brought her to the shelter. She had thrived since, and each day he came to visit her, the pride in his heart grew. Was this what it felt like being a father?

"Hey, Jungwoo!" he turned, finding his sister Minah staring at him disapprovingly. "No wonder you work minimum wage. You're not even getting benefits from volunteering to this shelter, let's go home."

It was the same scenario every day. He'd visit this shelter after work volunteering to help the animals, and not come home until hours later. Minah had made the habit to check that shelter if he was late, and drag him back to his house. It was common knowledge that he was the black sheep of the family, a fact that reflected off his parent's eyes as they looked at him.

"I really don't see the point behind going to some dirty shelter looking after animals that'll die in about five years anyway." his mom was always saying. "Look at all this wasted time you should've spent studying, instead of hanging out with those things. No wonder you didn't get into any university."

And that was what Jungwoo was conflicted about. He had applied for a university, more than one, really, and he had been rejected from them all. "Although your potential is impressive, we regret to inform you that we are unable to accept you into (insert University here)." He had resorted to working in a minimum wage job, visiting the shelter often, just for a bit of sanity.

His parents flashed him the usual disappointed look as he entered the house after his sister. Still living with his parents at 24 must be some sort of unachievable record; at least in his parents' eyes. To them, everything he did was a "failure", or a "disappointment."

The thing was, Jungwoo had started to believe them. Maybe there was a reason that those universities rejected him, a reason to the way that animals were his closest friends, a reason to the glitter of shame in Minah's eyes when she was around him. Was he not good enough?

"How's your job getting on, Minah?" his mom asked sweetly around the dinner table, flashing her a gaze of burning pride she never showed him. Minah currently worked as a neurologist in one of the most prestigious hospitals in Ncity. No wonder she would talk about her daughter with such passion. "You've worked so hard to get into that hospital, you have to tell your mother about it."

"It's fine, mom." Minah said. "It's like any regular old hospital, except the pay's higher."

Jungwoo felt slightly irritable at that sentence. Sure, it was none of his business what his sister thought of her job, but did she really have to say that in front of him?

"It would be amazing if others were in your position." he snapped. "Then maybe they wouldn't complain so much."

Minah stopped eating, fixing him a flustered stare, seemingly getting exactly what he was talking about. "Jungwoo. . . I-"

"What was that?" his mom snapped, glaring at him. "Do you know how hard your sister worked to get to where she was today? Hours studying nonstop, every day, while you went and hung out with those street trash. If you had just followed her example, then maybe you wouldn't be where you are today."

"Mom." Minah narrowed her eyes, trying to warn her, but she was not done. She started on the usual rant, comparing him to his sister, attacking every single decision he had made in his 24 years of life. Jungwoo stared down at his plate, angry tears swimming in his eyes. He had tried, why couldn't she just accept that? Both of her kids couldn't be blessed with godly visuals and intelligence: that privilege had gone to Minah.

The family dinner broke up quite awkwardly. Jungwoo was the first to leave, heading straight to his bedroom to stare meaninglessly at the white walls. He kept telling himself he had tried the hardest he could, but did he really? Maybe he didn't try hard enough, and the shelter really did hinder his progress. Maybe his parents were right: after all, mother knew best.

Jungwoo threw up his hands in frustration. What was he thinking? Of course he tried his best, did he really not know his own limits? Why was he letting that woman get to his head?

The door opened, a figure quickly darting in before closing it again: Minah. She sat next to him, silently stroking his hair.

"I'm sorry." she said finally. "I should've thought more before I spoke. I didn't think mom would overreact like that."

"No." Jungwoo pushed her hand away. "What are you apologizing for? You're the one who actually had the initiative to pull your life together."

"You worked just as hard." Minah argued. "Maybe more than me. Did you ever see me take time out of my day to volunteer for helpless animals? Your intentions are pure at heart, fate just wasn't on your side." she smiled. "Maybe, it's not over for you yet. Maybe you can turn your life around."

There it was again. Maybe. How he hated that word.

"How, Minah?" Jungwoo asked helplessly. "It's over for me. University was my last hope, and even that was taken away. The best I can do is live paycheck to paycheck, hoping I earn enough to finally move out."

Minah frowned. "Tell you what: take your mind off stress for now." she showed him an email on her phone. "Chenle invited us to a dinner party."

"A dinner party?" Jungwoo repeated skeptically. "Why would he do that? You sure this isn't another of his elaborate tricks?"

Minah shrugged. "We'll beat the shit out of him if it is. Just get to the harbor on time tomorrow if you're going."

Maybe this was the turn-around he had been looking for. Him and Minah: brother and sister once more instead of rivals.

"Sure. I would love to go."

AN///////
Since when were Jungwoo and Kim Minah siblings? 😭

Like I just found out while doing research for this ff. My Nctzen soul is leaving my body currently.