ALADDIN ; BTS AU

ACT I; SCENE II

ITALICS IS A SONG FROM THE MUSICAL. SONGS USED WILL BE LINKED AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER.

Soon, Jungkook ran out of rooftop. He carefully made his way down the side of the final building and let his feet hit the sand with a thump. Then, he began to walk, the loaf of bread heavy in his pocket as he slowly traveled further and further into the outskirts of Sonorado. The stark contrast between the hustle and bustle of the market place and the lonely silence excluding the crunch of his bare feet on the sand hit him then. He could actually focus on the unpleasant feeling weighing on his heart and soul. He could actually hear his own thoughts, no longer worried about where his next meal would come from, no—

Given the peace and quiet to think about it, Jungkook realized he was worried about what Namjoon said. You can't keep living like this, Kook. The older man's words echoed in his ears. The more he heard them, the more he realized Namjoon was right.

Not only was surviving off stolen morsels of food and unbelievable luck dangerous and unpredictable, but was it really that far off from what his mother had instilled in him not to do? Now that he thought of it, stealing was virtually living off of other people, using their potential profit for his own selfish benefit. Even worse, he was doing it illegally. Jungkook's steps slowly faltered as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. The breath was practically knocked out of him, a sinking feeling filling the pit of his stomach. If there had been anything in him, he knew he would have thrown it up.

He realized that he had been doing the exact opposite of what his mother had wanted this entire time, all of the years he had been living on the streets. He had been trying to honor her by stealing, by trying to provide for himself to the best of his ability, by not accepting help, but he had only ended up being a disgrace. Tears blurred his vision as he looked to the slowly darkening sky, the realization being too much for him.

"I'm so sorry, Ma." He said softly. It had been a long time since he had spoken to his mother. He had only done it a few times since she died, deeming it stupid to think that she would even hear him from wherever her soul resided, but he felt that if he didn't get his apology off of his chest, he would explode. "I didn't mean for everything to turn out this way. I'm going to be somebody. I don't know how exactly, but I am. I have to—somehow." Jungkook said, running his hands through his dirty black hair in desperation. He couldn't remember the last time it had been clean or combed. He suddenly couldn't control the aching in his heart, and that hurt poured out of his mouth in a gentle melody:

"Proud of your boy,
I'll make you proud of your boy
Believe me, as bad as I've been, Ma
You're in for a pleasant surprise

I've wasted time
I've wasted me
So say I'm slow for my age
A late bloomer
Okay, I agree

That I've been one rotten kid
Some son, some pride, some joy
But I'll get over these lousin' up,
Messin' up, screwin' up times

You'll see, Ma, now comes the better part
Someone's gonna make good
Cross his stupid heart
Make good and finally make you
Proud of your boy

Tell me that I've been a louse and a loafer
You won't get a fight here, no ma'am
Say I'm a goldbrick, a goof-off, no good
But that couldn't be all that I am

Water flows under the bridge
Let it pass, let it go
There's no good reason that you should believe me
Not yet, I know, but