Caged (Jimin BTS)

XV = Son

Jungkook stepped softly on the floor, in the hopes that no one is in the living room. He tip-toed his way to the stairs when the muffled sound of a book closed broke the silence. He automatically stood straighter.

"Jungkook." His father regarded him at the foot of the stairs.

"Father." The boy gulped and nodded back.

"I heard that you've been hanging around Doctor Kim's son for these past few weeks. Anything I should know of?"

The calm look his father shot him didn't make Jungkook calm at all. In fact, it made him quake in his boots. He then lowered his gaze to the floor and shook his head.

"N-nothing, Father. I just realised that he's a great person and I wanted to learn more things from him." About how our family had tricked Omelasian for hundreds of years.

"He's that great that you denied your guards?" The boy snapped up his head at his father. The mayor of Omelas has a thin smile grazing his lips.

"I... just wanted some... privacy..." Shit, now even his hands were shaking. Jungkook clasped them behind his back and stared at his father, trying to remain irrevocable. Finally, his father got up the sofa with a grunt.

"I'm just..." Mayor Jeon sighed and patted his son's shoulder, making him flinch. "I just wanted the best for you. I don't want you to have the same fate as your brother."

Jungkook remained his ground even when his father has walked out of the room. His brother. Jeon Junghwa. Junghwa.

Jungkook fisted his hands by his sides.

Died when he was eight. Cursed by the Caged Boy.

---

"Hoseok, can you grab the fork for me? I need to load these hay into the wheelbarrow." His mother shouted from inside the barn. "Coming!" He shouted back.

His father was fixing their tractor that pooped up a few days ago. The boy accidentally kicked his father's foot sticking out from under the tractor and yelped his apologies.

"Don't fret it, son." The old man chuckled. "Sweet s'mores, this thing couldn't be fixed for nuthin."

"What if you send it to my friend, Yoongi?" Hoseok dug his jumper's pocket and gave his phone to his father. "Maybe he can help with that. I never see anything unfixable for him."

"It's okay, hun." His mother cuts in. "The social worker would come this weekend and woulda fixed 'em machine rite up!"

The potbellied man guffawed and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "A point there, Mam. Sorry son, might've not use his help after all."

"Okay..." Hoseok watches as his parents walked into the barn together, hand in hand. His father is an outlander, while his mother is an Omelasian. The two of them is the best parent he could ever asked for, Hoseok acknowledges even that. Even with his mother's slight hostility to Yoongi, it's okay. Because she's his mother.

Yoongi is just his friend, not a family. He can just make other friends and be happy all over again.

But what's with this void in his chest?

---

Seokjin is in a dilemma. He knew that his adoptive parents expected a lot out of him, but if they knew that he knew about it...