•••
I take his hand and say:"Come on, let's go to my place to drink some warm tea." He takes his hand out of mine and starts walking away from me, ignoring my request. I pout and say:"If you're not gonna come with me, then I'll get upset and go jump again." He rolls his eyes again and then agrees.
•••
At home, a bit later
I make some tea for both of us and make a quick meal. "It's very late. Stay over. I don't want something bad happening to you." He refuses at first, not wanting to be a bother me but I brush that off and convince him to stay.
•••
Es saklāju Yoongi vietu manā gultā un saku:"Ej gulēt." Viņš jautā:"Kur tu gulēsi??" Es saku:"Neuztraucies par mani. Man būs, kur gulēt." Yoongi saka:"Nu...nu labi." Pēc mirkļa Yoongi ielien manā gultā un ātri aizmieg. Es uzvelku kedas un izeju no dzīvokļa, ejot pie upes sēdēt atkal stundām ilgi, kā jau pēdējos dažus mēnešus.
•••
I sit down on a rock by the river, taking off my sneakers and getting my toes wet. I'm sitting there thinking about life when the memory of the time my brother assaulted me comes to mind.....it was one of the last times I saw him alive.
•••
My brother, completely drunk, stumbles into the apartment. His friend is holding him on his shoulder. He says, "Well, take over, Min Jee. This idiot got drunk, you see, got promoted at work, wanted to celebrate. Got drunk." I say, "Thanks, Taeyang." He leaves and I drag my brother to his room. I go to my room and enter it, but as soon as I'm about to change, I'm pushed onto the bed. I look up and there's my brother standing there, grinning a little scary. I ask, "Oppa, what are you doing??" He says, "What I want." He slowly unbuttons his belt, unbuttons his shirt, and then....what usually gets you thrown in jail happens, if you know what I'm talking about.
2 days later
I wake up with teary eyes again and go to the kitchen, it's empty. Then I go into my brother's room, there's a note on the table.
"Min Jee, I'm sorry for what I did. I know it's unforgivable, I would never forgive myself. I can't stand this feeling of guilt. I'm so sorry that mom, dad, and sister died and left us. But forgive me for everything...I hope with all my heart that you'll live a long and happy life. Please don't worry about me and live your life happily."
Your beloved brother,who committed a terrible crime
I understand what this might mean. I want to go look for him, but when I go to the bathroom, I collapse. My brother's body is hanging from the ceiling lamp, suspended by a rope.
•••
I remember that moment again and bawl my eyes out.
Yoongi POV
I hear the apartment door open and close a moment after I lay down in bed. I quickly get dressed and leave the apartment, following Min Jee. She walks towards the river at a relatively slow pace, sitting down by it. After a while, she starts crying. I can't take it anymore and sit down next to her.
Min Jee POV
I cry silently, but then I suddenly get scared because I feel someone sitting next to me. I look, it's Yoongi. I ask, "What are you doing here??" He asks, "And you?? What did you forget here??" I say, "I wanted to think...I needed some fresh air. Now you answer." Yoongi says, "I heard you leave the apartment, and I didn't want to let you sneak around alone in the middle of the night." I smile a little. Yoongi turns to me and wipes my tears without asking anything. I'm grateful for that. After a moment, he grabs my hand and says, "That's it. Let's go back home." We go back home. Yoongi says, "That's it. Now I'm not going to bed until after you fall asleep. I don't know what may or may not happen to you... By the way, who is your guardian now??"
I cry silently, but then I suddenly get scared because I feel someone sitting next to me. I look, it's Yoongi. I ask, "What are you doing here??" He asks, "And you?? What did you forget here??" I say, "I wanted to think...I needed some fresh air. Now you answer." Yoongi says, "I heard you leave the apartment, and I didn't want to let you sneak around alone in the middle of the night." I smile a little. Yoongi turns to me and wipes my tears without asking anything. I'm grateful for that. After a moment, he grabs my hand and says, "That's it. Let's go back home." We go back home. Yoongi says, "That's it. Now I'm not going to bed until after you fall asleep. I don't know what may or may not happen to you... By the way, who is your guardian now??"
I say, "Well. Theoretically, my great-grandmother, but she left me here alone when she went to Tenerife. She says I can live on my own for a few months, until my 18th birthday. (Generally speaking, in Korea, the age of majority is 19, but I'll ignore that fact, unfortunately.) She sends me money every month." Yoongi says, "I understand." I say, "Just don't think I want you to sympathize with me about everything. I always hate it when people, upon hearing my story, sympathize with me or feel sorry for me. It drives me crazy." Yoongi says, "I see. Okay. Okay." I think about it for a moment, but I don't like the awkward silence between us, so I say, "Tell me about how you started playing the piano." Yoongi sighs and, after thinking for a while, begins to tell the story: "It started when I was a child........."
Yoongi POV
Es nopūšos un, mazliet apdomājies, sāku stāstīt:"Tas sākās jau bērnībā........." I sigh and think about what to say. So I start telling her the story.
•••
11 years ago, at the age of 7
Our family doesn't have much money, to put it mildly... We're actually very poor. We live in a tiny two-room apartment that we inherited from my grandmother. One day I'm sitting in the small living room and I say, "Mom..." My mom comes up to me and says, "No, son?? What's wrong??" I ask, "Mom, what's that piano in the corner of the room?? Why don't we sell it?? We'd have more money." Mom sits down next to me and says, "Son, you have to understand one thing. There are things that are not worth any money. They might be very expensive, but we won't sell them. They were given to me by your great-grandmother when I was born, and her mother gave them to her before that, and it's been that way for generations. Do you understand??"I say, "Yes, but Eomma, why don't you play it??"
She says, "Because I can't. If I could, I would play, but I can't. After I die, you will inherit this piano. I'm just saying, just so you know." I say, "Eomma. Don't talk about death now." Eomma goes back to the other room, I sit down at the piano. I press a few keys, trying to improvise. I'm fascinated by this music and I start improvising on the spot. I play a few more keys and then stop playing. I hear footsteps and turn around. There are eomma and appa (mom and dad) standing there. Eomma says, "Look, Yoongi is more talented than my mom... He will have a great future ahead of him." Dad smiles.
•••
I say, "Well...and that's how it all started. I've been playing the piano since that day. We didn't have much money, but my mom spent almost all of our family money on me when she paid for my music-related lessons. I would love to maybe give up music sometimes, but then I think about my mom."
Min Jee POV
I just look at him and smile. Then we decide that it's finally time go to sleep. But we cannot fall asleep, both of us, so we decide to watch a movie which is when we finally fall asleep.
