answer | yoonkook

prologue

The mattress dipped as Yoongi sat. He picked up the box he'd placed on the table the night before. The latch clicked, and for a moment, he thought the box was locked. But the latch finally yielded, and the lid sprang free.

Inside, a tight bundle of envelopes crammed the space, secured with a rubber band. These weren't regular white letter envelopes. They looked official, tan business envelopes, and unopened. Yoongi had to strain to pry them out of the cramped space. There looked to be over a hundred of them.

However, before he could examine them closely, a small book nestled at the bottom of the box snagged his attention. The tiny book's rough, black cover was reminiscent of the old register books banks used to give out.

He set the envelopes aside and picked up the small book. Turning it over, his mouth fell agape, yet no sound escaped. "Jeon Family Savings and Loan, Busan, South Korea," the inscription declared.

A wave of weakness washed over him. He was relieved to be sitting as his entire body went shaky. The name, Jeon, It hadn't been uttered between him and his mother in years.

He rarely allowed himself to even think about it. Memories, powerful and haunting, of a love so deep, the mere thought threatened to consume him whole. When he did indulge, permitting himself to get lost in the past, it was only in the dead of night, when there was no chance of his reminiscence being discovered.

However, the Jeon name also evoked an ache within him. A terrible ache, a loss so profound it had left a gaping hole in his life, forever unfilled.

With practiced determination, Yoongi shoved the tormenting memories aside. It was either that, or risk getting completely swept away by the past..

Instead, he focused on the tin box. What did it mean? This old account book, these unopened statements? His fingers trembled as he cracked open the spine of the small black book. The scrawled balance on the yellowed page made him gasp.