used | JJK

Chapter 23

The rest of the trip was all about Jungkook stealing nervous glances at Jieun from the rear view mirror and she smirking whenever an oblivious Jackson started checking his phone.

You were in your own dilemma. Lately everything you did was questioning your conscience. What ever Jackson said just added fuel to the fire. You looked at Jackson from the rear view mirror and he was looking at his phone. You also saw your sister looking at Jungkook. You quickly grabbed on to Jungkook's arm snapping him out of his own dilemma. He quickly looked at you with raised eyebrows “What?”

“N-nothing.” You quickly pulled your hand away. Awkward.

You could imagine your sister smiling at the back.

*******
“Eommaaa” You squealed in your mother's arm. You loved the warmth and love it held. You didn't know whether it would last.

Your sister copied you and hugged your mother too. So unoriginal chh.

You hugged your father next while your sister didn't for reasons.

Your parents greeted the two boys and they all quickly got into talking, much smoothly than you and your sister imagined. Guess they can't just pounce and tear the boys into pieces.

You and your sister was standing in the kitchen, leaning on the counter staring nervously at each other. After all the final verdict had not yet been given. Your mother walked into the kitchen. Silence…

“So……” Your sister trailed off.

“What?” Your mother decided to play dumb.

“What do you think…… about theeem?” But your sister was persistent.

“So far so good, I guess. Who knows what is gonna happen?”

“Aaah” we both squealed. We didn't know why. The fact that our mother for once appreciated our choices could be the reason. We both hugged her and then ran away before she said some thing negative.

“Yah, it's not like I said I like th-”

******

“Jungkook” you called out to him who was walking ahead of you. He had been a little off on the whole journey. You both were walking around Busan and reminiscing about the past. “Where is your house?”

He looked at you blankly for a second not knowing what to say.

“It's not like I wanna visit or anything. I'm just curious.” You didn't want to sound desperate.

He looked at you once more. Jungkook hesitated for a minute but then looked at your big, round eyes and thought about what he could potentially lose. He took you by the hand and pulled you with him.

After walking some distance you came across what looked like an abandoned house. Jungkook looked like he knew the place well. He led you through from the back door into what looked like a garage. It was dusty and unused. Jungkook arranged a seat for you and him using something that looked like a chest.

“Is this your secret hideout?” You asked while sitting down next to him.

He nodded smiling. “More like secret heaven. If you want to know about me, you should know about this place first.”

You looked at him, your eyebrows raised.

“When I was young I used to come here a lot, whenever I was sad….”

You looked at him urging him to speak. He looked down.

“…I was sad because eomma used to cry….. because appa hit her.”

You gasped. You touched his knee. “Frequently?” You asked shocked.

He lifted his head a little and nodded. His eyes were tearing. “Sometimes the reason used to be so stupid but most of the time it used to be me.” He couldn't control anymore. He sobbed uncontrollably.

“An-and I couldn't do anything. All of it was because of me. The fact that I couldn't do well in anything: my studies, sports or anything. He hit her because I was useless.”

“Jungkook no…”

“You asked me if this was my hide out right? It is. A place where I hide from all my responsibilities of a good son, a useful son. A magical place which shunned all of my guilt outside.” He paused trying to take deep breaths.

“But even this place eventually lost its magic. The guilt kept growing and eventually lead to a situation where I couldn't sleep at nights. And then one day I was so fed up. I did it. I stood up for her. I told him to man up and stop hitting his woman.….”

You kept looking at his face. This side of his was new to you.

“And it got worse. He told me to get out of his house. I was ready actually to leave him and everything behind and take my mother with me to Seoul. My uncle had arranged everything for us. But… she didn't come with me. She chose him over me. He hits her, abuses her and she chose to stay with him. Why?” He looked at you. You didn't know the answer either.

“After that, I didn't set foot on this land until now. He would hit her more. I never called to make sure if she was okay. I am such a bad son, right?” He said smiling painfully and wiping his tears.

You just sat there dumbfounded. You didn't know what to say. You never imagined Jungkook had this kind of a story. Guess you can never know how intense the pain just by looking at the scar.

You quickly did what you could do at the moment. You hugged him. “Don't you dare blame yourself.” He hugged you harder and started crying more. You patted his head. You both sat there for sometime. Neither of you bothered by the time that was running fast.

He slowly lifted his head from the crook of your neck and looked into your eyes. His eyes and face were red. He looked like a cute, little lost puppy.

But his eyes quickly shifted to your lips. As he did, some thing in his eyes changed. He leaned closer. Your eyes shifted to his lips. He was merely an inch away from your lips. His hot breath was a premonition to how his lips would feel on yours. You were leaning closer too.….

But you pulled away, snapping Jungkook out of his trance.

“We should go.” You said getting up.

“It's too late for this anyway.”