Stigma: Killer Love

Chapter Two

Officer Jeon had done something like this quite often, but he had never invited a kid to stay over for a couple of days. Normally it was just a day or two, sometimes even just the night. But to him, this boy was different.

“So currently there are no empty rooms but I’m sure that one of my sons wouldn’t mind you sharing a room with them for a while.” He said to Taehyung as he opened the door. Taehyung didn’t say anything but followed him into to the house anyway.

It was an okay sized house. Big enough for a family of four on a police officer’s salary. It was a small cosy two story house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen, garage and small back yard.

“Welcome home dad. Who’s this?” A boy around the same age as Taehyung greeted his father as they walked in to the house. Taehyung put on the guest slippers and followed Officer Jeon further into the house.

“This is Kim Taehyung. He just needs a place to stay for a while.” Officer Jeon replied.

“Hey, I’m Jung-hyun.” Jung-hyun extended his hand to Taehyung, but the latter didn’t respond. He kept his hands firmly in his pockets because he knew that they were still covered in some blood.

“Jung-hyun take Taehyung up stairs so he can wash up before we eat.” Jung-hyun’s dad shouted from the kitchen.

“Yes, dad.” Jung-hyun replied then turned to Taehyung. “Come I’ll show you were the bathroom is. When you are done then you can just walk through that door to the dinning room where we will be eating.”

“Thanks.” Taehyung said when Jung-hyun opened the bathroom door for him. He stepped in side and made sure the door was closed before he went to the sink. After washing his hands and arms almost ten times, Taehyung was sure that the blood had been washed off. He wiped his hands on the bathroom towel and made his way downstairs to where the family was waiting for him.

“Hello, I’m Kim Taehyung. Sorry I took so long.” Taehyung said the minute he entered the room. The Jeon Family turned their attention to their guest and smiled.

“Please sit. You didn’t make us wait long.” The only female at the table said. She stood up and guided Taehyung to his place opposite her but next to another boy. This boy smiled widely at Taehyung and Taehyung couldn’t help but notice his bunny smile that matched his mother’s.

“I’m Jeongguk, but people always call me Jungkook.” The bunny boy said. Taehyung bowed slightly and sat down.

“Help yourself to anything. Please we always welcome people who need help.” Mrs Jeon said to Taehyung who bowed in response and picked up his chopsticks.

Dinner was a noisy affair in the Jeon household. Everyone was trying to say something to someone else who was also trying to talk. Taehyung wasn’t used to such liveliness coming from just four people. It wasn’t as unpleasant as he had expected it to be and quite enjoyed listening to them talk about their day at university or work.

Is this what it feels like to have a family?

The thought went as quick as it came and left Taehyung with a bitter taste in his mouth. He tried to wash it down with some water and rice, but it didn’t help. In fact, it felt even worse than before.

“Jung-hyun, since Taehyung is around your age, can he share a room with you?” Officer Jeon asked his eldest son.

“He could stay with me. I still have a bunk bed and I don’t really use the couch on the bottom.” Jungkook said excitedly. “Everyone else who has come has stayed with Hyung.”

“Yeah, why doesn’t he?” Junghyun agreed. Officer Jeon knew that that wasn’t the reason Jungkook wanted Taehyung in his room, but he played along.

“Well, I don’t see a problem with it. Taehyung it seems that Jungkook will show you to his room when we are done eating.” Taehyung just nodded in response and everyone went back to their many conversations.

“Are you okay, Hyung?” Jungkook leaned closer to the older boy. The bad taste in his mouth mixed with Jungkook scent and the lingering smell of blood made Taehyung’s stomach lurch. He threw himself out of his chair and ran to the bathroom.

Taehyung threw up the contents of his meal in to the toilet. He threw up until he was dry heaving but didn’t pull his head out of the toilet. He wasn’t sure if he was going to throw up again, even if there was nothing in his stomach.

After about ten minutes of Taehyung sitting on the bathroom floor with his head in the toilet, he heard a knock on the door.

“Hyung? Are you okay in there?” Jungkook’s voice came from the other side. Taehyung was too tired to reply so said nothing. “Should I come in? Or call Dad?”

“Come in.” Taehyung’s voice surprised both him and the boy outside. It was raw and scratchy sounding. Jungkook pushed open the door and closed it softly behind him. He didn’t know what to expect when he had walked in to the bathroom but Taehyung’s head in the toilet was a big surprise.

“Hyung!” Jungkook pulled on Taehyung’s shoulders and got him to sit on the floor. He went to the drawers beneath the skin, pulled out a couple of towels and wet them. Then he ran back to Taehyung’s side and started wiping the elder’s face with the cold damp cloth. “Should I tell Dad to call the ambulance?”

“N-n-no.” Taehyung shook his head. Everything that had happened today was making him tired. He shifted himself and laid his head on Jungkook’s chest, closed his eyes and passed out.

“Hyung? Hyung!” Jungkook tried waking up the older boy but got no response. “Dad, mom, Junghyun, help me!”

Jungkook’s family came bursting through the bathroom door and stopped at the sight in front of them. Officer Jeon told Mrs Jeon to call 911 and for Junghyun to pack a small bag of clothes for Taehyung, while he helped Jungkook get Taehyung out of his vomit covered jacket. Taehyung was lucky that he had his track jacket zipped all the way up.

Officer Jeon flushed the toilet and went downstairs to where his wife was on the phone with emergency services. When she hung up, they both went upstairs to where their sons where holding a still unconscious Taehyung and an overnight bag.

“What happened?” Officer Jeon asked Jungkook.

“I don’t know, I just asked him if he wanted us to call an ambulance then he said no and passed out. I found him with his head in the toilet.” The youngest Jeon sounded scared. None of this had ever happened to his family or his friends and he was unsure of how to handle the situation. His family knew this and kept calm in order to keep him calm too.

“He’ll be fine. A lot must have happened to him today.” Mrs Jeon reassured her son.