~Locked Away ~

Jinnie

"Jin- ah, come downstairs!" His mother called.

The young boy ran downstairs, almost slipping in his fuzzy slippers, giggling the whole way down.

"Kim Seokjin. No running in the house." His mother scolded.

He nodded vigorously, like he actually planned to listen.

"Sorry, Mother." The six year old squeaked. "Is dinner ready? I haven't eaten for so long!"

His mother chuckled. "You had lunch not too long ago, my love."

"I know!" The small boy exclaimed. "But I'm hungry now!"

"You're always hungry, Seokjin." She shook her head, a fond smile on her lips.

"Like the hungry, hungry hippo!" He exclaimed. "Nom, nom, nom." He mimicked the game's motions, his fluffy black hair falling over his eyes.

"Please calm down." His mom laughed. "I've never been able to keep up."

"Because I'm fast!"His small figure darted in between the chairs to prove it. "Super fast- like the Flash."

"Of course you are. Now come sit down, my dear. Mother cut you some grapes and berries." She patted his tiny head.

Before she could even register the movement, her child had already plopped down on the table, a cloth over his lap, and reaching for a strawberry. "Thank you, Mother!"

She sighed, but still smiled.

It took 3 minutes for her boy to finish. "Done!" He announced. "Mother, can I play now?"

"Wait a moment, Seokjin. I don't want you getting sick again. Do you want to get sick again?" She asked, one hand holding a spatula and the other on her hip.

He bowed his head and mumbled. "No, Mother."

"Now don't be cross, little one. Turn on the telly and relax for a bit. You can play later." She said.

"Yay!" He perked up again and rushed to the television set. He was rarely allowed to watch TV by himself. He gave himself a wide smile in the reflection of the blank screen before turning it on.

"Let's see." He put one small finger on his chin as he pondered. "There is Mulan, Brave, and Cinderella.... ah! Tangled!"

He put the DVD in and sat an inch from the box, eyes wide with anticipation. "Mother, may I have a snack?" He called over his shoulder.

"You greedy little boy, you just ate!" His mom hollered back. "And stop sitting so close before you ruin your eyes!"

"Sorry, Mother." He grumbled and moved back.

Soon he was immersed in the girl with the long, yellow hair in a high castle. "I wanna castle like that." He whispered to himself. 

 He grimaced when the big nosed thief came along. "Flynn is a bad, bad boy." He shook his head to himself and heaved a big sigh.

"Mother, can you get me a castle like Punzels?"He asked, actually turning away from the screen. "And the switchy colour lizard thing?"

"You mean a chameleon? No, I cannot get you either of those things, Seokjin- ah." His mother fixed him with a look. "You'd smother the poor animal in your sleep just like Hammy the hamster, or Fig the fish. And if you lived in a castle, you couldn't stay here."

He gasped. "You said you'd never bring up poor Hammy ever again. And I didn't know that I couldn't sleep with the bowl! I didn't think it'd spill!"

She smirked and sat beside the child. "But it did. I'm sorry, but you're fine here."

"I know I'm fine here, Mother. I'd be finer with Cotton Candy Chameleon though." He pouted.

"My sweet, sweet baby boy." She ruffled his hair. "Why are they always named after food?"

Then she stood up and went back to the kitchen. Seokjin resumed watching the show, lighting up just like the lanterns that were being released into the sky. "Pretty." He said in awe. "I wanna lantern too."

Then he straightened up. "Wait. I wanna go see the sky!"

He turned once more. "Mother, I would like to go see the sky please."

His mother froze, before slowly setting down the dish she had been holding. "Seokjin, don't speak of such things. If you look up, you can see your sky. Our sky."

So he looked up and saw the sky, through the clear ceiling of his house. The house he never left, not even once, and never thought about leaving. Seokjin nodded. "Ah yes, Mother. I see."

And he switched off the telly because he could feel his Mother's displeasure from where he sat, and when she was displeased, things tended to get messy. 

"I knew I should've burned that damn thing, messing with my boy, putting stuff in his head..." His mother muttered as she began cutting vegetables for the soup.

"Mother, what's wrong?" The boy asked, putting a hand on her back.

She yelped and swung around. Seokjin did not flinch even as the sharp end of the knife came but an inch from his face. He tilted his head. "Mum?"

She laughed nervously, heart thumping in her throat as she realized she could've seriously hurt her child.  "Hah. Sorry, Jinnie. Um, how about you get the potatoes and cut them up for your mum, hm?"

He looked up at her for a moment, before the tiniest of grins graced his lips. "Mkay."

So at six years old, he began to learn chopping, and dicing, and cutting and cooking. And even if he was stuck in his house and it was all that he knew, he was happy there in the kitchen with the only woman he thought he ever needed.

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Y'all, I think this book might be good. I dunno yet. I'm not gonna update for a while, but I will eventually. this is just a lil taste.