A tale of human infallibility

Laimargía

11 May 2020, 6.15 pm

The officer waited for probably the most well-known sin to enter the room, the one every human being had once felt rise inside their bodies, the craving and yearning you experience whilst waiting for a meal to arrive to fill up your stomach until you are finally full. Being fed up, a desire no human could ever resist, the feeling of happiness that sure did not only come after getting hungry but after starving in general, longing for any kind of saturation. Gluttony, not one person would be able to dissociate oneself from it, the officer thought, getting already hungry himself since the last time he had eaten today had been at noon, long before the interrogation had begun. Usually, he would eat at 12, but today he had broken his habit, moving lunch up to an hour earlier, in order to prepare himself for the task he had been assigned. It had been in vain though, nothing could have primed him for the past hours and the one he still had to face, it only had left him with the problem of having to quieten his growling stomach. He had decided it would be best if his coworker got him a chocolate bar out of the vending machine from the office's break room which he thankfully accepted and ate as soon as his mate had come back with it. Being satisfied with the fact that he no longer would live in fear of getting embarrassed once more before one of the men, this time by a rumbling stomach instead of his own prejudices, he found himself ready to speak to Jeon Jungkook.

As soon as he entered the room, every other person would have been taken aback with surprise, questioning whether the man in front of them could truly be the personification of gluttony, not so the officer as he had already learned to leave his preconceptions behind, accepting the fact that he could not know everything that was about to confront him, so he did not wonder that Jungkook was by no means obese, but rather thin if not even more muscular than the others had been. In the end, it did not matter, he looked healthy, albeit curious and a bit skeptical as he went towards the same table the others before him had been sitting, letting himself slide onto the chair across of the officer's. He could understand Jungkook's suspicions perfectly fine, not having trusted anyone until they proofed themselves worthy of it as he was the same age as the young boy in front of him. Being the youngest, you definitely have to make sure not to trust anyone too soon, waiting to open up until they had gained your respect or friendship. Anyways, this was different, the officer knew that he would talk, not especially because Jungkook would start to see him as a friend, even though the officer hoped so, but because he had to defend himself and more importantly his friends and boyfriend. He did not know why, but the officer felt like it would be Kim Taehyung he was the closest to, both radiating that fresh energy, not yet been marked by life's cruelty, still full of hope, youth and curiosity, eagerly awaiting what may come, not being afraid of what the future might hold ready for them. How the officer missed the time when he had been like this, ready to face every obstacle life could provide, never losing hope, but instead overcoming it and continuing with living freely and happily. Jeon Jungkook reminded him of himself back then and seeing how things had changed, hurt a lot more than he had expected, not only because he got reminded of the joyful life he once had lived, but even more so the fear that Jungkook's youth would crumble, leaving him behind like it already did any adult with worries and fears. It did not once cross his mind that Jeon Jungkook had lived longer on this earth than any human being and would continue to do so for who knows how long, perhaps even for eternity. No, he had not thought of it, drowning in self-pity while having the perfect example sitting right in front of him for it is possible to live a long, happy life. Perhaps he did not notice because nowadays you rarely see someone older than about 20 years old who still enjoys life to the fullest, not being stressed out constantly and worrying about nothing and everything. Jeon Jungkook seemed to be the proof that it was possible, catching the officer's interest with how this was possible, leading him to eye him, not wanting to miss out any detail that could magically reveal his secret. He could not find it though, he dressed as anyone else would do, a plain white T-shirt with black trousers and boots, the only unusual thing he could find had been the orange sunglass he wore on top of his hair. He seemed to enjoy going out in nature, exposing himself to the sun, perhaps that was the big secret, going out and not sitting inside a dark room, working constantly, but exploring the world and it's adventures, making friends and getting to know new places and cultures. Perhaps he should take a day or two off after this whole thing, going out with his beloved wife and children, yes that is what he would do tomorrow, he thought to himself.

To do so as soon as possible, he finally spoke up to the young boy. "I know it's not easy to tell your entire life story to a stranger, especially when he's a police officer and about to evaluate whether it sounds credible or not, but I promise that I won't judge you until you're not finished and that I no longer believe in you guys to be the seven deadly sins, but misunderstood men instead. If you would like to reveal your point of view to me, I'd be very grateful. You don't have to trust me, nor see me as your friend, but instead an interested person in your story and a man who might help you out. If you can't do that either, then please do it for your friends and yourself. I'm not planning to interrupt you while speaking, so please go ahead."

"I want to trust you,", Jungkook said, "but how am I supposed to do that without even knowing your name?". The officer had not been prepared for this kind of request, having been sure it did not matter since none of the boys before Jungkook had seemed interested in getting to know the officer's name, but somehow he understood why he wanted to know it so suddenly. He reminded him of his young self, always being curious about anything, not disclosing his thoughts and feelings before knowing the name of his opponent. He knew exactly, he had to tell him if he wanted to gain his trust, so that was what he did. "Kwon Chung-hee. My name's Kwon Chung-hee.".

Jungkook was surprised that the officer had given him an answer, he honestly had not counted on it, but being proven otherwise, he began to sympathize with the older in front of him and decided to give him the answers he wanted. "I see you're not afraid to tell me your name. I take that as a sign that you're genuinely interested in my story.", after collecting his thoughts, he continued to speak. "People call me gluttony, referring to obesity, binge eating and feasting fast food basically all the time. None of them has ever taken a closer look at me, otherwise, they'd have noticed that I don't look unhealthy at all. That's because I pay attention to my health, including not only exercise but mindful eating of wholesome foods. I don't overconsumption and I don't eat progressed foods. I know everything about the kind of nourishment your body needs. Yes, I'm very interested in the topic of cooking, meal prepping and consumption of food in general. The human body needs energy in the form of food and no one would be able to survive without eating. And sure, sometimes it's ok to eat that slice of cake, that chocolate ice cream or your favorite pizza, but overall everyone should take care of a healthy, balanced nutrition that fits your body and mind. You know Mr. Kwon, there are so many people out there, suffering from malnutrition, starving to death and just as many suffering from an eating disorder. Don't get me wrong, I don't know the exact number of people suffering from any of these things I just mentioned, but there are enough to realize the importance of the development of healthy eating habits, as well as the urgent need to help those people who can't do that. As you see, I care a lot about the topic of nutrition, the consumption of food, but that doesn't mean I'm some kind of theoretical construct that wants humanity to indulge in overeating.".

Chung-hee had already expected that Jungkook would give him a great and trustworthy explanation as to why he never has been the construct named gluttony, still, he got surprised with the sincerity with which he had defended his person and believes. He told him so before thanking him and accompanying him to the door, wanting to invite the last boy himself this time. He could not say he felt prepared, but after he had gained Jungkook's trust, he felt ready to hear out the last of the group. He had to admit that he was excited, eager to get to know the last story that would complete everything, but also a bit disappointed that the so-called interrogation soon would be over. Before opening the door, he looked back to check the time.

Current time: 7.01 pm