Winter In My Heart (Jikook/Kookmin)

5

It had been almost five long months since the Jeon family lost Jimin. Five months since he was torn away from the life he knew, taken by the mother who had suddenly reappeared in his life. Since then, she had vanished again, this time without a trace. The Jeons had tried everything to reach out to her—to Jimin—but every phone call, every message was met with silence. They had no idea where Jimin was, no way of knowing how he was doing. The uncertainty was suffocating.

But no one felt the loss more than Jungkook.

The once bright, cheerful boy had retreated into himself, shutting out the world. He no longer spent time with his friends or even his family. His days were spent locked away in his room, the weight of Jimin’s absence pressing down on him. The only time he ventured out was to visit Jimin’s old room, which remained untouched as though waiting for him to return. There, surrounded by Jimin’s belongings, Jungkook allowed himself to feel. He’d sit on the bed, clutching Jimin’s favorite teddy bear—the one they had named together—and close his eyes, hoping that somehow, it would make him feel closer to his little brother.

For Jimin, life with his biological mother was nothing like the warmth and love he had known with the Jeon family. At first, it wasn’t so bad. For the first two months, his mother treated him kindly. She took care of him, and though it wasn’t the same as living with the Jeons, it was bearable. But everything changed in the third month. His mother’s business collapsed after her boyfriend swindled her, leaving them in debt. The savings she had were wiped out, and what followed was a nightmare for Jimin.

"What are you doing?"

Jimin jolted awake at the harsh voice of his mother. He had fallen asleep on the cold floor of the food stall they now ran, exhausted from the endless hours of labor. He barely had time to rest between school and helping her run the stall—washing dishes, mopping floors, wiping down tables. It was a 24-hour operation, and Jimin was stuck in the middle of it, running on empty.

"Eomma, I'm tired..." he mumbled, his voice weak. He was telling the truth—his body was aching, his eyes heavy from lack of sleep.

His mother sneered at him, her face twisting in disgust. "Oh, you're tired?"

Jimin nodded, fear creeping into his chest. He wasn’t used to this. Back at the Jeons, he had never been asked to do such hard labor. Jungkook had always been there to help him with anything, making sure Jimin never had to struggle alone. But now, everything had changed.

Before he could react, his mother grabbed him by the ear, yanking him up from the floor. Jimin cried out in pain, tears welling in his eyes.

"Don’t you dare cry!" she spat, her voice venomous. "You useless brat! Before I brought you here, my business was doing fine. But as soon as you came, everything fell apart. This is all your fault!"

Her words were like daggers to Jimin’s heart. She had said it before—blaming him for everything that had gone wrong in her life since she took him in. She regretted bringing him back, that much was clear.

"Why did you even take me from my mom?" Jimin asked, his voice trembling, the question slipping out before he could stop himself.

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. His mother’s eyes darkened with fury, and before he knew it, her hands were around his neck, choking him. She shoved him out of the stall, her grip tight and merciless.

"Do you want to go back to the Jeons? Huh? Is that what you want?" she screamed, her face inches from his as she pushed him harder. "Then go! Go and never come back, you little bastard!"

With a final shove, she slammed the door of the stall, leaving Jimin outside in the cold, alone and terrified. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"K-Kookie Hyung..."

Jimin’s voice broke as he whispered the name of the brother he longed for. Every day since he had been taken, he whispered Jungkook’s name, hoping somehow his voice would reach him. But it never did. All he had were memories of the family that had once loved him so deeply.

"Mom... Dad... I miss you," he sobbed, covering his face with his hands. The tears wouldn’t stop, his body shaking with the weight of it all. How had his life come to this? How had everything he knew, everything he loved, been stripped away from him so cruelly?

Gone were the days of laughter, of warmth, of feeling safe. Now, he lived in a constant state of fear and exhaustion, trapped in a life that offered him nothing but suffering. The mother who was supposed to care for him had turned into a stranger, full of bitterness and resentment. He felt like a prisoner in his own life, unable to escape.

Jimin buried his face in his hands, his sobs growing louder, his heart aching with every beat. How he wished he could go back—to the Jeons, to the love he had once taken for granted. But now, all he had was the cold, hard reality of the life he was forced to live.

And it was a life without joy, without hope.

Without Jungkook.