Winter In My Heart (Jikook/Kookmin)

40

"I'm s-sorry..." Jimin’s voice trembled as the words left his mouth, but they only seemed to fuel his father’s growing anger. The next moment, Mr. Jeon’s hand struck Jimin’s cheek, the harsh slap echoing in the room. Everyone froze.

“Yobo!” Mrs. Jeon cried out, immediately stepping between her husband and her youngest son. She shoved Mr. Jeon away, her eyes blazing with fury. “How dare you hit him!”

Jungkook rushed to Jimin’s side, gently cupping his brother's face to check for injuries. Jimin was sobbing, his hand covering his cheek where a red mark was quickly forming. Blood trickled from the corner of his lip where the slap had split the skin.

“This isn’t his fault,” Jungkook growled, his protective instinct kicking in as he wiped the blood from Jimin’s lip.

“This is his fault!” Mr. Jeon shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Jimin. His voice was laced with betrayal. “How can you fall in love with your own brother? And you—” he turned to Jungkook—“you’re engaged!”

“I already told you,” Jungkook shot back, his voice firm and unyielding, “this isn’t Jimin’s fault. It’s mine. I love him. We love each other.”

Jimin buried his face in Jungkook’s chest, his body shaking with sobs. He was too afraid to look up and meet his father’s furious eyes. Jungkook held him closer, shielding him from the harshness of the moment.

"You two are siblings!" Mr. Jeon’s voice boomed.

“We’re not,” Jungkook retorted, his jaw clenched in frustration. “You know we’re not blood-related.”

Mr. Jeon’s face twisted in disbelief. “You guys are insane.”

“Call us whatever you want,” Jungkook said coldly, tightening his hold on Jimin. “I love him, and I’m not leaving him—ever. Whether you approve or not.”

Mr. Jeon’s eyes blazed with fury. He ran a hand roughly over his face, trying to contain the storm of emotions inside him. Mrs. Jeon sat beside Jimin, rubbing soothing circles on his back as he continued to cry.

Mr. Jeon’s anger wasn’t just about Jungkook breaking off his engagement with Yumi—it was about the shock of finding out that his two sons, people he thought he knew better than anyone, had crossed a line he could never have imagined. He still hadn’t processed when, or how, Jungkook had ended things with Yumi. All he knew was that the news had blindsided him, especially when Yumi’s parents came to him for answers. Now, seeing the undeniable bond between his sons, he was at a loss for how to handle it.

“Stop this madness right now,” Mr. Jeon commanded, his voice low and dangerous. “End whatever this is. All of it. Now.”

“No,” Jungkook said firmly, his voice defiant.

Jimin lifted his tear-stained face from Jungkook’s chest, fear tightening his throat. “H-hyung... please...”

But Jungkook was unwavering. “I won’t leave him.”

“What do you mean no?” Mr. Jeon’s voice was incredulous. “Are you out of your mind?”

“I love him, Dad,” Jungkook repeated, his gaze locking with his father’s in a silent challenge. “And I won’t leave him. Not this time.”

“You will leave him,” Mr. Jeon shot back, his patience thinning by the second.

“I won’t,” Jungkook said, his voice rising. “You can’t make me.”

“You will, or you’ll have nothing to do with this family anymore. I will not stand by and watch you destroy yourself like this.”

Jungkook’s expression hardened. “I don’t care about your approval. I don’t care what you think about me and Jimin. I love him, and nothing—nothing—is going to change that.”

Mrs. Jeon’s eyes filled with tears as she watched her husband and son at odds. She knew how deeply her sons cared for each other, and it broke her heart to see their father so unwilling to understand.

Mr. Jeon’s face twisted with rage and disbelief. “Go die with your so-called love then. You two have completely lost your minds.”

“D-dad...” Jimin’s voice trembled as he tried to approach his father, but Mr. Jeon’s cold, angry stare stopped him in his tracks.

“For the first time in my life,” Mr. Jeon began, his voice quieter but filled with deep regret, “I... I regret ever taking you into my house. I regret ever calling you my son.”

Jimin’s face crumpled at the harsh words, his heart shattering into a million pieces. “D-dad... no...” he sobbed, collapsing to the floor. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing—couldn’t believe his father could say something so cruel.

“Jeon Jihyun!” Mrs. Jeon cried out, her voice breaking with anguish. “How could you say that? He’s our son. My son!”

Her voice echoed in the room, but Mr. Jeon remained unmoved, his expression stony. Jimin was crumpled on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, while Mrs. Jeon knelt beside him, holding him tightly as she tried to comfort him.

Jungkook’s fists clenched in anger. He wanted to scream, to shout at his father for the pain he was causing Jimin, but all he could do was kneel beside his brother and pull him into his arms. “I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

Jimin’s tears soaked into Jungkook’s shirt as he cried harder, feeling as though his entire world was falling apart.

“I’m disappointed in both of you,” Mr. Jeon finally said, his voice quieter now, but laced with bitter disappointment. “I cannot and will not accept this.”

His words hung heavy in the air as he turned away, leaving the room in silence.