Akari || JJK

Ch6: Wash The Thoughts Away

Jungkook knocks on the door, hands holding onto the door frame for support as he leans his head forward.

The door swings open, revealing Gayeong, this time dressed in a floral top and cotton shorts, along with her infamous flower crown for sure. She smiles, greeting the boy and inviting him in.

Akari is sound asleep on the couch, and so Jungkook gently picks her up, letting her wrap her arms around his neck.

"Do you stay at home all day?" Jungkook asks out of curiosity.

Gayeong nods. "Yes, I do."

"No job? Or school?"

"Well," She thinks for a second, "I had a job, but now I'm attempting to work from home."

Jungkook hums nonchalantly, sensing something odd but shrugging it off anyway. He stops by the front door, turning to look at the flower lady.

"Do you want to smoke weed?"

---

"I never tried this before," She says, looking down at the lit cigarette in her hand.

Jungkook blows out a puff of smoke, turning to look at her. "Neither did I."

"Not weed, I mean," He adds, turning back to look at the night sky.

"Will Akari be okay on her own?" She asks, still staring at the death stick between her fingers.

"She'll be fine," Jungkook says tiredly, eyes rolling a little in annoyance.

Gayeong doesn't fail to notice, and eyes him weirdly, confused at the absolute neglectence.

Jungkook glances at her, sighing at her expression.

"We're only on the roof. She's a few floors down, sleeping peacefully and the apartment is locked. She's fine," He says, his voice a little stricter.

"You're not her father, are you?" She asks softly.

Jungkook doesn't reply.

"She told me you've been acting weird lately," She continues, "Ever since you guys left home, you've been telling her to stop talking Japanese."

"I can't speak Japanese, duh," He replies.

"She said you can."

"Her father can."

"Okay."

Jungkook raises an eyebrow at her, still holding the cigarette and gawking at it.

"If you weren't going to smoke then why waste the weed?"

"I will," She says, finally bringing the smoke to her lips and inhaling.

Her face twists before she starts coughing loudly, hand on her chest. Jungkook chuckles, shaking his head.

"This feels weird," She mutters under her breath, wiping away at her teary eyes. "I don't like it."

Jungkook rolls his eyes again, snatching the joint from her hand, inhaling from both smokes at once, making Gayeong cringe.

"I don't think you should be doing that," She says.

"Me neither," He says, holding the cigarettes at an arm distance and blankly starting at them.

A smile forms on his face before he softly giggles. "I really like this."

Gayeong bites her lip, fingers drumming on the rail. "I think we should go and check up on Akari. What if something happens to her?"

"She's not my daughter," Jungkook says, blinking slowly, "She's Junghyun's daughter. Oh f*ck, he's dead."

He breaks into fits of laughter again, slowly sitting down on the floor.

"I don't feel my legs," He says between his giggles.

"I think you're high."

He looks up at her, squinting his eyes as his hand reaches for his face. "Do you feel that?"

"How long does this take to wear off?"

"Long enough to... " He trails off, gazing at the distance before he grins, chuckling again.

It takes an hour or two before he goes completely quiet, eyes red and face blank. He turns his head to look at Gayeong, sitting down beside him and leaning her head back, looking at the stars.

"I told you that Akari is not my daughter, right?"

"Yes, you did."

"She's like... my brother's daughter. That's like... "

"Your niece."

"Yeah, that's it. But we're twins. Were. So she thinks I'm her dad, and I have no idea what to do."

She pulls her leg towards her chest, leaning her head on them and looking at him as he rambles on and on about his tiring part-time job and assignment that's due in two days and he didn't start yet.

The rooftop doors open, and a figure with a bright hair colour approaches. Jungkook barely makes out his features, his vision still hazy.

Jimin stops in front of both of them, eyes falling on the joints on the floor before he looks back at them, a smirk forming on his face.

"What were you guys smoking?"

"I'm high," Jungkook says.

Jimin tilts his head. "Could've guessed that."

"I'm not," Gayeong says, averting Jimin's attention towards her.

"Hello, there. How comes I haven't seen you before?" He says in a smooth voice, kneeling down and putting out a hand.

She takes his hand, politely smiling. "I'm Gayeong."

"Jimin," He says before softly kissing her hand, making her immediately pull it away, face going red.

Jungkook stands up. "I'm going home."

"Do you need help?" Jimin asks.

"No."

"I'll go with you," Gayeong says, standing up and following Jungkook.

"Goodbye, Gayeong!" Jimin yells after her, waving his hand.

The woman freezes, glancing at him suspiciously before slowly waving back and leaving with Jungkook.

---

"Papa?"

Jungkook groans, opening his eyes to a bright sunlight. A small hand touches his cheek as he rubs his eyes before fully opening them. Akari sits down beside him on the couch, finger drawing circles on his cheek.

"What are you doing?" He asks, his voice coming out hoarses than expected.

"Waking you up," She says in a low voice. "I want to go out."

"It's a Saturday and I was high last night," He says, slowly sitting up, glancing at her again.

He finally notices his glasses settling on her nose as she smiles innocently towards him.

"Why are you wearing my glasses?"

"My glasses now," She says, pushing them up her nose.

Jungkook blinks, then gets up and heads to the bathroom. He stares at himself in the mirror, taking in his dark eyebags and dishelved hair, acne scars littering his cheeks and two red spots on his nose bridge from wearing the glasses all day long yesterday. Frowning in dissatisfaction, he strips and turns on the shower, letting the warm water wash the thoughts away.