porcelain doll

chapter 19

porcelain doll, chapter 19

namjoon looked at his nephew's broken state.

taehyung's eyes were puffy and blank, his lips in a thin line while his hands were wrapped with bandages.

he looks ruined.

sad.

lonely.

and broken.

"tae..." namjoon says, catching taehyung's attention right away.

namjoon quickly traveled to seoul after hearing the news about lisa shattering into pieces. he was at a famous museum in london but hearing taehyung's desperate cry on the other line made his heart ache and quickly packs his things and went straight back to korea.

taehyung quickly runs towards namjoon, hugging his uncle tight.

"save her, uncle. please, please save her." those were the words that escaped taehyung's mouth.

the amount of pain that carried every word made namjoon realized how his nephew grew fond of the doll he created.

he knelt down to match his height with taehyung, giving him a little smile, "i'll try my best, tae." he said.

taehyung shook his head, "d-don't try uncle... d-do your best, please." he pleaded, a flicker of hope in his desperate eyes.

namjoon nodded before taehyung drags him to his room, the doll still on its last position since important pieces of porcelain might go missing once it was swept off the floor.

jisoo was taken back home and both parents decided to do the project when both kids are okay and have recovered to the unexpected event.

namjoon knelt down to his eleven years of hard work, shattered on the ground.

"uncle... did you know that lisa was like a human?" taehyung suddenly spoke, sniffing.

namjoon looked over to his nephew, "she can talk, walk, laugh, act like a human on her own." taehyung continues.

namjoon was stunned.

he quickly grabs his gloves and puts it on to avoid getting scarred before looking through the pieces of porcelain, looking for something.

taehyung raised his right eyebrow and watches as how his uncle pulls out a small flat iron piece with dozens of wires connecting into it, his eyes curiously stares as namjoon pulls a much smaller piece out from the bigger one.

namjoon stood up, giving taehyung a smile.

"i can fix her, but she won't look like the lisa you once knew or even act like her." taehyung gave his uncle a confused look.

"why?"

namjoon didn't say anything but instead, he hands him the tiny piece of iron in which taehyung gladly takes it.

"i made her very delicate, taehyung. so once the porcelain breaks, everything from it is useless... except for that." namjoon says, pointing the iron on taehyung's grip.

"but you said you can f-fix her..." taehyung says, tears started gathering in the corner of his eyes.

"i can, tae. but it won't be the same lisa anymore." namjoon said before hugging the boy who then cries painfully.

"i'm sorry..." namjoon says, glancing at the shattered pieces on the floor, closing his eyes as he held his tears.

"what did you do?" taehyung asks in a muffled voice while namjoon gave him a confused look, "what?"

"h-how did you make her act like a human? think like a human? talk like a human?"

namjoon then smiles before ruffling taehyung's hair.

"it's because of that." namjoon pointed the iron on taehyung's hand again.

taehyung glances on the iron piece on his hand, "with this little thing? how?"

namjoon chuckles, "it's a little complicated, tae. you're still too young. i did some experiments before but never thought it would actually work..." he paused and looked at the doll once more.

"...and make the doll move like how my dead daughter does."

"what?"

namjoon sadly smiles, "it was when the year when you were born, lisa died because of a brain tumor. she can't help but let go of her dear life though she doesn't want to leave us." he says, "then years after that, your sister, jennie asked for a doll. a big and realistic doll." he says, "hyunghwa begged me to make her one, cause she knew i'm into making new things so i said yes, informing her that it'll take years since it was quite impossible." namjoon sadly chuckles before he looks over to his nephew.

"before my wife died after giving birth to lisa, i remembered her saying that lisa looks like a doll. so i made a remake doll of my daughter, i was in the process of putting that piece on her head, that piece took nine out of eleven years to make." taehyung's mouth was wide open now, "but sadly jennie died. your mom explained that she'll give the doll to you because she saw you struggling without jennie by your side."

"that happened. it was really shocking for me too that it somehow worked." namjoon says.

"i never thought i could make my daughter alive again even if it's a doll version... but the sad part is i didn't even have a single moment to hug her tight, tell her i love her so much and say goodbye."

taehyung lowered his head,

"i wasn't able to say goodbye too."