Exposed Truth | Jeon Jungkook

Chapter 7

Nari || Thursday, June 11

It's been a week since Yuri's death and I've been feeling a little better. My parents are supposed to come back home today and Jungkook is busy packing up his stuff in the guest bathroom. It's been awkward the past few days with Jungkook; we barely talked to each other about anything other than Yuri. Maybe it's for the best that we focus on Yuri and put all our energy into trying to discover what happened. I shouldn't get distracted by him.

I'm sitting on the sofa and scrolling through my phone when suddenly it rings. It's mum who's calling me.

"Hey... how have you been, Nari?" she says as soon as I answer the call. "What have you been doing?"

"Fine," I simply reply. "I've just been staying at home."

"Aren't you and dad coming back home later, why did you call?" I ask in slight confusion.

"Actually..." she begins to say. "We're staying for a little longer..."

I don't say anything, so she continues to tell me, "We might be staying here for a month. Your dad and I are still not ready to come back home."

"You're running away," I say plainly and I hear my mum sigh. "What about the funeral?

"We'll arrange everything when we're back," she replies. "Will you be okay at home? You could come over if you want?"

I wish my parents could have more responsibility. I wish they could be here with me and listen to me. I wish they could help me with searching for the reason for Yuri's death. I wish they could see that their daughter isn't the kind of person to take her own life without thinking about the consequence of hurting the people around her. She would never hurt any of us. There must be a reason for what she did.

"I have to stay to search for the truth about Yuri's death," I say. "Since Jungkook and I are the only ones willing to."

"Nari..." mum says gently. "I know that you're still upset, but please try to get over the sadness. Please try to see that whatever you do won't bring Yuri back..."

"I know that," I interrupt her. "All I want is to discover what happened and not deny it like you and dad are."

I don't feel like talking to her anymore. I've told her my thoughts on Yuri's passing and she wouldn't believe me, so what more is there to say? I don't want to argue with her about this anymore. It's been a stressful week and I can't endure anything more.

"I understand how you might feel and I won't stop you from trying to figure out what happened, I just don't want you to end up being upset because whatever you find isn't what you hoped to find," mum says. "I just want you to be mature about this and try to move on."

I know my parents care for me and I know that mum is saying all this to me because she doesn't want me to be hurt, but I'm just too stubborn to move on. I need to find the truth, whatever it may be.

"Have fun in the countryside," I say after a moment of silence.

Mum sighs and says, "See you in a month. Stay safe, Nari."

I end the call and groan as I lean back against the sofa. I close my eyes as my mum's words repeat over and over again in my head like a broken record. Be mature about this and try to move on. I am trying my best to be mature, I'm trying my very best to keep my emotions under control. I've been feeling a lot better compared to a few days ago, I've come to terms with the fact that Yuri is gone and whatever I do won't bring her back, but at least I might be able to feel at ease by finding out about what happened. Even if things don't go as planned and I end up finding nothing, at least I tried. It's the determination of trying that counts.

"What's wrong?" I suddenly hear Jungkook say as he plops down beside me.

"My mum called," I say as I open my eyes and notice that he's all packed and ready to leave. "They're not coming back today. They're staying for a month longer."

"I'm sorry..." Jungkook says slowly; he knows how much I wish that my parents could come back and believe in me.

"There's no need to be," I say. "At least they won't be around when we investigate and won't keep telling me to move on."

"Well, then that means I packed all my stuff away for nothing," Jungkook says and rubs the back of his neck. "I guess I'll have to unpack everything now."

"You don't have to stay," I say. "I'll be fine being alone."

Jungkook places his hand on my knee and smiles, "I already told you we'll get through this together, so I'm staying."

I don't try to argue with him because I know he wouldn't listen to whatever I say and would just stay here with me.

"Okay," I nod and smile back at him.

I'm so grateful to have him here with me and that I'm not left alone. I don't know if I'll ever be able to survive the pain of losing Yuri all by myself. I'm so glad that he's here with me.

I want to kiss him; I want to feel his soft lips on mine. I want to hold onto his face and be close to him, but I need to control myself and stop getting lost in those beautiful deep brown eyes of his.

I gulp and lick my lips when he stops smiling. His hand is no longer on my knee as he moves it to my waist. He moves closer to me and reaches out to brush strands of hair away from my face with his other hand before placing it on the nape of my neck. I intuitively close my eyes when his face is only a few inches away. I feel his warm breath tickling my skin and his lips eventually press onto mine. I feel goosebumps rise on my skin and butterflies in my stomach when he kisses me. I wrap my arms around his neck when I move to sit on his lap and wrap my legs around his firm torso. His hand moves from my waist to my lower backside and he nips my bottom lip lightly. I try not to gasp when I feel his tongue in my mouth. I let him kiss me and my heartbeat quickens when his hand moves under my shirt and touches my bare skin.

He pulls away from the kiss slowly and presses his forehead against mine. Both of us out of breath as we breathe heavily against each other. He wraps his arms around my waist and I open my eyes to see him staring at me. My cheeks instantly flush and he smiles.

"I think I'm falling for you..." he says softly.

My eyes go wide and I move away from him, so I'm looking at his entire face. My eyes roam his face as I observe his expression, but he's just smiling at me nervously and his ears are slightly red.

"I've thought about it," he says. "And I can't deny having feelings for you. I can't stop getting distracted by you, even though I try my best to think about Yuri."

I nod slowly and he continues to say, "I've decided to face my feelings. I know Yuri would want me to be happy and I should stop feeling so guilty for having feelings for you. I know you might not believe me when I tell you I like you, since Yuri only left a week ago and I still love her so much, but I want to try this with you. I want to be happy with you."

I grin at him and say, "I want to be happy with you too and I understand that Yuri holds a special place in your heart and I know that it's not easy to get over a relationship and move on from her passing."

"I'm willing to try being more than friends with you," Jungkook says and I nod. "Let's take things slow."

I didn't expect him to tell me this and I didn't expect him to confess his feelings for me, at least not so soon. Yet, I'm glad that he did. I'm so happy that he likes me back, even though a small part of me feels guilty for liking him and I feel as if I'm betraying my sister. It feels wrong to start a relationship with my sister's boyfriend, but I ignore the feeling. She's gone, so he's no longer her boyfriend and there's nothing to be ashamed about. Yuri will be happy for us, I persuade myself. She'll be pleased that we're happy.

---

That night, Jungkook and I lay together on my bed as we sleep peacefully. His arms wrapped around me as we cuddle. Tonight is the first time since Yuri died that I have slept in peace without seeing her in my dreams. I'm just so happy and feel so carefree after Jungkook's confession and the kiss that we shared. I still miss Yuri, but I'm no longer hurting from her passing and I've come to accept that she can't come back to me no matter how much I yearn. All I can do is to search for the truth and be happy with Jungkook.