King's Corp

Chapter 9

The house is dimly lit when Jungkook enters, illuminated by the faded glow of the small bulb hanging on the ceiling. As Jungkook stumbles in, his eyes flit over to the two women sitting on the couch. 

"Jungkook, you're home," Brianna, the blonde-haired care-taker says as she places her tea cup down and stands up. 

Jungkook smiles weakly at her. "Thanks Bri, sorry, the event took longer than expected. Is Seonnie asleep?"

Brianna nods, "yes, I put him to bed a while ago. He wasn't too happy about you not being here though."

Jungkook purses his lips and nods. "Okay, I'll go check on him later." The brunette then trails his eyes over to the other woman on the couch, her eyes closed as she snoozes lightly. "How's mum? Did she take her medicine?"

Brianna looks down, averting her gaze from Jungkook's. "Um, t-the doctor called in today about the recent scans."

Jungkook freezes in his spot. "What did he say?"

Brianna sighs and hesitantly looks back at the brunette. "Kook... she..." the girl pauses, eyes also glancing over at the sleeping woman. 

"They said she has a tumour in her cerebellum...it...it's incurable and...and is likely to make her alzheimer's symptoms worse."

A silence settles over the living room, slipping into the crevices of the old structure and painting a grim picture on the walls. 

"Alright," Jungkook says after a while, his voice a whisper that carries a tranquilizing numbness with it. "Thanks for staying in late. I'll see you soon."

Brianna stares at the boy carefully, observing for any flaws on his perfectly constructed expression. She sees none. She smiles gently and picks up her bag. "If you need anything, just give me a call," she says while patting the boy's shoulder and walking towards the door. 

Jungkook smiles at her. "Yeah. Thanks again."

The door clicks shut. 

Jungkook looks over the woman on the couch before approaching her with slow hesitant steps. He sits next to her, observing her peaceful features. He traces a delicate line along the slight wrinkles of her skin before letting out a small sigh. He kicks off his shoes and curls up on the couch next to her, digging his head into the crevice of her neck. 

"Momma..." he whimpers softly into her neck. Jungkook closes his eyes and listens to the lulling sound of his mother's pulse, beating against his ears. 

"I saw him today..." he breathes out quietly, his voice slightly muffled. 

Minutes pass in utter silence, the only sound being that of their soft breathing. Jungkook's mind starts drifting off as he settles into the comfort of his mother's arm. Slumber slowly starts to consume him, dragging him into a pit of tranquil darkness. 

"I'm scared, momma," he slurs sleepily. 

Another small silence settles over the pair again before Jungkook's delicate voice mumbles out one final plea. 

"Please don't leave me."

And as he speaks, a small tear rolls out from his closed eyes, tumbling down the apple of his cheeks and falling onto his mother's still beating heart. 

~

~

Work the next day is suffocating . Mr Kim seems to still carry the foul mood from yesterday and as a result, all his workers are forced to face his scornful wrath.