𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐒 [𝐓.𝐊]

Chapter 3

Novus Magister, Novis Oculis

New Teacher, New Eyes

Jungkoook was immersed in his thoughts as he was most of the time. Looking at the floor and trying to look calm as he followed Leo and Emily, he absentmindedly clutched the strings of his backpack and took a deep breath.

It was only three in the afternoon and his body wanted to shut down already. There hadn't been a pause in any second of the day. From waking up until now when the three of them were on their way to the cafeteria, he hadn't had a break.

Getting out of the dorm building wasn't as bad as getting in. According to Emily (who asked a passing student), more people decided to arrive on the last day, causing a bit of mayhem.

That might just explain the anxious tension in the air, though some frantic whispers and heads looking down at phones made him still wonder.

The only thing that got him going at the moment was the thought of going to that woods at the end of the day and figuring out what was so alluring about it.

He'd been so focused on that thought that he didn't notice when Leo and Emily stopped walking.

Causing him to collide against someone else.

Rewind to that same morning.

Taehyung woke up. And had to swallow down a lump in his throat.

The queen-size bed was lonely. Something unusual at five in the morning on a Sunday. But, once he found out why his wife Daphne had woken up early, his smile nearly started to wobble.

His kids had woken up to say one last goodbye.

They are his Sun, his whole world revolves around them. He simply couldn't help but feel sad about leaving. But he knew crying wasn't something he should be doing in front of his kids. So, he straightened his suit jacket and smiled down at them.

Throughout breakfast, they spoke and Amy cried over her cereal. But Eddy was there to pat her on the head. Daphne, on the other hand, was thoroughly immersed in her newspaper, not even sparing him one last glance after he said his goodbyes from the door with his bag in hand. But he couldn't have expected her to do more than to be there. As it was a Sunday, she would've liked to sleep in. So, her presence meant her acknowledgment of his departure, and that was as much as any goodbye from her even if the coldness of it made him feel bitter.

The supposedly thirty-minute car ride from Knightsbridge to Heathrow airport turned into an almost hour of traffic jams not even the highly skilled cabby could avoid. Not even on a Sunday morning could the London streets be empty. It was always at times like this that he thought of his hometown; the valleys, woods, and trees that he thought he'd never leave. But ones he believes he'll never see again.

Looking outside the window, he found something to put more weight on his sadness. A flower shop. Every time he saw one, he couldn't help but remember his family, but he couldn't stop the car to buy some. Trying to cheer himself up, he thought of buying some flowers for his new room. Daphne doesn't like it when he buys flowers. But now, he'll have a place for himself.