sea-kissed 🌊 || j.jk+k.th

{21} late night conversation 🌊

The night was silent again.

The waves slowly rose and fell against the sand, and the stars twinkled ; once in the night sky, and once in the water. Jungkook admired the scene, letting the wind undo the braids in his hair.

Everyone had fallen asleep except for him ; or so he thought, until he felt a warm hand on his back.

"Are you alright ?" Taehyung asked in a whisper. "You've been staring at the sea for a while now."

"Yeah, I am. I'm just... I don't know, nostalgic, I guess."

"Of what ?"

"No idea."

Taehyung smiled, and sat beside him.

"Of your life before Gimyong, maybe ?" He suggested.

"No, I don't think so."

"Jungkook..."

"Yeah ?"

"Why did you come here ? Why did you move from Seoul ?"

Jungkook turned his head and looked into Taehyung's eyes. Where he expected concern, or curiosity, he was met with nothing but calm and tranquility. Under other circumstances, Jungkook would have eluded the subject at all cost. But the sky was clear, and the waves were quiet, and it seemed like the words escaped his lips on their own.

"I didn't know who I was anymore," he started slowly, quietly, almost with shame. "Everyday was a blur. I felt nothing."

He waited for Taehyung to say something, but he didn't.

"Everyone was getting forward," he continued, looking into the distance, "except for me. Everyone was living and grieving and growing and learning, and here I was, doing nothing.  Everyday I waited for the night to come, every week I waited for the next week-end ; but the sun would set and the week would end, and still nothing had changed. Nothing. So I felt like I had to break the cycle. Do something, you know ? I had to go, just go. Somewhere calm, somewhere I wouldn't feel lost, or left behind. And I chose the sea because..."

He chuckled.

"I know it sounds stupid, but I like the waves, I like how they always come back. I felt like, here, I could go at my own pace, and figure things out. Like here, the beach would never outgrow me ; every day I would come back and it'd be the same, and I wouldn't need to change because the sea's always been the same, and people love it as much as they did thousands of years ago. That's why I came here. Sounds stupid, right ?"

Taehyung shook his head.

"I'm glad you've found a place where you feel better. You do feel better, don't you ?"

Jungkook nodded. If he hadn't, he never could have spoken like he just had.

"And... what about your family ?"

Jungkook's nose scrunched up.

"Yeah, that, uh... that's something I haven't dealt with yet. I haven't called them since I left Seoul."

"Do they care ?"

"They very much do."

Taehyung offered him a little smile, and a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Then call them," he said, softly but firmly. "I guess it's not easy, but the later you do it, the harder it will be."

Jungkook hesitated for a long time, and finally got his phone out of his pocket. He looked at his reflection in the black screen, and weighed the issue. But Taehyung was right ; the longer he procrastinated the call, the heavier it felt on his chest. If he didn't do it now, he knew he'd never do it. He took a deep breath, turned on his phone, and dialled his mother's number.

Despite it being nearly 2AM, she picked up the line immediately.

"Oh my god, Jeon Jungkook."

"Hello mom."

"No Jungkook, no, you don't get to "hello mom" me, it's been 8 days, do you know- did you- are you-"

The line went silent for a while.

"Are you okay there, mom ?"

"Have I ever been okay ? Certainly not since you literally disappeared from everyone's sight. Listen, I know it's not easy for you, it's not the first time you've gone away, but you never left for so long and I- are those waves I hear ? Jungkook, are you by the sea ?"

"Maybe I am, yeah."

"Oh my god, what the fuck are you doing there-"

"Language, mom."

"Fuck you, my child. I've finished all the wine I've been saving up for years since you've left. Do you know how much my wine means to me ?"

"More than my own existence, if I recall correctly."

"Exactly", she said, but her voice broke at the last syllable.

Jungkook knew she was crying, but he didn't say anything.

"How are you ?" she asked quietly after sniffing a few times.

"I'm... surprisingly fine."

"Why aren't you coming back yet ? You never left for more than 3 days at once before."

Jungkook took some time to find an answer.

"Maybe... maybe this time I've found a place where I can stay."

His mom didn't say a word, stuck in what he imagined was a stunned silence. Beside him, from the corner of his eyes, he could see Taehyung smiling.

"Then..." he heard his mom whisper through the phone. "Stay there. Stay safe. Eat a lot. Don't stay up too late. And don't get sick, it must be cold by the sea these days."

Jungkook nodded, even though his mum couldn't see it.

"And call, at least once a week. Do you hear me ?"

"Yeah mom, I hear you."

"I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

The line went silent again, and she hung up.

Jungkook took a deep, deep breath.

Well, that was easier than he thought it would be.