forgotten memories | JJK

hold

If I Could Fly by One Direction &
Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran

Before he knew it, Jeon Jeongguk was standing in front of her door.

It's been about 5 minutes.

He still hasn't knocked.

"N-noona, I-i think I still have feelings for her."

He was about to turn around and go home, but the front door opened.

Jungkook froze.

"Ohh? Jungkook-ah? Is that you?"

"Ohh, hello Mrs. Kim, how have you been?"

"I'm doing fine, and I'm guessing you're doing fine yourself? I mean look at you! You're all grown up!"

Jungkook rubbed his nape, chuckling at the comment.

"Would you like to come in for some tea?"

"That would be lovely Mrs. Kim."

Mrs. Kim ushers Jungkook inside, and together they make their way to the living room.

The skinny lady who seemed to have stayed the same made her way to the kitchen, boiling water for tea.

Jungkook on the other hand started looking around the apartment which had changed a lot since the last time he visited. They had changed all the furniture and the tiles in the kitchen were completely different.

The things placed on the accent shelf also changed. It used to be piled up with books, trophies, and framed drawings. But now, it had resolved to beautifully placed succulents, candles, with a detailed urn in the center. Unlike the rest of the items, which collected dust, the perfectly centered urn sat on the shelf without a single spec of dust or dirt. It seemed to have been dusted daily. He wondered what/who was in the urn.

"Here sweetheart," she says, placing the tea set on her coffee table.

"Thank you, Mrs. Kim. A lot has changed since I last came, but you have stayed the same, beautiful Mrs. Kim."

"Aw thank you, sweetheart. Anyways, what brings you here?" she asks.

He hesitates.

"Just visiting my parents, and I thought it would be good to visit you."

"Ah, I see."

"I'm sorry to ask, but is Jiah around?"

As the question sinks in, the room fills with silence. Jungkook sits on the couch, confused, as he looks at Mrs. Kim who is thinking about the right words to say.

A shiny layer of liquid appeared in her eyes, as she tries her best to suppress her sadness. Her hands start to jitter as she began pouring the hot liquid into his cup.

Jungkook noticed and helped her with the tea.

"Mrs. Kim? Are you okay? Do you need me to call a doctor?"

"No sweetheart, it's alright."

They both sat in silence. Was it that hard to say where her daughter was? Was she over him? Did she never want to see him again?

"Sweetheart..."Mrs Kim says, breaking the silence and taking Jeongguk out of his trance.

"Sh-she's is in a better place now darling."

"Oh, you mean a better apartment?" Jeongguk says, oblivious to what the lady had just told him.

"N-no darling, I m-mean she's not coming back."

"She moved to another country?"

The poor lady couldn't think of others to word it anymore.

"Sh-she's dead Jeongguk-ah."

Jeongguk's heart dropped. Shock ran through his veins. He had never imagined her name and death in the same sentence before. She's dead? No way. Not even the devil could kill her.

Tears threatened to fall down his innocent doe-like face, his throat tightening from thinking about it.

"N-no," he shook his head violently. "It's not possible. No way is she dead. You're kidding. You're kidding right?"

Mrs. Kim tightly hugged the young man, holding him to her chest.

"I wish I was honey." She allowed him to find comfort in her arms.

"I'm sorry that's what you had to hear after so long. I'm sure you longed to see her for a long time."

He shifts from her hold, wiping away the tears he shed. He turned away from the grieving women and began staring at the detailed blue urn. He couldn't face her mother right now. His eyes started darting up and down, curiosity flowed through him as he stared at that urn.

"W-where is she now Mrs Kim?"

"Ah, she's laying right next to her father, where the beach sounds can calm her nerves and regrets. You know, she always adored the beach, Jeongguk-ah."

He lets out a small sniffle before nodding in agreement.

After he had calmed down, Mrs. Kim excuses herself. She leaves the room, only to walk back in with a box similar to Jungkook's box at home.

"You know when you guys fought, Jiah came home and immediately started sobbing and ranting about how she hurt and betrayed her best friend. She cried for about 3 hours before falling asleep on the couch. And when you didn't answer her calls, she was ready to march to your house and knock on your door. Luckily I stopped her in time and told her to give you some space."

Jungkook was now looking at Mrs. Kim. His face was pale and his nose was really red.

"It's a good thing I told her to do that right? You were both too stubborn for your own good. If she had pushed for you guys to make up, your relationship would have ended up in shattered pieces."

Silence filled the room as she paused looking for the words.

"Before she died, she told me that if you ever came looking for her, to tell you that she is ice skating with mountain goats and to not worry."

Jungkook lets out a pained giggle.

"I never understood it, I guess it was an inside joke. Or maybe we just have a different sense of humor."

Teary eyed Jungkook was now smiling brightly, the woman smiled back at him.

"She also said to give you this box if you ever came."

Held in front of him was a bright pink box decorated with white swirls of glitter.

After some time at Mrs. Kim's, Jungkook bid her farewell and walked back to his house. In the end, he did not leave with an old friend, but a box, regrets, and a heavy heart.

He had found out that a year ago, Jiah was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer, and that it was too late for treatment. Finding out her days were numbered, Jiah chose to travel the world. She went to different places like Japan, Spain, England, Peru... And when she finally came back to South Korea, her last stop was at Jeongguk's door. But no one was home that day.

A/n: this chapter didn't rlly change tht much from the original ~~