Heroes | JJK ✔️

xxxiv. Stain

"You are so sweet!" she giggled, releasing Mina's hand. "I'm his mother, I came here for my little boy to tell all of his friends about my career. Isn't that right, Yunho?"

"Mom, don't embarrass me," Yunho chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

"What is your career? I'm curious!" Mina asked her.

"I own a retail shop in our neighborhood. It's small, but it's done well enough for me to raise my boy as a single mother," she answered, reaching out to rub Yunho's arm, a light smile on her face. Mina glanced at him, seeing him smile proudly at his mother. "You should stop by sometime!"

"Of course!" Mina smiled. "If you don't mind me, ma'am, I have to go get some napkins. It was really nice to meet you! See you, Yunho."

He and his mother quickly said their goodbyes before Mina was once again walking toward the utensil table for the napkins. When she got there, she began pulling a few napkins, not realizing the presence of two from across the table.

"Lee Mina?" said a deep voice, and the unfamiliarity startled her, causing her to quickly look up. Her eyes landed on a tall man, Heejin standing condescendingly on his side. "I'm Kim Hongseok. I'm a colleague of your father's. I sponsored your recital! It was absolutely stunning."

Mina stared wide-eyed at him, Heejin's father, who exhibited such a contrasting personality compared to his daughter. "T-Thank you, sir."

"It's a shame your father couldn't make it today. He must be very busy with his work," he stated. "You're more than welcome to come sit with us if you would like?"

"Dad!" Heejin scolded from beside him.

"Don't worry, sir," Mina smiled. "I'll be fine. It was nice to meet you!" she politely bowed before receiving one in return, prompting her to walk away.

That was bizarre.

Mina glanced down at the napkins in her hands as she furrowed her eyebrows in thought, walking down the pathways. Is he busy with work? He didn't even give me a proper reason, so could it be that he just doesn't care enough to show up? What should I expect—

Interrupting her thoughts was the feeling of another body colliding with hers, and then the feeling of something cold on her abdomen. She heard a gasp and as things became less blurry, Mina noticed a bright red stain on her thin sweater, followed by a pool of kimchi on the floor.

"Oh my-! I'm so sorry, sweetheart," said the woman who was standing in front of her, one of her hands to her mouth and the other holding a container—an empty one—that was for the kimchi.

"I-It's okay, ma'am!" Mina smiled at her reassuringly, fixing her sweater a bit so that the wet patch wasn't sticking to her skin as much.

"Mom," called a familiar voice from a few feet away, and Mina's eyes darted to Jungkook, who walked up to the two.

No.

"I see you've... met," Jungkook began to say but paused when he saw the stain on her sweater, along with the pile of kimchi on the floor.

"Oh, do you two know each other?" asked the woman, who turned out to be Jungkook's mother. Mina widened her eyes, the words caught in her throat.

"Yeah, she's one of my best friends, mom," Jungkook answered. "With a huge stain on her sweater," he added with a chuckle.

"It's my fault! I'm so clumsy," she wailed. "You'd think I'd be better with holding food especially because I have a restaurant."

"Don't worry, ma'am, I have some napkins," Mina awkwardly chuckled as she held up the napkins, her mind completely blank instead of actually using the napkins. "I-I've heard of your restaurant before, Jungkook told me about it!"

"You have? Thank heavens I don't have to talk more about it today. So many of Jungkook's friends have been asking me to make food for them, especially that Seokjin boy," she stated, jabbing Jungkook in the side and making him squirm. "What about you? Where's your mom, sweetheart?"

"Mom," Jungkook was quick to interfere, shooting his mother a glare before Mina smiled a bit.

"It's okay, Jungkook," she told him before looking back at his mother. "She passed away last year. My father couldn't make it today because he was busy with work."

Jungkook felt himself furrow his eyebrows deeply at her words, anger fueling his blood slowly by slowly. He wasn't surprised that Mina's father once again chose work over his daughter, but it especially angered him that Mina had to sit through a day like this without even a single parent by her side while everyone else had theirs. He couldn't imagine how alone she was feeling.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie," his mother frowned before gently taking Mina's free hand in both of hers. "If you ever need anyone to talk to, just stop by my restaurant and I'll cook us up a meal we can talk over, okay?"

In that moment, Mina understood the reason why Jungkook was so kind-hearted.

"Thank you, ma'am," she bowed slightly, a slight smile on her lips.

"Now, I'm going to head back to our table and tell Seokjin I'm not making him meals," she told Jungkook with her eyebrow cocked.

"You'll break his heart," Jungkook dramatically pouted, earning a scowl from his mother before she stomped away, leaving the two standing alone. Jungkook glanced at Mina before checking the floor again, letting a chuckle fall out of his lips. "Now you know what it feels like."

"Hey," Mina gently scolded, hiding back a smile. "I guess now we're even."

Jungkook laughed as he began to take off his black flannel, holding it up to her casually.

"What?"

"Don't catch a cold," he tilted his head at her, still holding up the flannel.

"But it's just my sweater-"

"Take it or leave it, unless you want people to see that hideous stain on you," he interrupted her, a mischievous smile on his face. Mina began to feel her face turn a bright red before she hesitantly took the flannel. Jungkook watched as she put it around her body, using it to cover the stain. It was warm, soft, and dropped just below her waist. It smelled just like him, and Mina almost couldn't contain herself from freaking out in the middle of the cafeteria.

However, before she could enjoy this moment, a flicker of the cafeteria lights startled her, catching her attention along with Jungkook's. When they flickered again, and again, the other students and their parents began to murmur in confusion.

"What's going on?" Jungkook mumbled, instinctively stepping closer to Mina. There would be a few seconds of pitch darkness in the flickering periods, and concern started to be spread across the room.

That was when the two felt something strange, an evil presence that could only mean one thing.

"There's a villain," Mina said to herself, and in the next second, the room was completely engulfed in darkness, and a scream was heard in the white noise.