Monsters (Big Bang fanfiction)

Saturday May 9th 2015 (afternoon)

Although Joseph and I couldn't eat stuff in Korea like cornbread or meatloaf unless we imported it (resulting in a long, tedious and expansive wait) or bought it already-made (rare, expensive and with a disappointing taste), we both usually still stuck to the westerner lunch style with one big meal, forks and knives and desserts (especially strawberry cake :P). Yet I know how to use chopsticks and I saw Joseph cook Korean cuisine once in a while when he was not too tired, since it's usually quite longer to prepare. So I had only a vague idea of what a "typical" Korean lunch was like. I knew that, unlike Americans, the boys and our Korean colleagues usually would have lots of small plates so they could pick a piece of this and that here and there, even for breakfast. Right?

First, I picked extra pairs of chopsticks and looked for all the food in promotion. And since I was so tired of rice, I decided to skip it and go for instant noodles and marinated vegetables (I think it's called Kimchi) instead. I also bought pork ribs (Galbi), barbecued beef (Bulgogi) and chicken and fish to be sure the boys would at least eat one thing! I also bought packet soups and sweets. Every quantity was multiplied by six, of course.

When the young cashier saw me coming with all my packs of meat and marinated stuff, I thought she was going to have a heart attack. She passed all my items without a word in rhythm punctuated by the endless "Bleep!" of her machine as everything kept piling up at the other end of the counter in a tiny mountain. I wish I could have joked about what a busy mom I am and how grumpy my kids get when they don't have a proper breakfast but I still lack cruelly of vocabulary T^T Thank god I had enough money and the sentences I had to learn for my trip at the mall still worked there (although I barely articulate them better). And so I left with a dozen of bags on each arm and quickly walked away from the rest of the queue who was getting more and more impatient behind me. Show some mercy, Korea ><

When I arrived, the apartment was still silent and I thought the boys had still not awoken. My God, who would have thought they were such heavy sleepers! However, when I entered the living-room after I dropped my things in the kitchen, I saw none of them was there. And that was not the worse: the TV was smoking, the coffee table was broken in two and the couch and armchairs were torn apart and upside down. My heart skipped a beat and time stopped for a second. Then, hearing the sound of voices coming from the hall, I ran towards it and saw all the boys bending over the narrow balcony from the bedroom, trying to reach for something as they were all stretching their arms as hard as they could towards it. The French window was broken and there were shattered glass with specks of blood all over the frame. As I stepped over it and came to the boys who parted to let me through, I withheld a gasp when I saw Taeyang hanging from the balustrade, the joints of his hands scratched and whitened from their tight grip on the iron bars and his legs dangling above the five other floors, his hands hanging low and his arms shaking. A few passers-by on the sidewalk had also stopped to stare at the scene. I couldn't let more of them gather under our shelter without risking to look suspicious. What if they called the police?

"Taeyang, look at me. Taeyang!" I called his name with a shaky voice, trying hard not to panic.

When he raised his head and our eyes met, his face lit with a smile and he muttered something, "Nuna" or something like that.

However, he then looked down again and shut his eyes.

"No! No, Taeyang, look at me. It's me. Joan. Joan-sshi!" I called out again in a softer voice and made him raise his head again. "It's okay, Taeyang. Look at me. Take my hand." I said and extended mine towards his.

However, he didn't take it, looking away as my hand came closer to him.

"Taeyang, come on. Take it!" I said, but he didn't move. "Take it, please!"