PITYING THE PRISONER | p.jm

t h i r t e e n - c o r a

"Stop right there," he says in English, pointing a finger gun in my direction. I put my hands up, not knowing what else to do but play along.

"I'm sorry, sir," I say. "I just wanted some breakfast. I won't do it again."

"I'll let you go this time," he says, and then bolts away to go play sheriff elsewhere.

"You're finally awake!" My mother exclaims, coming to meet me. "It's one in the afternoon, you know."

"Yeah, sorry," I reply. "I was just tired."

"It's fine, I'm sure exams were tough. Not like you didn't ace them, though."

I chuckle at her statement, somehow knowing that she's right. "I'm sure."

"Want some breakfast?"

"Most definitely."

"Cool, I made bacon. I'll get started on some pancakes. You want chocolate chip, I presume?"

"Yep."

"Can do, kiddo, coming right up."

Mom hands me a plate with five strips of bacon on it, and I proceed to dig in. As I'm finishing, two pancakes are added, and I quickly eat those, too. I realize at this point that my mother is stunning. She has light brown hair and blue eyes, a smooth complexion, and a broad, white smile. Her fingernails are painted a baby blue today, lighter than the deeper ocean blue I always remembered her wearing. I haven't seen her in so long, I've missed her so much, but I have to hide it. I thank my mom for the food and then hurry upstairs to get dressed. I shower, then put on black jeans, a white shirt, and a red flannel. I brush my hair and make my way back downstairs to encounter my father playing with Myungjun.

My father, too, is a very handsome man. He has short, neatly styled black hair, dark eyes, and a medium build. He looks quite young to be a father of two, but he's perfect for my mother. They're a power couple, and I know it.

"Hey," he greets, smiling at me. "Long time, no see, huh?"

I just roll my eyes and sit down next to my once-dead father.

"So, how were exams?" He asks.

"Easy," I reply, internally dumbfounded by the fact that I'm in the presence of a dead man. Yet something tells me he never really died.

"How'd they go for Jimin?" Mom asks, also entering the living room.

"I'm not sure," I reply. "I haven't asked him."

"You haven't asked him? That's a rarity. All you two ever do is talk," Dad interjects.

"He's been busy; he and the boys are working hard, you know," Mom replies. "Have you seen his new music video yet?"

"No, I haven't, actually. What's it called? Sangnamja, right? Manly Men?"

"Or Boy In Luv," I say, actually knowing the answer to this question.

"Should we watch it?" My mom offers.

"I don't know if you'd want to do that," I say tentatively. "Myungjun might be too young."

"He won't understand a lot of it, though," Dad pushes. "Besides, I want to see what your lovely boyfriend's been up to."

He stands and walks to the computer on the other side of the room where he quickly searches for the video. Upon finding it, he calls me and Mom over to watch it. I've heard the song and seen the video before, of course, but upon seeing that this video was released only two days ago, I realize that I'm technically about a year in the past.