Black on Pastel <Vkook>

19. Jimins house

It was his last night in California and Jimin and finally convinced Jungkook to come have dinner with his family. He really had no problem with it. Jimins parents were very nice people, but they also pretty...dull.

When Jungkook and Jimin were a couple, he mentioned his paintings quite frequently, but the Parks never got it. Yes, they were an insanely sophisticated family, but their appreciation for the visual arts ranged only from 17th century religious paintings, to still life's of
not-so-colorful fruits. The things that Jungkook created were just not up to par. And, along with high school art class, this is where his anxiety blossomed.

He had absolutely nothing against the Park family, but he feared them nonetheless.

"You look nervous," Jimin said as the two stood on the patio.

Jungkook shook his head. Jimin never really payed that much attention to his body language anyways, so it would be easy to play off the night like everything was fine when in reality, he was terrified.

The older took Jungkook's hand reassuringly and gave him a soft smile before leading him into the house to be greeted by Jimins parents who sat in the living room.

The large room was decorated with an ugly shade of dark red that made the room seem small and stuffy. The furniture, the carpet, the curtains. The color made Jungkook's stomach hurt. The room felt so claustrophobic.

And then the Parks. The practically perfect 3 person family. Dressed in sophisticated clothing, obvious that they knew Jungkook was coming over for dinner.

Mr. Park was in a light blue dress shirt that totally clashed with the dark red surroundings, partly covered by a black sport coat. He wore square glasses and was bald on the top of his head. He played golf and listened to public radio and went to social events at the law firm he works at. He was incredibly professional, and he looked it too, even though it was just Jungkook.

Mrs. Park was in a darker shade of purple. A nice dress worn with a white sheer cardigan. Her hair was slightly curled and came down to just above her shoulders, not a single white hair to be seen. She looked amazing for her age. She was a successful entrepreneur. She has lots of friends that she goes to a book club with. She has maids to do her dirty work for her so she wouldn't break a single perfect nail on her fingers.

Then there was Jimin. Simultaneously the best and the worst of the family. He was the brightest and the cheeriest. His bright red hair reflecting his personality. But he was irresponsible, ignorant, and unknowingly self centered. He was completely unaware of everything he did. Most like the rest of the family but on a greater scale. A spoiled rich kid was what he was. Jungkook realized this after their breakup. It helped his pained feelings turn to nothing. Just a pile of dust that had been swept into the corner to be discarded forever. Jimin was now nothing but a childhood friend of Jungkook's.

The older boys parents greeted Jungkook with smiles and hugs.

"It's nice to see you again, son," Mr. Park said. Referring to him as son used to be a comfortable thing for the boy, but now it was jut strange, ever since he realized that the family was like one out of a travel magazine you find in the waiting room of a doctors office.

"You too Mr. Park," Jungkook replied politely.

Jimins mother hugged Jungkook as well, followed by a kiss on the cheek. Then the boy was welcomed to the dinner table where food was served shortly after.

Mr. Park was a fantastic cook, and he knew it too. He was always the first to volunteer to cook for neighborhood block parties, but he was always turned down because he always wanted to do something more advanced than barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs.

Tonight, on the menu was filet mignon with asparagus and yeast rolls which were so good it made Jungkook's mouth water just thinking about them. He hadn't had Mr. Parks cooking for months, so when his plate was set infront of him, he began to eat immediately.

"Mr. Park this is delicious!" Jungkook said after his third bite of steak.

"Thanks son," he replied, "I bought a different brand of pepper. I think it makes a huge difference."

Jungkook smiled and nodded but he really didn't care. He was too immersed in the flavor that any unnecessary thing that came from a Parks mouth was left disregarded.

There was a while where the room was quiet besides the clinking of silverware against glass plates. The food was the only thing on Jungkook's mind but there was still the looming anxiety over him. Being away from them for so long, Jungkook realized he hated the Parks. Not because they weren't nice people, they were all very good people in general. But they were such a generic family. Rich, attractive, popular. There was virtually not a single thing not to like about them, but that's why Jungkook didn't like them. He knew them better than most. Yes they were the perfect cookie cutter family, but they were narcissistic and ignorant and weren't aware of other people's feelings. But as long as they don't pry into Jungkook's New York life, he should be stable. The last thing he wanted to happen is have an anxiety attack at his ex's house.

"So Jungkook," Mrs. Park started, "how's the new place? I heard the museum is paying your rent."

Jungkook smiled as the question was safe.

"It's really great! It's actually pretty big. I really grateful. I mean, I'm not living like Harry Potter."

Mrs. Park smiled. "That's great sweetheart. So is the job paying well?" The younger nodded.

"Absolutely. I've been able to buy some really expensive equipment and even new furniture!"

"Really?" Mrs. Park said, unable to believe Jungkook's words.

"Yeah! I get paid $800 for every new painting, I get $2,000 a month for having my display up in the gallery, and I get $500 for classes I do twice a day for 4 days a week."

"Wow! That's amazing for someone who's never gone to college."

And there it is. Jungkook could feel the conversation being pushed off the cliff and getting ready to go downhill. He suddenly lost his confidence and sunk into himself.

"Y-yeah I guess," he said shyly.

"You know, our Jiminie got accepted at Harvard. Just like his dad," Mrs. Park said proudly.

Jungkook turned his head to Jimin who was smiling softly while showing a pink blush on his cheeks.

"You never told me that," Jungkook said to Jimin. The older avoided eye contact and shrugged.

"He's gonna take over the law firm for me," Mr. Park added.

Jungkooks eyes were still on Jimin who continued to hide his face. The boys used to tell each other everything until Jungkook moved away, and even though they didn't keep much contact anymore, Jungkook still trusted Jimin. But apparently Jimin couldn't say the same about him.

"That's really great Jimin," Jungkook stated, trying to be obviously annoyed but the family didn't pick up on it. But they continued the conversation that steadily was leading to something Jungkook didn't want to be a part of.

"You should really think about college Jungkook," Mr. Park continued, "you can't be an artist forever."

Jungkook's face stared to get hot and he could feel his cheeks turning red.

"People are eventually going to stop buying your paintings. Or the museum will get bored. But you can sell anything else until you're dead."

His stomach felt weird. His breaths became short. He felt light headed. The cloud was so heavy it couldn't hold itself up for much longer.

"Might as well quit that nonsense now and just go to school to get a steady job."

Jungkook stood up abruptly

"Please excuse me," he said as he ran down the familiar hallway into the bathroom. He hunched over the toilet and heaved out the bile that sat in his stomach. Tears rolling over his cheeks and he choked out the awful tastes combined into one.

His left hand gripped the side of the bowl while the other held his stomach. He was soon sobbing from the pain of his dry heaving. Nothing was left to be thrown up. His stomach muscles contracted but nothing came up.

Taehyung wouldn't have said that, he thought. Taehyung would tell him that he's his favorite artist, and that his art is amazing and to never quit.

Jungkook coughed, causing his throat to sting. He reached for his phone with a shaky hand and dialed Taehyung's number. But he was sent to voice mail for another time since he'd last talked to him. But he left a message. He knew Taehyung wouldn't ignore him on purpose.

"T-Tae, please P-pick up. *cough* I really N-need you right now."

His throat was still closed and swollen. Everything hurt. He tried desperately to call out for the older through the phone.

"I... I want you to be here. And t-tell me it's okay. Cuz it's not. *cough* My throat hurts. And my stomach hurts. I'm dry heaving into a fucking toilet at Jimins house and his f-family doesn't have a c-clue. Plea-se Tae... Please pick up."

The message then ended and Jungkook was suddenly looking at the black insides of his eyelids on a cold, tile floor.

+

Aju yikes

That escalated quickly.