Let Me Know

Chapter XII

When Jimin was five, he had the brilliant idea to jump into the pool in his garden when he had absolutely no idea how to swim. He had spent a few moments frantically struggling underneath the water, trying to fight his way to the surface. When he finally made it, he was gasping for air like he had never breathed before, and his lungs felt like they were about to burst. That's exactly how he felt when he heard Jungkook speak, heard him say those words that he never, ever expected to hear from anybody he knew. It took him several seconds to actually comprehend what Jungkook had said, and when he finally managed to get his composure back, it felt as if a lifetime had just passed by.

"What ?" Jimin gasped.

Jungkook looked over at Jimin, a scowl etched on his face, and for the first time, it suddenly seemed as if he was so much older than he actually was. Instead of being eighteen, it seemed as if Jungkook was actually a middle-aged man who had seen the horrors of the world in ways that most people can't even begin to comprehend. A teenage guy taking on two jobs, taking care of himself alone, looking after and being there for his foster mother and sisters. Jeon Jungkook wasn't anybody you could exactly call normal, that was for sure. Right then, Jimin wanted to heal his wounds, and forget everything else in the world that had ever given either of them trouble.

"Ever heard of Busan Ship Tragedy ?" Jungkook said dryly, staring down at his feet again.

Jimin shook his head. "No."

Jungkook blew out a sigh, leaning forward on his knees so his head was resting in his hands. "Well, that accident took everything away from my dad. Including his life."

Jimin was fairly certain his jaw hit the ground as he stared at Jungkook in horror. There were a lot of things in this universe Jimin knew to be crazy, unpredictable, and awful. But this ? What Jungkook had just told him ? That had to be one of the worst things to ever happen to somebody.

"E-Excuse me ?" Jimin croaked, gripping his jacket sleeves tightly. "Did I hear that correctly ?"

Jungkook jumped to his feet and started pacing in front of Jimin, his hands clasped behind his back. "My mom met my dad in high school. They ended up falling in love and got married against their families, since my mom came from a poor family and wasn't an acceptable bride for my father. All this ended up being a total disaster, because, then my father was abolished from his own family and had to fend for himself and his family. Which is why my dad started working as a fisherman at the Busan coast, and the little business that he had out of it was enough to barely support the family. Everything was fine until the accident where everything he had burnt down to ashes and they were left with absolutely nothing. No savings to start over, no families to ask help from. The government compensated only to those who had lost a family member. So my dad, he gave up his own life..."

Jimin's heart was starting to pound erratically against his chest, and there was a buzzing noise in his ears. Just how was he supposed to react to this ? He'd never exactly been told anything like this before, so it was a little more than disconcerting. Even though it seriously sucked to admit it, Jimin doubted there was anything he could say that would possibly calm Jungkook down, or make him see some sort of point that it wasn't going to do him any good to have a complete breakdown in the middle of a deserted beach. But Jimin already knew that he didn't talk about himself or what was going on with him at all, so he decided then and there that he was going to just sit back and let Jungkook vent about anything he needed to.

"What happened after that ?" Jimin muttered, taking a deep breath.

"My mom was devastated and pregnant with me." Jungkook answered in a steely voice. "My mom probably thought it was all my fault, which may be true, and left me a day after I was born at the doorstep of an orphanage. She went away somewhere with my brother and never returned."