DMBI - Love is a Hybrid of Friendship and Lust

Chapter Eighteen

Namjoon holds Shin gently as she sobs into his chest. Tears adorn his face too, but he doesn't deserve to be upset. Yes, Kyung was family. But to Shin, there was a time when all she had was Jin and Kyung. When even her family didn't believe in her. Kyung was everything to her. So, Namjoon doesn't get to mourn. Not yet, anyway. Not until he has done everything in his power to make Shin and Jungkook and Soonmin and Jin as okay as they can be right now.

At first, Shin was angry. Angry at Flint for daring to hurt Kyung twice, angry at the world for letting him, and angry at herself for not stopping it in time. Then she felt nothing. It didn't sink in for a while. The fact that Kyung wasn't just hurt, she was dead. She is dead. And there's nothing anyone can do because she wasn't supernatural. You can't bring humans back, Tae had told them that before. Even if he was here, there's nothing he could do. But now, Shin just hurts. Her heart physically hurts. She didn't think that actually happened. Isn't it just a saying? And yet here she is, sobbing her eyes out, and it hurts. It hurts that she's gone.

"Chim?.." A red, swollen eyed Yoongi strokes Jimin's arm as comfortingly as possible. "You stopped crying.."

"I'm worried about Kooki-.. Jungkook... He hasn't left her flat yet... I asked Jin about it yesterday after he went to see him and... Nothing... Apparently he doesn't even look like he's been crying. I don't think he's... I don't think he quite believes it yet... And I don't know how to fix it. Kyung..." His eyes immediately refill with years at the mention of her name. "Kyung would know... She always knows how to fix him, even when his own DNA suggests otherwise, she finds a way..."

"She always knew..." Yoongi corrects the younger sadly. "Not anymore... She's gone..." Yoongi's voice cracks at the end and he doesn't even care. He inwardly curses Jimin for making him so sensitive. A year ago he wouldn't have given a shit. But now he thinks back to their first meeting in Jimin's old building's hallway. He yelled at her. For no reason, really. And yet not two months later she invited him in and fed him. She became close to Yoongi. Just as close as Jungkook and Namjoon were to him. Almost as close as Tae. But then she has the nerve to go and die on everyone. Maybe she wasn't so selfless after all. Maybe it was selfish to die and leave the rest of them to pick up the pieces of themselves eachother... And of Jungkook... Yoongi hates himself for even having that thought. It makes him feel so physically sick, he excuses himself and goes to the bathroom.

Nothing happens. He just sits on the closed lid of the toilet. Tears beginning to pour again. He'll go back to be with Jimin in a second... Right now, he needs to be alone.

Jin sits at the kitchen table, untouched tea in hand. Soonmin had made them both tea. She'd been so distracted by her ever flowing tears it wasn't until they sat down that they both realised it was jasmine tea. Princess jasmine green tea, to be exact. Kyung's favourite. Neither know what to say. They just sit there. Smelling the scent that always seemed to linger around that girl. A niece, a sister, a friend. She was everything to both of them and neither know how to address it. They just sit in silence, comforting each other with their presence.

Jungkook blinks. He watches the milk spinning around in the microwave. It dings. Too loud. But just in time to pour the coffee in.

Of course, the timing had been taught to him. Kyung always perfects when to put things on so they are ready just in time. She always smiles and says 'perfect timing', congratulating an inanimate object on its timekeeping skills. Just like how she would scold it if she'd messed up.
How she does scold it. 

Jungkook stares down at the coffee.  Too strong. Kyung makes it right. She makes it perfectly. The smell of his subpar attempt creeps into his nostrils and he wrinkles his nose at it. He looks up, expecting to hear the chime of her laughter.

It doesn't come. 

Even though she always reacts to his nose wrinkles. Be it when he laughs or smiles a certain way, when he reacts 'cutely' to a strong smell or taste, or when he just does it to get a reaction from her. And yet this time it doesn't come.

He pours the coffee down the sink. It isn't good enough. He'll try again later... Maybe he could ask Kyung to teach him again?

He leans back into the counter, watching her ps4 blink at him. He looks away and catches sight of her slippers, sitting patiently by the shoe rack, waiting for her to return. Do they miss her too?

He chuckles. Has she really got him personifying inanimate objects? Sure, he finds it cute when she does it, but he never joins in. Just watches. Not that he'll ever watch that again...

A loud, satanic beeping pierces the silence of the empty flat and Jungkook swears, backing away from the counter and glaring at the oven. "For the last time, my bum is not a fucking finger!" 

Silence.

For a second.

Then two more.

Then a quiet drop as Junkook sheds his first tear since they took her body away. It all hits him.

He's surrounded by her: her clothes, some folded neatly in a washing basket ready to be put away, others strewn on the floor where she had been planning on picking them up; photos of her, mainly with Jungkook, but a few with other people; her smell. Everywhere smells of jasmine and vanilla with a hint of coffee; and yet. And fucking yet. Where is she?

If only he'd pulled Park outside instead of killing him and chased after Flint with Jimin. If only he'd stuck to his gut and stayed away from Kyung when he knew his life would end up hurting her. If only he had been stronger and managed to kill Flint when he went after him instead of getting beaten up himself. If only Tae hadn't run away and came with them. If only they hadn't brought Soonmin back at all and she was still a ghost. If only he'd killed Flint when him and Shin had gone after that optic. If only he had managed to keep Kyung at home instead of helping with Suk. If only he hadn't been so distracted that he missed Flint and Kyung had to...

But none of that happened.  

And now she's gone.

"Shut the fuck up. I feel sick..." Yoongi holds onto the wall for support.

"Hyung..." Jimin puts a hand on his shoulder.

"He fucking trusted me, Chim! He called me hyung and I...  I fucking killed him..." Yoongi punches the wall, breaking the plaster easily.

"Just... No one tell Jungkook, okay? He doesn't need this right now..." Namjoon looks away, hating that Shin is still crying and he can do nothing.

"Don't tell me what?." They all jump and look up to see Jungkook in Yoongi's doorway, eyes bloodshot, hair a mess, clearly hasn't slept in days. Weeks maybe...

"Kook." Jimin blinks back his tears and runs to the werewolf. He wants to hug him, squeeze him, comfort him. But he doesn't know where to start. So, he just stands there... Staring...

"Kookie. You can call me Kookie. If you want..." His voice breaks but everyone ignores it. "What don't you want me to know?."

Shin looks at Namjoon and nods. "Tell him..."

The warlock looks down, barely able to process the information himself and hating that he has to be the one to tell the werewolf. "Suk... Park Suki... He was innocent..."