She quickly waved her hands at me and denied it, "I'm not sick, Jungkook. And I shouldn't only feel urgent about apologizing if I'm dying..." I let out a breath of relief. I don't think I'd be able to handle her leaving too.
"When everybody on the internet started loving you two, I magically started feeling okay with it too," My mother chuckled in embarrassment, "And I had to step back and just acknowledge how twisted that is. I couldn't ignore it, I've spent so many years measuring you as a person based on what the media thought of you."
"It's not your fault, Mother." I exhaled, hugging my arm with my hand.
"It is, it doesn't matter that I was born into the life of a public figure. It might not be my fault that I developed such views, but it's my fault for projecting them onto you. I'm your mother, Jungkook. And I wish...if it isn't too late, that you can let me be one that you depend on. I love you, and I'm sorry I failed so horribly at showing that."
I was happy upon hearing those words. So happy that I couldn't hide the smile on my lips, no matter how hard I pursed them. This is all I ever wanted. I just wanted her to see me, to accept me. I'm a grown man, and this is the first time in my whole life that I feel like I have a mother. I could die right here and right now—after Aera comes down from her shower so I can see her one last time—and I'd have no regrets. This has always been a lifelong dream, one that I believed could never be fulfilled, no matter how rich or powerful I get.
I sit up from my spot and lunge myself at my mother with a hug. She welcomes me with a big yelp, and I wrap my arms right around her. Her body was cold and fragile as always, but strangely, I've never felt safer. My mother laughs as she cradled me, "Aren't you too heavy for this?"
"I've always wanted to do this." I rest my forehead on her shoulder and close my eyes at the touch of her palm on my back.
"I'm sorry, Jungkook. I still have so much to make up for, thank you for giving me this chance."
"It's fine," It's not, but at this moment, I can no longer push away my inner child as it's sprung out to claim what it's never gotten. All I want is for her to pamper me, I don't even care about what she's done before anymore. This makes me more vulnerable to getting hurt than ever, but right now I want to trust her, I choose to trust her.
A click that I recognized to be the camera of a phone shook me out of what felt like a trance, and I dart my eyes towards the corner of the wall where my fiancée hid. My ears burn along with my cheeks at the realization that Aera had witnessed this childish moment of mine.
"Aera!" I groan, stepping myself off of my mother. "Delete it!" I stride to where she stood, and in panic, Aera held her phone to her chest tightly. I reach over in an attempt to grab it.
"No!" Aera scrunches into a ball on the floor as I tower over her small frame, jabbing at her stomach until her hands opened. The phone slips out and I kick it away to stop her from reaching it. Her loud yelps and breathless laughs fill the room.
"Y-You guys," My mother stood from the couch and peered over with a worried expression, but it goes unnoticed as I threw Aera over my shoulder. The woman clutches onto my shirt for dear life and I can't help but snicker.
"This looks dangerous, Jungkook," Mother ushered over to me with her mouth agape.
"I got her, Mother. Don't worry." I wrap my arm right around her legs while I bent down to grab her phone.
"What's your password?" I nudged her thigh with my head.
"I'll never tell!" Aera retorted firmly from behind. I turn on the screen and see my face looking right back at me. When was this from?
"It's probably my name or something, you're so obsessed with me," I joked, attempting the lock for the heck of it. And surprisingly, it goes through. When I enter, her wallpaper is the exact same photo but me with a wider smile.
"Oh wow, you're really obsessed with me," Aera goes silent in defeat while my heart took flight in satisfaction. Her body goes limp too, but I can hear her heavy breathing, so I know she's fine. I flip through for her photo album and find the very picture of me sitting in my mother's lap.
I freeze and swallow the lump in my throat. It's the two of us in the same photo, and we're happy. I can't delete this. Even if my mother and I do fix our relationship in the future, I still can't be sure that a moment like this will ever happen again. And it's the first time I was ever hugged by her like that, you can never re-live the firsts.
I bite the bottom of my lip as I sent it to myself. I struggled to find my name in the sea of contacts until I rolled my eyes at the name 'Seaweed Hair'. I guess 'My Ass' stays unchanged then.
"Did you delete it yet?" Aera slapped my butt with a sigh. I cough, "Yeah, just deleting it from the trash bin too."
I wait until it was successfully delivered before I turn off the tabs and let the poor woman down from my shoulder.
"So much for wanting to document your happiness," Aera readjusted her clothing and sent me a stare when I nudged the device towards her.
"Here, you can have it back now."
— A/N:
also jk's hair rn is like DPR live's in CL's mv for 5 stars.
they both look so good and the song kinda slaps. go support these two 🥺
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