Bittersweet // Jikook

05

Delusion; the belief in something that's not true.

If you were to ask Jimin a month ago whether or not he would invite a friend back to his house, he would say no. Now though, he had decided to introduce his good companion to his mother. His dad was out once again, probably with some girl ten years younger than him but Jimin was trying to stay positive. He wanted to open up to Jungkook about his brother and his dad, but he wasn't sure how to do it, he'd figure it out when the moment was right and figured the moment may connect more with him if they weren't in school.

The pair walked through the front door which looked fine from the outside, Jimin and his mother kept the house clean and tidy when his dad wasn't there so it almost looked normal until you started to look carefully at the inside of the house. The stairs had chips coming out of it and the corners of the walls had small blood stains on them from the residents being constantly smashed into them by a man who they couldn't defend themselves against. You would only notice these things if you were looking for them, but Jungkook had his suspicions about his friend's home life ever since they first met and the boy would flinch if the other went to touch him suddenly.

"Mum, are you home?" Jimin called out, closing the door behind his friend. "I want you to meet someone." He announced, that was enough to make his mother come rushing out of the kitchen where she had been preparing dinner.

Her son had told her he was bringing a guest, but she thought they wouldn't arrive until a bit later so she didn't have the dinner completely ready yet. She had applied makeup, which caught the youngest boy's eye, it was clear she was trying to hide something.

"Hello, you must be Jungkook." The lady was so polite and it was clear that Jimin had inherited his gentle nature from his mother. He shook the woman's hand and smiled while nodding. He didn't know what to say. "You two can wait in the living room, I didn't expect you home so early so dinner may take a little while." With that she disappeared back to the kitchen once again.

Questions started to flood Jungkook's mind. He couldn't help but notice that Jimin's father hadn't made an appearance yet, maybe his dad left like his own mother had. That would make sense, but he could have sworn he heard something about the older boy's dad before. He was desperately trying to rack his brain for any kind of information that he had heard about Jimin and his family, until Jimin tapped him on the shoulder, directing him to follow.

He followed his friend up the stairs of the house, noticing the chips in the bannister and steps, the smell of marijuana had clung to the carpet and there was no disguising it. They reached a room at the top of the stairs, there was bold letters painted on it which read 'Jimin.' Once they entered, Jungkook was greeted with the off-white walls and a single bed that had blue bedsheets draped over it. There wasn't much furniture, only a small bedside table, the bed and a wardrobe with mirrors on the doors. The only belongings Jimin seemed to possess were his school supplies and a small stuffed bunny which was propped up on the pillow.

"Can I show you something?" Jimin asked, leading the younger boy to the bed and making him sit.

Jungkook nodded, keeping a small smile on his face so that Jimin felt comfortable with him. It wasn't often that Jungkook made genuine friends, even since the kiss they hadn't changed towards each other. Jungkook felt so much for the boy in front of him, he wanted to love him like no one else could, but he knew that wouldn't happen. Jimin mistook the kiss as a 'heat of the moment' sort of thing but it was a lot more to Jungkook, he just couldn't admit it.

He was once again dragged from his thoughts as his friend began to unbutton the school shirt that was sizes too big for him, once he opened the last button he dropped it to the floor, looking back up to meet the younger male's eyes. There wasn't much emotion, just fear as he reached for his friend's hips and pulled him closer.

"Who?" Was all he could say with the amount of anger brewing in his chest.

It took a moment but Jimin answered, "M-My dad." looking away to the ground.

"Tell me if he hurts you again, okay?" Jimin nodded. "I told you...I'll keep you safe. I love you." The words came out of his mouth before he could even think. As soon as the realisation of what he said hit him, he froze. His blood ran cold and his breathing came to a halt.

Jimin seemed to have a similar reaction, jumping away from the younger and giving him an unreadable look.

"I- What?" Jimin breathed, shock still visible.