Taehyung did not enjoy gardening. This was mainly due to a traumatizing incident in his childhood.
It was the first time he ever planted a flower.
Then, the Director of Academic Affairs gifted Principal Kim several rose seeds. It was said to be a newly cultivated variety of rose that was not expensive. However, it was quite rare and near impossible to purchase.
It just so happened that Principal Kim was fretting over Taehyung's boundless energy to cause trouble every day. He had planned to find more activities for Taehyung to do and thus entrusted the seeds to him. When doing so, Hyoseop did not neglect to describe how stunning the rose would look after blooming, how its fragrance would perfume the air, and how it would be the talk of the town.
Taehyung's eyes rounded at his words. Mesmerized at his descriptions, he began to imagine a wondrous image in his head.
At once, he decided, I'm going to plant a flower!
He followed his father's instructions and planted the seed into a small flower pot. Then, he began to anticipate the day the seed would sprout.
The next day, Taehyung brought the small flower pot to class and bragged to Jungkook in vivid detail.
Jungkook was against anything that Taehyung liked. Thus, he was not at all interested in the pot of flowers.
Furthermore, it was at most only a pot and could not even be considered a pot of flowers.
Taehyung's enthusiasm did not wane for several days. He even held up his hand and counted for Jungkook, "My father said that this seed could sprout in two weeks. It's already been four days, so there are still..." Here, he faltered.
"There are still ten more days," Jungkook said stiffly.
"Oh, right, right. Jungkook, I'll pluck a flower for you after it blossoms."
Jungkook was caught off guard. "Why for me?"
"All the imperial consorts on television usually wear flowers on their head."
Jungkook, "..." It was his fault for feeling touched too quickly.
Jungkook looked at Taehyung's face which was full of anticipation. The rose did not sprout but the devilish seed in his heart did.
If... the pot of flower never did sprout, he would be quite upset, wouldn't he?
——
The next day, during PE (physical education) lesson, Jungkook stayed back alone in the classroom with the excuse that his tummy hurt.
The empty flower pot sat on the desk. Jungkook locked the classroom door and shifted the pot over. Carefully, he rummaged through the soil and found the seed. Then, he took the seed out and wrapped it in paper before shifting everything back in place. He did his best to make the soil look the same as before.
His heart pounded furiously the entire process, a nerve-racking exhilaration running through his body.
Taehyung's face was covered in sweat after finishing the PE lesson. He was licking an ice pop when he came back. Jungkook sprawled across his table, not quite daring to face Taehyung. Jungkook monitored the others actions furtively through the slits of his eyes.
Taehyung used one hand to hold the ice pop and the other hand to nudge the flower pot closer to his front.
Jungkook's breath caught in his throat.
Taehyung suddenly yelled his name, "Jungkook!"
"Ah..." Jungkook's heart seized as he answered Taehyung's summon weakly.
Taehyung beckoned him over. As he was still licking the ice pop, he let out an "mm" but said nothing else.
He found out, he found out... Jungkook's face was tomato red. He stretched his hand into his pocket silently. When his fingers touched the paper bundle, he heard Taehyung say, "Lend me your cup. I need to water it. Hey, why are you so slow."
Jungkook felt his heart fall back into place. He passed him the cup swiftly.
Holding the cup, Taehyung ran out with noisy steps. He bounded back with the cup after a while, and with a new, unwrapped ice pop in hand. He passed that ice pop to Jungkook. "Here, aren't you sick? You'll feel better after eating an ice pop."
Jungkook was unmoved. After all, the ice pop was bought using his allowance.
At that moment, Teacher Jin walked in with her teaching materials. When she saw Taehyung's gesture, she was both amused and exasperated. "Taehyung! Jungkook's tummy is not feeling well and you still asked him to eat an ice pop! Class is starting, sit down properly."
After school, Taehyung was still lamenting over how the ice pop had melted before someone could eat it. Jungkook was silent. He packed his bag and escaped hurriedly.
The next day was a weekend. Jungkook's parents brought him to the park, where he dropped the rose seed surreptitiously into the lake.
He gazed at the small ripples caused by the falling seed and recalled Taehyung describing how gorgeous the roses would be when it blooms. He felt oddly melancholic.
When Inah saw her son looking at the water with a tense face, she was puzzled and rubbed his head. "What's wrong?"
Jungkook shook his head.
Afterward, Jungkook held a mini ceremony by the lake that he named "the funeral of roses".
Minkyu and Inah glanced at each other and sighed simultaneously, a child's train of thoughts can be such a mystery!
——
Taehyung would count each day as it passes, waiting for the day that the rose would sprout. The nearer it got to the two weeks, the more excited he became.
Contrary to him, Jungkook became more and more solemn.
Finally, the countdown of 14 days was up.
However, the surface of the soil was peaceful and did not show any signs of life.
"It's okay," Taehyung consoled himself, "Daddy said that it's normal for the duration to be off by a few days. I'll wait a bit longer."
He waited and waited.
On the 21st day, Taehyung gazed blankly at the flower pot in silence, his large eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Jungkook saw this from the side and scrunched his eyebrows.
Who said that happiness was built on another person's misery?
Though it was clear that Taehyung was more upset, Jungkook was not happy at all.
——
After school, Jungkook finished his homework. He then took a little stroll around his neighborhood as he was bored. At a neighbor's house, he saw a grandpa fiddling in his small garden, digging the soil and watering it like he was planting something.
Jungkook summoned up his courage and walked over. Through the fence, he asked, "Grandpa, do you have any rose seeds?"
"Roses? I don't. I'm planting vegetables!"
"Oh." Jungkook was slightly disappointed. He thought for a while and said, "Then can you give me some seeds?"
"Sure. What sort of seeds do you want?"
"Anything that can sprout will do." He lowered his requirements.
Feeling that it wasn't a big deal, the old man casually grabbed a few seeds and passed them to Jungkook. He saw that something weighed heavily on Jungkook's mind. Thus, he asked, "Want do you want these for? Is it to give it to a classmate that you like?"
"I... am going to give it to an annoying bad egg."
"Oh, since this person is a bad egg, why do you still want to give him rose seeds?"
To this question, Jungkook did not reply.
——
It was yet another PE lesson and Jungkook used the same trick again. This time, he pretended that he had a headache. He skipped the lesson and buried the seed into the empty flower pot furtively.
As for why he had used the excuse of a headache... well, he hoped to be able to eat the ice pop this time around...
Alas, Taehyung did not buy any ice pop. Lately, he was wrapped in a feeling of defeat and a slump. Not even the power of snacks can save him.
When Taehyung came back, he touched the empty flowerpot and sighed like how his father does. "Sigh, let's just toss it." After saying this, he stood up with the flower pot in his arms.
Jungkook stopped him in a rush. "Wait."
"Huh?"
Jungkook pursed his lips. "You need to have faith."
His words gave Taehyung hope and thus he put down the flower pot.
On the 26th day, the soil that had been asleep for almost a month suddenly revealed a thin crack in its middle. There, the soil was slightly raised. A tiny, slender, pale green seedling with two yet-to-be unfurled leaves popped out from the soil.
"Ahhhhh! It sprouted, it sprouted!!!" Taehyung broke into a dance, feeling overwhelmed.
All the kids in the class came to look at the rose seedling, surrounding it as they chattered noisily. Jungkook was a little annoyed at them. He lowered his head and worked on the practice paper quietly. As he did so, he could not stop the corners of his lips from quirking.
Teacher Jin walked into the classroom and rapped on the blackboard. "Taehyung! You again! Are you trying to be the Monkey King? With the ruckus you're leading your classmates in making, you're about to tear the roof down. It's time for lessons, hear me?"
Taehyung exclaimed joyfully, "Teacher Jin, my rose sprouted!"
When she heard this, Teacher Jin smiled as well. "Hoho, congratulations."
"Teacher Jin, when the rose blooms, I'll pluck one for you."
Teacher Jin could not help laughing. "Seriously, child, how many roses have you already promised to others? The number of roses is not enough even if you cut it bald. Quickly settle down for the lesson."
That day on, Taehyung nurtured the seedling carefully. The seedling grew larger and larger, appearing more and more vibrant.
Two months later, the seedling presented a huge gift to Taehyung.
It had grown into a large carrot.
Taehyung, "..."
Teacher Jin, "..."
Principal Kim, "..."
His classmates, "..."
Jungkook, "..."
That autumn, Taehyung's autumn essay was titled "Harvest Season". It began like this: In spring, I planted a rose seed. In autumn, I harvested a large carrot...
Teacher Jin was drinking water as she marked the essays. When she saw the beginning of Taehyung's essay, her mouthful of water sprayed all over the exercise book.
That year's final examination, Taehyung's essay title was "My father is a big fat liar". With the submission of this essay, the entire school knew that Principal Kim was an untrustworthy liar.
Principal Kim couldn't explain himself and his dignity was in shreds.
The reason why the rose became a carrot was ultimately a mystery that no one ever solved. It birthed several versions of a suspense story that became widespread in their school.
As for Taehyung, henceforth he left the world of gardening, never to return.