"I didn't say anything but I knew
That there was no room for me in your heart"
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The sound of my phone buzzing underneath the pillow woke me up from my deep sleep. Groaning, I moved around the bed as my phone kept ringing, bugging me to wake up already. Giving up, I jerked up from the bed with my eyes half-opened as I slid my hand under the pillow and picked up my phone from there.
Half-awake, I tried staring at my phone screen to see my mom's missed calls. There were even text messages from her asking me if I was doing okay. I replied to her messages so she wouldn't worry about me. After my message was sent to her, I tossed my phone over the pillows, and rubbed my eyes using the back of my hand and stretched before I got up from bed.
When I got up, I was surprised to see Yoongi sleeping so soundly on the opposite bed. My eyes widened as I immediately roamed around the room and realized we spent the night at the Jeon's'. I sighed, thinking I should wake Yoongi too, but he looked like he's someone who doesn't want to be bothered when sleeping, so I decided just to leave the room and went downstairs.
When I reached downstairs, I smelled something delicious coming from the kitchen. Timidly, I made my way forward the kitchen, and I saw Mr. Jeon cooking pancakes in the kitchen while Mrs. Jeon is sitting by the kitchen counter. "Honey, let me cook. Have your breakfast." Mrs. Jeon piped up, tapping the empty seat next to her but her husband was too busy cooking, he kept his back from his wife. "Honey." She called out again.
I stood there for a while before Mrs. Jeon noticed me and offered me a seat across her. I shyly took my seat and Mrs. Jeon smiled at me. "You're up pretty early. Did you have a good night sleep?"
I let out a small smile. "Hmm. It was chilly last night, but I slept just fine."
"Well, it's great to hear you had a good night sleep." Mr. Jeon piped up, approaching us with a plate full of pancakes and a cup of coffee in his hands as he wore a plain white apron over his plain black buttondown shirt. "Here, have a breakfast." He said, placing the plate on top of the kitchen counter in front of me as he sat next to his wife with his cup of coffee. "Anyway, is Yoongi still asleep? There's no pancake left for him though." He chuckled a bit and I nodded my head as an answer before pouring maple syrup on the top layer of my pancakes. There were seconds of silence in the atmosphere as I began slicing and eating my pancakes. "I'd like to ask you something, Areum," Mr. Jeon cleared his throat, breaking the ice and took a sip of his coffee. He caught my attention which stopped me from taking another bite as I lifted my head to face him. "Is Taehyung doing fine? Is he okay?"
My eyes wandered, hearing Taehyung's name. I low-key took a deep sigh before answering, "Yeah. . ." I stopped, looking down at my pancakes. "Uh, to be honest, I don't know, Dr. Jeon. . . It's been days since I talked to Taehyung. . ." I said. I knew Jin texted me, saying Taehyung was rushed in the hospital because of Hoseok, but I just couldn't find a courage to say it to them.
"Did. . . Did you two break up?" Dr. Jeon was hesitant at first, but then he proceeded. I still didn't lift my head up after Dr. Jeon asked me that question. I didn't know what to say. I'm afraid he might judge me or something. "Areum, dear, I know Taehyung can be a little difficult sometimes, but please try to understand him. Right now, he needs good people like you around him. So, please—"
"Honey. . ." Mrs. Jeon called Dr. Jeon's attention as she reached for his hand. Her husband looked puzzled when he turned to look at his wife. "Honey, you can't force Areum to be with Taehyung if she doesn't want to anymore." She softly told her husband, and then turned to me with a sweet smile on her face. "I'm sorry about my husband, dear."
My head lifted up to look of the couple across me. "No, it's nothing. As much as I still want to be with Taehyung, I just can't anymore. And I'm sorry."
Dr. Jeon smiled softly at me before getting up from his seat. "You don't need to apologize, dear. It's okay." He said, looking down at his wristwatch. "Well, I think I gotta go. See you later." He said, fixing his tie before giving his wife a peck on the lips then took a quick glance towards my direction to bid his goodbye too.
When he left, I took another bite of my pancakes, not taking my eyes off them. I heard Mrs. Jeon slowly got up from her seat and asked me, "Do you want a drink with your pancakes?"
I lifted up my head and looked at her, "Huh?"
She walked towards the fridge. "How about some fresh apple juice?"
"Uhm, no thank you, Mrs. Jeon. It's fine." I said, smiling. She asked me again, but I refused so she just went back to her seat and told me she'd wait for me in the living room.
Minutes later, I finished eating and washed my dishes and all the dishes left on the kitchen sink. As soon as I was done, I exited the kitchen and walked into to the living room to see Mrs. Jeon sitting on a couch with a photo album on her lap. She smiled once she saw me and gestured to me to sit next to her and I did.
"I want to show you something," She began, flipping the cover open. Our eyes were both locked down on the photo album on her lap and baby pictures of Jeon Jungkook welcomed me. I smiled as I looked at every cute photo of him. She continued flipping every page as she talked about the photos.
In the midst of the album, I saw a familiar face. I squinted my eyes to look at it closely. It took me seconds before I realize it was Taehyung's childhood photos on the whole page dedicated just for him. There were photos of Taehyung wearing a party hat with a banner on top him that says: Welcome to the family, Baby Tae!. The little bald boy was smiling brightly that his eyes turned into upside-down crescents. "Taehyung was seven years old when he came to our family. Ever since he arrived, he became our little sunshine. He was just so joyful and bright that Jungkook and him got along so easily. Taehyung even helped my little baby to overcome his social anxiety. He became a good friend and a good brother to Jungkook." She said, keeping her eye on the photos and wearing the purest smile I've ever seen in my entire life.
"But. . ." I interrupted her, and she looked up to face me. "Were you mad at Taehyung for accidentally killing your son?"
She flashed me a small smile. "Of course, I was mad. As much as I want to file a case against him, I couldn't because he is also my son and I believe he is a good kid." He said, looking down at the photos again, tracing her fingers against Taehyung's pictures. "And I love Taehyung as much as I love my real son. The reason that Taehyung wasn't staying with us anymore is the fact that I didn't want to get mad at him more as he kept reminding me of what he did to my Jungkook. . . That's why I told my husband to have Taehyung stay in a different place for now. Because I'm still not ready to become his mother again." She started sobbing quietly after.
I couldn't say anything. I could feel her every emotion through her words. I just reached for her, surrounding her with my arms as I placed her head on my shoulder, comforting her and to stop her from crying. When she finally composed herself, she smiled to me and tried to laugh the drama away as she began showing me other adorable childhood photos of Taehyung and Jungkook.
Looking at the pictures, we heard footsteps coming from the staircase. We both looked back to see it was pinky Yoongi with his messy bed hair and half-opened-slash-half-closed eyes.
"Oh, Yoongi, you're awake!" Mrs. Jeon handed me the photo album and stood up to walk into the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast, Yoongi?" She asked when she reached the kitchen.
"I'll just have a coffee, Mrs. Jeon. You don't need to do much, I'll do it." He said, scratching his head with his eyes still so small that even I didn't know if they were opened or closed. He then followed Mrs. Jeon to the kitchen to make his own coffee.
I stayed in living room alone, still flipping pages and looking at the photos. I was too immersed at looking at them for minutes that I didn't notice that those two were walking towards the living room after. I lifted my head up to see Yoongi holding his mug of coffee and assisting Mrs. Jeon. I hurriedly took the hot coffee from his hand and placed it over the table as he fully helped Mrs. Jeon to take her seat next to me. Yoongi then sat on the single couch vertically next to the couch. He asked what we were looking at and I told him that it was Taehyung's and Jungkook's childhood photos. Suddenly, he got interested in it and moved the couch near me then looked at the photos with me.
We stayed at the Jeon's place for a few more hours. Aside from looking at the photos, they also have a piano in their living room and Yoongi played a tune. He doesn't look like someone who would play music instruments and I'm surprised he does. I even sat next to him and followed him along, but he got annoyed at what I was doing and stopped playing and decided to teach me for a few minutes then gave up later.
Moments later, we were having late lunch, and I insisted in making the food for lunch instead of Mrs. Jeon. She said that Mr. Jeon already set her own lunch at the fridge, so all I had to do was get it. I looked at it before handing it to her and saw that it was small clear box filled with greens and half-cooked chicken breasts. She didn't open it and waited for me finish what I was cooking. She told me to cook bulgogi since that was what she meant to cook, but it'd actually take too long to cook and Yoongi was complaining already that he was starving, so in the end we just have spicy ramen and rice.
Yoongi and her sat by the kitchen counter, having a conversation while I listen to them as I poured the boiling water into the cup noodles. "I'm almost seven months pregnant by the end of this month." I heard her tell Yoongi. "And it's a baby girl. Just like Jungkook wished. I remember when he was eight, and what he wished for his birthday was to have a younger sister since his wish of having an older brother already came true." I turned around as I walked forward them and delivered the cup noodles to them.
"Did you already have a name for her?" I went back and took two bowls of rice from the rice cooker and the kimchi from the fridge.
She nodded her head. "Junghyung. Jungkook already named her before. He said if he would have a sister it should be Junghyung. And I don't know why. It's a boy's name."
"Jungkook and Taehyung. He combined their names." Yoongi spoke plainly again. I went to my seat next to Yoongi with these food in my hands and placed it on the kitchen counter.
As soon as I took my seat, I saw her smiling then looked down at her tummy, gently caressing it. "So, that's why." She said at her tummy.
"I'm sure she'll be as beautiful and as talented as Jungkook." I said while Yoongi started digging up. She only smiled sweetly at me before we ate.
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By 7:30 PM, Mr. Jeon arrived and Yoongi and I stood at the doorway, bidding our goodbyes. "Thank you for the hospitality, Mrs. and Dr. Jeon. And also for the food." I said politely.
"Oh, it's nothing dear." Mrs. Jeon smiled, waving her hand in mid-air.
"But are you two sure, you don't need a ride? I could—"
"It's okay, Dr. Jeon. Yoongi and I will just walk."
"Okay then."
"Well, you kids better be careful, okay? Make sure to visit us again." She said, giving Yoongi and I each brief hugs.
Yoongi thanked the couple before he headed out of the driveway first when suddenly, I remembered something. "Oh, I remember. My mom is seeing someone and we visited his house and I saw Jungkook's photo in his living room."
"Really? What's his name?"
"Yeah, he said Jungkook's his nephew." I said. "His name is Ahn Jaehwa. Do you know him?"
"Oh," Mrs. Jeon smiled in relief. "It's my younger brother. His wife died after giving birth to Jaemi. Have you met her?" I nodded my head. "She's just as shy as Jungkook. I hope your mom and Jaehwa will have a long healthy relationship."
"I do hope so. My mom really likes him a lot." I said. "Well, I have to go. Yoongi is already waiting. See you around, Mrs. and Dr. Jeon."
"See you around, kid." I heard Dr. Jeon as I headed out. When I got out of the doorway, I saw Yoongi already waiting. He was no longer wearing my clothes as he changed into Jungkook's white tee and gray sweatpants. I pouted my lips, seeing him impatiently kicking the pebbles while his hands on his pockets as he waited for him.
"Hey," I tried to catch his attention. He stopped kicking those poor little pebbles and looked at me with that poker facial expression on his face.
I saw him almost rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Finally,"
"I don't think you waited for too long," I said, walking towards him then we both started walking together.
"Why did you have to turn down Dr. Jeon? He's already giving us a ride."
"I don't want to. It's going to be super awkward and I won't be able to ask you a few things."
"Few things like what?"
"Few things about them. A few things like how Taehyung ruined that beautiful family. It's just painful. Can you believe it?" My voice became so small, and I ended up looking down at my feet, watching its every step against the asphalt-covered ground. "Now, I understand why you hated Taehyung so much. . . and why you always stalk him around school."
"Areum," He piped up, but I stopped him.
"It's okay. I understand. You don't have to explain anything anymore." I paused, sighing. "It just feels weird that I kind of trust you now, unlike before." I softly chuckled. "To be honest, I kind of really trust you now, way more than I trust Taehyung actually." I kept my head down, and disappointed to what just left my mouth. Yoongi and I continued walking. I stopped talking as soon as my mind was already occupied. Yoongi was already two or three steps ahead of me, and when I lifted up my head, Yoongi's back welcomed me. He was just a few inches taller than me, and I smiled, realizing he was nothing but a cute small boy.
I couldn't believe today has come, that I was now hanging out with this creepy guy whom I used to see outside of the school gates, standing, staring and waiting there. Strangely and suddenly, this happened. I don't why. In a blink of an eye, he became the guy whom I trust more, more than my own boyfriend—correction, more than my ex-boyfriend.
I took three steps forward to catch up with him. I still wanted to ask him a lot of things—like when did he learn to play the piano, what does his parents do and other stuff about him, but he seemed to be the easily-annoyed type of guy, so I decided to just shut my mouth throughout the walk.
We have been walking for minutes and when were near our neighborhood, I was surprised he walked with me all the way here. I looked at his face, and still he kept a straight face. "This is really kind of you, Yoongi." I smiled playfully, nudging his side using my elbow. He didn't say anything as I noticed that there were already beads of sweat rolling down from his forehead. "By the way, I've been wanting to ask you this."
He looked at me this time, still with the same expression on his face. "What?"
"That friend. . . That. . ." I scratched the back of my head, trying to remember his friend's name. "I forgot his name. . . Chi? Or is it a Ji? Jim. . ."
"Jimin," He said, correcting me.
"Yeah. Jimin. Are you still friends or you two ended up just like Taehyung?"
He scoffed, licking his lower lip. "Unfortunately, that dumbo is still my friend. I still talk to him via Skype and basically via online shits."
"But where is he now? Why isn't with you?"
"You know, ever since the accident that Taehyung did to Jungkook, Jimin's parents were worried about him. He was told that he had such reckless and bad friends and to never hang with us again. I mean who can blame them, right? Taehyung, at the age of sixteen, just killed a fourteen-year-old kid. Whose parents in a decent mind would allow their children to be friends with those kind of kid? No one, of course, so his parents have no choice but to move out and now, he's in Europe with his family."
"I feel bad for him though," I paused, glancing at Yoongi quickly. "I feel bad he's still actually friends with someone like you." I shook my head.
I felt him narrowing his eyes at me, but I ignored it. "And what the hell is wrong with me—"
He stopped in mid-sentence when we were already steps away from the house. I stopped walking when I saw Taehyung's car parked outside the gates of our home. Then, my eyes automatically looked for him after. He was sitting in the front gates, patiently waiting for someone then lifted up his head and stood when he heard Yoongi's voice.
"Taehyung?" I gasped and immediately froze, seeing him. My hands clenched into fists when we both locked our gazes into each other. Staring at him, wounds were visible in his clear olive skin. A reddish-violet bruise under his eyes, cuts on the bridge of his nose, lips and cheeks and a white bandage stained with his blood on his forehead welcomed me as I scanned his face.
His eyes were softly glaring at me for seconds before he turned to look at the boy next to me. Slowly, he approached Yoongi and immediately clenched the latter's shirt. "What are you doing with her?" He asked, gritting his teeth. Yoongi just annoyingly rolled his eyes and flashed Taehyung his signature smug smirk. Taehyung hissed before punching the small boy with his might. Yoongi stumbled due to Taehyung's punch and the latter let go of his hands from clenching the smaller boy's shirt and pushed him aggressively against the floor. Yoongi fell and scraped his elbows against the asphalts. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands as I saw the pain in Yoongi's face. As much as I wanted to take a step forward, I couldn't. My feet froze and I could feel my knees trembling in fear. I haven't seen Taehyung this mad, and I immediately got terrified. I didn't know what to do.
When Yoongi was already lying down on the ground after punches given by Taehyung, the taller boy started kicking him in his torso. Yoongi tried dodging his kicks and punches with his fragile arms but still Taehyung didn't stop. As soon as Yoongi's face were already covered with blood, I snapped myself out and bravely took steps forward before pushing Taehyung away from Yoongi with all my might. I kneeled down to help Yoongi stand up. I rested his arm on my shoulder as I slipped my other hand around his waist to assist him. He grimaced in pain every time he moved and when he successfully stood up, I turned around from Taehyung and took steps forward the house.
"Areum, let's talk." He breathed in. "Please."
I looked over my shoulder, and glared at him. I could feel my lips trembling, so I bit my lower lip before spilling a word, "There's nothing to talk about anymore, Taehyung. We're over. You should have thought about the consequences thoroughly before you kissed Solji." I gulped the lump on my throat. "Now, get the hell outta here." My voice became so small, saying the last sentence. I turned around, my back facing him and no longer looking back as I forced my tear not to drop then walked inside the gates. Forget about him, Areum. You'll be better off without him.
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wow, it's been a while. i'm so sorry!! i was so busy with school shits, i forgot to update this and yesterday, i just saw the app on my ipad and remembered it, so i tried my best to make this update. i'm really sorry!! don't worry, i'll make it up to you, guys and do another update on jungkook's birthday!!