a/n: if you are wondering why I published this chapter for a second time, it is because an amazing illustrator has agreed to collaborate with me, and draw specific scenes from my chapters! She just got finished with two pieces of art that she painted for some select scenes in this chapter 10, so if you have already read this chapter, just skim past everything until you find them, because they're 100% they're worth a look! I'll be posting an a/n in a few minutes going into greater detail about who this illustrator is, as well as some tags, so make sure and check it out!
𝔇𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔭𝔲𝔟𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔡: July 15, 2019
𝔚𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱: 8377
࿇ ═━━✥◈✥━━═ ࿇
𝐂 𝐇 𝐀 𝐏 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑 𝐓 𝐄 𝐍
࿇ ═━━✥◈✥━━═ ࿇
ORPHANAGE
Clasping their hands properly behind their backs, twelve children wait patiently as Jungkook hands out goodie bags down the line of them. "Here's one for you...and one for you. . ." He says, all the way until he reaches the last child.
After each of the children receive their goodie bags, they all say, "Thank you Jungkoook~!" in unison before excitedly taking a peek inside of them. Their eyes light up in excitement upon seeing all the variety of candies that the bag is stuffed with.
Seeing all the children's happy faces, Jungkook smiles and says "Aww, you're welcome guys," while patting two of the childrens' heads.
After double checking to make sure everyone received a bag, Jungkook shoves the now-empty sack back into his backpack, then tosses the strap over his shoulder. He points at the children in front of him. "All I ask is that you make sure you don't spoil your appetites before eating any of Ms. Jia's lovely food, okay?" He says with a raised eyebrow.
"We wooon't!"
"I know you won't. You're good kids." Jungkook says, lowering his finger. "Now...why don't you all go and lend Minnie a hand? It looks like she could really use your help picking out a story." He says and points over in Minnie's direction, who is on her hands and knees in front of a bookshelf- busy tossing books over her shoulder.
The children nod obediently, and with their goody bags held tightly in their little hands, begin hurrying over towards the busy teen- dodging the flying books along their way.
Jungkook looks away from the children after hearing a gentle chuckle next to him, spotting Jia, the orpahange's matron, observing from just a few feet away. "I have always suspected you were an angel, but...now I know for sure." she says. "Thank you so much for doing this, Jungkook. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"Oh, no, no! No need to thank me, or repay me, ma'am. It was nothing at all, really." Jungkook says with a smile on his face, shaking his head.
"You're such a doll...this means the world, truly. You have no idea how much this has helped me.." Jia looks over at the children, who are mimicking Minnie by shoving books over their shoulders as well. "I woke up with this dreadful feeling of guilt this morning...I just knew I wasn't going to be able to take them out trick-or-treating tonight, and it was just eating at me all week long. But...I knew there was absolutely no way I could afford costumes for all of them, and I just simply do not have the time..." She frowns, but then redirects her gaze back onto Jungkook. "This happens every year...they see other children celebrating holidays, and I just know they feel left out...but, because of your act of kindness, I feel at ease now, and I just know the children do too. And I am sincerely grateful to you because of it." She says and reaches out for Jungkook's hands, gently taking them in hers.
Jungkook bows his head down. "You're too kind to me, ma'am..." He chuckles. "But really, it's my pleasure. I only wish I could have done more for them this year..."
"You have already done so much for us, Jungkook. All year long!"
"I suppose, but...I know what it's like to feel left out at such a young age, and..." Not wanting to make this about himself, Jungkook sighs and stops midsentence before taking a different direction. "Never mind that. I'm just happy to see them smiling...it brings me so much joy that I was able to do this for them." He smiles softly. "But...to be honest with you, my teacher is the one who deserves your praise. He helped me so much today."
"Is that so? Well then, bless both of your hearts." Jia pats the top of his hands. "Please make sure to give him my thanks."
"Of course." Jungkook returns a smile, and after a silent gaze, gently pulls his hands away from hers. "Well, I should probably get going now. I have to hurry to my brother's school before his class ends, otherwise he'll go into full-on panic mode if he doesn't see me standing out there waiting for him."
"Okay, dear. Make sure you button up, and stay warm out there." She points to him. "...and watch where you're walking, okay? There are a bunch of crazy drivers out there, texting and driving and what not." She shakes her head in disapproval.
Jungkook does as he's told and begins buttoning up his jacket. "Don't worry; I will. I always look both ways. Nice talking to you!" He gives her bow, of which she returns.
"Have a safe night!" She calls out to him as he walks towards the exit.
Before Jungkook leaves, he stops at the front door and gives a wave over to Minnie, who is struggling to drag a giant bean bag chair up to the children, who are now sitting on the floor in a circle. She lifts her other hand up - that contains a book in it - and returns a wave.
"Bye Jungkookie!" She says.
"Bye Jungkooookie!" The kids repeat after her and wave.
"Bye guys!" He calls out. "I'll see you later, Minnie!"
After the front door shuts and things fall quiet, Minnie plops down in the bean bag chair. "Now who's ready for Hansel and Gretel??" She asks.
"ME! ME!" The children, who are sitting around her, chants.
"All right. Here we go!" She opens up the book and starts skimming through a couple of pages- purposely skipping past the part where Hansel and Gretel's parents debate on abandoning them, as to not bring any of the children sad thoughts on the fun occasion.
. . .
After finding the perfect place to start off on, Minnie begins reading out loud to the eagerly waiting children. She gets up from the bean bag midway through and begins acting out the dialogue and plot as if it's a play (and overdramatically, at that)- even adding her own twist to the story to make it that more spooky and appropriate for Halloween. Little does she know, though, this will ultimately end in persistent nightmares for the children in the nights to come.
*
KYU'S SCHOOL
"Oh, thank God you're okay..."
"I had so much fun, Kookie! We had ghost-shaped cookies and we got to watch Scooby Doo: Ghoul School!" Kyu says, smiling from ear to ear.
"Oh, is that right?" Jungkook kneels down to his little brother's height and pushes his jet black bangs away from his sparkling eyes.
"Mhm!" Kyu gives a big nod, and Jungkook wipes a small cookie crumb away from the corner of the little one's mouth with his thumb. "And then we got to make paper pumpkins!!" Kyu says.
"Well now, it sounds like to me you had a pretty great day!" Jungkook says, then goes silent for a while before continuing. "S-so...did the others like your c-costume..?" He asks hesitantly; his eyes still fill with worry; though, he was trying to mask it with a smile.
"Yeah! Kitty thought I looked really pretty..." Kyu says, looking quite bashful as he stares down at the ground, kicking at the dirt with the tip of his shoe.
Jungkook closes his eyes and sighs internally, beyond relieved by the good news. He had been on edge for what seemed like an eternity, but now, he can finally breathe easily knowing his little brother is safe and - seemingly - in good spirits. He opens his eyes a couple seconds later.
"Sooo, she said you were pretty huh...?" Jungkook says.
"Kitty isn't a she."
"Oh?" Jungkook says with his eyebrows slightly raised in surprise.
"His name is Kitae...but Kitty is cuter. He shared his cookies with me after I dropped one of mine!" Kyu says, his big smile remaining over his face.
"Oh...well wasn't that nice of him. Did you thank him?"
"Yeah! And I gave him the most super big, gigantic hug!"
"Good." Jungkook pats the top of Kyu's head. "I bet Kitty was happy you did that."
"Yeah...Kitty is really, really nice..." He twiddles around with his two index fingers. "He kissed me at recess today..."
Jungkook widens his eyes, and his heart immediately drops upon hearing his brother's words. "Wait, what..?? He kissed you? Where??"
Kyu reaches his hand up and pokes his own cheek.
"Kyu...does Kitty know you're a boy, too? Has he seen you in your normal school clothes? Or is this his first time seeing you..?" Jungkook's eyes trail down to the pink dress Kyu is wearing.
Kyu looks up from the ground, his eyes looking a bit confused. He thinks hard about Jungkook's question before answering. "Duuuuh! Of course Kitty knows I'm a boy...that's a dumb-dumb question, Kookie..."
Jungkook chuckles and pats Kyu's head once more. "Okay, Kyu. I'm just making sure....well, I'm glad you had some fun today." He pinches his cheek and his eyes drop down to his chest. "So, did you win something, Kyu?" He asks with a tilted head.
"Mhm! My teacher told me I had the bestest costume EVER!!!" Kyu says while jumping up and down. "I even got a ribbon to prove it, see, see??" The excited one points proudly towards his chest where a pink ribbon had been placed by his teacher - the ribbon reading 'cutest costume!' "It matches!"
"Oh wow, look at that! It does!" Jungkook ruffles up Kyu's hair. "Wanna take a picture so we can remember this moment forever?" He asks, reaching into his back pocket for his phone- already knowing the answer.
Kyu nods his head. "Yeah!!" After Jungkook points the phone at him, he puts his little fist up into the air and lifts his leg up, bending it at the knee to resemble the Powerpuff girl's flying pose.
"Perfect." Jungkook says, and then snaps a couple of photos.
Kyu runs up to him and gets onto his tippy toes, and Jungkook lowers his phone down to show him the photo. "Does that look good to you?" Jungkook asks.
Kyu cocks his head to the side, closely examining the photo of himself. "Hmm...yeah!!" He says excitedly, then looks up at Jungkook with his big, brown eyes. "Is it OK if we show uncle Yunseok and Ms. Jihyun??"
As Jungkook returns his phone back into his pants pocket, he replies, "Absolutely not."
"What?? Why not?" Kyu asks, his lower lip pouting out into a frown.
"I already told you, Kyu." Jungkook kneels down to the little-one's height once again. "Uncle Yunseok can't know anything about tonight."
"But whyyy?" Kyu whines.
Not wanting any of the surrounding parents to hear their conversation, Jungkook grabs Kyu's hand and lowers his voice down into a quieter tone before explaining, "You already know this Kyu...uncle Yunseok doesn't want us to have any fun. And if he finds out, he'll make sure we'll never be able to go trick-or-treating ever again. Do you really want that to happen?"
Kyu gasps. "Wait...never ever??"
"Never ever."
"Why is Uncle Yunseok such a poo-poo head, Kookie??" Kyu asks with his eyebrows lowered; his eyes saturated with sadness.
"I don't know. But, we have to be very careful he doesn't find out about us going out tonight, okay? I don't even want you to mention the word 'Halloween' around him, do you understand?"
"Yes..." Kyu nods reluctantly.
Jungkook gives Kyu a kiss on his forehead and reaches forward to zip his sweater all the way up to the top, making sure he is nice and bundled up before their trek home. "Now, let's get home and get you fed before we leave to go trick-or-treating."
Kyu's saddened face immediately lights up. "Really?? We don't have to wait until nighttime??"
"Nope. We have to leave early, and come back before uncle Yunseok gets home from work." Jungkook stands back up straight.
"Yayy! We're gonna have so much fun, Kookie!!" Kyu does his little happy dance, swinging his backpack around as he does a twirl. "Can we all hold hands like we did yesterday??"
"About that..." Jungkook places his hand on top of Kyu's head, stopping him from spinning. "I'm sorry Kyu, but I don't think Taehyung is going to be able to come with us tonight, bud." He says.
"What?! Why can't he??" Kyu asks. "We were all supposed to go together! All three of us! We can't go as the Powerpuff Girls without Buttercup..." His lower lip starts to tremble.
"We can still have fun, Kyu. Just you and me." Jungkook gave him a smile. "We can just say Buttercup is... on vacation." He says, then reaches down to grab onto Kyu's cold hand.
"B-but...he's my BLF..." Kyu frowns once more. "...I really wanted him to come, Kookie.." He slumps his head down as he and Jungkook start making their way down the sidewalk towards their house.
"I know, Kyu...." Jungkook's lower lip slightly pouts, just like his brother's had. "...so did I." He lets out a small, saddened sigh as the two continue walking in silence.
. . .
It was quiet as the two boys make their way home. Usually the air would be filled with laughter and singing by now, but this time was different. The sadness that was emitting off of Kyu was really starting to rub off on Jungkook now, and his usual peppy attitude was replaced with that of pure gloom.
It's not that Taehyung and Jungkook were the best of friends yet, no...but even so, the thought of Taehyung not being there tonight on their trick-or-treating adventure was a bummer for Jungkook, to say the least. The older had seemed really excited last night after being asked if he wanted to tag along, and Jungkook couldn't understand why he would have bailed out at the last minute.
And that leaves a lingering question in his mind; "Did something happen to him?"
Jungkook has been worrying about Taehyung ever since he had left school, though, he didn't exactly know why it was bothering him so much. All he knows is that there has been a bad feeling in his gut all day long, but then again...it has been there ever since he first met the older.
Jungkook shakes his head. "Stop over thinking things...you're going to end up driving yourself insane one of these days." He thinks.
As the two boys were approaching the house, they hear a faint noise that makes them slow down their pace. It sounds like a male's yelling.
"What's that noise, Kookie??" Kyu asks while looking up at Jungkook.
"I'm not sure." Jungkook's protective instincts immediately kick in, and he starts pushing Kyu along towards the house. "Come on, come on. Let's get you inside."
As the two grow closer to their house's porch, Jungkook was beginning to recognize the angry-sounding voice. And oddly enough, it sounded like it was coming from the side of the house.
"Is something bad happening, Kookie??" Kyu asks, looking over his shoulder as Jungkook fumbles around for his keys in his back pocket.
"Just go on up to your room, ok? I'm just gonna check to make sure everything is alright." After finding the house key, Jungkook unlocks the door and gently pushes Kyu inside. "I'll be up there in a few minutes. Now, why don't you go and color in your new book that I bought you while you wait for me?"
"But.."
"Kyu. Go." Jungkook says sternly, pointing over at the staircase. "I will only be a few minutes."
Kyu nods reluctantly and does as Jungkook says. Jungkook watches to make sure he actually goes upstairs before shutting the door.
As Jungkook was shutting the front door, he reaches into his back pocket to grab his phone in case of emergency, but he stops after realizing for certain who was behind the voice. He shoves his phone back into his pocket and hurries over towards the railing.
"I gave you another chance to explain yourself, and ya blew it."
"Junha..??" Jungkook says as he was leaning halfway over the railing to get a better look. He spots Junha coming around the corner of the house, struggling to pull on a person's arm, but he can't quite make out who that person is, as Junha's body was covering them. "What's going on??" Jungkook calls out.
Juhna lets out a grunt as he gave a hard pull on the arm - the person still being hidden from Jungkook's view. "I caught this -ungh- creep peeking into our windows. Come on, or I'm gonna tear your arm out of it's socket!" He yells, but the person continues to resist, though, it wasn't long before Junha's strength overtakes them. They lose their balance and, finally, stumble forward into sight.
"...Taehyung??" Jungkook calls out.
"J-J-Jungk-k-kook!" A worried-looking Taehyung calls back.
"Taehyung?" Junha says and looks over at the petrified-looking one of whom he was holding onto, then back over to Jungkook, who was now jumping over the porch's railing to get over to them. "Wait a second...you know this weirdo?!"
"Taehyung isn't a weirdo - he's my friend! Now, let go of him!" Jungkook reaches out and begins tugging at Junha's hand that was still wrapped tightly around Taehyung's wrist.
"Nuh-uh." Junha pulls on Taehyung's wrist, causing him to stumble backwards away from Jungkook. "That still doesn't explain what he was doing peeking through our windows! So, spit it out, Taehyung."
"I-I...I was look-king f-f-for.." Taehyung's tries to speak, but he finds himself tongue tied and isn't able to explain himself further.
"What the hell is your problem??" Junha uses his other hand to yank on the collar of Taehyung's shirt, pulling him closer to where their faces were just mere inches apart. "I told you before, and I'm only gonna say it one last time - talk like a normal person!"
"He can't!" Jungkook yells and pushes his way partly in between the two. "He has a speech impediment!" He places his hand on Junha's chest, trying to push him back, but Junha is as stiff as a rock.
Jungkook's heartbeat starts to pick up in pace as he stares Junha dead in his eyes. He tries to remain calm on the outside, but that was proving to be difficult, as an onslaught of thoughts begin to flood the 17 year old's mind; making it hard for him to keep his composure..
Did he hurt him?
Is he going to hurt him?
Is he going to call the police on him?
...
A few seconds of silence later, Junha looks past Jungkook towards Taehyung who is cowering behind with a look of fear on his face. He groans, seeing that there was no point in questioning further. He knows Jungkook isn't going to back down easily and so, reluctantly, he lets go of Taehyung's wrist. But, that didn't stop him from making one last threat.
"Consider yourself lucky that Jungkook came back when he did, otherwise I would have fed your ass to my dog." He warns, turning away from Taehyung.
Jungkook closes his eyes and lets out an internal sigh of relief after Junha takes a step back. "Just go back inside, Junha.." he says and turns around to face Taehyung who was behind him. "I'll handle it from here." He finishes and gently takes Taehyung's hand in his, caressing the reddened imprint of Junha's hand on it.
"Minnie, and now this peeking tom.." Junha shakes his head. "Maybe you should make some normal friends, Jungkook." He says and reaches into his pocket to pull out his pack of cigarettes. He takes one of the sticks out, and places it in between his lips- lighting it with his lighter as he begins to make his way back to the house.
"I could say the same about you." Jungkook mumbles quietly enough to himself that Junha can't hear, then looks up from Taehyung's hand, up to his face. And before anything else, he asks, "Are you okay, Taehyung? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Taehyung shakes his head no. "N-no...I-I'm okay...I'm really s-s-sorry for c-c-causing so m-much t-t-t-trouble...I was j-just..." He pinches his eyes shut and lets out a groan of frustration, not able to finish the sentence properly once again.
As Taehyung continues struggling to speak, Jungkook's eyes drift down after seeing a red liquid trickling down the side of his mouth. He gasps softly. "Taehyung...you're bleeding..!" He says, almost pouncing at him.
"W-wha-" Taehyung reaches up with his free hand and gently touches his lip, of which was sore and slightly swollen. He looks down at his two fingers that's tips were covered in fresh blood - feeling lightheaded at the sight.
"Are you ok?"
. . .
"Taehyung??" Jungkook says as the older began to tip backwards. "You're falling!" He says, trying to keep ahold of the older's wrist, but it was no use. Taehyung's hand slips out of his, and he goes completely limp - falling hard onto his back and into the grass.
Jungkook covers his mouth and gasps. "Oh my god!!" He quickly leans down and hovers over Taehyung's limp body. "Taehyung?! Answer me!" He calls out, trying to shake the unconcious one awake, but to no avail.
...
After a few moments, and still hovering over Taehyung, Jungkook looks up to the sky after hearing what sounds like thunder. "Oh no..! Please, not-" He stops midsentence - blinking as he feels a light raindrop fall onto the top of his nose.
The loud thunder sounds once more, but this time, an onpour of rain accompanies it.
"....now." Jungkook sighs and stands, straightening his back- his clothes already dripping wet. Not wasting any more time, he hurries around Taehyung, and leans down to grab onto his limp hands. Using all his strength, Jungkooks starts dragging the passed-out Taehyung across the yard towards the house.
. . .
Taehyung is sprawled out on the couch when he feels a cold, wet sensation on his forehead. He opens his eyes slowly, and blinks a couple of times while his eyes try to focus. When they finally do, he is greeted by a worried looking Jungkook who was sitting beside him on a chair, lightly dabbing his face with a cloth.
"Oh, good...you're awake." Jungkook says, his worried look immediately softening into relief.
"What-t...what happ-pened..?" Taehyung asks while his drowsy eyes explore the unfamiliar surroundings.
"You were bleeding, and you just passed out - he snaps his fingers - like that!" Jungkook removes the cloth from Taehyung's head. "I thought I was going to have to call the ambulance. I was so worried."
"Oh...I-I'm sorry...I-I don't do g-good around..b-b-blood.." He swallows his saliva, feeling sick to his stomach just at the thought of it. But, then his eyes widen upon realizing something Jungkook had said. "...y-you were...worried-d..? Ab-bout me..?" Taehyung asks, sheepishly looking up at the younger.
"Of course I was. Luckily you weren't out for too long, though...but I was seconds away from having a panic attack..." Jungkook gently moves a few strands of hair away and out of Taehyung's face. "Do you need something to drink? Juice? Water??" He asks.
Taehyung shakes his head no. "N-no...I'm fine...d-don't worry about-t me." He says.
"I don't mean to boggle your mind with questions right now...but I can't help to ask...what happened?" Jungkook asks. "I thought you said Junha didn't hurt you, but your lip is..." He frowns at Taehyung's painful looking, swollen and purplish lower lip. "...it's definitely hurt."
"I can't really rememb-ber to be hones-s-st with you..." He slowly lifts up onto his elbows. "It was like I b-b-blacked out or s-s-something...all I remember was t-that he kept yelling at me t-that I w-was a creep and t-that he was g-gonna k-kill me for l-looking t-through your wind-d-dows. I kept t-trying to tell him that I was s-s-sorry....even though I don't r-remember doing anything l-like that...but h-he wouldn't let m-me exp-p-plain..." he looks up at Jungkook. "And t-then you s-s-showed up and s-saved me.."
Jungkook lifts his hands up to his face and covers his eyes. "Ugh...I feel so awful..." He lifts his head back up and places his hand on the side of Taehyung's face, causing the older to freeze in place. "Junha...he can be violent. He thinks with his fists first, instead of his brain."
Jungkook tilts his head as he examines Taehyung over for any other visible marks that would indicate toward head trauma, but he didn't see anything substantial enough that would have caused a black-out, much to his relief. Though, confusion soon replaces that relief.
"Are you in pain anywhere else? Does your head hurt at all?" Jungkook asks.
"M-my lip is t-the only thing t-t-that really hurts.."
"Let me see." Jungkook leans forward as he begins closely examining his slightly torn up lip. "Ouch...he got you good." He brought his hand up and ever-so-gently begins dabbing the dried up blood with the damp cloth- taking extra care around his lip ring. Meanwhile, Taehyung was sitting there, staring quietly as he was being cleaned up.
. . . . . .
"Um...hello...are you a doctor..?" Taehyung asks in a softer and quieter voice than usual, causing Jungkook to stop what he was doing and look up at him in question.
"Huh..? Doctor..?" Jungkook lowers the towel and pulls back a little bit, slightly taken aback. "....Ha...you're funny. I wish I was though." He chuckles and then presses the towel back against his lip, resuming.
Taehyung looks around the room. "Is the nice lady here?" He asks.
"Well...a lady does live here, yes, but she's gone right now." Jungkook replies. "....though I wouldn't exactly call her nice." He mumbles.
"Oh...she's been gone for a long time..." Taehyung says with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He starts to twiddle with his fingers, resembling that of a child. "Well...since she isn't back yet...can you kiss my boo-boo for me..? My mouth is hurting real bad.." He squeaks out, and he stares at Jungkook with pained looking eyes.
...
"BLF!!!"
Startled, Taehyung's eyes shoot over in the direction of the staircase after hearing a loud shout. He spots Kyu standing at the top of the stairs with a look of pure joy on his face. Meanwhile, as Kyu starts running down the steps, Jungkook stares at Taehyung - completely perplexed at what he just heard.
Was he...joking..? Or was that...the strangest come-on line I have ever heard...? He asks himself.
"You're here, you're here!!" Kyu says as he crawls up onto the couch with wicked speed, and then plops down into Taehyung's lap.
Taehyung sits there - frozen - with his hands held out to his sides, staring down at Kyu in surprise. Meanwhile, Jungkook shakes his head; waving all the questions that had formed in his mind. "Kyu, get off of him. You're getting too big to do that." He says.
Completely ignoring his brother, Kyu wraps his arms around Taehyung's neck and gives him a big squeeze. "Kookie told me you weren't gonna come! But...I knew you would!"
Taehyung blinks a couple of times before saying, "Oh...hi K-Kyu.."
Jungkook reaches over and places his hands on either sides of Kyu's waist to try and pry him off of Taehyung's lap, but the younger wouldn't budge. He only tightens his arms around Taehyung's neck further. "Kyu..!"
"BLF, where were you?? I missed you so so much!!" Kyu asks with his head cocked to the side.
Jungkook was going to attempt to take Kyu off again, but he stops. He, too, was curious where Taehyung was, and wanted to hear what he had to say.
"...I-I was in c-class...?" Taehyung says, though it sounds more like a question than an answer.
"Class? But school ended. I was waiting for you near the entrance and I didn't see you anywhere." Jungkook says.
"Um..." Taehyung lifts his hand up and itches the top of his head with his index finger. He raises his eyebrow before continuing. "To b-b-be honest...I d-don't really rememb-ber...I just-t remember b-being in a c-c-classroom one mom-m-ment, and th-then I was in your yard-d.."
Jungkook reaches his hand out and gently starts feeling around Taehyung's head, feeling for any bumps that might be hidden from his hair, but there was nothing. Jungkook frowns and he starts to feel that anger building inside of him once again. He figured he must have endured some sort of head trauma, even if he couldn't initially feel or see anything. "Stupid Junha.." He mutters.
"Letting your little brother sit on a creep's lap? Wow, I thought you were more responsible than that, Jungkook."
"Speaking of the devil." Jungkook thinks and glances over his shoulder towards Junha who was standing beside him, taking the last drag off of his cigarette.
"Shut up. He isn't a creep." Jungkook says, and then his eyes drop down to the cigarette Junha was putting out on the granite table next to him. "And you're not supposed to be smoking in here. You know my uncle hates the smell of smoke. And how many times do I have to tell you; I don't want that stuff being around Kyu."
"Oh so you're afraid of a little smoke, but you'll let him sit on a creep that was looking through our windows? Makes a lot of sense." Junha rolls his eyes.
Jungkook takes in a deep breath, trying to compose himself before reaching forward for Kyu. "Come on, Kyu. Lets get you a snack before we head out." This time, Kyu removes his arms from Taehyung's neck; letting Jungkook pick him up with no resistance.
After setting him back down on the floor, Jungkook takes Kyu's hand in his and leads him into the kitchen. As he passes by Junha, Jungkook leans over and whispers, "You better not even think about touching him."
"Ooo I'm shaking in my boots." Junha says, sarcasm lacing his voice.
"I mean it." Jungkook warns.
"Hey, you better watch what you say, sunshine. Are you forgetting who's going to cover your ass tonight? You know I could easily tell your uncle where you two are going, right?" He says, causing Jungkook to fall silent for a few moments.
"Don't.."
"Then what's the magic words?"
"Please.." Jungkook says, putting his pride aside for just a moment.
"Please and?"
"Thank you."
"Annnd?"
Jungkook grinds his teeth together. "I'm sorry."
"Good boy. You're forgiven." Junha says, giving Jungkook a wink; earning a roll of the eyes from the younger.
Before walking around the corner, Jungkook sighs and looks over his shoulder towards Taehyung who was still sitting on the couch. "Would you like anything to eat, Taehyung?"
"I'll have a turkey sandwich, thanks." Junha says while plopping down on the couch uncomfortably close to Taehyung, who had tensed up the moment he did so.
"Is your name "Taehyung?" I don't think so." Jungkook responds.
"Who's to say his name is "Taehyung?" He could be lying, you know." Junha says, glaring over at Taehyung next to him, who was trying to everything in his power to not catch eyes with him.
"Th-thanks...but I-I'm not-t hungry.." Taehyung says.
"Taehyung, if he makes you feel uncomfortable, you can wait in my room upstairs. I have your costume in there on my bed. It's the third door down to your left...check to see if it fits, mmkay?" Jungkook says as he disappears into the kitchen and - without hesitation - Taehyung pops up from the couch. But before he was able to take off upstairs, Junha grabs onto his wrist; making all the blood drain from his body.
"I'm s-s-sorry..!" Taehyung whisper yells almost immediately upon being grabbed.
"Gimme your I.D."
Taehyung blinks a few times, his eyebrows pulled inwards. "W-what-t-t..?"
"I've never heard him talk about a "Taehyung" before. So, I'm not letting you leave with them until you prove you are, in fact, who you say you are." Junha puts his free hand out, palm facing upwards. "I.D. Now."
Taehyung's shaky hand quickly reaches into his pocket and he pulls out his black, leather wallet. Just as he offers it out, Junha snatches it away from him and lets go of his wrist to search through it.
Junha lifts up his I.D. and closely examines the picture of Taehyung; looking up at Taehyung every now and then to compare the two. "Kim Taehyung...18 years old...hmm...you're lucky." After looking it over one last time to make sure it looks genuine, he shoves it back into the wallet. But, before handing it back, Junha swipes an unknown amount of money from it. "And I'll be taking this as payment for sparing you." He says and shoves the money into his pant's pocket.
Taehyung shakily puts the wallet back into his pocket and nods his head. He didn't really care about losing the money, if it meant he wouldn't lose his life.
"Thank you for your business." Junha says and plops back down onto the couch. "That should pay for my time wasted on you."
As Junha was flipping through the channels on the TV, Taehyung turns around and practically runs up the staircase- heading towards Jungkook's room; a.k.a the safe haven.
. . . . (15 mins later) . . . .
"I'll be right back, ok? I'm just gonna go get ready." Jungkook says as he shoos Kyu off into his room.
"Ok, Kookie!" Kyu replies and, with his sandwich and juice in his hands, he carefully makes his way over to his bed. Jungkook shuts the door behind him before heading towards his bedroom.
...
"Knock-knock.."
Taehyung - who was standing in front of the full-size mirror - jumps and faces Jungkook who was peeking his head into the room. "Are you decent?" Jungkook asks with his hands covering his eyes.
"O-oh...it-t-t's just y-you.." Taehyung lets out a sigh of relief. "I-I thought t-t-that guy d-d-decided he d-did want to k-kill me aft-tter all.....and yeah...you c-c-can come in.."
"Don't worry. Junha's a lot of talk. He wouldn't actually kill somebody." Jungkook says and opens his bedroom door wider. As soon as he begins to walk inside, his eyes immediately land on the older's legs. He stops abruptly in his tracks.
"Taehyung..! Where are your pants??" Jungkook reaches up and tries muffling his laugh.
Taehyung looks down at his bare legs, and then back up to Jungkook. "My p-p-pants....? Um...over th-there.." He says, pointing nonchalantly over at his uniform pants that were draped over the desk chair.
"Why are they there??" Jungkook says through a giggle.
"B...Because...you t-t-told me to p-put my c-c-costume on.."
"Wait... you thought we were going to go out pantless??"
Taehyung looks side to side. "........yes.."
"Noo, silly!" Jungkook walks over to his bed and lifts up a pair of white, ironed jeans that were folded neatly on his bed. "That's why I laid these here! We can't wear tights either, so I figured these would work."
"Oh...I thought th-that was j-just your laund-d-dry.."
Jungkook walks over to Taehyung and offers him the pants. "Noo.." He giggles. "Just put these on. You can't walk out in just your underwear."
"B-but...you c-can't see my und-d-derwear I don't th-think..." Taehyung says, looking over his shoulder into the mirror.
"Well, I know...but it won't feel as awkward walking around in public with these on. And besides, this way we won't get any dirty looks."
"I d-d-didn't really f-f-feel awk-k-kward...but ok-kay.." Taehyung takes the pants and looks down at them.
"You really are something else, Taehyung." Jungkook shakes his head and heads over towards his bed where his costume was laying.
"Is that a b-b-bad thing..?" Taehyung asks as Jungkook grabs his costume and heads over towards the bathroom.
Before stepping inside, Jungkook lifts his hand up and rubs his chin. He thinks for a moment before answering, looking over his shoulder at Taehyung. "No. I don't think so."
Taehyung closes his eyes and lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh g-g-good...I d-d-don't ever want-t you t-t-to think b-bad of m-me.."
"Don't worry Taehyung...from what I can tell so far, I honestly don't think that's possible.."
"Really..?" Taehyung says, perking up.
"Mhm." Jungkook says and then walks inside of the bathroom, but before shutting the door behind him, he looks back out into the room. "Oh...and Taehyung?"
Taehyung stops and looks up at the younger as he was putting one of his legs into the pants. "Yes...?"
"I know it was under really weird circumstances, but...I'm really glad you were able to make it tonight..." Jungkook says and then gives a gentle smile; causing Taehyung's heart to flutter. He closes the bathroom door behind him.
. . .
Taehyung sits on the edge of Jungkook's bed, patiently waiting for the younger to finish putting on his costume. He stares at the ground, imagining Jungkook's smile over and over again in his mind; the mere thought of it giving him instant butterflies. He fiddles around with his fingers until he hears the bathroom door unlatch, of which caused his thoughts to cease. He looks up; his cheeks warm and red.
Even though Jungkook was wearing practically the same thing he was, Taehyung couldn't help but to think how much cuter the younger looks in it. He stands up and straightens out his already-wrinkled dress.
"...you look-k lovely in b-b-baby b-blue..." He spits out.
With a scunched up face, Jungkook heads over towards the full-sized mirror across from where Taehyung was sitting. "You don't have to try and make me feel better, Taehyung. It's okay." He mumbles, and stares at his reflection with disgust. He adjusts the big black belt wrapping around his torso.
"But it's t-true.." Taehyung says, but it was too quiet for Jungkook to hear.
Taehyung watches as Jungkook begins to stuff the excess material into his white pants, trying to make the dress look more like a shirt. Jungkook cocks his head to the side as he looks himself over in the mirror. "Hmm...that's a little better, I guess..." He looks over at Taehyung in the reflection. "What do you think? Can you tell it's a dress?"
Taehyung cocks his head to the side as well, and he takes a quick glance down at Jungkook's behind, but tries not to stare for too long. "Um.....p-p-please don't t-take th-this the wrong way...b-but y-your b-butt..." He clears his throat. "It looks a litt-t-le b-big..."
Jungkook turns sideways and looks down at his butt that was, indeed, sticking out way farther than it should. He tries pushing the material down, but it was just making it look lumpier. "Well..." Jungkook cocks his head to the side, trying to figure out what to do about this dilemma. But initially, nothing comes to him.
"Suck it up. You have to do this for Kyu." Jungkook thought.
"Well...If anyone asks...I'm Bubbles Kardashian!" Jungkook says, then reaches for his coat.
"Ok....B-b-but Jungkook...? Small b-b-butt or b-b-big butt, I th-think you l-look lovely eith-ther way.." Taehyung says, and then Jungkook grabs onto his hand.
"Stop being so sweet, Taehyung. You're gonna make me fall for you." Jungkook says through a chuckle and begins hurrying out of his room towards Kyu's. He glances down at his wristwatch. "6pm...we have 2 hours. Now, lets get going before it gets much darker." He says while dragging Taehyung along behind him.
➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶
"I'm s-scared, Kookie..." Kyu says, clasping his decorated pillow case in his shaky hands.
"It's ok, Kyu. Taehyung and I are right here. There's nothing for you to be scared of." Jungkook says, placing his hand on Kyu's shoulder.
"B-but...Junha told me that there are monsters on Halloween waiting to eat little boys like me.." Kyu says, looking up at Jungkook with teary eyes.
"What?! That stupid a-" He refrains. "Kyu...I told you not to listen to him. He's just trying to scare you."
"B-But...I don't want to be eaten, Kookie.."
"You won't, Kyu. I promise." Jungkook rubs his shoulder.
"How do you know Kookie..?"
"Well..." Jungkook thinks quick. "Because...because...." Jungkook kneels down and looks side to side, overexaggeratedly. "I have this..!" He reaches behind his neck and he unhooks his necklace. The charm was of a white heather flower.
fun fact: white heather flowers symbolize protection, good luck and wishes coming true.
"What is that??"
"If you wear this, monsters can't get within 1000 feet of you."
"Really..??"
Jungkook nods and places the necklace around Kyu's neck. "Really. Now when you wear this, no monster can ever hurt you."
"B-but what about you, Kookie?? What's gonna protect you from the monsters??"
"Don't worry. As long as you're by my side, I'll be just fine." Jungkook pinches Kyu's cheek and gives him a wink.
Kyu looks down at his new necklace and he gently takes the flower in his fingers. "Okay Kookie...I won't ever leave you!!" He drops the charm and hooks his arms around Jungkook.
Jungkook rubs Kyu's back and gives him a kiss on his forehead. "Now...it's time for you to have some fun. That's what Halloween is all about!"
Kyu nods his head and he slowly unwraps his arms from around Jungkook. "Ok Kookie...I'm still kind of scared though.."
"It's okay. Just go up there, and ring the doorbell. And when they answer, just say "Trick or treat" and they'll give you some candy. That's all there is to it!"
"But...Mr. Fluffbunny will be mad if he finds out that I am getting candy and he isn't..."
"I already talked to Mr. Fluffbunny."
"You did..?"
"Mhm. He was too scared to come out with us tonight, but he wants you to bring him back lots of candy." Jungkook raises his eyebrow. "And you don't want to let him down now, do you?"
"No!"
"I didn't think so." Jungkook gives Kyu a gentle push towards the house. "Now go up there. We'll be right here. We aren't going anywhere, we promise."
Kyu sheepishly glances over his shoulder towards the two, then back towards the door just several feet in front of him. "For Mr. Fluffbunny..." He mumbles and holds his bag with one hand, and his necklace with his other. He cautiously makes his way towards the door.
"I'm so excited! Kyu's first Halloween!!" Jungkook squeals and pulls out his iphone. He points the camera at his scaredly little brother, hitting the record button.
Kyu looks over his shoulder one last time at the boys for reassurance. After they give him a nod and motion for him to go on, he takes in a deep breath and reaches up with his shaky finger to press the doorbell.
With a big, goofy-looking smile on his face, Jungkook watches from afar as Kyu - shakily - holds out his trick-or-treat bag to the elderly woman who had answered the door. A faint "Well aren't you precious" could be heard as she drops multiple pieces of candy into his bag.
"T-Thank you!!!" Kyu closes his bag and gives a quick bow, then runs off of the porch with wicked speed.
Jungkook lets out a grunt as Kyu runs full force at him and latches onto him, nearly dropping his phone. He returns a wave after seeing the elderly woman waving at him, his other hand patting Kyu's head.
"What a beautiful daughter you have, young man!" The elderly woman calls before retuning back into her home.
Jungkook stops waving and clears his throat.
"Kookie!!! Did you see me, did you see me?!!"
"Haha, yes, Kyu. I saw you."
"I was a big boy and I went over and rang the doorbell!!! Are you proud of me, Kookie??"
Jungkook chuckles softly and fixes the slightly askew bow atop of Kyu's head. "Yeeess, Kyu. I am proud of you."
"How about you, BLF!!?"
"Huh..? Oh...y-yes...very g-good. F-fantast-tic.." Taehyung raises his thumb.
"Come on, cutie. Lets go to the next house." Jungkook says, leading Kyu along, who had stuck his face into his bag to look at the first pieces of candy he had received.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
The night goes on, and Kyu's confidence grows with each house they go to. It was only an hour in, and his bag was already over halfway full. They decide to take a small break, as the bag was becoming quite heavy, and Kyu was already getting sleepy.
Jungkook and Taehyung sat underneath a tree, sitting back and watching as Kyu was excitedly digging through all the different candies in his bag.
"I got reeses, and kitkats and m&ms!!!"
Jungkook chuckles and crosses his arms. "Oh yeah? And are you going to be sharing any of that with us?"
"Yeah........you can have the stuff I don't like!"
"Kyu, the only candy you don't like is jawbreakers. And that's only because you're not allowed to eat them."
"Noo...and these too!" Kyu pulls out a couple of peppermints and gumballs.
"Those are like...the worst candies you can get." Jungkook chuckles.
"Fiiine..." Kyu groans and opens up the bag wider. "What kinda candy do you want, BLF......."
"Um....I like th-those white ch-ch-chocolate bars...with the c-cookies in them..."
"Kookie likes cookies n cream too...." Kyu mutters and pulls out two Cookies and Cream chocolate bars, then reluctantly holds them out to them.
Jungkook pats Kyu's head and takes the candy bars. "Thank you Kyu. Remember; sharing is caring." He winks.
"Yeah, yeah..." Kyu mutters and then sticks his hand back into his bag.
Jungkook shakes his head and offers one of the candy bars to Taehyung. "Sorry, my brother is a little brat when he gets tired." He whispers.
"It-t-t's okay.." Taehyung grabs the candy bar and tears the corner of it.
Taehyung and Jungkook both take a bite of the candy at the same time, and Jungkook lets out an audible "Mmm."
"Whoa...so s-s-sugary.." Taehyung says with a scrunched up face.
"You must not eat a lot of sweets, huh?" Unphased by the sweetness, Jungkook takes another bite.
"N-no...I really d-d-don't...I'm n-n-not allowed to h-have it.."
"Really?? Why not?" Jungkook says with a mouth full.
Taehyung shrugs his shoulders. "I d-d-dunno...Ms. Hyerin j-just says th-that it mak-kes me act f-funny.."
"Kyu can't have too many sweets either, otherwise he will bounce off the walls." Jungkook says with a chuckle.
Interupting their conversation, Kyu says, "Oh look, Kookie!!!" He reaches far into his candy bag and grabs onto a chocolate chip muffin that was wrapped tightly in saran wrap. "A nice man was giving out muffins!!!!"
Jungkook leans forward and snatches the muffin out of Kyu's hand. "Nope. Sorry, Kyu...you can't eat things that people made. Only store-bought candies."
"What?? But why???"
"They could have put poison in it Kyu. Or razorblades that would cut your little mouth."
Kyu gasps. "WHAT?! Why would people do that, Kookie??"
"Because Kyu, there are some bad people out there that like hurting other people." Jungkook says and puts it into his jacket pocket- intending to properly dispose of it once they got home.
"Oh......well.....maybe we should give it to Uncle poo-poo head then!" Kyu giggles and Jungkook gently bops his head, causing him to blink.
"Kyu! Don't you say that!"
"B-But....he's a meanie, Kookie!" Kyu says, and Jungkook widens his eyes and glances over at Taehyung.
Attempting to fix Kyu's mistake before suspicions were raised, Jungkook says, "Uncle Yunseok is a good man, Kyu. He gives us shelter and food...I will not allow you to speak ill of him."
"B-But you said-"
"That's enough, or I'm taking your candy away!" Jungkook blurts out.
On the verge of tears, Kyu starts to sniffle, and his lower lip starts to tremble. "Kookie.......why are you yelling at me??"
"Kyu. Don't you dare start crying now, or we're going to go home."
"No!!"
"That's it, I think it's time for bedtime." Jungkook starts to grab his jacket.
"I'm not going!!" Kyu scrambles up to his feet and he reaches into his bag and starts grabbing all the candy he can hold.
"Kyu, what are you-- KYU!" Jungkook shouts as Kyu darts off in the opposite direction; dropping pieces of candy along the way.
"Damn it!" Jungkook says and scrambles to his feet. "KYU GET BACK HERE!!"
As Jungkook was bolting off in Kyu's direction, Taehyung sat there, shoving the rest of the candy bar into his mouth. "Yummmy~" He says with a mouth full and he hops up off the ground. He walks over to the candy bag that was lying on the ground, and he uses his foot to open it and take a peek inside.
Taehyung's eyes light up upon seeing the pile of candy, and he gasps. "Whoooaa!!" He says and he picks up the bag with both of his hands. "You're coming with ME!" Taehyung says with a childlike giggle and starts skipping in Jungkook and Kyu's direction.
a/n
please follow @dajana_hristovska and @dajana_art on Instagram! and please check out the next a/n for more information about her!! thanks hun ♡♡ DajanaHristovska you're incredible!
('._.')॰৹꒰....hi potato skins (oh if you didn't know, that's my new name for you guys '-') long time no see~ I MISSED YOUUUUUU♡ ahem, erm anyways, well...yeah, if you couldn't tell by my last a/n, I was in a bit of a pickle with this story. I really like the concept I came up with, but I hated the way it was turning out, and well, i lost all motivation for it. BUT NOW IT'S BACK! I know this chapter was SUPER DOOPER BORING, *BUTT* I have another chapter 90% done and it will be up very soon! It will be the last of these Halloween chapters for sure, and in my opinion, its gonna be the funnest yet c: I hope. I was really down about this chapter cause a lot of it sounds like filler, which it is, but whatever. I don't like my stories to go fast (and other version of this chapter that I wrote seemed like it) so if you are one who likes things to progress really quickly, I'm sorry but this is definitely not the story for you. So yeah! Call it boring if you want, cause I know it kind of is, but I enjoyed writing it ^u^ but I hope next chapter will make up for it. ANYWAYS 👏 In a little bit, another part (not a chapter) will be published and it's going to be addressing a comment that I recieved (as well as a tag) So yeah! Please do make sure to check out that out, because it is rather important. Well the tag isn't important, but the other thing is😂 Thanks for reading ♡ And in remembrance of Desmond Amofah, a.k.a Etika, "please have yourselves a damn good one!" ꒱
please remember to leave a vote if you enjoyed it! ^u^
OH. AND P.S. HOLY CRAP THIS WHOLE FREAKING TIME I HAVE BEEN WRITING IN BOTH PRESENT AND PAST AND NO ONE EVEN TOLD ME IDNAJWJW IM SO FCKING EMBARRASSED. I have a HUGE problem with that and AFTER LIKE 1000 YEARS I FINALLY NOTICED. ugh........anyways I'm really gonna try and stick with present, so if you see something in past tense, I'm really sorry about that. but I'm too damn lazy to go back and edit right now ; ; sowwy.......
*whispers* sorry....one last thing.. if you see a "you" anywhere in this chapter, I'm SORRY. I write in second person now because it helps my flow better for some reason, so a 'you' might randomly be in there somewhere. just comment on the paragraph if you see it and I'll fix it.