"Jennie! come here!" Ms.Park excitingly shouted as Jennie entered the library. the students whisper among one another. it wasn't something new. and as always, she was already feeling nervous about the tutoring sessions.
Ms.Park told the students to go back to doing their assignments while she stood up to go greet Jennie at the door. she took her into the library where it was full of scholars books shelf and wide open desk areas for students to come to do their homework.
"sorry, I ran a bit late" Jennie apologize as she scanned the room for Jungkook, the person that she was going to tutor. no particular head seems to be his.
"no, it's fine!" the teacher scanned the room with Jennie as she realize she was also looking for Jungkook as well.
"I didn't see him at all, maybe he dipped" Ms.Park whispered close to Jennie's ear. she listen well and awkwardly smile at her.
"I'll go find him then, maybe he is still around the school" Jennie assured her as she bow and left to go find him. where could have he gone to?
------
looked everywhere to find him, she came to the last open spot of the school; the soccer field. looking from afar, she notices someone running around kicking a soccer ball back and forth.
she jogged her whole stigma there. panting, she put her hands on both of her knees and catch her breath when she arrived at the spot.
"hey, watch out!" Jungkook yelled as he accidentally kicked the ball, harshly, and it went the way Jennie was resting herself.
as soon as Jennie was able to look, the ball picked her off of the ground and she fell backward, spraining her ankle.
"are you alright? sorry--" Jungkook jogged his way to her, only to notice it was Jennie.
Jennie groaned in terms of the hard smash on her back. she squeezes her eyes in with the heat, containing in, that was building from the back of her until his hand reached over.
"Can you get up?" he added with a helping hand after the disappointment of her finding him. she reached out to his manly hand, pulling her up from the dirty ground that was full of dead brownish grass.
as soon as she put weight on her feet, her ankle give up on her and forced her down. he quickly grab onto her back as she fell onto him. both of them sandwiched onto the dirty ground.
forgetting to avoid his face, her lips crash on top of his while his thin lips catch onto the bottom of hers. their eyes shot wider open when their lips crashes hard against one another, almost flattened it.
electricity rose to the tip of their soft lips and came out from their cheeks as pink colored. their stomach twist and turned in love shock, tasting the sweetness of each other's lips.
"Jennie!" her mother yelled in surprise from the end of the soccer field. they snapped back into realization as Jennie got off of him.
both looked at each other at different times within the seconds they sat up from one another. he immediately blushed and looked away as the sensation of her lips was still on him.
"I-" she hesitated. "that was--"
"--an accident" Jungkook completed the sentence that she didn't wish it ended that way.
a minute later, her mother reached them and help Jennie up while the driver helped Jungkook and held tight onto his arm.
her mother gave Jungkook a quick scan and fully recognize who he was. she went into a different level of surprise. just immediately, Jungkook turned away and pretend to swift his cheek, with the back of his hand, as if he didn't want her mother to notice him.
"what are you doing with him?!" her mother became loud and aggressively snatch Jennie by the arm, making her flinch back, while she was busy fixing her shirt.
"mom, I just need to bring him to the library, what else would there be?" Jennie replies, fighting the aggressive grip off her arm.
"you dare lie to me, why were you on top of him--"
"sorry! I tripped and caused her to fall" Jungkook interrupted as he bow down ninety degrees, in front of them both. Jennie saw him apologize for nothing and quickly push him up and away, making him lose some balance behind.
"it wasn't his fault--aren't you here to pick me up--let's go!" she rushed her mother before she even get a chance to ask Jungkook some questions.
"please tell Ms.Park that I'm going home for today," Jennie said as she dragged her mother by the arm and out of the soccer field and into the car.
Jungkook, on the other hand, held his fist behind him with just the thought of seeing her mother. He kicked the soccer ball and flip himself onto the dirty ground. the bad memories came back as well as his resentfulness. his heart closed tight leaving a numbness within his chest. it has come way too soon.
-----
the car ride was forever before they could reach home and the atmosphere never became so dull. Jennie's mother looked over to Jennie as she lean her head against the seat near the window on her side. her mother's face filled with worries and anxiousness.
looking out the other side of the window, Ms.Kim was now reminded of who Jungkook was. she begin remembering every single thing that have to do with him, just with the sight of seeing how grown he was now. although worried filled his heart, so did his passed away, father.
"didn't you want to move school?" her mother asked as she was now staring long into Jennie's cheek before meeting her long perky eyelashes.
"not anymore" she replied short and simple.
"why not? is it because of him?" her mother asked, looking at her more strictly now, expecting Jennie to know who she was talking about.
Jennie rolled her eyes and sit up straight just to glare at her mother for being so unreasonable, bringing him up. Jennie raised her eyebrows at her, who wasn't making any sense and if she did, why does she sound so bothered by seeing him for the first time.
"you like him?" her mother added, making Jennie nervous all of the sudden. not that she knows of but her mother has just revealed her daughter's deepest secret.
"n-no, I don't. he doesn't even like me" she lied, keeping a serious face on and looking out into the view of the road next to her black tinted window. Jennie knew she was lying to herself. but that accident touch made her throw away all the hard work of trying not to like him. it's been years and still, she wonders why she can't ever let a thought of him pass by.
"good. don't get involved with him" Ms.Kim said intertwining her fingers in tension as if it triggers her so much. after watching her daughter, she realized it's the truth that she won't ever like him but something about Jungkook made her worry much for Jennie.
"why?" Jennie turned back to ask but no reply was given to her, even when they reached home.
-----
"I'm back!" Jungkook announced as he opens the front door and took off his shoe. it was already late and dark outside. the last drop of sunset have already settled into pitch black when he reached home.
"dinner's ready!" his mother came from the kitchen within a second and surprise him, holding onto his favorite dish, beef bone stew. he loved tender beef and the freshly spicy yet mellow taste of the broth.
Jungkook give it a smile and took the stew from her hand, carrying it onto the small, two-person, dining table. taking his backpack off and setting it raised the table's leg, his mother brought the completed set of plate and spoon and they both sat down to eat.
"so how's school?" his mother asked while giving him a piece of beef from the stew and placing it on his empty rice plate. he took the bone and place it whole into his mouth, letting his teeth do the meat peeling off of the bone before taking the bone out with his bare hand.
"ok" he answered while stuffing two spoonfuls of rice into his mouth until his cheek becomes puffy. he then chews on it and swallows little but little to taste the flavor of the food.
how he missed his father. if he was still here, everything would've been easier and tastier. keeping his thoughts in, he enjoyed the meal as much as possible because he didn't want his mother to worry about him any longer. she have done enough for him, now he was ready to give it back and be there for her.
his mother, on the side, secretly watches him eat. her heart filled with happiness as the other half hung in lingers of wanting to find the right time to talk to him about stuff that she have to say to him.
"I know it is too earlier to say this..." she puts her chopstick down as he quickly looked over to her, paying the attention she wants.
"but I want you to know that.. whatever you do, I will always be here" she lied halfway through her sentence when she saw the beautiful innocent face of his. she really loved these moments that she couldn't bear to see him hurt, just yet. maybe it was too early for him to hear what she have to say or maybe she was too scared to let him know.
he smiled before drinking some water to clear his tight esophagus tract so he can reply back to her.
a small intense stare happened,"whatever happens, I will make sure you're not going through it alone.. you have done enough for me." he mentioned as a little crack broke his heart as well as hers. he showed a smile and told her that the dinner was delicious before getting up from the dining table with his back.
"do you want to move overseas?"
Jungkook turned back within the sudden question as he was in the confusion of why all of the sudden. "why?" he said, keeping his backpack's stand on one of his shoulders.
"because I don't like Korea anymore, it was always my dream to move out of Korea and I think this is a good time to do it.." the whole thing was a lie. she loved it here, she has the most beautiful memories here. her dream was to stay here as long as possible with Jungkook. although her loving husband has passed away, she wishes to emotionally give a home to her only son.
"I'll think about it," he said before walking up the stairs to his room, not thinking much about the question. with the sudden of his mother not liking him here, that means it's probably a new way for him to restart his life around. but he doesn't want to restart his life if that means re-meeting Jennie all over again.
closing the door behind him, he dropped his backpack and sat right down, leaning onto his wooden and old bedroom door. nothing was heard but his silence of hard breathing and the dishes being washed from the kitchen skin.
he grips hard onto his own palm, sinking in his short nails against his soft skin. having revenge on him was hard and fighting against it was even harder.
thumbing his head back onto the door, he constantly said his sorry and try getting rid of the things that he loved and eased him from his mind. he doesn't think he deserves them if he isn't giving it to anyone as well.
but it was impossible when Jennie lives within this broken heart of his. for six years, she was the only one who invisibly control him from becoming too evil. only with the thought of her, can ease everything but that wasn't just it. the prepared storm that will be poured forever. his crystal clear suffer that will bring them into ashes.
so how can he fit her into these small cracks without feeling so guilty about what he was planning to do to her? nothing makes sense but at the same time, everything seemed right, when he is filled with so many past scars from her mother.
••• to be continue •••