two
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The sun is hanging lower in the sky when he finally makes it back to the abandoned trailer park that he's called home. Jungkook could have picked anywhere to live - an abandoned mansion, a high rise apartment, his own abandoned home, but after all these years he still chooses to live here. Well, part time that is. He doesn't stay in the winter months. He'd learned the hard way that it's too cold for that sort of weather, and was convinced that in his third year he was going to lose an arm or leg to frostbite. Thankfully for him, he's still got all his limbs, and now every year, he packs up his things and moves into the nearest apartment building where it's much warmer.
Jungkook liked the trailer park. He'd stumbled across it in his second year alone. Up until that point, he'd never put much thought into staying in one spot for very long. Every house he spent the night in, or raided from made him feel weird. He didn't want to stay there for more than one night. But after coming across this place, and its row upon rows of trailers, Jungkook had stayed put. There was something about it that drew him into it, and made him want to stay. That and the fact that it was just up the hill from a lake, which meant he had a convenient water source.
He made his way around the back end of his trailer, and over towards the patch of ground he'd cleared for his garden. A gust of cold breeze passed by him. He glanced up at the sky. Yep. It was going to rain. The sun was gone, hidden behind dark clouds that loomed on the horizon, promising rain, and maybe a little lightning. It looked threatening from a distance, but Jungkook was unphased. He's seen his fair share of storms in the aftermath, to the point where he wasn't worried. He wasn't worried too much about his garden either, the sprouts weren't too high off the ground to the point where the wind could break the stems, but he figured he'd cover them with a tarp just to be safe.
The first drops of rain began to tumble from the sky as he made his way back inside the trailer he called home. He had half a mind to stay outside and enjoy a shower from mother nature herself, but he didn't want to risk getting sick.
Back inside, Jungkook can hear the soft pitter patter of the rain hitting the roof of the trailer. He wished the sun had stuck around. He missed it's warmth almost immediately. He made sure to close all the windows so that no rain got in.
He shrugged off his shirt, gagging as he raised his arms over his head. He really needed to bathe. He chucked the sweat soaked article of clothing on the couch, before glancing around the place. He needed to clean too. It was a mess in here. Dirty clothes piled high, dishes everywhere, garbage, and books, stacked precariously atop one another. Jungkook was running out of space for his books, and maybe he needed to move somewhere bigger, so that he had more storage, but he couldn't bring himself to leave permanently. He'd have to find somewhere else to store his books in the meantime. He grabbed a granola bar from the cupboard and downed it in three bites. He grabbed a second one and tore the packaging open. He was going to have to make a trip to the grocery story - it sounded ironic - and stock up on the non perishables. He wished the meat could have lasted longer...most of it had gone bad within the first few months, and if he was that interested in having it other than in the form of a can, he had to make his way to the edge of the woods and pray that maybe a deer came too close. He finished the second granola bar and went to look for his basket. He knew he had one around here somewhere...
He had to venture outside into the rain, because he'd left it near another trailer, and he almost slipped in the mud as he sprinted back to the safety of his home. When he'd returned, he'd slipped on a tattered sweater he had found a couple months ago to keep the chill off, and gathered all his dirty clothes from the couch. He shoved them onto the floor so he could sit, and began folding them so that they'd all neatly fit in the basket. When the sun came back, he'd go down to the lake and wash them. And to take a shower. He gathered all his garbage and placed it in a plastic bag that he had found a couple weeks ago when rummaging through one of the other trailers. Despite having lived there for almost three or four years, he had yet to go through all the trailers. Jungkook preferred going through the apartments when he was out and about. When he was finished with the garbage, he collected his dirty dishes and placed them in a smaller bag and then set that on top of the basket. He needed to wash those as well.
Tidying up the books was a little harder. First he had to find them all, and at this point, Jungkook considered himself to be a hoarder. He had books on just about everything - mostly survival and gardening - but he had other books too. They were all over the place. He mostly kept them in the front area, but somehow, half of his collection had ended up in the back area where he slept. He gathered those up too and brought them back out. He stacked them in piles of ten and placed them near the cabinet. He couldn't store them inside of it, he had other things stored in there - things such as candles, matches, pots and pans, medicine, bandages, blankets, and socks. It had been a pain to bring everything back from the apartment. His arms had been sore for days. He really ought to move into one of the apartments permanently, but the water source was way too convenient.
Feeling better about the way the place looked, Jungkook decided to peak his head outside. The rain had picked up, but it wasn't a heavy downpour. His crops would be fine. Tired and hungry, he focused on making himself some food. He'd chanced upon a small cooking device used for camping a couple of months ago, and he felt like a changed man after that. Now he didn't have to go outside if he wanted to make something, he could do it from the safety of his trailer although he had to be careful not to set the place on fire. He didn't have propane in order to get a flame, so he'd place the cooker inside of a battered frying pan and placed a couple sticks under it before lighting it with a match. He could get a decent flame going, and bring his food to a respectable temperature.
He poured some of the water into the small pot and dumped the contents of his soup can in with the rest of it. He made sure not to leave it unattended, and carefully stirred the soup until he could see some steam. He blew out the flame, transferred his food into a mug because he had no clean bowls and settled at the small table that was deadbolted to the trailer's floor. The rain was coming down heavier now, and it tapped rhythmically against the steel roof. It was calming to listen to, because it meant he didn't have to sit in silence. He reached for his backpack, and pulled out his notebook. This had to be the eight or ninth one he'd started. Journaling helped with loneliness. He could look back on the past and see what he'd been thinking about when he was younger. He'd read it out loud some days and laugh at the things he'd put down. He continued with today's entry as he ate his dinner.
I was right about the rain. It's not so bad though, probably won't last long. The sun will be back tomorrow, and then I can do my laundry. God I sound like an adult...the kinds that worried about all the chores they had to do...oh wait...I'm turning into my mother.
Jungkook smiled at the thought. His dad used to tease him about becoming like his mother and as a kid, it worried him. Not, it was comforting. He liked the thought of being like his mother - running around and trying to complete all his chores.
I'm thinking about going downtown tomorrow. I should stock up on my food supply, and maybe do some scavenging. I need new clothes, mine are starting to get small. I had to cut the sleeve off some of the shirts today just to make them fit. I got funny looking tank tops now - thank god summer is back or I'd be freezing my ass off.
He continued writing, filling the next few pages with more than just his thoughts. He did that a lot more as of lately - adding more than just how he was feeling. Sometimes he'd draw - he wasn't great but he wasn't bad either. Sometimes he wrote terrible poetry or stories. He added his dreams and nightmares and questions he had about the universe. Tonight he added a grocery list, and a list of things to look for when he was out tomorrow.
He left his mug by the front door, so that he'd remember to take it with him when he did the dishes, and carried his notebook into the back half of the trailer. He stripped himself of his jeans, and sweater before crawling under the two heavy blankets that he had laid out on the worn down mattress. It didn't matter how hot the weather got, it was always cold at night. He fell into an easy sleep, with the rain acting like a lullaby.
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i made a moodboard so you guys could get a sense of what it's like where he lives
also i rewrote the first chapter of this book. it's a lot longer now, but I'm not sure if like...it'll show up, so if you're new here then you should be fine, but if you've read the old chapter, you might want to go back and re-read (sorry for the inconvenience)