Chapter 62

Eunwoo stood in front of Jungkook with Chaeyoung beside him. “So, you both are friends?” Chaeyoung asked.

The very next moment—“No,” Eunwoo and Jungkook yelled in unison.

“Ohhh… nae,” Chaeyoung mumbled, looking confused.

“Let’s see later,” Jungkook said and was about to leave, but Eunwoo cut in.

“Oh, again not following through with your words, huh?” Eunwoo scoffed.

Jungkook sighed. “Fucking okay, come,” he muttered.

Eunwoo simply shrugged like he had done nothing wrong. Chaeyoung just stood there, watching the tension between them.

Jungkook pulled out his phone and sent a message to Taehyung.

“Umm… I am going out to eat with my frie–” He stopped when he typed the word friends, sighed, and erased it. He typed “classmates.” instead.

Taehyung quickly replied “Ahhh, okay then. Go safe and come back. I’ll tell the driver to pick you up later. Be safe and take care, Kook. Call me if you want anything, be careful.”

Jungkook replied with a short “Okay.” He looked up at the two in front of him. “Where are we going?” he asked flatly.

“Follow us,” Eunwoo said and turned around, starting to walk.

Chaeyoung, still there, scratched her head awkwardly, sensing the thick tension. She glanced at Jungkook, who was literally glaring at Eunwoo like he wanted him dead.

“Umm, Jungkook, let’s go,” Chaeyoung said with a soft, nervous smile.

Jungkook turned that same cold glare on her. Chaeyoung blinked and gestured for him to come along.

Jungkook scoffed but eventually started following them.

At the restaurant…

They sat at the table, Jungkook was scrolling through his phone while Chaeyoung and Eunwoo sat across from him.

The waiter arrived to take their order. Eunwoo picked up the menu. “Hmm… one tteokbokki, japchae, and ramen,” he said. Then he looked at Chaeyoung. “You?”

Chaeyoung, who was busy liking Jin’s latest post on social media, blushed at his pictures. “Same,” she replied dreamily.

Eunwoo blinked at her while shooking his head is disbelief, then turned to the waiter. “Make it for two,” he said.

The waiter nodded, then looked at Jungkook. “And for you, sir?”

Jungkook glanced up and took the menu. Seeing everything written in Korean, he sighed. “One banana milk.”

“Sure,” the waiter said and left.

“Umm, Jungkook, do you know how to read and write Korean?” Chaeyoung asked.

Jungkook shook his head without even looking at her.

“Ohhh… then how will you complete the assignment, dude?” she asked, a little concerned.

Jungkook sighed. “Don’t know.”. Chaeyoung chuckled. “If you want, I can help you,” she offered with a bright smile. “Oh really?” Jungkook finally looked up, raising an eyebrow.

Chaeyoung nodded eagerly. Jungkook considered it for a moment, then gave a small nod. She smiled wider.

While they both were talking someone’s stomach was burning and eyes were giving dead threat to jungkook. It was eunwoo.

Soon, the food arrived. Eunwoo and Chaeyoung began eating, while Jungkook quietly sipped on his banana milk.

“Ahh, seriously, can you stop drooling over him, you idiot?” Eunwoo grumbled as he noticed Chaeyoung still staring at Jin’s photos.

“You don’t understand me!” she huffed. “Look how handsome he is… it’s a blessing to have a face like his! And that body, woahhh… He’s the best! His speeches? They’re my daily motivation, Eunwoo! He’s really a great person. Seok-jin is inspiration, my key for my dream to become successful, my bias all is him”

Eunwoo mentally slapped himself while looking at Chaeyoung with a done expression. She kept going, passionately talking about our world wide handsome jin.

Meanwhile, Jungkook, hearing all of it, just chuckled lightly, no one noticed that small chuckle. He observed how Chaeyoung and Eunwoo kept bickering the whole time.

It reminded him of the bond he once shared with Eunwoo.

But what could he do now, except stay silent and watch them with quiet, longing eyes?

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Chaeyoung call out, “Yah!”

Jungkook looked at her, finally responding, “Huh?”

“Don’t you eat anything? Should I order something for you?” she asked.

Jungkook shook his head and replied while scrolling through his phone, “I’m fine.”

Eunwoo, who was eating, glanced at Jungkook. “He’s so quiet… he wasn’t like this before,” he thought.

Eunwoo only knew the Jungkook who used to be the energetic, joyful Jungkook… always smiling brightly, lighting up the room with his presence.

Time skips, few minutes later…

“Yah! I’m doing it right, you’re teaching it wrong!” Jungkook whined like a child as Chaeyoung burst out laughing.

“Yah, paboya! You wrote ‘Jangcoke’ instead of ‘Jungkook’!” she laughed even harder, holding her stomach.

“Ahhh! Stop laughing,” Jungkook groaned, his cheeks puffed in embarrassment.

Chaeyoung was trying to teach him Korean, while Jungkook, clumsy as ever, kept messing up. Meanwhile, Eunwoo sat to the side, scrolling through his phone, doing his best not to laugh out loud.

“In Korean, you should pronounce your name as Jeongguk, not Jangcoke,” Chaeyoung said, chuckling as she wrote the correct spelling down for him.

Jungkook nodded eagerly. “Ahh, nae nae. Understood,” he said, then carefully wrote his name in Korean.

“Now write ‘My name is Jungkook’ in Korean,” she instructed, smiling.

Jungkook nodded again and began writing, occasionally glancing at the letters Chaeyoung had written for practice. Once he was done, he looked up confidently and said, “I wrote it!”

Chaeyoung took the notebook from him, and Jungkook watched her with curious eyes. He noticed she was trying to suppress a laugh again.

She gently set the notebook aside and looked at him. “Umm… You just need a lot of practice and pronunciation,” she said, trying to stay encouraging. “It’s just a little mistake, nothing much. Come, I’ll teach you how to read it properly.”

Jungkook nodded sincerely, and she continued teaching him for nearly an hour.

One and half hour passed and finally, after many tries, he wrote a full sentence with no errors.

“Ahhh! Finally, you did it!” Chaeyoung exclaimed, genuinely happy.

“Ahh, finally,” Jungkook echoed, stretching his arms with satisfaction.

Chaeyoung chuckled and turned to look at Eunwoo, who was now dozing off on the couch. She smacked his back lightly and said, “Yah, get up, pabo!”

Eunwoo whined and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Ahh, wae?” he asked, voice thick with sleep.

Chaeyoung chuckled again, while Jungkook quietly continued writing in his notebook no emotions on his face asusual.

Eunwoo’s phone rang. He picked it up and saw the caller ID, it was Haein. A small smile formed on his lips as he answered, “Nae, noona.”

Jungkook, who was quietly writing, froze for a second when he heard the word “noona,” but he quickly returned his focus to his notebook, pretending not to care.

“Eunwoo where are you?” Haein asked with a soft voice.

“Me? I’m at a study café with Chaeyoungie,” Eunwoo said casually.

“Study café? Studying?” Haein asked, chuckling on the other end.

“Ani… she’s teaching Korean to Jungk-” Eunwoo suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his eyes darting to Jungkook who was still scribbling. He quickly corrected himself, “–to someone.”

“Ahh, nae nae. Take care, hmm? I’ll be at home a little late,” Haein said gently, she knew who is that ‘someone‘

“Nae, noona,” Eunwoo replied before ending the call.

He looked up to find Chaeyoung staring at him, confused.

“I’m leaving,” Jungkook suddenly said, zipping up his bag. Without waiting for a reply or even looking at them, he walked out.

“Ahh, what’s wrong with him?” Chaeyoung muttered under her breath, but it was loud enough for Eunwoo to hear.

“Yah, what’s wrong with both of you, huh?” she asked, standing up. “I’ve been noticing from the beginning, glaring at each other, constantly bickering. I’m sure you two already know each other, don’t you?”

Eunwoo sighed deeply and looked away, clearly not wanting to answer.

“Okay, fine. Don’t tell me,” Chaeyoung huffed, grabbing her bag. With one last glance, she walked off, leaving Eunwoo sitting there alone.

He didn’t move. He just sat there, lost in thought, his fingers still resting on his phone, the screen now dark.

With Jungkook

He was in his room, drying his hair with a towel.

“Ahhh, he’s seriously pissing me off,” Jungkook muttered, pouting like a baby, trying to act angry at Eunwoo but failing to get angry on him.

He looked at himself in the mirror. “Why are you so stupid, huh? Don’t ever show your fucking face to that idiot again. If he sees you, he’ll only get more pissed,” he told himself, scolding himself.

With a frustrated sigh, he threw the towel aside and flopped onto his bed. “Ahhh, wae??” he groaned, burying his face into the pillow. He didn’t even know why he was so frustrated, why the guilt was weighing so heavily on him. He just… felt too much.

He lay there, staring up at the ceiling. His hair was still damp.

“Eomma… hyungie… I miss you both so much. I miss noona and Eun too. Can’t we just live like a family again? I miss you all,” he mumbled softly, and a single tear slipped from his eye.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Startled, Jungkook quickly wiped his tear and got up. He opened the door… but there was no one there. Confused, he was about to close it—- until he felt something brush against his leg.

He flinched slightly and looked down, only to see a tiny, fluffy puppy rubbing against him.

He crouched down, gently reaching out to pet it. The puppy’s fur was soft and warm, brown and black with little curls. Unknowingly, a small smile tugged at the corners of Jungkook’s lips as he ran his fingers through the pup’s fur.

For the first time in a while, the heaviness in his chest felt just a little bit lighter.

“You like it?” Jin’s voice echoed softly.

Jungkook looked up, surprised, only to see Jin and Taehyung standing there with warm smiles on their faces.

He gently picked up the small puppy, still smiling as he held the fluffy bundle in his hands.

Jungkook nodded slowly, eyes full of wonder.

“See? I told you he’d love it!” Taehyung said loudly, bouncing with joy.

Still caressing the puppy’s soft fur, Jungkook looked up with wide, innocent eyes. “You… bought it for me?” he asked, clearly touched.

Both Jin and Taehyung nodded.

“Actually, it was Tae’s idea,” Jin said with a small smile. “You seemed lonely all the time. A puppy might cheer you up… give you some comfort. You won’t be alone” jin said while scratching his head, he was awkwardly saying.

Jungkook nodded again, gaze soft as he looked down at the puppy. He gently rubbed its head, whispering, “Thanks.” His voice was barely above a whisper, and his eyes shimmered with emotion. Tae and Jin smiled.

“You like him, right?” Taehyung asked eagerly.

Jungkook nodded once more.

“Hmm, what should we name him?” Tae asked aloud. “Brownie?”

“Yah, it’s not the dessert, pabo,” Jin said, giving him a look. Taehyung blinked, confused.

“Hmm, then…” Tae trailed off.

Jungkook, still holding the puppy, softly mumbled, “Tannie?”

“Ooh, that’s cute,” Taehyung grinned, ruffling the puppy’s ears.

“What about Kim Yeontan?” Jin suggested with a smirk.

Jungkook looked at Jin and smiled. “That’s perfect.”

Taehyung picked up the puppy carefully and said cheerfully, “Aigoo, you’ve officially become a part of our family, huh? Welcome, Kim Yeontan!”

Jungkook chuckled softly, the first genuine one in a while. Jin watched them, a gentle smile formed at his lip glad to see Jungkook and tae smiling.

Kim Yeontan

(Are you guys feeling overwhelmed? 🤪🫣 )

Time skips…

Everyone was seated in the dining hall. Kim was there too, speaking on the phone.

“Nae, then ask Michael to send the copies to him and to me,” he said, then ended the call.

An awkward silence filled the room. Jungkook ate his food quietly, while Jin kept glancing between him and Taehyung. Taehyung too, was eating silently.

“Jin, how did the meeting go today?” Kim asked, not even sparing a glance at Jin.

“It went well. We’ll be launching the project soon,” Jin replied.

“Hmm, good. Begin the next project right after. And Haein will continue working with your team, she won’t be transferred anywhere else,” Kim stated.

Jin simply nodded. “Okay.”

Meanwhile, Jungkook, upon hearing Haein’s name, looked up curiously at Kim. “Noona works with Jin-ssi?” he wondered.

“Jungkook.”

He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Kim calling him.

“Nae?” he responded.

“I heard there’s a parents’ meeting the day after tomorrow. Your principal informed me,” Kim said, finally meeting Jungkook’s eyes with his usual cold expression.

“Nae,” Jungkook replied quietly.

“Did you do well in your exams?” Kim asked.

Jungkook hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod. “Nae.”

Kim simply hummed in response, got up from his seat, and said, “Come to my room after you finish eating.”

With that, he walked away, leaving the rest of them in silence.

Jungkook just stared at his food silently.

“Kook?” Taehyung called softly.

“Huh?” Jungkook asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

“Eat,” Taehyung said gently.

Jungkook nodded and resumed eating while Jin and Taehyung exchanged a worried glance.

Soon after, Jungkook finished his meal. He stood up without a word and walked away silently.

“Ahh, hyung, why are they both so formal with each other?” Taehyung asked with a sigh.

“I don’t know,” Jin replied quietly.

“He must have left Jungkook alone in Italy most of the time…” Taehyung mumbled.

For some reason, Jin felt a strange heaviness in his chest….  like he was about to regret something deeply.

“He was alone,” Jin mumbled, almost to himself.

“Huh?” Taehyung asked, having caught the faint words.

“I think… he was alone there. So alone,” Jin said softly.

Taehyung stared at his hyung with a mix of sadness and reassurance. “Don’t worry. He has us now. He’ll never feel alone again,” he said with a small smile.

Jin smiled back at him, comforted. “Hmm. Then I’ll head out, I’ve got some work to finish. Take care, hmm?” Jin said as he stood.

Taehyung nodded. Jin gave one last smile before heading to his room to change.

With Jungkook

He was standing in Kim’s room, waiting patiently for Kim to finish his phone call. Soon, Kim ended the call and looked up at Jungkook.

“Seems like you’ve become popular in your university, huh?” Kim asked coldly.

Jungkook, confused by what Kim meant, just stared at him. Kim was still scrolling through his phone.

A few seconds later, Kim placed the phone in front of Jungkook, playing a video.

The thumbnail read: “Youngest Kim- Kim Jungkook, is so handsome… just like his father and brothers.”

Jungkook saw that it was a video of him playing basketball. His heart skipped a beat as he gulped nervously, eyes fixed on the screen.

He remembered the bitter memories again.

“Appa, please… I promise I won’t play basketball again. Appa, please… not that… Appa, please… Appa…”

A terrified 16 year old Jungkook was pleading to his father, who had no ears for his cries. Kim was too busy heating a metal rod over the fire. He turned to Jungkook, who was already shaking in fear.

“Appa, please… no…” Jungkook whimpered, tears streaming down his face.

Kim stepped closer. “Roll up your pant,” he ordered in a chilling, cold voice.

“Appa, please…” Jungkook tried again, but flinched hard when Kim suddenly yelled. “I SAID ROLL IT UP!!”

Trembling, Jungkook slowly rolled up his pants to his knees, revealing fresh bruises from the cane he had been beaten with earlier. His sobs grew louder.

Kim approached him with the heated rod in hand. “What did I tell you?” he asked.

“T-To not play b-basketball…” Jungkook stammered, barely able to speak.

“You disobeyed again,” Kim said darkly. “I’ll make sure you remember the fear before touching that ball again.”

He grabbed Jungkook’s leg firmly and pressed the scorching rod against his bare skin.

“AHHHHHH! APPA! AHHH! AHHH! PLEASE APPA!!” Jungkook screamed in agony, begging his father to stop.

Jungkook snapped out of his thoughts when Kim said, “Should I read the comments for you, my son?” His voice was icy.

Jungkook gulped and clenched his fists. Kim started reading it with sarcasm.

“Kim Jungkook, marry me.”

“Jungkook, you are so handsome.”

“Jungkook playing basketball is freaking amazing.”

“He’s so handsome, just like his brothers.”

“Jungkook is a shitty person, he is the reason for his own mom’s death.”

Kim read one hate comment aloud, and Jungkook kept his eyes down, letting out a shaky breaths. Sweats were forming.

“Here. Drink this,” Kim said, placing a glass of water in front of him.

Jungkook took it with trembling hands and drank slowly, trying to steady himself.

“Explain the mission,” Kim ordered after Jungkook calmed

Jungkook took a deep breath and began, “Park Hyunkwon is a politician aiming to be the next president. He’s currently in dealings with—” he paused to glance at Kim, who gave a subtle nod, he continued to tell while Kim lit a cigarette, the smoke curling in the air.

Jungkook immediately flinched at the smell and took a step back, coughing slightly. “Continue” Kim said and Jungkook took a breath and continued “Jeon Seo-ah, the chairwoman of the Minbo Group. Today, they have a scheduled meeting.” Jungkook finished briefing him.

“Hmm… good lead. So, Jeon Seo-ah is back,” Kim said with a smirk. “Make sure to keep an eye on her. And sneak into Hyunkwon’s cabin and keep a microphone, we need more solid information.”

“Nae,” Jungkook responded quietly.

After finishing his cigarette, Kim stood up and walked over to Jungkook, who remained still, emotionless.

Kim patted his cheek lightly. “You know your appa hates being disobeyed, right? So don’t disappoint me again. Understood?” kim said in dangerously soft tune which made jungkook to shiver.

Jungkook nodded stiffly. “Nae.”

“Good boy,” Kim said, brushing Jungkook’s hair into place with calculated care. “You can leave. Do the mission properly.”

Jungkook nodded once more and silently exited the room after bowing kim.

Jungkook rushed to his room, his steps quick and unsteady. As soon as he entered, he slammed the door shut and locked it behind him. Gasping for air like he hadn’t breathed in hours, he leaned against the door, his chest heaving with every breath. He was hyperventilating.

Stumbling to the bed, he dropped to the floor beside it and opened the drawer, pulling out a small cover. Desperately, he brought it to his mouth and began breathing through it like an inhaler, trying to steady himself. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he clutched the cover.

Once he calmed down a little, he set the cover aside and lay on the bed, still breathing heavily. He closed his eyes, and another tear silently slipped down his face. Exhaustion eventually pulled him into sleep.

Hey guy!!! how was the chapter?

So one more character joined the kims… how are you feeling?

And about the past revealation to jin… it will happen soon, not soo soon.

What you want to see in upcoming chapters? i am glad to hear your ideas too, so that i’ll be able to know what you guys are expecting too.

And thanks for commenting on previous chapter after i asked… i hope you’ll comment a lot

Today i am not keeping and targets. lets see how much comments i am getting without keeping target.

I will try to update soon.