Jeon Jungkook, the punk who came to ruin me
No one will ever know how warm Jeon Jungkook's hands were as he soothed me, how warm his embrace was as he held me as I cried so hard I could barely breathe. Jeon Jungkook would never abandon me. I knew he was the one who would never leave me, no matter what. What scared me was that something would happen to you. After all, I knew better than anyone what kind of person my mother was.
“Do you want to play taeng taeng for the first time in a while?”
Jeon Jungkook, who had pulled me from his embrace after I stopped crying, snickered at my bloodshot eyes and nose. He lightly stroked my cheek with his hand, then offered me a hand to play a trumpet. I took his hand again.
I descended from the rooftop, clutching Jeon Jungkook's hand, and ran across the center of the playground. The teachers, who had discovered us late, yelled and tried to chase after us, but Jeon Jungkook and I had already crossed the school gate.
Holding Jeon Jungkook's hand, I ran out of school, staring at him even as I ran, out of breath. Even though the wind was chilling, my whole body felt warm, so I knew I couldn't stay away from him. It proved once again that my choice was always Jeon Jungkook.
We ran away from school. It was a place I had no idea was even nearby. We entered an unmanned convenience store and sat down by the window. Jeon Jungkook left me to sit down and quickly made a quick lap around the store. He picked up a few items, paid for them, and handed them over to me.
“Drink, it’s so windy.”
"thank you…"
It was yuzu tea in a warm bottle. I love this about Jeon Jungkook. He was so kind to offer me yuzu tea while he himself was drinking a bottle of water. Jeon Jungkook sat next to me, quietly gazing out the window, while I carefully examined the items he had brought. Almond candies, cookies and cream chocolates, corn soup-flavored snacks. They were all my favorites.
“I like them all?”
“Well, it just so happened… I don’t really like sweet things in the first place.”
Jeon Jungkook spoke bashfully, his hands brushing his swollen ears. It was a bit unexpected. Was Jeon Jungkook ever shy around me? He used to be the type to say flirtatious things so easily... It occurred to me that Jeon Jungkook had a side to him, too. I couldn't help but chuckle at the cuteness.
“What are you laughing at, you idiot?”
“Just because I like it.”
"You're such an idiot, Kim Yeo-ju. What the heck, I'm crying and laughing all at once."
“Tch… So you want me to just keep crying?”
“No, just laugh.”
Jeon Jungkook, who had been staring straight ahead, stared intently at me. I couldn't nod immediately at his words. I felt like I would be shedding tears many times in the future. My expression hardened for a moment, then I forced a smile. And then the events of last night began to flash back vividly in my mind.
I didn't realize that even the corners of my lips, which I'd forced up, were drooping. That was until Jeon Jungkook reached out and poked my cheek with his finger. I looked at Jeon Jungkook, feeling a pang of regret, and raised the corners of my lips again, but I wasn't sure how to sort out my already cluttered mind.
“What is so difficult for you?”
“Uh, uh…?”
“Who keeps stopping you from being happy?”
I'm lost in thought. Just as Jeon Jungkook said, I was trying to be happy. So I rebelled, I deviated, I even tried love. But what on earth is holding my neck so tightly? There was only one answer: Mom. I'm still afraid of her, terrified.
“Well… my mom?”
The moment I confessed with my own mouth that it was my mother who was making things difficult for me, I felt so miserable and pathetic. She was clearly supposed to be my strength… Why are we like this? In the end, a bitter smile settled on my lips.
"You know, I'm scared of my mom. Not just scared, but so scared that I tremble when I stand in front of her. Oh, it's not like she's going to hit me... It's just..."
”……“
"Should I tell him I'm useless? My mom and dad are so successful in life that it makes me feel that way even more."
"There's no one in this world who's useless, my lady. I need you right now, don't you?"
It was Jeon Jungkook, gently stroking my hair and offering small words of comfort. His small words of comfort were so warm, they gradually unfurled my hunched shoulders. I almost burst into tears again.
Aware that tears were welling up in my eyes, I forced myself to smile wider to keep them from flowing. But that wasn't the only lingering pain I felt toward my parents, so I held back the tears and spoke again.
“I know, I know… but if I don’t live like this, I’ll be useless and inadequate like they said, and that’s what scares me the most…”
The corners of my lips, forced into a smile, trembled, and a tear finally slipped past them. I was clearly smiling, but my eyes seemed to be. Before I knew it, my face was resting against Jeon Jungkook's shoulder. I cried bitterly in his arms, like a child who had lost his parents.
Even after I stopped crying, Jeon Jungkook kept holding me. I don't know why, but I think his hand still patted my back, perhaps it was his own clumsy way of comforting me.
“… Sorry, your clothes are all wet.”
“Okay, what’s so important about this?”
“Jeon Jungkook looks cool today.”
"Today? I'm not just cool today, am I?"
Jeon Jungkook's witty remark made me burst into laughter. Apparently, in front of Jeon Jungkook, words I normally wouldn't be able to say come out easily, and tears and laughter flow. I guess I really rely on him a lot.
I smiled brightly and looked at Jeon Jungkook, and Jeon Jungkook kept his mouth shut and thought for a while before hesitating to open his mouth.It seemed like he was looking straight into my eyes.
"It's okay if you don't live the way others tell you to, Kim Yeo-ju. They won't live for you. You only have this one chance, so shouldn't you live it your way?"
“……”
"It's not that you're wrong for not living that way. It's not that you're lacking. So..."
As I listened intently to Jeon Jungkook's every word, a question welled up in my heart: "Will this be okay?" Then, he paused for a moment and leaned closer to me. Then, he leaned close to my ear and whispered his final words.
“Just flip it over.”
Jeon Jungkook probably didn't know what decision I would make because of that one word he whispered. What's clear is that it completely changed my life and the future of my life.
Come and take a look at the hot short story I wrote yesterday🫶🏻
