The Twenty-Fifth Story
Use meat.
A few days passed, and exam period arrived. Nothing much had happened in the past few days. Going to school, working part-time, meeting Yooseong, and so on, just like usual… The only thing that was a little different was that he hadn't experienced Jeon Jeong-woo's tyranny. Jeong-guk wasn't even curious about what happened after he was arrested by the police. He didn't care about the current situation of someone who didn't seem like his older brother. Jeong-guk was quite affectionate, but he had a sharp side, like he didn't even see her face once he'd severed ties, though it took him a while to do so.
“Hey, Jungkook.”
Taehyung called out to Jeongguk, who was heading home.
“What’s wrong, hyung?”
“Did you study for the test?”
Taehyung naturally put his arm around Jungkook's shoulder.
“I’m doing it. What about you, hyung?”
“I’m doing something little by little.”
“…”
“…”
Today, strangely, Jungkook seems unusually lethargic. Perhaps that's why no further conversation can be held. Naturally, the awkward atmosphere has made Taehyung slowly lower the arm he had placed on Jungkook's shoulder. Jungkook's face looks darker and more shadowed than ever. His eyes, always bright and filled with stars, look dead today. There's no life at all. As if he's about to die.
Taehyung, who is usually affectionate towards his lover, is deeply concerned about Jungkook and asks him affectionately if something is wrong. Jungkook simply shakes his head, insisting that nothing is wrong. However, Jungkook's face is utterly filled with worry, as if he's resolved to do something but lacks the courage to act on it. And there seems to be a hint of love buried within.
“Jungkook.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“What… are things not going well with your lover?”
“Where do I have a lover…”
“I heard you talking at the flower shop back then.”_Reference to Episode 20
“…”
“This might be a bit of a rant, but you look so tired these days. You look especially tired today.”
"You know, hyung. What would you do if you found out about your lover's impending death? But she doesn't seem to know she's dying."
"Well... it's different for everyone, but you have to treat them well until the very end. And I'll tell you. You're going to die soon. I think you should know that too."
“That’s just like you, hyung.”
“…”
The atmosphere was too heavy to joke, "Is that a compliment?" Taehyung didn't want to joke in this atmosphere either. He didn't even feel like it. He'd already realized that what Jungkook had just said was related to him.
-
“See you tomorrow, Jungkook. I don’t know what happened, but take care of it.”
“Yes, thank you, hyung. Be careful on your way back.”
Taehyung waved absently, his back trudging away. Jungkook watched until Taehyung's figure disappeared into the horizon. And Taehyung's unusually affectionate nature, a touch of unease and gratitude, filled Jungkook with a sense of unease.
‘Tiring, clanging-’
As usual, I opened the front door and headed straight to my room. Then, I collapsed on the bed, my heart melting with the familiar, sweet scent that filled the air.
After letting the bed calm his troubled mind, he tried to get up to change into his school uniform. But strangely, he felt something weighing down his entire body. Perhaps it was the accumulated fatigue, but Jeongguk couldn't find the strength to get up. His body felt like it was continually sinking into the ground. It felt like he was being consumed by the bed, the floor, and deep within the earth. But this feeling wasn't all bad. In fact, it felt comfortable.
Jungkook closes his eyes slowly, feeling comfortable and drowsy.
-
Jungkook opens his eyes to the familiar feeling of his body becoming lighter. Yoo Sung, who should have been waiting for him with his doe-like eyes, is nowhere to be seen. He could have leisurely thought, "He must have gone somewhere for a while."That storyAfter hearing that, Jeongguk couldn't relax. No matter how much he looked, he couldn't see the meteor. Jeongguk's heart grew increasingly impatient.
“Yuseong-ah, Yuseong-ah!!”
He shouts at the top of his lungs, but there's no sign of a meteor anywhere. Jungkook runs along the stars' orbits, then the planets'. He calls out to the meteors again and again. But the only answer he gets is the echo of his voice.
“Yoo Seong-ah……”
Tears well up in Jeongguk's eyes. Then, repeatedly calling out the name Yoo-seong, he collapses into the air. Countless stars twinkle around him, but Jeongguk sees no light. His world is already crumbling, a distant blur.
“Jungkook.”
A voice that sends goosebumps the moment it touches his body, yet is also a comforting and sweet voice. Even after hearing it only briefly, Jungkook instantly recognizes it as Yoosung. He roughly wipes away the tears that were falling with both hands and turns to Yoosung, getting up. As soon as Yoosung meets Jungkook, the first thing he notices are the faint tear stains at the corners of his eyes.
“Tears… Are you crying again like that time? Are you okay?”
Yooseong moves closer to Jeongguk to hug him. But Jeongguk, wiping away the last of his tears, backs away from him. Yooseong doesn't hold back Jeongguk, who keeps drifting away from him. He simply presses his aching heart.
The relationship between them grows increasingly awkward. No words are exchanged. They remain silent. Neither one of them shows any sign of opening their mouths. Their hearts grow increasingly bruised.
“You were here. Yoo Seong-ah, Jeong-guk-ah.”
God approaches them, breaking the awkward tension between them. But God's face doesn't look good. His usually relaxed face is now twisted into a frown. And his distorted face soon turns to face Jeong-guk.
“Jungkook, let me see you for a second.”
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Continued in the next episode