chapter 5
His alarm waked up Jungkook . He opened his eyes and looked at the time, realizing that it was Monday and he should go to work.
Working in a small company that belonged to the Kim family, Taehyung also set up his job. It was easy work; he had nothing to do except spend time sitting in the office every day.
All his colleagues said he was easy-going and had a good temper. He did whatever they asked him to do, even when he was occasionally given random tasks.
Today, the department manager came to him again during lunch break and asked him to design a poster.
He shook his head and said,
Jeon Jungkook
I can’t do it.
Manager
Didn’t you study art in university?
Jeon Jungkook
I really can’t do it.
The manager didn’t force him. He nodded and left.
When afternoon came, he heard rumors about himself in the break
room.
????
I never knew Jungkook was so full of himself.
??
Don’t you know? He has connections here.
????
Connections with who?
????
Mr. Kim? No way. Isn’t he dating that movie star?
??
Well, how can a man as rich as him have only one lover?
He let whatever they said go in from one ear and out the other as if
he never heard anything at all. He went back to the office, got a pen, and started drawing on the paper, but his right hand trembled heavily.
It was like when he had been desperately dialing the number that day. The lines he drew were crooked and completely distorted.
He stared at the paper for a long time before throwing it into the trash.
He hadn’t drawn in three years.
His family wasn’t wealthy.
He worked part-time in university and painted
portraits for people to earn money. Sometimes, when he had no customers for most of the day, So hyun would come over and be his model. Those were good times.
Afterward, he went to several hospitals. All of the doctors said that the injury to his right hand had already healed and wouldn’t affect his daily life
It was likely due to psychological reasons that he couldn’t pick up the paintbrush anymore.
So he didn’t continue with treatment. He no longer had to make a living by painting, anyway, now that he’d met Taehyung. Everything that had happened became a memory. It was better to forget it all.
When he got ready to walk home after work, his phone rang as soon as he stepped outside the company’s door. He was going to check who the caller was when he suddenly heard someone calling his name,
He looked back and saw a black car slowly stop at the side of the road. The window was half opened. Sitting in the driver’s seat, So hyun said,
He was just what he used to be, wasting not even a word when he talked. But Jungkook wasn’t the same as before. He stood still.
Jung so hyun
I just want to have dinner with you.
Jeon Jungkook
Where’s Miss Kim?
Jung so hyun
{frowned}
Does it have anything to do with her?
Jeon Jungkook
It’s not good for us to eat alone.
Jung so hyun
We broke up, but we’re still high school classmates at the very least.
Jung so hyun
Why can’t we have dinner together?
The sun was setting in the west. The side of So hyun face seemed particularly handsome in the twilight. He looked at Jungkook and said,
Jung so hyun
Jungkook , get in.
It reminded Jungkook of the times when he had sat in the corner of the classroom at dusk, sketching So hyun face on paper again and again. He closed his eyes for a while before finally opening the door and getting in the car.
He didn’t expect So hyun to treat him to seafood. Facing the dishes on the table, he didn’t pick up the chopsticks. Nor did so hyun,
Jung so hyun
Are you really allergic to seafood?
Jeon Jungkook
I get a rash on my body, but it’s not too serious.
Jung so hyun
Why didn’t you tell me before?
He didn’t tell him because he didn’t want to let him down. People in love
felt sweet even when they suffered for their lovers.
So hyun got the menu and ordered some new dishes, mocking himself,
Jung so hyun
Even Taehyung knows you better than I do.
Jungkook thought that it was only natural. Mr. Kim must have investigated
him before contacting him. Taehyung was a typical perfectionist. Even when it came to acting, he had to act perfectly.
The new dishes hadn’t come yet. So hyun poured Jungkook a cup of tea and asked,
Jung so hyun
How have you been doing these years?
Three years. Countless days and nights. Jungkook concluded in only two words,
Jung so hyun
I thought you’d get a job related to art.
Jeon Jungkook
My current one is better. The work is easy, and the salary is high.
Jung so hyun
What about Taehyung? I heard he’s fine with both men and women.
Jung so hyun
People gossip about him and those young actors quite a lot.
A corner of Jungkook mouth twitched.
Jeon Jungkook
Taehyung has a high status, after all. It’s no wonder that rumors float around him.
Jeon Jungkook
But rumors are just rumors. Yesterday, you saw how he treats me.
As he mentioned what So hyun had seen yesterday, So hyun
face turned unpleasant.
Jungkook pretended he didn’t see it. He drank some tea and asked,
Jeon Jungkook
What about you?
Jeon Jungkook
You look like you lost weight while you were abroad.
Jung so hyun
It was a different country, after all. The food there couldn’t even compare to the food here.
Jung so hyun
I fell sick one time, but all my friends and family were thousands of miles away.
Jung so hyun
I really couldn’t get any help. Good thing lisa was there to take care of me.
Jeon Jungkook
{said sincerely}
You and Miss kim are really a great match.
Jung so hyun
{didn’t respond for a while. All of a sudden, he grabbed Jungkook hands}.
Jung so hyun
Jungkook, you still owe me an explanation, don’t you?
Jung so hyun
Why did you break up with me?
He repeated the word. He thought for a while and answered,
Jeon Jungkook
I don’t quite remember. Maybe it was because our personalities were too different.
Jung so hyun
We had been together for so many years since high school. How could our personalities not match?
Jeon Jungkook
There are many aspects to personality. For example... you’re the only heir of the Jung family.
Jeon Jungkook
Will your parents accept our relationship?
His words stabbed right into So hyun weak spot.
His face turned stiff. He replied,
Jung so hyun
My parents are old-fashioned people. They wouldn’t let me have a relationship with a man.
Jung so hyun
But I told you I’d find a way to persuade them.
Jeon Jungkook
{slowly pushed So hyun hands away from his own}
And the way you found was to go abroad together with Miss Kim?
Jung so hyun
{sighed and replied}
Yes, I accepted their arrangements and went abroad to reassure them.
Jung so hyun
But I wasn’t in a relationship with Lisa at the time, and I booked return tickets the moment I got off the plane.
Jung so hyun
What happened next? You refused to see me. You only called me to break up with me over half a month later.
Jung so hyun
I thought you were angry at me for going abroad. Looking back now...
Jung so hyun
{sneered and said}
Were you already banging Taehyung then?
Jungkook was momentarily stunned.
It felt as if there was a sudden earthquake. The mountains shook under his feet and his ears could hear the roar. But in the mere blink of an eye, everything went back to normal. He was still sitting in the restaurant, with food and wine, amid a fine spring day.
But he felt that he’d been seriously wounded.
His innards twisted, wrenching his heart, his liver, and his lungs.
He opened his mouth, but he didn’t have the energy to say a single
word.
Which was why he didn’t tell So hyun that when So hyun had come
back looking for him, he was lying on a hospital bed in intensive care. Neither did he tell So hyun about that day three years ago, when he had dialed So hyun number countless times out of fear and desperation while So hyun was sitting on a plane thousands of miles away, beside Lisa.
They finished the dinner in a bad mood.
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