Chapter 4
Although just now he was seriously holding on to the idea of “wanting to walk faster than Jungkook”, this stupid way of thinking was too embarrassing to be declared openly!
That’s right, Taehyung also knew that he was being stupid......
But he still couldn’t control himself!
Taehyung's face turned red. He coldly glanced at Jungkook, wanting to cuss at him. The phone in his pocket suddenly rang; he took it out and walked outside the room. When he looked at the screen, he was startled – this was the number that his dad used inside the country. His dad went to Europe last month and said that he would come back to see him in three months. He shouldn’t be back this fast.
Taehyung rushed to answer the phone,
Kim Taehyung
📲Hello, Dad, why are you using this number? Are you back?
Kim Joon-he's voice that was heard through the phone sounded quite serious,
Kim Joon-he
📲Tae, your grandpa is dying.
Taehyung's heart suddenly went cold. He blanked out for a moment and responded with a soft voice.
Based on what Kim Joon-he said, the general idea was this: the existing illness that was being well-managed had taken a sudden turn for the worse. Nobody knew why. The next morning, Kim Joon-he would come to the school, ask for Taehyung to have a leave of absence, and take him to see his grandpa’s last moments back in the village of his birth.
Kim Taehyung
📲En, I understand, Dad.
Taehyung answered, then hung up the phone.
When he returned to the dorm room, Taehyung's face had turned white. However, his face had always been rather pale so it wasn’t obvious. Jungkook was leaning on the wardrobe, still in the same position as before. It seemed that he didn’t plan on letting go of Taehyung's embarrassing situation. When Taehyung entered, he quickly asked,
Jeon Jungkook
Let me ask you, were you racing with me just now? How old are you?
Taehyung was in a bad mood and Jungkook was pouring oil over the fire. Taehyung clenched his fists and glanced at Jungkook, saying in a low voice,
Taehyung's relationship with his grandpa was very good; he had lived together with his grandparents until he was seven. After, though he moved to the city where his dad worked to attend elementary school, every winter, and summer vacation he would go back to stay with his grandparents for a while. This went on until middle school when school work began to get too heavy and he gradually had to stop going over.
Taehyung's grandpa was very mischievous. Not only did he tell mysterious ghost stories, he also took Taehyung all over the mountain to play wildly. In spring they would catch crickets from the grass and fishes and shrimps in the lake; in summer they would dig up mud from the river and build a dam, and when they were done playing they would strip down to their underwear and go swimming. In autumn, they would dig out two big and fresh sweet potatoes and roast them over coal. The freshly roasted sweet potatoes were very hot and fragrant. Grandparent and grandchild would both blow loudly and eat the sweet potatoes with their hands. In winter, using a homemade sled, Grandpa would push Taehyung to slide down a small hill......
Taehyung wouldn’t normally recall these thoughts, but at this moment they suddenly came pouring in like a flood of water through a broken dam. Under the blanket, Taehyung pursed his lips, buried his face in the pillow, and cried.
He forgot how he fell asleep; he must have been thinking about Grandpa and cried himself to sleep. That’s why when he woke up in the morning the next day, Taehyung's condition wasn’t very good.
At six-thirty, Jungkook was changing his clothes on the bunk below. He had yet to put on the school uniform after having removed his pajama top; his body looked very attractive.
Taehyung raised a hand to rub his swollen eyelids. Aware that his current appearance might not look too good, he slipped on his slippers and went to wash his face first. When passing Jungkook while carrying the basin, Jungkook's eyes were like a pair of nails, firmly staring at his steamed bun-like, grieving little face.
Taehyung was very embarrassed; he quickly lowered his head and walked out of the room in haste.
Jungkook's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion,
Jeon Jungkook
"Didn’t I only tease him a little bit last night? Damn, this was unexpectedly enough to make him cry?"
Taehyung didn’t realize that he already became a fragile and demure pea princess in Jungkook's eyes.
Although in many ways, this wasn’t wrong......
At eight o’clock, during the morning self-study class, Taehyung was called out by the teacher.
Kim Joon-he was already waiting at the classroom door. The teacher patted Taehyung's shoulder to console him and said, “Go ahead.”
Clearly he was already permitted to leave.
Taehyung nodded and walked out the school gate with Kim Joon-he.
Kim Joon-he drove quickly and in a little more than two hours, they arrived at their destination.
It was a village well-known to Taehyung: the tidy rows of crops, the freely flowing river, the long chain of green mountains on the horizon, and an old residence that appeared worn from wind and rain. As he pushed open the front gate, a big golden dog that he had raised in elementary school came flying at him and bumped against his legs, its tail wagging happily as it licked its owner’s fingers.
Taehyung's grandpa rested in the bedroom on the second floor. His emaciated and shriveled body was wrinkled like an old tree. The old man’s eyes were closed, his face appearing composed and without a trace of pain or fear. Taehyung went quickly to sit beside the bed, pulling his grandpa’s cold hand into his own, almost as though he wanted to use his body to help warm him a little. Before he had the chance to speak, the young man’s eyes turned red.
Compared to his son, Kim Joon-he's response was more apathetic; he just stood beside the bed and looked on in silence. His eyes seemed undisturbed, almost unfeeling.
Taehyung wasn’t surprised by his dad’s indifference. He knew that his dad only came back because of his filial obligations, not because of his real feelings. Using modern standards, Kim Joon-he is someone who had “made it”: he was a brilliant student who was loved by his family. After being admitted to university, he married the beauty of his faculty. Both husband and wife always had a good relationship and can also be said to have achieved professional success.
As a very ambitious person, Kim Joon-he continually studied hard since childhood. He wholeheartedly wanted to leave this small village, but his father always wanted him to inherit his legacy. If it weren’t for the other family members fiercely and relentlessly opposing his father’s will while insisting the family head let the kid attend university, Kim Joon-he would now most probably be following in the footsteps of his father. This meant living in the village as a Manchu shaman, scraping together a meager living by calling back the lost souls of sick children and watching over graves. Maybe even finding a wife would be a struggle.
[Manchu Shaman : A spiritual practitioner who acts as a mediator between the human and spirit worlds.]
Thinking about the possibilities, the ambitious Kim Joon-he felt his whole body grow cold. Not only did his father refuse to acknowledge his own shortcomings, he harbored ill opinions towards the son who refused to obey him, thinking that Kim Joon-he's unwillingness to continue his legacy meant he was killing the “family tradition”. So, before Taehyung was born, his old father rarely spoke to Kim Joon-he. When his lively and cute grandson was born, their father-and-son relationship improved — that is, on the surface, they reluctantly managed to be civil.
Taehyung did not know the details of these matters. He only vaguely knew that Grandpa was unhappy with his dad at that time because of his dad’s career choice, but the specifics were unclear.
At this time, Taehyung's grandpa woke up.
The old man’s eyes brightened. He looked at Kim Joon-he for a while and wrinkled his brows. Then, his gaze fell upon Taehyung.
Taehyung called out, quickly wiping his tears as he tried his best to put on a cheerful smile. He did not want his grandpa to feel conscious that he would soon die.
Taehyung's grandpa pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled. Light pouring through the window was reflected in his previously murky and unclear eyes, which now shone brightly. In an instant, the expression on his face became somewhat cheeky like a naughty little kid.
Grandfather Kim
Taehyung-ah.
Grandpa patted the back of Taehyung's hand, and abruptly said,
Grandfather Kim
I think that thing will probably be passed down to you.
His voice was firm and resolute; each word could clearly be heard. He didn’t sound even a little like someone who was chronically ill and rapidly approaching death.
Taehyung also wondered about the legacy that grandpa wanted to pass over, but felt that this kind of conversation was inappropriate. He immediately changed the subject, asking,
Kim Taehyung
Grandpa, how do you feel now? Do you want to drink some water?
Grandpa waved his hand and continued to speak,
Grandfather Kim
This is not something that I can control; that stubborn kid loathed this old man so much, most likely it can’t be passed on to him. But in the Kim family, other than him, there’s only you — the only child — so if not you then who else could it be......
Taehyung vaguely felt that who his grandpa meant by “that stubborn kid” and “him” was actually Kim Joon-he, but even with this, he still felt confused.
Grandpa repeatedly gasped for breath, his voice gradually becoming weaker,
Grandfather Kim
Taehyung, when you see those things, don’t be scared. People will all die. Dead people were also once alive, there’s actually not much difference between us......
Taehyung knitted his brows in confusion,
Kim Taehyung
Grandpa, what do you mean?
Grandpa opened his mouth, as if he was trying very hard to say something, but after trying for a while, he began to sweat and limply lay back on the pillow, sighing,
Grandfather Kim
Even in the end it’s still not possible, maybe the mysteries of heaven can’t be revealed......
Hearing the old man’s bizarre speech, Kim Joon-he's eyes flashed with a hint of frustration. He had never believed in these supernatural things, but who told him to have a father like this?
Kim Joon-he was starting to feel impatient until he suddenly heard Taehyung's loud sobbing and became aware that his father had passed.
Taehyung was grasping his grandpa’s hand and weeping convulsively, completely unaware that under his dead grandpa’s eyelids, his eyeballs suddenly freakishly turned around...
At the same time, a chilly air passed through his grandpa’s slim fingers going all the way to Taehyung's palm. From his palm, the chilly air flowed through his entire body. Taehyung shivered, but he was out of it and didn’t pay much attention to the sensation. With a lowered head, he grieved and sobbed.
The village’s funeral processes and customs were many and Kim Joon-he didn’t want to delay Taehyung's return to his classes. In any case, the important thing had been to give the grandpa and grandchild, who were very close, the chance to see each other again. With this goal achieved, he waited until Taehyung's mood calmed and in the afternoon, Kim Joon-he drove him back to school.
In the car, Taehyung was finally able to hold back his tears. He sat in the passenger seat and held his arms close to his chest. After a while, he stretched out a hand and turned up the temperature.
Taehyung softly said yes.
He was cold, awfully cold. Since Grandpa passed away at ten in the morning until now, Taehyung felt a constant stream of iciness creep through his body, making him shudder.
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Comments
i_stole_jimin's_jams😎
I feel bad...
2025-08-07
0