Chapter 3: Living (Love pt.1)

“Cancer is not a death sentence, but rather it is a life sentence; it simply pushes one to live.”-Marcia Smith

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          Their little daughter, Sangyeong, was peacefully hugging her favorite soft toy, nuzzling her little nose into “Mr. Oli” as she slept. The poor duck had been taped and glued to her hip ever since the day she turned two, and the young girl of six had worn its nonexistent feathers down to the thin fabric.

          Jungkook focused his attention back to the road. Their little road trip was to bring them to Taehyung’s childhood town where he had grown up. Greenville was simply like any other boring town; normal neighbors and dogs that never seemed to stop poking their snouts into your business.

          Their main reason for bringing Sangyeong along, however, was to finally let her meet her beloved grandfather that even Jungkook never had the chance to meet face to face. Taehyung had always spoken of him as if he was the most caring person in the world, and Jungkook could not disagree. He was well aware that raising a child that had as much compassion as Taehyung and his sisters were beyond his knowledge and power.

          As Jungkook turned the last turn and drove into the small town, he gently shook Taehyung’s shoulder, instantly waking the light sleeper up. As the other rubbed the fuzziness away and also wake their daughter up, Jungkook rounded and parked at the cemetery’s parking lot. Jungkook knew the way to the marble grave like the back of his hand, and he led his small and a little confused daughter deeper into the not-so-gloomy place, only stopping when he was at a small, average tomb.

           The grave was not small, nor was it large; exactly what his father what his father would want, Jungkook quoted, like reading a book. Taehyung’s father always seemed like a very humble person, and always took great measures that he would look just like any other. Next to him was another grave of an unknown stranger, but nonetheless, Taehyung still plucked a stem out of their bouquet of spider lilies and ushered his precious daughter to put one near the marble and lavish tombstone.

          “Hey, Dad,” Taehyung carefully laid the remainder of lilies at the front of the engraved rock, and sat down at a fallen log next to it. He beckoned Sangyeong closer. “This is my daughter. Isn’t she pretty?” The little girl blushed and childishly did a small little curtsey.

          “Good afternoon, fine sir,” she spoke, hiding behind Mr. Oli as if he were a barrier. “I am Jung Sangyeong, and this is Mr. Oli! It is such a pleasure to meet you,” Jungkook merely just gave a small smile and ruffled his daughter’s hair.

           “Excuse the weird formalities, Dad, she is just growing up to be a lot like your son,” Taehyung gave a large smack to Jungkook’s head, and the middle-aged photographer whined in defiance. As the whole family started chiming into the warm music that was laughter, a warm breeze swept past them, and Jungkook had internally wondered what could possibly break up such a happy family.

          Jungkook had stared at the document in front of him, his face growing more and more grim the more fluently the words seemed to form from the doctor’s mouth. “He should be undergoing the test right now, and the results should be out within the hour,” he announced, whilst the whitewashed walls seemed to close in more and more around him as he waited with his life partner in the dreaded hallways of the hospital.  

          He wanted to slap himself for not noticing; how could he not? The pale sunken cheekbones, the green and unhealthy complexion, the weakening gleam in his eyes. They were all screaming to be found and considered, but he had just brushed it all off as a sign of fatigue from stressing himself out too much.

          His heart started to drill a hole in his chest, and it pounded so hard that it all seemed to be one constant string of humming that was so loud that it had blocked every other noise out. When they had proved to have a moment of clarity, he could only press his eyelids together and regret.

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          The revelation had rocked the family of three hard, but they only had themselves now. Taehyung’s sister had committed suicide only a few months before she had received a prize for her story, due to her loneliness and the taunting of the voices in her head.

          However, Taehyung refused to budge from daily life. In fact, it drove him to paint in even more vibrant colors. Jungkook decided for him to receive the get-go to having a room for his paintings, and Taehyung had spent a few full days in there, but never allowed anyone in.

          Everyday, his lover seemed to grow weaker and frailer, till one day, Jungkook found him collapsed on the floor of the kitchen, his cheekbones creating sharp shadows on his unkempt cheeks in the fluorescent light. The ambulance was called, and Taehyung was dismissed as bedridden for the last short four months of his life.

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“Are you sure?” Taehyung’s firm nod did not exactly console him as they approached the gates of the orphanage. The wheels of his wheelchair rolled forwards as Taehyung forced his lanky arms to work. The photographer meekly followed him into the small, run down building that somehow reeked of gloom and mildew.

Taehyung had let the idea of having another child sink in only for a few days before carrying out the impromptu act itself. Thankfully, Sangyeong had accepted the idea without any qualms or hostility, and was practically jumping about by the time they had left the house, leaving her in the daycare center.

Jungkook climbed up the front porch, but just as he was about to roll his wrist to make contact with the rosewood oak, it opened, a flurry of shouts resounded from within.

“Get out of here, you scoundrel! I never want to see your dirty faces in here ever again!” Just as the strict female was about to slam the door shut, Jungkook stuck a foot in front of it in record time. “What is it? I swear, go away and-” She stopped herself short as she noticed the two men on the other side of the door.

While she was busy collecting herself together, Taehyung and Jungkook gave the children beside them a glance through. A small little boy and an even smaller little girl stood, still as stone. The boy’s chestnut colored bangs had covered his eyes as he looked down, but the clenched fist and shivering body had proved the little boy to be crying. The girl’s rough, yet long fingers were clenching onto the others worn-down shirt, and she hid behind him, her body shaking in fear.

Without thinking another thought, Jungkook and Taehyung silently agreed. Years with the other had increased their bond, and both knew what the other was thinking in every immediate situation. “We’ll take both of them, ma’am,” her surprised look had been promptly ignored, and as Jungkook allowed the door to click to a close, he took a good memory of her face, just for the laughs of it.

The boy stared at them with widened eyes, and Jungkook couldn’t help but internally wonder why the boy had held so much suspicion in them. They screamed of hardship and hurt, and they also seemed to cower as he knelt down to their eye level.

“What’s your name?” the boy was taken aback, but the girl was quick to answer. “Jung Soo Min,” her voice was a bare whisper, but the teeny tiny amount of courage was all the bunny-toothed needed. He flashed a large, sincere smile, and nodding the small girl on.

          “I… Am 5 years old,” she managed out, and hid behind her companion almost immediately. Jungkook expectantly turned to the young boy she was hiding behind, and he seemed to gulp down a ball in his throat. “I’m Jung Hoseok, and I am six,” the boy finally spoke up, but his eyes just grew more hostile.

          The roll of wheels indicated his lover’s presence behind him. He hastily made away for him, and the goofy painter stuck his hands out to the wary boy. “Hi, my name is Taehyung. Nice to meet you!” the much smaller of the two was very surprised at this. He stared suspiciously at the nimble fingers, and did no motion to attempt a greeting.

“So, Hoseok-ah, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Taehyung had seemingly ignored his failed attempt and moved onto the next one, and Hoseok finally seemed to start caving in. “I want to be a dancer,” was his simple and cold reply, but hey, we all need a little encouragement and comfort that we were going somewhere instead of looking like some kind of idiot standing in front of an orphanage.

“Really?” Taehyung raised his eyebrows, and motioned towards the boy to follow him to go to the car. “If you want, we could specifically open the windows so that you could enjoy the winter chills,” Taehyung had joked, and Hoseok merely rolled his eyes and grabbed Soo Min by the hand and followed him.

However, Jungkook could see the eyes of gratefulness peering at the arched, weak back.

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[A/N]

Thank you for even reading so far, it really means so much to me :') And yes, maybe you may have not realized, but Taehyung's older sister is actually a real writer! Her American name is really Echo, but she is Chinese and lived in (Taiwan or China) when she grew up. She is really famous in China, and as you may have also realized, English is one of of the languages I regularly use. I am not exactly American/British/White (no racism please), so please forgive me for any mistakes I have made in the course of this.

Don't be afraid to vot and comment, or even subscribe! It really means a LOT to me, so kamsahamnida :))))