"Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them."
- Bruce Lee

Dalnim

Something about the smell of roasted coffee on a snowy day always made Dalnim feel nostalgic. With one hand wound around a white mug, the black color of her fingernails standing out intensely against the color as bright as the crisp new snow, she leaned back into the comfortable armchair in a cafe Taehyung had suggested.

The whole space was decorated neatly; light wooden tables surrounded by chairs and worn-out armchairs that gave the whole shop a charming feeling, adorable tea-light holders and flowers sat on the table tops along with the simple menus.

As the door opened, carrying the sound of the busy streets of Hongdae into the small, crammed space, it sent another whiff of the strong coffee scent right into Dalnim's nose, and she closed her eyes against it, letting it carry her away.

She couldn't remember much about her family home – too many things had happened to her in the meantime, and she chose for herself that it would be healthier for her soul to just forget – but the memory of the smell of freshly brewed coffee on a Sunday morning in winter would never leave her, since it was anchored deep into every sense of her.

It reminded her about how they would sit at the kitchen table, her parents both holding matching mugs in their hands, the steam curling up into the air in swirls, and Daeun and her sipping on their hot chocolates. The whole house would be warmed by the fireplace in the living room, and soft classical music was filling the whole house as her father sat in front of their grand piano, his fingers skimming over the keys quickly while rocking back and forth in rhythm.

Remembering those special days, a small smile crept on Dalnim's lips and her fingers tightened around the cup until her knuckles stood out white. She raised her gaze again, looking into the faces of the people around her -

Jimin was sitting directly opposite of her. His eyes were crescent moons as he smiled brightly at something Taehyung had said, throwing a small paper ball at his friend.

Taehyung was just ducking away from the throw, but it hit him anyway. His slender fingers raked through his fluffy hair and a low chuckle emerged from the back of his throat, passing through his square smile.

At the right end of the table, sitting next to Jimin and Dalnim, Hoseok was seated. After she had introduced him as her brother, Jimin and Taehyung invited him to tag along without giving it a second thought. Dalnim was amazed once again by how quick he managed to be friends with people – but his humorous and open personality made him very likable. Dalnim really wished they met under other circumstances – in another life, maybe.

And, lastly, sitting in the gray arm chair next to her was Jungkook. Unlike his friends, he seemed really stiff; his spine was straight as a poker, his fingers cramped around the cup he held, and his jaws were clenched tightly as his eyes were glued on Dalnim's best friend, attentively watching every move he made.

Dalnim was sure that there was something going on, that Jungkook had something on his mind, she had no clue about. Did he recognize him from somewhere?

Faintly, the picture of Hoseok in the Pizza Hut uniform scraped at the edge of her memory. Did Hoseok do anything back then...?

“Hoseok, we're having a little party tonight to celebrate Taehyung's win” Jimin began, his elbows balancing his weight on the table and his chin propped on his hands as he watched the stranger. “Why don't you come? Dasom's family is our family.”

“Hyung.” Jungkook's voice sounded warning as he talked to Jimin; his eyes alarmed at Jimin's rash words. It was like his gaze was drilling into Jimin's eyes but he was unwavering. When he spoke, Jimin talked to Hoseok, but he was still looking at Jungkook, making it clear who the senior was.

“We would be very glad to welcome you.”

Dalnim's eyes shifted from stern Jimin over sulking Jungkook to blank Hoseok. She knew him well enough that he was weighing something; options that needed considering. The tension in between the three men was almost palpable, and she feared that the situation would escalate in one way or another.

To her relief, Hoseok shook his head. “As much I would love to” he grinned and got up from his seat. “But I have places to go. People to meet.”

One by one, the group got up as well, leaving the cafe. Out on the cold street, Dalnim gave her best friend a quick, tight hug and a smile, before the other guys said good-bye, shaking hands and bumping fists. When it was Jungkook's turn, both men hesitated, but as soon as Hoseok got a hold of the black-haired boy, he pulled him into a brotherly hug. Dalnim didn't like the challenging look on his face at all, and as he spoke something in Jungkook's ear – words too quiet for her to hear – she saw his body tensing.

Dalnim made a mental note to kick Hoseok's balls for behaving like a dickhead.

Their little group watched him walk off until he turned a corner. Taehyung was the first to snap back, facing them with a grin and ruffling his hair.

“Huh” he sighed. “Too bad he can't come. He seems like a really cool – yah! Jeon Jungkook where are you going? I'm talking!”

Jungkook, who had been standing next to Dalnim just a second ago, was walking into the opposite direction now, his hand in his pockets and his back still stiff. As Tae kept calling after him, he stayed unwavering, ignoring him and just walked on.

“I'll go talk to him” Dalnim assured Jimin, for Taehyung was still yelling down the street for Jungkook to 'turn his impolite back around'.

“Thanks” Jimin sighed and put his forehead in wrinkles. “I just don't get him. Talk some sense into him, will you?”

Dalnim nodded, giving him a small smile. When she turned around, the breeze was cold and she flapped her collar up to shield her face. Jungkook was already far ahead of her, and she was well aware that calling him wouldn't do any good. Whatever Hoseok said to him – it seemed to have shaken him up.

At a red light, she was finally able to catch up to him. Dalnim stood next to him, wordless, staring straight ahead to wait for the light to turn green. As expected, Jungkook stayed silent as well, and when they could finally cross the street, it was hard for her to keep up to the strides of his long legs.

It seemed that they walked aimlessly for about half an hour, when Dalnim noticed that she had no clue where they actually were. The streets they passed were narrow and dirty, the houses shabby. Overall, it appeared to be very abandoned and Dalnim wondered if there was anyone living here at all.

As she pondered away, she suddenly bumped into something warm and soft, but stiff as a stick.

Jungkook stood, head tilted back, eyebrows furrowed, and eyes fixed to a single lit window.

“Ah, sorry” Dalnim began, taking a step back hurriedly as she noticed how close she was, blushing at the sudden skinship. “I should've watched where-”

“Do you know who lives here?” he asked so suddenly, his voice flat and dead, she wasn't even mad that he had interrupted her apology. He was still staring straight ahead, showing no sign of actually expecting her to answer.

“No” she answered hesitantly. “Maybe a homeless old man? Or a prostit-”

“My mom.”

Never had she heard Jungkook talk about anything personal before – she didn't know his favorite author or what music he liked – so her eyes widened in shock at his plain words.

She wanted to punch herself in the face for her narrowly thought answers, and she was shocked that he had brought her here.

If Namjoon knew...

“Oh, my god. Jungkook I didn't mean to-”

Jungkook silenced her as he finally turned to face her. His face was a mess of emotions; tears build in his dark eyes, letting them glister beautifully in the slowly setting sun, his full lips curled into a sad smile, and when the stinging in his eyes finally won over him, his eyelids were shaded darkly as he closed them, freeing drops of tears out of their prison.

Dalnim watched him bite his lip, his lower jaw trembling against the tears. “I don't come here often” Jungkook mumbled. “I'm afraid I will disappoint her when she sees me.”

With forming a silent o, Dalnim didn't know what to say or do. The sound of him taking a shaking breath pained her soul and she wanted to do nothing more than take all the pain from him. Instead, she watched the drops of tears strain his handsome face, and the tip of his tongue trace his lips before he spoke.

“It has never been the same since that one night.”

Jungkook

Jungkook had a great childhood to everyone watching.

He was doing great in elementary school and was always at the top of his class. He was a very active and open child, whose thirst for knowledge and adventure was unreal.

With his dark hair and eyes, and his witty personlity, he was very popular with the girls on his school, but Jungkook was way too young to care about that. Instead, he only cared about his friends and his bike. On the weekends, he would always ride it with his best friend Yugyeom. They would ride up and down their street, and in the summer, his parents always allowed him to go camping on the beach with Yugyeom's family.

Jungkook was undeniably having the best time a 12-year-old boy could have.

In front of his closed family home, that was.

Mr. Jeon worked as the secretary in a middle-sized company in Busan. He was earning good money and he always brought Jungkook toys when he was away on a business trip.

Mrs. Jeon wasn't working. She cared for Jungkook with the passion of a loving mother and she was paid with the smiles he gave her and whenever he complimented her cooking.

His parents were great individually, but they hadn't been getting along for a couple of year. When Jungkook was 9, he came home from school and found his mother crying on the kitchen floor because his father had cheated on her.

When he was 10, he was in his room playing video games when he heard them fighting in the living room. He tried to blend it out so hard, but as their voices grew louder, Jungkook became scared. As he walked downstairs, wanting to tell them to stop, he had watched his father hit his mom and her whimpering made his eyes tear up.

When he was 11, Jungkook and Yugyeom went to the city after school to get some sweets and look at toys, when they had seen his father kiss another woman. Jungkook got so angry he started yelling at him, earning himself a good slap and got grounded for 3 weeks.

On Jungkook's 12th birthday, there was no money left for his parents to get him a cake, let alone buy him a present. His mom had told him that his father had spent it all on alcohol, gambling and women, and when he had asked her why she didn't do anything about it, she said that there was nothing she could do.

A few months later, on a hot summer night, his father barged into the house, reeking of alcohol, staggering and yelling – and his crisp, white shirt covered in blood. He had been holding a black bag and threw them to their feet, insane giggles bubbling from his mouth as he had explained that they didn't need to worry about money anymore, hat he had taken care of it. Jungkook remembered being scared and clutching his mothers hand as tightly as he could. She was scared, too, he could tell. When she asked what Mr Jeon had done, she slapped her, telling her to shut her ungrateful mouth.

He fell asleep on the couch as the alcohol weighed him down, and Mrs Jeon had taken the chance to call the police. As they rang the door bell, Jungkook hid himself behind the kitchen door, watching the scene from far away. Three officers walked in, their guns clearly visible at their belts, and his mom led them in the living room, where they woke up his father and cuffed him up. Mr Jeon started yelling at his mom, calling her names and his legs ashing out to kick her, but the officers pushed him to the ground.

Right before they dragged him out, his father, face red, eyes wide and saliva dripping from his chin, yelled something he would never be able to forget.

The day I'm out, I will kill you. Both of you.

By the time Jungkook was done talking about what had happened, he sat next to Dasom on the curb of the deserted street. The sun almost vanished, sprinkling the gray sky with pink. Both of them were silent for a while and Jungkook started playing with the little stones on the pavement.

He wasn't sure as to what make of Dasom's silence. Was she shocked? Did she care? She wasn't facing him and he was too afraid to talk.

Surprisingly, he felt like a huge weight lifted from his chest. Breathing felt easier and his mind felt a bit less crammed, as if the tears he had shed while talking took a part of his misery with them. Never had he imagined telling anyone about what caused his insomnia, his nightmares, his overall recklessness, let alone feeling this relieved afterwards.

Any passerby would see a boy and a girl crying on a street, and they would assume that they perhaps had just broken up.

In reality, th