Chapter 25:
Jungmee and Taehyung walked down the sidewalk in silence. They are both wrapped around in their own respective thoughts.
The sun hide behind some fluffy clouds and the wind swayed against their skin. Most of the sun had melted but it was still cold enough to wear a jacket. For Taehyung it felt just like the day his life changed forever.
Believe it or not Taehyung once had a happy life. He had his mother and father. He wasn't super rich like Jungmee and Minhee or Hoseok and Yoongi but his parents together made a pretty good income. His father was a businessman. And his mother was a nurse. He had a good life.
Everthing was fine until his father got leukemia. And died when Taehyung was just eleven. He watched as his mother became lifeless and forgot about him. He would walk into his home to find her crawled up in bed with puffy eyes. She would go to work but then come back to repeat that routine everyday.
His mother brought money home to support them. It was a decent amount to pay bills and bring food.
Taehyung missed his father but he knew he had to move on with his life.
After Taehyung turned his thirteen his mother changed. She became a happier person. He noticed how Thursday nights she would storm out of her room wearing elegant dresses. He noticed her wearing makeup and doing her hair instead of her usual low bun.
He later found out his mother was seeing someone new. Someone older.
His mother planned a dinner for him and the man who stole her heart. Taehyung met the man. He was 45 and was a pharmacists working in the same hospital as his mom. His name was Han Yong Woo.
Taehyung learned that Han Yongo was once married. However, his wife and him divorced and she moved back to Japan. His first wife was 20 years younger then him. He also learned that he didn't have any children so Taehyung wouldn't have to share anything with anyone.
Taehyung got along with Mr. Han. After that dinner Mr. Han would show up at their home occasionally for the next few months. He would also take Taehyung, Jimin and Jungkook to baseball games. He seemed like the perfect man.
One hot summer day, Mr. Han asked Taehyung for his permission to ask his mother in marriage. Taehyung agreed. He wanted to see his mother happy again. And she was with Mr. Han
She would smile again like she used to. He didn't want to be a wall that trapped his mother from her happiness. Even though Mr. Han was going to be his step-father and was a great men he would never fill up the hole in his heart his father left.
Mr. Han and Taehyung's mother got eloped a couple of months later. They had a very small and moderate wedding reception. They both looked really happy. Taehyung hoped this relationship would last long.
Within the first month after their wedding Taehyung's mother decided to sell their old home. They also sold most of the furniture since they didn't want to bring anything that reminded them of the painful past.
They moved into Mr. Han's apartment. It was a lot bigger and in the wealthier side of Seoul. Taehyung liked how everything was looking so far. They occupied themselves with coloring the walls, buying furniture for his new room and organizing.
The first three months were the nice. Mr. Han was caring and kind. Taehyung's mom was happy. Everything would stay the same or so Taehyung thought.
Then one day everything changed.
His mother and Mr. Han began to have small conflicts. At first they were small arguments and that would later proceed to forgiveness. As time passed they became arguments that involved slamming doors in eachothers' faces and leaving the house for days. Mr. Han would leave the house for a few days and would come back all drunk or sober.
Taehyung noticed his mother look gloomier then before. When he would ask her if she was okay she would smile faintly and nod. She would lock herself in her room when she was out of work and occasionally make dinner. Mr. Han would only show up once a while to eat and then go back to being drunk.
Taehyung decided to keep his distance from his mother and step-father so he would leave home for days and stay over at Jungkook's.
Throughout that time Taehyung developed bad habits such as gambling, drinking, tagging and smoking once a while. He became very short tempered after his first girlfriend broke up with him. He believed she was the only person that understood what was going. Taehyung had forgotten what happened in his home and completely missed out on what his mother was going through.

Taehyung was roaming some old apartments. Mr. Han had lost his apartment. They had to move to a nieghborhood where the apartments were cheaper and the neighborhood was a little more dangrous. He ran out out of the apartment after he heard his parents arguing once more. He sat on the dirty old pavement in his dark hoodie and black jeans. He took a few sips of his drink and looked off into the distance. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He had the urge to stand up and walk back home. He crossed a bridge that divided him from his usual hang out with the boys and back home. As he got to the top of the bridge he grabbed his hoodie and placed it on his head. His bangs covered his eyes. It had been a couple of months since his last haircut but he couldn't afford it. For some odd reason, his mother's income was disappearing including Mr. Han's. He spit on the ground and with the stick in his hand he hit the root beer that was sitting on the fence. The old root beer splattered across him but he didn't mind.
He reached home. The moment he unlocked the door, he heard his mother weeping. He heard Mr. Han yelling at her. He got closer to the room and leaned against the door frame.
He saw his mother in tears. Her white blouse was buttoned down. Her hair was down and messy. Her mascara ran down her face. Mr. Han was wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans. Bottles of empty liquor were splattered everywhere.
He pushed his mother against the drawers. She fell back and screamed in pain.
Taehyung felt the blood inside him boil up. He looked around and snatched an empty beer glass. He bolted towards Mr. Han and pushed him against the window. He hit him with the glass bottle in the top of the head and it splattered everywhere.
Taehyung took a few steps back and watched as Mr. Han cursed at him. He got close to him again and with the broken glass he struck Mr. Han in the stomach. He stabbed him four times until the blood splattered everywhere. Taehyung's mother pulled her son away. Taehyung threw the glass on the floor and examined his dirty hands. He watched as Mr. Han fell to the floor and held his stomach tightly. Tears welled up in his eyes as he took steps backward.
"Leave Taehyung." His mother cried. "Go away."
Without a second thought Taehyung ran off as fast as he could. He doesn't remember how but he broke into an abandoned house until dark. And he waited for the cops to find him but they never did.
His mother was taken to jail for the crime he committed. She took his guilt and was accused of killing Mr. Han.
Mr. Han died a few hours later on the hospital from what he knew.
His mother didn't want to see Taehyung the first months. She didn't want to speak to him. It hurt him deeply.
His aunt took Taehyung as his legal guardian while his mother was in prison. Of course his mother would be in prison for many years.
To this day, Taehyung doesn't speak of it. He never told anyone what truly happened but his friends. He is afraid that people will find out. And what if Jungmee finds out? Will she walk away? Or will she accept the crime he did? Because at the end of the day Taehyung knows he murdered someone.

"So where are we going?" Jungme