"How... What are you doing here... appa?" He stiffened. It is strange how distant the word appa is to him. Jungkook fixed his eyes on the hard floor instead of toward his father who was keenly staring at him. 

 

Mr Jeon who sat across him on the couch let out a sigh in despair. He leaned forward as he clutched both his hand together. 

 

"Where is she?" 

 

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows before he finally grasp on the topic. 

 

"You mean Eunha?" 

 

His father nodded once as he stared onto his unfortunate son.

 

"She's at her parents house." He simply replied with his croaky voice.

 

"You're okay?" 

 

Jungkook took a glance toward his father as he heard his concerned tone. 

 

"Oh? Yeah... I got rained on. Nothing serious. It's just a sore throat." He said as he cleared his throat.

 

"No... I mean... You look miserable." 

 

This time, his gaze was totally shifted from the hard floor toward his own father. He keep staring at Mr Jeon for a while before looking away in disgust. He grimaced over the fact that the words somehow sounded way more insincere than that person intended to. 

 

Or so he thought. 

 

"Well, I... kind of suspected something went wrong when Eunha didn't replied any of my letters. She has been doing so, for about 5 years till now... and I find it quite absurd for her to suddenly stop doing it." He said, solemnly. 

 

Jungkook mind then flew back to few years ago, a few months after his father left him. Alone. And, dejected. He still remembers how he used to despise everything and everyone who tried to help, including Eunha. 

 

That was the day the mail man came to his house, delivering a single postcard. 

 

He nearly tore it down but Eunha was faster, as she snatched it from him and read the words out loud. He closed his ears anyway. 

 

He doesn't understand what's the point of a person who left him with almost nothing, trying to make him feel better by writing a story of how he was amazed by the sparkling, crystal-clear water as he excitedly jogged down the lane of Manly to spit coastal walk or even when he almost shed a happy tears over eating raw, uncooked fresh seafood that thousand times tasted better than the one they had in Busan. It was ridiculous. Really. 

 

Nonetheless, upon seeing Eunha's excited self, he feel sudden warmth in the inside. Thus, when the second postcard came, this time from Timor Leste, he let the girl be as she jumped around, fanning the piece of paper sideways, showing it off to invisible souls. Since then, it was as if a ritual for her, to wait patiently for the mail man to drop by. 

 

Till this one day, after she learnt the father of her beloved guy sometimes stayed in certain place longer than he did with some others when they consecutively received two postcards from a same place, she wrote back to him, promising that she will update him regarding their life occurrence if he is willing to wait for their reply. 

 

And, of course he wordlessly agreed to it. It was the least he could do, to still proudly call himself a father of Jeon Jungkook. 

 

"So, I called the Mins and they told me everything for what've happened. I'm... sorry to hear that, Jungkook. I really do." 

 

Earnest eyes and genuine regret shaded his father's words. Jungkook blinked couple of times, processing the statement. He hardly understand the situation. 

 

What is this person doing here?

 

Why is he trying to encroach on his private, personal life after leaving him alone as if he meant nothing to him? 

 

And, what rights did he own to make him feel so vulnerable over a few sentences? 

 

This person never even in the world  would tried to act as a father before, so why bother acting like one now? 

 

He shook his head lightly before turning into his blank father. 

 

"I... don't think this is the right time for us to talk about this. My head is throbbing real bad in the moment and I need to get some rest. You are free to roam around though. I knew you're well aware of our door's password. Eunha always sent you one in case you're going to drop by. Isn't it?" 

 

And, with that, he strode angrily to his room, leaving his dumbfounded father alone. 

 

***

 

Glutton Pink Hyung: Pick up your phone. It's urgent.

 

Yoongi was scrolling his twitter when the katalk notification flashed on him. He groaned grumpily and vented out his displeasure on the keypad. 

 

Swag Grampy Suga: No thanks. 

Swag Grampy Suga: 💩

Swag Grampy Suga: 💩

Swag Grampy Suga: Typing...

Glutton Pink Hyung: WHATTT? 😡

 

He smirked over Jin's reply. 

 

Glutton Pink Hyung: I really have something important to discuss Yoongi!! 

Swag Grampy Suga: If it's about you or Sowon or even anything related to both of you, then I'll pass😴

 

Jin started to get impatient as he sent another reply. 

 

Glutton Pink Hyung: PICK UP YOuR DaMN PhonEeeee!!!!! 😡😡

 

"Urghhh, fine!" Yoongi growled out of frustration as he slide the green button. 

 

"Finally!" Groaned Jin on the other line. 

 

Yoongi rolled his eyes out of exasperation. 

 

"Yeah, yeah. What's up?" He answered lazily. 

 

"I need to talk to you." 

"Make it fast." 

"What?" 

"What what?" 

"Is that the way to talk to someone who is older than you?" 

"Hyung, I'm sleepy..." Yoongi said as he feigned yawn of boredom. 

 

"Ouff, okay. It's Umji."

 

There was sudden silence on the line and it certainly scared the dickens out of Jin. 

 

"Are you still there?" 

"I'm listening." Jin exhaled in relief with the answer. 

 

"Hmmm, do you have any schedule tomorrow?"

"Not that I remember. Why?" 

"Can you please go check on her tomorrow, Yoongi? She seems out of place lately. It's worrying." 

 

Another silence. 

 

"He-hello?" Jin start to panic as Yoongi didn't say anything. 

 

"I'll see what I can do. Thanks Hyung." He sighed as he hang up the call. 

 

That was last night. 

 

Yoongi was then brought to reality as he realised he almost accidentally burnt the pajeon in the pan. He quickly turned it over with a ladle to get it cooked evenly. 

 

"Have you always been the one who loves surprise in the past, oppa?" Umji let out a chuckle. 

 

It was quite a blessing for her when the first thing that she happened to set her eyes on in the early morning was Yoongi, standing outside her house with his gummy smile and plastics of groceries. 

 

And, the words that come from his  mouth as he walked to her kitchen was even better. 

 

"I'll prepare your breakfast for today." 

 

Yoongi smiled cheekily and shrugged away the question. 'Only for you.' He thought to himself and his smile grew wider. 

 

Umji then diverted her body toward the boiling stew. 

 

"But, really. It's been a while since I had full course breakfast like this, oppa." Yoongi eyed her silently as she transfer the pot of haemultang from the stove to the kitchen table with her anticipating smile. 

 

The truth is, Yoongi knew well that Umji was serious with her words. And, that's the reason he came prepared. He deliberately shopped for some groceries in advanced to cook something for the girl. As he was well aware that she skipped her meals most of the time. 

 

"Hey, breakfast like a king, remember? And, who told you to disturb me in my kitchen? I've told you to stay out from my territory, right?"

"I simply hate the thought of my first meal of the day to be the worst of all." Umji playfully acted nonchalant, shrugging her shoulders.

 

"And mind you oppa, it's my kitchen." She said, emphasised on MY. 

 

"Hey." Yoongi whined while pouting his mouth and scrunched his nose up like a sulky kid who couldn't get his lollipop. 

 

Consequently, earning a loud hearty laugh from the girl. 

 

***

 

Eunha rushed through the front door as she heard the doorbells rang. She looked through the peephole and turned upwards radiantly, recognising the figure. 

 

"Food delivery!" The figure exclaimed out loud. 

 

"Taehyung oppa!" She squealed in delight. 

 

Eunha got even more hyped up as Taehyung lightly swayed 3-tier plastic container on his hand sideways. 

 

"What is this?" She asked with her high-pitched, thrilled voice as they headed to the kitchen. 

 

"Home cooked meal." Taehyung flashed his rectangular smile. 

 

"I heard from Yerin that you rarely ate decent meal these days. So, I was thinking maybe I could prepared something for you."

"Decent? I did eat decent food, oppa." She lifted her eyebrows in confusion. 

 

"What do you mean by decent? Prepackaged? Processed food? You ate fast food all the time." Mocked Taehyung as he transfer the dishes into plates. Eunha pouted a bit before her eyes caught on the food. 

 

"Galbi-jjim!" Jolly grin flashed on her face as she clapped her hand out of amusement. 

 

"It's your favourite, isn't it? Along with japchae, budae jigae and hobak-jeon." He pointed to all the dishes that he had prepared. 

 

Eunha jolted, gasped in surprise with his statement. 

 

"Wait. How do you know about this, oppa?" Taehyung cheekily smile at her, leaving her question temporarily unanswered. 

 

"It taste exactly like my mom's!" She opened in awe as she tasted one of the braised rib. Taehyung unknowingly let out a chuckle over his cute sister-in-law.

 

"Jungkook told me. I did ask Yerin about it but she said you'll just gobbled any food down anyway, so I ask him instead. He even teach me how to prepare it, saying this is jangmonim's recipe." 

 

"Oh." Her face grew solemn.  

 

"Do you still avoid him, Eunha?" He hesitantly poked on the topic. 

 

"All I wanted was a truth, oppa..." She let out a sigh of despair. She locked her eyes on the floor as she continued,

 

"I thought by doing this, he might eventually gave in and come clean about everything but... he was just too stubborn to begin with."

"Same goes to you too, Eunha." She raised up her head, arching her eyebrows curiously. 

 

Taehyung smiled sympathetically as he uttered, 

 

"Eunha... I know nothing about what could've possibly happened between you two but if there is something that you should aware is, your husband, Jungkook, he really loves you."

 

He took a pause, peeking onto the girl's gloomy expression. Her eyes had already shifted back on the floor, avoiding his stare. 

 

"He really loves you, Eunha. Jungkook has been known as an emotionally unavailable kid since he's young. He never think that his emotional experience matter to anyone. He didn't even cried when his father scolds him for singing in front of everyone, he didn't even cried when his father made him stand outside with only his briefs at 2 in the morning when he failed his exam just because he got a high fever a day prior to it, and he in fact didn't even let out a single tear at his mother's funeral. All because he doesn't want to be seen as weak and vulnerable by people around him."

 

A sudden numb feeling overwhelming her with the new information that she received. 

 

"But, the day you got into the accident, he bawls his heart out, holding dearly both of your hands, telling you how sorry he is, and he promised he won't appear in front of you anymore if that would save you. He loves you. And, he does a lot."

 

Her heart sank into her shoes as she realised how much damage she had done to him. She immediately felt instant remorse as she continuously blamed herself inside her head. 

 

***

 

"This is good oppa!" Umji widened her eyes in amusement. 

 

Yoongi grinned proudly with the overpraised compliment, showing off his gums. 

 

"I'm glad you like it." 

"Absolutely! Your future wife can rest assured if she doesn't feeling well and wasn't able to cook you anything." 

 

His face flushed with the remark. And it turned into another dark shade of red as she flashed him her sweet smile. 

 

"Anyway, how's the lawsuit going?" 

 

Umji face drop in an instant and guilty start to overfill Yoongi as she put down her chopsticks. 

 

"I know it's useless and we were bound to lose from the start. However, regardless of the outcome, I really wanted to fight over, oppa. I wanted to prove once and for all that my thoughts matter as much as my life do." 

 

Yoongi stared deep into the unfortunate girl as Jin's voice bounced in his head. 

 

"She was tricked into signing a slavery contract and Sowon knew nothing regarding the misconduct. She got a few job here and there but the pay didn't even matched up her efforts. Eventually, she fell into the world of doom with insane workloads and unending runaways. The worst of all was when Umji admitted that she was almost penniless by the end of last year even when she was ranked as the second most wanted model at Japan in the same year. That's what happened, Yoongi." 

 

Yoongi swallowed big lump in his throat as he was reminded by Jin's story. He tried to curve the warmest smile ever as he uttered, 

 

"I'll support you no matter what Umji. I'll come running to you..."

 

He took a pause, gathering his courage as he said the last sentence. 

 

"Whenever you need me." 

 

***

 

"Jungkook-shi. There's a call from front desk, they said someone is waiting for you at the lobby." 

 

It was a few minutes nearing his lunch break and Jungkook can't help to wonder who is the person. Part of him was wishing that it would be great if it's Eunha, because apparently, that sounded more like what she would've done in the past.

 

Yet, deep down he knew. The chance was very slim and it was a mere an empty dream, that should be crushed before it could broke his fragile heart more. 

 

He then fastened his steps as the elevator's door opened on the ground floor. With a quick twist of his head, he scanned the room, looking around for a possible acquaintance. 

 

"Hey." 

 

Jungkook turned anxiously toward the voice to see a familiar figure was standing with a plastic container that most likely filled with food. 

 

"Appa..." With a slow voice, he tentatively voiced out. 

 

Mr Jeon walked to him with a wide smile. Something that had never seen for a while. A dad. Walking to him. With a smile. 

 

They then went to the nearest bench outside the building. As they settled on it, his father handed him the container, caressing his nape. 

 

"In one of those letter that Eunha sent me, she did mention that she'll prepare your lunch every day as she knew you'll likely skip your meal if you didn't had hers." 

 

It was as if Jungkook eyes were plastered on his father's sincere smile as he kept on staring intently at him with an unreadable expression. 

 

"It instantly reminded me of how I wouldn't tasted anyone's coffee other than your omma's." Mr Jeon chuckled as he was reminisced by his young, immature self.

 

"How did you know my office's address?" Jungkook tried to change the subject as he shoved one of the tuna sandwich that had been prepared by his father. 

 

"Eunha told me." Jungkook almost choked on the food as he widened his eyes in disbelief. 

 

"Gosh. What else did she told you?" He muttered with a beet root cheek as he playfully rolled his eyes. 

 

"Everything, everything about both of you. But, mostly you." His father gently smiled at him. Jungkook looked away in a distance, shoulders sagged. 

 

"I knew that it must be hard for you right now, Jungkook. But, Eunha really loves you. And, she really wish the best for you."

"... I know." 

"Regarding the memory loss... have you tried triggered her with something? Or even things that can bring her memory back?" Jungkook nodded weakly. 

 

His father let out a sigh as he peered on his wretched face. 

 

"Hmmm... You must let her remember by feelings, Jungkook." 

"Feelings?" 

"Yes, try stimulated her with some feelings that were involved with each of the recollections, it might ensure the memories to reappear again."

 

Jungkook sat quietly, an image of him and Eunha dancing on their wedding day, giggling over trivial things, or even playfully teasing each other, sank his heart more. 

 

He missed her. 

 

He missed them. 

 

He took a deep breath, exchanging his gaze with his father, trying to improve the depressed atmosphere. 

 

"Hmm... where are you staying last night, appa? I waked up to see you're not around anymore." Mr Jeon feel warm in the inside as Jungkook's stares had soften a little bit. 

 

"Our house." He said with a faint smile. 

 

"I've been missing it a lot. And, I'm sorry I couldn't become a great father for you. I was too immersed with my own sadness, I forgot I have a responsibility to handle." 

"It's okay appa... I'm already 18 at that time. It's pretty normal for me to actually led my own life at that age."

"I'm terribly sorry for what happened, Jungkook. I really do."

 

Mr Jeon eyes was on his son's face, intently scrutinising, watching for his reaction, hoping that he would understand him, and not be upset with him.

 

"My lunch break is going to end in a few minutes..."

 

Jungkook stood from his seat and looked at her father with a sincere smile. 

 

"What say you, if we planned for a dinner together tonight?" 

 

A tear almost escaped his eyes as Jungkook gently hold his shoulders. 

 

"That... sounds lovely, Jungkook-ah..." 

 

***

 

The clock on the wall reads 8 pm when Eunha heard loud growl from her stomach. And, an advertisement regarding new ramen in town as she switched on the tv certainly didn't help it get better. She reached for her pursed in the room and wrapped her slender body with long sleeve, oversized cardigan, happily skipping to the convenience store located a stone's throw away for her house.  

 

As she arrived, she grabbed a pack of spicy ramen with a carton of banana milk and quickly went to the counter to pay them. She then rushed outside with a bright smile pasted on her face as she imagined the delicious ramen. 

 

It was a good night, she thought to herself. The weather was not too windy and she could still see some flowers blooming even with the dim street lights. 

 

Eunha was busy with her own thoughts when she suddenly feel a hand brutally grab her right shoulder from behind. She baffled, trying to pull away but unfortunately the stranger hold her stronger. She wanted to scream for a help, but her lips sealed tight, and she was practically drowned with her own terror. 

 

He yanked her down, exposing her vulnerable side as she fall into the cold tar. She looked around for a sign of any single human who she could reached for. But none. Not even a single soul was seen on the dark, lonely alley. Tears starts to fill her eyes and she shuddered in fear as the figure took a step closer, smiling in a vicious way she had only seen in a crime drama before. 

 

"Sshhh..." he whispered, putting his index finger on her lips. 

 

She tried to crawl away but her body froze even more as he laughed quietly at her. 

 

"I won't hurt you." 

 

Eunha pray earnestly in her heart. 'Anyone. Anyone will do.' She shut her eyes, desperately seeking a miracle. 

 

"It's okay sweetheart. There, there. Don't be scared." He tapped her cheek, forcing her to open her eyes. 

 

As she tremblingly opened them, her eyes then darted onto a silhouette that emerged from the corner of the street, jerking the stranger from behind. 

 

"Run, Eunha!" Jungkook yelled as he struggled to hold the mugger down, distracting him away.

 

"Run!" He urged her as she froze on the spot. Her breathing begun to quicken when she caught on the mugger's hand trying to attack his husband with a shiny, sharp pointed object that she believed most likely to be a knife. 

 

"No!!!!" She finally screamed out loud as the person manage to freed away after he jabbed the weapon into her husband's stomach. The muggers hissed in fury as he pulled the knife and disappeared from their sight.

 

She move toward her husband, cried in horror as she watch ooze of blood from his stomach spread onto the road.

 

"Are you... o-okay?" Her voice wavered as she glanced on the spilled blood. 

 

Jungkook growled out of pain as he tried to put pressure on the wound site. He then tried his best to calm his wife as he arduously patted her shoulder.

 

"It'll be okay..." He whispered. Eunha can't content the pool of tears in her eyes as it flowed down her cheeks. 

 

"I'll be okay." He rest-assured her.

 

Ps: if there is any question regarding the dish or even some other Korean words that I used in this chapter kind of baffled you guys out, then you are free to ask 😁

 

Pss: Wait!! I just realised that this chapter is all about food lolllll~~~ well, food is love hahaha