jeon jungkook did not like to disappoint people.

the need to please others was engraved in his very essence, which is why he always went out of his way to do what others wanted, even when sometimes it went against what he wanted.

so when he was nearing college, his parents gave him a choice.

business or art.

for jungkook, art was everything. he adored painting- he was mesmerized with the way he could create different landscapes with just distinct flicks of a brush, with the way he could give others a taste of his mind and imagination.

but his parents, they gave him everything. he knew that he should have immediately chosen business to please his parents, he knew that there wasn't really a choice in the matter.

but why did he still hesitate?

why did his mouth have such a bitter taste when he told the college counselor "business" as his major?

why did the proud smile his parents gave him only made him sick to the stomach, instead of happy as it should have?

why couldn't he just be like people expected him to be?

 

.

 

five years later, and jungkook is now working at a company where he already lasted a year or so.

the pay was enough, the job came with benefits, and he was used to the same routine every day.

but why is it that he hated his life so much?

why is it that he dreaded waking up everyday just to go to work? why is that he feels hopeless as he does the same thing over and over again?

wake up, go to work, eat, sleep. repeat.

his life was on constant train ride that went in circles, with no where to escape. he was tired of this. he was tired of the routine. he was tired that the most exciting thing that happened to him since he graduated was when he won employee of the month. he hated that he just settled down for enough, when all his life he has just wanted more.

he hated his life.

 

.

 

the first time he went to the piano bar, as it was called, was on a saturday.

jungkook had never been a fan of alcohol, simply hating the way it made him so vulnerable to everyone.

but tonight, he decided, he just wanted to relax.

his plan was to drink a beer, two beer the most. but once he actually got to the bar, he was downing his third drink in just ten minutes.

he was about to go for his fourth, but a deep voice stopped him.

"aren't you too young, kid?"

he turned around and noticed for the first time since he got into the bar the man sitting to his left, sipping quietly on a cup with something that jungkook had no idea what it was.

he snorted, "i'm twenty two. are you sure you're not the kid here, what with your height?"

immediately, the other man sneered lightly. "look, kid, i'm older than you, you should respect me."

jungkook raised an eyebrow, and simply hummed in acknowledgement. he didn't speak again, but apparently the other guy had different ideas.

"what's got you in such a bad mood anyway?" asked the (apparently older) man, sipping elegantly on his drink. 

jungkook stared at him for a few seconds, but enough to make the other slightly uncomfortable, if by the way he was drinking a bit faster than before.

"long story," he simply said, turning back to his drink. "are you such an all the time?"

the elder sighed, "look, kid, we got off on the wrong foot. i'm not looking for a fight. let's just start again."

i just wanted to relax, not be social, thought bitterly jungkook. he should have expected it, though. after all, everything always seemed to go wrong for him.

"my name is yoongi," the elder offered his hand out, looking expectantly at jungkook.

he sighed again, but shook yoongi's hand regardless, "i'm jungkook. i would say nice to meet you, but it honestly wasn't."

yoongi frowned, "why? you were the one that insulted my height!"

"after you called me a kid!"

"being called young is usually a compliment, you know," yoongi went back to sipping on his drink.

jungkook almost groaned in exasperation, "yeah, but you didn't mean it as a compliment."

"whatever," yoongi grumbled, "weren't you going to tell me about your bad day?"

"why do you want to know?" jungkook asked, eyebrows clenched together in his forehead.

yoongi shrugged one shoulder, turning more towards the younger, "i need a distraction. just humor me."

for the first time since they had been talking, jungkook took notice of the small details. he saw how yoongi had dark bags under his eyes, how his fingers were almost white from how hard he was gripping his glass. he noticed how the elder wore a shirt with small holes in it, almost unnoticeable. 

maybe yoongi had just as bad of a day as jungkook, and judging from his exterior, perhaps even a worst life.

for the first time in a long while, jungkook felt like someone might relate to him. he wasn't letting this chance fly away.

"you want details?" jungkook asked, while motioning for the bartender to bring him a lemonade instead of another beer. he felt like this was a conversation he wanted to remember.

"sure, i've got all night." the other said, and with that, jungkook launched into the short tale of how his life became miserable.

he told yoongi about his parents, about his personality, about his inexplicable and burning love for art. he told the elder, who only listened intently, about how he never expected his life to turn out this way, filled with the same sense of normality that he never wanted. he told yoongi about what he wants, and how no matter how much he tries, he knows he won't be able to turn back time and just deny his parents, and just focus on his passion. he told yoongi all about his life.

when he finished, yoongi merely whistled, "wow."

jungkook waited a few seconds more, but when it was evident that the elder wasn't going to say anything else, he fired off, "really? i told you my whole life and all you say is "wow"?"

yoongi sighed, "what else do you want me to say, kid?"

"well, i don't know. maybe a reassurance that everything will be fine, maybe you should tell me to just follow my dreams. i dont know!" jungkook breathed in slowly, calming down, "just say anything."

"i'm not going to tell you everything will be fine, because i don't know that." yoongi began, "but i am gonna tell you that you can do whatever the you want. you're a ing adult, just do what feels right. if that's painting, then do that. if its because of your parents, then i'm sorry but you have to let go of them one day or another. you can't always expect them to show you the way, to let them help you make choices. you are your own person, and you should do what feels right for you."

jungkook was almost speechless. here was this random guy, telling him to basically ignore his parents and just follow his dream. but could he really do that? could he really handle seeing the disappointment in his dad's face and the sadness in his mother's eyes when he reveals he wants to become an artist? could he really do that?

"my parents gave me everything," he said instead, leaning on the bar counter, "this is my way of repaying them for all of that."

"fine then," yoongi said, not looking even at jungkook's direction, "then you're going to lose out of your dream. and once that happens, its hard getting it back."

he stared at the elder more, then asked, "what about you?"

"what about me?"

"what's your life story?"

yoongi seemed to be lost at the question, ignoring jungkook's questioning gaze. the elder drank and drank, but when he noticed that jungkook was not going to give up, he sighed, "it's a long story."

"i've got all night," jungkook smirked as he used yoongi's words against him. the elder gave him an unimpressed stare.

yoongi took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, making jungkook grimace a bit. he had always hated the smell of smoke, but he couldn't tell yoongi anything.

the elder lit up one cigarette, and began to tell jungkook the story of a boy who had so many dreams he became lost on what to do. yoongi wasn't specific like jungkook, instead, he merely told the younger the main details. he told him about his love for music, and how no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't complete the one song, his song. he smoked lungfuls of nicotine while narrating a tale about life. he told jungkook about how he didn't have a job, and how sometimes he barely had enough to keep surviving.

"but i can't give up," yoongi finished, "not before i finish my song."

jungkook swallowed the lump on his throat, and asked the first stupid thing that came to his mind. "how can you pay for the drinks?"

yoongi smirked, finishing his cigarette. "i play."

"you play?"

"i play the piano. and the manager gives me a few drinks in return."

"oh."

"yeah."

the pair turned silent for a while, simply sipping on their beverages as they stared at the wooden table in front of them, each lost in their thoughts. then, jungkook spoke, "yoongi-si-"

"call me hyung, kid."

jungkook started again, "hyung, i hope you finish your song one day. i know you'll finish it one day."

said man stared at the younger, quietly speaking, "thanks kid. you should follow your dreams, before it's too late."

jungkook nodded, and the pair fell silent once again. however, jungkook began to grin widely, showing his teeth, and said, "hyung! you should play something!"

the other was hesitant, and simply hummed.

"please hyung! i want to listen to your music. please! and i'll make you a painting one day." proposed the younger, to which yoongi merely chuckled. 

"fine." he said, briskly walking towards the piano in the back of the room, followed by an eager jungkook.

yoongi took a seat by the piano, and immediately, the manager turned off the recorded songs, and the bar was plunged into silence. people were about to whine, when yoongi began to play.

the first few notes were calm, but jungkook could see that this was merely the eye of the storm. unsurprisingly enough, the melody began to turn more harsh, more sharp. then, yoongi began to rap.

jungkook was mesmerized, as was the majority of the customers at the bar.

yoongi narrated stories with his piano, with his voice, with his words. he talked about injustices and forgotten heroes. he sang about the loss of dreams and the loss of youth. he remembered the painful memories of the past, and spoke about building new ones in the future. yoongi simply spoke his soul, and connected his heart and mind to the piano.

and when he finished, there was absolute silence for a few seconds. then, everything turned into chaos. people began to clap loudly, whistling and chanting to yoongi about one more song. yoongi merely stood, bowed, and began to walk back towards the bar.

jungkook followed again, taking his spot next to yoongi. he merely stared at the elder in amazement.

yoongi merely smirked slightly. "was it good?"

"was it good? was it good?" jungkook's voice rose, "hyung! that was amazing! i didn't know you could play like that!"

yoongi simply smiled, and said, "now you owe me some paintings."

 

.

 

ever since that day, jungkook frequented the bar, always in hopes of meeting yoongi again.

some days, the pair were able to talk more about anything and everything. sometimes, jungkook could only listen as yoongi played melancholic songs that reflected his mood. other times, the elder didn't even come.

but that didn't stop jungkook. instead, he began to work more on his dreams.

he went against his parents' wishes, and quit at the business he worked at. instead, he became a full time painter.

life became harsher then. sometimes, he would not have enough money to pay the bills. sometimes, he would have to take other side jobs to merely last enough for the month. but he didn't regret it.

because as yoongi had said, once you lose a dream, it's hard getting it back.

and jungkook would not lose his dream.

not again.

 

.

 

it was almost a year after that jungkook finally made it big.

by some miracle, after starving for days and not living comfortably, he was able to sell one of his paintings to a museum. a museum that paid a lot for it.

to this day, he still cannot comprehend how he was able to manage that, but he doesn't question it. instead, he smiled, and began to work on more and more paintings that he was able to easily sell once customers learned about his name in the museum.

he told yoongi this on a saturday night.

yoongi had smiled, gums showing, and simply said, "i knew you would make it, kook. you always had it in you."

jungkook had laughed in glee, and leaned towards yoongi. "what about you, piano man? sing us a song tonight!"

the elder had shook his head in amusement, already on his way towards the piano, when he said, "you still owe me a painting, kid."

 

.

 

jungkook always kept his promises.

so for the next week after that saturday, he worked on another painting.

however, this painting was different than the rest. he didn't need his imagination for it, no. he only needed his memories.

the painting was simple, using nothing else but black and white. he could have made it abstract, he could have made it more beautiful. but his memories weren't like that, yoongi wasn't like that. he merely showed the truth.

 

.

 

yoongi would forever deny it, but jungkook had seen the small tear that fell from his hyung's eye when he took in the piece jungkook had gifted him.

he had sniffled quietly, and whispered, "thank you."

yoongi had decided to leave the painting on the bar, near the back, where the piano laid. and so, with the permission of the manager, he hung it, and they both had smiled at it.

 

.

 

almost three years later, jungkook stares at that same painting that still hung from the wall. his throat clogged up. tears threatened to fall, but he quickly chugged his strong drink on hopes of stopping them. but nothing was helping. nothing could help. all he could do was close his eyes, and simply let the tears fall (like he had let yoongi fall).

 

.

 

in the corner of the bar, near where a piano lays, there is a single painting hanging on the wall.

the painting was simple, but beautiful nonetheless. it spoke of truths and memories. of a beautiful past.

it showed the saturday nights where the piano man came to sing to the people. the piano man was sitting on the stool, hands on the keys, eyes closed. the piano was as mesmerizing as always, as fierce and as intriguing as it was.

the painting was simple, but then again, most beautiful things are simple in a way we least expect them to be.

 

 

Notes:

do you feel closer to the truth? can you already guess what happened?

have you ever had a dream, like jungkook? have you ever chased after that dream? or are you waiting, working for it, like yoongi?

have you ever dreamt of more?

the truth is, dreams are nothing more than dreams that begin to fade away over time. it is our actions that begin to make those dreams a reality, a goal. if you have a dream, are you willing to risk losing it for someone else? remember, sometimes before it gets better, life gets worse. what happened with jungkook does not happen with everyone. not every person is lucky enough to achieve greatness, but every person is lucky enough to be able to try.

that's why i'm asking you, you, will you give it a try?

in order to understand the next part of the story, you need to understand the feeling of missing.

have you ever felt like something was missing in your life, like you needed something more, someone more? have you ever missed out on something, only to feel deep regret after? have you ever been stuck on your life, with nowhere to go?

jin knew this feeling all too well.

he also had a dream. he also wanted to go places. he also wanted to go far.

but why didn't he? or better yet,

what was he missing?

if you want to know,

click next