Jungkook kicked the door closed and pulled off his shoes, letting them fall on the ground carelessly. His fingers met the cracked, old wall with its fading paint.

The house was dark, the sunlight unable to flash its light above the horizon and through the dark curtains. “Mom?” he called out.

His voice echoed in the vacant house, so lifeless unlike that of six years ago.

There used to be a piano in the corner, where a handsome man would play and a beautiful woman would sing, filling the house with music - their happy music. There used to be a photo of a family of three on the wall, wide, genuine smiles mirroring each other in one small frame. 

Not anymore.

The piano was long gone and in its place was an empty corner with a thick layer of gray dust. Where there was sound, there was silence - a sickening and choking silence. The photo frame was bare, void of the happiness it once contained. 

There was nothing reminiscent of those joyful times.

He walked into the small kitchen and laid the grocery bag on top of the counter. The magnetic board on the fridge was smudged from hurried erasing, and there was a new writing, scribbled out for him to see:

I won't be home till 3 AM. 

Jungkook opened the fridge to find the lunch box he made in the morning gone. He smiled. She didn't forget today.

He grabbed the leftover ground beef, minced garlic, and eggs. Beef omelette with kimchi and fried cabbage for dinner would be good. 

As he cooked the cabbage and omelette, he turned the old TV on.

“Your husband was found dead in a bar. The police said he died from a heart attack after his body couldn't support his constant drinking and drug usage,” said the reporter. “Ma’am, did you know how this had happened?”

The reporter held the microphone out for the woman next to her. The woman wore dark eyeliner, heavy makeup, and had bright, red lips that put the reporter’s own lips to shame. She tapped her feet on the ground and crossed her arms. “I don’t know. He was never home, and he never picked up the phone either,” she said.

Jungkook stirred the cabbage and flipped the egg.

“When did this start, ma’am?” asked the reporter.

“Oh, I don’t know. 2 years ago?” the woman said, moving her wavy hair to the back. “He probably just married me for the money.”

“How long were you guys married for?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes, I forget that I’m already married.”

Jungkook poured the food out onto plates, covering half for his mom.