Jungkook is already getting used to waking up before his alarm blasting in the morning no matter how tired he was the night before. Like right now, it is still early, around 7 AM and he actually feels better than any other morning. Maybe Yeri being here is helping.

 

“Where is she?”

 

She’s nowhere to be found, he looks around, trying to find her. He’s out of his room and walking slowly because this is weird, that Yeri’s waking up so early when she has no schedules. He kept walking until he reached the first floor of his penthouse. Yeri is sitting on the floor, sleeping soundly with her head down on the table, her hands are hugging something and when he finally stands close to her, he knows what’s going on.

 

He was having a hard time a few nights ago, and he took all of Sooyoung’s stuff that was left after she died, he threw most of the things like her old notebook, and a few dolls. He only has a plan to keep all the pictures he had with her,letters, cards, and gifts she gave him when she was alive. It’s like a little treasure, he’s willing to keep it,  to remind him that once in his life, someone cared for him so much as a family, that once in his life, he was such a happy person.

 

He’s kneeling down next to Yeri who is still sleeping, her hair is in a complete mess, and her eyes looked so puffy, she cried yesterday because of him, but it seems like she cried even more after that, without him knowing.

He takes one framed picture from her hands, the one with Seokjin on it. She’s holding it tight. 

A little bit bothered by his force to take it back. She slowly opens her eyes and wakes up.

 

“Good morning” 

 

He said those words while taking a seat next to her.

 

Yeri knows Jungkook is already aware about what she did, touching his stuffs without permissions, something that is probably sentimental for him, something he probably try to hide from her all this time, she’s glancing at him when he has the framed picture she found last night on his hand, he’s staring at it.

 

“Are you ok?” 

 

Yeri is trying to be ok, all night. But she ended up getting hurt and sick of what she just learned about her brother. How unhappy he was even long before he decided to leave. The life she thought was heaven for him was probably not more than a locked cage and Sooyoung was his key, key to his happiness. The one his own family destroyed.

 

She gives a quick smile to Jungkook and shakes her head as her answer. She feels like crying again knowing that he and his sister were not the one who took away Seokjin from her , they were the one who saved him. 

 

All these years, she was resenting Sooyoung so much, thinking that her brother’s life was ruined by her existence, when what she learned as time passed by is that his life was already ruined long before that.

 

She  took a seat closer to Jungkook and leaned her head to his shoulder. Let out a heavy sigh and close her eyes again. 

 

“Should i take a day off?”

 

“What is your excuse?”

 

“I’ll tell your father that I'm taking care of you who is sick, he’ll let me do that.“

 

She’s laughing hearing his answer and holding his arms on her lap and finally looked up to him. 

 

“Then he’ll bother me all day, not to mention my mother and all her herbal food will suddenly come here as if we ordered it.”

 

“Right. It’d be annoying.”

 

"You know, when I was a kid, if I ever got sick, a doctor would come to my home to treat me, no matter what.”

 

“You are rich, you can afford that, I'm not surprised.”

 

Yeri is smiling and pulls herself away from him while taking the framed picture of Seokjin and Sooyoung from his hands and staring at it.

 

“There were times when I faked my fever or my cough, because I wanted to stay home and not go to school, but a doctor would always visit me and ask me why I pretend to get sick?”

 

Jungkook feels a bit uncomfortable when Yeri’s eyes are becoming gloomy, she’s no longer smiling.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because i want my mom to stay at home, i want my dad to cancel his oversea business trip to take care of me.”

 

“Yeri..”

 

“I just did it because that’s what happened when he got sick.”

 

He watches her tracing Seokjin’s face from the picture on his hand with her thumb. Her voice is getting weaker and thinner. He doesn’t know what to say to her.

 

“I am always jealous of him, you know for being smarter, taller, kinder, i thought his life was so perfect compared to mine.”

 

“He didn’t look like that.”

 

Jungkook is finally talking again after a long silence between them. Yeri knows talking about Seokjin to him is probably a stupid thing to do but she can’t help it. She was thinking about him so much that she doesn’t know how to feel better now. 

 

She is just mad, angry, disappointed at the realization that came out so late about her brother’s life, about why blaming Sooyoung and Jungkook over his death was a huge mistake.

 

“Your brother, he.. When I first saw him i just know something is not right on his life, my sister would come out really late to be with him because he was having a hard time over his studies she told me, but now I realized that he was probably having a hard time because of his life in general.”

 

“Because of us. Because of me.”

 

“You don’t know that.”

 

“I do. Now.”

 

Yeri is taking a deep breath as she’s holding her tears from flowing through her eyes. She’s looking down and this is probably the worst expression Jungkook ever saw from her since the accident. She looked tired and hopeless.

 

“Your sister made him happy, my parents ruined his life and all these years I thought it was her or even worse, you. “

 

She talks while looking down and not gonna lie Jungkook thinks that it is true Yeri’s brother wasn’t happy when he met him for the first time years ago. He heard his story from Sooyoung sometimes, a story about how he can’t enjoy his life normally because his family is not ordinary.

Well, with the fact that both of them ended up gone from this world since they were young, it is no one’s fault but the pressure the adults gave them. The selfish expectation after grooming a kid instead of caring for them. Not just Mr. and Mrs. Kim , he knows so many people or even his colleagues who behave exactly like them. The greed of humans knows no end, he is aware about it better than anyone else. He hated it so much at first. But as he grows up, he can finally learn that the world they lived in is harsh like that. The difference is, it was harsh for Seokjin and Sooyoung when they were still a kid. To the point that they are losing their life.

 

“I’ll come back home and rest. “

 

Yeri is finally stopped crying because it seems like telling Jungkook this is no use. He can’t relate to her. He hates her family all his life and he wasn’t wrong. She needs to fix her behaviour and both of her parents instead of pushing him hard to be with her as her prince charming. It is better for her to stay away from Jungkook and her parents for awhile. Trying to make herself feel better.

 

She gets up while tying up her hair and looking for her bag, taking out her phone and turning it on. It’s better to tell her mom that she will be staying at her apartment alone instead of following Jungkook to work just like how she wanted.

 

“Make me a breakfast first before you leave.”

 

She turns her head when a pair of hands is linking on her waist, it’s Jungkook and his whining. She glared at him because she really wanted to rest and not in a mood to do anything.

 

“It’ll make you feel better, I swear.”

 

He’s burying his face on her neck and kissing it subtly, while back hugging her tighter than before.

 

“No, it certainly won’t.”

 

“Wanna bet?”

 

***

 

It is not making Yeri feel better, it’s just distracting her. She managed to take a shower and do her makeup before starting to cook the breakfast Jungkook wanted. He asks for some serious fried rice and omelette instead of a portion of corn soup she usually made for him. She is bad at doing this and all her mood was changed from gloomy and sad to heavily annoyed.

 

“Why would i do this?”

 

She takes a pause here and there when she tasted her food and it came out bad. 

 

“Why does it take you so long?”

 

It seems like Jungkook is already done with preparation before going to work, she can hear his voice getting closer to the kitchen where she is battling with things she isn't even familiar with. Food, kitchen, cook, taking care of others, it’s been years since Yeri stopped thinking about having this kind of life.

 

“You know i’m not good at this.”

 

She looked very annoyed. Jungkook is scared if Yeri will cry again for how much she is frustrated over her task so he gives her a hug. He takes her hands and brings it inside his shirt, she looks confused but when her hands finally touch his bare skin, that confused look turns into a glare.

 

“Remember when my ribs were almost broken, I couldn't even properly digest any food?”

 

“That is not fair.”

 

She pulls her hands right away and back to focusing her attention to the food she’s making. There is a small laugh and a smile on her face now, that it is enough to relieve his worries over her.

 

“This food tastes so bad even people whose ribs aren’t broken will have a hard time digesting it.”

 

She finally finished what she’s doing and took her plate of food to the dining table while laughing.

 

“Aren’t you going to work?”

 

Yeri is quite confused when Jungkook finally sits in front of her, ready for his breakfast. He’s not wearing his work attire, coat, ties, and suit, he is wearing a black shirt and a gray jacket as an outer, he’s wearing his sneakers instead of his leather shoes. 

 

“I called Mr. Kim earlier, I told him I'm having a headache and stomach ache because of my injury from saving his daughter, and…”

 

She used her hands to make him stop talking because her phone is ringing, it’s her mom. She had no choice but to pick her call, afraid if she forced her way into her apartment later.

 

“Aren’t you with Jungkook right now?”

 

“Huh?”

 

A total confusion, she stares at Jungkook who seems wondering what kind of talk she has with her mom while starting to eat his breakfast.

 

“Aren’t you staying with him?”

 

“Uh..for now, yes. Why?”

 

“Your dad told me that he called in for a sick leave this morning…”

 

This is so ridiculous, since when her parents talked about Jungkook and what is going on with him in real time like this? 

 

Well, even though they’re probably together right now having breakfast just like her but still..Yeri thought Jungkook was joking about  calling her dad.

 

“He probably did.”

 

“What do you mean probably? Is he not with you? Check on him and his condition, Yeri-ya.”

 

She put her phone on hold, and let out a heavy sigh, she doesn’t know why but she feels like the whole thing is not appropriate and extra. 

 

“Are you really not going to work?”

 

She asked Jungkook and he nodded his head quick. She’s back to her mom in seconds.

 

“He is not feeling well, i’m taking care of him right now.”

 

“You said you’ll get back to your place..can he talk right now?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Let me talk to him.”

 

“Mom, stop this.”

 

“I just want to make sure what part of his injury is unwell.”

 

Yeri looked very annoyed that her face is getting red right now. Jungkook was going to ask her what’s going on but she already gave him her phone.

 

“She wanted to talk to you.”

 

Well, he talks with Yeri’s mom at least twice a week. She usually asked about his condition and food he likes. He doesn’t really talk to Yeri about this though.

 

Yeri is watching Jungkook talking with her mom, he seems un bothered compared to her. He looked more natural to talk with her own mother instead of herself. The phone call ended after a few minutes with Jungkook mostly saying that he is ok.

 

“What did she say?”

 

She takes her phone back from him and waits for an answer.

 

“She asked if she should come here…”

 

She’s already expecting that but still, to be proven right that both of her parents basically treat Jungkook as her brother’s replacement is bothering her so much. 

 

“See? She did that too when my brother was sick…”

 

She finds the situation ridiculous and after last night everything feels even more absurd. She laughs and loses her appetite to eat right away. Maybe it is better to see her parents and say it right to their face about how absurd they are.

 

“I’ll stay at my apartment to practice my script.”

 

She made that excuse out of nowhere so she will have some time to settle with her parents, more like trying to pick a fight with them. She knows for sure it’ll get really ugly in the end. 

 

She walks fast to take her bag but Jungkook is faster to block her way. 

 

“Aren’t we supposed to talk about something?”

 

Right. She already distracted and forgot about it because she is too busy to feel bad and bothered by what she found about her brother. But to ignore what Jungkook wants to say is also not her choice, she really needs to hear that too. She feels bad immediately when Jungkook is staring at her and looking at her with a smile. 

 

With the way he’s holding her hands, rubbing it non stop and those eyes he uses to look at her. It is certain that he knows what her problem is and what she’s going to do. 

 

They both agree to start a new life together, but he is always so much better than her at doing it. He almost seems like a new person compared to a person he was before, while she is still struggling to fix lots of parts of her.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

She ended up saying it while holding his hands back and he only responded with a small nod. He let her go and back to his chair to continue his breakfast.

 

“Let me finish my breakfast first.”

 

“Is it good?”

 

She walks closer to him because she is not even sure with the food she made. She asked him and he shook his head while laughing.

 

“You are a horrible cook.”

 

“I told you so, but it makes you full, at least?” 

 

She asked for a bite and he gave it to her. It tastes horrible just like what he said.

 

“No one ever made food for me after my sister died so it’s fine for me, the sentimental point is huge.”

 

He talked while laughing but it is obvious that was such an honest thought coming from him.

 

 “Even if it’s the food my parents made for you?”

 

Yeri’s questions come out of nowhere but he already knows the answers very well.

 

“I hate lots of things from what your parents do for me, but I appreciate that they care for me like I am a filler of your brother. I love the foods”

 

“You are not supposed to feel happy about being a filler.”

 

Yeri takes a seat in a chair next to him, her eyes are wondering and there’s a sarcastic laugh coming from her, that one she usually throws to him when their relationship was worse than ever.

 

“You are not, seriously. They can use anyone else but not you.”

 

She lost her smile right away and turned her face to him. She’s glaring at him with such intimidating eyes. It is obvious that she’s not happy.

 

“I want to take you out on a date, that’s why i called in sick at work.”

 

Yeri knows that Jungkook is totally driving the conversation into somewhere else, he’s avoiding it.

 

“Where?”

 

She wanted to stop him from doing that but hearing he was so happy talking about a date, something they never did for almost two years since they met each other is distracting her. She is happy, delighted, but also a little bit scared to why he keeps changing into someone so different from what she thought.

 

“Some places.”

 

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