DID I JUST POSTED TWO IDENTICAL CHAPTER AND NOT NOTICING IT FOR WEEKS??? -__-

I AM SO SORRY.

 

here is the continuation....

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"A cottage? Where is it?"

 

Yeri is trying so hard to convince both of her parents as part of her plan.

 

"He has this pretty cottage, you know just like the one we used to visit for a winter break."

 

She's watching what Mrs. Kim serves on the table and she seems to notice how eager she is to make the plan trip happen.

 

"Why do you want us to go there?"

 

"It's been ages since we went on a trip together, 15 years. I just thought it would be good."

 

Well, her first reason is actually Jungkook, seeing how much he actually likes spending time with her parents makes her feel sorry for thinking that he hates it and even  tried to take it away from him. She wanted him to experience new things. And also it is a good opportunity for her to slowly keep up with his pace of looking for a new life, remembering the times when she was happy.

 

"Are you sure?"

 

Yeri is aware why her dad is doubting her so much. She is the one who acts like she hates her parents for years and suddenly proposing a trip like this household is normal. Someone died here, and the other one is crazy, she won't blame anyone who's making sure.

 

"Don't worry. If i ever made a mess, Jungkook would be there to stop me."

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

But it seems like her dad is not doubting her at all. He holds her hands and gives her a smile.

 

"I know you won't. It's just.. you said he's not feeling very well. "

 

Right, Jungkook was having his worst night ever yesterday. It's probably because of his injury, or his lack of sleep, or the cold weather, he has a fever, a very bad one that she needs to stay up so she will know when to call a doctor when he needs one.

She told everything to her mom and she said that she just needed to give him his medicine or a warm towel or just woke her up when it happened last night.

 

"You know I'm horrible at things like that, I only ever see a doctor if I get sick. I brought him to an ER last time."

 

That’s her defense when Mrs. Kim called her out for behaving weirdly over it.

 

"How about now? Do we need to take him to the hospital?"

 

"No, he is fine now. His fever is already gone."

 

Mrs. Kim finds what Yeri did is something that is so endearing. Her whole life she was a kid who had privilege, she never got used to taking care of others, nor friends or family, she was always the only one who's been taken care of since she was a child.

 

And after what happened, she already lost hope for Yeri to have a normal life where someone needs her as a caretaker or a caregiver. So to see her looking exhausted, tired and worried over someone is definitely something she won't trade with anything else.

 

"He needs to eat."

 

"I'll take it upstairs..."

 

Yeri already had the full set meal on her hands when Jungkook finally showed up, he still looked pale but at least he can get up and walk on his own.

 

"I'll take one more day absent."

 

Mr. Kim definitely feels bad when Jungkook sits in front of him, looking like a mess and he totally reminds him of his long lost son, the son he lost because of his mistakes.

 

"Of course, aren't we all going on a trip?"

 

"What trip?"

 

"Kim Yeri made the plan."

 

Mr. Kim talks while taking a sip of his coffee and leaving Jungkook with a confusion, is it a business trip or something? he doesn't remember having those schedules.

 

He changes his focus to Yeri who's walking towards him and holding his face right away, checking his fever.

 

"You are fine now."

 

His fever is gone indeed and he does feel better compared to last night. But the trip, what was it?

 

"What kind of trip did you plan?"

 

Yeri looked nervous somehow when he asked.

 

"You said you like spending time with my parents, so I think it'd be good to take them visiting your cottage.."

 

She talks very quickly, almost whispering, trying so hard to hide what she said from her parents.

 

"For a family trip."

 

Hearing the words family is actually making Jungkook thrilled, touched, excited but also scared and confused.

 

"Are you ok with this? You said you don't like to force things into something normal when it's clearly not?"

 

"I said it without considering yours or their feelings. It's just something I felt, if i failed to move on, that doesn't mean you or my mom and my dad needs to deal with my failure, we are all trying here…"

 

She sounds very genuine with what she said, especially because she said it with a smile and her eyes are bright. He knows she did this because she wants to spend time with her parents too.

 

"It's ok if you don't want to go."

 

And he finds she's so cute and nice when she's no longer someone who is selfish and always tries to get what she wants no matter what. 

 

"Ah..the cottage trip? Right. We should all go."

 

Yeri was so ready to receive a no from Jungkook so when he started talking to her dad with such an exciting voice, agreeing about the trip, she felt thankful. 

 

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Yeri volunteered herself to drive the car, when the trip started and now an hour later, she's still driving even though she has plans to ask Jungkook to take turns at first, but he seems busy.

 

He's busy with her mom in the back seat discussing some project he worked on Sky.

He seems very much aware and understands everything, including all the details even though he's no longer owned the firm or work there. Fascinating and impressive but also weird.

 

"He is working things for Sky right now."

 

She decided to tell Mr. Kim that so he won’t be thinking that Jungkook is working hard for him.

 

"He'll be back as its owner again, so it is crucial for him to keep up.."

 

"Are you trying to give him back his firm without  letting him know?"

 

"He tried once, but Mr. Lee is angry at him, he won't get anything but more troubles from him."

 

Yeri is one hundred percent sure Jungkook will hate this, but she learned to not speak on his behalf, afraid if what she's thinking, actually the opposite of what he wants.

 

"At least ask him first."

 

Her dad is laughing at her, she can not find anything funny from what she said so she's rolling her eyes at him.

 

"You used to say this a lot. When you were a kid."

 

"I don't remember."

 

"When i told your brother to do this and that, you always told me to let him know before i'd do anything.."

 

Yeri is not responding to what her dad said but her heart feels heavy, remembering all those times. She was really stubborn ever since she was young, and she cares a lot about her brother so when her parents do something that she thinks will make Seokjin annoyed or even worse, angry. She always told them to ask his opinion first, about schools they wanted him to enroll in, or about gadgets and stuff they wanted him to own.

 

There was only one time where she decided to not pressurize her parents about his consent. One time only. 

 

When her dad gave Sooyoung an impossible task, when he told her to match her league with his son. She didn't get mad or angry at Mr. Kim or pester him about asking her brother's opinion about that. She never did. She let that happen so easily.

 

"Kim Yeri?"

 

Mr. Kim is totally taken aback when Yeri's driving is getting faster and reckless, he can sense a danger caused by her because of his past, Yeri who always threatened him, he can feel the sense of those fears right now.

 

It got worse when she didn't answer him.

 

"Stop the car!"

 

He ended up screaming and by now everyone else is already aware about what is going on, including Yeri herself, she's glancing at him and hitting the brake, making the impact of its sudden stops full with pain and horror.

 

No one says anything for the first few seconds, and he is only looking at Yeri who's slowly lifting her hands from the wheels, it's shaking so much.

 

"It's ok."

 

He's reaching for her hands and caressing it lightly, her cold hands still shaking. She stares at him with red, teary eyes.

 

"It is not ok, I'm so sorry."

 

And she cries.. He is ready to take her out from the car but Jungkook from the backseat is faster. He's already out and opens the car door for Yeri, taking her out with one easy lift like she is a kid.

 

"Are you ok?"

 

Pale, pitiful, sad, totally messed up. That's the only thing Jungkook sees from Yeri when he is finally able to see her face. She has both of her hands on her chest.

 

"I need my doctor."

 

That's what she said when both of her parents were finally out of the car too.

 

"Yeri-ya.."

 

Mrs. Kim is trying to reach for her waist and take her for a hug but she refuses.

 

"I almost killed you."

 

"No, you're not."

 

He's still trying to talk it out to her but the only thing he gets as a response is a hit on his chest.

 

"You included."

 

"I'll call dr. Yoo."

 

Mr. Kim is the one who talks calmly and uses both of his hands to wipe her tears. It seems like he is the only one who completely gets the situation.

 

***

 

"Are you feeling ok to drive?"

 

They decided to continue their trip because it is much closer to the cottage instead of going back home. They all agree that Yeri needs to rest as soon as possible.

 

Jungkook is the one who's driving right now, Yeri is with her mom in the backseat, sleeping, and Mr. Kim is next to him, looking so stressed.

 

"I'm the only one who knows the place, it's ok."

 

He knows Mr. Kim only asked for formality because he's also not in a condition where he can drive safely. He is pretty much shaken with what just happened.

 

He keeps checking out on Yeri, and a serious expression is all written on his face, it is between worry and fear. He doesn't know which one is closer to what he actually felt.

 

"Are you ok?"

 

So he decided to ask him. Mr. Kim is not answering him immediately, he's looking down while smiling and he immediately feels bad for him.

 

"I used to have her locked in her room everytime she said she'd do anything to make me regret what I did to her brother."

 

"She told me."

 

Well, he heard that story before. One of the reasons why he thinks his life is so much better than Yeri even though he used to think her family ruined him.

 

"You could probably relate to her more than anyone."

 

That's totally wrong, he can't even imagine what she's been through when he met her as a famous celebrity. He only ever sees her struggles in her nightmare but never in her real life.

 

"My sister didn't kill herself."

 

He's looking at the rear mirror for Yeri who's soundly sleeping in her mom's embrace.

 

What she did is not even half of the crazy things he did to her, but she still said sorry.

 

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"You can talk to her if you want, only if you really wanted it."

 

Yeri knows what her dad means with "Talk".  It's basically a whole treatment all over again, she already stopped doing that since she was 16 years old.

 

"I understand."

 

"She said it could happen, because of us. You've been fine because you're away from us."

 

"We never lived together for years, and when we suddenly came to you..it totally makes sense if you feel burdened or pressured."

 

It totally makes sense, even for her who's experiencing it, it's a completely plausible reason, but still..

 

"But you are my parents."

 

Jungkook feels like an outsider when he watches both Mr. and Mrs. Kim look at Yeri with so much affection in their eyes but also fears. 

 

They're trying to talk to her but put a distance in between themselves and her. He doesn't know what was going on in their past but seeing this only, he can already imagine how messed up their life is. A daughter who's trying to kill her parents and even went for a mental treatment at the age of 15. And now her parents are scared of her.

 

"It's ok."

 

Mrs. Kim is the one who brings herself closer to Yeri but still with very careful movements. She gives her a hug in the end, and when he finally gets a glimpse of Yeri's eyes, he knows that she is aware about what's going on completely.

 

***

 

"Call me if something happened."

 

It's almost night when both of Yeri's parents decide that they need to buy some things, groceries and stuff. Jungkook knows in one glance, they just needed a break from what happened today. So instead of offering himself to go with them, he decided to let them go alone.

 

"I will."

 

He sends them off after telling Mr. Kim a route he needs to drive. He gave them directions for a nice cafe with delicious coffee to calm themselves, and they seemed to be appreciating what he’s trying to do.

 

"I can't believe that i'm saying this to you, but please keep my daughter safe."

 

Well, Jungkook understands why Mr. Kim said that, He is the one who keeps Yeri away from him for years. He was his biggest fear, he thought that he'll use his daughter for revenge.

 

"I am beyond capable to do that, you don't need to worry."

 

But again Yeri is as precious as she is to him just like how she is to her parents,  he almost died saving her life, No one should ever doubt him for that, not even Mr. Kim.

 

"I know."

 

They left without any more words and he could not do anything but watch their car driving away and back to the cottage to check Yeri's condition.

 

"Did you tell them where to buy stuff?"

 

He finds her busy preparing a jar of coffee. She looked pretty much exhausted and also stressed.

 

"I did."

 

"I made them leave."

 

She drinks her coffee in one shot before she sits in one of the chairs and covers her face while sighing. He can not say that she is wrong because he knows that's exactly what happened. Both of Yeri's parents were scared of her. And it is not their fault.

 

He takes a seat in front of her and tries to reach her hands, when he looks into her eyes, Yeri is already crying.

 

"Remember that one time when you protected your father, thinking that i'm going to do something to him?"

 

Yeri feels a little bit better knowing someone is here to talk to her when Jungkook starts a conversation with her while pouring a cup of coffee she prepared for himself.

 

"I saw you that day, and i was immediately doubting all the stories you told me about your past."

 

She's trying so hard to not cry in front of Jungkook anymore after the past two days she's been behaving like a jerk to him but she failed to do that. She's crying again. And he came to her with a smile while giving her a hug.

 

"Maybe she lied about hating her parents? Maybe she never actually tried to kill them and just said it to free herself from what her family did to my sister.. i had those thoughts."

 

She listened to what he said and she knows Jungkook was mad at her that day, he just held it in and managed to accept what she did even though it was unfair for him.

 

She's hugging him tighter because she feels sorry about what happened back then, yesterday or today. She is a complete disaster, and out of all people in this world, she chose him to deal with all her messes, Jeon Sooyoung's brother whose life was ruined because of her family.

 

"You never wanted them to die."

 

Yeri really wants to believe that but it is not working, Jungkook doesn't probably know but she is literally labeled as sick little psychophat when it's happened the first time, her parents are scared of her, they're running away from her.

 

"You don't know what was going on."

 

Yeri is finally letting him go while talking in a hoarse voice, she cries so much that his shirt gets damp by her tears.

 

"A 15 years old me was telling my parents that I have no fears to make them pay for what they did to my brother. I ruined every day's breakfast, lunch or dinner, I ran away, they locked me in.. i was crazy."

 

"Don't forget, i saw you at that time too."

 

She's already done with the judgment she made for herself, she's been thinking that she is evil for a decade. He is not surprised when she's pushing him away after what he just said.

 

"For half an hour when we can't even remember any of it."

 

"Fine, let's say you were crazy back then, but what happened today was not it."

 

"How could you know? What's the difference when I am still me and both my mom and dad still sees me as one, I'm still trying to put them in danger."

 

Yeri has already stopped crying but there is no soul in every word she said, she seems totally lost.

 

"I am the difference."

 

It could've been something that is cringe, rude, or overly confident, what Jungkook just said. 

 

But strangely, it doesn't feel like that. He said it because he wanted to emphasize that his sister died, probably because of her and her family, but he's still here as part of her family 15 years later. Moving on from everything he thought was a life he owned to build a new and a better one.

 

"I told you that i'll take a hundred steps back so you won't be having any hard time catching up with me."

 

"You never went nuts, Mr. Jeon. Your friends care for you, even someone as kind as an angel is falling in love with you, you gotta need one million steps back to help me."

 

Yeri knows that Jungkook has his own share of behaving as a monster to others, but he's done all that with his conscience, he knows when to stop, he still has full control of what he's doing, and she can't say the same thing about her. She has no intentions to hurt anyone right now, but she still ends up doing it. She is far more of a monster than Jungkook ever was in his life.

 

"Then i'll take a million steps, I almost died diving in an open ocean without safety gear to get you safe... That would be so much easier. And also.. If I were your parents, I would never call a doctor for you or declare you as a sick person. Even if you were, I will heal you with my own efforts."

 

She is thankful for what he just said, but it is not realistic at all. Her parents didn't try to heal her wound because they got scared.

 

"They made a choice. They got scared of me."

 

"And you are not responsible for what they chose."

 

It is the truth. Just like what Yeri told him, both Mr and Mrs. Kim are always straight for an easier choice if it is about her. Who knows what will happen if they decide to fix things with her daughter instead of sending her to a hospital for a mental treatment. A young teen gets labeled as crazy, no wonder she sees her life that way for the rest of her life even if it was so far from the truth.

 

And Yeri seems to slowly understand what point he is trying to make. She's no longer crying and when she said thank you to him with a smile. 

 

"You better not talk about this in front of their face though."

 

She gets up from where she sits and tries to leave him behind but he's holding her waist and she stopped.

 

"Why?" 

 

"They already stressed enough. I know how hard they tried to make things work with you…"

 

"I am not the only one. They need to make things work with you too.."

 

"I'm uncomfortable with it. Unlike you."

 

She turned her face to him, and caressed his cheeks while talking in a firm tone. She is serious with what she just said.

 

"I don't think I could act like you, being happy with what they did for me, I would just hurt them again by refusing all their efforts. Or worse making them even more scared."

 

Maybe it is wrong for him to stick himself in a situation where he can't even fix. Yeri's relationship with her own parents is something bigger than his rage over his sister's death.

 

"Alright, we let your parents fix things with me, and I'll take care of you to pay it back."

 

Yeri is being wary after hearing what Jungkook said, he already took care of her really well so far, she feels like she already received enough help from him, and it seems like he wanted to do more for her. He noticed that something was bothering her, so he put his hands on her waist to give her a hug.

 

"Let's just say that I borrowed your parents for a while because I don't have one, and to compensate for your loss, I'll be doing everything I could for you to live your life without any troubles."

 

"That sounds good."

 

Yeri doesn't really have many choices, but to trust him completely over what is going on in her life. Because just like how he was able to change, she wants to do things differently for him too. So he won't get too burdened by her messed up life, so he won't get too tired with her behaviour. And he won't get stressed over her own problems.

 

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