Chapter 5

Note: I wanted to share this with my readers. This story actually kind of means a lot to me. Because one of my bestfriends has. . .had cancer. And I started to write this story and he really liked it. And he wanted me to update it all the time. And I never really got a chance to. I showed him the video for Haru Haru which kind of inspired this story as well. And it made me think of his story. But  on March 30th 2011, he passed away. I loved him a lot and I feel like I should strive to finish this story. For him atleast. I dunno. I just felt I should share this.
Rest in Peace Alessandro. ♥

 Taeyang was the first person to wake up in the morning, back stiff and neck aching from the position he had fallen asleep in. He almost forgot he had fallen asleep in a chair and nearly lost his balance when he tried to stretch out his sore limbs. Stretching out his neck, he sighed and sat up in his chair. He regarded G-Dragon on the floor, who had switched positions in the night and was holding the pillow to his chest with his back facing the bed, causing Taeyang to snort.

 Taeyang’s gaze drifted to the pair on the bed and he couldn’t help but sigh again. Jin Mi was sprawled over Seunghyun’s sleeping form in a way that didn’t look comfortable for either person. Her elbow was jammed into the older boy’s stomach, head rotated at a strange angle on his chest.

 He saw G-Dragon‘s body twitch suddenly out of the corner of his eye before rolling over away from him, back facing the older boy. Taeyang chuckled softly to himself as he slowly stood up and made his way towards the door, trying to limit his noise as much as possible.

 He gripped the doorknob lightly, hoping to open the door and sneak out quietly. The hinges of the door creaked loudly and he cringed at the high pitched squeal they gave as he pulled. He cautioned a look over his shoulder and saw that everyone remained asleep.  Letting out a deep breath of relief, he started again.

The door creaked for the second time, drawing a noise almost twice as loud as the first one. The door was only halfway open, a little ways away for him to be able to slip through. He looked back at the sleeping guest and quickly opened the door the remaining way, relief running through him as it finally opened soundlessly only to walk directly into the doorframe as he tried to leave. Pain laced through his shoulder.

“Goddammit!” He hissed aloud, clutching his shoulder. Jin Mi chose that moment to wake up, confused eyes looking over at him.

“Taeyang?”She yawned, blinking a few times. She tried to settle her eyes on the blurry blob that somewhat resembled her cousin by the door. Taeyang cursed under his breath and turned to look at her.

“Uh. Ne, Jin Mi. Did you have a nice sleep?” He asked, rubbing his arm sheepishly. The sharp pain was quelled to a dull ache like the rest of his body.

“Ne,” she replied, after a few seconds. She smiled a little and moved to get off the bed. Her arm slid on the sheets and she slipped forward, right on to the sleeping G-Dragon before Taeyang could intercept.

“What the fu—“ G-Dragon screeched as the young girl fell on him, Jin Mi herself screaming quite shrilly as she scrambled to get up. Her hand connected with his stomach by accident and he let out a pained groan.

“Mianhae!”She squeaked, crawling off the boy who glared at her retreating form. He let out a growl and flung his head back down on the pillow. Seunghyun, who had been woken up by the sounds of screaming, cocked an eyebrow down at them from the bed.

“What’s going on?” He asked, his voice gruff from sleep. He rubbed at his eye with the palm of his hand.

“I fell on Jiyong.” Jin Mi said, shaken up a bit  from her fall. She got to her feet and stood by Taeyang, next to the door.

“Ah. Are you alright?” Seunghyun asked, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and stepping down on the floor, stepping on his friend in the process. His foot came down to rest on G-Dragon’s thigh to which the younger boy shouted in pain and Seunghyun took his time in moving off of him.

“Oh. Sorry,” he said, in a rather half-hearted apology and stepped over the boy. The abused boy in returned muttered curses, curling in on himself and away from them.

"You need to get up anyway," Seunghyun nudged him with his foot, deriving amusement from the way he cringed and tried to move away.

Taeyang rolled his eyes as his friends and looked at Jin Mi.

"Do you want some breakfast?" He asked to which she nodded a bit. Almost immediately, G-Dragon was sitting up, head turned to look at Taeyang with wide eyes.

"Breakfast?" He repeated, scrambling to get to his feet.

"How did I know that would get you up?" Taeyang asked, shaking his head. G-Dragon shrugged and smiled shyly.

"I like to eat," he replied.

Taeyang rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, trailed by the small group. He might not be the best cook in the world but he could manage to scrounge up something for them to eat. They had only just settled down in a various spots of the kitchen to eat the make shift breakfast of rice and namul when the phone rang. Taeyang went to go pick up the phone from the base on the counter top.

"Yoboseyo?"

"Youngbae?" A male voice Taeyang recognized as his uncle asked uncertainly.

"Ne. This is him. Samchon?"

"Your voice has gotten so much deeper. You're turning into such a man."

"Ah. Thank you, samchon."

"Is your umma home?"

"No. She had to work today." He set a hand over the reciever and looked over his shoulder for a second. Jin Mi was turned around in her chair, watching him intently.

"What about Jin Mi? Can I talk to her?" His voice seemed to falter  and Taeyang paused for a second.

"Sure. She's right here."  He nodded at Jin Mi to come to the phone and he held out the phone for her. She hopped out of her seat and padded over to the phone.

"It's your appa." He said as she picked up the phone.

"Yoboseyo. . .?" She asked quietly. Taeyang watched her face, waiting for the sadness that would inevitably follow and the tears. She stayed silent for a long while, face blank, brown eyes looking around the room. He saw the sharp intake of breath and her saying goodbye. She pressed the 'end' button on the phone and set it quietly on the counter. She made her way back to her chair and sat down, picking up her bowl and resumed eating.

"What did he want?" Taeyang asked slowly, after a few seconds of silence. Seunghyun and G-Dragon had also stopped eating as well and were watching her carefully. She stopped, holding her chopsticks midway in the air.

"Umma went to heaven." She replied, softly. And continued to eat. Seunghyun nearly dropped his own chopsticks and G-Dragon choked on the mouthful of rice he had. Taeyang knocked the younger boy on the back until he fell forward, gasping for air.

"Thanks." He wheezed out, faced pressed against the table.

"You're being very calm." Seunghyun said, his voice slow and even. She nodded just as slowly, and continued to eat her rice. When she was finished, she got up and set the bowl in the sink. She ran out of the kitchen without another word and her footsteps echoed through the apartment.

The three boys exchanged solemn looks among themselves. G-Dragon was the first to speak.

"What do we do now?" He asked, quietly.

"What can we do? She lost her mother," Seunghyun sighed. Taeyang sat down hard in his chair and placed his head in his arms.

"Should we check on her?" G-Dragon leaned back in his seat. No matter how much Jin Mi irritated him, he still cared about her. He was his bestfriend's cousin after all. Like a little sister, even.

"We should leave her alone for a little while." Taeyang's words were mumbled against his arms.

"You okay, man?" Seunghyun set a concerned hand on his shoulder. Taeyang nodded a bit before sitting up. He sniffed and ran the back of his hand over his eye quickly.

"Let's go watch tv. Jin Mi will come out when she's ready." With that, he pushed back in his seat and walked out of the kitchen. The remaining two shared a look before getting up and following him.

- - -

Jin Mi sat in her hiding place, knees drawn up to her chin and sniffed. She looked up at the small window at the top of the shower, sending a small ray of sunlight in. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, more tears sliding down her face. Her soft sniffs echoed around the small bathroom and she hugged herself closer. It was hard to believe that her umma was gone. Her appa had said that she has passed onto heaven but not before saying she loved Jin Mi very much. And that she would be looking down from heaven everyday to watch over them.

She wanted to believe her appa and be happy that her umma was now high up in the clouds, no longer sick and now happy. Even if it was without her appa and herself. She choked back a sob as she quickly quieted herself when she heard the bathroom door open.

"Jin Mi? Are you in here?" Seunghyun's voice called gently. She didn't bother moving and continued to sit in the tub. The curtain was pulled back and it rustled softly.

"Why are you in the bathtub?" He asked, leaning down towards her eye level. She stayed quiet, tears continuing to slip down her cheeks. She hiccuped loudly, breath coming out hard.

"Here. I'll get in the bathtub with you. Will that make you feel better?" He asked. Jin Mi paused for a moment and nodded a little. Seunghyun gave a small smile and climbed into the bathtub with her, sitting across from her. It was a tight fit. Seunghyun's long legs bunching up awkwardly. He shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable. He closed the curtain again, drawing their own little bubble away from the rest of the house.

"She left me h-here. M-My umma." She choked out. More tears found their way down her cheeks and Seunghyun shushed her quietly, maneuvering around to pull her forward and smoothing down her hair. Her face pressed against the front of his shirt, wetting it.

"She wouldn't have left you if she didn't have a choice. Sometimes things happen. And we don't know why or for what reasons and they hurt. But you have to remember that your umma loved you. You and your appa. And that she's still with you. In your memories. In your heart. In your love." She hiccuped again, the sound muffled.

"She was supposed to get better." Jin Mi insisted, her hands balling up into little fists.

"People don't always get better. It's hard to deal with and I know that you will miss her very much. But she will always be your umma. And she she will always love you. Just like Taeyang, me, G-Dragon, Eun Young, your appa."

She continued to cry and Seunghyun continued to hold her, comforting her while her body shook and convulsed and hiccuped. It was sometime later when she finally quieted down and her breath regulated. She sniffed once before pushing away from. him. She wiped at her eyes again, her face puffy and red from crying.

"Thanks Seunghyun-oppa." She said, attempting a smile.

"You're welcome. Now let's go watch Taeyang play G-Dragon at StarCraft and see who gets mad first."

 "Okay." Jin Mi couldn't help but laugh alittle and it made Seunghyun feel better to see her showing some signs of happiness. He stood up in the tub and pushed back the curtain. He carefully got out of the tub and helped Jin Mi out as well. He settled his hand on her shoulder and they walked out into the living room together.

This chapter actually hit pretty close to home. So. . .yeah. :x I hope you enjoy it. More chapters coming out. I'd just like to tell people that the story won't be completely serious/angsty at every point. It's like real life. There will be tears, laughs, memories, pain, and love. c: