Chapter 8
Author's Note:
This is not the cute chapter...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Wakey wakey, Chaengie." Chaeyoung slowly opened her eyes when she felt rays of light hitting her face. Jin was sending a big smile in her direction as he opened up all the curtains in the room to let some light in. Chaeyoung stared at him for a couple of seconds, noticing how the dark circles under his eyes stood out on his handsome face. He looked like he hadn't slept much and he was trying too hard to appear happy. She knew he was doing this for her and as much as she wanted to appreciate his efforts she felt upset that he thought she was that weak. She wasn't a child so he didn't have to filter his emotions in fear of hurting hers. Everyone deserved to be happy when they were happy or be upset when they were upset; there was no need to hide.
She sat up with a groan, instantly reaching up to touch her neck after recalling last night's events. When her hand touched at her neck she came in contact with a rough cloth material that she had just noticed was covering the front of it. "Jin hyung cleaned your small wounds last night and wrapped it right before you woke up." She turned in the direction of the voice and met Jungkook's face that showed his rare serious expression. "Chae, I know it'll be hard to talk about but what happened last night?" Jungkook came closer and stood next to the bed while Chaeyoung looked down at her now trembling hands.
"Let her be, Jungkook. She had a rough night. She doesn't have to tell us right away she ca-" Jin was cut off when Chaeyoung raised her hand in his direction to silence him. She cleared her aching throat and redirected her eyes to Jin. "S-stop, oppa. P-please. I-I'm not a kid so you don't have to be so careful around me. I'm not as weak as you think." She managed some words with her raspy voice. Jin's eyes widened and he instantly walked forward, climbed onto the bed and hugged her carefully. "I'm sorry, Chaeyoung-ah. I know you aren't weak. You are the toughest girl I have ever met and for that I admire you. I just–yesterday was just such a traumatizing experience for you that I didn't want you to shut down on me again like last time." Chaeyoung tensed at the reminder of Jungkook's accident and Jin gasped when he realized what he had said, quickly pulling away and looking at her with apologetic eyes.
"Damn it, Chae! Get over it already!" Jungkook had had enough of watching Chaeyoung torment herself over his accident. He was fed up and he had let it slide multiple times before but this was the last straw. "I died, so what? I'm here with you right now, aren't I? Stop beating yourself up over something that wasn't in your control already!"
Jin glared at Jungkook when he noticed Chaeyoung shaking on the bed as she heard him yell at her. "Jungkook, stop." Jin warned, getting off the bed and closer to him. "No! She has to stop this already. It's been long enough and I'm tired of seeing her shut down every time she gets reminded of it. She's telling you to not hide your emotions from her but every time she has a nightmare over the accident she pretends she's fine!"
"E-enough!" Jin and Jungkook flinched when Chaeyoung's hoarse shout echoed throughout the room. Jungkook fell into silence and guilt crept in when he noticed her bite her bottom lip in a failed attempt to stop her tears that were endlessly trailing down her cheeks. She got up from the bed, wobbling as she set her feet on the ground. Jin was about to help her when she shook her head and scooted away. She kept her eyes on the ground as she walked away, leaving a guilty Jungkook and a shocked Jin behind.
"You should know when to hold your tongue, Jungkook. I understand that you are frustrated but taking your frustrations out when she had such a bad experience last night was out of line." Jin gave Jungkook a stern stare as he scolded him. "I know I went out of line, hyung but it's going to be two years already." Jungkook was still trying to prove his point, which exasperated Jin who groaned and ruffled his hair.
"That's exactly why she isn't over it, Jungkook. It's barely going to be two years. That's a short time to get over losing someone important. She took her time letting us into her life after having been abandoned at such a young age by the two people who were supposed to love and take care of her. I'm not over it either but I try to show you both a happy Jin. You're my brother and even if I can see you it will never be the same because I still lost the privilege to be able to hug you or joke around like we used to. So, understand please. Chaeyoung is strong but she isn't as emotionally stable as she thinks she is and that's a sad fact. She's a sensitive person and we have to be respectful of her feelings." Jin sighed as he stared at a wide-eyed Jungkook and turned his back. "Remember that you may be here right now and we're lucky to have you with us as a spirit but you must understand the fact that we still lost you and you won't be here forever. Let us heal at our own pace." With that he walked away, leaving a guilty Jungkook behind to think about what he had said.
He rubbed the back of his neck and with a sigh left in search for Chaeyoung. He peeked his head through her wall and found her curled into a ball on the corner of her bed; room still a mess from last night's event. She was clutching her chest as soft whimpers from her crying were heard. Jungkook walked through and stood next to her, crouching down and gently removing her hands from her face. Chaeyoung looked at him for a split second before releasing her hands from his and clasping them around the back of his neck in a hug. Jungkook smiled a little as he wrapped his arms around her back in reply. "I'm sorry, Chae. It's just hard for me to see you hurting like this over me. I wanted to save you and I did; that's it. Jin hyung gave me a hard scolding, so don't worry because I get it now. It's not easy and I understand that you are just taking your own time to heal. Just understand that it's not your fault. That's all I need from you."
He felt her nod and he chuckled as he pulled himself away to look at her face when she looked at him. "Now stop crying, my crybaby. You have a fun day of school ahead of you if you are up to it. It might help you clear your mind." He cupped her face in his hands and gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs, causing her to give him a weak smile. He moved away completely and left to find Jin.
Jin was busy making some breakfast for them that he didn't notice Jungkook staring at him from an extremely close distance. When Jin turned to his left side to get something he jumped back in surprise when he gazed into another male's eyes. "Yah! You scared me, you punk!" He calmed himself down and smiled when he heard Jungkook laugh his heart out. "You seem better, I'm glad you apologized to her." Jin said as he got back to his cooking.
"I still have one more person to apologize to though. I'm sorry I was so insensitive, hyung. I know I get carried away sometimes. I never thought about your feelings in the situation and for that I apologize again." Jungkook lowered his head to show how apologetic he was when Jin turned around to look at him. "Wow, you're a man now, Kookie. It would have taken you a lot more time to realize your mistake and apologize to anyone before." Jin chuckled as he pointed at him with a spoon. "If I was a girl, I would have definitely fallen for you. Too bad Chaeyoungie was too dense to notice you." Jungkook's mouth opened wide at Jin's statement. "I-it's not like that, hyung!" Jin shook his head in amusement at Jungkook's flustered expression. "At least not anymore." Jungkook muttered quietly.
They both look at the direction of the stairs when they heard soft footsteps. Chaeyoung had taken a warm shower and dressed in a light pink oversized turtleneck sweater with some lightblue jeans and white sneakers. She gave Jin a weak smile when she glanced at him then walked his way and hugged him by the waist. "I-I'm sorry, oppa. I was rude and oversensitive. I shouldn't have acted out like that. I know that everything you do is with good intentions and I'm grateful that you try so hard for me." Jin petted her head and pulled her away to look at her.
"It's okay, Chaeyoungie. You have every right to be angry when you feel something isn't right. I just wanted you to be comfortable with telling us when you were ready and not by force. I know last night was hard but if you're ready then go ahead and tell us what happened." Chaeyoung nodded and went to go sit on a bar stool.
She prepared herself and then told them everything that happened that night from the noises to the figure disappearing after chuckling at the situation. "Sounds like that thing was playing with you." Jungkook pointed out. "It must have been extremely powerful too because I tried to walk through the wall but its energy must have prevented me from going through and hyung couldn't open the door either." Jin nodded and raised his hand to rest on his chin as he thought. How did that thing even get in the house? It couldn't of been a spirit that followed her home because Jungkook would have seen it, especially if it was that powerful he could have at least felt it. The only thing that would explain the situation would be if it were a demon but why would she suddenly be targeted by one? "I guess it found my situation funny but it's okay because I'm fine now. I just have some bad bruises on my neck along with a few cuts but they will heal. I also have a sore throat and my voice is raspy but I'm okay. It didn't do anything more."
"You should still be careful, Chaeyoung. Always be in a populated area just in case." Jin advised and she nodded. "I got it. Now you should probably turn the stove off because your food is burning. I've been staring at the smoke for a while now." Chaeyoung laughed as Jin turned to turn the stove off and put the pan with burnt food on the side. "That was our breakfast!" he whined. "I'm okay without it. I'm not hungry. Now I should get going before I miss a class again." She hopped off the stool and grabbed her backpack that she kept downstairs. "Are you sure you are okay with going to school? You can come with me to work instead?" She shook her head and walked to the door.
"I'll be okay, I'm not in too much pain and if anything hurts I'll come home." "I'll go with you!" Jungkook shouted as he headed in her direction. "No, I can go alone. Our deal was first day only and the rest of the time with Jin oppa. If I ever need you then you can come along but I can take care of myself for now, don't worry." Jungkook pouted and crossed his arms over his chest as Jin chuckled in the background. "Alright, if you need me just call me. I'll have my phone on during work so I can answer just in case." Chaeyoung got her phone from her pocket and waved it at them before heading off to the bus stop.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Note:
Hello!
Sorry about no Jimin in this chapter either but he shows up in the next one for sure!
I hope you enjoyed this somewhat emotional and goofy chapter.
Let me know what you think!
See you in the next one!
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top