She was correct. The boy had been getting better at a quick pace. The doctor smiled at the lady after checking his vitals.

"He is good to go."

That's all the teen needed to hear. A small, excited squeal left his mouth unintentionally, which made him immediately clamp a hand over his mouth. The older female chuckled. His cheeks turned into a dark shade of red as he whined with his eyes. He knew his aunt is going to tease him about it later.

And so, the doctor freed him from all the machines. The boy immediately demanded to get home. Of course, who would like to stay in a chemical-smelling room, sick patients all around, other kids screaming, crying and the food that makes him feel sick? He wanted to get away asap.

As soon as they got out of the hospital, the woman picked him up, making him so startled that he almost screamed as she spun him around, giggling.

"You're such a baby, you know?"

She chuckled. The kid whined, asking to be put down. As she did, she planted a soft kiss on his forehead. He gave the older a cheeky smile and hugged her.

"And he wonders why I treat him like a baby."

She smiled when she saw how excited the kid was to go back home. As they trotted down the streets, the boy managed to spot an ice-cream parlor and begged to have some ice-cream.

"What if you catch a cold?"

His aunt asked worriedly. She was always very careful about his health. He is the only one whom she could show love to, care for and nurture to raise him up to be a good man.

"But I haven't had one for so long!"

He whined, spreading his hands out wide to show the long period of time.

And ahh... Those puppy eyes...

She sighed. There was no way she could resist those. She mentally cursed at herself for being son soft for the boy.

"Don't expect me to take care of you if you fall sick. You're getting yourself in trouble."

She warned him, but of course it was a lie. The boy's attention was long gone. He grabbed her hand and with a wide smile dragged her. The bell on top of the door rang as they stepped inside. His eyes glowed when he saw all the flavours.

"Hey little boy! Which flavor do you want?"

A middle-aged women from the counter said out loudly in a squeaky voice. The kid pointed at his favourite flavor-vanilla, his selective mutism suddenly showing up at the unknown lady's attention on him. The lady quickly scooped some into a cup for him and handed it to him, which he took with a small bow as a thanks.

"That would be 90 won."

She informed in her honeyed voice. The lady paid for it and made her way out, the boy clinging to her while happily licking his ice cream.

"Thank you for visiting. Please come again!"

And the bell rang again as they stepped out. The little boy hopped forward on the pathway, the lady keeping an attentive eye in him as she followed from behind. Suddenly, a wide smile took over her face when she remembered something.

"Your ajhussi will come over tomorrow. He'll stay for a week."

The boy stopped abruptly on his track and spun around to face the older with a wide smile.

"Really?"

Excitement ha filled his voice, making it almost squeaky. The lady nodded aggressively, matching the younger's energy. He gasped, making a weird squealing noise out of excitement and jumped on the lady, making her stumble.

"Jungkook, I'll fall! I'll fall!"

She squeaked, being crushed by the boy's tight hug. He didn't let go even after that. She understood his happiness. Though him and his uncle doesn't meet much, they have developed a deep bond. His uncle is the only other person he can be himself with.

"He'll come before I come back from school, right?"

He asked, hopefully looking at the older but she raised an eyebrow at him.

"School? You're not going school tomorrow."

The lady said, making the boy's smile drop. A small amount of suspicion rose up inside of her.

"Why? Bu-"

"No. No more buts. You're not going tomorrow. You'll need time to heal."

The boy pout and puffed up his cheeks, turning his face away. The older lady mentally smiled. But she felt something weird in her heart. The younger had suddenly been way to excited to go to school when he had absolutely hated that just two weeks ago.

"Why? I thought you hate going to school."

Jungkook sighed a bit and looked down at his feet which he was softly tapping at the ground.

"I... I wanted to apologise to someone. I had behaved rudely with her because of-you know."

He pouted after saying. The lady's heart filled with adoration.

That's such a nice thing of him to think like that.

"You can apologise later. You should rest tomorrow. You can go to school the day after and apologise to whoever you committed the crime against."

She teased, tickling his side and as expected, the young boy whined, his spindly arms clenching up into a fist and hitting the older's shoulder. She laughed and held his wrist again.

"Let's go home."

***

His heart thumped loudly against his chest. He surfed through all the pockets in his school uniform. The shirt. The trousers. The surged through his school bag. His books to see if he had kept it there.

Nowhere.

He found it nowhere.

Tears came to his eyes. He spent so much time in making that. A sob almost left his mouth. But he didn't want his aunt to listen. Biting onto his lips he surged through his entire room.

It was just a portrait. He could just make one again. But it won't be the same. He drew it with so much in mind. It had to be that exact drawing to apologise.

He flung himself down the bed and let the tears roll down his cheeks while staring blankly at the ceiling.

Why are you being such a baby?

He sprang up and looked around. There was no one. Oh, it was the voice in his head. And it was right. Why was he crying over such a small thing. He could just make another. He will make another.

He aggressively tore a page from his blank-paged notebook and slammed it on his days. He hadn't seen Yuna in so long. But he remembered every single detail and he didn't know why. He started sketching. The fearless and brave eyes. The small, sharp nose with a high nose bridge. Just perfect. The lips which curved up to the most elegant smile ever. Dark, thick and long hair, tied up into two pony tails but still falling over her shoulders.

He dropped the pencil on his desk, which rolled over and fell on the floor, making a loud noise. His eyes travelled from top to bottom of the paper, then again from bottom to top. He couldn't describe the amount of relief he felt in words. He was desperate for her forgiveness. He had never behaved like that to anyone and he was terrified of being hated.

But one thought aroused in him.

How the hell would he approach her?

As much as he was scared of being hated, he was even more scared to look forward for the girl. He was afraid he would mess up. He was afraid he would say something opposite to what he actually wanted to say. He was afraid.

What if she hates me?

What if she doesn't accept my apology?

Will she bully me?

Hurt me?

What if-

"Jungkook, dinner's ready!"

A honeyed tone made it's way to his room. That's when he realized that the room was dead silent. He was pretty sure something was taunting him. But he heard nothing. The venomous voice was long gone.

Standing up from his chair, which made it screech backwards, he rushed to the bathroom. He rubbed his face with water, trying to remove any clue that proved he had been crying. He shoved the drawing inside his bag, checking it multiple times to make sure it's really there.

"JUNGKO-"

"Here! I'm here!"

He displayed a smile to the older and jumped onto a chair, grabbing a spoon and hitting the end of it on the table in excitement. It smelled like his favorite food.

He digged in almost as soon as the plate was put in front of him, but his hand was slapped away. The kid whined.

"What did I say about washing your hands before any meal?"

She asked in a fake stern voice. The younger grumbled before saying.

"I did! See?"

He said, shaking his hands right on her face as his hand was still wet from when he went to wash his face. The lady immediately turned her face away, making an annoyed noise. She smacked the younger again.

"Then wipe your hands dry!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

He rolled his eyes and aggressively wiped them on his trousers and started to dig in. The lady smiled fondly and sat down opposite to him, watching him enjoy his food.

"Slow down, you'll choke."

She giggled as she watched the boy stop for a while trying to chew up all the food that was almost overflowing his mouth before swallowing it having another mouthful.

"It's delicious I see."

She flipped her hair dramatically to show that she was proud of her cooking skills. The kid giggled, the food in his mouth almost falling out. His aunt cringed.

"That's gross, Jungkook! Why are eating like that. I make you that every week."

She scolded lightly, but the boy just giggled after swallowing the food.

"Ajhumma, you know how much I love it!"

"Yeah."

She slurred, rolling her eyes.

"You definitely love it more than me."

She faked a sad tone and crossed her arms against her chest. She knew it always makes him laugh and she craved to hear it.

"See Ajhumma, you're acting like a kid now!"

He lectured the older, who pouted.

"See?! You didn't even disagree! Ah! What do I do? Nobody loves me."

"Well, Ajhussi does."

He said wiggling his eyebrows. The older lady suddenly stood up and went to his side, startling the younger.

"Wha-"

"You've started to know a lot, isn't it?"

She said as she snuck her arms around him and started to tickle his stomach, making the kid burst into laughter almost immediately.

"A-Ajhumma, stop!"

He giggled, trying to get hold of this aunt's hand but failed miserably. Piles of laughter filled the kitchen, the lady found herself slip into her inner child that she had buried deep down for the well-being of the kid.

They played with their food, the lady managing to the young boy eat up all his vegetables without making any fuss. That was one of the most precious nights ever.

1852 words.

Ah! After so long! Exams are almost over, last exam being on Tuesday and we got three days for it, so the peace starts now onwards itself, till again a month when the new session starts. Till then, I'll try to update regularly.

Thank you for reading! Stay safe and healthy and happy!

Have a great day! Love you!