Chapter 10: Forgiveness Is Free
Some people are just naturally more forgiving.
Eunha had always been like that. Ever since she was young, she had been more forgiving than the rest of her family. She found it easier to forgive people rather than hold a grudge against them or be cruel to them. She preferred kindness over revenge which was why she always got the short end of the stick in every situation. Kind people had no place in this world. Bad times taught her that.
But it was odd, she thought, that there was no balance in the world. The kind people were too kind, always being taken for granted, always being hurt over and over again but still forgiving, and the angry ones were too mad to even love themselves. She didn't know who was more foolish, a kind person who gets betrayed, or a mean person who can't find beauty in anything.
Anyhow, Eunha was willing to put her faith in Jungkook again, giving him a second chance, and maybe it was naïve of her but she believed Jungkook was a good person inside. Or perhaps, it was a more selfish reason. Eunha was too lonely so she wanted Jungkook to be around. But then again, who was this boy? She needed to know him to trust him.
The pancakes Eunha had made were eaten in silence. Jungkook was too busy stuffing his mouth to even praise Eunha's cooking. When they had finished eating and she was cleaning up the table, Jungkook voiced out the question that had been dancing in his mind the entire time.
"Are you really letting me stay here?"
"Yeah, as long as you tell me about yourself." Said Eunha as she got up from her chair with the collected dishes in her hands.
"Like what?" Jungkook wondered, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
"Anything." She shrugged and started towards the kitchen.
"I already told you that my parents died a year ago," Jungkook said when Eunha returned to the lounge. "I lost my will to live and everyone else abandoned me so I've been on the streets ever since. I honestly don't know how I managed to survive till now. Anyway, what do you want to know?" He tilted his head.
"How did your parents die?" She started with the heaviest question and wondered if it was the right thing to do.
Definitely not.
Jungkook stiffened in his place and went pale as a ghost. He sat tight-lipped with the most haunted look on his face as Eunha stood in the middle of the lounge, awkwardly, feeling the environment become thick and suffocating with a loud silence. She sighed. Why bring up such a sensitive topic so recklessly? Jungkook seemed uncomfortable. She could tell from his expression that she had triggered some PTSD and instantly felt horrible.
"Never mind, I shouldn't have asked that-" She shook her head but was cut off by Jungkook.
"My parents were murdered,"
Eunha felt a pang in her chest. Eyes widening in shock, her head snapped to Jungkook's side. Jungkook, however, did not look up. His eyes were glued to his hands, eyebrows furrowed. He looked like he was being tormented by a bad memory but was trying his best not to show it.
"I...I'm so sorry." Eunha sympathized shakily. Her voice was low, soft, and gentle like the snow outside. She regretted asking that question but it was too late to go back now.
"I really shouldn't have asked that. I reminded you of something bad. Sorry." Eunha apologized, feeling worse with every passing second.
"No, it's fine," Jungkook weakly shook his head. "I've never gotten to talk about it with anyone but the truth is I desperately wanted someone to know. I can't tell you though because you're too soft and empathetic. You're already too kind to me and I don't deserve that." Jungkook pressed his lips together like stopping himself from saying anything more. Eunha sighed again. She walked up to Jungkook, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him to the couch. When they were sat next to each other, Eunha placed her hand on his shoulder, pressing it gently.
"Jungkook, you can tell me." She told him honestly. At this, his eyes finally met Eunha's. He looked so sad that Eunha thought he might cry.
"I was with them," He started, already choking up. "I was with them when they died. I witnessed them die right in front of my eyes." Eunha internally winced.
"What happened?"
"It was around 10 pm. We were going back home from my Dad's colleague's engagement party when a woman jumped in front of our car, screaming for help. Apparently, she was being chased by someone who caught up to her and started beating her. She looked badly hurt. My parents got out of the car to help the woman and got into a fistfight with the man but he had a gun on him. He shot both of my parents, right in the heads, shot that woman too, then he ran off." Jungkook explained the incident, feeling the back of his throat ache. Eunha took a few quiet seconds to process. She could only imagine the kind of pain Jungkook felt.
"I don't remember how long I sat in the car, frozen. Now that I think back to it, I regret it. Even though there was little to no chance that my parents had survived a bullet through the head, things might have turned out differently if only I had moved faster. But instead, I sat there in shock like an idiot. It just happened in a matter of seconds. My parents were dead and there was nothing I had done. I just sat there." His voice broke. It felt odd to open up to someone he had known for barely a day but at the same time, it was relieving to be able to show someone his pain. Eunha could feel tears forming in her eyes. Jungkook looked like he was still stuck in that memory as he repeated the last sentence in a lamenting manner. "I just sat there."
"Was the murderer caught?" She asked as she noticed a tear roll down Jungkook's rosy cheeks.
"His dead body was found. The police said it was suicide." He answered, quickly turning his head away and wiping the tear. Eunha immediately pulled him in a hug.
"You can cry, Jungkook." She whispered, and seconds later, he was sobbing like a child in her arms. Eunha sobbed along with him. At that moment, it felt like they had known each other their whole lives. Pain can connect people better than anything else. Grief is another thing.
"I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," Eunha repeated over and over again as she ran her hand through his hair and rubbed his back. She sniffled into Jungkook's shoulder as he cried into her neck. It felt like they sat like that for hours, crying and comforting each other, until the pain finally turned into numbness.
"Stop crying now, okay? I'll make you some hot chocolate." Eunha told Jungkook as she planted a light kiss on his head. Jungkook nodded. "Okay." Then he suddenly coughed, almost like he choked on something, and broke the hug. Eunha watched him wipe at his tongue and mouth, and his puffy eyes, and red nose. His tear-stricken swollen face resembled Eunha's.
"What's wrong?"
"A strand of your hair went in my mouth," Jungkook explained which made Eunha laugh out.
"Idiot." She muttered as she cleaned her face. Jungkook did the same, grabbing some tissue paper from the box on the table to blow his nose.
Eunha checked her phone. No replies from Taehyung. She sent him another text anyway, telling him to not walk around in the snow or he'd get sick. She knew he wasn't going to read it though. Suddenly feeling mad about being ignored, she turned off her phone so that she wouldn't keep trying to reach out to him like a fool when he was being a moody jerk.
Putting the phone face down on the dining table, she went to the kitchen.
~~~
Kim Taehyung wasn't just angry, he was furious. He wanted to find Jungkook and beat him to a pulp for stealing from him and being unable to find him made him even more infuriated. His enraged eyes glared at every passerby. Jungkook had to be here somewhere. He looked at every person suspiciously as he searched for any sign of a black leather jacket.
The snowfall was harsh, making him want to go home and sleep in his warm bed, but his anger was insatiable. He wanted to punch Jungkook. He wanted to get his things back. But he was freezing cold in his damp clothes. He brushed the snow off of himself as he stopped under the small shade of what seemed to be a permanently closed-down shop. Leaning his head back on the wall, he felt the chill of the winter in his bones. The blizzard was brutal. He let out an exasperated sigh, feeling fatigued.
He knew that Eunha was probably calling him right now but he was too mad to talk to her. He was mad at her. How could she trust a mere stranger and let him stay at her house? It made no sense to Taehyung.
He stopped trusting people a long time ago but Eunha was different. She was too kind, too naïve. He wondered how she could still put her faith in people even after seeing the ugliest side of the world.
He wanted to go back home but he also didn't want to go home. He didn't want to go anywhere. He just wanted to be out here, in the freezing cold winter, under the snow, where he could easily freeze to death.
His eyelids felt heavy like he was sleepy. Closing his eyes, Taehyung sighed again. He stayed like that for a few moments but still felt restless. This constant annoyance, this arbitrary want, he hated it. Stuffing his hand in the inside pocket of his blazer, he brought out a packet of cigarettes and his lighter. He held a cigarette between his pale lips and tried to light it but the lighter slipped from his hand and fell.
"Fuck this." Taehyung groaned, bending down to pick up the lighter only to drop the cigarette packet instead this time. "FUCK." He shouted and picked it right back up before leaning against the moist wall again. He hastily shoved both things back in his pocket after lighting up the cancer stick. He closed his eyes again, feeling much more at ease this time.
However, his comfort smoke was interrupted as he felt somebody sloppily placing their hand on his shoulder. His eyes shot open to see a man who appeared to be much older than him but shorter in height. The sight of the man repulsed Taehyung. Worn out clothes that smelled, greasy disheveled hair, and droopy eyes that looked faded and distant. He was thin and as pale as a corpse. Anyone could tell that he was a homeless beggar. On top of all of that, he was high as a kite. He was gripping a soju bottle in his other hand and anyone could smell the alcohol off him.
"Hey, young man..." The man slowly tilted his head at Taehyung, leaning his body onto his. Taehyung cringed at the proximity. "think you've got...some...cash on you?" He slurped his words and smiled, putting his yellow teeth on display.
"No, not really. Funny timing but I got robbed today." Taehyung replied bitterly, removing the homeless man's hand off his shoulder. The man stumbled backwards and his half-opened half-closed eyes stared at Taehyung as if in a trance.
"That's unfortunate." He moaned, his drunk body crashing into the wall lazily.
"So is your life." Taehyung retorted and looked away from the older male. The man appeared like he hadn't heard Taehyung. He stared into nothing for a few moments like he was zoned out, then he looked at Taehyung again and grabbed his arm, putting his body weight on Taehyung.
"Have you got some...cash...?" He asked the same question, causing Taehyung to scowl.
"I just said I don't have any." Taehyung glared at the man, annoyed. He yanked his arm out of his loose grip and the man almost fell to the ground but steadied himself at the right moment.
"I know you're...lying...young man. Please...give me some...cash..." The homeless man insisted, putting his hands on Taehyung yet one more time. Taehyung gritted his teeth and shut his eyes, inhaling a sharp breath.
He was going to lose it.
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A/N: What's the last thing you ate today?
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