https://youtu.be/JiwCTqYMVWo

Youth - Daughter 

"I am literally half an hour away, Eomma." Jungkook hugged his mother, laughing at how she sobbed like a child. He'd broken the news that he'd found a place to start his new life a week ago, the day he'd received his first salary.

He'd worked part-time jobs before and got paid for it, but something about the money he received from the gallery was thrilling, like he knew he had arrived at his final destination, and he would be doing this for the rest of his life. It felt joyful to be paid for doing something he loved. 

"I am not ready to let my baby go," she clung to Jungkook harder. The young man was leaning down so he could wrap his smaller mother in his arms. His throat constricted, but he had decided not to shed a single tear today.

Looking at his father, who was standing behind them, he silently asked for help. Mr. Jeon pried Juliane away from Jungkook, holding her forearm to turn her and hug her. She hugged her husband in the same way, harder even, urging him pleadingly to stop Jungkook. "Darling," the man wiped her face gently, rocking her body subtly with an affectionate laugh. "You should be proud of him. He's taking a big step. You shouldn't be crying. It's a happy occasion."

"Aigooo!" Jungkook's grandma poked her son with a cane. "Move!" She stood up from her chair and limped closer. "You don't know how to console a crying woman."

She pulled Julaine's wrist and dragged her back to the sofa. "Sit here," she instructed the woman she loved as her own daughter. "Did you know when I sent your husband off on his merry way, I didn't only cook good food for family dinner, I also threw a huge party in celebration."

"Mother," Mr. Jeon admonished in a gentle voice. 

"You shush!" She warned, pointing her finger at him, and then her face softened as she looked at red-nosed Juliane. The woman who was too innocent for her own good. The woman who had lived her life for them, learning their ways, fulfilling her husband's expectations, and then loving Jungkook more than anything else. 

Jungkook stood silently, gulping and doing his best to hold back. "The thing is, you will never be ready to let him go. I wasn't, either."

Hearing her mother-in-law speak with honesty, Juliane wiped her tears, still shaking with the tremors. "Jungkook is a good kid, and he needs your trust and courage more than ever right now."

Julaine looked back at Jungkook, his chin slightly quivering. She went back to him and hugged him again, not breaking down, but simply holding him for one last time before he left. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself. And you'll come to me if you need anything anytime."

"I promise," Jungkook smiled softly, words filled with adoration and gentleness for his mother. He leaned and kissed her cheeks. "And I will come visit anytime you want."

"Why aren't you taking me with you?" She asked like a petulant child again. That was what she became with her son. 

Jungkook had thought of taking his parents to his place, but in honesty, he was ashamed of it. He didn't even have proper furnishings in the home, and he wanted to take some time to make the space liveable before his parents came to see it. Or he knew it would break their heart. His father wouldn't say anything, but his mother, the sweet woman in his arms, would bring him right back home.

Maybe he would get a bigger place after some time and then take them with him. "Let me go get things in order, and then I will invite all of you."

She nodded, but Mr. Jeon remained silent. He was a man and a father. He understood more than he let on. After putting some of Jungkook's luggage in a car and sending him away, he came inside the house.

It looked empty, like it had been almost a decade ago when Jungkook had gone off to study in Germany. All he wanted was to go to Jungkook and convince him to come back, but he knew it was a practical decision more than an emotional one, and he needed to let his son find his path, just like his father let him. 

His mother was a strong woman, and when he went to check on her in her room, she was sound asleep, but it took effort for him to put his wife to sleep. Hours later, he stayed awake, knowing that the first day would be hard on Jungkook, and it worried him more than his own loneliness. 

He sat up and put on his glasses, trying to read a book as he waited for the morning to come and to hear from Jungkook soon.

**

Jungkook woke up on the bare mattress on his floor. The silk sheets he had brought from home had all been cluttered to one side. His pillow was on the floor. Everything looked overwhelming. When he had come in the last night, he didn't do anything except open his living room windows before lying down on the floor. 

The new mattress had been delivered and placed in the living room, and he liked the placement better. He had already eaten at home, so he didn't have to worry about food last night, but he had to go and hunt for groceries now.

He had planned to go to the art gallery today after two weeks, but before that, he needed to sort some things. He unpacked his three bags full of clothes and put them in the small wardrobe. They had been sorted before packing, so he only had to place them inside without losing much time. 

Then he grabbed the towels and brought them to the bathroom to place them on the organizing racks. He noticed a round mark on the wall where the mirror must have been.

He returned to see his clothes on the floor, which he had taken off before sleeping. He stood in his underwear and zoned out, staring at a spot for long minutes.

When his alarm rang, he jumped into action. 

He took a quick shower and then got ready to go out, choosing light blue denim jeans and a light yellow button-up shirt. He was still wearing his expensive watch, which looked so out of place. 

Putting on a pair of black Oxfords, he grabbed a small shopping bag and went out. The manager had shared a map of the area and the local market, along with a few supermarkets in the vicinity. Following the map, he reached a supermarket two minutes later. 

In a rush, he bought the cleaning supplies, milk, a loaf of bread, and eggs. It wasn't too bad for the first time. He decided to take another trip in the evening to buy some fruits, vegetables, and meat. 

Going back home, he quickly prepared scrambled eggs and ate them with toast. With one hour to spare, he started walking to the gallery with his small work bodybag. He didn't have a fancy laptop or cool company badge, but as he got closer to the gallery, he felt satisfied and content. 

It was also a forty-minute walk from his new place, and he was ecstatic to have saved the cab money. His thoughts were mundane, his happiness ordinary, and surprisingly, that made him happy at that moment. 

Just as he ambled inside the gallery with his biometric access, he noticed that both of the paintings he had done in the last month were gone. 

He was the first one to arrive. With no one to ask around, he went upstairs to check, in case Mingyu had placed them there. They sometimes rotated the pieces to show the variety to the onlookers. 

He couldn't focus after finding his paintings gone. 

Coming back, he waited for Mingyu. Instead, the salesgirl came in and started doing her routine after greeting him. They didn't have many customers, though. They considered it a profit if they sold four pieces a month. "Do you know what happened to the paintings that were on the main entrance?" He asked. 

The girl, who was dusting one of the paintings, stopped and looked at Jungkook. "They were sold last Friday." She told Jungkook happily, knowing he had been the artist.

"Sold? To Whom?"

"I don't have all those details. The manager can help you with it."

"Okay," Jungkook collected his wits, unsure how to react. He had made two paintings, and both of them were sold in a few weeks. At least a bit relieved that the pieces weren't lost, he went back upstairs.

A part of him felt at a loss. He had drawn and painted before, but he held onto each piece. Without having said goodbye to the first commissioned ones he had ever done, 'the innocent teenager,' made him want to stare at a wall and contemplate, but he decided not to overthink.

The gallery provided him with everything he needed to draw or paint, but he wanted to own his own set, kind of like a hairdresser having their own set of scissors. He took out the new brushes from his body bag, ready to work.

**

Jimin sat down, his heart beating so hard that he hated feeling like that. It had been a few months since he'd opened his own hospital. He was ready to stop practicing and get into administration, to run the business side of things, to interview good doctors, and to manage the finances, but time and time again, he couldn't find himself saying no to the juniors who asked for help.

Every time any serious case came to his notice, he went running, wanting to solve one last case, and that was when he told himself repeatedly that it was the last time he was operating on anyone. But it didn't stop. 

When the nurse came to look for him this morning, he told her that Dr. Choi was a capable doctor and directed her to him. And then that feeling of apprehension washed over him, ounces of thick, black tar of guilt clinging to him. He wasn't doing anything illegal, but he still felt like being unethical somehow with his choice. He knew it would go away eventually, but that day was not today. 

What he loved about administrative things was that he didn't need to be in his office to get the work done, and that was why he had scheduled a quick lunch with his father. 

Leaving the hospital, he went straight to his car in the parking lot and drove to the restaurants they had agreed to meet at.

His father and he had strains in the relationship that couldn't be mended. He lived all his life after his mother's accident believing that, but when he got married, something had changed in Jimin. He understood the value of a family more, and he started reaching out to his father after Iseul was born.

He would have loved to host him at home, but to this day, Mr. Park wasn't a big fan of the German daughter-in-law and her family. At least they were doing a monthly lunch together since Iseul, which Jimin thought was enough for now.

When he entered the restaurant, his father was already waiting for him. "Appa," maybe it was how he was flooded with stress, but he bent down to hug his old man. "How are you?"

The surprised man worriedly looked at Jimin when he pulled back. "You don't seem well. Is everything okay at home?" 

"All's well," Jimin heaved a sigh and sat down on the chair. "Just work and stuff. Sometimes it gets the best of you."

Mr. Park wasn't a stranger to that. He had spent his life immersed in work, making it a source of belonging after the love of his life departed him, and that was why he understood that he'd made a mistake, and he hoped that his son wouldn't follow in his footsteps. "You need to take a break from time to time."

Jimin nodded, thinking for a moment. "Do you think I could take Jihyun with me for a weekend trip?"

Mr. Park didn't speak immediately. He leaned back on the chair, looking down at the menu. "Where?" He asked simply.

"Somewhere quiet. I haven't visited him in months. With Iseul,  my hospital, and my gallery, I haven't had a lot of free time on my hands. I miss him."

"You know what's good for you both," Mr. Park granted the permission. "Tell me more about your hospital."

Jimin smiled, understanding his father's trust and interest in him. "It's going smoothly. I still need a few investors. I am looking for them."

"You can come by the office," Mr. Park spoke instantly without losing a beat, holding the menu to read it. "I can help with that."

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18 Jun, 2025