Chapter 1 - Freezing

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I remember the first time Jungkook and I met.It was in November, the 27th, if I remember correctly. Exactly four years ago.

Like every day since the beginning of the year, I got up at around seven o'clock, just in time to be able to get up and go to work.Just in time to get ready for class and arrive on time. The routine, so to speak.routine, so to speak.

It was cold outside. Typical winter weather for the end of November. I took a quick shower, dressed warmly, put on a scarf and a hat of the same color and went downstairs to the school.and then went down to the hall without bothering to look for anyone.presence of anyone. I was used to it by now. I took my school bag, put on my shoes - old white converse that didn't fit.old white converse that weren't so old anymore - and left my house without further ado.without further ado. The air was freezing. I could see steam coming out of my mouth as I exhaled.It hadn't snowed yet, but it would soon: everything around me was wrapped in a thin layer of frost that would be under a thin layer of frost that glittered like thousands of diamonds in the dim light of the street lamps.light of the street lamps. It was still dark, and there was a religious silence in the neighbourhood. The small town I lived in was completely immersed in the silence of the night.night. I blew out a deep breath, slowly, and pulled my wool cloth tighter against me. TheThe softness of the cloth gave me an incomparable warmth; a reassuring, familiar warmth.The warmth I had been desperately seeking for the past few years, without success.

It's funny, thinking back, how a single day, a single hour, a single minute can stick with you.a single minute could be engraved in your memory for the rest of your life. AA single event capable of marking your life forever. A single event, and its consequences , good or bad. Saving. And sometimes destructive.

As I was about to leave for my bus stop, a timid squeak stopped me. II didn't even have to turn around to see who it was. 

" - Yeontan ? I have nothing for you, sorry big guy. I'll come and give you something whenI get home from school, I promise."

I smiled, and scratched the little animal's head, who barked with pleasure at my gestures, his tail wagging in all directions.his tail wagging in all directions. But as much as I loved the little fur ball, I had to leave him for the day,I had to leave him for the day. If I dawdled any longer, I'd end up missing my bus. II looked back one last time at the little black and tan puppy, who was sitting in the middle of the middle of the street, staring at me with his little head cocked to one side. After a few seconds, he walked away. seconds, he walked away, returning to the back of the alley in which I had discovered him a few weeks earlier. a few weeks earlier. I could not hold back a smile. No one could have resisted this little fellow. Especially not me. I was so touched every time I saw him.

I turned back towards my bus stop and was relieved to see that he had not yet passed.that he hadn't passed by yet. A few people around my age were also waiting.Some were staring at their phones, with a pair of headphones in their ears, while others had looked at me curiously when they heard me coming. Nothing that Nothing different from usual.

After a few minutes, the bus arrived. It was crowded, like every morning, my stop being one of the last to be served. After letting the rest of the students pass in front of me. After letting the rest of the students pass me by, I climbed the small steps and swiped my bus pass in front of the machine. the machine provided for that purpose. And as luck was never on my side for long, the logo indicating that my card was not valid began to flash.

"Sir, I think there's a problem with the machine."

"- Play your card again."

I did as he said, not without being annoyed by his false friendliness, but it ended in failure.

I did as he said, not without being annoyed by his false friendliness, but it again ended in failure.

The driver looked at me with a falsely sorry expression and said in his hoarse voice :

"I'm sorry, big guy, but if officers show up and I've given you a ride without a valid ticket, I'm in trouble."

I sighed and reluctantly got off the bus. It was about a 45-minute walk to the school.minutes walk. If I hurried, I would at least make it on time for the second class of the day. Without a word, the driver closed the doors of the vehicle and set off for the next stop. to the next stop. I put my headphones in my ears and set off, now cut off from the outside world. It was just me and my music.

I had to admit that the thought of being alone on the side of the road at 7:30 in the morning when I was not had to admit that the thought of being alone on the side of the road at seven-thirty in the morning, while it was still dark, didn't exactly thrill me.There was no telling what might happen. What if I was right, and I was dragged into an accident, or someone decided to attack me, no one would be there to come to my aid or hear my cries for help.help me or hear my cries for help.

My parents? We hadn't really been on good terms for a long time, so to speak. One day, a big argument had broken out, and since then, no one had tried toto re-establish a dialogue. Even the teachers had stopped contacting my parents when there was a problem: they had quickly stopped contacting me. They soon realized that they didn't care what happened to me . I guess they were more than fed up with my behavior towards them. They'd had a hard time accepting me when I'd told them I was gay, and I guess I had hoped they would react differently. Although they had come to terms with it, I'd never been able to forgive them. So I had become unkind to them, and, predictably, they predictably, they eventually gave up on me. And that's where we were today.

After nearly forty minutes of walking, I finally entered the school, whose corridors were deserted : the buses had not yet arrived and those who were there were already in and those who were there were already in their classrooms. I quickly went to the front of my classroom, letting a sigh of satisfaction escape me, sigh of satisfaction from between my lips when I saw that there was no one there either. I put my bag on the floor and then slid down the wall, rubbing my hands together together to try to regain some warmth, my head my head moving gently to the rhythm of the music in my ears. Even inside, it was cold.

Thirty minutes later, the teacher and my class arrived. WeWe all entered the room, and I almost ran to get the perfect table : at the back, next to the window and the radiator. The table coveted by all and yet, as if by a miracle, I always managed to occupy it. I put my bag against the wall once more and took out my course material, a black folder and a leather case. Simple enough, but sufficient for the importance I attached to them.

The teacher began to speak after greeting us, and as for me, I looked distractedly out of the window, obsessed by the dance of the branches stripped of their leaves by the whims of the icy wind.

𝐔𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐍 | Taekook ✔️ TranslationWhere stories live. Discover now