Mr. Boss

Chapter-39😐

Jungkook's pov

Even stalkers eventually settled into a routine.

After Taehyung left his apartment in the mornings, I'd go for a run. It was four miles back to my place, and I usually sprinted half of it, fueled by the frustration of watching him walk away each morning.

The late-night snacks had stopped a week ago. He didn't even look in my direction anymore. I suppose I should have been grateful he was only giving me the cold shoulder. His threat had been all I could think about lately. What the hell would I do if I watched him walk into his building with another man, and he didn't come back out? The thought made me run faster.

How long would it take?

Fuck.

It wouldn't take long.

Even though I normally ran the same route across town, today I didn't. It wasn't a conscious choice; my feet just led the way while my mind was busy with thoughts of Taehyung.

When I get out of my thoughts I realized how far off course I was. And where my subconscious had taken me. Little East Open Kitchen.

The shelter where Sehun had volunteered.

Where Eddie had eaten every day.

I hadn't been down this block in almost five years.

I stared at the window for a long time, my eyes dropping below it to the empty spot where we'd frequently found Eddie sitting. The place had aged, but not much had changed.

I hated the sight of it. It made me angry and brought back that feeling of helplessness I'd had when I'd gotten that last phone call from Sehun. Powerless and weak. It made me feel like a victim.

Yet I wandered inside, unsure what I was looking for. It was early, and the place was practically empty. Only a couple and their two children were eating breakfast. A few volunteers kept busy going back and forth.

Looking around, I had no clue what the hell I was doing inside. Then the framed pictures on the wall caught my eye. When the interior was redecorated all those years ago, each volunteer had donated a poster of an inspirational quote. Sehun never did get to show me his. I walked around the room, reading some of them.

You don't need to climb the whole staircase. Just take the first step.

You have two hands-one to help yourself and one to help others.

The next one got me thinking.

If you don't change direction, you may end up where you're heading.

Where the hell was I heading? Thanks to Frick and Frack, I wasn't sitting in a bar anymore from dawn to dusk. Instead I was sitting outside a man's apartment from dusk to dawn. I owned a successful company that I hadn't been to in weeks, and I'd lost a man who was the best thing that had happened to me in years. Maybe lost wasn't exactly the right word. Given up, unfortunately, was more like it.

My anger was heavily laced with regret. I hated that I felt so undeserving of everything I had, and that because of it I'd sabotaged the things that meant the most to me. But I had no idea how to change what I felt. Right or wrong, the emotions were real.

"I stare at that one every morning when I get in." Nelson, the shelter manager, slapped me on the back as he came to stand next to me. "How you been, Jungkook?"

"Hanging in there." By a thread. "You?"

"Not too bad. Not too bad. I'm so sorry, man. Some crazy shit, cops finding out after all this time that it was Eddie, huh?"