GUCCI BOY//kth

52.) survivor

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•••
"Today,
I don't feel strong
enough to trust that
everything
will turn out fine,
but I do
feel strong enough to know
that that's ok

-a victory I'm proud of"

-Ezrica Bennett
•••

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Jungkook's POV

No matter how much your siblings manage to get on your nerves sometimes, it's undeniable that there is a certain bond that connects people of the same blood. A certain sense of safety and assurance, a sense of familiarity, a sense of home. To Jungkook his older sister Cassia was all the home he could ever ask for. At times she had been the only thing to keep him sane, his only feeling of calmness. She was his anchor in a way, she always had been.

He only realized that more and more now that she was away from him again, oddly enough he much preferred the time when he had been held captive by their father, he much preferred himself being in danger rather than her. He wanted to be the one calming her down, the one fighting, the one protecting her. He hated how things were right now. Cassia had been the one protecting him for far too long in their childhood, it was his turn now.

He knew all too well that Cassia's only weakness, the only thing able of taking her composure away, the only thing able to mess with her on a deep emotional level was their father. He also knew how easily their father could manipulate people and the only thing preventing something horrible from happening was time.

For a while, Cassia could stand her ground and hold up her guards around their father but she couldn't remain strong forever. Jungkook knew that they were running out of time, the longer she was in his grasp the worse. That's why now that they had this slim chance of getting Cassia back, most likely their only chance, he was so desperate to do everything in his power to not mess it up. Their plan had to succeed. It just had to. There was no plan b, this was their only shot.

The taste of the stale coffee he gulped down was bitter and plain, the breakfast toast dry. That's what you got for staying at the cheapest motel you could find, all because they didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to themselves.

Jungkook couldn't care any less about food right now, he was only forcing it down to gain some sort of energy boost for the day. Everyone else seemed to think the same. Jin was on his third cup, expression pulled into a frown. The past years of his growing friendship with Cassia had also brought him closer to Jungkook, a strong brotherly bond now connecting them. Jungkook was eternally grateful for how well Jin had treated Cassia and taken care of her when she needed someone to lean onto and he couldn't be the one to do that. It had made him sleep slighty better at night knowing that Cassia had Jin by her side. Just from looking at him now Jungkook could see how deeply Jin cared about Cassia.

Jungkook could still remember when Cassia had first mentioned Jin to him and how skeptical he had been. He couldn't help but get suspicious that Jin was somehow using his sister, their close friendship worrying him a bit. He soon learned that that couldn't be further from the truth. Jin loved Cassia, he definitely did, but as his best friend, as his (almost) roommate, as his sister. Not once had it ever been his intention to use or take advantage of Cassia.

Their eyes suddenly locked, Jungkook managed a small smile. They had been giving each other strength over the past couple of days, building up each other's hopes and confidence in getting Cassia back. Namjoon noticed the moment between the two and reassuringly squeezed Jin's hand. He pushed a plate of plain white rice towards them, nodding his head towards the food. "Eat" he mumbled, passing them chopsticks. "You'll both need the energy"