THE TRANSFER STUDENT

Struggles, Pt. 5

Jisoo couldn't believe it.

Life was fragile, she'd been told since she was young. But never would she have thought that she'd ever receive a call telling her that her parents were involved in a car accident.

It all felt too real.

The minute Jisoo had put down the phone, the first thing she did wasn't to rush out of the house, or start sobbing - she was in too much of a shock to do any of that.

Instead, she sat up in her bed, staring at the different pieces of furniture in the room. The photo frame that contained the picture of her parents and her when she was little - the only happy part of her childhood that wasn't consumed by studying, academics and grades. They were all smiling, and they were all happy.

Then there was the little drawer it rested on. Jisoo remembered the day they all moved into this house. It was back when she was 6, but Jisoo remembered every little thing that happened that day. Her dad had picked up this drawer just because she wanted it, and carried it all the way up the stairs to her room, almost spraining his back in the process.

Then there was her wardrobe filled with all the clothes and accessories she'd ever wanted. She'd actually spent their money however she liked, buying even things she didn't even want, just to spite them for not spending time with her. But now she realised, how many people her age actually had the money to buy whatever they wanted? How many people her age had parents who could give their daughter anything she wanted?

Her whole room was filled with memories she had with her parents, yet she had taken it all for granted all this while, her feelings of gratitude drowned by the loathing she had towards them for not spending quality time with her.

But only now did she realise. She realised that her parents loved her, they loved her so freaking much. They just didn't know how to express it, and she, didn't know how to receive it. They were all loving one another in ways that were never received.

You really only miss the sun when it starts to snow.

Wild thoughts raced through Jisoo's mind as her eyes welled up with tears, thinking of all the things that could have possibly happened to her parents. She had just made up her mind earlier to finally apologise and mend the bond they had never really had in the past 18 years of her life, but now it might even be too late.

Something horrible had happened to them, and Jisoo wasn't even sure if they could even be able to hear her apology at this point. If only she had mustered enough courage to talk to them earlier- If only she  didn't have this stupid ideology that apologising equated to weakness- If only she had not taken the things they did for her for granted, and treasured every single moment she had with them-

If only-

Jisoo swallowed hard. She didn't even want to imagine what life would be like without her parents. She loved them, she loved them more than she even realised. Hopping out of bed, Jisoo slipped a jacket over her shoulders and headed out of her room, hoping and praying, with all the energy she could muster, that her parents were alright.

~

Jungkook arrived at Jieun's house later in the morning, only to realise that Kim Taehyung - that trickster of a man - had set everything up.

Firstly, the door was left unlocked, so when Jungkook tried to knock, the door just creaked open. Secondly, when he headed to Jieun's room to check on her, there was literally a basin next to her bed. Jieun herself couldn't have done that, given her weak state.