The Tattoo on my Heart

23. That's what happened

"How would I know what happened to you?? We aren't related, are we?" Seokjin asked.

"No we aren't, but given as Jungkook and I, both lost our dads in the accident caused by Jungkook's dad, I thought you would have known what happened to the opposite party" Namjoon said, his features morphing into a frown.

Seokjin gasped loudly. "Don't tell me you are Mr. Kim Sihyuk's son!!" he exclaimed. "Okay, I won't" Namjoon deadpanned. 

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, what should I do now?! You can't move out, can you?" Seokjin asked. "What the hell? What's wrong with you?" Namjoon asked, starting to get annoyed. 

"Oh my god, I am sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. You saw how Hoseok's death affects Jungkook. And you clearly know how hard it is for us to approach the topic of his death around him. 

Don't even get me started on the number of times he panicked just by the mention of his family. It is a very sensitive topic for him. He knows that a person named Kim Sihyuk got killed in the accident that his father caused. He has the newspaper article with him. 

He used to read it everyday back then. And then he completely shut it out. He clearly seems very disturbed by the fact that you are Hoseok's friend, and is struggling to bring himself to accept that he has to mingle with you guys and accept that his boyfriend is dead. 

You think it would be healthy for him if he came to know that you are not only Hoseok's best friend, but also the son of the person who got killed in the accident that killed his dad? I personally feel yesterday's incident would be nothing compared to what would happen if he came to know that you are the son of the man in that article" Seokjin said, tears forming in his eyes.

Namjoon sighed. 

"Hyung, you are right. But it's really time he faced it. He really needs to come out of his shell. He is already thinking about it. So, even if it means he has to suffer more, even if it makes him panic more, he must learn to accept them and move on. 

Let's not tell him now. Let's wait till he gets over Hoseok's death. But we surely have to tell him someday. It's better if we tell him. We can at least console him and comfort him. Imagine how horrible it would be if he came to know on his own" he said.

"Yeah, you are right" Seokjin said, nodding slowly. "But what actually happened to Tae? The article didn't mention anything about him, did it?" he asked. "It didn't" Namjoon said. 

"Tae was in the car too. I have the article too and I have no idea why they didn't mention it. He was in the final year of his college back then. He was a pretty naughty kid. I had a boyfriend named Sejin. We started dating in the final year of my college. 

I broke up with him after the accident because I couldn't live with the guilt. On the day of the accident, I actually had a date with him. I was with him in a cafe when Tae called me, asking for a lift back home. He said he was feeling too lazy to walk back home. 

I asked him to call our dad as I was on a date with Sejin. He whined and whined about me not coming, but I was really determined on not letting him win that day. I hung up on him and went on with my date. 

After an hour or something, Hobi called me to tell me that his boyfriend's father died in an accident. He didn't tell me any details, except that he expected me to come for the funeral. They didn't know about the other victim in the accident yet. 

I felt very bad for him and came back home as we had to go to the funeral next day. But......" Namjoon said, his voice breaking. He felt a warm hand rub his arm up and down, providing comfort. He felt a strange feeling bloom inside him because of that warmth. 

"Get it out, Joon. Don't keep it inside you anymore" Seokjin said, hugging him from the side. 

"Yeah. While I was walking back home, I got another call from Tae. I was already sad and annoyed, so I didn't answer the call. He called me two more times and I finally answered, it wasn't Tae. 

It was someone else, telling me that I was there in 'that person's' emergency contact list. I lost my mind when he said that. That person told me that my dad and Taehyung were involved in an accident and that both of them were in the hospital. 

He also told me that the person who hit my dad's car was drunk and that he died on the spot. I still don't understand why Jungkook's father was drunk when he had soo much work to do that day. Anyways, that person told me the address of the hospital and I rushed there. 

You see, our mother died of cancer three years before the accident. We only had our dad. I completely lost my shit by the time I reached there. The doctor told me that my father didn't make it alive, and that Tae's eyes got damaged. 

He told me that his eyes weren't incurable, but that finding a way to fix them was hard. I still have hope that he will gain his sight back someday. Anyways, I called Yoongi to tell him about my father's death. I wanted him and Hoseok to come and support me after the funeral was done in Jungkook's house. 

But Hoseok was gone by then. That was when he told me what happened over there. That was when I understood what happened to the other person in that accident. 

Even to this day, I feel guilty for failing Hoseok. I feel guilty for failing my dad and my little brother. If I hadn't gone on a date with Sejin that day, he wouldn't have called dad. Then dad wouldn't have gone in that way. He could have completely avoided the accident. All of them  would have been fine" Namjoon sobbed. 

Seokjin hugged him and let him cry his eyes out. 

Both of them felt those strange feelings bloom inside them and Seokjin decided to act on it even though he knew it was too early. He lifted Namjoon's head and stared into his eyes, slowly looking down at his lips, and back at him, silently asking for permission. Namjoon nodded.

Seokjin crashed his lips onto Namjoon's chapped ones. Namjoon kissed back, feeling the warmth that Seokjin was pouring into the kiss. After what felt like an hour, they  pulled back. 

"I know I am being insensitive, but will you be my boyfriend?" Seokjin asked. "Do you have to ask?" Namjoon said, pulling Seokjin close and kissing him passionately. 

Yoongi, who had been watching them, smiled at them. 

His best friend finally found a way out of the cage he built for himself. 

He hoped Taehyung found his way out soon too.