Promise Not To Fail You

16. Reunion

Jungkook frowned at the car outside his parents' house before taking a deep breath to cool himself. 

'It should be perfect. I can't let slip that I know who he is. I should behave just as I would have if I didn't know who he was and met him after all these years. You can do it, Jungkook. Don't show hatred in your face, don't get angry, don't space out in front of him, don't act weird. Okay, okay, let's just go! God help me!' he thought as he knocked on the door. 

His mother opened the door. "Eomma!!" Jungkook exclaimed, throwing his hands around his mother and whispering in her ear to act along. 

"Aigoo, Jungkookie!! It's been long!! We have a surprise for you" she said, beaming widely. "For me? What is it?" he asked, grinning at his father, who came to stand behind his mother. 

"Come and see for yourself" she said, pulling him into the living room. He knew what to expect and who was waiting in the living room to surprise him, but still, he couldn't hold the tears back the second he came face-to-face with the person he once loved and now hated to the core. 

He froze at the entrance of the living room as he glared at his brother with tears in his eyes. He kept shouting at himself internally to stop glaring at him, but his eyes functioned on their own. 

Fortunately, Jinho misunderstood the glare and the tears in his eyes as his younger brother's anger at him for disappearing from his life all these years. 

"Aigoo, Kookie, come here. I am sorry for running away like that and not keeping in contact with you for all these years. I promise I won't do that from now on, okay? In fact, I asked our parents not to tell you about me coming here because I wanted to surprise you. I am sorry, baby. Come on" his brother rambled as he went forward to hug him. 

Jungkook felt disgusted as Jinho wrapped his arms around his torso, pulling him into a tight hug. This was the same man who tortured Taehyung and destroyed his life. Not only Taehyung, but also many other important figures in the country. 

Tears ran down his face as he hugged him back, glaring at the wall behind him and telling himself to keep his act together until all of this was done. 

Jungkook still didn't talk to his brother. 'If he thinks I am angry at him because he ran away, then so be it' he thought as he kept throwing glares at his brother every now and then. 

"Aish! Come on, Kookie! Forgive me, already! I became too lonely without a family, which was why I came back. Don't do this to me, please! Come on!" Jinho said, nudging Jungkook's arm. Jungkook swatted his arm away and moved a bit away from him. 

His eyes started tearing up again as he remembered snippets from the video that he had watched. He watched as his brother sighed and got up to talk to his mother in the kitchen. 

Jungkook noticed the slight limp in his gait. "What happened to your leg?" he asked, his voice breaking with emotion as he remembered Taehyung shooting both of his legs in that video. 

"I was involved in an accident a few years ago" Jinho lied smoothly before going back to sit next to his brother. 

"Jungkook, I am really sorry. Talk to me, please" he said. "I am talking to you" Jungkook said grumpily. "Fine. This will suffice for now" Jinho chuckled and went to the kitchen. 

'THAT CHUCKLE!!!!' Jungkook thought as he remembered the chuckle that haunted his dreams since the day he watched that video.

He shuddered and got up to help his mother as well when he saw Jinho walk out of the kitchen with his phone held to his ear. Jungkook threw a glance at his mother before secretly following Jinho, trying to eavesdrop on the call.

Jinho had gone into the garden and was facing the road, making it convenient for Jungkook to come out and hide behind the bushes without being noticed or getting caught. 

The night was eerily quiet, making it easy for Jungkook to hear what the other was whispering. 

"What the hell do you mean they are after us?!............The fuck, man?!! Are you sure it's them?.........Civil dresses, huh?..." Jungkook understood the situation the second his brother mentioned 'civil dresses'. 

"......Fucking shit, who gave them my photo? How do they even know that it's me?...........What the fuck is going on, man? I trusted you to take care of it in my absence and you call me with this news!?........I don't care! Find out how they got the photo and change the location to Yeongsan immediately..........Be discrete about it or I will kill all of you and start again...." Jungkook got back to the house and walked back out as if he just came out. 

He waited for his brother to finish the call before looking at him with worried puppy eyes. "Is something wrong?" he asked. 

Jinho smiled at him before tapping his shoulder lightly and putting an arm around him. "Nothing. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. Tell me about your job" he said as he took his younger brother back into the house. 

"I got fired recently, so I am living with my best friend right now. Without any job" Jungkook said. "Best friend? Who?" Jinho asked. 

"I don't think you know him" Jungkook said, suddenly alert. He didn't know if he should or shouldn't mention Yugyeom's name. He didn't know if Jinho knew that Yugyeom was the head of the Crime Investigation Department of the whole country. 

"If you are talking about that small kid you grew up with, then I remember him. Yugyeom, right?" Jinho asked. 'It's better to act like nothing is wrong with the situation' he thought and replied immediately with a huge grin plastered on his face. 

"You remember him?!! WOWW!!" he exclaimed. "So you live with him?" Jinho asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Yeah. Why?" Jungkook asked. "Nah! Just like that" Jinho said before shaking his head and grinning back at his brother. 

"Hyung! Give me your phone number. Let's talk frequently" Jungkook said. Jinho thought for a while. "Why are you thinking soo much? Are you the President or what? Just give already" Jungkook said, chuckling at himself. 

"Brat!" Jinho muttered as he messed up Jungkook's hair and reached out for Jungkook's phone. "Thank you, hyung! I'll call you when I can. Bye, everyone" he exclaimed as he got out of the house after dinner. 

He couldn't wait to go back home and tell Yugyeom about everything that had happened and about the change of locations.