The Jeon's had started their union in the Spring of 1988, married by fall, and new life not long after. Mrs. Jeon still remembered the look on her husband's face when they found out they were pregnant, and with a boy none the less.
It was a moment in life that would stick with her. Whenever she was nervous that her husband hated her and the kids, she would remember his happiness on that day and it would force her to push through just a little longer, always anticipating that things would get better.
She had pushed and pushed until Jungkook was gone, until her husband was withered away, until Jisoo was detached from everything around- just as spoiled and bland as her counterparts.
Jungkook had yet again been her saving grace during these times, staying up through each night as they waited to make the call that her husband, the father of her children, would never be conscious again.
If he were to wake up she wondered what he would say. Would he feel guilty for the affairs, for the late nights at work, or missed family trips. They say at the end of your life you regret time not spent amongst relatives but she couldn't imagine her husband ever feeling that way. He was inherently married to his career, had been since they met. She was a necessary filler, a check box on his life to-do list.
"Mom...." Her son extended his hand, the tattoos lining his knuckles so foreign to her. She reached out and stroked them, her own fingers looping with his so that he wouldn't go far, "You okay?" His voice was smooth like honey, not gravely from packs of cigarettes that were smoked behind the pool house in an attempt to shield an addiction and overcome stress.
"I'm okay." Her eyes never left the bed, an uncomfortable folding chair pulled to the edge in a bid to keep her as close as possible.
"You don't seem it?" Jungkook knelt down beside her, unsure if he should rip their hands apart or continue the embrace, still uncomfortable by the way his Mother seemed to scrutinize him every chance she got.
"After 32 years, I wasn't expecting it to end this way. I believed we'd drown in a freak yacht accident or in a plane crash- something that could at least be glamorized but this, nothing glamorous about it, is there?" She dropped the palm of her son, both of her free hands cupping her own cheeks as she willed the tears away, "I always wonder if you felt he was a good Father, at least before everything that happened."
Jungkook had been thinking about that concept a lot. To be a good dad. He was desperate to be a good dad to his own kids someday- one day. He would go to the band concerts and coach little league. He would tuck them in with fairy tales and make pancakes in the shape of wild forest animals. On Christmas, he would make sure they were all together, no phones or computers in sight, just a day spent as an entire unit.
His own Father had never done that but he did provide, and he provided well. Despite all the resentment and the pain and the shame, Jungkook couldn't find himself saying that his Dad wasn't good. It felt like bad karma at this point, like something that would only leave him muddled and lost as he continued through life. He had been ready to forgive for years but maybe a tragedy was what it took, "Dad did all that he could!" He snaked around his Mother's shoulder, comforting her as she sat at her husband's bedside.
"Do you think it's time?" Her eyes were clouded with tears that wanted to fall, begging for her child to make the decision that she couldn't pull herself too.
"I really do." This was his time to man up, he the head of the house. The time where he would take the throne of decision maker. His Mom collapsed at that, torn viciously apart at the idea of being apart from her husband for eternity.
Until the bitter end she had been the good wife.
"I'll call Jisoo." Jungkook exited from the room, dialing for his sister who he knew was at home, attempting to sleep.
She had cried the least of them all. Her sunken and tired eyes appearing relieved every time the doctors mentioned this was the end. It wasn't evil or sociopathic, it was understandable. Jungkook was surprised his own vision didn't sparkle the same.
Jungkook remembered the time, took note of everything around him, made sure that both of the Jeon women were comfortable as they said their final goodbyes. He had, had his breakdown over the death and in all honesty, he had mourned the loss years prior. To him, his Father has been gone five years ago. The last month had been simply borrowed time.
"Do you think that Dad's spirit is relaxed now? Or do you think he's still stomping around and breaking pens from writing too hard?" Jisoo was the first to break the silence, the slowing of the heart rate monitor too much for her to just listen too.
Jungkook chuckled at the thought, "I'm sure wherever he goes, his first order of business will be scout out whatever type of brand he can build there and then take over the whole, after life economy."
"I like that thought!" Mrs. Jeon reached out to both her children, squeezing their hands, "He was a restless spirit on earth, I hope he finds rest in the next life..."
Both of them watched as she let them go, standing and walking over to her husband as she saw the monitor go flat. His final moment had passed. A nurse and a doctor were there marking time of death but Mrs. Jeon stayed still, staring him down to make sure he was really gone.
In a way, it made Jungkook feel ill, the clear disconnect between a presence on earth and one that was no longer, happened so quick. His eyes darted around the room to calm the wave of nausea, his eyes spotting a giant mound of flowers in the hallway.
"Jisoo?" He nudged the girl who seemed to have been lost in a trance, a thousand yard stare fixated on the wall.
She hummed, following her brothers finger until she saw what he did. Her body stood and guided over like a ghost, shutting the door quietly behind her, "Seokjin?"
The tall vegan chef with the broad shoulders who had left her to pine after him, was standing in the hall, a perfect mix of eucalyptus branches accompanied by light pink peonies linked in his hand, "I got your text and I didn't think it was proper to respond with just I'm sorry!"
She held her hands over her mouth, visibly shocked, "You're an angel!"
He blushed, "I just know how complicated loss can be. I wanted you to know that even though we don't know each other well... you can always- well, you know! Call or text or stop in! I swear I cook food that isn't vegan as well. I make a-,"
Jisoo wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug, one that would stifle his constant rambling, "Thank you for being here!" It was more than she could say about her fiancé .
"Anytime!" He rocked her back and forth in his arms for a moment, clearly entranced by the way she tucked her nose into the bouquet delighting at the scent.
Jisoo was so innocent next to him, so free- so happy. Jungkook wondered where exactly Tae had been. Had she not invited him? Did he not feel obligated to join?
He cursed himself for thinking such things. His mind was so focused on Tae that he hadn't even felt his Mother sink back down next to him, hadn't witnessed the nurse cover his Father's body with a white sheet. It felt like a moment he should have made note of.
Her eyes glanced over her son, taking in his entire being before speaking, "I saw you kiss that boy..."
"Excuse me?" Jungkook practically choked.
"Taehyung. I saw you two kiss..."
He wanted to deny it, run for the hills, claim that he had no idea but it was too late. Her glare was knowing, "I can- I can explain..."
"I sure hope so."
YOU ARE READING
A MYSTERY TO ME | TAEKOOK
Fanfiction- When Taehyung agreed to marry into the Jeon family, he had no idea that Jungkook was part of that. - It's been five years since Jungkook and his family severed ties, five years since he moved across the country, five years that he's spent forgett...
