3. Fragile and demure
Although just now he was seriously holding on to the idea of "wanting to walk faster than Jungkook", this stupid way of thinking was too embarrassing to be declared openly!
That's right, Taehyung also knew that he was being stupid......
But he still couldn't control himself!
Kim Taehyung
*Face turned red, He coldly glanced at Jungkook, wanting to cuss at him.*
The phone in his pocket suddenly rang; he took it out and walked outside the room. When he looked at the screen, he was startled - this was the number that his dad used inside the country. His dad went to Europe last month and said that he would come back to see him in three months. He shouldn't be back this fast.
Kim Taehyung
*Rushed to answer the phone: "Hello, Dad, why are you using this number? Are you back?"
Kim Wonwoo
*Sounded quite serious: "Taetae, your grandpa is serious."
Kim Taehyung
*Heart suddenly went cold. He blanked out for a moment and responded with a soft voice.*
Based on what his father said, the general idea was this: the existing illness that was being well-managed had taken a sudden turn for the worse. Nobody knew why. The next morning, Kim Wonwoo would come to the school, ask for Taehyung to have a leave of absence, and take him to see his grandpa's last moments back in the village of his birth.
Kim Taehyung
"Alright, I understand, Dad," *he answered, then hung up the phone.*
When he returned to the dorm room, Taehyung's face had turned white. However, his face had always been rather pale, so it wasn't obvious. Jungkook was leaning on the wardrobe, still in the same position as before. It seemed that he didn't plan on letting go of Tae's embarrassing situation. When Taehyung entered, he quickly asked.
Jeon Jungkook
"Let me ask you, were you racing with me just now? How old are you?"
Kim Taehyung
*Already in a bad mood and Jungkook was pouring oil over the fire.*
Kim Taehyung
*Clenched his fists and glanced at him, saying in a low voice: "Get lost."
Taehyung's relationship with his grandpa was very good; he had lived together with his grandparents until he was seven. After, though he moved to the city where his dad worked to attend elementary school, every winter, and summer vacation he would go back to stay with his grandparents for a while. This went on until middle school when school work began to get too heavy and he gradually had to stop going over.
Tae's grandpa was very mischievous.
Not only did he tell mysterious ghost stories, he also took Taehyung all over the mountain to play wildly. In spring, they would catch crickets from the grass and fishes and shrimps in the lake; in summer they would dig up mud from the river and build a dam, and when they were done playing they would strip down to their underwear and go swimming. In autumn, they would dig out two big and fresh sweet potatoes and roast them over coal. The freshly roasted sweet potatoes were very hot and fragrant. Grandparent and grandchild would both blow loudly and eat the sweet potatoes with their hands. In winter, using a homemade sled, Grandpa would push Tae to slide down a small hill......
Taehyung wouldn't normally recall these thoughts, but at this moment they suddenly came pouring in like a flood of water through a broken dam.
Kim Taehyung
*Under the blanket, he pursed his lips, buried his face in the pillow, and cried.*
He forgot how he fell asleep; he must have been thinking about Grandpa and cried himself to sleep. That's why when he woke up in the morning the next day, Tae's condition wasn't very good.
At six-thirty, Jungkook was changing his clothes on the bunk below. He had yet to put on the school uniform after having removed his pajama top; his body looked very attractive.
Kim Taehyung
*Raised a hand to rub his swollen eyelids. Aware that his current appearance might not look too good, he slipped on his slippers and went to wash his face first.*
When passing Jungkook while carrying the basin, Jungkook's eyes were like a pair of nails, firmly staring at his steamed bun-like, grieving little face.
Kim Taehyung
*feeling embarrassed; he quickly lowered his head and walked out of the room in haste.*
Jeon Jungkook
*Eyebrows were furrowed in confusion: "......"
Didn't he only tease him a little bit last night? Damn, this was unexpectedly enough to make him cry?
Taehyung didn't realize that he already became a fragile and demure pea princess in Jungkook's eyes.
[Pea princess - Highly sensitive person]
Although in many ways, this wasn't wrong.......
At eight o'clock, during the morning self-study class, Taehyung was called out by the teacher.
His father was already waiting at the classroom door. The teacher patted Taehyung's shoulder to console him and said.
Clearly he was already permitted to leave.
Kim Taehyung
*Nodded and walked out the school gate with his father.*
Kim Wonwoo drove quickly and in a little more than two hours, they arrived at their destination.
It was a village well-known to Taehyung: the tidy rows of crops, the freely flowing river, the long chain of green mountains on the horizon, and an old residence that appeared worn from wind and rain. As he pushed open the front gate, a big golden dog that he had raised in elementary school came flying at him and bumped against his legs, its tail wagging happily as it licked its owner's fingers.
Taehyung's grandpa rested in the bedroom on the second floor. His emaciated and shriveled body was wrinkled like an old tree. The old man's eyes were closed, his face appearing composed and without a trace of pain or fear. Taehyung went quickly to sit beside the bed, pulling his grandpa's cold hand into his own, almost as though he wanted to use his body to help warm him a little. Before he had the chance to speak, the young man's eyes turned red.
Compared to his son, Wonwoo's response was more apathetic; he just stood beside the bed and looked on in silence. His eyes seemed undisturbed, almost unfeeling.
Kim Wonwoo
*Just standing aside*
Taehyung wasn't surprised by his dad's indifference. He knew that his dad only came back because of his filial obligations, not because of his real feelings. Using modern standards, Kim Wonwoo is someone who had "made it": he was a brilliant student who was loved by his family. After being admitted to university, he married the beauty of his faculty. Both husband and wife always had a good relationship and can be also said to have achieved professional success.
As a very ambitious person, Wonwoo continually studied hard since childhood. He wholeheartedly wanted to leave this small village, but his father always wanted him to inherit his legacy. If it weren't for the other family members fiercely and relentlessly opposing his father's will while insisting the family head let the kid attend university, Kim Wonwoo would now most probably be following in the footsteps of his father. This meant living in the village as a Manchu shaman, scraping together a meager living by calling back the lost souls of sick children and watching over graves. Maybe even finding a wife would be a struggle.
[Manchu shaman - a priest who knows the hidden and controlling events in one's life]
Thinking about the possibilities, the ambitious Wonwoo felt his whole body grow cold. Not only did his father refuse to acknowledge his own shortcomings, he harbored ill opinions towards the son who refused to obey him, thinking that Wonwoo's unwillingness to continue his legacy meant he was killing the "family tradition". So, before Taehyung was born, his old father rarely spoke to Wonwoo. When his lively and cute grandson was born, their father-and-son relationship improved that is, on the surface, they reluctantly managed to be civil.
Kim Taehyung
*Taehyung did not know the details of these matters. He only vaguely knew that Grandpa was unhappy with his dad at that time because of his dad's career choice, but the specifics were unclear.*
At this time, Tae's grandpa woke up.
The old man's eyes brightened. He looked at Wonwoo for a while and wrinkled his brows. Then, his gaze fell upon Taehyung.
Kim Taehyung
*Quickly wiping his tears as he tried his best to put on a cheerful smile. He did not want his grandpa to feel conscious that he would soon die.*
Taehyung's grandpa pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled. Light pouring through the window was reflected in his previously murky and unclear eyes, which now shone brightly. In an instant, the expression on his face became somewhat cheeky like a naughty little kid.
Grandpa
*Grandpa patted the back of Taehyung's hand, and abruptly said* "I think that thing will probably be passed down to you."
His voice was firm and resolute; each word could clearly be heard. He didn't sound even a little like someone who was chronically ill and rapidly approaching death.
Taehyung also wondered about the legacy that grandpa wanted to pass over, but felt that this kind of conversation was inappropriate.
Kim Taehyung
*He immediately changed the subject, asking: "Grandpa, how do you feel now? Do you want to drink some water?"
Grandpa
*Waved his hand and continued to speak: "This is not something that I can control; that stubborn kid loathed this old man so much, most likely it can't be passed on to him. But in the Kim family, other than him, there's only you are the only child so if not you then who else could it be......"
Taehyung vaguely felt that his grandpa meant by "that stubborn kid" and "him" was actually his father Kim Wonwoo, but even with this, he still felt confused.
Grandpa
*Repeatedly gasped for breath, his voice gradually becoming weaker: "Taehyungie, when you see those things, don't be scared. People will all die. Dead people were also once alive, there's actually not much difference between us......"
Kim Taehyung
*Knitted his brows in confusion: "Grandpa, what do you mean?"
Grandpa
*Opened his mouth, as if he was trying very hard to say something, but after trying for a while, he began to sweat and limply lay back on the pillow, sighing: "Even in the end it's still not possible, maybe the mysteries of heaven can't be revealed......"
Hearing the old man's bizarre speech, Wonwoo's eyes flashed with a hint of frustration. He had never believed in these supernatural things, but who told him to have a father like this?
Kim Wonwoo was starting to feel impatient until he suddenly heard Tae's loud sobbing and became aware that his father had passed.
Taehyung was grasping his grandpa's hand and weeping convulsively, completely unaware that under his dead grandpa's eyelids, his eyeballs suddenly freakishly turned around....
At the same time, a chilly air passed through his grandpa's slim fingers going all the way to Tae's palm. From his palm, the chilly air flowed through his entire body.
Kim Taehyung
*Shivered, but he was out of it and didn't pay much attention to the sensation.*
Kim Taehyung
*With a lowered head, he grieved and sobbed.*
The village's funeral processes and customs were many and Wonwoo didn't want to delay Taehyung's return to his classes. In any case, the important thing had been to give the grandpa and grandchild, who were very close, the chance to see each other again. With this goal achieved, he waited until Tae's mood calmed and in the afternoon, He drove him back to school.
In the car, Taehyung was finally able to hold back his tears. He sat in the passenger seat and held his arms close to his chest. After a while, he stretched out a hand and turned up the temperature.
Kim Wonwoo
"Are you cold?"
Kim Taehyung
*Softly said* "..... Yes."
He was cold, awfully cold. Since Grandpa passed away at ten in the morning until now, Taehyung felt a constant stream of iciness creep through his body, making him shudder.
The ghosts are coming......
Your momo
How are you all doing?
Your momo
Let me know if you like this story.
Your momo
Be safe and healthy
Comments
Joy D
As a parent, he should not impose a legacy on his son, who dreams big and has the ability to soar high.
2025-01-29
0
Moonlight
A bit insensitive of you but I can understand you too....... *Sigh*
2025-01-27
3
Moonlight
🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 Don't cry, he is going to a better place
2025-01-27
2