Cannon Fodder's Time Has Come
19
Jeon Mansion at the evening when both, Jungkook and Taehyung reached there.
Jeon hyunwoo
(rushing to greet Jungkook, tears in his eyes) Big Brother, you’re back!
Jeon Jungkook
(calmly pushing him away) Where’s Dad?
Jeon hyunwoo
(startled by the indifference, quickly recovering) Upstairs. The doctor says he won’t make it through the night. He wanted to come home for his final hours.
Saying that, Hyunwoo led the two of them to upstairs.
Jeon hyunwoo
(glancing back, feigning casual curiosity) Oh, by the way, Assistant Kim? Did you run into my brother while abroad?
Before Jungkook could reply, Taehyung already said it.
Kim Taehyung
(smirking, voice calm but sharp) We didn’t ‘run into’ each other. I’m Jungkook’s boyfriend.
Jeon hyunwoo
(stumbling on the stairs, barely caught by the housekeeper) Boy… boyfriend?!
Jeon Jungkook
*Actually choosing to come out of the closet at his father-in-law’s deathbed, Taehyung obviously didn’t intend to let his father-in-law die in peace ah!*(scorned in his heart, but his indifferent eyes finally brought out a little smile, nodding in agreement.)
Kim Taehyung
(stopping before the room, his tone firm) You go ahead. I’ll wait here.
Jeon Jungkook
(glancing back, lips curling into a small smirk) Suit yourself.
Inside the bedroom of Mr Jeon.
The dusky room was filled with the scent of medicine and the atmosphere of approaching death. Mr Jeon was covered in tubes, his wrinkled chest barely visibly moving up and down.
Jeon hyunwoo
(shouting symbolically into Mr Jeon’s ear) Dad, Big Brother’s back!
Jeon hyunwoo
(seeing Jeon father not respond, he almost couldn’t wait to kick Jungkook out.)
Mr Jeon
(eyes slowly open, his voice raspy) Jungkook... I let you down. I let your mother down. I... I killed her…
Jeon hyunwoo
(rushing to the bedside, gripping Jeon Father’s hand tightly) Dad, no! Mother was just depressed. It wasn’t your fault. Please, don’t dwell on it.
They say that a man’s words on his deathbed were always from the heart. When Zhou father intensely insisted on calling back Jungkook, Hyunwoo had a premonition that Jeon father wanted to tell Jungkook the truth of those years.
Ninety-nine steps were already taken, seeing the final step ahead, how could he let all those years of planning fail for nothing?
Jeon hyunwoo
(Giving Mr Jeon pleading eyes)
Mr Jeon
(struggles to speak again but sees the pleading look in Hyunwoo's eyes. After a painful pause, he closes his eyes, deciding to take his secret to the grave.)
Jeon hyunwoo
(forcing a relieved smile) He’s asleep. Let’s leave him to rest.
Jeon Jungkook
(standing three meters away as a spectator, the corner of his mouth raised in a mocking smile.)
Meanwhile, Minho rushed into the Jeon mansion.
Jeon Minho
(storming in, looking baffled to see Taehyung smoking casually outside) Uncle, you’re here? What’s going on?
Kim Taehyung
(blowing out a puff of smoke, his tone calm and cutting) I’ll explain later. Do you want to go in and take a look?
Kim Taehyung
(casually entered the next-door study to blatantly eavesdrop.)
Father Jeons’s bedroom and study were connected together, only separated by a thin door. Sitting in the study, he could clearly hear their conversation.
Jeon Minho
(hesitated for a moment, then he also went in.)
Jungkook’s hearing was far above ordinary people, naturally, he heard the two’s footsteps, but he didn’t mind, sitting in the armchair near the bedside.
Jeon Jungkook
(leaning back in his chair, voice dripping with mockery) Father, why do you feel sorry for me? Is it because you murdered my mother?
Mr Jeon’s eyes snap open in shock. He begins coughing violently, his frail body trembling.
Jeon hyunwoo
(rushing to his side, forcing a nervous smile as he pats his chest) Big Brother, what nonsense are you saying? Mother committed suicide!
Jeon Jungkook
(lazily crossing his legs, smirking coldly) What qualifications do you have to call her 'mother'? Are you even her son?
Hyunwoo stiffens. His face twitches, distorting in barely suppressed panic. Meanwhile, in the next room, Minho and Taehyung exchange silent glances, their breathing growing heavier as they listen through the thin door.
Suddenly, a long, piercing beep from the EKG machine fills the room. The lines on the monitor flatten. Silence.
Mr Jeon is dead. Yet, no one moves. No one even glances at the body. Slowly, Hyunwoo sits down across from Jungkook. His careful mask of concern crumbles, revealing a sharp, hostile expression. He pushes his hair back, his fingers trembling slightly.
Jeon hyunwoo
(voice low, challenging) How did you know?
Jeon Jungkook
(chuckling darkly, eyes gleaming with amusement) Your thumb betrayed you.
Jeon hyunwoo
(get instinctively tenses, glancing down at his hand.)
Jeon Jungkook
(tilting his head, voice laced with mockery) Your thumb has one less joint than a normal person’s. Short. Ugly. That woman had the same condition. A dominant genetic trait—impossible to appear without inheritance.
Jeon Jungkook
(pausing for effect, watching Hyunwoo’s expression crumble) But my mother and Mr jeon? Perfectly normal hands.
The room feels colder, heavier. The weight of Jungkook’s words sinks in, irreversible.
Jeon Jungkook
(grinning, voice soft, cruel) I don’t need to explain to you what that means, right?
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