HEARTBEAT | VKOOK - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

The only sound in the room was his fingers hastily typing on the keyboard as his eyes stayed fixated on the computer screen. A tranquil atmosphere embraced him, making him feel at ease and focused on work. His goal at the moment was to complete the file he was currently typing within a few minutes since he hadn't been able to complete it in a long time.
Unfortunately, the serene silence had to come to an end when knuckles banged softly on the door, indicating someone's presence. He wasn't at the mood to see anyone at the moment though, all he wanted to do was work on the file he aimed to complete.
A soft sigh escaped the male's plump lips as he looked up from the computer, running his fingers through his brown locks before resuming to work in his computer again, "Come in."
A young lady in her office attire entered the office, eyes falling over Taehyung's figure who didn't bother to look up to acknowledge her presence as he continued to type away on the keyboard.
"What is it?"
"Mr. Kim, you need to check through these files. And you've a meeting to attend in five minutes." She reminded him, placing the stack of files on the desk and waiting for his next orders.
"Alright. Fix my schedule and arrange a meeting with Mr. Wang tomorrow. We'll have to make a deal." Taehyung demanded, mumbling the last sentence to himself, eyes never leaving the computer screen as he continued to type and edit a few lines.
The lady nodded before leaving the office, closing the door behind her and leaving Taehyung alone in his office. The aforementioned male sighed, leaning back in his seat and dragging his fingers over his face. He was awfully exhausted from all the work. Being a CEO was terrible in his perspective.
His phone rang, pulling him out of his train of thoughts as he glanced up from his fingers to look at his phone buzzing over the table. He swept his tongue over his chapped lips with a sigh before receiving the call, pressing the phone against his ear. "Hello?"
"Mr. Kim, your son, Minjun wants to go outside and is ruining the house." A maid spoke through the phone, tone laced with annoyance. Taehyung shook his head in disappointment, placing a hand over his face again.
"Take him out if he's going crazy. But bring him back home by 6." He mumbled, closing his eyes in exhaustion as he lazily held the phone to his ear. The maid muttered a quiet 'okay' and hung up the call, leaving Taehyung to sigh.
Slipping the phone in his pocket, he groaned and buried his face in his hands, rubbing his face before getting up from his seat and walking towards the door. He recalled that he had a meeting to attend in five minutes and he was running late already.
If he was being really honest, he didn't want to attend the meeting. All he wanted was to slump on his bed and drift off to his dreams, but that could never happen. He had to be a responsible man anyway. Or his dad would fret over him being an useless idiot.
His head throbbed painfully as he stirred awake, a grunt leaving his lips as he scrunched his face at the pain he experienced throughout his body. His eyes fluttered open only to be met with a blur of his surroundings. He blinked a couple of times lazily, moving his arms around in pain. His whole body ached painfully and he couldn't recall what happened for a moment, until it all hit him.
Images of the previous events flashed across his eyes, breath hitching in his throat as his eyes shot open, mind picturing a blurry image of a ceiling. He wondered if he was going blind after all the beating he had recieved in the past. He couldn't imagine himself losing his sight, his heart clenched at the mere thought of it.
However, after a couple more blinks, his vision cleared and he could finally see his surroundings. He then remembered his throbbing head as he attempted to sit up slowly, his back hurting painfully and a soft hiss left the boy.
He looked around with a blank face and lidded eyes, noticing the bed he laid on and finally recognising his surroundings. He was, yet again, trapped in his awfully familiar bedroom. At this point, even if he was kidnapped, he wouldn't be fazed at all. He then glanced down at his body to see himself dressed in a different pair of clothes, an old white oversized T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants.
Jungkook rolled his eyes with a sigh, bangs falling over his eyes as he slumped down on his bed again, hissing in pain when his back collided a little too hard with the soft mattress.
The door then swung open, making him flinch at the noise and snap his head at the direction of the door. He immidiately regretted his moves as his head began throbbing painfully from the sudden reflex.
The aforementioned boy's face scrunched up in pain and eyes squeezed shut as he pursed his lips tightly to prevent himself from practically screaming on top of his lungs. It was truly awful.
His dad stood at the door, unfazed at his son's grunts and hisses. The only thing he acknowledged at the moment was that he was awake. It was what mattered to him nevertheless. "Since you've woken up, get out of my house right now."
"What?" Was all he could muster up to say as his eyes shot open and widened in surprise. His father threw him a look of distaste, face crumbling to a scowl, "You heard me, bitch. Leave. The. House. Now."
"B-But-" Jungkook started, only to be interrupted by his dad who practically glared daggers at the young boy, "You heard me. Not buts. I don't need a worthless fucker like you in my house. If your mother was alive, she wouldn't want you either 'cause you're a worthless peice of shit."
"It's your fault she died. You're the reason she had to go in the rain that day! You couldn't be responsible enough and use your damn brain cells!" He screamed on top of his lungs, face reddening in anger.
"I expected you to be able to keep a job but no, you're just a pathetic loser. After all this, you don't have the right to stay here anymore. Get out!"
Tears welled up in Jungkook's eyes as he averted his gaze from his dad, feeling guilty and ashamed although he hadn't done a thing. He knew it wasn't his fault, but somehow, he thought it was. He blamed himself every single day for his mother's death. And everytime he was reminded of his mother, he felt like a criminal, a murderer.
His dad spared him a fleeting glance before turning away, muttering the last words loud enough for the boy to hear before leaving, "Get out."
Jungkook gulped, feeling numb as all the pain drained away. The pain of his body wasn't enough compared to the pain in his heart. The pain he'd been carrying for years. His mind repeated his dad's words over and over again like a broken tape. The pain was now ringing in his ears as tears rolled down his cheeks.
He felt like he was drowning in an ocean. It would've been better if he died. It would've been better if he never existed. Way better than living as a criminal. He wasn't exactly a criminal, but he felt like it. If he hadn't called his mother that day, she would've been alive right now, scooping him in her arms. But no, he made a dumb mistake by calling her.
That one call was the reason of the drastic change in his life.
He was drowning in the sea of his thoughts when all of a sudden the realization hit him. He had to leave in five minutes before his dad did something worse to him.  What's more awful than smacking his head on the kitchen counter anyway?
He stood up abruptly and scrambled towards the door, ignoring the pain shooting through his whole body at the sudden movement. He ran out of his room in a haste, completely forgetting about bringing some clothes and stuffs with him to survive outside for the time being. Yeah, he was a dumbass in some ways.
Jungkook practically ran down the stairs, hissing in pain from the amount of weight he applied on one of his legs. Nevertheless, he made it down the stairs in time to see his dad standing in the middle of the living room with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for him to leave the place already.
Jungkook sighed, glancing down at his feet as hesitation took over him. Only to flinch abruptly and nearly fall back on his ass when he heard his dad yell, "GET OUT!"
He quickly scurried away towards the door and opened it, about to step outside when his dad shoved him out and slammed the door shut on his face. Great, now he was all alone. However, it was way better than staying inside the devil's den. A part of him was glad he was finally out of the tortuous place, but a part of him was guilty since he had nowhere to go.
He sighed, pressing his teeth over his busted bottom lip, only to grunt in pain as he tasted his own blood. He quickly placed a hand over his lips with a frown, unable to recall a moment where he busted his lip. Perhaps he paid no attention to it.
After a moment of standing by the closed door, he finally began to walk down the street, moving further away from his home. Home is what you call a safe place, but he never felt safe in his own house. It was a torturous hell anyone would be begging to never experience.
Nobody knew what he went through and immidiately judged him by his appearance. He couldn't do anything about it other than simply listen to them judging his clothes and condition, deeming that he'd gotten into a fight. Fight? A boy like him, so fragile and vulnerable could fight? Unbelievable.
Well, he could, if he ate properly and increased his energy. He could fight his dad too. However, that wasn't the case.
He walked down the streets and turned around the corner when his eyes caught the sight of a park across him in the distance. He decided that sitting in the park was better than wandering around, catching the attention of the pedestrians. He was done with them talking shit about him anyway.
In no time, he reached the park and entered through the gates to see kids playing around and families enjoying the Monday evening weather with smiles on their faces. Only if being happy was in my luck.
Jungkook walked around for a while before taking a seat on one of the empty benches in the distance, watching the kids play around happily. He wished he had a childhood like them, he envied them. He couldn't enjoy his childhood much before it was taken away. Before he was trapped and pushed into depths depression.
Jungkook was lost in his thoughts when suddenly a loud cry reached his ears. Frowning, he looked around in confusion, thinking if he had heard wrong. For a moment, he believed he heard wrong and turned away, drowning in his thoughts again when he heard the same cries, it was practically ringing in his ears.
His brows creased together and a frown embedded over his delicate features as he listened to the cries. He looked around to see unbothered expressions on their faces as they minded their own business. For a moment, the thought of him going insane crossed his mind and his eyes widened. Did his dad really smash his head in the counter so hard?
He looked around frantically, the cries getting louder and louder in his ears. However, all his thoughts evaporated when his eyes fell over a small boy bawling his eyes out with no one to help him on the ground.
His eyes dragged down the petite frame of the boy who was kneeling on the soft grass and crying his heart out. Everyone around him seemed to ignore the boy and mind their own business, but Jungkook felt his heart clench at the sight. And before he could think properly, he approached the boy and knelt down in front of him, watching him with a soft look etched on his face as he lifted his hand and ran his fingers through the boy's hair.
The boy glanced up at him with glossy eyes, mind picturing a blurry face. He brought his small fists over his faces and wiped away his tears before looking at the male in front of him with a sad pout.
"What happened, sweetheart?'' Jungkook asked softly, analysing the boy's innocent features. His big doe eyes stared right into Jungkook's ebony eyes with pure innocence. Jungkook felt his heart melt at the sight of the boy. He couldn't help but feel the warmth spread around his chest as he held gazes with the boy.
"I huwt my knee." The boy pouted sadly, eyes flickering down to the ground as tears welled up in his eyes again. A smile tugged at the male's lips upon hearing the boy's words. He found it extremely adorable for some reason.
"Hey hey, don't cry, where's your mommy?" The boy looked up at Jungkook with a frown as he registered the male's words.
"I don't have a mommy." He mumbled thoughtfully, loud enough for Jungkook to hear as he locked eyes with the boy again. The smile on his face soon crumbled to a small frown at the boy's words.
"Daddy?" He queried, not wanting to believe the boy was an orphan. Judging by his clothes, he didn't seem like he was an orphan. Perhaps he belonged to a wealthy family.
"Bubba!" The boy clapped happily, a wide boxy grin adorning his face at the mention of his dad. Jungkook felt his heart tug at the boy's happiness, the smile on his face was too adorable and innocent. He couldn't help but flash his bunny smile at the sight in front of him.
He couldn't recall the last time he smiled, a genuine one. After all these years, it was the first time he smiled genuinely, and the warm feeling in his chest was something foreign to him.
"Woah! Bunny!" The boy cooed at the sight of Jungkook who was grinning at the small boy.
"You're bunny!" The boy clapped happily, jumping on his small feet as he stared at Jungkook with pure innocence. The aforementioned male smiled softly and ruffled the small boy's hair.
"What's your name, little one?"
"Minjun!" The boy giggled, and slumped beside Jungkook, watching him with intent eyes. The small boy was intrigued by the male's smile and bunny like features. He felt safe around the male and forgot about his knee that hurt from falling.
"Nice name." Jungkook smiled, sitting next to the boy on the ground.
"Bunny! Les go somewhere, 'm bored." The boy mumbled the last part, looking up at Jungkook with a small pout.
"But weren't you playing with your friends?"
"No, they are bad and stupid. They pushed me to the ground. I don't wanna play with them." He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, looking away.
"But what about your parents? You could ask them to take you home." Jungkook frowned. He couldn't resist the boy's puppy eyes and small pout, but he also couldn't help but be concerned about the boy's parents. What if his parents get worried in his absence? What if they think I'm trying to kidnap him?
The small boy looked around with a bored look, eyes scanning the park before snapping his head towards Jungkook. He had caught the sight of the reckless maid talking on the phone and leaning against a tree behind Jungkook in the distance.
She didn't give two fucks about his existence as long as she got paid by his dad. She even abused him if he whined about taking him out playing with him, perks of not having his dad at home.
The poor boy was always abused and ignored by the cruel maids as an advantage of his dad's absence. The things they did in his dad's absence were beyond his expectations. They'd use his stuff as their own, pretend like they owned the entire mansion when they weren't even worth residing in one. But does he care? He doesn't know.
If he really cared, he wouldn't leave him alone with a bunch of maids at the mansion. He doesn't even know what goes on in his absence and the reckless behaviour of the maids.
However, the boy was smarter than he appears to be. He may seem naive and fragile but his mind was something entirely different.
He was almost always stuck in the mansion, and the only way he escaped the mansion was by threatening a maid. How? He recorded what the maid had spat at him once in the mansion and threatened to show it to his dad. Of course, he regretted not doing it before since he was a child, but the moment it hit him, he didn't waste a second and began to record in his phone that he was given to play games.
The maid didn't really take it seriously at first since he was just a 4 year old kid and tried to snatch the phone from his grip. However, he ran around the mansion with the phone clutched tightly to his chest, and knocked off a few expensive vases, glasses on the large dining table, chairs and cushions off the couch along with one of his dad's favourite exquisite paintings hung in the living room. It made all the maids, servants and butlers furious but he couldn't care less.
In the end, the maid gave up and called his dad to inform him about the mess he caused and how he was begging to go out. And that's how he was able to get out of the stupid cage, also known as his mansion.
The boy rolled his eyes internally at the thought but smiled instantly at the amazing opportunity to escape the maid's view, and also the mansion. He'd never go there again after all that had happened and he was planning to tell his dad all this from the  beginning, however, his dad was always busy. A part of him hated him for it, but a part of him loved him for being his dad.
"No parents. Me alone." The boy pouted sadly and fixated his gaze on the ground, knowing his pout was truly irresistible. And he could deceive anyone by simply pouting sadly.
"Your dad?" Jungkook rose a brow, still contemplating on his decisions since it wasn't the right thing to take the boy out of the park without his parents' consent. Hell, they don't even know him and he had just met this small boy. Yet, the boy was already insisting on going out with him.
"My dad's not here. I'm alone! Enough with the questions. Now les go!" Minjun deadpanned, crossing his small arms over his chest as he glared at the male. Silence seeped in between them as Jungkook stared at him with a blank look.
"Isn't it a bad thing, Minjun? You shouldn't go out with strangers, you shouldn't talk to strangers either." Jeongguk muttered with a disappointed look, a small subtle pout forming on his lips. "I can't take you out, I'm a stranger."
"You wanna be fwends?'' The boy questioned, looking up at him with wide puppy eyes, a glint of hope sparkling in his eyes as he gazed up at the older. Jeongguk bit his lip for a moment before nodding slowly, watching the boy's reaction.
"See?! You're my fwend now! No stranger. Now les gooo!" Minjun grabbed the male's hand with his small fingers, attempting to pull him up to his feet, but failing miserably as he fell back on his ass, snapping his head back to look at the male with a scowl.
"What are you looking at? I wanna goooo! I don't wanna play with these stupid kids!" The boy yelled, all his sadness and misery evaporating in the air and he could only pray internally that the male wasn't too much of an airhead or a coward to leave him alone thinking it'd be a bad idea. It was the last thing he wanted to happen.
"But it's bad, Jun-"
"No it's not! I wanna go or I'm crying. . ." Minjun yelled before bursting into a fake crying fit, sobbing loudly and gaining the attention of many people around, making Jeongguk embarrassed at all the eyes watching him curiously.
The boy was already regretting talking about his dad at this point when he could already introduce himself as a miserable orphan with nowhere to go. His dad would just take him back to the mansion without listening to him or why he wanted to escape. He'd leave me alone again. Only for his stupid stupid stupid work!!
Jungkook bit his lip and spaced out, contemplating the odds before nodding slowly and getting up, which caused the boy to stop and stand up too.