HEARTBEAT | VKOOK - Chapter 8: Chapter 8

"Hey," The man smiled, eyes curling up at the edges as he took a seat beside Jeongguk who eyed the male with a blank look before turning to look ahead of him. The umbrella held over his head prevented the rain drops from hitting him and increasing the chances of catching a cold, although he knew he'd be sick in no time.
Silence settled between the two of them, none of them daring to break the heavy and thoughtful silence lingering with a million questions each of them had. The only noise reaching his ears and making the awkward silence yet so serene was the rain hitting the ground in soft thuds.
It was one of his favourite things. Jeongguk loved watching the rain. Even if it may be sitting by your window and watching the drops slide down the closed window with your finger trailing down the drops, it was enough to make him smile. It made him feel tranquil. He'd watch the rain in fascination as a child, big doe eyes sparkling in awe at the beautiful sight of the drops sliding  down the window, fogging up his view.
Perhaps it was because he could relate to the rain. When the weight of the world drowned him, when there was no escape from the possibilities he never wished to come true, it was rain that helped him feel at ease. It made him feel like he wasn't alone with a miserable fate. As though the sky had a similar situation as him.
He'd be happier to feel it a little more if it wasn't for the huge umbrella blocking his view up the sky. Jeongguk had no idea how the male sitting next to him with a stoic expression found out about him. Although the silence seemed peaceful, his chaotic mind wasn't helping him.
"Why are you here? Out in the rain?" The male asked, catching the younger off guard with the sudden question as he snapped his head to look at him. Jeongguk paused for a moment, eyes lingering over the side profile of the other male who had his gaze fixated on the isolated play ground.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" The younger snapped, quirking up an eyebrow cockily as he crossed his arms over his chest. His lips perked up to a subconscious smirk as he spoke, "Why are you here? How did you find me?"
"Ah, Jeonggukie, I can find you in a span of seconds. You should know me by now." The other chuckled lightly, turning to look at the younger before looking ahead of him. "So tell me why are you here? Had a fight with your dad again?"
Jeongguk fell silent, looking away and averting his gaze to the ground at the question. A moment of pause followed after his question, hesitation evident on Jeongguk's features as he contemplated the thoughts in his head. The sudden pause made the other male frown as he turned to the younger, examining his face. "What happened?"
"H-He. . .uhh. . .he actually kicked me out today." Jeongguk trailed off, uncertain of the outcome of what he was about to say. "And now I've nowhere to go so I just came here."
"He did those?" Jimin pointed at the wounds covered in bandages around his arms. Jeongguk only replied with a single nod, followed by a sigh which made the other frown, fury lighting up inside of him.
"And how the fuck are you putting up with all this Jeon Jeongguk?! He abuses you almost everyday and he even kicked you out today! How long are you planning on staying with that bastard who only wishes death for you?!"
"He's my father." The younger whispered under his breath, which didn't go unnoticed by the older as he scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"He is the reason of all your misery. He made your life a living hell! Why don't you just inform the police about him? You'd be free from all this! And even if you can't, I could! Let me help you, Jeongguk. I can't see you in pain." Jimin ranted, eyes softening at the end of the sentence and voice turning to a whisper. His eyes glossed with tears as they flickered to his bruised arms, shoulder dropping in disapppontment.
He hated seeing his best friend suffer without being able to help only because the other warned him not to. It broke his heart and made him feel terrible, allowing tears to well up in his eyes as he acknowledged the bruises covering his friend.
It hurt to see him pretending to smile and brush the pain away, when he himself couldn't cope with it. At the beginning of their first encounter, Jimin never  thought a boy like him could be suffering from something so terrible. He was always so cheerful around him, goofing around and taking about the most random things.
They had a lot in common and that's what made a bond between them. However, once Jimin got to know his true self, he couldn't believe it was all a facade the other tried to keep up with. Seeming all cheerful and optimistic on the outside, whereas on the inside, he was dying.
Jimin felt terrible from the day he got to know about his friend being abused at home. He couldn't believe how he never noticed the pain in the younger's eyes. And so, he promised himself to always check up on the younger to know if he's okay or if something is bothering him.
"Hyung, he's my dad. No matter what he does, I love him." Jeongguk whined. "Even if he treats me like a peice of shit, I know he loves me. He's just going through a lot to show that to me."
"Jeongguk, are you fucking blind? Why can't you see he doesn't love you? No father would hurt his child just cause he had a bad day!"
A sigh left the younger's lips as he gazed ahead with a lost expression, "I know he does. Things changed after my mom passed away. But I know he still sees me as his little Kookie."
Jimin sighed in defeat, averting his gaze, a pissed off look imprinted on his face, "Why do I even try? I know you'll never change your mind anyway." He shook his head in disappointment. "Anyways, where are you gonna stay tonight?"
"Here." A smile grew on his lips as he turned to lock eyes with the elder who shot him a look of disbelief. "Yah Jeonggukie! I'm being serious!"
"Yah Jimin-sshi! I'm being serious too!" He snapped back, a playful smirk playing on his lips as he eyed the other's reaction. Jimin's eyes went wide at the statement and he stilled,
"Wait, are you really serious?"
"For real." Jeongguk leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms behind his head as he closed his eyes with a calm expression. "Where else do I have to go anyway?"
Jimin paused, spacing out into the distance and contemplating his thoughts for a moment before speaking the next words, "My place."
Jeongguk frowned, eyes shooting open at the sudden offer of his friend. He snapped his head towards the older who wore an unfathomable expression. "What?"
"You're coming to my place." Jimin shrugged nonchalantly, not seeing a problem with it. "I don't live with my parents if that's what you're worried about."
"But-" Jeongguk was about to start, however Jimin cut him off with a stern look, "No buts, Jeonggukie. I'm totally fine with you staying over at my place as long as you desire. I obviously don't want my bestie sleeping in a park. To add to that, you'll catch a cold too anyway."
It's as if fate was with him when Jeongguk suddenly sneezed right after his statement. Jimin's eyes went wide as saucers at that and he immidiately stood up from his seat, holding up the umbrella over the two of them. "That's it, you're coming with me."
"You're a bad dada!!" Minjun cried out dramatically, sitting on the floor with his legs crossed underneath him. Taehyung simply rolled his eyes at the boy's tantrum and went back to a phone call.
He had informed the chief guard about firing all the maids and butlers at the mansion due to them abusing his son in his absence. Of course, they weren't spared so easily— they were arrested for commiting such a crime and Taehyung had the evidences secured in his laptop.
Although the maids and butlers removed the footages of them abusing his child or even trying to act rude to him, Taehyung had a secret camera installed in his living room away from anyone's  view, that recorded all the footages and connected to his laptop.
He never found it necessary to check until now, when his son complained about the reckless maids. At this point, he felt like a terrible father who couldn't take care of his son.
Taehyung hung up the call with his assistant shortly before walking back to the living room, slipping his phone in his pockets. He slumped down on the couch tiredly and began rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses. A dejected sigh left his lips as he leaned back in the couch and massaged his temples with his eyes closed.
"Mrs. Carl," He called out, sitting up in a hunched position and looking around for the said butler, ignoring Minjun who sat on the floor with his arms crossed over his chest and a mad look embedded over his baby features.
Although he had fired every other butler, she was an exception. The woman took care of his child and house with all her might. She attempted to stop the maids from abusing his child, however, was abused instead regardless her age. Yeah, the maids were terrible.
An old woman in her mid-thirties rushed into the living room upon his call, bowing to him as a greeting. Taehyung paused for a moment, thinking of what to say before parting his lips to speak, "Could you please bring me a cup of tea?"
"As you wish, Mr. Kim," The woman then walked away to the direction of the kitchen, beginning to prepare the tea. Taehyung slumped back in his couch again, closing his eyes as he attempted to nap.
"I want bunny!" Minjun yelled on top of his lungs angrily, glaring daggers at his dad with a scowl adorning his chubby face. Taehyung was so done with his son and was almost close to an emotional break down. His hands went up to his face, burying his face in his hands as he made a dramatic look.
Minjun watched his dad squarely, his glare unwavering and eyes following every movement of his dad. Taehyung rubbed his hands over his face before sitting up and shooting his son an exhausted look. "For the hundredth time, Jun, please stop it."
"Not until you give me bunny." He frowned.
"How in the world did you get so close to him? You just met him today." Taehyung copied his son's expression, frowning back at him as he rested his elbows over his thighs.
"He's my first fwend. You can't take me away from my friend!"
"What do you mean by first? You got a lot of friends at school, Jun." His dad lifted up an eyebrow, eyeing his son in amusement.
"You don't know anything. I have no fwends. No one wants to talk to me. They say I'm alien. Bunny is the first one to help me when I hurt my knee." The boy pouted sadly, all his anger from before evaporating in the atmosphere as he recalled the mean boys of his class.
Taehyung's expression dropped at his son's words. He always thought his son enjoyed it at the kindergarten. Never once did he think his son would be all alone with no one to talk. He never  got the chance to pick up his child from the kindergarten due to his busy schedule.
Most of his important meetings were held at the time of picking up his son. So it was mostly one of the guards picking up his child and dropping him safely at the mansion or sometimes Jimin who takes him away to his own house and spoils him with a lot of sweets.
"You could play with Mrs. Carl, she could be your friend too." Taehyung spoke up after a long pause, eyes flickering down to his son who wore a lost expression on his face, torn between sadness and anger towards his dad.
"No! She's boring! I want bunny!" He yelled, brows creasing to a frown as his eyes pierced into his dad's obsidian eyes, "Please don't take my new friend away!"
Taehyung was about to speak when another voice shot through the air, interrupting him. "Mr. Kim, your tea." The butler placed the cup on the coffee table in front of him. Taehyung nodded, dismissing her as he grabbed the cup and lifted it up to his lips.
"Wait," Taehyung spoke, which made the butler stop abruptly in her steps at the sudden voice. She turned to face the CEO again. "Yes, Mr. Kim?"
"You could babysit him," Taehyung suggested, taking a sip of his tea as his eyes followed the woman. "You could try playing games with him or something. Be his friend and teach him some manners too 'cause he's behaving like a brat."
"I tried my best, Mr. Kim. But he never listens to me." The butler replied, eyes falling over the boy who sat on the ground with tears welling up in his eyes.
"Nooooo! I want bunny only! Or I'm breaking everything in your stupid mansion!" The boy yelled, tears now streaming down his cheeks as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Even your favourite painting!!"
"No way you're doing that." Taehyung frowned, glaring back at the little boy who very much resembled him in some ways. "Watch me, bitch."
Taehyung gasped, eyes widening the size of dinner platters, "Where did you learn that from?!"
"Yoonie," The boy shrugged nonchalantly, wiping away the tears staining his cheeks as he glared at his dad who sighed in defeat, his shoulders dropping along with his expression hopelessly.
"You can't be kidding me right now, oh god."