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In life,

Just like not every leter gets a reply,

Just like not every time the sky gets her moon,

Just like that,

Not all stories have a happy ending.

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"Must this be sufficient?"

Taehyung stared at all the tennis equipment in front of him that just came in past the door. Of course, he didn't buy it, it won't be pretty for his bank account, but rather sponsored by his father's company which apparently had too much money to save so it decided to spend it on silly things like this.

Starting from the tennis racquet from the most certified brand adorning his favourite colour, beige, to the lush, green tennis ball which looked fresher than the plastic plants he had put up in his living room to make look 'livable'. The truth was that, he was too lazy to take care of non-motile organisms that would bring him absolutely no profit.

As one would expect, that was not all. There was more!

His father had even got him the perfect outfit to play the sport in white and brown with the band that pressed against his wrists for protection but naturally, he wasn't satisfied. So, out came his phone and he dialed a number where he was sure that his wish would come true.

"What is it, didn't you get my gift?"

"Yes," He looked at the box again in dismay, "I did. But you didn't give a bandana!" Childishly flinging his feet over the couch, his figure slumped down on the couch with his eyes staring at the high ceiling while the soft fabric caressed his backside.

"I see, so that's how you are grateful. Okay, I will tell your bank to not to give you your mone-"

"I love the gift! Who said I need a bandana, I am totally fine without it, yeah."

"If that's it, I am hanging up the phon-" And then Taehyung disconnected the call. He really needed the money else he won't survive given that the numbers on the chart are depleting exponentially.

But as he was about to get up, another call came in from a number he wished he had blocked years ago. The muscles on his jaw clenched as his gaze was locked on the name and the sound of the ringing became fainter and fainter until he could only see that one name in his sight. He didn't want to pick up but he had to because the caller would tell his father and then the only way to sustain himself would perish. So unwillingly, his jaw unclenched as his finger swiped past the green button before the last ring.

"What took you so long to pick up a mere phone call, you idiot-"

"The number you've called is out of your network range and your league so please leave a message after a beep. Thanks no thanks."

"... you've not studied this technique yet, have you?"

Taehyung sighed as his eyebrows raised up in annoyance, "I did, now please get off my phone. You're making it impure."

"I'm your brother, you punk."

"But that still doesn't give you the authority to disturb me and call me as you wish because the last time I checked, my name wasn't on your birth certificate." Taehyung replied as he turned on the speaker and kept it at a respectable distance from him.

"Neither did I yours, but still I was handed with such a heavy responsibility called Kim Taehyung."

Taehyung's eye twitched, "Tell me what you want and scram."

"Let's meet."

"WHY WOULD I MEET Y-" Enraged, he got up and started to pace around the whole house whilst waiting for his brother to say something.

"Remember Yeon, I hold the upper hand when you come to work in a few days so you might wanna control that tongue of yours. Meet me at Coffeemay near Haeron, today at five. Do not be late, you know how much I detest unpunctual people."

Taehyung could only grit his teeth as his brother cut off the call. He knew picking up his call didn't bring him any good but still he did anyway. Why? Because of this darn economic crisis.

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"Please, allow me to come with, Your Highness! I promise you I won't call for trouble!" Younggeum wailed ungracefully as she repeatedly banged her head on the coffee table and held Younha's hands which she jerked away every time.

By telling her that she and Taehyung are going to a 'tennis court' for some unknown reason, was the worst decision in her life. Literally.

Because now she had to tolerate an adult-baby catapulting away her dignity and poise as she threw a tantrum in an adult-way while impersonating a toddler as well.

"For the hundredth time, no! I can't take you there! What if you get injured?" Younha got up and paced around the house with Younggeum tailing closely behind with big, teary eyes and a red nose which made her look like a literal Rudolph.

"I promise you, I won't get hurt! I just want to see this ta-te-taenis thing you guys would play. Nothing more, nothing less Your Highness!"

When did we get to decide if we get injured or not? Younha's eye twitched uncontrollably at the stupid remark and even more that she looked quite confident with the promise.

"No." She retorted shortly much to Younggeum's despair. She dramatically clutched her chest where her heart was supposed to be as she leaned against a wall and slid down with her eyes trained at the ceiling as if it was her first love.

"Please, don't start this again-" Younha was about to bolt out the room before she started wailing again but she shot back something that made her stop dead in her tracks.

"I'll patch up with His Majesty if it meant that I'd be coming along, Your Highness."

"Really?" Younha quirked a brow.

"You have my word, Your Highness and the Lee clan is known for their uptight vows." Younggeum replied, and for the tiniest moment, Younha swore she saw a hint of recognition behind those cocoa irises.

Smiling swiftly, she nodded her head and a big, goofy grin enveloped the latter's features as she got up hastily and wiped away the remnants of the dried-up fake tears and folded her body in half but Younha could only laugh out heartily and usher her to stand upright.

Of course, she didn't ask why Younggeum wasn't aware of the common sport, tennis.

Because at that moment, she truly didn't care about anyone calling her crazy or nuts because she finally made herself believe that Lee Younggeum had spontaneously appeared into the twenty-first century somehow.

And she would debunk those who thought otherwise. Even Taehyung.

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"Self de-defense?! Oh please that was the most hilarious thing ever! The highlight of my day, I swear!" His fellow prosecutors laughed along as the group returned from the court to the office. One of them had a hearing today regarding a murder case that happened over a week ago, and the plaintiff had just put together a suggestion that it was a mere self defense that lead to the murder and nothing else.

"I guess that is what happens when the lawyer becomes lazy and lets the suspect come up with ideas!" Another one exclaimed to which they all high-fived each other as they entered the office and soon broke into smaller groups as they had work in diferent departments.

Self defense has never once preached in the court in the case of a murder, what makes them think that their supposition would be accepted? Thought one prosecutor as he fixed his blazer and opened the door to the Financial and Tax Crime department. He had absolutely no work for the upcoming week, hence gave him the time to go to his friend's hearing whenever he could.

Or, he didn't have work because he wasn't capable enough.

"Min Yoongi!" Screamed a loud voice as the said man froze upon its own, "Where'd you go at this time of the day when loads and loads of cases are flooding in!"

"And, none of them are being handed off to me!" Min Yoongi thawed himself and quickly hurried over to his desk which was the cleanest out the five desks in that room. The one who yelled had the messiest of them all, well because of- you know, as he was kind of the best prosecutor in that department.

"And don't you think, helping your colleagues off with the meagre tasks would help with their load? Don't you have even a bit of conscience left in you?" The other man had toned his voice a couple of notches down but the firm sense of authority still laced in his voice as if he knew that being the best brought him what power.

"What would that do to my paycheck?" Yoongi looked up and adjusted his glasses to once again see the flaring nostrils of his so-called-colleage, "Absolutely nothing!"

"Min Yoongi!"

At the same time, the other three prosecutors entered the room with their coffees and one of them even spit it out and one choked. Deciding that it would be for the best if they entered the room since the man won't be able to yell with others inside, the three musketeers swiftly entered and aimed at their respective desks.

The man with the red, angry face seemed to turn back into its original colour after seeing the others back so with a heavy sigh, he looked over to the vain man who was now absent-mindedly scrolling on his phone. The reflection in his glasses revealed that he was scrolling past some almost-naked girls in bikini on Outstagram.

Shaking his head, he said, "Bring me an Americano, will you?"

Grumbling something under his breath, Yoongi flung his jacket over himself and made a dash to the door. He had no choice but to surrender to his demands because of the head of the their department always evaluates other prosecutors at the end of every month and he may or may not be the head prosecutor. As he had nothing to do, doing such simple tasks allowed him to be on par with the other prosecutors.

Be a prosecutor they said, it'd be fun, they said.

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Jeon Jungkook held a hand onto his cheek as he slowly raised his eyes to meet the ones who caused this. The student's eyes were crinkled at the ends as if it was a great delight to beat someone up, his cheekbones were pushed high up in his face as he delivered another blow to his gut.

Jungkook tumbled over in pain as his figure slumped over and finally fell to the ground. A low throbbing remained consistent in the area near his abdomen no matter how much he curled up and pressed against the place.

Through the gaps between tufts of his hair, he could make out the blurry, snickering faces of those whom he called as his classmates. Has it been that long since he trimmed his hair? He didn't know.

The most prominent face out of them all, crouched down to his level and harshly gripped his jaw which earned him a breathy wince. The student pressed against the bone right below his ear on his jaw to which Jungkook held the boy's foot in a failed attempt to free himself.

"See?" The boy began as he pressed even harder on the bone, "Not even your mother wanted you so she left you. See, that you'd be always be a sewer rat. Thrown in the sewers and forgotten with only scraps to survive. You'd always be a lowlife student who somehow lucked out with this prestigious school."

"Tha-That is not true," Jungkook coughed, "my mo-mom didn't..." He didn't wanted to say the word 'die'. But before he could utter another word, the boy jerked his hand away and stood up before placing his shoe on his chest.

"Aw...Jungkookie," the boy mimicked in a high-pitched voice in an embarrassing attempt to imitate his mother but soon got tired of it and started speaking in his normal voice, "but she did. She wouldn't die if she cared about you. You are this much lucky to even step your stinky foot in this school, did your mom sleep with the principal or what?" At this, all the other boys started laughing and hooting and the student who held his shoe on Jungkook's jaw, clapped with others.

But Jungkook couldn't say anything. He was dying to cry but he knew that if he gave the reaction they wanted, then he'd be just throwing himself away to the lion's den.

The pointy shoe of the student was piercing his neck as the boy pressed harder on his larynx. He gagged and tried to push the leg away but the said boy only snickered and delivered another slap to his cheek.

At last the bell rang and Jungkook felt like he could finally breathe once again despite the shoe near close to him choking. The group of boys retreated upon hearing the shrill sound and the boy gave one last jerk to Jungkook before advancing back to the class leaving him coughing and gagging.

Jungkook didn't put effort in getting up at all. He could hear all the footsteps stomping their way to their classrooms in distance but maybe he was just imagining them. He lied still on the ground while his eyes overlooked the green tree that saw everything that occured here during the past twenty minutes but its leaves were the same, flowing away with the song of the wind as if it just didnt witness a monstrosity here.

But maybe, nobody cared. Maybe, that boy was right. His mother didn't care for him or else she wouldn't leave him here alone to strive by himself. They were together, his family was together, and they were getting by just fine. Yes, there were due bills and they often had to compromise and supress their desires but they were happy and content, with each other.

But where did all of it go?

Did his mother finally snap?

Was she tired of living in poverty and saw no future?

Sighing, Jungkook got up as a single tear slid down his face, burning all the bruises as it lined down his jawline and finally dropped down to the ground. He looked up to the blue sky and blinked as fast as he could to keep the tears at bay but they just didnt seem to stop, they came flooding and sneakily crept past the corners of his eyes and before he knew it, his sight became blotchy and the once even sky turned into a badly painted canvas.

Stop it Jungkook, they are only trying to infuriate you to leave the school on your own.

Grabbing his bag from the ground, Jungkook marched out of the remote corner and headed towards the gate of the school. He couldn't attend the remaining classes in this state anyway. What was the use of trying if all the formulas and diagrams are just going to go over his head?

They weren't wrong either.

Seeing that the gate was closed with no security guard in proximity, Jungkook targeted the low fences of the school boundary and eventually jumped over it. Dusting away his hands, he used his hair to cover as much bruises as he could and began his journey uptown where Haeron was. He would call the school later to inform them. Atleast, that was what he decided.

As he was about to cross a crossroad, he forgot to see that the walking signal had turned red. All in his sight were his long bangs drenched in sweat and they turned spiky with only the windows between the locks for him to see through.

And as one would expect, he didn't anticipate a car advancing towards him.

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A/N: Sorry for my absence for two months. I didn't really feel like writing. But there are now like three to four pre-written chapters that I don't know when would I publish.

So I went to a bakery to get a cake for the festa and chose one (it was small) and the lady there asked me that what should she write on it. I wrote 'festa 2023' on a paper and handed it to her. She looked at it strangely and asked me what it meant.

And do you know what I said?

"Oh, it's just," Seolhee waved her hand dismissively, "Someone's anniversary." The lady at the bakery slowly nodded her head in gradual realisation as she prepped her piping bag.

(I didn't not just write that in my writing style haha)

And when I was about to leave, she rushed over to me and handed me a small thing on which 'happy anniversary ' was written in big bold letters. Y'know the things which they put in cake. She probably thought that it was my parents' wedding anniversary lol.

My parents'actual anniversary is in a few days and it would feel weird buying cake again from her after a few days with the same cause (shopkeepers remember weird customers okay-)