【 Jungkook 】

Time felt like it had been moving at an awfully slow pace tonight as you sat behind the counter of the nearly empty convenience store, tapping your fingers lightly against the countertop while silently watching how the sky gradually darkened when the evening hours went by— slowly but surely allowing the stars and the moon to prettily light up the twilight sky which watched over the city.

For the most part, it had been a surprisingly quiet shift with only the occasional surges of customers, and a faint but weary sigh escaped past your lips while you tiredly rested your chin against the palm of your hand; watching how the people outside whom were walking past the convenience store snuggled in closer to their partner or friends, joyfully giggling amongst themselves while scurrying off to whatever their destinations were in the hopes of quickly getting away from the freezing weather. And for a moment the sweet sight brought a gentle smile to your lips, however, it began to wither almost just as quickly as it had appeared; finding yourself not only missing your brothers despite having seen them last week, but also nearly growing envious of these strangers whom actively seemed to be making the most of their youth right now by spending it creating lifelong memories with their friends and loved ones— not mostly alone, running from one job to the other with little to no time to spare for oneself nor friends.

Of course these people undoubtedly have hidden burdens of their own, it's merely a part of life after all and you knew better than to assume otherwise; yet you're only human and so despite knowing that, it still felt hard at times not to subconsciously compare and envy others lives which outwardly appeared to be at least slightly less uncertain than your own.

Nevertheless, the sound of the bell swiftly snapped you out of your wandering thoughts as it signaled a new customer had entered the store; the overpowering stench of alcohol and cigarettes quickly hit your nose as the visibly drunk man came stumbling in through the door before making his way over towards the drink isle in the back, passing by two other customers whom were sat by the window peacefully enjoying some late night snacks they had bought earlier— both whispering amongst themselves as they uncomfortably glanced over at the man who picked out a couple cans of beer whilst slurring drunken mumbles and curses under his breath.

After having picked out what he wanted, the man stumbled his way back over to the cash register and carelessly put down the drinks on the counter for you to scan— barely managing to grumble out the brand of cigarettes he also wished to buy whilst taking out his wallet to pay. You fought the urge to scrunch your nose lightly at the nauseating stench of cigarettes and liquor which yet again invaded your nostrils as you rang up his total while forcing a customer service appropriate smile

Jungkook: That'll be ₩14,500 sir, would you like a bag with that?

In return however, your friendly tone only earned an unexpected string of spiteful slurs directed at you before the man lazily threw some bills and pennies onto the counter that inevitably rolled off onto the floor while he grabbed his things and walked out, making a sigh of defeat leave your lips as you tiredly crouched down and began picking up the money.

Thankfully just as you stood up and input the money just received into the cash register, your coworker came walking in through the door, playfully saluting you as a part of a small inside joke which instantly caused the two of you to crack up into a fit of some much needed soft giggles. Anyhow, after exchanging a quick few words with one another regarding work but naturally also some friendly catching up, it was finally time for you to clock out as you swiftly took off your vest before pulling on your coat and making your way towards the door— bidding goodbye to your coworker before making your way out, breaths instantly forming faint misty clouds as you hid away your hands into the warmth of your pockets in an attempt to shield them from the cold.

However, as you peacefully made your way down the street, a string of seemingly urgent message notifications caused you to temporarily halt whilst pulling out your phone from your pocket to read them— only for your shoulders to slump from a mixture of hurt and disappointment as that same suffocatingly tight feeling in your chest and throat began to form upon reading through the nagging messages which you just had received.

Despite your attempts in merely ignoring his messages, it wasn't all too long before he instead began to pester your phone with stubborn phone calls which you defeatedly ended up having to answer upon realizing he truly wasn't going to give in anytime soon— instantly flinching and moving the phone away from your poor ear as the man began shouting the very second you finally picked up, scoldingly going on a rant about how you've been ignoring their messages this past week before trailing off to his usual rambles which explained just how much of an ungrateful disgrace you supposedly are to the family. The seemingly never-ending rambles of criticism and dissatisfied complaints eventually caused you to grit your teeth whilst shamefully lowering your head slightly, trying your best to remain calm at first yet quickly failing to do so and instead mustered up the courage to sternly talk back to the elder; finally having had enough of their treatment and derogatory talk as you raised your voice enough for him to at least momentarily shut up

Jungkook: —let's make something very fucking clear, you guys were the ones who firmly declared how a disgrace such as myself has nothing to do with your family— so do me a favor and stick to your damn words for once Mr.Jeon! I don't owe either of you any more money and you have no right to demand otherwise.

Mr.Jeon:
JEON JUNGKOOK, how dare you speak to your elder like that?!
We reached an agreement–

His words instantly earned a breathy scoff from you while the grip around your phone tightened, sternly raising your voice once again only for it to meekly end up breaking lightly towards the end as tears of disappointment and helplessness stung your eyes

Jungkook: –no, there was never an agreement, you literally gave me no choice! I don't have any more money to give you guys, heck I b-barely have any for my own food and rent!

An audible groan of frustration could be heard on the other line while you swallowed the painful lump forming in your throat

Mr.Jeon:
I literally couldn't care less about your nonsense lies Jungkook, you're just trying to run away from your responsibilities again.
Though if what you're saying is true then that's what you deserve for being a filthy—

Jungkook: SHUT UP! Fine, I'll send you the fucking money but that'll be the last time you merciless monsters, don't bother contacting me again because I won't pick up.

Mr.Jeon:
JEON JUNGK—

Before he had the opportunity to finish whatever curses he was planning to swear this time, you swiftly hung up the call and turned off your phone— a shaky breath instantly leaving your lips while your legs suddenly grew numb and weak; folding underneath you as you briefly crouched down in the middle of the pavement while gently running your trembling hands through your hair in a sort of disbelief to what you just had done, a very faint smile forcing its way onto your lips as a single tear slowly rolled down your cheek.

All this time you had believed that the day you finally grew the guts to stand up for yourself and firmly draw the line with your parent's behavior would be a day of relief; yet now that it actually had happened, you don't feel relieved at all. On the contrary, you practically felt worse— empty but at the very least... free?

»»———-　∘◦°˖✧❀✧˖°◦∘　———-««

Friendly reminder to drink responsibly! ♡