⊱┊ᴘᴀsᴛ ɪɴ ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴄᴇ ༊*·˚

Jungkook scrunches his nose in dislike when he returns home the same day. He can hear the TV's loud noises from a long distance, even from the front door. He would like to turn around right away and circumvent everything that will follow. But the student is well aware that he is reliant on living here. Because he has no friends in his social circle where he could spend the night.

His family is probably one of the reasons why he has none.

“Yongsun, the fuck! Turn the volume down, you dumbass!” Jungkook snatches the remote control from the coffee table in the living room, where his cousin is sitting with his legs crossed and a concentrated expression on his face. It morphs into annoyance the moment Jungkook turns down the volume and keeps it in his hand, not making any move to put it back. “No one is deaf and you don’t live in a residential home for elderly people either.”

“And? What’s your point? No one is here anyway. Meeyon and grandma are both outside, so I am free to do anything I want.”

This is nothing new for Jungkook and it passes him off endlessly. Although Yongsun is older by a few years, he just acts callow. Jungkook often wonders how his mother approved of him living here. On the other hand, Yongsun had nowhere else to go at that time. So it was his only chance to live somewhere.

"I am here now, aren't I?! You would have heard it if you had turned down the volume before."

With merely an eye roll, Jungkook places the remote control back, not on the coffee table but this time on the cabinet opposite from where Yongsun sits. It earns him a shroff 'hey' which he skilfully ignores and he heads for the kitchen.

"Did grandma or mum prepare anything to eat?" Jungkook asks as he continues to glance around the kitchen and grabs a clean glass from the cabinet. He fills it with water and takes a sip before hearing his cousin's disgruntled voice. 

"I don't know. Stick your head in the fridge and you'll know." 

Jungkook balls his hands into fists and clenches his jaw. Living with Yongsun is difficult if that wasn't already obvious. He often wishes to smack him or kick him out of the house. Unfortunately, the house does not belong to him alone, but to his mother and grandmother.

Despite Jungkook's gruff and indifferent manner in public, he does not treat his family like that. Though he doesn't always show it. Deep inside; in his heart, they are the people he cherishes the most.

Completely lost in thought and about to warm food for him, he fails to hear the key turning in the lock. Only when the bright and tired voice of his mother sounds in the house does Jungkook snap out of his thoughts.

"Boys, we're back," his mother announces and appears in the kitchen with two shopping bags a few seconds later.

"Where's Grandma?"

"Huh? Oh, she went into the living room. She had to sit down." Jungkook hums and puts food on the plate he grabbed. “How was your day, Jungkook? Everything good at school?”

“Yes, classes are the same,” he simply answers and shoves a fork with food into his mouth. The school has been shit like always but he doesn’t want to say anything, neither does he say anything about the kindergarten. Although his family got to know he’s been arrested, neither of them continued to ask questions after Jungkook refused to answer. Besides, usually the real and heavy problems aren’t discussed at home. In the end, Jungkook doesn’t know why he did what he did.

Was it perhaps the thrill?

The yearning for attention?

He’s not sure what the exact reason for that was, just that when he thinks about it that it’s stupid with hindsight. Stealing from someone on the street when that person didn’t look. In lieu, Jungkook wouldn’t have been given the chance to work off probation hours. No kids, no afternoon activity… no child with brown doe eyes who looks all too cute in blue dungarees.  

Jungkook sighs and shakes his head. It’s not normal to think of a child as much as he does. Somebody else’s child to that. He needs some time out to straighten things. 

Jungkook strolls to the dishwasher and puts in there his dirty plate and makes his way into the living room, where he can see his cousin still sitting on the sofa as if he never moved from the spot. 

“Where’s grandma?” Sighing as he receives nothing more than a shrug with his shoulders, Jungkook throws a glance into the garden. The garden is shadowed by trees of fine growth, standing alone, or in dusky groves. The sun is shining down onto the green grass and giving up the last rays for a few more hours. His grandma’s pale skin basks in the sunlight as she’s sitting in a relaxed position on a sunchair. As peaceful as if there are no problems in the world.

Eyeing her side profile he notices something he didn’t in the first place as his eyes stray to the window. There on her lap is a cat. A very young cat—if not a kitten. 

Fun fact: They don’t have any pets. 

Her thin fingers run along the head and down the cat's body in a quiet movement, as if she had all the time in the world. The cat also seems to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the caresses. Now the question is, whose cat is it?

“Grandma?” His voice sounds steady as he opens the white door to the garden in a slightly clumsy manner, almost stumbling over the door frame and cursing out loud. He knew long ago that this thing would cause trouble in the future. What if his grandmother would oversee it and stumble over it? He does not even want to imagine it. 

“Take a seat.” She offers softly and gestures to the chair next to her. The cat raises its head out of pure curiosity but makes no effort to move from her lap. Her lips curl into a smile as she notices her grandson observing the cat, golden fur flutters in the breeze and a mewl escapes the cat's snout. 

"Since when do we have a cat?" 

“We don’t,” she chuckles, her hand comes to a halt before she glances over at him, noting a hint of curiosity and something else she can't decipher flashing in his eyes. Jungkook has always been mysterious in some ways, even as a child. There were times where she couldn't just figure out what his intention or thoughts were. But that never stopped her from loving his grandson and being there for him. Although his cousin might be a completely different disaster from Jungkook, she still tries her best in bringing him up and loving him. It's just crestfallen that he doesn't seem to appreciate it as much. 

"To be honest I don't know where she comes from. My guess would be from a nearby neighbour. A few days ago, I found her lingering in the garden by the end of the fence and at first, she was quite timid but then warmed up. This little rascal has been coming here ever since. I feel bad for the neighbours though."

He nods thoughtfully. "Hm, they might be wondering where she is."

“I agree with you and yet I can't help but wonder why she doesn't stay with her family and instead comes here as if we've known each other for a while.”

Jungkook snorts and shakes his head in incredulity. "And yet she's probably not even a year old, I bet."

"Perhaps not. Seems like animals can't resist me. It's the same as when I was a kid. I always visited my grandpa's farm and be it the dog or the cats he had, they always came when they saw me. My brother, however… the animals mostly ignored him, besides the dog."

"Seems like you're an animal whisperer… Or you have some kind of magnetic aura or—third possibility: you had treats somewhere hidden in a pocket." His grandma laughs at his absurdity and throws her head back, causing her shoulder-length and dyed brown hair to fall behind her ears. She doesn't know how Jungkook came up with something like this. It amuses her. 

"Just admit it. It's number three, isn't it?"

"Hahaha no! You know, you’re such a jokester today. How come? I haven’t seen you in such a good mood since Yongsun had to move in. It’s quite nice and quite a positive change, I missed my grandson being like this. Happy. You are, aren’t you? At least at that moment?”

“Yes.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Is everything alright at school though? Anyone who bothers you?” Jungkook suppresses a snort and twitches his nose instead. If only she knew. If only she knew that no one in school fucking even bothers to get to know him genuinely. truth be told, no one is apprised of how lonely he is in school. He can’t quite remember how or when it happened. 

They were on summer vacation, barely a few days after the mark letter for the 10th grade when his friend, Charli, confessed that he would move back to the US. To say he wasn’t feeling disappointed and deflated would be an understatement. Not only was Jungkook feeling all that but also frustrated and sad. Anxiety hit him when he set foot into school on the first day of 10th grade and realised he was alone. All alone and there was no one he could talk to. 

Coping. A word that had been on his mind all summer came down like a cold bucket of water when he arrived at school. Months had passed and slowly walls had built up around him. He had lost contact with Charli.

What he thought was luck turned out to be a misfortune when, a year later he heard the news that his cousin was moving in with them. It would have been something of an emergency—the exact reason, except that Yongsun's parents had moved away, he still doesn't know. 

From then on, Jungkook's personality only changed and he became even more introverted. Even before, he didn't get along with Yongsun. Was it the different interests? The different opinions about something or the children's quarrels? Jungkook is not sure what it was, but he did not expect to see Yongsun again after 2 years and to see him completely changed. 

Apparently, not only Jungkook but also Yongsun has changed in the years they haven't seen each other.

“No,” he responds dryly and swipes his tongue over his bottom lip, moistening it. “You would be the first one to know if that was the case.”

But it’s not.

Silence returns between them and he hears his grandmother humming softly in the background to a melody that is completely foreign to him. Her foot moves steadily up and down to the mellow humming and only the cat's soft purring can be heard.

At this point, Jungkook would normally have asked himself several times as to what he is actually doing here. It is not like him to be sitting outside relaxing in a sun chair and enjoying the warm rays of the sun on his skin. 

But today he doesn't care. Not the slightest bit.
 
Subconsciously the student pulls his phone from his pants pocket and opens the camera. A toothless smile spreads over his lips as he takes a photo of his grandma and one more with himself in the photo. He savours it with a swelling heart in his chest as the brown-haired boy lets his eyes fall onto the dimmed phone screen. 

Enjoy things while they last and live like it's your last day. You never know how long a person will be in your life. 

Jungkook thinks he can finally make sense of the sentences his mom told him when he was just 5 years old when playing with his superhero figurines. Words fading the more years passed. 
 
Jungkook finds himself scrolling through his phone gallery and has to admit with dismay that he can't find more than one photo of his grandma from this year's family event. Unsure about how he should feel about that, Jungkook raises his arm again, finger hovering over the white button on the display and his grandma pulling first a shocked and then a funny face as she notices him taking pictures.

It ends with Jungkook having taken a few sneaky pictures before they turned silly. Her gentle eyes study him from the side while Jungkook is staring with a veil of joy at the pictures. 

She would like to know what is going on in the younger man's head. Jungkook did not even tell them the result of the court hearing. Is it something that brings joy to his life? It appears to her almost to be this case. No one may have noticed, but she has seen the minimal changes in his behaviour that make him more caring.

"Yongsun!" They hear the sudden voice of Meeyon calling inside the house. Surprised, but no longer unexpected, they both turn their heads to the garden door leading into the house. Both Jungkook and his grandmother can already feel the tension inside the house. "I've told you often enough to your shoes on the doormat before you come in when it's muddy outside. I really didn't expect you to still act like a child at the age of 21! Especially because I promised my brother that I would take care of you. You're not helping anyone when you behave like this."

Silence pervades the house for a short while and Jungkook almost thinks that one of the two has already broken off this conversation when it is his cousin who raises his voice.

"You think I chose or wished to be here?!"

"Of course I don't think you did, but that doesn't mean you can sit here all day, come and go as you please, and on top of that behave disrespectfully towards us!" Jungkook is unsure whether to intervene or stay seated. Normally, his mother is not someone who loses her nerve easily.

"In my opinion, you have been lazily resting for far too long. I think I've reached a point with you where I can't communicate with you any other way than to give you an ultimatum. Either you get a job soon or I will kick you out."

"You can't make me."

"You're right, but you can't ask us to keep looking over our shoulder at your attitude either. Whether it's something I agreed with my brother or not. I've been good to you for too long and in the end, it's your decision what you make of the ultimatum. You are of age and graduated from high school, after all."

How he graduated is still a mystery to her. In any case, the way he has been behaving with them for almost 3 years, she can't see him being too interested in school and neither did she see him interested in school work. 

"Fuck you!" Yongsun grits out and Jungkook is about to get up to teach his cousin a lesson when he discerns the loud slam of the door in the background. If there's one thing he can't stand, it's when he utters expressions towards his mother or grandma and says it to their face; when he's just plainly disrespectful.

"Mum? Is everything alright?" Jungkook steps into the house, hand grasping the frame of the garden door as he pushes it close with an acrimonious frown. His gaze filled with ire drifts to the closed door, his cousin must have gone into. Jungkook is keen to know what is truly behind his issues and the very fact that he is here. At this point, he is rather convinced that the reason is quite profound. The lack of hearing from his aunt and uncle only adds to the strangeness of the situation.

Shaking his head, the student concentrates on the matter at hand. The latter approaches his mum who is still gazing in front of her with a rather sad and disappointed look. Apparently, Yongsun must have gone out again and stepped in a puddle from yesterday when it rained quite heavily. 

"Should I have a word with him?"

"No, no. It's fine. I don't think that will make it better to be honest." 

"Alright, then just continue whatever you were doing before. I'll clean that up." His words entice a quite shocked reaction from Meeyon, leaving her stunned. She doesn't comment on it whatsoever. 

"Okay," she sighs heavily and goes back to her task while Jungkook eyes her carefully.

What a family. Will the family be normal again like it used to be?

Jungkook is incapable of answering that question.

Vote goal: 30?

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