Chapter 42
Jungkook
*The next day*
‘Aish, when are you going to wake up hmm?’ I asked as I held Misun’s hand in mine. Once again, there was no response from her…just like for the last couple of hours.
‘Please wake up princess, I already miss you so much. I just… I just need to know you’re going to be okay,’ I said. I brought her hand to my mouth as I placed a kiss there.
She had not woken up ever since she was taken out of the emergency room after that major surgery. Waiting for the doctors to come to tell us any update was hell. I had this profound fear of oncoming bad news so when they told us she will be okay, I could hardly believe it.
Well…okay was a far stretch – alive is more like it. She was very far from being okay. Doctors explained how she had damage to her right lung and stomach. That meant she was going to take longer to recuperate.
I sighed as I recalled how we got here. Days ago, Natalie had been tortured and killed for the research which she was conducting – research that was meant to be used for good. Monsters like Mr Cha always got greedy so he ended up paying someone else to do his dirty work.
According to Jace, Mr Cha was planning to sell the research to some terrorist group for a very high price. God knows what it could have been used for if they weren’t stopped.
Natalie’s team have already decided to increase security while working on continuing Natalie’s work. They believed that Natalie would still want them to develop the work to help people and Taehyung also agreed with them.
I heard a knock on the door and I turned to look. Jace walked in and offered me a small smile. His cheek was still slightly swollen from the slap he got yesterday. God, I hated his superior. I understood repercussions, but not that way.
‘Hi JK, can I come in?’ he asked quietly. I nodded as I shifted in my place.
‘Of course hyung,’ I said as he came and sat down on the chair next to me. ‘The others are going to come and visit her later. The hyungs wanted to spend some time with their wives and kids and Jimin is helping Taehyung with the funeral arrangements,’ I said.
‘Of course, everyone deserves some rest, that means you too. You’re still wearing yesterday’s clothes,’ he said, pointing to my white shirt. My jacket, which had become bloody was hanging around the chair.
I gulped, a little nervously as I rubbed the back of my head. ‘Yeah I know but the others are bringing me a change of clothes and the staff had told me they will allow me to use showers here,’ I explained.
‘You really love her, don’t you?’ he asked. I felt my eyes go wide but he just chuckled. ‘Don’t act so surprised. Everyone heard the love confession you two made, but honestly, I knew before that,’ he said.
‘Really? I was hoping that I had not made it that obvious,’ I said but he just raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. ‘I guess not,’ I added.
‘You were quite obvious. I um…I wanted to talk to you about something though,’ he said, suddenly seeming a little nervous and uncomfortable.
‘If you’re going to tell me that she’s like a sister to you and you’d kick my ass if I ever hurt, I’ll assure you, I won’t,’ I said. My intervention seemed to work as he seemed to relax and smile a bit.
‘I know that JK. The truth is, I wanted to talk to you about her past. In a way, I know it’s not my story to tell but I need you to know everything so you can understand her better,’ Jace said.
I looked at him confused as I fixed my position so I could hear him better. ‘What do you mean hyung?' I asked.
'Misun has told you about her grandparents, right?’ he asked and I nodded.
‘She told me that she had gone to live with them after her parents passed. She told me that they treated her like a maid and laughed in her face about her dream to become a cop,’ I said and he nodded.
‘They’re horrible people who care too much about money, financial gain and fame. They never believed in her profession but if that and making her a maid was the only thing, it wouldn’t have been half as bad,’ Jace said with clear disgust in his voice.
‘What do you mean? Did…was there more?’ I asked and he nodded.
‘They hated her and I don’t say this lightly. I say it because I saw it. They made her life hell Jungkook. They saw her as a burden that was placed in their life. They mentally abused her so much – making her believe she was the reason why her parents were dead. That the only reason they went on that job was to take a break from her and that it cost them their lives,’ Jace explained.
‘Oh God,’ I said, feeling my stomach churn. I stole a glance at her but she was thankfully still sleeping.
‘God knows how many times I saw her cry whenever they would give her hell like that. She started to believe them – especially when things started accumulating for her. At age fifteen, a friend of hers from school, he…um… he committed suicide. Somehow, her grandparents made her believe it was her fault – that she wasn’t capable of saving her friend,’ he explained.
‘What? That doesn’t even make any sense! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I feel really bad for her friend, but I’m sure, I could swear on my life, it wasn’t her fault,’ I said and he nodded.
‘That’s what I tried telling her but she started shutting off until she met Taemin. They spent a couple of months going out together and she seemed to start somewhat healing, until one day they had a fight. A small, petty fight like any couple. They both left for work but Taemin got involved in a serious fire and got hurt pretty badly. She took that really badly and when her grandparents called her a curse for others, she believed them. They made her believe she was cursed and that if anyone loved her, they would get hurt. They made her believe she was not worth being loved,’ Jace explained. ‘Taemin tried to hold on to her but she just…she shut off. She delved into work and it wasn’t until she joined Bangtan that I saw her coming back to life,’ Jace explained and I could not help but smile.
‘Bangtan gave both me and her a purpose. It gave us an aim in life but it also gave us friends who became family,’ I said and he nodded.
‘I could see her shift but she could not let go of the words that she had spent years believing. So, the more you showed her love, the more scared she got. I wanted you to know this because I know she loves you. She thinks, God, she thinks that the best way to protect you is to love you from afar,’ Jace explained.
‘Oh Misun, princess,’ I said, turning back to her. I felt my eyes burn with tears that simply wanted to fall. My heart ached for her. I knew she had gone through some horrible * because of her grandparents but never thought it was this bad. She never told me it bordered on mental abuse. I squeezed her hand, perhaps a part of me hoping she could feel my love for her.
‘I know you love her, it’s so clear to see. I just want you to know that she needs to heal, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. She needs someone to help her see that she is worthy of love. That she is not cursed,’ Jace explained.
‘I promise hyung, I won’t stop until she believes it,’ I said. ‘In my eyes, she’s just so perfect. Stubborn, sometimes reckless, sometimes a little bossy,’ I said with a laugh, ‘but also brave, selfless, smart, kind, beautiful. She’s perfect and I won’t stop until she starts believing my words and not theirs,’ I said.
‘I know you will,’ Jace said with a sigh. ‘I know you’re the right person for her. Now, as big brother,’ he said with a smile, ‘I do have to warn you not to hurt her because I will kick your ass,’ he said.
I laughed and nodded. ‘I swear to you, we might have fights, but I won’t ever hurt her. If I ever do, you can do more than kick my ass,’ I said.
‘You can bet on it,’ he said as he patted my back. I heard a groan and instantly turned to look at Misun. Her eyes were a little scrunched as she was trying to open her eyes.
‘Hey…princess, I’m here,’ I whispered to her as I brought myself closer to her.
‘I’ll give you both some privacy and inform the others that she has woken up,’ Jace said as I simply nodded, not removing my eyes from her face.
I heard the door click just as she opened her eyes. She fluttered her eyes and for a moment she seemed dazed. I squeeze her hand and she looked at me. Her eyes locked with mine before she gave me a small smile.
‘Hel….hello Kooks,’ she said, her voice a little weak. I found myself smiling and tearing up at the same time.
‘Hello baby girl,’ I said just a single tear rolled down. ‘I’m so happy to see you,’ I said.
‘I’m happy to see you too,’ she said.
