who are you really? | minjoon

9. 'seo-jun' (jimin flashback)

"I'm selling the house to pay off our debt."

Mrs. Park slowly got up with a straight look on her face.

"What are you talking about."

"I- I made a mistake. I owe a lot of money now."

"What on earth did you do? What are WE going to do? How much time is left?"

"They want the money by next week."

"NEXT WEEK? How are we going to find a place, pack all of our stuff and do all of the other moving businesses in a week? We don't exactly live in the smallest house."

"I am so sorry honey. It's my fault. I- I just wanted you to be happy. I did it for you. I did it for Jimin. I did it for us." Mr. Park broke down into tears and was on his knees crying.

Mrs. Park rushed over immediately and hugged him tight.

"Honey, you just didn't think with your head this time. So, just promise me this will never happen again. Before you think about luxury and comfort, prioritize the important things."

"I- I will. It's just that, all of my old office friends have gotten their promotions and big raises, although I've been working there for longer than any of them. So... I- I decided to ask for a promotion. My boss however shot me down and even threatened to fire me. The- Then I asked for a loan."

"WHAT?! You should know that they would just sap up all of your money!"

"I know. I know." He hung his head shamefully. "But, I was just so desperate. And with this money, I bribed my boss and he gave me a promotion. That was how we were able to buy this nice house instead of living in that tiny apartment."

"Well instead of regretting our decisions, we should try and find a solution instead. As the cause of this, I think you have the responsibility of telling Jimin."

Mr. Park looked up at Mrs. Park and kissed her gently. He whispered "Thank you."

Then he got up and made his way to Jimin's bedroom, only to find little Jimin with his ear pressed up against the wall scrunching his face to try and eavesdrop on his parents.

"Jiminie."

"Ah! Umm... hi dad." He shyly waved then hurriedly jumped to his bed.

"Buddy... Daddy has something to tell you."

"Is everything ok Dad?"

"No. Everything is not ok, but it will be soon. Son, we are moving to a different place."

"Again? Will it be even bigger?"

"Umm... Probably not. Daddy... did something bad. I hope you can forgive Daddy for his mistakes."

"Little Jimin is not mad, because I love you!" Jimin chuckled and smiled.
~

6 years passed with Jimin and his family living peacefully, but his father got fired from his job since where they lived was far away. This meant that travel was exceptionally harder, and caused Mr. Park to be late multiple times.

In order to pay rent and lead a proper lifestyle, the Park family sold off many different items in their house and luxuries. They all went on a diet and Jimin's parents both had to find a job. Mrs. Park was successful and now has a job working as a store clerk.

This caused Mr. Park to suffer a tremendous amount of guilt - to battle this he decided to go down the path to the bar. Alcohol was no cheap thing, and the family savings were eaten up quite a bit. Jimin had lost faith and trust in his father, no longer recognizing the person that he once called 'Dad'.

"Hey honey I'm home" Mrs. Park walked through the door.

"Hey mom. Seo-jun is sleeping in his bedroom."

"Thank you for taking care of your father for me."

"No problem. I do it for you mom. I know how much you love Seo-jun"

Their small apartment that consisted of a living room, 1 bathroom and 2 bedrooms. They could've moved to an even smaller place, but Jimin being the angelic son he is, decided to quit school. It was honestly the hardest decision of his life so far - not that he has lived for exceptionally long; no 13 year old should ever have to go through something like this. Jimin was very insistent though about not going to school, so much to the point that his mother had given up.

Mrs. Park always works very hard to support her family, and now that Jimin's tuition was no longer an issue, she had a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders. Jimin was a saint. There was no doubt about it. Although he did not have the best relationship with his dad. He didn't even call him by 'Dad' or 'Papa'. Instead he called him by his name. Yet, he kept on taking care of him because he knew that his mother never stopped loving him.

Jimin's mother was the only part of his life worth living for.

"Hey Soo-ah honey. Hi Jiminie." Mr. Park walked out of his room, dressed in his bar attire.

"Hello Seo-jun." Jimin replied back, a straight line on his face.

"Heh. As cold as ever. Well I probably would've been the same if I were you, anyway I am gonna head out now. Bye." Then he was out the door.

The only thing that Jimin remembered next were the sirens and the look on his father's face.