Towards You~ [TAEKOOK]
Chapter 1- Funeral
On an unforgettable rainy day, during a solemn funeral.
Everyone was dressed in black, each holding a black umbrella, their expressions filled with sorrow.
Only one woman, amidst this silence, was passionately berating another man.
There were still red marks on the man's face.
Kim IU [MC's Sister]
"Jeon Jungkook, didn't I tell you not to come? Since you've been with my brother, he's been constantly hurt, even...." (crying hysterically)
Kim IU [MC's Sister]
"Even his life is at stake... (sob), you have no right to be here. I didn't want you to come."
Today was the funeral of her brother, Kim Taehyung.
The man she despised the most had come to see her brother.
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
"Please, can you... Can you let me look at Taetae... just one look." (kneeling in the rain, even without holding an umbrella)
He allowed the rain to soak him.
His eyes were so weary that they couldn't shed any tears anymore, so he let the rain take their place.
The dull ache in his heart could never be smoothed over.
Kim IU [MC's Sister]
(Didn't care whether Jeon Jungkook knelt in the rain or not; she kicked and punched him, wanting to drive him away)
Kim IU [MC's Sister]
"Why should you be here? You have no relationship with him. Leave! You're not welcome here!"
But others felt that Kim IU's outburst at her brother's funeral wasn't appropriate, so they tried to restrain her.
But she just cried even more fiercely.
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
(Allowed Kim IU to kick him because if it weren't for him, Taehyung wouldn't have died. He was, in a way, an indirect cause of his death, and it was only natural for his sister to hate him.)
At the time, he was rejecting a funding request from a former school beauty he used to like. Little did he know that the school beauty would hold a grudge and push him onto the road where a speeding car was coming.
But someone pulled him away, and as a result, that person got hit and died on the spot.
He looked closely at the person and realized it was his diligent junior, Kim Taehyung, who had followed him for ten years.
He picked up Taehyung, but there was no response, no matter how much he slapped his face.
At that moment, all he felt was pain, and his tears kept falling uncontrollably.
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
💭*Why are you here?*
He had so many questions to ask him.
After all, they had arranged to meet elsewhere in the morning; how could he possibly be here?
Anyway, everything was a mess, and he couldn't process it all.
When Taehyung's sister received his body at the hospital, she cried and slapped him while handing him a letter.
She said it was from Taehyung, but after reading it, he was told never to disturb the Kim family again, including not attending Taehyung's funeral, or she would never forgive him.
Jeon Jungkook didn't understand why he couldn't go to Taehyung's funeral until he returned home in a daze and opened the letter.
𝑻𝒐 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒐𝒐𝒌,
𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒏-𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕?
𝑻𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆.
𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕.
𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔.
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑰'𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅.
𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚, 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒎𝒆.
𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆, 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆.
...
𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒉, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔.
𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔.
𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕...
𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆, 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.
𝑯𝒂𝒉𝒂, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓.
𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.
𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑻𝒂𝒆𝒉𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒈
A confession letter filled with both sadness and optimism.
It was Taehyung's handwriting.
These were the memories of his unrequited love.
"𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚, 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒎𝒆.
𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆, 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆."
The moment he saw the word "leave," Jeon Jungkook felt even more desperate. This wasn't a reason for him not to see Taehyung. It only made him want to see Taehyung more, even if it was just to see his face one last time.
Tears soaked the paper, but the departed wouldn't turn back.
Chapter 2- Promise
His first encounter with Kim Taehyung happened ten years ago.
At the time, he was a confident third-year student, known as the campus bully, coming from a wealthy family that everyone admired. He was also pursuing the school's beauty, Lee Jisoo.
Lee Jisoo was torn between him and the intelligent school heartthrob, Cha Eun-Woo, but Jeon Jungkook believed that he had a significant advantage in many aspects.
He thought everything would go smoothly, but then his family suddenly faced a crisis. His family was betrayed by other relatives and died in a car accident. His family turned into chaos, and he ended up being left behind, abandoned by everyone.
Even the school beauty mocked him, saying he was like a frog wanting to eat swan meat.
However, it was during this lowest point in his life that Taehyung, his junior, confessed his feelings to him.
Kim Taehyung [MC]
"Senior was like a star and would definitely bounce back."
At first, Jeon Jungkook wanted to say that he wasn't interested in men, but as he looked at Kim Taehyung's sincere face, he unexpectedly compromised.
They made a ten-year pact: if within ten years, Taehyung could make him fall in love, they would have to start a relationship.
It was also Taehyung who helped him escape that muddy life, accompanied him in relearning things, and praised his business talents.
After graduating, they used their skills to establish a company, with Taehyung becoming his personal secretary.
By some twist of fate, they also got involved with a business tycoon, and he managed to clear the name of the person responsible for hurting his family.
Five years ago, he got drunk and had an intimate encounter with Taehyung.
In truth, he had planned it all along, as he had started having feelings for Taehyung five years prior.
It was strange, wasn't it?
He had never been into men before, but Taehyung made him want to possess him.
However, he didn't dare to pursue it recklessly, fearing he might lose the person he loved and was afraid of betrayal once again.
He chose to bury his head in the sand and wait for the ten-year pact to see if it would work out. He had already bought an engagement ring.
If Taehyung wanted a commitment and had waited for him for so long, he would strive to fulfill his wish.
It seemed that his success had caught the attention of someone he hadn't seen in a long time-the school beauty, Lee Jisoo. She contacted him and was overly attentive. He found it disgusting, but she insisted on meeting him, saying there was something important she needed to discuss. He agreed to the meeting.
Jisoo was still stunningly beautiful, but to him, who had matured so much in the past ten years, she held no allure.
At present, it could be said that besides Taehyung, no one else caught his eye.
The school beauty praised how good he had been to her in the past and hinted at the possibility of starting a relationship now. She assumed that because he hadn't had any romantic scandals in so many years, he must still have feelings for her. She hoped he could provide funding for her, as her recent business endeavors had failed. If he could offer financial assistance, she would commit herself to him.
After hearing this, Jeon Jungkook felt deeply insulted. The former goddess had become nothing more than a fallen woman in his eyes. He left money for the coffee and was about to leave, but this action angered Jisoo.
As he was about to cross the road, Jisoo pushed him forcefully.
The result was what had happened with Taehyung.
Of course, he sued Jisoo, leading to her losing everything she had.
However, her punishment couldn't bring Taehyung back or change his fate...
When Jisoo initially contacted him, Taehyung wasn't pleased. He told Jungkook not to get close to that woman. But Jungkook might have had some vengeful thoughts, wanting to see what tricks she would try, which was why he kept communicating with her.
However, this revenge ultimately dragged Taehyung into the mess.
The question remained:
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
💭*Why was I so fixated on revenge that I couldn't see Taetae's pain?*
Chapter 3- Reverse Cause and Effect
No matter what, Jungkook wanted to see Taehyung's face one last time.
Unfortunately, due to his sister's quarrel, he was ultimately expelled from the funeral, and he didn't even get to see Taehyung's final appearance.
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
💭*Next, Taehyung would turn into ashes, wouldn't he?* (Thinking about this, he couldn't control his tears once again)
He was a failure in so many aspects of life that he couldn't even be acknowledged by his family to see his beloved one last time.
He had been too selfish, too afraid to accept the goodness that Taehyung offered, silently enjoying everything.
He was afraid of losing what he had, and as a result, he hadn't given Taehyung a formal commitment before he passed away.
Jungkook reached into his damp pocket and pulled out the man's diamond ring, still shining brightly in the rain.
He remembered the ten-year pact, so that day, he had intended to confess his feelings proactively. Since in the morning, Taehyung had said he wanted to take him out for a meal, and he vaguely sensed that Taehyung was going to fulfill the agreement.
But now, it was too late for everything. To him, it felt like there was no reason to continue living in this world. His family had been gone for many years, and the person he loved was gone forever.
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
💭*Or perhaps I should follow Taetae to death.*
As this thought crossed his mind, rough hands grabbed him.
A monk dressed in tattered robes.
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
"Hello."
Jungkook's thoughts interrupted by the monk, realizing he wasn't thinking rationally.
Monk
"Do you believe in karma?" (suddenly asked, looking at him with kindness)
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
"?"
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
"I suppose I do."
Jungkook replied, feeling like he had been a terrible person, which was why Taetae had left him.
He spiraled into negativity once again.
Monk
"The most fair thing in the world is karma. If you believe in it, do more good deeds, and you'll receive blessings and accumulate them for the next life." (said slowly, his voice resonating with a kind of magic)
Monk
"Perhaps, you can even change your karma."
Monk
"There are many people in need, donor. Don't lose hope in life."
Jungkook didn't understand why the monk had said those things to him, but the monk just smiled, patted his shoulder, and didn't seem to mind his muddy state as he walked away.
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
"What does it mean?" (wondered, but for some reason, the monk's words had given him strength)
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
💭*Yes, maybe I couldn't give up just yet.*
"There are many people in need, sir. Don't lose hope in life," the monk's words echoed in his mind, reminding him of his employees. He had to return to a normal life.
Although he returned to his work position, he would still occasionally mention Taehyung's name.
Someone
"Boss... Secretary Kim is no longer with us." (gently reminded his boss)
Taehyung had been kind and had almost all the virtues one could have. It was a great loss for everyone, and they felt a deep sorrow.
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
"Yes, Taetae is no longer with us." (replied, trying to hold back his grief as best as he could. But hearing those words still felt like a knife in his heart)
He had lost and slowly regained so much in life, and he had finally cleared his past.
In the end, the person he had most wanted to share his successes with had left for heaven. However, he had employees to look after, and he couldn't continue to wallow in despair.
Taehyung wouldn't have wanted him to live that way either.
Unconsciously, he recalled the words of the monk he had met at the funeral.
Monk
"Do you believe that good deeds lead to good outcomes? The blessings you accumulate in this lifetime may affect your next... and perhaps even change the karma you seek."
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
"Change karma..."
He had never heard a monk say something like that before.
It suddenly gave Jungkook a renewed sense of purpose. While he didn't know if what the monk said was true, he was willing to bet on that possibility for the sake of his Taetae.
Over the next several years, Jungkook worked hard to manage his business, made charitable donations to various causes, and treated his employees well. Every year on the anniversary of Taehyung's passing, he would boldly go to the Kim family to seek out Kim IU.
Many years later, he finally placed the ring into Taehyung's memorial niche.
At that moment, he hadn't cried in a long time, but after placing the ring inside, he cried uncontrollably.
Jungkook remained single throughout his life, even until he closed his eyes in death.
Jeon Jungkook [Past Life]
"Taetae, I don't want anything else. I just pray to the heavens to let me see you again..." (whispered)
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