Chapter 4: The Silent House

Moving into the Jeon household didn't feel like moving into a new home; it felt like stepping into an alternate reality where all the color had been brutally bleached away.

Taehyung was ten, but he carried himself with the heavy, fragile stillness of an old man. He didn't cry at the funeral, nor did he cry when Uncle Jeon packed up his childhood bedroom into cardboard boxes. He simply stood by the doorway, holding a single, worn plush tiger his mother had bought him, his eyes entirely blank.

Because the Jeon house was modest in size, it was decided that Taehyung would share a room with five-year-old Jungkook.

On his first night sleeping there, Taehyung sat on the edge of the newly assembled twin bed across from Jungkook’s. The room was dark, save for the faint, warm glow of a nightlight plugged into the wall.

Downstairs, muffled sounds of grief echoed through the vents. Auntie Jeon was crying softly, her heart breaking for her deceased best friend and the orphaned boy upstairs. Uncle Jeon was murmuring hushed, stressed words about legal guardianship, adoption papers, and changing Taehyung's legal status.

Taehyung kept his knees pulled tightly to his chest, staring at the floorboards. He felt like a ghost haunting someone else’s life.

Across the room, a rustle of blankets broke the silence.

Five-year-old Jungkook sat up, rubbing his large, sleepy eyes. He looked over at the other bed, blinking at the dark silhouette of his hyung. Jungkook was too young to fully comprehend the permanence of death. He knew Taehyung’s parents were gone to a place called "heaven," and he knew everyone was very sad, but mostly, he just missed his happy, bubbly Tae-hyungie.

"Hyung?" Jungkook whispered, his tiny voice cutting through the heavy silence.

Taehyung didn't move. He didn't turn his head.

Jungkook swung his small legs out of bed, his bare feet padding softly across the cold hardwood floor. He stopped right in front of Taehyung’s bed, looking up with wide, hopeful doe eyes. He reached out and tugged gently on the hem of Taehyung’s oversized sleeve—just like he always did.

"Hyungie... play blocks with Kookoo?" Jungkook asked pleadingly, pointing toward the toy chest in the corner. "Kookoo build a big castle for you."

In the past, Taehyung would have instantly smiled, pulled Jungkook into a hug, and spent hours playing. But now, Taehyung slowly pulled his arm back, slipping his sleeve out of Jungkook’s tiny grip.

"Not today, Jungkook," Taehyung whispered, his voice completely flat, devoid of the melody it usually carried. "Go to sleep."

Jungkook blinked, his little heart stinging at the sudden rejection. He didn't understand why his hyung was looking right through him, or why the warm, boxy smile he loved so much had completely vanished.

"But Hyung—"

"Please, Jungkook," Taehyung turned his back, pulling the heavy quilt over his shoulders and burying his face in the pillow.

Jungkook stood alone in the dark, staring at his hyung's rigid back. A strange, unfamiliar knot tightened in the five-year-old’s chest. For the first time in his life, Taehyung had pushed him away. As Jungkook slowly walked back to his own bed, a tiny, subconscious seed of confusion and resentment was planted in his young mind.

Thankyou for reading 😘

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***