This chapter does not have a linear structure . (Read carefully!!)

Ps this probably has a lot of mistakes cause I barely edited it.

(word count: 10355) lol

-

Jungkook sighs as he sips the scathing hot tea.

"She's getting sicker each day, Jungkook. The doctors said they may need to change the treatment plan to...to slow the process." Brianna stares down at the golden liquid in her cup, watching as the steam from it twirls into the air.

Jungkook places his cup down and chews on his lip. "I just...I don't know if I can..." Afford it. "I need to find a new job," he finally says, his eyebrows furrowing.

She nods slowly, " maybe you could talk to your old boss again. Clear up the misunderstan..."

"...No." He shakes his head. "I can't- he...he wouldn't want to hear from me."

Brianna frowns, "you don't know that. Maybe he..."

"...No. I'm sure of it." He turns his head, eyes downcast. "Things didn't end very well between us," he says, his voice simmered into a whisper.

She looks at him and sighs, a worried crease forming between her brows. "Well...Well I'm sure there's some way you can get back on your feet. You're smart and have all the credentials. You just need to get out there." She gives him a reassuring smile.

He smiles back at her, albeit weakly. "Yeah. I'll figure it out." He nods at her, lips strained from the forceful curve. "I'll figure it out."

~

"You better not be slacking boy, get back to work!" Jungkook flinches at the baritone voice that snaps him out of his thoughts. He looks down at the soap suds surrounding his hands and exhales unevenly.

"Sorry sir."

"You know sorry won't cut it. You better speed things up and get done with those dishes or it's your pay I'm docking."

The brunette nods and starts scrubbing the dishes. He hears shuffling behind him until he feels the presence of the older man beside him.

"Y'ere a man aren't ye?"

Jungkook furrows his brows at the question. "Yeah."

The man scoffs. "Well ye scrub like some fucking sissy. Put your back into it, will ye?"

Jungkook gulps, giving the man a quick nod before scrubbing the plates harder. His hand strains as he holds the sponge and rubs it against the already sparkling dish. The older man lingers close to him, rubbing his greying stubble as he observes his every move. Jungkook feels tense under his gaze and he finds himself being hyperaware of his every action. The man leans closer to the sink and Jungkook gulps, his hands tightening around the dish. He scrubs harder, his hands aching from the force that he applies and the man watches with a small smirk on his lips. The man opens his mouth to make another remark and Jungkook's fastens his pace, desperately scrubbing the plate, trying to please him, to get his approval, to show him he's worth the job.

The sound of the ceramic plate shattering echoes through the room, leaving a silent trail of dread in its remnants. Jungkook's breathing is heavier as he looks up at the man who stares down at him with a disgusted expression.

"Pathetic," He spits. "Can't even clean a damn plate." He sneers at him and turns to walks away. "Proof the Chinese have a brain and nothing else." Jungkook flinches at the comment, his head down turned as he stares at the small cut on his hand from the broken plate. "Ye make up for that by working over time, ey?" The man turns to look at him, eyes dark and malign.

Jungkook bites the inside of his cheek and weakly nods. "Y-Yes, sir."

~

It has come to that time of year when winter slowly begins to ease into spring. The seasonal crossover. To many, it's quite an awe inspiring sight. There's still traces of frost and the breeze is still chilly as it brushes past moving bodies, but there's also the slight crackle of sunlight that washes over the city, grazing it with the slightest tingle of warmth. Flowers have started to peer from their cocooned hiding spots and now slowly peek into view, still shy and cowered, yet present, carefully flourishing into a more refined form of beauty.

However, Taehyung doesn't really take in the sight of spring around him, doesn't admire the flowers or the vanishing snow. The city flourishes with colour yet Taehyung can only see a dull shade of grey, painting the skies, the streets and the shops. He finds it hard to indulge in the calmness of his surroundings, to feel awe-inspired by natures rejuvenation when within him there is only a violent turmoil, brewing and growing into a powerful storm as the days go by. Taehyung himself looks like an emblem of winter. Dark and brooding and cold. It's like the remaining essence of the harsh winter has embodied itself within him, leaving traces of frosty bitterness in his trail.

Spring is approaching with all its wonders but Kim Taehyung still dwells in winter.

He enters the coffee shop with a small sigh, being greeted with the rich aroma of roasted coffee beans. The air in the cafe is warmer but he doesn't let himself enjoy the heat that tingles against his skin. Instead, he strides up to the counter and stares blankly at the cheerful worker who waits to take his order.

"W-What would you like, sir?" The small red-head stutters, her bright smile slightly dwindling when met with the man's intimidating gaze.

"A long black. Regular." He says, his eyes never leaving her to look up at the order menu. She hastily nods and jabs some buttons on the computer.

"That will be $5 please."

He taps his card on the machine and steps back once the girl hands him the receipt. Taehyung sighs and runs a hand through his hair as he waits for his coffee but then pauses when he feels a body bump into him. Taehyung clenches his jaw, trying not to feel too irritated when he turns around to look at who bumped into him.

A short blond male stares up at him with apologetic eyes. "Oh, sorry-" But before the man can finish, he stops himself mid-sentence as recognition passes through his features.

"Kim Taehyung?"

Taehyung furrows his brows as he stares down at the blond. "Sorry, do I know you?" He asks, trying not to sound too rude in case it's a client.

The blond rubs a hand against his nape a little sheepishly and shakes his head. "Uh... well not...not exactly. It's just...you're the boss of my friend- um- Jeon Jungkook?"

-

"Take the order for table four, boy." The old man instructs while leaning against the counter. Jungkook looks up, his features creased with stress before he nods. He hastily finishes wiping down the table and scurries to table four to get their order.

"Hey, what can I get for you today?" He asks, forcing a smile onto his face.

The 3 customers mumble out a few dishes they want and barely acknowledge Jungkook as he tells them the meal will be right there. He rushes back to the kitchen and gives the chef the order before rushing back out to clear out some of the tables.

"Order for table 8," the chef calls out. Jungkook looks around, seeing that all the other staff are busy and so he rushes to the kitchen again to collect the dish.

He balances the plates on his arm and rushes to the table to place down the meals. "A double patty burger with gravy loaded fries and two slices of pepperoni pizza." He says while smiling at the customers. The table nod and goes back to their conversation as Jungkook walks off. He goes back to the dirty tables and quickly wipes them down, his arm aching from the force he exerts to reach the corners of the table. Once the tables are clean, he lets out a small breath before checking the time.

8:30 PM. He was supposed to leave at 6 PM but he had to work overtime because he broke the plate. And now, caught amidst the flurry of a busy night, he can feel the exhaustion of his shift slowly catching up to him. He lets out a ragged breath and tiredly heads towards the break room in hopes of catching a small breather. He sits himself down on one of the plastic chairs and grabs out his phone to check if he had gotten any notifications since he wasn't able to check for the entire day.

When the dim screen lights up, he's instantly met with dozens of call notifications which make him frown. He looks down at the caller ID to find that its Brianna. For some reason, that makes Jungkook's heart drop slightly as a dreadful feeling tugs at his lungs. He gnaws on his bottom lip for a moment before pressing the call button. He taps his leg anxiously as he waits for the her to pick up.

"Jungkook..."

He gulps, noting the distress in her tone. "Y-Yeah?" He asks.

The line is silent for a moment and the pause makes Jungkook's gut wrench, the foreboding feeling now consuming him, drowning out his voice of conscious and replacing it with the dizzying echo of a warning bell.

"You're mother..." she starts, her voice breathless. Jungkook tenses at the words and he tightens his grip around the phone. He listens to her breathing, the shallow exhales sounding erratic and soon he finds his own breathing matching hers. "She had another stroke..." her voice crackles and Jungkook finds his breath hitching, his hand slightly shaking. She pauses, waiting, hesitating, reluctant.

"Bri-"

"-And it's bad." She exhales, the tremble in her voice making his knees go weak.

Jungkook finds that his heart suddenly feels much heavier in his chest, pounding so hard that the blood rushes right into his head, making him dizzy. His thoughts are racing as he runs a hand through his hair, tugging at his scalp."I-Is she at hospital now?"

"She's in ICU. I..." She pauses, her voice quietening. "Jungkook, I'm scared she won't make it."

Jungkook feels his heart stop at that, the wind getting knocked out of him. His throat suddenly feels extremely dry and he struggles to intake air. He stands up, his body slightly trembling as he stumbles towards the door.

"Jungkook?"

"I'm coming, Bri...I'm coming to see her." With that, he quickly grabs his bag from the hooks next to the door and tries to step out of the room.

"Ahh, there you are. I was wondering where you went off to. Taking a break, are we? Did I say you could-" The voice of his boss causes him to pause.

"-Sir, I-I need to leave right now. My mother is in hospita-"

"Absolutely not. We are already understaffed and you need to be here. This is for the plate you broke."

Jungkook closes his eyes to compose himself, not wanting his voice to shake as he speaks. "Sir... please. I-I really need-"

"No. Put your bag down and get back to work. You can leave when we close up."

Jungkook bites the inside of his cheek before looking down at his bag that hangs sadly by his side. He then slowly shakes his head while turning towards the door. "I-I can't sir, I have to go."

The man scoffs. "Jeon, if you step out that door now, just know I'm never letting you back in."

Jungkook pauses, his hand on the handle. He bites down on his lip before sighing. He can't afford to get fired right now... He lets out a shaky breath after a few moments. Without looking back, he opens the door steps out.

But he also can't afford to lose his mother.

~

Jungkook paces back and forth in the hallways as he waits in dreadful anticipation. He can hear Seonjin crying in the background and Brianna trying to calm him but he can't bring himself to focus on that or anything else. All that is going in his mind is whether or not his mother is okay.

"Jeon Jungkook?" A voice calls out. Jungkook snaps his head up and notices a man in a white coat looking at him with a small smile. He rushes towards him, his hands clamming up as he walks closer and notices the sparkle of sympathy in his eyes.

"Doctor...how is she?" He asks, not realising how fragile his voice sounds.

The doctor sighs and looks over at the boy, again, with that look of pity. It makes Jungkook's stomach curl, an unpleasant taste rising up his throat.

"Due to her already exisiting medical conditions, it was hard to perform the surgery. We managed to finish up the surgery but...but she still hasn't gained consciousness. This would be normal under any circumstance but she hasn't shown any reflexive responses to stimuli whatsoever meaning that..." He pauses for a second before softening his tone. "... she's in a coma."

Jungkook's breath hitches. "A coma?" He parrots, his mind going blank.

The doctor nods, "and being in such state with her age and exisiting conditions could be risky."

Jungkook lets out a ragged sigh and runs a hand through his hair. "S-So what, does she have to go through surgery? W-What can help her?"

The man gives him a small apologetic smile and tilts his head. "I hate to say this Mr Jeon but all we can really do right now is hope that she will wake up."

Jungkook eyes widen in despair as a feeling of utter hopelessness washes over him. "But..but..." he looks up at the doctor, searching his face for an answer. Is that it? He's just supposed to wait around, hoping his mother doesn't die?

The doctor places a reassuring hand on his shoulder and squeezes slightly, offering him a warm look. "I know this is hard, son, but at times like this you have to stay strong. If not for yourself then at least for him," the man says while gesturing behind him. Jungkook turns around to look at his brother who is still crying, looking utterly distressed.

Jungkook turns back and offers the doctor a small smile. "Thank you, doctor."

The doctor gives him one last look before smiling, "you can see her when you're ready." He says before turning around and leaving. Jungkook sighs heavily and runs a hand down his face. He turns back to his brother and walks over to him.

"How is she?" Brianna asks as he approaches them.

Jungkook just shakes his head as he crouches down to be in level with his brother. "Hey, Seonnie," he says while gently carding his hand through the boy's hair. The younger hiccups and buries his face into Jungkook's neck.

"H-Hyung... wh-what happen to Mama?" He sobs.

Jungkook picks the boy up and pats his back gently. "Mama is fine, Seonnie. She just has a sore head." He lies.

His brother pulls back to stare at him, his eyes red-rimmed and lips wobbly. Jungkook's heart aches at the sight. "Will s-she be better soon?" He asks, round eyes sparkling.

Jungkook stares at his brother for a moment, knowing that he can't completely lie to the boy. He instead pulls him back in and holds him tighter. "Tell you what. How about you and Bri go get ice cream from the cafe downstair, hm? I bet you're hungry, right?"

The boy sniffles in response before pulling back again. "Will Hyung come?"

Jungkook smiles at the boy, "Hyung will come soon, okay? Till then, Seonnie can wait and eat ice cream, right?"

The boy blinks, eyelashes wet from crying. He then slowly nods. Jungkook forces a big smile onto his face before walking over and letting Brianna hold the younger. He grabs out his wallet and hands the girl some cash.

She shakes her head, "no, Jungkook, it's alrig-"

Jungkook sighs, "no, Bri. You're already working late tonight." He says while pushing the cash into the girl's hand. She gives him a worried look and opens her mouth to ask the inevitable 'are you okay' but before she does, he answers. "I'm fine. Just please make sure Seonnie feels a bit better."

She stares at him sympathetically. "Of course, Kook." She then lowers her voice so that the child can't hear. "I think i'll take him home after this. It's getting late and he's only going to get more restless if he stays up."

Jungkook nods at that. "Yeah, that would be good."

She nods before giving him one last worried glance and hesitantly walking off. Jungkook stares at her back retreating for a moment before he lets out another ragged sigh. With slow steps, he walks towards the hospital room, his fist unconsciously clenching as he does so. When he finally reaches the door, he takes a small deep breath before pushing it open.

He feels his heart clench at the sight. There, on the hospital bed, lays his mother. Her frail body hooked to several different tubes and wires as the heart monitor beeps in a steady beat next to her. Jungkook bites his inner cheek before he trudges closer to her, feeling everything within him tear apart with each step he takes closer towards her fragile frame.

As he stands next to her, he can see how pale she looks, her once glowing tan skin now a meadow of papery wrinkles. Her lips are chapped as they reside in a permanent frown, one that hides the beautiful smile that she used to always wear. Her sparkling brown eyes are covered by her thin eyelids that she's kept shut for a while now. Jungkook misses his mother's warm eyes. Jungkook misses everything about her. He misses her.

Jungkook crouches down onto his knees and rests his head on the bed near her chest. He can almost hear her steady heartbeat from the proximity. He closes his eyes and calls out to her.

"Mama..."

And just like every other time. She doesn't answer.

"Come on, Koo, say 'MA MA, for me... Ma Ma," she stresses as she holds a chubby little Jungkook in her arms. Jungkook looks up at her, his eyes too big for his face and cheeks ever so round.

"Bleugb blu," he babbles while clapping his hands.

She laughs and shakes her head before leaning in and blowing a raspberry against his cheeks. The boy squeals, his eyes widening as a small giggle slips past his mouth.

"No baby, say, "MA MA.."

Jungkook stares at her as he slowly brings his finger to her mouth, poking her lips. She pulls her face away from his tiny finger and huffs out in amusement. "Gosh, I'm scared you're going to call me Bleugb blu forever. Are you going to do that, Koo? Going to call Mama, Bleugb blu."

Jungkook stares at her for a moment before opening his mouth wide. His mother raises an eyebrow, curious as to what he wants.

"What is it, Ko-"

"Mam mam mam mam ma," he babbles out.

She raises her eyebrows in surprise. "YES, that's right baby. Mama. Wow, Mama is so proud of you. Her big boy. Already saying his first word. Can you say it again, baby? One more time?"

Jungkook frowns, his little face looking contemplative. He looks back at her, a small smile spreading across his big cheeks. "Bleugb blu..."

Jungkook stands back up and stares down at his mother, an overwhelming sense of numbness washing over him upon seeing her state. Suddenly, it feels as if it's just him and her, completely alone in this world; Like in this universe with a billion galaxies, it's just Jungkook and his dying mother. And the thought strikes him hard, makes him clench his fist and look away, unable to bear the sight any longer.

He places his hand onto hers still looking away as he whispers. "Get well soon, Mama..." he then turns in his heels and walks towards the exit. He stops near the door and drops his head, feeling his heart hammer in his chest before he says it. "I love you."

And he hates it. He hates it. He hates it so much. Because he can't help but feel that that is goodbye.