~1~
~ Jungkook's POV ~
"Dude, are you excited?" Hyungwon asked, smiling from ear to ear.
"Not really. My aunt never does anything for my birthday anyway, so why would I be?" I responded, rolling my eyes.
"But everyone gets excited for their 18th birthday!" he retorted.
"Thanks for the enthusiasm, but I don't think that is going to happen." I replied with a shake of my head.
"Well, look at it this way...you will be officially an adult so you will be free of her in a sense. She won't have a legal hold as your guardian anymore." He shrugged, making me perk up just a bit.
"Hey, you're right about that! I didn't consider that." I smiled, feeling a little better.
"There ya go, a reason to look forward to it after all. Why don't you come over to my place that day? My parents will be gone to a conference, so we would have the house to ourselves. You know what that means..." he replied, raising his eyebrows.
"Yep! Gaming marathon here we come." I laughed, making him smirk.
"I got a new headset too. It's great, cancels out all the noise and picks up everything in the game. You'll have to try em out." He said, standing and brushing off his pants. Part of me got a sinking feeling, seeing him standing up. That means Hyungwon was getting ready to go home, meaning I would now have to go home. I hated being there, and avoided it at all costs, but with him going home, I had no more excuses to stay out. I sighed as I got up and brushed myself off as well, slinging my backpack back on.
"I'll ask my parents and let you know. If they say yes, then I will see you this weekend!" he replied, giving me a bright smile.
"Sounds like a plan. See you later, Hyungwon." I said as he waved, walking off, kicking a pebble down the sidewalk as he went. He and I went to the same private school together, or at least we used to when my parents were alive. When they died, my aunt yanked me, saying she wasn't going to spend good money to send me to some fancy school when normal school was just fine. I don't know why it mattered, it wasn't her money anyway, it was my parents. I guess she wanted to keep as much of it to herself as possible. Since then, Hyungwon and I met up at the park twice a week after school to catch up and hang out for a little bit. I stood there in the park for a few more minutes, gathering the strength to go home, before finally getting on the sidewalk and heading the opposite direction. Every step felt heavy as I got closer, as it always did. I just hoped she was sober today. As I reached the house and opened the door, the stench of cigarette smoke filled my nostrils, immediately making me cringe. I hated that smell, so much. Our family house used to smell of my mother's cooking or fresh laundry. Now, it wreaked of cigarettes and cheap perfume.
"There you are, you little shit! Weren't you supposed to be home at 3:30 to get that package off of the porch? I told you I didn't want it sitting there all day!" she fussed as she came around the corner. I was hardly little anymore, I had grown to well over her height and over the last year I began working out, making me bulk up and tower over her. Still, that was her favorite nickname for me, "little shit".
"I'm sorry, Hyungwon needed my help with something." I said, taking my shoes off before heading toward the stairs.
"And where do you think you are going?" she sneered as I stopped on the first couple of stairs.
"Up to my room, why?" I asked, as she scowled at me.
"Because you have a shit load of chores to do, and I'm not allowing you to barricade yourself in that sty of a room and piss the time away." she said, as I rolled my eyes.
"I was going to do my homework." I replied as she began marching toward me, her heels echoing across the floor.
"Get down here, right now." she said in a toxic tone. I sighed and stepped down the rest of the stairs, standing right in front of her. She used to intimidate me, now she only annoyed me. She grabbed my backpack from my hand and unzipped it, rifling through it.
"Since you are a disrespectful little shit and keep talking back, I think you don't need this anymore." she said, yanking my mp3 player out.
"Please, don't alright? I'm sorry." I said, hoping she would have pity on me just this once. She smirked as she dropped it onto the tile floors, crashing her heel down onto it and shattering the screen. Fucking fantastic.
"Maybe next time you will learn." she said, narrowing her eyes at me.
"That was one of the last birthday gifts my parents got me so thanks for that. Fuck, I can't wait until this weekend." I breathed, as she raised her eyebrow.
"Your ass is going to be here all weekend, repainting the entire downstairs, so I don't know what the hell you are looking forward to." she said, making me roll my eyes. Of course she wouldn't remember.
"It's my eighteenth birthday, meaning I will be able to do whatever the hell I want." I said, as her eyes widened, her face paling.
"That's this weekend?" she asked, making me scoff.
"Yes, my birthday is on the same day every year, that's how it works." I said, as she slapped hard me across the face, my cheek stinging from the impact.
"I guess the mp3 player wasn't enough. I have to go run some errands. All those chores better be done by time I get back." she said, marching off and grabbing her purse by the door. As she slammed the door shut, I sighed. I got to my knees and picked up the small mp3 player, holding it in my hand. I quickly fished my headphones out of my backpack and plugged them in, praying it still worked. I tapped around on the shattered screen, sighing as it didn't register anything. I felt myself get teary eyed, quickly wiping them away before they could fall. The people at school used to always make fun of me for listening to this old thing, when they all had new phones that they listened to their music on, but this was the last thing I got for my birthday from my parents before they died.
I slipped the mp3 player in my pocket and got up off of the floor, placing my backpack on the dining room table that was littered with mail, an ash tray and random items my aunt was too lazy to put away. I walked into the kitchen and saw the list of chores she had waiting for me today, groaning as I read through them. I sighed as I began working on the kitchen, basically cleaning it from top to bottom. I continued to work through them, surprised she hadn't come home yet, but I wasn't about to complain.
By time I had finally finished, it was after nine and she still wasn't home yet. Maybe she got into an accident. The thought shouldn't have made me smile, but it did. She wasn't even blood related to me, she was my mother's step sister, but she was the only family I had after my parents passed away three years ago. I rummaged through the kitchen for something to snack on, grabbing an apple and a few cheese sticks and some banana milk before heading up to my room to work on my homework. I was in my senior year, and I couldn't wait to graduate. I planned on getting a job and working my ass off, saving every bit of money I earned so I could move away from this awful place.
I trudged up the stairs, ate my sorry excuse for dinner, showered and sat down to do my homework. It was well after midnight before I finished, and as I climbed into bed, I could hear the front door shut. I closed my eyes and quickly fell asleep, exhausted from the day.
The rest of the week went by fairly quickly and my aunt was strangely quiet, being gone much of the day and not really paying me any mind, which I was extremely thankful for. Finally, on Friday evening she broke the pattern and was home by time I home from school.
"There you are." she said, her voice calmer than it normally was. I looked at her suspiciously as she walked over, a sweet smile on her face.
"I'm done with school, so yeah, I'm home." I said, as she smiled in response.
"Jungkook, I wanted to know if there was anything special you wanted to do for your birthday tomorrow." she responded, making me do a double take. What the fuck? Was she getting laid or was she on drugs? That was the first time she had called me by my name in I don't know how long.
"Uh...actually Hyungwon was going to see if I could come over tomorrow." I said as she nodded.
"That sounds nice, I'm sure you will have a great time." She replied.
"Oh, so I can go?" I asked, my eyes widening in surprise.
"Of course! It's not every day someone turns eighteen, you should get to enjoy yourself." she replied. Yep, she was definitely on drugs.
"O-Ok…thanks?" I said, feeling insanely confused.
"Oh, come sit at the table, I have a surprise for you." she grinned, rushing off to the kitchen. Was I dreaming? What in the actual hell was going on? I walked over to the table, placing my backpack on the floor as I sat down. She came out with a small cake and a candle lit on top, making my mouth drop open. Surely she poisoned it or something. What the fuck?
"Um...what?" I asked as she placed it down in front of me.
" I was going to give it to you tomorrow but if you are going to be with Hyungwon, you might as well get it tonight. Happy birthday Jungkook. Now make a wish and blow out the candle." she said as my eyes widened.
"Uh, thanks?" I replied, before blowing out the candle. She clapped and handed me a fork, making me eye it suspiciously.
"Eat up!" she replied.
"Don't you want some?" I asked, making her laugh.
"You know me, I have to keep this girlish figure. But you go ahead honey." she smiled. Honey? Yup, has to be poison. I eyed the cake suspiciously still as she wrinkled her forehead.
"I mean...is there something in it?" I said, poking it cautiously with a fork.
"Like what?" she asked, cocking her head.
"Arsenic?" I asked, making her make a mocked hurt expression.
"You really think I would poison my own nephew? Here look." she said, walking to the kitchen and coming back with a fork. She took one bite out of it, chewing it and swallowing it in front of me. I shrugged and began eating it, relishing the delicious taste of the fresh cream and strawberries in the center. I can't remember the last time I had something this good.
"This is delicious." I said, coughing as I swallowed a huge mouthful.
"Oh here, let me get you something to drink." she said rushing off. I had no idea what alternate universe I woke up in this morning, but I hoped I didn't wake from it.
"What is all this for?" I called through a mouthful of cake.
"I realized your going to be an adult tomorrow, and I am losing my little Jungkook. You will be a man capable of your own decisions." she said as I heard liquid pouring into a glass. She came back out with a large glass of banana milk, making my mouth water. I took it from her and drank down several large gulps before eating more cake. She must have realized that I was going to be capable of making my own decisions so she probably figured she needed to be nice now so I didn't rebel too much. Too late, bitch. This didn't erase the years of shit she put me through. I ate several more bites before drinking up the rest of the banana milk.
"I'm stuffed. That was good, thanks." I said, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now why don't you go enjoy yourself." she suggested. I shrugged and grabbed my backpack before heading up the stairs and to my room. I showered and as I got dressed back into clothes, I slipped the mp3 player into my pocket before sitting on my bed with my phone in hand. As I went to text Hyungwon, I noticed my vision getting a little blurry and my eyes droopy. I rubbed them with my free hand before trying to focus on my phone again, unable to see it clearly. My arms began to feel heavy as my eyes started drooping shut and no matter what I did, I couldn't fight it. I felt darkness take me and I could do nothing but lay there before I passed out.
