In 29 Days

18. JK

Daegu,
March 26, 7:30 Pm

Taehyung grins wide at his mother as her eyes grow wide as soon as she opens the door. He can't help but laugh at her as she stares at him with an open mouth and then rubs her eyes before blinking twice, frowning at his face.

"It's me itself, Mom!" Taehyung laughs and steps forward, hugging his mother tightly.

"You...Taehyungie...how you? Your Dad said he called you earlier," Mrs Kim says, pulling away and looking at Taehyung, still in surprise.

"Mom, I was at Seoul airport when he called. I was planning to give you guys a surprise visit. But then Dad called and said our cows are dying," Taehyung says.

"Still you didn't tell him you were coming!"

"I just didn't want to ruin the surprise," Taehyung says.

"Your surprise! When our cows are seriously sick and dying!" Mrs Kim glares. But then she notices Jungkook and averts her attention to him. "Who is this, Taehyungie?"

"Oh, Mom, this is JK, my friend from Emerald. We both came together. His family is settled in Britain and he has been to Korea only a few times. Now he got some leave, so he planned this trip. I actually came with him as his guide. And Mom, he is actually a veterinary doctor."

"Oh! Really! What a coincidence!" Mrs Kim says, smiling at Jungkook and quickly moving from the doors to let them in. "C'mon, come inside, Dr ..uhm.. what was his name?" She looks at Taehyung.

"JK, short for Justin Kook," Taehyung replies.

"Oh..I see...c'mon, sit down, Dr JK," Mrs Kim smiles wide. Jungkook smiles back awkwardly at her and walks inside along with Taehyung.

"Mom, just call him, JK or Kook," Taehyung says. "And where's Dad and Jin hyung?"

"They both are still at the farm," Mrs Kim says and hurries towards the kitchen. "Dr JK, shall I make you some Tea? Or do you want coffee? Oh, do you like Japchae?"

"Oh, Japchae?! I like it very much!" Jungkook involuntarily exclaims.

"Oh...??" Taehyung's mother turns around from the kitchen. "He doesn't know Korean?"

"Yeah, he knows. But his Korean isn't that good," Taehyung says, going to the kitchen. "He was raised in Britain, Mom. So, he doesn't usually talk in Korean."

"Oh...I see. Did he say he likes Japchae?" Mrs Kim asks.

"Yeah, but just give us a glass of water now. We are going to the farm to see the cows. We'll eat after coming back," Taehyung says and goes to grab two glasses.

"But, isn't he tired? Didn't you guys start from Emerald today morning? At what time was the flight?" Mrs Kim asks grabbing the water jug.

"It was uhm...at 8 Pm, yeah that means when it was 3 Am here," Taehyung replies, taking the jug from his mom's hands and pouring some water into the glass before taking a sip.

"Oh, that means almost 17 hours of journey! He might be really tired. Give him first!" Mrs Kim says and grabs the other glass, quickly filling it with water before rushing to Jungkook who was looking around curiously in the living room.

"Mom, It's not like he alone travelled and I teleported here in a second!" Taehyung says, following her behind. Mrs Kim ignores him and smiles at Jungkook, giving him the glass of water. Jungkook smiles politely and takes it from her hands.

"Your father called you before tea time," Mrs Kim then says, turning back to Taehyung. "So, you guys reached Seoul before 3:30. Then why did it take so long to reach here?"