Chapter 24: Why couldn't they wait until the weekend?

Junkook's blood turned ice-cold. That voice... He did not want to believe that their parents were here. How did they get into Yuna's apartment anyway? It was three days before the weekend they said they would becoming.

"Mom," Yuna whimpered next to him.

Great. Here she went again, he thought. She changed into a little girl who could not face their parent's wrath. His face did not display any emotion. Their mom opened the door further and their father stood behind her.

"Well, the prodigal son had returned," He said emotionless. Jungkook's jaw thinned at that comment.

He did not want to answer. It was going to change into a brawl, he wanted to avoid that at all costs. He glanced at Yuna. She was scared, her hands were shaking and he reached for it. He gave her hand a light squeeze, it was alright.

"You are late," their mom said again, "we were hoping to surprise you."

They were surprised. Jungkook should have known that they would pull a stunt like this. He bit his cheek inwardly. He would not be able to leave Yuna to these hellhounds. They were going to break her spirit once more.

"I was working," Yuna squeaked. "I thought that you would be coming on Saturday."

Their mom smirked. Jungkook did not like that expression. "We thought that we would come early. We wanted to check up on you so that you cannot hide anything from us."

Jungkook tightened his grip on Yuna's hand. Of course, they want to meddle as they had always done. They were going to tell Yuna exactly what she was going to do with her life and he... was going to stop it.

"I am not hid-hiding anything," Yuna stammered.

"Oh? Then what is this?" Their mom asked, holding up a poster of Seokjin Kim.

"That is-" Yuna stammered and her gaze averted to the ground. Jungkook cleared his throat. "It is a keepsake from Yuna's momentoes."

Their mom's eyes shifted to him. "Speak when spoken to, Jungkook. If I wanted you to answer, I would have asked you."

"Can we come into Yuna's home?" Jungkook snarled. This was her home and they were treating it as if they owned her place.

"Jungkook," their mom said sternly, "Watch your tone!"

He did not give a damn about his tone. He was not going to let them break their spirits. Not now, not ever. Yuna was still staring at the ground and he pulled her slightly towards him. He pushed past their mother and father. He stood before Yuna and faced them.

His gaze fell past them and around the apartment. They have cleaned it up and rearranged the furniture as they saw fit. There was no sign of what her apartment looked like before. Yuna rested her head against his back and whispered. "I cannot do this."

"So, this is why you came early," Jungkook said and nodded at the apartment. "You thought that you could take over."

Their mom closed the door and placed her right hand on her hip. She had the poster in the other and started crushing the top. "Jungkook why do you feel this way towards us? We only want the best for you."

Yeah right! He thought angrily. It was not their interests, dreams or ambitions their parents had in mind. Their parents were pushing their ambitions on them and their dreams. This was going to be an endless battle. He had the guts to tell them exactly what he thought.

He ran away from home at the age of sixteen. He left Yuna to their parents. He could never forgive himself for what he had done. Many times he wanted to turn back time to have rescued her from their parent's cruelty, but... what done was done.

"I am not going to stand here and argue with you," he replied. "I guess you will be sleeping in Yuna's room."

"You guess correctly. Do you live with your sister?" their father chimed in and folded his arms.

"No, I do not," he replied and narrowed his eyes. "I will be staying for the remainder of your visit though."

Jungkook felt Yuna grip his shirt tightly. That was her way of telling him, thank you. Their parents narrowed their eyes. "Suit yourself. Do not think we will listen to your opinions."

"I am still going to give them," He replied harshly. "I am not going to let you belittle Yuna-"

"Belittle?" Their mother asked and took a step towards them, but their father grabbed her arm. "Let us not fight over it now. They will feel better in the morning."

"You are right, love," She replied and her body relaxed. "We are going to bed."

Jungkook watched as they left them standing alone in the small living room. They went into Yuna's room and slammed the door shut. A breath of relief escaped his lips and he turned around gently.

Yuna was still cowering as if she was leaning against his back. He reached out to her and placed his arms around her. He whispered in her ear. "I am here. As long as I am here, I will make sure that they would not harm you."

"Kookie... Why? Why did they come?" she said, her voice shaking.

Jungkook tightened his arms around her. They were here to fuck up their lives again. They had planned to catch them off guard and it had rattled Yuna. He looked around her living room. "I tell you what."

Yuna's gaze snapped up to him and he saw how teary her eyes were. "Wha-what?"

He smiled at her. "Let's make a Christmas bed like we did when we were younger."

For the first time, Yuna's smile reached her eyes. He knew that it would cheer her up. They had done it since he could remember. They would build a fort with blankets, cushions and chairs to hold the blankets in place.

They took the blankets from their beds and curled up beneath the covers of their fort and talk about anything and everything. They normally did it when their parents were telling them what to do and how to do it. This had become their ritual.

"I will get everything ready," Yuna replied and turned from him. Junkook watched as she disappeared into the kitchen. He wondered where they will find all the blankets but he did not wait long.

Yuna reappeared from the kitchen holding two big blankets. He took them from her and placed them on the couch. "Are we going to use the chairs in -"

"We have to... I have to warn you that they are quite small." She interrupted and started removing the cushions from the other couch.

"I do not mind," Jungkook replied and went into the kitchen. It was a bit cramped and he almost knocked a few things off the counters. He let out a sigh. If only she would accept this chance and get out of this dump.

He looked at the small dining table, which only fitted two people, he pulled one of the chairs out. She was not kidding when she said they were small. They might not even fit. He shook his head and lifted the other chair over the table.

He returned with both chairs to the living room, Yuna had already placed the cushions on the ground and smiled up at him when he stopped. "It will be a tight fit."

"Yes, but we will manage," he replied and placed the two chairs at the ends. This was his idea and he was going to follow through with it.

Yuna got up and took one of the blankets. She unfolded it and handed him the other end. They draped it over the chairs. The entrance was small and they smiled at their handy work. "After you, sis."

Yuna crawled into their makeshift tent. Her head bumped lightly at the blanket roof. "It is rather small. I do not think you are going to fit."

"We will make it work," Jungkook replied and crawled it. She was right of course, it was going to be a tight fit. He adjusted and laid down on the cushions. "Now tell me... How are you doing?"

Yuna averted her gaze to the entrance. This was a safe space and she could let out all of her fears and doubts. She licked her lips. "I was doing fine until they showed up."

Jungkook nodded, he stretched and his feet stuck out from the entrance. "You can not let them control you."

"I am trying my best-"

"Yuna... You were frightened as a newborn pup. They still have that effect on you," He interrupted.

Yuna bit her lip nervously. He was right. She had turned into the sixteen-year-old, living with her parents again. She knew that Jungkook meant well by telling her off like that. Their parents caught her off-guard and she just crumbled in fear.

"Kookie, they still do but I promise that I am trying my hardest to stand up for myself," she replied and turned her gaze to him. "I am going to get over this."

He smiled softly at her. An idea was knawing at the back of his mind. This was the perfect opportunity to make her go to that audition. He would just have to play his cards right. He cleared his throat. "Prove it."

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"Go to that audition."

"Kookie, I said no," she replied in a low voice.

"How are you going to prove that you can stand up to mom and dad?"

Yuna opened her mouth but closed it again. She took in his words. After a few seconds, she replied. "How is going to this audition going to help me anyway?"

"You always wanted to be an actress. Mom and dad told you to study for a teacher. If you do this, you will live out your passion, and show mom and dad that they cannot control your life anymore."

"You think it will work?" she asked and folded her arms.

"I think it will. You just have to believe in yourself."

A sigh escaped her lips. "I still think Seokjin is a jerk."

"You still like him, don't you?"

Yuna pursed her lips. Did she still like him? She couldn't answer that question. "Fine, I will give him a chance and go to this audition."

"Excellent! I will take you to the audition," Jungkook replied with a big grin on his face.

"How are we going to go without them knowing?" Yuna asked and indicated with her head to her bedroom.

"Leave it to me, sis. Let us get some shut-eye."

Yuna laid on the cushions beside Jungkook. She brought an extra blanket for them. She closed her eyes but sleep did not come. Everything that had happened was playing like a movie in her head and she did not know how to stop it.

Jungkook had fallen asleep immediately. She could hear him snoring, which ultimately lulled her to sleep.