Work Text:
It was midnight when Jungkook got back from his cram school.
Exhausted.
Hungry.
Overshadowed with mountains of homework and revision and it was only coming to the end of the first term.
College was the be all and end all for his father and Jungkook felt the very imminent pressure that would come when his father saw him not doing work. After all, Jungkook had exams at the end of the year. He had Universities to apply for and potential employers to win over. Businesses to become a part of and placements to get interviewed for. Jungkook’s father had big dreams for him indeed.
Midnight. And Jungkook hadn’t even made a dent in his workload.
Walking through the door, he took his shoes off, set the coffee machine going and boiled the kettle before unpacking his school bag on the desk of his room and organising his books and papers into piles of subjects that he needed tomorrow as well as homework that he just had to get done tonight.
His coffee was only there as a stimulant at this point and the ramyeon he had made was only to ease the stomach cramps that would inevitably distract him from his studying. He flicked on the powerful desk lamp as well as the fairy lights hung up on the wall behind his desk ready for at least two hours of homework.
Jungkook took out his planner and crossed off all the homework he had completed at the cram centre - only two assignment essays - and looked helplessly at the growing list. Wolfing down his ramen, he set about organising the most urgent homework due for the next day (three pieces) and began.
As long as he started everything would be okay.
As long as he started he could find the willpower somewhere to finish it in one sitting.
As long as he got these things done everything would be easier.
“Jungkook?” he heard his mother call. And then Jungkook noticed the small clock on his desk - 2:35 am.
“Kookie? It’s late why are you still up sweetheart?” She asked when she saw the soft lights on in his room.
“Just finishing some homework.” he sighed looking at the abomination of his desk.
“But it’s almost three.” she frowned.
Jungkook looked at his list of work, “I’m almost done.”
“You’re never done. Don’t lie.”
He sighed again and rested his forehead on his desk, “It never ends eomma.”
She took one look at his pile of work and then at her exhausted son, “Just leave it for today you need to leave school in like four hours and that’s not healthy. If it were up to me I’d call you in sick but-”
“-but I get my test paper back tomorrow and I just did the homework that is due and I want to hand it in and never see it again. I hate business essays and maths and they can all just die.”
His mother chuckled and hugged him, “Come on Sweetpea. Bedtime. And don’t even think about getting up again. I’ll know if you do.”
Sighing and rubbing his tired eyes seemed to be all Jungkook could do that whole night or more accurately all he has been doing since he started revising for his now finished (thank the lord) high school exams last June. In fact, he had probably been sighing and rubbing his eyes in frustration ever since he came out of the womb. That’s what it felt like at least.
He slipped into something more comfortable and practically passed out in bed only to wake up the next day (well, later on that day) feeling like a corpse.
Jungkook looked at the desk and the piled up work and sighed yet again. The bags under his eyes were relentless after years of a schedule like this so he didn’t waste time trying to hide them with a bit of concealer. His spots were playing up again and his skin was a little red in areas. He washed his face and brushed his teeth before cleaning his hair over the sink. There simply wasn’t time for a shower and he knew he wouldn’t have the mental ability to stay awake under the warm jets of water anyway. Packing his bag and checking it twice for all his things, he left his room and grabbed something to eat as well as his lunch that his mother had kindly made him.
“I hope you did well sweetpea,” She said before he left.
“I do too,” he said quietly and kissed his mother goodbye before leaving the house and studying his notes on the way to school.
***
It did not go well.
It was safe to say that Jungkook left his business class almost in tears about to have a mental breakdown and on the verge of just running into traffic.
D-
After all the hours of revision. After all the work. After all the sleepless nights doing homework. After everything… all he had to show for it was a D-.
He felt like he could cry.
And to make everything worse, the student next to him got her A grade and looked over at him with a sympathetic smile as if to say ‘there’s always next time’.
This day had just been a shit show.
He fell asleep in class and had to go through the embarrassing act of the class monitor shaking his shoulder as he went through the class just so that he would stop sleeping and listen to his calculus teacher.
The homework that he had spent over an hour on at fuck o’clock in the morning was not in fact due that day but rather tomorrow.
He opened his lunch box to have his rice and kimchi spill out. Oh, and he misplaced his chopsticks so he couldn’t even eat what was left.
He went to his cram centre and decided that fuck it, he was hungry. So fucking hungry. He ate his lunch with his fingers and then happened to stain his revision notes.
His left headphone broke and pissed him off to the point where he just had to take his headphones out altogether.
Jungkook didn’t even get back home until one in the morning.
The unpreventable breakdown happened when his mother followed him into his room after he tripped over a chair in the dark and then ran to flop on his bed, his school work abandoned.
Understandably, the shit day was enough to completely wreck Jungkook. He practically ripped off his clothes and threw on the nearest comfy shirt before hiding under his cover and waiting for the tears to start.
“Sweetpea what happened?” His mother pulled back the covers, revealing his head and began running her fingers through his hair.
Once he started he couldn’t stop. It was utter word vomit and some way down the recount of his awful day he had started sobbing and spluttering over his choked up tears.
“I’m s-so do-done!” he cried, “I-I’m n-not g-good at busin-ness st-stuff and I d-don’t want t-to d-do it anym-more.”
“Shhh, it’s okay sweetheart.” His mother kissed his forehead and wiped away his tears; by this point, he was curled up in her arms. “Get some sleep honey. Turn off your alarm. You’re not going into school tomorrow and that’s final. You need rest and a good three meals.”
But Jungkook was already out.
***
“I’m dropping out of college.”
His father went silent and then laughed, “Of course you’re not,” he laughed again,” you’ve got uni to go to yet and a decent job to get. What else are you going to do? Become a bin man?”
“Well at least then I could work decent hours,” Jungkook said quietly.
His father looked at him in confusion, “You’re joking, right? Honey, he’s joking right?”
“I’m dropping out.”
“And just what the hell do you think you’ll be able to do? Nobody wants to employ a college drop out. The education system is a game that you need to play and win if you want a decent job in this world. You can’t just drop out. We can’t support you for the rest of your life. You’d be better as a businessman. Making investments will always be important.”
“I’m not happy. I’m tired. I want to do something I enjoy even if it doesn’t pay well and it takes me ages to get there.” Jungkook explained.
“And what? You’re starting place is a bin man? Why don’t you just jump up the ladder to executive bin man see if you can support yourself then! You’re unbelievable Jungkook. I can’t believe this.”
“Well no, I’m going to find a good job. Something simple like a cashier or a waiter or something and for the record bin men actually get a decent pay and you can’t just write them off because it’s not something that you respect.”
His father bit back a scoff, “So what are you going to do?”
“Look for a job and see about doing a course I actually enjoy, like photography.”
His father sighed and pinched his nose, “You’re unbelievable but you’re your mother’s son so I don’t expect anything less.” He groaned fondly.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” She came over with a slipper in hand ready to smack him.
“It means that I love you dear and that I’m going to have to get used to a portfolio of photographed flowers or something.” He turned to his son, “You know I just want the best for you, right?”
“I know,” Jungkook smiled tearfully and hugged his parents.
“We’ll be here supporting you for as long as you need, Jungkook.” His mother said.
“I’m going to make you both proud but I’m going to do it my way doing something that I enjoy.”
“I don’t doubt you, sweetpea.”