2009, AUGUST 17th.

"You lied." His father stopped eating when he heard Jimin's voice. Dinner started quietly, but now it is replaced by even more deafening silence.

It's about a month before Jimin's ninth birthday, and it was a rainy day when he finally decided to confront his father. He has been carrying it for a long time now, it's getting too much to handle, to the point he couldn't get himself to eat or sleep properly at such young age. It really bothers him. All he just want is the truth.

Is it too much to ask?

"It's bad to lie." Jimin reminds his father what he has taught him before.

His father chortled as he thinks it was about the dinner he cooked. He promised to cook fried chicken two days ago, but just like yesterday, he didn't have the time to go to the supermarket because he was busy at the police station. Also, he keeps on forgetting to tell his sister who babysits Jimin after school. His son must have gotten tired of him breaking his promise for the second time this week. He was only able to grill the leftover beef he found from the freezer this evening.

"I'm sorry, but at least I cooked your second favorite~." His father sing-songs as he lifts his fork with a piece of cooked meat, waving it to his son's sight. He then moves the fork towards his son's mouth as he opens his own, thinking his son would copy his action.

But Jimin only shakes his head.

His father chuckled. He finds his son cute.

(He's actually kind of happy that Jimin is being transparent right now, because the child always keeps his worries from him which is alarming.)

"How about this..." His father put down the fork on his own plate. He then leans forward and intertwined his fingers on the edge of the table. "After my shift tomorrow, I'll pick you up from your Aunt Park's house, and then we will go to your favorite chicken house. Sounds good?" He wiggles his brows with an inviting smile on his face, eagerly waiting for his son to answer. On a normal day, Jimin would instantly give in and smile with him.

But he didn't.

"I am cursed child, aren't I?"

His father stilled. The question immediately wiped his smile away.

"You lied. Everyone is still talking about it, how it was my fault that mother is gone." Tears shimmered in Jimin's eyes. He avoids looking at his father and kept his eyes on his plate. He just kept talking. "N-no one wants to befriend with me. I kept hearing them talking that she died in my place." It hurts him every time they gossip about him based on what they've heard from his grandmother at his mother's funeral.

"Jimin," His father sighs, "We have talked about this –"

"She still appears in my dream!" His father is surprised when Jimin raised his voice. He never did that. Jimin clenched his fists under the table just above his lap. Their eyes finally met and tears rolled down Jimin's soft, reddened cheeks. "The image of her inside that taxi still haunts me almost every night, as if she's reminding me of what happened."

Jimin's words silenced the elder. "If it wasn't my fault, then why is that?" His question turned into a broken whisper.

There was another pregnant silence in the house. His father couldn't reply. The soft pit-patter of the raindrops and noises of moving cars outside are the only sounds that could be heard.

Jimin knew it. His grandmother was right all along. He is indeed a cursed child. He put death upon his mother. His poor, good mother. She didn't deserve any of it.

Jimin watched his father push his plate aside and placed his elbows on the table. His father buries his head against his palms, taking a deep breath. They stay quiet for another minute. Too quiet Jimin could hear his own heartbeats. Jimin has no idea about what his father was thinking at that time.

Then his father combed his hair back, a frown is written all over his face.

"It was just a coincidence." His father then lamented, "It's just that your dear mother happened to be there, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Her death wasn't a destiny and you're definitely not a cursed child." His father told him again. "It was just a coincidence."

Jimin would have believed his words right away.

If only his father wasn't talking like he is trying to convince himself about it.

It was before they sleep when Jimin finally realized that he could never force his father to tell him the truth. His father was washing the dishes when Jimin softly tugged the hem of the latter's shirt. Unable to meet his father's eyes for a moment, the young boy faced down and pinned his gaze on the tiled floor, even after his father turned around to face him.

Truth to be told, he's embarrassed.

He's embarrassed because how could he get angry at his father when it's not his fault? What if his father doesn't really know about the curse?

There's always bad that happens whenever he gets emotional.

Jimin plays with his own fingers as he gathered up his courage. "I'm sorry, father." The young boy mumbled, "I'm sorry for raising my voice earlier."

Jimin became more nervous when his father remained silent. He must have really disappointed him. All Jimin has right now is his father and Aunt Park, and now his father is going to hate him too, what will happen to him now?

But then Jimin heard his father take his rubber gloves off, placing them on the counter. His father kneeled down so he could see Jimin's face. "Can you look at me, son?" Jimin found his father's voice very comforting. After hearing his voice, Jimin raised his head and he instantly sees his father looking at him fondly. Relief washes over Jimin.

"I'm not angry at you."

His father's smile gave him warmth. Then his father lifted a hand to caress his ample cheek.

"Let's just think about happy thoughts from now on."

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"Did you know that your mother didn't grow up here?"

"Really?" Jimin tilted his head, filled with wonder. Jimin sat on the dining table behind his father's back as his father continued to wash the dishes on the kitchen sink. His legs swing back and forth, his feet could barely reach the ground. "How did you meet her?"

"We were teenagers and she was from Seoul. She went here for vacation and to meet her father's relatives." Jimin could tell that his father is smiling just by listening to his voice. "Your mother has always been an adventurous girl, and I was a type of a guy who will seek a peaceful place to read my books, which led us to meet in a field of dandelions. The sky was shining above us brightly. Colorful, small butterflies were everywhere. It was like magic. It was a beautiful day."

"I wish to go there to father."

His father turns his head, and looks at him with a little grin on his face. "Soon, we'll go there on my day off, okay?"

"Okay!"

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"You'll know it when you're ready."

He dreamt about his mother again. Thankfully this time it didn't relive the accident. But it does seem like she was reminding him that he still has something to solve.

It has been a couple of years past, he's already nine years old, yet he still doesn't know what he needs to know.

Either that, or he's unaware that he already discovered it.

Maybe it's about his curse that his distant grandmother had cried about, or the real reason behind his mother's death aside from the accident, if those two are not the same thing. No one would tell him anything about it, neither his father nor his Aunt Park, hence he decided that he has to work on it by himself.

Jimin trained himself not to be forgetful about everything that happens in his life, even at such young age, so that he could not miss any clue about his curse and his mother's death. If only anyone can tell him, then it would be a lot easier. He wishes everyone to stop treating him as a kid, even though he really was, but he really just wants them to stop treating him like someone who can't comprehend the truth. He knew they are doing this to protect his innocence, but he still couldn't help but wish.

He wishes they would protect him less, so he could protect them more.

Little did Jimin know that someday he would meet someone who he'd protect with his life.