Dichotomy

Dichotomy

Author: @kpopfanfictrash , as part of the Bound series with @underthejoon 

Creative Content Contributor: @m00nk1ld FOR THIS FREAKING AMAZING MOODBOARD. I actually yelled out loud, the first time I laid eyes. 

Rating: 18 + (explicit sex, road head, denied orgasm, dirty talk, hate sex) 

Word Count: 14,566

Summary:  You hate him. He hates you. It’s a fine line though, isn’t it  – between love and hate? (Arranged Marriage!AU)

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officially yours | jjk

↳ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬; you're his and he is yours on the paper – but what is the reality?

⇢ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: jungkook x reader

⇢ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fluff, smut, arranged marriage au, friends to lovers

⇢ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: explicit language, oral sex (f.), unprotected sex

⇢ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 4k+

a/n: commissioned 

The tall modern building is not usually a place you hang around. In fact, you could count on your fingers how many times you've been here. The modern and clean interior never fails to amaze you, but that can be expected from such a prestigious company. It looks like the ones people get to see in movies – it definitely feels different to be inside and see it with your own eyes.

Now you're not a complete stranger to wealth and fortune, but you see it from a completely different side than people would've expected. You weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Even if it's a common assumption people have about you. 

“Welcome, Mrs. Jeon.”

The young receptionist welcomes you as soon as she spots you in a crowd full of working employees. Sometimes you wonder if you stick out so much, or they just know your face so much that they've got no problem recognizing you. Which is odd because you don't hang around in this circle of people very often. 

Mrs. Jeon. 

Even after a year, you feel a mixture of butterflies and oddness when hearing people addressing you like this. At the beginning, it took you quite a long time to get used to this. To hold such a powerful surname. Though, you felt proudness even though you're not sure if you had the right to feel it in the first place. 

Just a reminder that none of this is real.

Do you even deserve to be addressed by this surname that is technically yours only on papers? Morally, you're not so sure. 

A polite greeting makes it past your lips, trying not to squirm at the prying eyes of other people passing by. You're not exactly formally dressed, like every employee is. But you're not an employee. 

“Is my husband in his office?” you ask.

Again. After a year of marriage, you feel like you're letting a lie out of your mouth at addressing someone as your husband. 

The woman remains unbothered and completely clueless to your inner thoughts though. You haven't been doing this for a week, a year is a long time for you to improve your acting skills. 

“Yes, he just finished a meeting ten minutes ago. He's waiting for you.”

Giving her a simple nod and a soft 'thank you', you make your way to the elevators and click on the number of his floor where his office is located. 

It reminds you of the first time you settled on a deal that changed your lives. You've known Jungkook, though you never actually became close friends. There weren't actually many opportunities for you to get to know him better, the only heir to his parents company was too busy getting prepared for the new role and position as a CEO of Jeon industries. Funnily enough, two people with completely different backgrounds, you had some mutual friends where you actually met him.

You clicked, even from the few and very casual conversations you had. He wasn't the overly confident and cocky heir somebody would peg him for. He was grounded (in a way), polite and extremely charming. Though his parents were never strict about who he hangs out with or what he likes to do in his free time, one of the things they would pester him about was the need for him to settle down. It was the only pressure Jungkook always found in his parents.

It's not like he didn't have a choice to decide about his future – at that time the young twenty year old man wanted nothing more than to continue his family business. It's actually something he loves to do. He wasn't forced into it.

But with years passing by, Jungkook's parents would grow impatient and rather concerned about their son's lack of commitment. Random women taking their turns in his bed wasn't his strongest part. 

Naturally, they would start introducing him to their partners' daughters. And despite Jungkook's wildlife and freedom he had, they were nothing like him. Not that he's the romantic type who believes in soulmates and all that stuff, he wouldn't want to marry someone for money or any possible benefits for the company. The company was doing very well on itself and he didn't need to do any arranged marriage. 

He loves his parents to the bone. He is grateful for everything they've done for him – even more how they raised him and never were controlling. Not like his peers experienced in similar situations. 

Jungkook knows many people his age and in a same situation. It was bound for him to meet them, considering how many parties and social gatherings he had to attend, especially after being introduced as the new CEO. That's when he realized, after hearing his peers' struggles, how lucky and fortunate he is. 

So when his parents wouldn't let go of the topic of commitment and marriage, it was like a huge slap to his face. No matter what he would do or say, it wouldn't change their minds and eventually, Jungkook found himself stuck.

And that's when you came into the picture. 

The first time you heard his plan, you called him insane. You laughed into his face and told him you don't need anything he's offering you. Though Jungkook assured you he doesn't think of you as someone who needs or wants his money, he was more than willing to help you financially. He told you he would take care of you – something you found offending at first. 

Why would you need a man to take care of you? 

You are completely capable of taking care of yourself. You don't need any Jeon Jungkook to bathe you in wealth and luxury. 

But just like Jungkook – you're a loving daughter who would do anything for her parents. Well, unlike Jungkook, you weren't lucky enough to be growing up with two loving parents. 

The money Jungkook offered you by simply saying 'yes' would take care of any family member. Jungkook was no stranger, he still isn't. And after weighing the pros and cons for many sleepless nights, you found yourself nodding to his insane plan. 

Nobody could know. Rule number one.

The marriage would last for one year. It's the reason why you agreed to it in the first place. You wouldn't be bound to a man based on an arranged marriage for the rest of your life. You want your own family, kids, to fall in love. And a year didn't seem like a long time.

Jungkook made sure it didn't.

Whenever he would have free time, he would take you to places you would never dream about seeing. Countless vacations, trips and activities you would never be able to experience if it wasn't for him. And for that you will be grateful for the rest of your life.

To not make anyone suspicious, you agreed not to mess around with other people. Though, this particular deal wasn't settled at the beginning. It happened naturally. You couldn't risk being seen with other people, no matter how much you would try to hide it.

You will be watched, it was one of the things Jungkook was preparing you for.

And to be honest, you didn't want to go behind Jungkook's back, no matter how fake this marriage was. It's just a year, you will be fine. 

But having to share a bedroom, and two young people who find each other attractive, it didn't take long for you to succumb yourselves to your desires. There was nothing wrong about sleeping together, you were practically married.

You've found yourselves in a healthy and good relationship where two people became close friends. Even if the marriage is fake. The sex is mindblowing, so none of you actually miss the thrill of hooking up with anyone else. For the first time, Jungkook is committed, even though it's not exactly the way his parents think it is. 

And there he is. 

After politely knocking on the door and hearing his voice to invite you in, you open the door and find him sitting behind his desk. He looks fine as always, a few buttons unbuttoned to show how comfortable he allows himself to feel after a two hours long meeting. His suit is draped over the chair while he's slouched on the chair with a pen twirling between his long fingers.

“No lunch this time?” he asks, tilting his brow at you when he sees your empty hands.

You crack a smile, making your way to his desk while you sit on the small white leather couches. “Sorry, came straight from work.”

“It's fine,” he chuckles, “I'm only joking. How's the new employee?”

One of your dreams was to open your business. Jungkook helped you every step of the way, supported you in more ways than financially, while he helped to make your final decision. You've decided to own a clothing brand where you connected with amazing designers who helped to make your dream come true. Two years ago, you didn't even know it was something you'd like to do. 

Opening your e-shop has been absolutely amazing, making sure any body type is able to find their size. It's actually very rare in Korea to do that and you love to bring something new to the table. Jungkook liked the idea. You invested everything from your previous job to this project of yours. Living with Jungkook and not having to worry about any bills allowed you to freely focus and invest in your business. Sure, Jungkook must've helped but he was more than happy to do so. 

With your help, he got his parents off his back. 

After a year, he would tell them you decided to break it off. He's sure they won't pressure him into any other relationship or marriage after the divorce. If they do, he will handle it in a different way.

“He's great,” you smile, “Actually does the job this time, compared to the last one.” 

Jungkook laughs a little, knowing how tense you've been about this one particular employee who wasn't doing his job. Jungkook encouraged you to take care of it, and showed you you have to think about your business more than people's hearts. Especially to someone who's getting paid and not doing their job. 

Jungkook has been your guide from day one. A huge help.

“Great,” he nods, twirling the pen a few times before he tosses it on his desk. “I'm getting off work earlier today, should be home at six. Is that alright?” 

He sounds so gentle, the way he says home makes your heart squeeze.

“Yeah, sure.” you tell him. 

You've made plans for tonight, have been preparing yourself to talk to him about your deal. It's been a year and three months after your marriage, yet it's not ending and he has never brought this topic up.

“I'm meeting Jungseok in an hour, then I'm going home to prepare dinner for us.” you inform him, completely missing the way Jungkook's face drops at the mention of your close friend.

You've met him during your marriage, though there were no boundaries crossed, the man seemed to show an awful interest in a married woman. The worst thing about it is that he can't really say anything about it because technically, you're not really his. He knows you're not having anything serious with the mentioned man, though he's aware of your deal.

And he doesn't like any of it. 

“Oh, I didn't know.” he tries to say lightly, hating how tight his throat suddenly feels. 

“Ah, he texted me this morning. We haven't seen each other for a while now, we usually just text.” 

Oh, like that's not enough.

The amount of times the man decided to suddenly text you is hilarious. Fuck, he would even call when Jungkook was balls deep inside you and he actually feared you will pick up the call, instead of finishing what you had going on. Luckily, that never happened but it pissed Jungkook to the core. 

“Mhm,” he hums, scratching his chin. “Well, I've got one last meeting but that shouldn't take long.”

You both talk for a moment, catching up with each other's day before you discuss the dinner plans. Jungkook sees you're a little on edge these days and though he thinks he knows why, there's this unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

In the middle of your giggling, you're interrupted by a gentle knock from Jungkook's assistant, informing him of his meeting. 

However, he doesn't go to the meeting board room like he usually does, he actually invites the person to his office. And when that person is someone you've grown to know, someone very well-known in the CEO community, you do everything in your power to be polite and welcoming. 

She's special partner, even you can see that and you know zero fuck about Jungkook's business. He treats her differently.

He welcomes her with a warm smile and of course, you're forced to bid goodbye to your husband as you part your ways. The kiss you and Jungkook share feels great, especially with her eyes on you two.

And you know you're petty.

But it seems to be the least of your worries because tonight, you might end everything you and Jungkook settled on. But it's only fair because in the end – that was the deal. 

You should've known it would end up like this. 

But how could you? 

Could you have really known? 

The dinner was delicious. Just the two of you like every other evening. Talking, laughing, smiling…

Until you brought up your fake marriage. 

“It's because of him, isn't it?” Jungkook chuckles bitterly, throwing a tantrum like a little kid while you gape at him completely stunned.

Out of all responses, you never expected him to get so… upset over something he came up with. 

“What?” You find your voice, breathing out confusingly. “This has nothing to do with him.”

“Oh, please.” he scoffs, turning away from you to grip the kitchen's counter. “You always text, you even meet him during your lunch breaks.”

All of that is true. Well, you don't always text with him. And you want to point that out, but something stops you and justifying your relationship with Jungkook seems like a bigger priority.

“Jungkook, this marriage is fake.” you inform him as if he didn't know. 

You're confused. 

His shoulders tense, knuckles whiten from how tightly he's gripping the expensive marble counter. 

“All of it has been fake then?” he asks, still not facing you which starts to worry you for some reason. 

You haven't seen Jungkook acting like this. Upset, maybe a little. Not in the mood? Rarely but it happened. But this time you're actually left totally confused. 

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Y/N,” he chuckles, shaking his head slightly as he slowly turns around. 

You're met with a pained expression, a single look at his face causing you to feel a sting in your heart.

“I know we started this as an arrangement, a convenience for both of us… but is that all it's been for you all this time?” he asks, slowly stepping closer to your distraught form. 

“Jungkook.”

“No,” he says, “Answer me.”

And then he stands right in front of you, his entire figure hovering over you as if you were the littlest thing in the room. Like you're this little lost girl – not the confident woman you've grown to be. 

“Do you want this divorce?”

Do you want it? 

What is he even asking?

“That was the deal.” you remind him silently as he presses his lips tightly. 

He doesn't look pleased with your response but you can't bring yourself to say something more. 

“So, what? We get divorce and then you're going to him?”

“Why do you keep bringing him into this?” you ask, brows scrunching as Jungkook clenches his jaw. “Are you jealous?”

“If I was?”

That shuts you up for a minute, eyes widening. Jungkook never really had a reason to be jealous, not that you were together in reality. But you had each other – none of you messed around with other people.

“There's nothing going on between me and him. Never will.” you whisper, gasping when Jungkook suddenly cups one side of your face with his big palm. 

He presses his forehead against yours, breathing slowly and calmly as if his heart wasn't about to explode.

“Give me a chance.”

“A chance?” you whisper.

“Yes,” he says, “To prove to you that this could work.”

“Jungkook–”

“I love you Y/N, don't you get it?” he suddenly exclaims, pushing himself off you while he rubs his forehead in frustration. 

“But–”

“But what? I can't?”

Even being frustrated, he looks handsome as ever. His hair is getting too long, almost always falling to his eyes and hiding the beautiful color in them. 

“I didn't say that.”

That makes him whine. He actually whines – like all the times he has done it when he was frustrated. You would always giggle, finding him adorable for acting like a little kid when he's a whole grown-ass man, a successful and well-known CEO at that. It's one of the things you appreciate about him. 

Looking at him, you realize the three words he confessed to you in the midst of his frustration. It starts to kick in and your eyes widen again.

You might look fine, maybe a little shaken up but fine, but this isn't any easier for you. You've been thinking about every single word you would say, replaying different scenarios every free second you had. You don't know what the afterlife is after Jungkook. In all honesty, you aren't keen to find out. But you had to do this. 

To protect yourself and your heart.

You could go on and on with this for who knows how long. You like Jungkook's company and hearing him confessing his true feelings to you, which is still a bit shocking to you, you might actually feel the same. You've been so in denial, for the longest time actually.

“Do you really love me?” You find yourself asking. 

Jungkook's cheeks redden and he does the typical Jungkook thing when he is nervous. He scratches his ear and avoids your gaze. 

“Isn't that what I said?” he mutters.

You turn your back to him, tracing your shaking fingers over your lips. 

“Talk to me please.” he suddenly whines after a minute of silence. 

Just as you're about to turn around, your back is pressed against Jungkook's chest as you gasp. Jungkook wraps you in a back hug, lips touching the top of your head. 

“I don't want to lose you.” he confesses shyly. The frustrated and upset Jungkook is long gone.

Your heart melts, moving your body into action as you turn around. For a second, Jungkook looks scared you're trying to pry his hands off you to get away from him. But in reality you offer him the sweetest smile. Your hands find his ones as you grip them tight. 

“I… I don't want divorce.” you confess. 

“But you brought it up.”

“Simply because that was our deal. I was scared you're gonna bring it up and it's going to be too late for me. I didn't know what I felt… but hearing you–I love you too.”

Jungkook gasps, searching your face frantically as if you just pulled the biggest prank on him. 

“You do?” 

“Yes. I don't want anyone else, Jungkook.” you admit.

And then his face breaks into the biggest smile, your own soon cupped by his large hands as he gives you a big kiss. You kiss him back, squeezing his wrists because you need to feel him. You need to know he's not going anywhere. He's right where he is supposed to be. 

And so are you. 

“Yes, right there!” 

The sound of crashing waves from the outside is a white noise, no longer properly acknowledged as you barely recognize your own voice and the desperation behind it.

“Jungkook, please, just fuck me.” you whine, raising your hips off the mattress to meet his hungry mouth.

He lifts his head up from between your thighs, lips completely glistening and wet as he frowns. “But I wanna eat you out first.” he whines this time and while your heart does the weird jump it always does when it comes to him, you find yourself smiling his way. 

“There is enough time for that. Please. I need to feel you.” you plead with him.

He's thinking about it. You see the uncertainty on his face and while he loves to go down on you, he can't disobey his wife who's pleading so nicely for him.

Your body aches from your previous activities. You had eight hours (precisely) to recover when you fell asleep in the arms of the man you love. Your husband. It still gives you the same ticklish feeling in your chest and the pit of your stomach but this time, it's actually true. It's not official on the papers but in your heart too. Ah, god… it sounds so cheesy but all you want to do is to giggle like a teenage girl about how much in love you are with this man.

He stares at you with those doe eyes, still wearing the ponytail he made to wear while working out. But you messed up his plans. Flattered those pretty eyelashes at him and the most angelic smile, sheets sliding off your naked and marked body.

Oh, how many times Jungkook made love to you because you felt insecure. He never knew you feel that way about yourself – about the body he loves and wouldn't change for anything. Because it's you. 

You love this man so much that you have to show him. Now it's your turn.

You get on top of him, just how he loves and enjoys having you. Letting him enter you for what seems like the hundredth time over these past seven days, you both moan in pleasure. He holds you close to him, letting you take the charge as he occasionally thrusts his hips into you. The pleasure increases with each minute and you grow weaker for this man.

Bodies becoming one, the sweet “I love you's” are exchanged in breathless moans.

“I love you so much,” Jungkook moans into your ear, your walls tightening around him. “My sweet love. My angel.” 

This is your second anniversary. Technically your first one where you truly celebrate your marriage, making love all day long. And after so many nights of keeping thing adventurous and fun, letting Jungkook to fuck you into the mattress and everywhere in the vila he rented for this special occasion, making love just feels right. 

You both come together in a record time.

Jungkook fills you up like many times before, the sensation making your legs buckle. You calm down in one another's hold, Jungkook's strong arms around you as he peppers kisses all over the side of your face. 

“I was thinking.” Jungkook starts.

“Oh.”

“Hey!” he laughs, shifting on his spot as you finally lay down next to him, ear pressed against his chest where you hear his heartbeat. “How about we start a family?”

“What?” you gasp, lifting your head immediately to look at him as he gives you a shy grin. 

“I know we're together for one year, officially, but I've been thinking about our future and–”

You shut him up with a kiss to his surprised lips while he melts, relaxing under your touch. 

“Yes.”

“Yes?” he squeals, “Just like that? Yes? I didn't even tell you the speech I prepared.” 

You giggle, “You can tell me later.” you assure him as he chuckles.

“So? Are we gonna do it? Us? Parents?”

You giggle how out of his element he seems to be. It makes you love him even more as you caress his chest before you stare deeply into his soft brown eyes. You brush a few of his hair off his face and send him another angelic smile. 

“I can't wait to have your baby, Mr. Jeon.”

Jungkook laughs, throwing his head back before he looks at you all lovingly, cupping your cheek. 

“I was afraid you would never say it, Mrs. Jeon.”

Love & Crosses | kth

» 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: ceo!taehyung x ceo!reader

» 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒: You and Taehyung have been friends for as long as you could remember, with both your families being directly involved in business together, and being closer than family, you’ve been surrounded by him almost always. Over the course of 26 years, many boundaries between the two of you had been erased, you couldn’t tell if he was hiding something from you, or if you were hiding something from him. But things could only complicate themselves more when both your families form an alliance between the two of you—an arranged marriage.

» 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄: childhood friends to lovers, arranged marriage, fluff, angst, smut

» 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐏𝐀𝐃

➵ chapter I

➵ chapter II

Lost Cause- Jungkook

Summary: Jungkook comes back to you after his 10 day trip to Busan, and you sense something different about him. 

Word count: 5.1k, cheating au

Warning: cheating, mentions of sex and hand jobs, pregnancy, past trauma, panic attacks, lots of crying, and regret. ANGST.

Notes: this has been in my drafts since November 2021 and is a form of catharsis for my past trauma. Cheating on someone is wrong no matter what reason or person. This is just my opinion on how I would react now since giving another chance is kinda traumatic for me. No offense to people who try again, but it's just my opinion. I apologize if I hurt someone's sentiments through my words. Thank you for reading though hehe~ ily

Today's a special day, Jeon Jungkook, the love of your life was back from his 10-day trip to Busan, courtesy of the company he worked his ass off for. Also, you had an announcement to make. You were pregnant, finally pregnant. After so many tries. You got so happy when the results came but since Jungkook was on a trip, you decided to keep it a secret until he comes back.

Anxiety, excitement, happiness, and maybe fear. What if he does not want the baby right now, with the workload and extra hours? These emotions are giving you a feeling that you are not able to place in your head quite clearly, but as soon as the sound of keys rattling reaches your ears, a smile appears on your face and joy wins the race against every other feeling.

You run towards the gate and hide against the wall that was beside the door giving you a spot big enough to put up your wedding picture frame. As soon as the door opens you jump and whisper a 'boo', which was meant to be adorable but made him gasp and drop his luggage on the floor.

You pick up the phone that he dropped and chuckle, hugging him, you whisper in his ears, "I missed you, baby."

When he doesn't hug you back your body tenses a little bit but before you can pull back he pulls you towards him and buries his head in your neck inhaling your scent. "I missed you too." You listen to him repeat the statement like a mantra, leaning back a little you look into his eyes...

Was he crying?

Noticing his tense behavior, you kiss him, trying to reassure him of your presence. Inhaling his natural scent which was also mixed with a few cigarettes. You frown in the kiss when you realize something is off because of the way he just kept his lips frozen.

Also, the cigarettes were his symptom of stress but you don't pay too much attention to the smoky feeling and kiss him trying to make him relax. The way he was holding you tightly but also with hesitation, 3 years of a relationship along with 2 years of experience in marriage has taught you both to read each other's body language making you a bit worried.

You step back to look at him properly and see that he had dark circles under his eyes, hair disheveled as if been run through by his hand many times. He does it again, proving your theory.

He is not making eye contact.

The single drop of tear dropping on his chin tells you something is wrong, his chest heaving as if trying to contain and also let out something. You realize he hasn't even looked at you once.

"Kook?" Hearing your hushed tone, he opens his eyes to look at your face for a second and then look away.

"Are you okay? Is everything okay? Did something happen, baby?" Your questions in a whisper-like voice made him tear up and say a distant 'yeah just missed you so much.' You look at his face that was now focusing on the picture you hung on the wall from your honeymoon trip, the hills in the background of the picture making you smile at the memory of your husband whining like a baby because of the cold.

The picture even has his nose red and all scrunched up while you were posing with a big smile on your face, your chin resting on his shoulder with your hands in his jacket's pocket while you hugged him from the back, fitting into each other like puzzle pieces.

You both look at the picture and almost zone out, then you notice the open door facing the hallways and a light chuckle leaves your mouth, saying sorry for not even letting him in and jumping on him. He shakes his gaze off the painting and rushes to close the door before he takes his shoes off and just tumbles across the entrance.

"You know I ordered a big pizza meal but then canceled it cause I suddenly changed my mind. It amazes me that I can change my mind in 35 seconds.." you scoff at how fast you felt nausea set in your stomach when you ordered the pizza.

Still nervous about how you're gonna tell him everything, you keep on blabbering. "But then I decided to cook some steak which I couldn't, cause I suddenly had a headache, so I decided that you can suggest something and we can order while you showe-- where are you going kook?"

You say in a confused tone when you see him opening the balcony door letting the cool air inside.

"Just need some air, Y/N"

Flinching at how he takes your full name, you realize it must've been your rambling that sent him off to the balcony for air. You feel sorry and walk towards the porch where he just stands and stares at the skyline from above, the sun still setting on the horizon painting the sky a pretty shade of purple mixed with a crimson red.

"I'm sorry if I annoyed you baby, just excited that you are back. You wanna shower first or eat something? You seem tired." He shakes his head at your question rocking your body a bit with his since you have yours attached to his back like a koala.

"Can I get some time alone...please?" You pull back with your eyebrows knitted together at his sudden request that makes you feel something in your stomach making you want to puke. "Um, okay. Take your time.." you step back into the lobby hesitantly when suddenly the puking sensation becomes too real and you run towards the bathroom with a hand clutched over your mouth.

Rushing into the bathroom you fall onto your knees in front of the pot, pouring out almost everything you had this morning. Jungkook comes running after you kneeling down immediately beside you, holding your hair back which you were not doing a good job at.

He rubs your back as you cough and try to breathe at the same time not being able to pay attention to his 'are you okays' or 'hey what happened' or 'it is okay, it's okay I am here.'

When you feel like you have nothing left in you, you sit up a little to flush the remnants of your indigested food into the sewer, falling back against the wall connected to the shower cabinet. Breathing heavily, you try to calm down when you notice a big pair of doe eyes looking at you in concern, he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear as you try getting up.

"I am sorry, you didn't have to help, seriously. You're tired, go take a shower then we can eat something okay?" You speak hoarsely and try to leave the tensed guy's embrace but he stops you, looking at you from top to bottom examining you like a doctor while you turn to use some mouth wash.

"I didn't have to help? You were literally wrenching your gut out, are you even okay?!" He asks you in a terrified voice turning you towards him after you spit out the mouthwash. You, not wanting him to tell him the baby details in front of a toilet pot, lie, hold his face in both of your hands telling him that it was stale fried rice that you had in lunch. Whispering an 'oh', he immediately takes a step away from you and asks you to be careful, adding a little 'please' at the end making your heart swell with love.

You both stand there silent while the tap water runs in the background. Yo Turning it off after some seconds, you break the silence by telling him that he can take shower while you can go order something in the meanwhile.

Walking towards the door, you ask, "Chicken?" he looks at you for a second and whispers a tiny 'yeah'. You smile and lean in to kiss his cheeks telling him not to take too long cause you have to talk about something. "Me too," he says in an almost inaudible voice, giving him a little nod, you walk back into the kitchen.

After a long 32-minute shower, according to your phone clock, he comes out in a black t-shirt and grey jogger combination.  You smile smelling his body wash from 2 feet away and immediately feel comfort seeping into you. hugging him you inhale his natural and soapy scent, running your hand in his damp hair.

"There's my perfect and not so travel-worn husband." You smile at him trying to make eye contact when he suddenly buries his nose in your neck, sniffling and tightening his arms around you, mumbling very inaudible apologies.

You try to pull back to talk to him but he doesn't let you, his body starts shaking as he starts to sob. Your heart picked up its pace as you've never seen him like this and you feel a clench in your heart as if something bad is about to happen.

"Jungkook, hey, what's the matter? Are you okay?" You pull back putting a lot of strength and see how his face is red and his tears are just flowing out. "Hey look at me.." you try to make him face you but he just shuts his eyes trying to face away from your worried ones.

He suddenly sits down on the chair with a thud, slipping from your hold. He clutches his head and keeps on coughing and crying. You try to calm him down with big wide eyes filling with tears as well.

You hear him say things like, 'I fucked up, I fucked up. I am so fucking sorry.' and your heart sinks somewhere you dread it from falling into. You kneel in front of him, taking his hand in yours, pressing short kisses on his tattooed fist.

After insisting a lot you finally make him face you but the expression on his face makes you doubt the curiosity in your heart because you have a very bad feeling about this.

Siting up on your knees coming face to face with him, both of you sniffling, his eyes and his nose all red, lips quivering.

"I love you Jungkook, okay? trust me, tell me what happened, please?" You say softly and the guilt and disgust he felt towards himself made him wanna vomit. How he wanted to just go back in time, to revert the fuck up he did, he ruined everything, everything he built, everything he had in this relationship. The love, the trust, he could see everything breaking including you and your heart.

Not being able to keep his eyes on you, he looks down at his lap and you have a feeling you're not gonna like his next words. Tightening his hold on your hands he said,

I cheated on you.

The silence between you two, after hearing the words come out of his mouth, was deafening. You can't even hear your heartbeats, did it stop? was this a dream? A nightmare if precisely termed, if yes you want out of it. You feel the air in your lungs escaping and a panic setting inside you.

"It happened just once, I am sorry. I don't know why I did it. I am really sorry. I don't know what to do.." he keeps going on and on but nothing reaches you.

There is this ringing in your ear that doesn't seem to stop and after a good 1 or 2 minutes of looking blankly at the body shaking and sobbing in front of you, you realize that you went blank. then the realization hit and you felt all alone in the room with silence, slow breathing, panic, and the "feeling of a life growing inside you". Questions. A lot of questions, came running at you with knives and swords piercing through your heart.

Why? Were you not enough? Did he fall out of love? What about the baby? Did you do something wrong? Did you gain weight? What about the baby? Were you boring?   Did you cross any limitations on his privacy? What about the baby? Should you have worn more makeup? Should you have gotten that surgery your aunt suggested? Will he leave you? Would you have to beg? Should you beg? What about the baby? Should you tell him? What if he leaves? What will happen to you and the baby?

The unfocused look in your eyes and the loosening grip of your hands made him jolt up in the chair and hold your hands tighter, pulling you towards his body, he left your hands and held you by your shoulders, trying to shake you out of the panic. He can almost read the questions in your eyes.

He wants to explain and give you answers, but he needs you to get back to him for it. Back to the lobby where you were looking into his eyes but not looking at him. you were not with him.

"Y/N. Look at me. Hey, Y/N, focus baby. Talk to me please. Yell at me. Scream. Hit me. Just talk please." He shakes you and your body responds with a limp movement which makes him leave the chair and get down on the floor. The anxiety, the panic, the betrayal, all making your breathing ragged. You want to scream but your body doesn't respond.

You've been cheated a lot of times in your life, many times. Including the one time, a guy used you for a bet to prove to his friends that he can fuck the arrogant nerd. In high school, the bullies of your school had bets on who can smack your ass or grope you in the hallways or in the classroom, forcing you to transfer your school.

Making new friends in the past was never easy for you and since everyone behaved well to you first and then betrayed you, giving you trust issues. So whenever you got serious with a guy, the issues made the relationship difficult ending up with him dumping you or with the infamous cheating.

After 5 and a half years of isolation from friends and love. You finally found Jungkook who proved in every single way that he can be your friend and lover at the same time. That you both can be happy together. Without anyone else. And as of now, if not him, you have no one. This leaves you with another question.

Are you gonna end up lonely in that depressing, dark pit where you cried and cried isolating yourself, wanting to kill yourself, and almost doing it?

The thoughts hit you like a punch in the gut and the amount of shaking Jungkook had you get out of the daze and finally focus on him. Looking at his face you remember everything you guys have done. The kisses, the movies, the cuddles, the teasing, the late-night walks, the crying sessions, the fights, the sex..

Before you can even think about the following genres of your memories, you push him back and clutch your head. Falling forward with your knees still tucked under your thighs, you pull your hair to stop the pain in your head and let out a screech that makes Jungkook sob harder.

He doesn't wanna see you like this, your body shivering, and the way your hands are shaking and your loud cries and wails that he never wanted to be the reason for. He knew your past. He knew every fucking thing. How could he do this to you? He vowed that he will never make you cry, he literally would kill anyone who made you upset.

Now, what should he do with himself?

You gasp as you take in the air, your body falling back as you reach for something on the ground to get support from. Jungkook tries to reach out to you but you yell at him to stay away. You can't stop the pictures in your head of him kissing someone, moaning someone else's name.

"Why?" You ask between sobs, mostly talking to yourself, not actually wanting answers. seeing you like this he cries harder, crawling towards you, trying to hold your hand, you struggle against him, trying to push him again but he pleads in front of you to listen to him explain.

"No!" You scream and push him off. Making him fall back against the floor, and you even stop for a second to check on him if he is hurt.

"Was I not enough for you?! Why did you, out of all the people have to prove that I am not worth putting people's time into?! What am I supposed to do huh?" you kneel in front of his body that was hesitant to reach out but wanted to comfort your panicked state. "You tell me Kook...Do you expect me to forgive you? Or do you expect me to trust you again and just forget that this.." you move your pointer finger towards both of your chests, "..ever happened?"

Getting up you get a dizzy feeling in your head and you can feel the room spinning. You lean against the kitchen counter, tears still flowing. You look at him who was getting up to sit on the chair still looking down at the floor. Suddenly you can't breathe without asking him the questions in your mind, you wanted to know, Why? Who? Where?

"Who was she?" You ask not able to hide the little crack in your voice as you looked at your husband, who promised to love you. Forever.

"She was the manager in the club I went to celebrate with hyungs." He speaks up without hesitation knowing that he owes an explanation.

That easy? Was it that easy to forget about you and fuck another girl?

"What was her nam- actually no I don't wanna know..." you felt bile rise in your throat at the thought of knowing her name, so after a pause, you got the courage to ask him, "Did you fuck her?" He looked at you flinching at the choice of your words.

"No." He said looking away tears still flowing. Before you could ask further, he explained himself. "I didn't fuck her, Y/N. Does it matter what we did? I am really sorry Y/N, please look at me." He said as he stood up to walk up to you.

You chuckled sarcastically, no humor present in your voice. You looked up and saw guilt in his eyes as he stopped in his way when he heard you let out the half-hearted laugh. It hurts to see him cry but you can't help but feel the pain in your chest overlapping your love. You doubt if you should even tell him about his baby. It was supposed to be a surprise but clearly, your husband had better a surprise planned.

You really want to, but you can't really see a future ahead of you now.

"We. It's such an easy word right kook?" You look at the ground thinking about how he used the word so easily which was supposed to be only his and yours. "We. Us.." You look up at him and say through clenched teeth,

"Yes, It matters Jungkook tell me. What exactly happened? I want to know where exactly I went wrong for you to go seek help somewhere else."

He wanted to protest but you shush him with an adamant 'Tell.Me.Jungkook'.

He looks at his feet and you prepare yourself for the heartbreaking details. "We met-.." Wincing, he looks at you and changes his words "I met her when she came to ask if our group needed something. Namjoon Hyung introduced all of us since she was his old friend. They wanted to celebrate the deal and since she was hyung's friend, we invited her, and I-I don't know what happened but I got really drunk and I just went to wash my face but she j-just grabbed me and pushed me against the wall and.." he started sniffling and you felt your body shake and long, heavy breathes leaving your lungs, eyes squeezed shut, with clenched fists, trying to hear the whole story without breaking down. "She started kissing me and.."

He pauses pleading with you to not let him continue.

"Continue please.." he can hear your heart, your voice, and your demeanor breaking at the same time. "Y/N please.." hearing this, you look at him with eyes that were emotionless, telling him that he fucking owes this much to you.

All the while he was speaking, you were thinking about the baby, the little person who did nothing wrong. Will his or her father leave? You feel your breath slipping away at the thought but you control the urge to scream until he finishes.

"..and then we just gave each other a handjob.." you flinched at the term making your knuckles go white. He sounds so distant, so small, the guilt eating him up.

"Did you cum?" you ask him, eyes shut as if trying to avoid the answers. He sighs and mutters a 'yes'. You inhale sharply trying to gasp for air looking up at the ceiling, "did you make her cum?"

He feels the knot in his throat fighting the food he ate earlier which was trying to come out, guilt and disgust seeping into his veins. This sounds so disgusting and you sound so broken. Your panicked breathing makes him feel pathetic. But after gathering some courage he admits cause he had to answer you.

"..yes." It was supposed to happen if they did that kind of stuff but it made you feel sick to the stomach. You feel the world spin and you wonder if there is a chance that a nightmare could feel so true.

You don't know what comes over you when you call his name softly.

"Jungkook?"

He looks up at you with blurry eyes and you reach up to his hand to hold it against your belly. He looks at you confused for a second but the moment you see him realize, you let his hand slip out of yours and his eyes sparkle for a second, he understands that finally he fulfilled his dream which was to be a father but loses it as soon as he realizes that he fucked up bad and what he did was irreversible, ruining three lives altogether.

Him. You. And the baby.

He steps back as he realizes what he has done. Both of you have been trying for half a year and now, when he finally got the chance to be a father, to be a perfect husband, a chance to help you sit up, feed you, to do stuff for you cause you won't be able to do, since you would be having a big belly, with his baby inside, who will one day hold his hand and call him 'dad', he wanted to help you get through the labor so that he could hold the baby in his arms taking in his or her features while you sleep because you'd be exhausted, a family picture that he imagines being taken in the hospital to get it framed and put on the bedside wall.

What has he done?

You both stay silent after the reveal, the only sound audible was of you sniffing after crying for a time none of you could measure. Your thoughts whirling inside your mind, tiring you, not realizing when you blacked out.

Jungkook heard how your hiccups stopped gradually, making him look upward to see how you passed out and had your head rested on the wall behind you. Your body cold and your face wet with tears. He carries you to your bedroom and tucks you in, feeling sick when he sees your face and nose red. Black trails on the cheekbones. He tries to rub the smudges off but pulls his hand back when he realizes that he lost his right to do all this.

He places a glass of water on the nightstand which was his daily habit, cause he knows you always wake up at midnight, searching for water with grabby hands almost falling over one time, so he started putting it there every night.

You were his princess whom he liked to spoil even after your complaints of being a spoiled brat because of him, always smiling when he called you his baby. He made sure you didn't have to leave the comfort of your bed. He remembers how you smiled looking at him with your big doe eyes filled with love which were now red because of him.

He turns off the lights of the room to make sure your eyes don't strain while you sleep, since he would not sleep next to you, to help you get your relief by burying your head in his chest to avoid the lights. He lost the privilege.

All these emotions made him feel nauseous but nothing comes up. The feeling sitting inside him as he watches your pale face being lit under the moonlight coming through the gap in the window curtains. He didn't realize how the clock turned from eight in the evening to 01:05, midnight.

He sat on the floor next to your hand, not even daring to touch you trying to think of ways to solve this,  he doesn't want to leave you alone, afraid of you getting up due to a nightmare or morning sickness.

He doesn't want you to be alone.

Not realizing when he fell asleep, but when he wakes up he doesn't find you anywhere in the room, not even in the bathroom. Calling out your name in panic, he runs out to the lobby where he doesn't find you either. He calls for you in taking out his phone to call people who might know where you were, but the cool air from the balcony caressing his face takes him towards you on the balcony.

He rushed towards you and saw how you were crouched down on the floor sipping coffee or tea. It might be tea coz you don't like coffee in the morning. 'It makes me talk bitter all day' you told him once. The memory making him smile.

Walking inside the balcony area, decorated by you as soon as you both moved into the apartment 8 months ago, with plants, wall hangings, colorful pots, and a set of chairs with a little round table for your balcony date nights you had on Saturdays. Sitting down he sees that your eyes are still swollen and he observes you were crying before he woke up. He wants to caress your swollen skin but doesn't, so he just sits across from you on the balcony floor looking at the floor underneath him.

After finishing the tea you keep the empty mug on the floor with a clink and without looking at him, focus still inside the empty vessel, you softly speak, "Kook, I don't know if I can see you, or feel the same way for you as I did before, b-but.. I think our child should be born with both the parents. Still together.." he looks up at you with hopeful eyes at the same moment you do but then you interrupt him with your statement,

"That does not mean that I can forgive you. You lost the place you had in my heart, Jungkook. I am strong. But I am not that strong to let you back in my life or take a chance with you and give our relationship a try. After what happened to me in the past, this was my last straw and I hope you know that I have loved you with everything I had... I still do. But I just... can't."

You feel your heart clench at the way he opens his mouth to say something but closes it the moment you start tearing up. He looks at his lap again, soft sniffles coming from his direction.

You don't want to leave him alone but still, you get up to leave the balcony with Jungkook looking at the floor not able to make eye contact with you.

With your back towards him, you say, "I am going to live at my mom's house for some time until I find an apartment, I dont want to stay here.." looking around you feel your heart sinking as every spot that screams about the time you've spent here.

"...the memories will fucking kill me. I will shift somewhere else after I find the apartment, uh, you can..um, visit whenever you want, as I w-want you to be an equal part of the child's life as I am, just.." he looks up at you with teary eyes at your words, "..don't expect to be a part of my life kookie. It's not easy but I can't risk it. I have to take care of us"

Us. You and the baby. Not the three of you, this realization makes him look away with watery eyes.

Seeing him try to control his breathing you couldn't help but walk back into the balcony to kneel in front of him. Leaning forward, you put your hand on the other side of his face and give a peck on his cheek. He holds your wrist in place so you could not move, you both sniff simultaneously while inhaling the air as if breathing is the most difficult thing in the world.

You feel your heartbreak at the Irony. He used to be your safe space. He helped you breathe.

You put your forehead against his and let his scent get absorbed and engraved in your mind. One last time, your mind tells you. You know you have to be strong. You don't want to live with the anxiety and fear of him cheating on you again. Your past has ruined your trusting instincts and now jungkook just put the cherry on the top.

You mumble a little 'I love you before nudging his nose with yours as he tries to not let you go, but eventually does cause he didn't dare to stop you after doing you so much wrong. You get up to leave when you hear a silent 'I love you too'

You let the tears fall silently as you left the apartment, breaking down as soon as you reach your car. Gripping the steering wheel you see the shiny ring on your finger reflecting the rays coming through the windscreen, towards the plushie sitting on your dashboard he gave you on the first day of your job. The little squishy duck looking at you with pity in its plastic eyes, as it now has witnessed your most happy and the most dreadful ones in approximately 8 months.

Everything was over. You and Jungkook, your perfect fairytale, your perfect family, kids,  the dream you've been dreaming of forever. Just gone. 

only you masterlist | kim taehyung

➛ main pairing: taehyung x female reader

➛ genre: angst, eventual smut, college au, unrequited love au, friends to possible lovers au, fuckboy au, slow burn

➛ series summary: falling in love with your best friend can be painful, especially if those feelings aren’t returned. and there is only so much your heart can take before it finally breaks. and when that time comes you must then decide whether you want to continue your friendship, or end it for your own sake.

comment or send an ask to be on the taglist

prologue: the first time he leaves you hanging

for the first time ever, your weekly movie night doesn’t end in smiles and laughs but instead in tears and heartache.

chapter one: forgiveness, maybe 

taehyung attempts to apologize for last night—by taking you out on a romantic dinner.

chapter two: holiday shopping and first time greetings

while shopping for the upcoming holidays, you and taehyung happen to run into the girl he has been sleeping with for nearly half a year. choi jia.

chapter three: the painful truth

hurtful words are exchanged, hearts are left aching, one party is feeling nothing but anger while the other is left betrayed, and broken.

chapter four: losing hope

a trip that was suppose change everything, changes everything—just not in a way you wanted it to.

chapter five: christmas surprises

christmas time has arrived, mixed feelings finally come to light, and an unexpected guest suddenly shows up.

chapter six: traditions are meant to be broken

when it’s time for you and taehyung’s annual christmas tradition, two people come between you two and leave you both questioning yourselves.

chapter seven: the heartbreaking truth

the words that you never wanted to hear, finally comes out, crushing the last bit of hope you had left.

chapter eight: slowly losing you(coming soon)

days has passed since that night and you are beginning to accept the fact that you and taehyung will never happen. as for taehyung, he can feel you slowly pulling away from him.

Love & Crosses | 02

» 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: ceo!taehyung x ceo!reader

» 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒: You and Taehyung have been friends for as long as you could remember, with both your families being directly involved in business together, and being closer than family, you've been surrounded by him almost always. Over the course of 28 years a lot has changed. But things could only complicate themselves more when both your families form an alliance between the two of you - an arranged marriage.

» 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄: childhood friends to lovers, arranged marriage, fluff, angst, eventual smut

» 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: swearing, alcohol consumption, subtle (and not so subtle) flirting, angst, (unwanted?) arranged marriage

» 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 11.7K

» 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

You glance at the plate of appetizers placed neatly before you; deviled eggs, cocktail shrimp and baked potatoes. You decide to start with the shrimp first as you disliked eggs to a high extent.

The table's full of clatter and chatter as everyone digs into their plates and engages in conversations with each other.

"Did you try the eggs?" Taehyung asks you. You look down at the untouched eggs on your plate. "Taehyung, you know I hate eggs."

"Just try them, they're really good," he insists, but you frown, refusing once again. "Come on, just try it once," he says, bringing a small piece of the egg in between his chopsticks.

"Taehyung, no," you whine. But he pretends to not hear your protests and instead brings the chopsticks to your closed mouth.

"Y/N," he tries to say in his intimidating voice, but you knew better than to fall for that.

You keep your mouth closed and shut your eyes in disgust. But he places his hand on your jaw, "it's just a little, come on Y/N," he pouts. And you finally decide to give in, not being able to resist his pleads and his pout. You place your hand over his hand as he guides the egg into your mouth.

"Isn't it good?" he asks, watching you chew on it skeptically.

"It's actually pretty good," you admit, looking at him with bright eyes. He smiles. "See, I told you. I'm always right."

"Yeah, yeah," you roll your eyes.

"Aren't they absolutely adorable?" Taehyung's mother, who'd been watching the scene unfold before her eyes, tells her husband.

Taehyung's father smiles, watching Taehyung feed you another egg as you give into his protests to let him feed you—more like baby you. "They're truly a match made in heaven, dad's right," Taehyung's father responds.

"Seokjin is coming next week," Taehyung's grandfather declares to everyone.

Taehyung looks up from his plate at the mention of his older brother. "Next week? He didn't tell me."

"It was last minute," Taehyung's father informs his younger son. Taehyung nods in understanding.

"He's staying for a few months," Taehyung's mother adds.

"For Jiminie's engagement party in two weeks—and yours next month." Taehyung freezes, looking at his mother in bewilderment, not wanting to believe the words that had just come out of her mouth.

But before he can say anything, his grandfather speaks, "I've arranged Jimin's wedding for next month."

Jimin doesn't flinch at the statement, clearly visible that he'd been informed of this already. Instead, he keeps his head low, and continues to eat the little food that had remained on his plate.

"And yours Taehyung, two weeks after Jimin's," he finishes.

"What engagement? What wedding? I don't know anything about this," Taehyung says in outrage.

You were feeling a little overwhelmed with everything being discussed at the dinner table, but none of it concerned you, so you decided to listen with a low head, using your chopsticks to play with the lone egg on your plate which you didn't want to eat.

But perhaps you had spoken too soon.

"You and Y/N are to be wedded, have you not been informed of this matter?" Taehyung's grandfather asks with raised brows.

Your eyes widen, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Me and Y/N, marri—what?" Taehyung manages to choke out.

"Ah," your grandfather says airily, "I believe they haven't been told of the matter, Dohyun."

"Nothing to worry about," Taehyung's grandfather responds with a chuckle, "they know of it now."

"Of course," your grandfather laughs, "I still remember the day we took these two to the playground all those years ago."

"It was the day I'd decided I want to see these two married one day," Taehyung's grandfather smiles back.

You glance desperately at Jihyo and Jimin for any sort of assistance, but the same shocked expressions on their faces.

"Well, I'm glad that's sorted out," your grandmother smiles, "we can move forward with the wedding preparations."

"Oh, Jimin." Jimin's mother calls to him, "don't forget to tell Iseul about Y/N and Taehyung's engagement party."

Jimin looks at her with a faint smile, "yeah mom, don't worry about it."

"Although I'll personally make sure to let the Choi's know about it personally, I think it'll be better for you to tell her about it personally." Jimin nods silently.

Your mouth has already gone dry, but there's no room for protests, not from you, not from Taehyung. Everyone's already moved on from the topic, too busy excitedly planning for both yours and Jimin's wedding.

"Main course dear?" One of your parent's house keepers says from behind you, a plate full of food in her hand.

You nod with a curt smile, not wanting to refuse to the kind woman. But the truth was that you were far from hungry.

"I'm not hungry," Taehyung announces loudly from beside you, "I'll excuse myself."

You glance up at his standing figure, he didn't look back at you. You stare blankly at your plate of untouched food as Taehyung excuses himself.

The corner of your eye catches Jimin as he motions for you to go after him.

"I'Il go get him," you try to say as calmly as you could before excusing yourself from the table.

Your hurried steps follow Taehyung's long strides as he leads you upstairs and walks angrily into one of the many quest rooms of the mansion-like home.

"Taehyung," you call out his name, closing the door of the room behind you. You turn around to see him standing near the middle of the room, his long slender fingers roughly undoing the fourth button of his shirt as he felt suffocated. He was ticked off, looking to the side, giving you a view of his perfect side profile as he toyed with the fifth button of his shirt.

"This is bullshit," he spits, still not looking at you.

And you were feeling the same, but you were trying to stay calm, you knew yelling and screaming wasn't going to do any good. There had to be a reasonable solution to this.

You approach him, having your ways to calm him whenever he was stressed or angry.

"Taehyung," you say his name again, this time softer. You put your hands on his shoulders, but he still refuses to look at you. You move your hands up his neck, playing with the hair at the back of his head, slightly massaging his scalp.

"Tae, look at me," you say tenderly.

He finally turns his head and looks into your eyes. "They can't just wake up one day and decide to—and we're supposed to oblige everything they say?" He rambles in outrage.

"I know, I know," you shush him, letting your hands run through his brown locks. You feel his palms rest on your hips, feeling a little relieved that he was feeling slightly relaxed in your hold.

"Yelling isn't going to do any good, Tae," you tell him, "I'll talk to them," you assure him, knowing Taehyung can lose his temper quite easily when talking to his parents about iffy topics.

He doesn't respond, but instead keeps his eyes on you.

You move your hands down his chest, keeping your body close to his, playing with the buttons of his shirt. "Are you really not hungry?"

"You want me to eat while they discuss our wedding?" He asks, almost amused, "I might just puke."

You nod, "not exactly appetizing."

"Definitely not," he chuckles.

"And what if we do have to get married? Then what?" You ask him, wanting to know his insight on the situation.

"Then what?" He seems in thought, "then I'll be a form sacrifice from the four billion men in the world, marrying you."

You roll your eyes, earning him a slap to his toned chest, "asshole, I was being serious. We can't get married Tae, do you understand how messed up that is?"

"I know." he let's out an exasperated sigh. "Don't worry, I'll think of something," he gives you a promising look.

At that you smile, "I think we should get going, they're waiting downstairs."

"Do we have to go?" He whines, "just say I fell asleep or something."

"No, Taehyung," you giggle, "my mom already thinks there's something going on between us."

Taehyung sighs, "alright, alright. But I'm not going to eat, I'm really not hungry."

"It's okay, we can skip dinner. I'm not exactly too hungry either."

Finally persuading Taehyung, the two of you walk downstairs. Everyone's eyes flicker to the two of you. You notice your mother giving Taehyung's attire a look; the buttons of his shirt undone, his hair disheveled.

You shift a little uncomfortably on your spot, Taehyung notices this and decides to speak himself.

"I think we'll skip dinner, we're not exactly hungry," Taehyung tells them.

"Oh, alright," his mother gives both of you a soft smile, "let us know if you need anything."

You nod with a small smile, "we'll be upstairs," you refer to the rooftop of the house.

Once everyone's been informed of the new piece of information, you follow Taehyung's lead upstairs. He opens the majestic double doors that initially opened up the path that led to the rooftop of the estate.

You walk into the familiar space. Nostalgia hitting you as memories of your childhood spent in this very home come back to you. And of course, your childhood was incomplete without the presence of the man that stood near the railing of the rooftop, letting the view of the landscapes surrounding the house sink in.

"Remember the foam play tiles we used to play with here," you smile at the memory.

You think back to your childhood days, the foam tiles where you and Taehyung would play all day long those summer days, the miniature sized toy kitchen where both of you would pretend to cook fake food and the pink tent where you'd spend hours in.

You hear Taehyung let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah. We used to play house."

Your smile widens as you reminisce about the old days, "I would be the wife and you..." you trail off, coming to a realization of your words.

"I would be your husband," he lets out a hearty laugh, walking near you and taking a seat next to you on the red outdoor couch.

"And remember that doll—"

"You named her Youngmi," he says with a smile on his face, "she'd be our daughter."

Your face flushes red with embarrassment at the memory, "that's so embarrassing."

He laughs at your flustered state, poking your cheek with his finger, "you loved it back then though," he teases you

"Yeah, well that was back then," you say wearily, hiding your red face from him

His slender fingers find their way onto your chin as he turns your face, having you look into his eyes once again. "What about now?"

Your breath hitches, trying your hardest to maintain eye contact with him as you digest his question. "Tae, I—"

"I know he's angry." Jimin's voice fills the area as the door opens and closes, allowing Jimin and Jihyo to let themselves in.

"What now?" Jihyo asks her brother. Jimin sighs in response, having no answer to his sister's question. Instead he looks over to you and Taehyung sitting on the couch, both your eyes now on the two that had entered.

You tuck a loose hair strand behind your ear, your face looks flushed as you try to bring your mind away the conversation that had just occurred between you and Taehyung.

Jihyo nonchalantly walks over to both of you and sits in between the two of you,

Taehyung doesn't hesitate to get up and walk over to Jimin, having a lot to converse about with the elder.

"Here," Jihyo says, handing over a delicate glass of red wine to you. You look over to her, trying to seem as relaxed as you could, gladly taking the glass of wine from her.

"Had a feeling you'd be in need of that," she chuckles.

"Desperately," you point out, a smile on your face.

The next hour passes as a breeze, you sip on your wine while talking to Jihyo about Jimin's engagement and your own dreaded engagement.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll understand if you talk to them," Jihyo says with an encouraging smile, but you could see right through her. You both knew this was a long shot, the chances of them calling off the whole marriage thing at your pleads—the chances were low, very low.

"We should get going," Taehyung says to you after a while, "you said you needed to go to the company tomorrow morning?"

"Oh yeah, I needed to finish off some work, I'll be done before noon though," you let him know.

He nods in response, "let's go then, I'll drop you home."

You get up at this, ready to leave. Jimin and Jihyo find no reason to stay behind, so they decide to leave with you two.

All four of you walk downstairs, engaging in light conversations with each other.

The set of adults who were way too engulfed in deep conversation with each other look up to our direction in question. "I think we'll get going," you say softly, "I've got some work to finish off tomorrow."

Your grandmother smiles, "that's alright, it's getting quite late, you should get going." You nod politely.

"Taehyung," you hear Taehyung's mother calling out to her son that stood next to you.

"Yes mom?" You notice how he visibly tenses slightly.

She points to the other room and motions for Taehyung to follow her, "I need to talk to you." Taehyung lets out an inaudible sigh and follows his mother into the next room.

You take the opportunity to get to the foyer of the house and put on your shoes while Taehyung's gone.

Your own mother and Taehyung's grandmother follow behind you to see you off, you feel a sense of nervousness.

"Dear," Taehyung's grandmother says softly, "I know all this is happening a little quickly, but I hope you know we've made this decision for your own good."

You sigh and turn around to face her, you give her a smile and squeeze her hands, "I know that, you guys wouldn't want anything but the best for us. But, me and Taehyung, we're nowhere near a fit for each other."

"I know it seems that way to you Y/N-ie," she starts, "but believe me, Taehyung is a very softhearted boy and you know that. He can never be comfortable around someone the way he is with you. And you've known him for all your life, I can't trust his fragile heart with anyone other than you, you know him better than any of us. You are what's best for him, and he is what's best for you. The only thing we wish for is to see all four of you happily settled with a family before we pass way. Trust us on this."

Your smile falters. "I understand ma," you say with a fake smile plastered on your face. You could never refuse your own grandparents let alone Taehyung's, you respected them too much. Even if that meant getting wedded to your best friend. Before your mother could add on to the conversation, you see Taehyung making his way to your direction, he seemed to be clutching something in his fist, but you don't dwell on it too much, wanting to get out of here as fast as you could.

Taehyung notices the discomfort on your face and takes the hint.

"We'll get going now." he announces, pulling on his shoes and swinging the front door open.

He places his hand on your lower back, walking you out. You turn around to see Taehyung's grandmother, your mother and now Taehyung's mother who had joined them, waving at the two of you.

You curtly smile at them and wave back. Then put your attention back to Taehyung, his arm still around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

The ride back to your apartment was long and silent, neither of you spoke a word to each other—not having much to say anyways.

You were too in thought, Taehyung's grandmother's words still ringing in your ears.

It's only a matter of time before his car comes to a halt outside your apartment complex which didn't look much different from his—dripping in luxury.

You hastily unfasten your seatbelt and make your way out of the sleek royal blue sedan.

"Text me when you get home," he says to you.

"Call me when you get home," you counter.

He lets out a breathy chuckle, "alright."

And that's all the words you exchange with each other before you turn around and walk into the building. Taehyung stays and watches until you're out of his sight, then accelerating the way to his own apartment.

As soon as you'd walked to the comfort of your home, you felt a sense of loneliness again. Crazy what the companionship of Taehyung can do to you.

Deciding to get changed, you pull on your pyjamas. Then finally taking the time to drop yourself onto your bed with a sigh. There was so much going on, you could barely keep up. You close your eyes and rest your head on the headboard of the bed, your head was already pounding with a headache.

You'd almost fallen asleep before your eyes diverted to your ringing phone lying next to you. The name 'Tae' flashes on your screen and a faint smile makes way onto your face.

You press on the green circular button and answer the call. "You remembered," you lightly chuckle into the call.

"Of course," he says in the same light tone, "I remember every detail regarding you."

"Is that so, Mr. Kim?" You raise a brow.

He hums in response. "That crush you had in second grade. You have a sweet tooth but hate overly sweet foods. You threw up once after having eggs for dinner and you've hated eggs ever since. You want a kiss in the rain with your lover. You want a destination wedding. You want two daughters. You're terrified of any sort of insects except butterflies. Your ideal type in a man is someone who has personality, is charming, would love you for yourself, understand you, and of course has good looks. You need someone to clutch onto when you're on an escalator because you are scared shitless of escalators. You cried back in grade six because you got a 'D' on your math test for the first—and last, may I add, time. You tend to get jealous very easily and are very possessive. You..."

"What happened, why'd you stop," you say with a grin on your face.

"I thought you fell asleep," he says nonchalantly.

"I haven't fallen asleep," you respond.

"I'Il keep going then; you are down very bad for my voice, you find it extremely sexy—especially my morning voice. You tend to zone out while staring at me. You love when I'm wearing suits, it drives you insane. You—"

"That's about enough," you grumble on your end of the call.

"It's only the truth, tiger," you almost hear the smirk in his voice as he speaks.

"Oh shut up, you'll go real quiet once I start talking," you narrow your eyes.

"Oh really?" He challenges, "go ahead."

You go silent and that's all it takes for him to smile broadly in victory. "Cat got your tongue, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah," you mumble. 

"Anyways, you'll be done with your work before lunch tomorrow?"

"Most probably," you reply, "why?"

"Jimin asked if you'd be free for lunch tomorrow, apparently he's introducing his fiancée to us."

You feel a tug of excitement at this, you'd be more than happy to meet Jimin's fiancée—the one he's chosen to spend the rest of his life with. You've been hoping that he'd find the one for him sooner or later, you're happy he's finally decided to make this big step.

"Oh yeah, I'll be more than glad," you tell Taehyung.

"Alright, I'll let him know," he tells you.

"So are you planning to come pick me up then, or have you gotten other plans?" You ask him, playing with a lone strand of your hair while you were at it.

"If you're that desperate to see me then why not?" He shrugs.

"Oh please," you scoff, "I am more than capable of getting there on my own."

"Oh yeah, definitely," he retorts in sarcasm.

"Don't be delusional now, I am not dependent on you," you let him know, almost laughing.

"Right, right, of course not," he responds. "Are you planning to pick me up or do you have other plans?" He mocks your voice.

"Good lord, do not do that ever again, you sound like a dying bird," you make a face.

"Yeah right, go to sleep now, you're starting to hear things," he hints that he's about to hang up, you frown. You don't want him to hang up, you miss him already.

"But Taehyung," you whine.

"No buts, it's past your bedtime," he scolds you like a parent would to their child.

"I'm not a child Tae, I'm older than you," you retort.

"Maybe if you acted like it," he mumbles under his breath.

"I can hear you, you know? And you know what? I should act like it. Goodnight Kim Taehyung."

Taehyung laughs on the other side of the call, "I'm joking, I'm joking."

You're silent for a moment before you see an incoming FaceTime from Taehyung. You answer with no hesitation.

The screen of your phone displays the white wall of Taehyung's bedroom and the black headboard of his bed. But most importantly you see him, and his bare collarbones—establishing the fact that he is in-fact shirtless.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Kim?" You ask dramatically.

A lazy grin appears on his god-like face, "wouldn't dream of it, doll."

Ah yes, that name, doll. The name that seven-year-old Taehyung had come up for you, and had never stopped using it since.

You remember his soft little voice from over two decades ago as if it was only yesterday.

"You look like her Y/N!" A small Taehyung exclaims, pointing at your Barbie doll.

An equally small you looks at him in confusion, "huh? I look like Barbie?"

"No," he shakes his head, "you look prettier than her, you look like a doll!"

"A doll?" You laugh.

"Yes, a doll! Because dolls are pretty and you're very, very pretty too. So you're an alive doll."

A living doll.

You smile at Taehyung addressing you by the name.

"When will you stop calling me that?" You question with an amused smile.

"When you'll cease to look drop dead gorgeous, which won't happen, so I'll never stop."

"Oh shut up," you look down, not wanting to give him a hint of the blush creeping up your cheeks.

"You're the one that got me started," he shrugs.

You lean back and rest your head on the headboard of your bed, closing your eyes. Feeling comforted by the presence of Taehyung—even if it was through a screen. A small smile makes its way onto Taehyung's lips, "you should get some sleep." He says, once again implying that he was about to hang up on you.

"No," you pout, opening your eyes.

"What do you mean, no? It's getting late Y/N, you look tired. Get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow either way," he insists.

Your pout intensifies, "fine."

Taehyung chuckles on his end of the call, "goodnight Y/N."

"Goodnight," you respond with a petty glare, not bothering to mention his name. You stare into the camera as he ends the call with a smile. Throwing your phone onto the bedside table, you lay down, pulling the covers up until your chin, getting comfortable. You sigh at the feeling of warmth as drowsiness takes over you. However, one lone thought stays in your head.

What if...

No, no, that can't be—you can't.

You'd started the day with a grunt once your alarm had woken you with a start at six in the morning. Groaning in annoyance, you start your day—who would willingly want to wake up at six in the morning on a Sunday? But you did. Getting to the company at eight, you'd start off by making yourself a cup of coffee—feeling a headache coming along soon. Partially from staying up late, waking up early and also due to the fact that your hair was put up in a high ponytail for the day.

You'd made sure to make yourself look extra presentable for the day, even if you were running low on sleep, as you were to go meet Jimin's fiancée for the first time today.

Which reminded you that you were to discuss matters regarding your own fiancé with your father later today.

Attempting to finish everything that you were to do before the clock struck twelve, essentially when your father was supposed to come in, was a bit of a hassle, but you had managed to get it done—leaving you more time to get other things finished as well.

It was approximately twelve thirty and there was still no sign of your father, you were definitely going to be late getting to the café where Taehyung, Jimin and Jimin's fiancée were most probably waiting for you.

Finally hearing a knock at the door of your office, you call out a 'come in', allowing your father to enter your work space.

"How's my girl?" He asks cheerfully.

"I'm great dad," you giggle.

"Sorry, I didn't get much time to talk to you yesterday with everyone being there," he apologizes, making his way to your desk and taking a seat in one of the chairs placed before your desk.

"It's fine dad, I can understand, it was a bit all over the place," you respond.

He hums in agreement, "though I hope you got time to talk to Taehyung regarding the matter in depth?"

"About that dad," you take a deep breath, "neither of us want this. We're not ready for marriage let alone getting married to one another. You know how our relationship is dad, there has never been anything romantic between us, we're just really close friends. You can't just wake up one day and tell us you've decided to get us married. You know we could never look at each that way." You glance at your father.

He looks slightly crestfallen, "I can understand Y/N, but you've got to understand where I stand. The Kims have always been very close to us and assisted us through a lot of rough patches. We've got to give back what they've given us somehow, and after what your sister did, even more so. They all really love you, they've always been so fond of you, they want you to be their daughter-in-law."

"They aren't the kind of people to force me into anything. Taehyung wouldn't want that. And it isn't as easy as you make it seem dad," you argue.

"I know Y/N, but you don't need to make it that hard. It's Taehyung," he says to you.

"That's exactly why, dad. Me and Taehyung are just friends, we can't get married," you repeat.

Your father sighs once more, "Y/N, did you know; when Taehyung was born, you were merely a few months old. We took you to the hospital and laid you next to him. Your finger was the first thing he's ever held. Your name was his first word, Y/N. I don't know how much more I need to tell you for you to believe that he is indeed your soulmate."

"Dad, that's all platonic."

"As for you two being friends, I hope you know that your mother and I started off as good friends too," your dad says matter-of-factly.

"That was a whole different story, you had a crush on mom to begin with. Nor do I or Taehyung have romantic feelings for each other," you insist.

"Are you sure about that?" Your father asks, giving you a look.

"Yes dad," you answer in outrage, not knowing what he was trying to imply.

"Fine," he pinches the bridge of his nose, "if you must insist, l'Il give you another option."

Your eyes light up at this.

"Hear me out first," he says, noticing your eagerness, "I'll set up as many blind dates for you as you want, but if you can successfully select a man for yourself that you're willing to marry—I'll break off your engagement with Taehyung. If you fail to do so, you'll agree that Taehyung is the best choice for you and agree to marry him."

You stare at your father, dumbfounded.

"Do we have a deal?"

"Fine," you huff, already exasperated at the idea. But you had no other choice than to agree with it.

Taehyung sat in the brown office chair placed in his study. He still had some time before he was planning on leaving and make his way to the café. He'd decided to get some pending work done, but he'd come to the realization that he really could not focus. The countless papers and files on his desk lay untouched like the opened document on his iMac, instead he sat staring at the diamond ring that lay on his palm. His mother's words from yesterday, when she'd pulled him aside, running laps around his mind.

"Mom, isn't this..." Taehyung glances at the ring his mother had placed in his palm in confusion.

"It's my engagement ring," she smiles fondly, "your father proposed to me with this ring almost thirty years ago. This ring means a lot to me Taehyung-ah. When your father slid this ring onto my ring finger that day, it felt as if the world had just stopped for a moment. And you see this diamond on the ring, this was an heirloom that your great grandmother had given to your father, she'd told him to present that diamond to a loved one, a promise that he'd be by their side for the rest of his life—and your father chose to give it to me."

"But why are you giving it to me?" Taehyung furrows his brows in confusion.

His mother smiles at his clueless state, giving him a little smack on the head, "I know it may seem like things are happening really fast right now, and it may take you a while to realize this, but I just know that Y/N is the one for you—and a mother's instinct is never wrong Taehyung-ah."

"Mom, you know me and Y/N have never had this sort of relationship, we're just friends and you know that," Taehyung stresses.

She only grins in response, Taehyung frowns at this, "you really have no idea huh?" She laughs at her son's innocence. "But either way, I'm not going to force anything on you Taehyung-ah, whether it be Y/N or anyone else, I want you to give this ring to the person you choose to spend your entire life with. And at that moment I'll know that my Taehyungie is all grown up now," she says, bringing herself to place a small kiss on her son's forehead, tears welling her eyes.

Taehyung pulls his mother into an embrace, laughing at her mother's state, "why are you crying mom?"

"Just getting a little emotional, my baby is getting married," she sniffles, pulling away from her son's arms.

A small laugh escapes Taehyung, "Mom you just said, whether it be Y/N or anyone else, and you're already planning my wedding with her."

"You know it's always up to you, if this is something you don't want then we won't force you into anything Taehyung," she says, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know mom, there's just a lot to think about," Taehyung sighs, "but I'll keep this in mind," he looks at the ring in the fist of his palm.

Taehyung takes the ring and puts it back into the blue velvet box, then placing it carefully in his drawer and locking it. Sparing a glance at a framed picture on his desk, he smiles.

Finishing off some outstanding work once your father had left you to the vicinity of your office—there was no doubt that you were running late for your meeting at the cafe. And the traffic that lined the busy streets of Seoul clearly wasn't helping. Hurriedly you make your way into the cafe where you had been instructed to meet Taehyung and Jimin. You hastily check the time on the Apple Watch that adorns your wrist. It was already 1:40 p.m, you were late, late.

Skimming through the unfamiliar heads that were scattered across the posh café, you try to find two familiar heads-at which you succeed in once your eyes lock with Taehyung's eyes. He shakes his head, tapping a finger on the Rolex that wrapped around his wrist. You slouch a little in guilt, mouthing a 'sorry'. You walk to where you see Taehyung seated with Jimin and as you walk closer—you're revealed to a gorgeous woman sitting opposite of Taehyung on the circular glass table.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," you apologize, adjusting the white blazer that hung from your arm.

"It's fine, we were running late too, we only got here a few minutes ago," Jimin reassures you.

You glare at Taehyung for making you think you were late, he gives you a smug look.

Turning away from Taehyung you move your attention to Jimin.

"Iseul, this is Y/N," he introduces you to the said woman as she smiles. "Y/N, this is Iseul, my fiancée."

She really was gorgeous, absolutely stunning, you had to say. You smile at her, extending your hand for a handshake, she reciprocates your smile, gladly taking your hand into her own.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," you say to her.

"Tone down the formal tone a little, maybe Ms. Y/L/N," Taehyung almost laughs at your professional tone while talking to Iseul.

You roll your eyes, "yeah, yeah, it's a habit, what can I say?"

Finally allowing yourself to take the empty seat next to Iseul, you decide to engage in a conversation with the woman, while the two brothers sitting across you continue to talk about whatever business talk they were engrossed in.

Throughout the course of a twenty minute conversation with the woman, you learn a lot about her. She's not only kind and well mannered but also highly educated, currently still studying to receive her M.D to become a neurosurgeon. Her family is very well off, her grandfather was in possession of a hospital and left that for her father before passing away. Both her parents are in the medical field and earn quite high paying salaries. You have a faint memory of her parents now that you think of it, you've seen them a few times at parties and events arranged by Taehyung and Jimin's parents—establishing the fact that they probably knew them fairly well. And considering that their daughter was this appealing, it made sense that they choose her for Jimin, and that Jimin agreed to it most importantly.

"I hope Jimin is treating you well," you say lightly, attempting to joke about the topic.

"He really is very kind, really kind," she looks away, the small smile on Iseul's face fades as she speaks the words, guilt filling her brown eyes.

It all must be hard for her, you can understand how she feels—after all, you're going through the same, and she could possibly be going through worse and you wouldn't know of it.

"I know Jimin very well, he's like a brother to me," you give her an encouraging smile. "He'll keep you happy, I'm sure of it. And if he doesn't, all you have to do is let me know," you smile.

Iseul laughs, "thank you, but I'm sure that won't be needed."

"I hope not," you chuckle.

"Yah, are you doubting me Y/N? I hope you know I am very boyfriend material, husband material even more so if you ask me." Jimin boasts.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," you snicker.

Jimin furrows his brows, making your grin broaden. Looks like you'd ended up hurting his pride, "what is that supposed to mean, I treated Ryuna..." Jimin's gaze drops as his words trail off, leaving the statement hanging.

The playful smile on your face no more. A thick fog of silence falls over the table. Finally mustering up the courage to break the silence, you speak, "why don't you all come over to my place tonight, I can order something."

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll have to run an errand at the hospital later today, I'm not sure if I'll make it in time," Iseul frowns a little.

"It's fine, some other time then?" You smile.

"Of course." she reassures. "I should get going then, I need to get to the hospital, I think I'm running a little late."

"I'Il drop you off," Jimin offers, getting up from his seat.

"It's fine." Iseul smiles, "l'Il call my driver."

"'I'll call my driver," Jimin insists, "if you don't want me to drop you off."

She chuckles, "It's fine Jimin, really."

"But it's not," he says, "let me be a good fiancé."

You look up at him, he averts his eyes from yours. But there was no point in hiding from you know, you'd seen right through him. At that moment you wished you could tell him he was a good boyfriend to her, an amazing fiancé and it wasn't his fault that she left. However, now was not the time or place, you both knew that.

"The hospital's on my way home, I'll drop you off," he concludes, no longer asking her.

You watch as Iseul finally gives in, walking with Jimin to his black Porsche, eventually feeling Taehyung's hand at your waist as you watch the couple. "Are you okay?"

You look up at him, "of course," you try to laugh it off, "why would I not be?"

"It's okay Y/N, you don't have to hide it from me," he gives you a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine Taehyung, really," you lather up a fake smile, though the truth was far from that, there was a lot going on in your head and he knew that very well.

"It'll take a little bit more than that to convince me, but if you don't feel like telling me right now it's fine," his eyes give you warmth as you look into them. He peers past you and looks out the window, "should be raining soon, mind giving me a ride home, mine bailed on me for his fiancée."

A giggle breaks past your lips, he smiles in victory, "of course," you tell him.

But before leaving, you'd decided to order yourself a French Vanilla, something you now regret. By the time you'd walked outside with your coffee, it was already raining hard.

"There," You look up to see Taehyung holding up your blazer, serving as an umbrella for you.

You frown, "Taehyung, you'll be drenched by the time we get to the car."

"I'll be fine." he says nonchalantly.

"No, you will not, quote on quote, be fine." you say to him with a piercing stare. "You know well and good that you catch colds really easily. There's an umbrella in the car, I'll go get it."

"I'Il go get it actually," he retorts, handing you your blazer and running off in the direction of your car.

You unlock the car for him from a distance and watch as he rummages around looking for the said umbrella. Finally finding it under the passenger seat, he runs back to you. You don't know if you want to slap him or hug as you watch him run back to you in the pouring rain with a closed umbrella. Your best friend really is a dork.

He quickly opens the black umbrella and holds it over you. You grab his arm and pull him into the umbrella. "You're actually crazy, you know that?" You sigh as the two of you walk to your car.

"Guilty as charged," he laughs.

Once in the car, it only starts raining harder. You let your pearly white blazer, that was now drenched, lie on the back seat, then get into the passenger seat.

"I can drive," you let Taehyung know, but he was already in the driver's seat.

"You hate driving in the rain," Taehyung states, pulling the car out of the parking lot. You admire the state of Seoul city as the car drives off, you'd always loved rainy days, they calmed you.

"Jimin isn't a child Y/N, he's thirty," Taehyung starts slowly. "He's going to have to learn to take responsibility, he has a fiancée, he'll get married soon—

"What's the point of all that if he's only doing it for the sake of forgetting her. There's only so far he can get if she's still the predominant thought in his mind," you counter. "I worry for him, which is why I want him to move on. He deserves better, and that better is just before his eyes," you refer to Iseul, "he just needs to embrace it."

"It's not like he isn't trying Y/N, he just needs some time, you can't expect him to just forget about her. He still loves her," Taehyung sighs.

"I know he does. He's gone through two girlfriends to try and divert his mind but broke up with both of them," you frown. "I just hope this works for him."

"Anyways, on a lighter note," you attempt to change the topic at the tense atmosphere in the car that almost seemed suffocating. "I talked to my dad."

"And?" Taehyung questions.

"He's willing to call off the engagement if I'm capable of finding another man I'm wiling to marry," you break the news to Taehyung.

He doesn't say anything for a minute but as the traffic signal ahead turns from yellow to red and the car comes to a halt, he turns to you. "Are you really willing to marry another man for the sake of not having to marry me?"

You give him a look, "what is that supposed to mean?"

He smiles, looking away, "just making sure, that way I can start setting up some dates for you."

You scowl, "oh please, I am not going on a date with any of those weird friends of yours."

"You're only insulting yourself, doll," he snickers.

"I am, in fact, the only sane and normal person in our friend group," you roll your eyes.

"Keep telling yourself that and perhaps you'll become the most sane and normal person in our friend group eventually," he teases.

"You should be the last person talking," you retort.

Taehyung chuckles at that, keeping his eyes on the road.

Once the car goes silent again except for the faint music playing into the ambience of your luxury sedan and the light drizzle of the rain that soaked the streets of Seoul, you were only left to wonder what these next few days were to bring for you.

"Tomorrow? Dad, come on, not so quickly, give me some time to breathe," you bargain with your father on the phone.

"You chose to do this to yourself Y/N, so we must execute this quickly," your father sighs. "It's either Taehyung or someone else you know that. Your grandfather has his heart set on getting you married."

"I know dad," you frown. "I'll go tomorrow, just send me location and his phone number."

"Thank you Y/N," your father says softly.

"Don't say thank you dad, it makes me feel guilty," you say with a small voice.

"I should be the one feeling guilty and I do Y/N, but you know I have no control over this," your father's tone laced with guilt.

"I know dad, and it's okay, you know your daughter's been through much worse, she's capable of dealing with this too," you laugh.

"That's my girl," your father boasts with pride.

You smile, "I should probably go sort out my closet now, I'll call you later dad. And tell mom I'll drop by someday."

"Of course," you father responds on the other end of the phone, "and Y/N."

"Yeah dad?"

"Don't worry too much, it'll all be alright," you can almost see a reassuring smile.

"Thank you dad."

You feel a lot better after the phone call with your father, it feels like some of your worries have dissolved—you felt reassured, but there was still a lot on your mind.

Lost in thought, you decide to get up and find something to eat for dinner, it was already five in the evening, if you had to cook something up, you might as well have gotten started now.

Or maybe you should've, instead you halt in your tracks, reaching back to grab your phone which you'd left on the couch, at a notification.

You didn't even have to open it to know it was Taehyung. You'd left his company a while ago. Being the one driving, he'd stopped the car outside his apartment complex, allowing you to take over. You'd asked him a few times if he wanted to crash your place for a drink or two, but he had refused, saying that there was some work he needed to get finished and later had to accompany Jimin to his parents' house. He had offered you to tag along but you thought better of it.

[Tae] Sure you don't wanna come, Y/N?

Taehyung asks in the group chat with you, Taehyung and Jimin.

[You] I think I'll pass

[You] Besides, I have a date to worry about now :)

[Jimin] A date?

Jimin questions, though you're sure Taehyung must've told him about this whole deal with your father already.

[You] Dad seems a little too determined on finding me a man, so he's set up a date for me tomorrow

[Jimin] Seems exciting

[Jimin] Have fun

You roll your eyes at Jimin's snarky remark.

Putting aside your phone you decide to make yourself an egg salad sandwich, not feeling the energy to make anything too complex.

Time passes pretty quickly, whether it be cooking yourself a sandwich, finding yourself something to wear for tomorrow and it's already eight in the evening, where you sat hastily on your couch, watching a K-Drama with a lone bottle of soju sitting upright on the table.

Engrossed completely in the show, you're brought to your senses when the doorbell to your penthouse rings.

You look at the time, there's no way Taehyung would have escaped the wrath of his parents this quickly, who could it have been at this time?

As you make your way to the door, you prepare yourself for many different scenarios, your parents, any of your relatives, a friend or even perhaps Taehyung. But nothing could've prepared you for the sight you see through the peephole in your door.

You hastily unlock the door and pull your sister into an embrace.

"I thought your flight was landing on Tuesday," you question your sister's early arrival with excitement.

Ryuna smiles, "ah well, I decided to surprise you, I hope it worked."

"Of course it did, I'm seeing my baby sister after a whole two years," you say fondly.

Ryuna whines in response, "I'm not a baby anymore."

"To me you are, and always will be," you scoff.

Finally allowing herself inside with her luggage, you let her make herself at home. Giving her a tour of your penthouse, you show her her room. It was the guest room that was hardly used—Taehyung would sleep there when he'd come over to your place but he could manage for a month or two.

"Business Proposal," Ryuna comments on the K-Drama still playing on the television once you'd made a full circle around the house and had come back to the living room.

"Don't spoil it for me, I'm not finished yet," you grin.

"It's so good," Ryuna rambles on, taking a seat on the couch, you follow suit and sit next to her.

"How's everyone," she asks, a glint of sadness in her eyes, "mom, dad, grandpa, grandma."

"They're all great," you tell her.

"Taehyung? Jihyo?"

They're both fine, they're doing great actually," you laugh a little.

Ryuna goes silent for a moment before she finally musters up the courage to ask you the question she'd been dying to hear the answer to, "and Jimin, how is he?"

You sigh, deciding to break the news to her, "that is something I don't know the answer to." Ryuna nods in understanding, you continue, "he's engaged, he's getting married soon."

The smile doesn't falter from your sister's face, she seems happy instead of hurt or sad, "that's nice, I'm happy for him—at least one of us is moving on."

"But he still loves you Ryu," you stress.

"Well then he shouldn't," she says, a harshness in her tone, "he should've forgotten about me a long time ago."

"The way you did, Ryu?" You retort, knowing very well she herself hasn't even tried to move on from Jimin. "But anyways, enough of this, you must be tired, I'll make you some tea."

You'd only put water in the kettle when the doorbell to your penthouse rings a second time that day.

"Could you get that Ryu," you tell your sister as you were a little occupied making tea, "but if it's mom or dad or anyone—"

"It's okay," she says with a smile, "I'll have to face them eventually."

"Are you sure?" Your heart already dropping at the thought of your parents being at the door.

"I'll be fine." she laughs it off, but you know she's just as terrified as you are. However, relief washes over her once she sees Taehyung through the peephole of the door. She opens the door with a grin on her face, and Taehyung looks just as equally as shocked to see her.

"Ryuna? I thought you were supposed to come in two days," Taehyung asks with the same grin on his face. The relationship Ryuna and Taehyung had was a very sweet one, Taehyung had always babied Ryuna the way you had, he'd always supported her, she was a younger sister to him the way she was to you.

"I decided to come a little earlier," she says, still grinning widely.

She was only just about to let herself fall into the embrace of her said 'older brother' when she halts in her tracks at the familiar sight of someone—only now it didn't feel so familiar, it felt distant.

Jimin.

He'd just gotten off the elevator, walking towards the unit, his eyes were on his phone, probably mid conversation with his fiancée. Ryuna's heart stings at the thought.

He looked a lot different from what Ryuna remembers, his hair no longer short and a shade of light brown—always unkempt, but instead his naturally dark brown hair neatly parted, he seemed to have lost a lot of weight too, the baby fat that used to show in his cheeks no more, his baby face long gone. However, his frame was no longer slender the way she remembered it to be, his body now muscular, the fitted brown t-shirt hugging every muscle, his biceps visible through the short sleeved garment.

He's changed a lot, from the way he dresses, to the aura that surrounds him—intimidating. Jimin had matured, from what Ryuna could see of it, he'd gotten himself together—but had he really? People who are real, hide their true selves under layers of artificial niceties. It may seem as if Jimin had gotten himself together, but he was still a wreck on the inside and you knew that more than anyone.

Ryuna looks away from the man as he lifts his gaze from his phone—meaning to ask why Taehyung was still standing outside but Jimin's eye is caught by the woman that stands before him.

He almost couldn't recognize her, she'd grown so much more beautiful and he didn't think that was possible. Long hair really did look good on her.

Taehyung senses the tension in the air and attempts to escape. "Is Y/N inside?" He asks Ryuna.

She nods in response.

"I'll go give her this," Taehyung informs Ryuna, holding up a container.

With Taehyung gone, it leaves Ryuna and Jimin to themselves. And Ryuna still not gaining the courage to look into the eyes of the man she still loves.

"I should—uh—go help with the tea," Ryuna says quickly, making her escape but failing miserably.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Jimin asks, looking around awkwardly.

Ryuna turns around slowly, cursing her luck, "sure," she replies half heartedly.

"I'd appreciate it if you could do that for me tomorrow," Jimin says with a curt smile.

"Of course," Ryuna responds, reciprocating the smile.

The two of them continue to walk around the park in silence until Jimin speaks again, "the weather is nice, isn't it?"

"It is," Ryuna mumbles in response.

Jimin frowns at her lack of response, "it must feel quite different than it did in the States."

"I guess so," Ryuna answers timidly.

Jimin sighs. "Do I make you nervous? I can leave if you want me to." He turns in his tracks, only to be stopped by Ryuna clutching his wrist.

And for the first time that night, she looks him in the eyes, "you don't make me nervous, Jimin—I mean, Mr. Park." Realizing her hand was still in contact with his wrist, she quickly lets go, looking away.

"Why do you feel the need to call me anything other than Jimin?" Jimin asks softly, though the hurt was evident in his eyes.

"Things are a lot different than they were two years ago," Ryuna says, looking away from him.

"What changed?" Jimin questions.

"You're getting married, Jimin," Ryuna responds, a smile full of sorrow plastered on her face.

Jimin's smile falters. Yet, he laughs—laughs at the patheticness of the situation.

"When's the wedding?" Ryuna asks, trying to sound excited for the event. And despite her being happy for him, and happy for this new chapter in his life, she wouldn't be able to watch him get married. The love of her life getting married to someone else—it's a sight no one would be able to bear, and Ryuna is human after all.

"Early next month," Jimin lets the information slip past his lips.

"It's so soon," Ryuna thinks aloud.

"Why the rush, Jimin?" Ryuna asks knowingly, she just needed to hear it from him.

Jimin's gaze falls on Ryuna, giving her a look. "I think you know very well why."

Ryuna knows she's in no position to question, so she doesn't, instead remaining quiet.

"How was America?" Jimin asks after a while.

Ryuna sighs, "unfamiliar, it felt as if time went by so quickly but it's been two years." She almost laughs.

"Funny, huh? How fast things can change..." the same amused smile on his face.

Guilt courses through Ryuna again, "Jimin—"

"Will you come? To the wedding," Jimin asks, letting his gaze linger on your sister for a moment before looking away.

Ryuna takes her time to think, then directs a small smile to Jimin, "no," she shakes her head. "I believe my presence won't be much wanted at your wedding."

Jimin nods, not having much to say.

"I guess, I should go now," Ryuna lets him know, turning around to take her leave.

The silence that surrounds them is almost suffocating.

"And, I don't know how much of this she knows," Ryuna refers to Jimin's fiancée, who was still a mystery to her. "But I hope we can remain neutral for her sake."

Jimin laughs, "remaining neutral would've been in the question if there were two sides to pick from," Jimin says, walking closer to her. "Hating you was out of the question, and I could never completely hate myself because I couldn't hate you."

They're eyes meet for the second time that night, but Jimin looks away. Taking his leave as soon he could. Leaving Ryuna to stand there, processing his words.

He couldn't hate himself completely because of her, why?

The reason for Taehyung and Jimin's late night escapades to your apartment was long forgotten to you. Although you were grateful that they had come over at this hour to deliver food that Taehyung's mother had prepared and requested for him to deliver to you, there was a more pressing matter at hand at the moment.

It'd barely been a few hours since Ryuna had arrived and you were sure the last thing she wanted was to see Jimin. Not to mention that they'd wandered off somewhere together.

"Y/N," Taehyung says your name, "relax, they'll be fine." He says casually while sitting on your couch, pouring himself a shot of soju.

You scowl, walking up to him and earning him a smack at the back of head. Taehyung rubs the back of his head in pain. "What was that for?"

"For bringing Jimin here," you respond, still in rage and worry.

"Oh alright," Taehyung scoffs, "I was supposed to know that she showed up two days early."

You groan in annoyance, nothing was helping ease the horrible scenarios playing in your mind right now.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Taehyung asks in an attempt to calm you, "they'll fight, scream, yell at each other? It can't get worse than that."

"Taehyung," you say his name sweetly. "Why don't you shut the fuck up for a few minutes? A few minutes of silence is all I ask for."

Taehyung shrugs, bringing the glass of soju to his lips, "suit yourself."

You let out a breath after finally getting Taehyung to keep his mouth closed. The next few minutes go in silence while you think about all the possible ways things could've gone wrong.

Your heartbeat picks up again once the doorbell to your apartment rings. You quickly make your way through the foyer at to the front door, leaving Taehyung to trail behind you with the beverage in his hand.

Once you open the door you're greeted to the sight of a slightly flushed looking Jimin, he avoids eye contact with you.

"Where's Ryuna?" You ask urgently.

"Relax, he didn't kill me," you hear Ryuna's voice as she walks from the elevator to the apartment door.

"Told you," Taehyung remarks from beside you.

"Don't worry about it, we were just catching up," Jimin informs both of you.

You nod slowly, not sure if you wanted to believe that, but it was a matter they'd have to resolve on their own, there was no point in interfering.

"Shall we go now?" Taehyung initiates to Jimin, downing the rest of the soju in the glass and handing it to you.

Jimin nods, wanting to leave immediately.

"Tomorrow—" Jimin starts, reminding Ryuna once both you and Taehyung were out of earshot.

"Don't worry," Ryuna reassures him, "I'll have everything done."

"Okay, perfect," Jimin smiles, "thank you."

"It's all my pleasure," Ryuna jokes.

"Taehyung," you whisper to Taehyung as he puts on his shoes, he glances at you. "I really think something's going on that we don't know of."

"No way," he slurs, "if something was going on we'd know of it."

You sigh, "how much exactly did you drink at your parents'?"

"Huh? Not much," he answers.

"I know damn well that your definition of 'not much' is a lot much," you retort at the said man.

He squints his eyes, attempting to say something back but he had nothing. You massage your forehead, "Jimin, please take him home before I lose my mind."

"Will do," Jimin says, grabbing Taehyung and pulling him out the door.

"I will see you tomorrow then," Jimin tells you, walking away with Taehyung by his side.

"Tomorrow?" You ask in confusion.

"Perhaps, I will see you tomorrow then," Jimin says again but this time with the addition of the adverb.

"Right..." you respond, still confused.

Once the two are out of your sight and you've closed the door, you turn to Ryuna, ready to interrogate her, but she yawns.

"See, I'm so tired, I think I'll go to bed now. You should too," she says quickly before jogging her way upstairs to her assigned room.

You tilt your head in confusion. "I didn't even ask her anything," you mumble to yourself.

What is going on?

"I see," you respond uninterestedly for what seemed the fifth time since the man sitting before you had started rambling about cars—well he was talking about cars the last time you were paying attention, which was a little over twenty minutes ago.

You pick up your whiskey to take a sip of the beverage, you couldn't even remember how many shots of whiskey you'd downed while listening to your said date ramble on.

"You don't seem to talk much, Ms. Y/L/N," Seungchul—the man you were currently on a lunch date with—says.

Well maybe if he let you speak.

"That's alright, perhaps you will start to feel more comfortable after marriage," he says nonchalantly.

You choke on your beverage, coughing at the sensation of burning developing in your throat once the drink had gone through the wrong pipe.

"Are you okay, Ms. Y/L/N?" He asks in concern, immediately calling a waiter over to order you some water.

"I'm—," you clear your throat, "perfectly fine, thank you."

"I hope I didn't startle you with that comment," he laughs a little. "The thing is," a blush creeps onto your cheeks, "I think I like you."

'Well think again,' you want to say, but you don't.

You attempt to chuckle a little to hide your discomfort. "I see," you say for what seems the nth time throughout the course of the date.

"I was thinking, I should probably inform Mr. Y/L/N that we both are on board for a wedding," he says shyly, inching his hand to his pocket to fish it out.

You quickly grip his hand before he could get his cell phone and inform your father that you've allegedly agreed to marry him. His eyes light up at the sudden physical touch, he looks at you with lovestruck eyes, you slowly move your hand away.

Your father really couldn't have found someone else.

You decide to be straightforward, though you felt slightly bad for being harsh, but you decided to go for it to save yourself, "look—"

"I'm looking," he responds, staring at you with heart eyes. "Have I mentioned that you look absolutely gorgeous."

"Listen," you try a second time.

"I'm listening," he responds, "have I mentioned your voice is beautiful?"

You let out an exasperated sigh. Mayhaps, it wouldn't be too bad of an idea to use 'plan b' in this situation.

"Look, I'm sure you're a great guy—"

"You think so?" He starts fishing for his phone a second time. You clutch his wrist once again.

"Just—can you please listen to me first?" You plead.

"Of course, I can listen to you talk all day," he says dreamily.

"Right..." you mumble. "You see, I actually have a boyfriend."

You watch as the smile on his face falters to a frown—it seemed as if all the scenarios he'd imagined of his future with you had come crashing down in less than a second. You felt bad of course, but there was no turning back from this point.

Hurriedly you bring out your phone and point to the polaroid picture of you and Taehyung at the back of your phone. He was too heartbroken to notice that the man in the picture was Kim Taehyung.

"The thing is, my father doesn't exactly approve of him," you continue to lie, "so he's arranging these blind dates for me."

And for the first time that afternoon, it was his turn to say 'I see'.

"I would really appreciate it if you could tell my father that the two of us couldn't work out," you tell him, placing your hand over his.

"Of course," he chokes out.

"Thank you so much," you let out a sigh of relief. You had to say, you'd maintained your acting skills.

"Would you like to pay?" A waiter walking by asks.

"Yes please," you say enthusiastically.

You couldn't have been happier when the waiter brought you the check and credit card machine—and you both had decided to split the amount, it was only fair.

"I think I should get going then," you announce to the latter, "my boyfriend must be waiting outside," you maintain a coy facade.

"Oh, yes, of course. I won't keep him waiting then," he responds half-heartedly.

"It was nice meeting you Mr. Seungchul," sort of.

You find your way out of the restaurant as fast as you can. As expected, you see Taehyung's car, the window was rolled down and you could see that he was on a call with someone—phone pressed to his ear and he listened attentively.

You mentally apologize to Taehyung for the stunt you were about to pull.

As you approach his car, Taehyung unlocks his car, allowing you to get comfortable in the passenger seat. He was still on a call with someone. You watch as Taehyung glances at you, wanting to ask why you look so disgruntled—but he was on the phone.

Already regretting what you were about to do, you decide to go for it once you see Seungchul nearing where the car was parked, from the corner of your eye.

You lean in and give Taehyung a lingering peck on the tip of his nose. You prayed that the angle did you justice.

Slowly moving away, you decide to keep your act up until the car is on the road and your said marriage contender is no longer in eye shot.

You feel guilty as Taehyung gawks at you—more like a 'what the fuck' look, but intensified.

"How was work, babe?" You ask a little loudly, making sure Seungchul could hear you.

You hear the person on the other side of the phone calling out repeated chants of 'Mr. Kim', but Taehyung was no longer listening. You nudge the man sitting next to you, hoping he'd come to his senses, "babe," you call out to him again.

"Huh?" He looks at you cluelessly.

Preventing yourself from taking a loud breath out loud, you pry the phone out of Taehyung's hand, "Mr. Kim will get back to you," you say before ending the call and placing the phone in the charging slot.

Looking up to find Taehyung's clueless eyes again, you place a hand near his jaw and lean closer for a second time.

"Drive the fucking car, Kim Taehyung," you attempt to say as sweetly as you can, making sure only he could hear way at you had said.

"Okay..." he says slowly, moving away from you and putting the car in reverse, driving it out of the parking spot and onto the road. You let out a breath once you were far enough from the restaurant.

"We need to have a serious talk about what just happened," Taehyung finally bursts.

"I'm good, actually," you remark.

"You almost kissed me?" Taehyung exclaims in outrage.

"It was pointless anyways, I'm pretty sure he got the idea that I was lying since you couldn't act to save your life," you scoff.

"You sat in my car, called me babe and almost kissed me, all while I was talking to a potential dealer and you expected me to know you were putting up an act for that date of yours?" He questions in outrage.

"It was obvious, really," you point out.

"I'll keep that in mind next time, thanks," he retorts.

When your phone rings a few minutes later with 'dad' flashing on your phone screen, it takes a lot of your energy not to lose your cool.

Picking up the phone aggressively, you don't even bother to greet your father, "dad, was this really the best you could do?"

Hearing your dad chuckle on the other side of the phone call made you scowl.

"Why, you didn't like him?" He asks.

"He was a nightmare, dad," you inform him then put the call on speaker, putting the phone down for a moment so you could adjust the strap of your dress under the cardigan.

"I lied to him, I told him I have a boyfriend that you don't approve of, which is why I keep getting sent on blind dates. I did feel bad, he looked heartbroken, but I escaped him," you continue rambling on.

"Oh? A boyfriend?" Your father's ears prick at the term 'boyfriend', "and who is that boyfriend?"

"Take a guess, dad," Taehyung says from next to you with a smug look.

"Can you just drive the damn car," you tell Taehyung, annoyed knowing your father was never going to let this go.

"So you're willing to call Taehyung your boyfriend to escape the dates you're going on so you don't have to marry Taehyung?" Your father questions.

"Tell me about it," Taehyung remarks. You glare at him.

"If the case is just that you're not ready to marry him just yet, you can tell us, we can wait a few months," your father says nonchalantly.

"Dad," you sigh, "I'm actually really busy right now, so I'll talk to you later."

"If you say, I'll message you the details for the next date, don't be late," he says before ending the call. You shut your eyes and rest your head on the headrest in despair.

"Where are we going?" You finally ask.

"I need to pick up some files, I'll drop you off once I'm done," Taehyung gives you the piece of information. You hum in response.

Next stop, Kim Enterprises.