Summary: Tae meets a woman who is very manipulative. Before he even notices anything, she got him around his finger. He decides to leave his wife Y/N and his four kids to start a new life with the new woman. This perfect house of cards that he had just started to build, starts to unfold as she starts to show her true face. Piece by piece it makes him feel sick. Tae notices his wrong doing as his house of cards start to fall apart. Regret and hate towards himself makes him wish to turn things around. Will he be able to safe his house of cards and to get back what he once threw away? Is Y/N able to forgive?
CHAPTER 26
"That's what you said?" Namjoon asks after Jungkook finishes explaining. "I sincerely hope you guys aren't starting over from square one again." He scratched his forehead as he digested what he had recently learned.
"I believe he understood what I was saying." Jungkook sighs as he reclines on Namjoon's couch. "I debated with myself whether I should do it. "Do you think it was the right thing to do?" Concerned eyes meet Namjoon's as he leans forward, rubbing his palms. Jungkook appears to be preparing to say something further, just as Namjoon is about to respond. "I mean, if Jimin is correct and Tae overheard my conversation with him, doesn't that imply that Tae will try to use her sensitivity to get back to her?"
"Jungkook, I want you to pay close attention to what I'm about to say," Namjoon says as he moves his chair closer. "I'm sorry we put you in this situation, but we made sure Y/N is moving out, so you don't get too attached to her." As he realizes what Namjoon has just stated, Jungkook's eyes widen. "I think we were too late, because you're in too deep, aren't you?", he wonders. "I'm asking as a friend, not as a leader, band member, or business partner." You've never told me before that you care about her... We basically left you alone with this..."
“What would have changed if you would have known? Do you want her to get back to this scumbag?”, the way his eyes started to change did not stay unnoticed. “Namjoon, is it so wrong that I still hope to have a chance?”
“Yes! Because if you wouldn’t have only told Tae about it, we all would have known and that you even kissed her at that state... Jungkook, I don’t know what to tell you. I just wished we did know.”
“Is that why you called me to come over?”
“I needed to know if all of it is true or if my wife misunderstood.”, Namjoon sighs. “I truly don’t know what to do right now...”
“What do you mean?”
“Jungkook, do you think I am blind?”
“I never said that...”
“Listen, I think it is time that you slowly step out and let Jimin, his and my wife take over. We discussed on how to handle the situation between us.”
“What do you want me to do now!?”, Jungkook wonders as he leans forward. “Do you want me to tell the kids not to contact me anymore? They will be so confused if I am out of the picture!”
“That is not what I am saying at all.”
“What do you mean then?”
“I mean Y/N. I know you care about the kids. Trust me, I do know that, but I know now how strongly you feel about her even more now.”
“Didn’t you all see that the girls I dated had similarities to her? Do you want to pretend that was just a coincidence?”
“I didn’t pay attention to be honest. But why do you think, we should have known? Jungkook, I cannot imagine what your emotions might have been if you feel like that to see your friend having what you wanted with her, nor do I know what it might feel like to be in your shoes right now. I can only imagine it.”
“Exactly!”, Jungkook yells as he jumps up. “Do you know how it ripped me apart hearing that they are getting married? Do you know how it hurt me knowing they are starting a family when all I wanted was her!?” His grief was as visible in his tears as it was in the words he spoke. “You cannot imagine it, Namjoon. Y/N, means so much to me.”
“Now is not the right time to show her the feelings though!”, Namjoon scolds as he gets up as well. “I can see that your feelings are sincere, but Y/N needs her friends, not a new lover. Do you understand that?”
“Of course, I do but-”
“Stop!”, Namjoon says as he puts his hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. “Stop it, Jungkook.” Namjoon tried to give him a moment to stop his tears from dripping down his cheeks. He despises seeing his friend in this state, but he knows that if he doesn't get through to him now, he will hurt himself if he holds on to his desire of being with her. “Listen, no matter how hard it will be, you will have to go back of hiding your feelings.”
“What? No!”
“If you truly love her, give her time and space.”
“Am I not doing it already by letting her move out? I planned to move with her and the kids into the bigger apartment.”
“I am proud of you to let her go and to let her live on her own. That is what she needs.” Namjoon notices Jungkook's expression as he attempts to organize his thoughts. “Once it is all over and done, I won’t go between you two if she wants to date you but until then, leave her alone with your feelings.”
“So, you want Tae to be back with her?”
“Honestly, no but yes.”
“Yes or no, Namjoon?”, Jungkook asks as he pushes Namjoon arm away. “Do you really want her back with Tae?”
“Jungkook, you don’t understand the concept of marriage.”
“Suddenly I don’t understand the concept of marriage? Have I ever cheated to any of my girlfriends?”
“Marriage is a different thing than just a relationship. It is also a bond that two people have around their marriage. Once kids are involved, all the parents should care about are the kids first, then themselves. Yes, Tae did it wrong but think about why he acted that night the way he did.”
“He decided it! We only told him to make the right decision.”
“You two idiots knew that he was drunk!”
“Idiots!?”
“Yes, you two idiots!”, Namjoon yells even louder. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be raising my voice. The way you and Jimin are trying to clean this stupidity off your shoulders, makes me crazy.”
“At least we did something! You and the others, you knew it longer than us and still looked into her face and said not a single word. How were you able to still have been calling yourself a friend whilst you did not say a thing?”
“Me, Yoongi and Jin talked way more often with him about it then you know. Only different, we talked with him on occasions when he was sober. Yes, that takes longer but he started to agree to end the relationship with this side chick, but he also said he doesn’t know how.”
“He did not know how? Are you kidding me?”
“She lied to him back then about her pregnancy. You know Tae, he usually is always a father first before he is a friend or partner. He was on the edge of freaking out because he was stuck.”
“Are you excusing him!?”
“No, definitely not.”, Namjoon says in a serious tone. “But that was around the time he kept drinking and drinking.”
“You three could have dragged him out but you three kept looking on?”
“Would you have preferred that we would have told Y/N? What do you think she would have done?”
“At least she would have known!”
“You don’t understand a thing, do you?”
“I can’t understand how you can be on Tae’s side!”, Jungkook screams as he rushes to the door.
“Wait! Jungkook!”, Namjoon yells but Jungkook ignores him as he storms off.
💧💧💧
As the knocks on the front door echoed through the house, it was already late at night. The woman stares anxiously at her husband.
“It’s okay!”, Jimin says as he touches his wife’s cheek. “Go and check on the boys and comfort them if they have woken up.” A few more violent knocks start to echo even loudly.
“Shouldn’t we call the police first?”
“I don’t think it is something bad.”, Jimin says as he sits up. “I will check.”
“Stay! What if it is a psycho?” With a smile, Jimin assures his wife that everything is fine.
“Please check on the boys, I will be back faster than you think.” Whilst she nods, she puts on her slippers. “Love you!”, Jimin says as he walks downstairs. Even though he was able to conceal the increasing anxiousness in his chest in front of his wife, he must take a few deep breaths as he gazes out the living room window. When he discovers who is at the door, he rips the door open aggressively. “Are you fucking serious? I have kids who might get scared. You did not forget that?”
“Let’s talk in the living room.”, Jungkook says as he places his sneakers next to the other shoes at the front door.
“I am not even going to ask why the shoes were already in your hands...”, Jimin states as he closes the door. “Do actually have any idea how late it is?”
“I did not even check when I started to drive...”
“Well, I can tell you how late it is!”, Jimin’s wife says angrily. “The boys are awake, now I am awake. Good job, Jungkook! Do you also want to wake up the fucking neighborhood?”
“Honey, watch your language.”
“I heard you using ‘fucking’ too. Don’t even pretend to watch your words.” Jimin nods as he sits down with Jungkook. “I need coffee...”
“Coffee? Go back to bed, baby.”
“Do you truly think I am able to sleep now?”
“Please, just try to sleep. You have to go work in a few hours.”
“Sounds like a non-argument able argument.”, his wife replies whilst she looks angrily at Jungkook. “Now to you Mr. I-am-single-and-do-what-the-fuck-I want, if you are ever and I mean ever, come to our home like this again, I will make sure to turn you into prosciutto, personally!” The hand in front of Jimin's face was supposed to disguise his smile, but he couldn't stop laughing.
“You all have crazy wives.”, Jungkook says as he shakes their head.
“That might be the reason they come along so well...”, Jimin comments with a smile.
“What are you so suddenly amused about?”
“I never saw her this angry. Wow, she truly has multiple levels of anger... Anyway, why do we have the honor to be disturbed at night?”
“Did Namjoon talk to you about her, Tae and me?”
“What are you talking about? I need more context.”
“Namjoon said that I should hold myself back from Y/N, but I already went two steps ahead. How am I supposed to handle that?”
“You seriously need to calm down.”
“Calm down? Jimin, just tell me how!”
“Sssh! Keep your voice down. Were you drinking?”
“Only a bottle of Soju.”
“Listen, you can sleep in the guest room. We’ll talk when you are sober.”, Jimin tells him as he gets up.
“I need to get it off my chest, Jimin.”, he begs him as he grabs his friend by his upper arm. “Jimin, please.”
“Ten minutes, then off to bed.”, he tells him. “Not a second longer.”
“Did you know that they knew what Tae did before we confronted him?”
“Yeah, I did. Didn’t you?”
“When did you figure that out?”
“Before I told you that we need to talk with Tae.”
“But you said that you are not sure...”
“I was not sure, but then I was.”
“You lied to me?”
“No, I never lied. But I only knew something was going on but whatever went on, I figured out after we investigated.”
“Do you regret how we talked with him?”
“Definitely.”, Jimin confesses with a sigh. “We should have formed our words differently.”
“Do you think it is the best, if I stay away from her family?”
“Well, as I was able to read from your message, you want to be good with Tae again in sake of Y/N and the kids... If you truly want to be by her side one day, you better do what I told you. Hide your feelings.”
“But I already told her what I feel...”
“Not that hard, just tell her that you have considered that you do not want to rush and wait until everything has settled.”
“What if it does her no good?”
“My wife already talked with her. If anything goes down, she has me, my wife and Namjoon, as well as his wife to reach out to.”
“What did she say?”
“That she felt like using us more than friends should. The typical things...”, Jimin yawns as he gets up. “You know the guest room. Good night, Jungkook!”
“That were no ten minutes...”
“But felt like an hour to me.” Jungkook observes Jimin as he walks upstairs. He takes a moment to look around before locking the front door.
"He still forgets to lock the door..." He begins to walk upstairs after turning off the lights and using only the flashlight from his phone.
💧💧💧
“Can I stay at home, mom?”, the small girl asks as she repeatedly inserts the fork into her pancake. “The kids are so mean. I don’t want to go.”
“You will be on your own today then. Legally, I am not allowed to leave you alone.”
“I already texted with auntie. She said I should come over if you are okay with it.”
“You want to stay at Namjoon’s house?”
“Would that be okay?”
“Show me your phone, what did she answer?”
“Here.”, the girl comments as she walks around the table to give the phone to her mother. “Why are you calling her?”
“Just want to make sure that it is her number, Lovely.” The phone only rang twice before being answered. “Hey, I am sorry for calling you so early but Lovely meant that she wants to stay at your house today, is that truly alright? Oh, you got a new dog? No, I did not know about that. Thanks a lot, I will drop her off. Bye!”
“See, I said the truth.”
“Yes, you did.”, Y/N confirms as she gives the phone back to her daughter. “If anyone asks on your next school day, you had the flu. Got it?”
“Thanks, mom!”, the girl says as she tightly embraces her mother.
“I want you to be on your best behavior as usual, okay?”
“Of course, mom.”
“Are we also getting off?”, her son wonders as he chews his breakfast.
“Are you two getting bullied as well or are you trying to fight other kids?”
“We plan on just going to school.”, the oldest one says. “They are the ones to start the fights.”
“You know how the school is keeping an eye on you two. Please, do not make me go home early from work today. I need this job and I won’t be able to keep it if I have to leave early again.”
“I’m sorry, mom.”, the oldest one says.
“Kids, you need to eat up and get washed. We have to drive away earlier if we are dropping off Lovely at your aunt’s house.”
Summary: Tae meets a woman who is very manipulative. Before he even notices anything, she got him around his finger. He decides to leave his wife Y/N and his four kids to start a new life with the new woman. This perfect house of cards that he had just started to build, starts to unfold as she starts to show her true face. Piece by piece it makes him feel sick. Tae notices his wrong doing as his house of cards start to fall apart. Regret and hate towards himself makes him wish to turn things around. Will he be able to safe his house of cards and to get back what he once threw away? Is Y/N able to forgive?
CHAPTER 25
It took Tae a long time for him to figure out how his son could meet his favorite soccer player. As he looks at his son's wide grin, the time spent on the phone and the days of planning begin to fade. The longer Tae looks at his son, the more he wants to take images of him being joyful. His son's smile hasn't changed a bit since the time he met his favorite player earlier on today.
“I still can’t believe I got his signature on my t-shirt.”, Tae’s son tells him as he keeps looking at the t-shirt in his hands. The way he looked at his shirt, it almost appeared as if he was beginning to realize that meeting his favorite player was not a dream. “Look, he even wrote a message on the back of our photo!”
“Didn’t he sign much more?”, Tae asks as he notices the green traffic light. As he begins to drive away, he points to the boys' bag.
“I only took bag he gave me, but I haven’t checked for any signatures...” Half-listening, his son peers at the bag for a split second before returning his gaze to the signature on his shirt. Tae looks at his son for a second without losing focus on the traffic when he notices that he does not appear to want to check for the bag.
“Well, maybe you should check the bag.”, Tae suggests with a smile. “There could be more...”
“Okay.”, the boy says as he takes the bag onto his lap. Tae's hand movement startles him just as he was about to touch the zip.
“Wait!”, Tae screams suddenly.
“What? What?”, his son screams scared as he looks at his father.
“Your window is not closed. Let’s not lose anything.”
“Are you serious, dad? I almost had heart attack!” He couldn't help but giggle at his son's expression. “Why are you scaring me like that?”
“Oops.”, Tae laughs as he keeps driving.
“Not funny at all. I thought something bad is about to happen!”
“Sorry, son. So, what’s in the bag?”
“Will you scare me again?”
“I promise I won’t.”, Tae chuckles. “I promise, I won’t.”, he repeats slowly.
“Is there something in the bag that will scare me?”, the boy asks worriedly,
“I promise, there won’t be anything scary in the bag.” For a moment, he waits before he opens the bag slowly.
“Shoes! Signed shoes!”, the boy screams as he takes them out of the bag to take a closer look. He turns them around to see if only one of the pair has been signed. “A t-shirt with the player’s last name on it and a lot more merchandise!”
“Wow! Isn’t that great?”, Tae says cheerfully. “I guess I will try to organize this glass houses and frames to put them in there...”
“This day is awesome!”
“I am glad you are enjoying this day so much.”
“Thank you, dad! I don’t even know how to describe my happiness right now.” Happily, Tae takes a short look at his son. Words cannot describe how much he would want to take a picture of the current joy of his son.
“You are very welcome. I am sorry that it took so long but at least we finally were able to meet him.”
“I already thought you have forgotten about your promise to be honest.”
“I never forgot about it. It took me and my manager hours to plan everything. He's booked out for most of the time, especially now that he is in practically every sport commercial.”
“I will rub it in their faces next time I am at Uncle Namjoon’s house.”
“Why would you do that?”, Tae asked worriedly. When the words keep coming back to him, he wonders if his son just said what he had heard.
“The boys said that it would never happen.”
“Just be nice about it, okay? You know, not everyone will believe your words. But if your words become reality, they must believe. You remember-”
“I remember that, yes...”, his son sighs. “Can I at least show it to them? Not showing off, but just show that it happened?”
“As long as you are not rude.”, Tae answers him as he parks smoothly in front of Jungkook’s apartment building.
“What are we doing at Jungkook’s house?”, the boy asks surprised. “I thought you take me home to mom’s place?” His son can read Tae's bewilderment like a book. He glances at his son, surprised, without saying anything. “Dad?”
“Wait. You are all living here. I, I am pretty sure you do.”, Tae stutters as he realizes his child is not attempting to prank him with his words.
“No, we don’t live here anymore.”, the boy says slowly. “Dad, are you okay? That is why I was meant to wait for you at your agency.”
“But I know for a fact that you live here. When were you supposed to have moved away?”
“Dad, I am telling you, we do not live here anymore. We moved a few days ago.”
“You really moved?”, Tae asks. “Your mom got her own place or with another uncle?”
“We moved into mom’s new place last week.”
“Wait. Hold on.”, Tae says as he loosens his seat belt as he leans towards his son. “Who are you living with now?”
“With mom and my siblings. Why?” As the boy notices his father's confusion about their current living situation grows, he begins to worry about him. “I thought you knew...”
“Jungkook did not move with you?”
“No. Why should he move with us?”, the boy asked confused by his father reaction. Tae's vision begins to take on the appearance of a large puzzle. Does the fact that she has her own apartment indicate that Jungkook is not interested in dating her? Does this mean she'll need financial support again? Who is supporting her? As he glances down at his knees, a series of questions begin to flood his thoughts. “Dad? Hello?”
“Yeah, sorry.”, Tae mumbles as he notices a well-known face at the window. “Look, it’s Jungkook.” Just as he finished his sentence, his son opens his window. “Hey Jungkook.” His voice was neutral, despite his dissatisfaction with Jungkook's appearance.
“Hello you two! Were you about to visit me?”, Jungkook wonders as points at the bag. “Is somebody staying with me tonight?”
“Actually no...”, Tae answers as he looks at Jungkook still confused.
“Are you alright?”, Jungkook wonders as he looks at Tae’s son. “Is your father feeling unwell?” But the only response he gets is the boy shaking his head. Even though Tae is hesitant to ask, fearful of receiving information he does not want, he knows he must gather more information about Y/N's new address.
“He just told me that they are not living here anymore... What’s going on? I thought they are still living with you.”
“Didn’t Y/N call you?”, Jungkook wonders. “I thought she informed you.” Jungkook's baffled expression indicates that his words must be true. Did she tell him she was going to call Tae so Tae wouldn't know if she didn't tell him?
“She did not say a word about moving out... Not even today when I told her I will drive our son to meet his favorite player in the stadium...” A smile appears on Jungkook’s face as he looks back at the boy.
“You finally met him? How was it?”, he asks excited. The question immediately brings back the boy's bright smile.
“It was so cool! He signed most of the stuff and I got even more in the bag!”
“That’s awesome!” The loud clearing of Tae’s throat got Jungkook’s attention immediately. “Sorry. Actually, we have practice later on... Will you make it on time?”
“That is why I planned to bring him to his mother before practice but now I don’t know where she even lives. One again!”
“Relax. It is not that far from here.”, Jungkook comments as he looks at his phone. “We should still make it on time.”
“So, where is it?”
“I don’t know if I should tell you...”, Jungkook says as he pretends to think about it. “If I ride along with you, I’ll tell you.”
“Why would you drive with us?”
“Because from there you will drive to practice, and I will not have to drive myself to get there.”
“Fine.”, Tae sighs as he unlocks the car. “Get in.”
“Just take the directions I give you.”, Jungkook says as he opens the car door widely. Tae’s look felt like fire on Jungkook’s skin. “Get in the backseat, I think it is better if I sit in the front.”
“But dad allowed me to sit in the front today.”, the boy answers.
“Yeah, it is his day today.”, Tae confirms. “Take a seat on the backseat!”
“Do I need to remind you on the few sweets I helped you hide from your siblings?”, Jungkook whispers. Even the further Tae leans forward, he cannot hear what Jungkook has just whispered. Without saying anything else the boy grabs his stuff and gets out of the car.
“What are you doing?”, Tae wonders as he watches his son opening the back door. “Wait a minute.”
“Uh, the front seat is so nice.”, Jungkook comments as he looks at Tae. “Any problems?”, Jungkook questions as he fastens his seatbelt.
“Yeah, you! Sit in the back.”
“Uhm, no. If you want to have her address, I will drive with you like that.” In frustration, Tae wipes his face with his fingers.
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
“Do you keep repeating what I have said?”
“Do you keep repeating what I have said?”, Jungkook repeats.
“Stop this right now.”
“Stop this right now.”
“Jungkook!”
“Jungkook!” The boy watches from the backseat as the scene unfolds in front of him. It is not easy for him, but he tries his best to keep the laughter as quiet as possible. “See, we are entertaining your son.”
“We entertain? No, you make my hair grow white.”
“Just start the car.”, Jungkook says as he turns around to the boy. “You got to tell me all about today! But safety first, fasten your seatbelt. We know your father is not the best driver.”, he winks at the boy which made the boy laugh in an instead.
“I heard that!”, Tae comments annoyed.
“It was meant to be heard.”, Jungkook answers as he turns his body to the front of the car.
💧💧💧
“Park somewhere around here.”, Jungkook suggests as they arrive at near Y/N’s house. “It is right over there.”
“The one with the small glass on the front door?”
“Yeah, that is the one.” Tae nods whilst he unfastens his belt. “What are you doing?”
“Going to the door to check out the house.”
“You do not have to do that, dad.”, his son interrupts. “We are not fully settled in yet and my room is not finished. Can you come another time...? Like, when sis is not in the house for example?” Of course, he couldn't have forgotten about his own child, who claims to despise him. If Y/N would even let him in is a different story, especially since she appears to still feel the same way as his daughter.
“I understand.”, Tae says as he fakes a smile. “I will wait until you are in the house.”
“Thanks dad!”
“Bye big boy! Be good to your mom, okay? Don’t let your sisters annoy you!”, Tae tells him quickly as his son grabs his stuff.
“Thanks for today!”, his son says quickly before he runs towards the entry.
“Up to practice then.”, Jungkook states as he puts the seat belt on again. He waits for a moment, but Tae is still not moving the car key. “Tae?”
“Who does this place belong to?”
“It once belonged to one of our members. Can you get going? I really don’t want to be late.”
“Which member?”
“Can you ask and drive?”
“No.”, Tae says in a strict tone. “Tell me, who bought it?”
“She bought it on credit.”
“Y/N does not have the saving to get a credit from a bank.”
“I don’t know how much you know but if you really need to talk about Y/N’s money, talk with her.”
“Alright. I will.”, Tae says replies. “I won’t tell her you told me.” With those words, he abruptly exits the car and begins walking directly towards her house.
“Where are you going?”, Jungkook screams as he watches Tae walking away. “Tae! Tae! Damnit.” Quickly, he jumps out of the car to follow Tae. “Tae! Don’t you hear me?” With a few steps, he moves in front of Tae and prevents him from walking.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”, Tae wonders as he looks at him.
“Tell you what?”
“That she moved!”
“It just did not come up. She has her own place like you wanted, isn’t that great?”
“Yeah, it is... but something smells fishy. I have a weird feeling about it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Where is the money coming from? I know she has a well-paid job but, no matter how many extra hours she might have done, Y/N would not be able to collect that amount of money in that short time.”
“You know she is working, right?”
“I do but, that apartment building does not look cheap.”
“You know who she is working for, right? You don’t know, do you?”
“Does it matter? She is not even working full time. How is she supposed to pay the debts?”
“Just answer me!” He takes a deep breath, irritated at Jungkook's style of speaking.
“Y/N is working in a top company that has more than enough money to even lend money to their own employees. She asked if she would be able to get one and they gave her one straight away.”
“Just like that?”
“Yes. When they gave her a little raise for the great work, they mentioned it. When she explained her situation, they offered it, and she took it.”
“If you told me all of this just a little sooner...!”
“I didn’t know if you cared to know and next to that, I am not even sure what another member might have told you.”
“I need to think about that... Let’s get to practice.”, Tae speaks slowly as he walks back to the car. “Fuck!”
“What?”
“My key! My car key is still in the car which locked itself already!”
“No, the car key is not in the car.”, Jungkook says laughingly as he holds up the key. “Be happy I am thinking.”
“Shut up.”, he commands as he takes the keys. “Get in.”
💧💧💧
The session felt like it lasted forever, and everyone's clothes appeared to be drenched in sweat. To everyone's delight, their dance choreographer requests a break. The gathering rapidly divided into several groups, and several people exited the room with their phones in hand. Jimin is interested by the expression on Yoongi's face as he continues to watch Tae.
“Why are you looking at him like that?”
“Is Tae like the old Tae again or is it just scaring me?”, Yoongi whispers to Jimin as they watch Tae talking with Jungkook and Namjoon.
“I am not quite sure. I mean, maybe the old one.”, Jimin whispers back as they watch Tae’s body language.
“So, he is not mad at you anymore?”
“Hopefully.”
“Remember what Jungkook texted.”, Yoongi tells him as he turns to grab a water bottle. “Let’s hope her work does not give her any troubles with the loan.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, I hope so-”, Yoongi stops to speak as he sees the smile on Jimin’s face. “What is the grinning about?”
“The money was mine.”, Jimin confesses. The sudden confession made Yoongi almost choke on his water. “The money is not from the company she is working for.”
“You did what?”
“It was my wife’s plan. Don’t ask me why, but she wants them back together.”
“She would be a fool if she does.”
“Don’t call her a fool!”
“What else am I supposed to call her when she thinks like that? Besides, How does that even work? How did the company even say yes to that plan...?”
“Well, happy wife, happy life.”, Jimin sighs satisfied. “You have no clue how stressed I am if Y/N figures out that that was my money. I hope their friendship is strong enough for it.”
“What if she transfers the money to their account?”
“She can’t because the account on the paper is mine.”
“You are a smart idiot.”
“Not me, but my wife is. She made the plan.”
“Of course, you are following her like a puppy.”, Yoongi says as he rolls his eyes.
“Oh, and you are not like that when it is about your wife?” Yoongi’s movement stop as soon as he hears Jimin’s words.
“Anyway, do you have any other idea on how to help her? We both agree that she would be better off with Jungkook but we both know we cannot make that choice for her.”
“If they’d have stayed together longer, they might would have gotten the chance to.”
“What are you talking about?”, Hoseok asks as he puts his arms around his members. “Why are you guys whispering?”
“Nothing at all.”, Jimin explains as Yoongi walks away.
“Good. Don’t destroy the good vibes we finally have in this studio.”, Hoseok warns.
“We are not about to.”, Jimin answers as he walks up to the other members.
💧💧💧
“Jungkook, can you stay a moment.”, Tae requests, as his mind still refuses to allow him a breather. Too many questions annoy him, and too many concerns run through his head. While waiting for everyone else to exit the room, Jungkook packs his belongings in his bag and throws it over his shoulder as he moves closer to Tae. “I think I need to say something out loud.”
“Out loud? I am listening.”
“I want Y/N to be happy as much as I want to be back with her. But I came to the realization, I cannot have her if she does not feel for me anymore.”
“Well, talk with Y/N. I cannot help you with that.”
“I am not asking for help or anything like that but, I need to know where you two are at right now.”, Tae says with a sad voice. “Be honest with me.”
“I already told you everything.”
“Is there anything else you might have not mentioned yet?”
“Listen, I think, I will always feel for Y/N in the way I do and the longer I lived with her, the more protective of her I got. I realized that my love for her is not as good as I hoped.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“I will tell you the same thing I told her. If she wants to go out with me, I am happy to do so. But if it is not me who makes her happy, we are better off as friends.”
“You really said that to her?”
“Yeah.”, Jungkook sighs. “I am feeling hurt and sad but, I can’t use her situation to benefit from it nor can I do it to you. Even though you would deserve to go through hell.”
“Thanks, Jungkook.”, Tae says as he holds his hand towards him. “Let’s restart from here.”
“I know you can’t forget nor can anyone who is involved in what I did, but I want to do better. You helped Y/N, when she needed help. She is the mother of my children, and you helped my children as well. That is what a true friend does.” For a brief moment, it seemed like manipulation to Jungkook, but it sounded too genuine to be a trick.
“Okay.”, Jungkook says as he shakes Tae’s hand. “But the very next bad thing you do to her or your kids, will be the last time we were friends.”
(I still had this in my draft but if i should ever fully write this one, it would start like that.)
Cast: BTS members - Namjoon, Jimin, Jungkook
Story: Jimin did something very stupid and Namjoon is pulled into it unwillingly. As their friend Jungkook also appears, they have no clue what his true intention seems to be.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee floods the room as Namjoon settles into his seat at the dinner table. There was still so much to do, yet there was so little time. "Almost eleven o'clock already...?" he thinks as he checks his phone. He glances about the room, trying to gather his thoughts, reminding himself that he won't be able to stay up much more than an hour since his brain is about to explode.
The light streaming through his window distracts him as he wonders who might be visiting him at this time of day. It was frightening enough to live on the first floor in this neighborhood, but having a car suddenly appear in front of your house at this time of day made it even scarier. The car's light goes out before he can think about it any longer.
Namjoon moves hesitantly approaching the window through which the light has just shined. The abrupt knock on the door causes him to turn his head towards it, just as he had pushed the curtain to the side. He grips the door handle, not knowing who is behind it. "Namjoon? Namjoon, have you finally returned home? "A voice cries from behind the closed door. A few more bangs hit the door. "Namjoon?" The man behind the door's voice sounded tense, almost panicked.
Namjoon wonders, "Jimin?" as he unlocks the door. "What the hell...?", is all he is able to say when he looks at his friend Jimin. His friend's clothing is splattered with blood. His eyes were filled with fear, his lips were trembling, and he sounded as if he was about to utter something, but there was no sound coming from him. Namjoon looks out the door, nervously, to check whether anyone has followed Jimin. He pulls him inside when he observes nothing out of the ordinary. The blood from Jimin's shirt paints Namjoon's palm blood red as he does so. "What in the world happened?" His friend licks his lip while shaking his head.
"I'm not able to return home... Is it okay if I just take a shower here?"
"Sure," Namjoon says, remembering Jimin's support in the past. It wasn't quite as wild, but who is he to refuse help to a friend in need? "I just made some coffee. We can discuss it later." Jimin walks inside the bathroom without saying anything further while Namjoon examines the floor for blood spots. He washes his hands in the kitchen sink as he can't find any. His thoughts keep looping back to what happened, almost driving him insane. When he considers what he has recently been told by his friend, the realization that he occasionally does insane things becomes almost frightening. Of course, everyone had problems, but Jimin's made him uneasy. Namjoon feels reassured by the sound of the washing machine that Jimin is at least keeping the bathroom clean of blood.
He heats up the leftovers from dinner earlier and arranges them on the dining table. Then he stores his papers since he is concerned about them becoming soiled. "Uh, you're done?" he asks Jimin as he approaches the dining table. "Eat it. I believe you need some food."
"Probably. Thanks.", Jimin comments as he grabs the burger from the dish. Namjoon takes a seat on the opposite side of the table, slowly. "You look worried."
“Wouldn’t you be too if I appear like that that late?”
“Namjoon, I killed this man.”, he says as he stops moving. “I killed him with a fucking knife.” With a sigh, his friend looks at him. “I fucking killed him...”, he repeats.
“You said you will stay away from your stepfather! Jimin, are you aware of what you did?”
“More than aware.”, Jimin says as he takes another bite from the burger.
“Are you sure that it was him though? Are you sure it was nobody who looked similar to him?”
“I would not forget these eyes. Namjoon, I killed my stepfather!” Just as he finishes his sentence, he starts to cry. “I never wanted to... I know what I said, but that was not why I did what I did!” Namjoon's eyes express his emotions about the incident as he continues to glance at his friend. Jimin wonders if he made the proper decision to drive to Namjoon's house. “You believe me, right?”, Jimin asks desperately. “Do you? Do you believe me?”
“I-”, his friend sighs. “I don’t know what to think right now.”
“Will you call the cops?” His friend freezes for a moment whilst he looks keeps looking into his eyes.
“Jimin, you know what you did? Do you realize how deep in shit you are sitting right now?”, he asks as he jumps up. “Are you aware that I am in trouble too because you are standing in my house with someone’s blood on you?” he says, his tone sounding like a growl. “I tried to stay away from people like him, I even helped you to get away from them and now? What the hell do you think they will do if they figure out it was you? You are causing me so much trouble right now!”
“I- I did not think that it would cause you trouble...”, Jimin confesses almost stuttering.
“Exactly! I always help you through shit but that... That is too much! Jimin, I did not want this life anymore!”
“So...”, Jimin says sadly. “What will you do? Call the cops? Hand me out to them?”
“What I will do? Fuck, I don’t know!”, he screams at him. “What would you do? Huh?”
“I don’t know either. Why were you there?”
“I wanted pick up some stuff from my mom.”, Jimin sighs. “There was a woman there and I was immediately remembered on my mother.”
“He beat that woman?”
“Beat? Namjoon, she didn’t move anymore! She was almost like my mother when I found her!" Namjoon glances aside for a moment, seeing the grief that Jimin seemed to be carrying. “It all just came up inside me. No matter how often told myself just to call the cops but I couldn’t help it! What if that is someone else’s mother...” Jimin’s lips start to shake as he looks up at his friend. “I only tried to help her but he started to fight me and called me all the words he used to call me when I lived with him. My mother still denied that he is such a bad person until her last breath.”, he tells him as he grabs the French fries with his fingers. “He is still too strong for me... I mean, was.”
“Did he start to attack you physically?”
“He tried to attack me with a damn pipe! There was no time for thinking... I took out the knife and warned him to stop the attacks. Then... He tried to hit me with it... that is when I pushed my knife upwards. I only tried to push him, but... the knife... I forgot for a damn second that I had the knife in my hand and it went through his chest.”
“It was an accidental kill?”
“Yeah.”, Jimin confesses. “How can you be so relaxed about what I just told you.”
“Because I know you would not do that.”, Namjoon tells him as he slides down in his chair.
“Namjoon, I just killed a man.”, he repeats. “I placed a fucking knife a few times into his body! I don’t know how often but I could not stop...”
“Jimin, do you really mean what you said? You said accidentally... Now you are saying a few times!?”
“I mean every damn bit of it. I don’t know what to do!” Namjoon sits up as he leans onto the table. Jimin can see how his friend’s mind seems to be working like crazy. “What are you thinking?”
“You said, you stabbed him accidentally. Right?”
“Yes.”, he answers slowly as eats some more French fries.
“Why did you say that you placed the knife a few times into his body then?” Namjoon watches his friend’s reaction like a hawk. “That makes no sense to me.”
“I stabbed him once by accident.”, he sighs as he leans back in his chair. “The other times happened as he cornered me and I thought ‘now he will kill me’. Right then and there, I could have died but it was like the movie stopped and skipped to the next part.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When he cornered me, I pulled the knife off his chest. I remember him picking up the pipe, but I only remember that I kneed next to him whilst I pushed the knife through his throat. Everything that happened between those moments... I don’t remember anything.” His eyes stay glued on Namjoon.
“That is an intentional kill, Jimin. Are you aware what that means?”
“That I got to run.”, Jimin admits. “I will leave right away.” As soon as he finishes his sentence, he gets up.
“Where you going?”
“Away from here. If I stay, you are in danger. You said it yourself.” The shaking of his head, does not get unnoticed by Jimin. “What?”
“I already am. You came here right after! They know you were the last one with him.” As he stands one step away from Jimin, he clears his throat. “What about the girl?”
“What about her?”
“Did she get away?”
“No.”, Jimin says as he looks down.
“Why are you looking away? Look at me!”, he yells. Patiently, he waits for his friend to look up. “Where is she?”
“I checked her pulse as soon as I was next to her body. She had no pulse.”
“Are you telling me, he killed her?”
“Namjoon, the pipe was big! If she would have not died after the hit on her head, I would be worried.”
“But you know what that means, right?” Jimin looks strongly into Namjoon’s eyes as he notices the change in his eyes. “If somebody who is in his favor, watched the scene unfold, might have changed the crime scene.”
“I have the knife here, how shall they know it was me?” A knock on the door interrupts the conversation. “Are you expecting somebody?”, Jimin says in a more silent tone.
“Actually, I do not.”, Namjoon says as he looks towards the door. Slowly, he walks to the door to check who it could be. One look through the window is enough to let his head hang. “Somebody else is in danger because of you too!”, Namjoon scolds as he opens the door to pull Jungkook into his house. “Why the fuck are you here?”
“What a nice greeting!”, Jungkook says. “What the hell is going on?”, he wonders slightly annoyed. He seemed to be just questioning Jimin by the way he stared at him. It was almost challenging.
"What are you up to staring at him like that?", Namjoon wonders.
“Hey! I asked you a question. I prefer if people answer me.”, Namjoon states in a deep tone. “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to visit you as I have nothing else to do.”, Jungkook explains before he attacks Namjoon arm to get rid of his grip. “What the hell is wrong with you to treat me like that? What did I ever do to you?”
“Forget it!”, Namjoon tells him as he looks at Jimin. “Is your car outside?”
“Shit! Yeah, yeah it still is!”, Jimin stutters.
“You idiot!”, Namjoon yells angrily. “Why did you take your own car?”
“I am getting worried here! What happened?”, Jungkook asks as he steps closer to Jimin and Namjoon. “You are both so tensed up.”
“Nothing.”, both of his friends say in unison.
“Stay out of it and leave as long as you can.”, Namjoon tells him. “If you stay, be prepared to be hunted.”
“Nothing happened but I have only now to leave?”
“Are you deaf?”, Jimin asks angrily.
“Stop!”, Namjoon shouts as he moves his finger along his face. “We will have to tell him.”
“Tell me what?”, Jungkook wonders as he looks at his friends who just keep staring at each other. “Shall I bring some candles for a candle light dinner for the lovebirds?”
“Could you just shut up for once!”, Namjoon scolds. “You are as much in trouble as we are in.”
“Why should I be in trouble?”
“Because this guy over here,” the hand movement of Namjoon is being watched closely by Jungkook. “made a bad choice and because he came to my place, everyone here will be in trouble.”
“What the fuck did you do?”, Jungkook asks curiously. “Jimin?”
“Does it matter? I am not proud nor am I happy but Namjoon is right, we have to go.”
“Go where?” Jimin takes the car keys from his pocket and walks towards Jungkook.
“Anywhere. We are going somewhere to not die here, clear enough?”
“Who did you mess with?”
“None of your business.”, Jimin clarifies as he looks at Namjoon. “Are you playing a tree game or will you start to move too?” It was not even ten seconds after Jimin finished his sentence that they could here a few cars and motor bikes appearing at the front of Namjoon’s house.
“Don’t tell me it has something to do with your stepfather?”, Jungkook asks worriedly. As his friends are not answering, he asks again. “What have you done that we are in danger, Jimin?”
“Be quiet for once.”, Jimin tells him as he looks back at Namjoon. “There are at least five cars with minimum of two people in each and a few bikes. How the hell are we getting out of here?”
“Can you climb with these shoes?”, Namjoon wonders as an idea crosses his mind.
“I guess. Why?”
“Both of you, back door.”, Namjoon commands as he crawls as quiet as he can to lock the door as quiet as possible. As soon as the door is locked, he crawls away from the window towards his friends. “Did you check the back door?”
“Nobody there.”, Jimin states.
“Jungkook, you will have to come with us.” Jungkook agrees with a nod as he follows them.
Hi! How are you? I hope you feel better 💛 I know that kind of break it's very helpful and important. I'll be waiting for your return how long it takes. 💙💜❤💛🧡 ( don't need to answer this, just want you to know that)
Hey :)
Thank you for being so sweet 💙 it has been very helpful and calmed myself down a lot.
I am trying to write whenever I can but with the new job position, language lessons and learning for the language lessons... it takes up a lot of time 🤦🏼♀️
However, I have not forgotten about it and have rewritten a few things for the new chapter for one of the stories once again.
I am also planning on changing it up. For example, instead of writing just from Tae's perspective as planned, doesn't really do it for me just as to tell the story only from Y/N's point of view at the beginning. How I will change it, I don't know yet... I guess we'll have to wait 😃
I appreciate your feedback, comments, and love for the stories I've written and those that are still in the works. I'll keep it brief: the reason I'm writing these lines is because of writing delays.
Don't worry about the stories continuing; they will, but not in the next few weeks. I had hoped to be able to write more once summer arrived, but apparently I was mistaken, and I apologize for keeping you waiting. Also, I am aware that some writers post after their story is completely written, but I like to have comments influence the speed of stories.
I'm not sure when new chapters will be posted. It's possible that it won't happen in autumn. Perhaps not even this year...
Please do not interpret this negatively because all of my other social media accounts have been closed/deleted in the meantime. This app and Ao3 will continue to send me notifications. I promise you that I will not delete the accounts on both sides because I am not finished with my "hobby." I have a lot more ideas for short and long stories in my head.
It may be difficult for some to understand, but I need to disconnect for the time being and get away from everything and everyone. I've lost myself in the last few months, acting like a robot to please others and forgetting myself in the process (privately as well at my job). As a result, I was exhausted and lacked motivation to do anything. From denying having to start a new day in the mornings to ignoring time to stretch the night by staying up as long as I can to avoid going to bed, which would cause the next day to begin. Food, sleep, and hobbies had all lost their meaning for me. Eventually, I was awake 19 hours a day, not taking care of myself or my body. I did only what was expected of me.
I apologize once more for keeping you waiting, and I will write when I feel like it, but for now, I need to take a break and just take it easy.
Thank you for your love and support! Please take care of yourself and pay attention to what your body is telling you.
Summary: Y/N’s life starts to change as her mother gets herself a new man after her father’s passing. A new school, a new life. Everything sounds too good to be true. Apparently, destiny has its own rules and that is something she will learn when destiny gives her some signs along her way.
CHAPTER 23
“I made dinner! I hope you are hungry.”, Jimin’s uncle screams as soon as he hears the front door open. He hears what sounds like shoes being thrown around. “Jimin?”
“Yes, me. Who else would come through an unlocked door?”, Jimin asks angrily. With the dishes in his hands, his uncle gives him a startled expression. Jimin had anything but a kind expression on his face whilst he breathed quickly. The rapid movement of Jimin's chest revealed to him that he was indeed running.
“Everything alright?”, his uncle wonders as he places the plates on the table. “Were you running? You are totally out of breath.”
“How could you...? Why would you...?”, Jimin groans. “Didn’t I... I asked you to...”
“I think I need more words to help you...”
“You went to school to talk about Y/N with her teachers? Who gave you the right to do so?”, he asks once he regains his breath. “Y/N told me that the drama teacher mentioned you.”
“I know you wouldn’t like it, but I think you might be right with your concerns.”, his uncle sighs as he puts the Spaghetti down. “I talked with a female colleague for almost all day at work before I decided to go down there.”
“I asked you not to do anything! Could you just once do what I ask you to do?”
“Jimin, I can’t. My job is to protect children.”, he explains as he sits down at the table. “If you like it or not, I will do what I think is right for the safety of a child.”
“You are saying...?”, Jimin sighs annoyed.
“Sit down and eat.”, his uncle demands. “Come on, let’s talk whilst eating dinner.” Jimin nods as he sits down. “I understand that this is not what you wanted to happen, but that is what I needed to do. Please understand, my job is my job. Trust me, if I could stay out, I would.”
“Could you not do your usual talk with her first? Normally you talk with the kids first before you step into action.”
“Not this time.”
“Why?”
“Because I watched her.”, his uncle says as he puts the Spaghetti onto his fork. “Mmhmm... Try it Jimin! Self-made spaghetti sauce.”
“You did what?”, Jimin wonders as his eyes become bigger.
“I made the Spaghetti sauce myself.”
“No!”, Jimin states frustrated. “You were watching her? For how long have you been watching her?”
“The kid of my colleague’s friend is going to your school as well. She filmed Y/N every now and then for me.” His words went easy from his lips which confused Jimin even more. Speechless, he watches his uncle eat. “You should really have some, it tastes so good!”
“You truly...?”, Jimin asks with his mouth full as he takes a full spoon of Spaghetti. Once he swallows his food, he leans his head against the back of his hand. “Is that even legal? I think you might be in trouble because of it.”
“Leave that to me. Anyway, I figured out that Y/N’s stepfather has some good connection to hide his aggressions. His connections were through money, as you probably have discovered by now.”
“So, he that is why he is so concerned about his reputation...”
“Yeah. Seems like that is the only thing that he stayed loyal to in his life.”
“Illegal stuff too?”
“Yes, but he can’t be taken to court as those payments were covered for other reasons, fake reasons. Multiple ones... Which means, every investigation on him regarding violence were dropped. They never made it to court.”
“He has never been punished for what he did?”
“Nope. Not a single one.”
“How many cases are there?”
“Some were former ex-girlfriends who suddenly said they lied to get money. Money transfer to those women left his account. Men he had fights with outside his home, were receiving money from him and they never once said that they want to press charges.”, the man sighs. “Jimin, if that eye and lip looked as you told me, I don’t know if he stops himself to not attack Y/N. The youngest victim of his was a nineteen-year-old boy.” A long breath leaves the man’s lips as he looks at Jimin. “Does Y/N have any sign of abuse?”
“Y/N did not have any blue spots or anything...”
“He stopped paying for her lunch.”
“He did? When?”
“I don’t know for how long I only know that he stopped the payment. She is no longer able to use her lunch card. This guy even told a teacher as she is not listening to him, she does not even get a cent from him for anything.”
“That is why she was not eating lunch...? That makes no sense at all.”
“To you it doesn’t.”, his uncle explains whilst pointing at his nephew with the fork. “For people like him, it makes total sense. Look, I only know from him from what Jinyoung’s dad told me, what the teachers told me, what you told me and what my friend was able to figure out. Put everything together and you get a selfish pig.”, Jimin’s uncle tells him angrily. “Keep an eye on her. Maybe she will let something slip...”
“I will pay more attention to her words.”, Jimin agrees. “I don’t think she will be allowed to, but maybe I can invite her over this weekend. If her father agrees.”
“Sounds good. Gives me a chance to read her body language.”
🍃🍃🍃
“You are late!”, Y/N’s mother scolds as Y/N enters the front door. She stands in the open doorway, emotionless, looking at her mother. The scent of alcohol surrounds her like a fog.
“Yey I am home!”, Y/N cheers sarcastically. “I could not be happier.”
“Stop that nonsense! Why are you late?” Her mother's eyes may be empty, but her voice conveys how she actually feels about her daughter's delay.
“Because of you two! Did you have to make a scene like that every time you are at my school?”
“Every time? Y/N, they tried to rip your reputation apart!”
“Reputation? Which reputation, mom? I am a nobody in this school!”, Y/N yells as she loses control of her emotions.
“You are not a nobody, your name is Y/N Y/L/N. Don’t let people drag it down!” The more her mother talked, the more drunk she sounded.
“Since when do you care about reputation? Without all this fancy stuff and the money, you were such a better person!”
“Watch your mouth, young lady. Don't forget your boundaries.”, she warns as she quickly shuts the door.
“Mom, you told me not to care what people say when we had nothing. Now you care? Why? What has changed?”, Y/N wonders frustrated. “Why is this all so suddenly important?”
“Don’t embarrass your father at school by letting them talk about you like that!”
“My father is dead! This guy who is probably sitting drunk on the couch is not my father!”
“Don’t scream at your mother!”, her stepfather yells as he points to her room. “Go inside and be quiet. Nobody gives a shit what a little troll like you have got to say.” His clothing appears to have absorbed the smell of alcohol. His deep voice and slow speech were nearly terrifying.
“Better alone in my room than five more minutes with drunk people.”
“What did you just call us?”, her stepfather asks as he steps in front of her. “What... did you... just say?” His deep voice and slow speech were nearly terrifying.
“Leave me alone!”, Y/N says as calm as she could.
“Drunk people?”
“I want to go into my room, leave me alone!”, Y/N yells as she feels even more threaten by the man in front of her. Her mother takes a deep breath as she witnesses her husband hit her daughter across the face.
“Think about your words twice next time. Don’t get out of your room until tomorrow!” With the pain on her cheek, she walks into her room quickly without looking back at her mother. When she looks around her desk, she sees that everything but her notes, pencils, and school materials has vanished.
“Rex?”, Y/N asks with a shaking voice as she searches her room for her beloved stuffed animal. “Where the hell is it?” The longer her stuffed animal appears to be missing, the more concerned she becomes. When the nervosity takes a hold of her, the fear of losing her last memory of her father begins to rise. For a brief moment, the knock on the door allows her to forget about her worries.
“Eat some of these.”, her mother whispers as she looks at her. She didn't seem to notice the opening of her bedroom door. “Just some snacks but something at least.”
“Mom, where is Rex?”, Y/N wonders as she steps closer to her mother. “I left Rex right there on my desk.”
“I came home and everything was gone, Y/N. I think your father might have taken it.”
“What!?” The word escapes her tongue uncontrollably loud.
“Ssh!”, her mother shushes her. “Great...” Before Y/N could say anything else, her mother closes the door in front of her face.
“What were you doing in her room?”, her stepfather questions. When she did not response, footsteps were clear to hear. “I asked you a question.”
“I was listening if she was alright. You were pretty hard on her.”
“I was hard on her? She is too sensitive.”
“She is a teenager, consider your words a bit more.”
“The door was open. What did you do in there?” He must have come closer as Y/N can hear his voice very clear through the door. Stressed, she takes the snacks and puts them underneath her desk. Quickly, she places her backpack in front of it.
“Why does it matter?” As Y/N notices the movement of the door handle, she sits down on her bed. “Let her sleep!”, her mother says loudly which worked like a clue. Y/N picks up the blanket and lies down as fast as she could before the door opens.
“Sleeping, huh?”, the man says as he steps into the room.
“Honey, please let her sleep.”
“I can’t sleep with all the noise.”, Y/N lies. “Get out of my room!”
“I pay for this apartment, not you!” Slowly, he looks through the room. Y/N finds it difficult not to rage at him for taking Rex away from her. Even though it pains her so much, she understands it makes no sense to talk to him when he is intoxicated. “Do your studies first before you go to sleep!” With no further word, he leaves them alone.
“Mom, did you hear how he speaks to me?”
“That is just because of the stress.”
“Stress?”, she asks her mother as quiet as she could. “We almost have to whisper to even speak with each other. Do you think that it is normal?”
“Y/N. Everyone is different when in stress. He is just explosive.”
“That’s what you call it? Explosive?”
“Stop behaving like a toddler and stop speaking as you are an adult! You are normal, nice behaving kid. My child that I raised well and I know that you are not like what you behave like lately.”
“Mom, he took Rex!”
“It doesn’t matter! He can buy you a new stuffed animal if you need one so badly.”
“It is not about it being a stuffed animal! That was dad’s last gift before he passed away.”
“I understand that you still love your dad so much but you have a new father. It is time to move on.”
“How can you say that?”, Y/N sobs, unable to stop herself as the first tear falls from her eyes.
“We all must move on, Y/N. If you like to talk like an adult, be one for this matter.”
🍃🍃🍃
Y/N did her best to hide the tears she had shed the night before. Losing Rex was the last thing she expected to happen to her. Fortunately for her, she had her headphones in her backpack while at school. She slips the headphones into her ears and turns on some upbeat music.
She would not often listen to this style of music, but it made her feel better than she had anticipated. She can hear what's going on around her because the music isn't too loud. It appears that leaving home so early today was a prudent decision, as few students were already at school. She arrives into the gym, exhausted from crying herself to sleep.
She rests down on one of the gym's mattresses because they are very comfortable. As the silence becomes more comfortable, she shuts her eyes and dreams away.
The sound coming from her headphones must have piqued someone's interest, for she can hear footsteps approaching. She sits up and turns in that way, concerned about who it could be. “What are you doing here?”, her friend Jin wonders as he steps next to the mattress.
“You scared me to death!”, Y/N laughs as she touches her chest. “I thought you might be a teacher.”
“Maybe in the future...”, Jin jokes as he does an eye roll. “I guess the space is empty?”, he wonders as he points to the spot next to her.
“Uhm, no. I came alone.”
“Cool. My spot then.” As her friends gets comfortable, she lies back down too. “What are you doing here by yourself?”
“I came too early and now I am trying to dream away.”
“Nice.”, he says as he takes a deep breath. “School is so nice with no other students around...”
“What were you doing here so early?”
“Just the typical school president, class president talk. They won’t miss me.”
“But you are the school president. Don’t you have to be like the strong voice?”
“Nope. I am only important if there are troubles between classes and teachers. Almost like a peacemaker. Otherwise, it is just a title.”
“If you say so.”, Y/N sighs as she places her hand on her stomach.
“Hungry?”
“Huh?”
“Are you hungry?”
“Just because I place an hand on my stomach, it does not mean I am hungry.”
“That is not what I meant... I am hungry and would try to get something from the store down the street. Do you want to come with me?”
“Not really.”
“I pay!”, Jin says with a wink.
“I pass, but thanks.”
“Anything you want?”
“Jin, I don’t want anything.”
“So, a little of everything?”
“Gosh, alright. I am coming with you, are you happy then?”
“Hell yeah. Let’s go!”, Jin commands as he gets up first. “Come on!”
Summary: Tae meets a woman who is very manipulative. Before he even notices anything, she got him around his finger. He decides to leave his wife Y/N and his four kids to start a new life with the new woman. This perfect house of cards that he had just started to build, starts to unfold as she starts to show her true face. Piece by piece it makes him feel sick. Tae notices his wrong doing as his house of cards start to fall apart. Regret and hate towards himself makes him wish to turn things around. Will he be able to safe his house of cards and to get back what he once threw away? Is Y/N able to forgive?
CHAPTER 24
Tae's doorbell rang not long after he sat on his kitchen chair. Too many questions were filling his mind. The questions were scattered, and he couldn't hear a single voice in his head.
Tae gets up slowly to check on the door. On his way, he looks out the window and notices an unexpected car parked outside. He searches for other cars because he refuses to believe that this person arrived by themselves. The doorbell rang once more. As he opens the door, he takes a deep breath.
“I am surprised to see you here.”, Tae says as he stares at the man in front of him.
“Maybe I should have called you before I drove here.”, the man answers.
“Would have been better.”, Tae states waiting for the man to talk. “Anything else?”, he asks as the man seems to say nothing else.
“I need to talk with you... It is important.”
“Let me guess, a bird sang that I spoke with Jimin?”, Tae questions as he tries to look at his friend’s eyes but his head was still hanging too low. His friend’s hair looks messy and his facial expression appears to be either sad or exhausted. He was not sure if he could tell the right feeling of him as it isn't easy to tell. A few raindrops fell on the ground behind the man. “Did Yoongi call you?”, he asks in hope to get any answer.
“Tae, can I just come in?”
“What for?”
“I think, I should talk to you.”
“I wonder why you would drive to my house just to talk. Especially since you said that we are only professional connected.” He didn't like how uneasy the man must be, but it was strange that he would show up without a reason. He hadn't been to his door in a long time without anyone else. “Can’t you talk with anybody else?”
“I need to talk with you, please.”, the man says slowly without looking at Tae’s face. He barely looks high enough to even look at Tae’s chest. Mostly, his eyes look to the doorframe next to Tae. “Just let me in and we will talk.”
“After all the shit that went down, I think you spoke maybe two sentences with me under four eyes. The rest of the time you ignored me, hated me and called me names.”
“I know what I did and said but... Tae, I would not come here if I would not mean it respectfully.”
“Respectfully?”, Tae mocks. “I don’t think so.”
“I don’t respect what you did, but I respect you as my friend.”
“I am still your friend? I am?”, he wonders as he looks behind the man. The rain drops were starting to become more and the clouds seem to bring more rain with them as the sky closes up.
“Why are you questioning our friendship?”
“Don’t I have a reason for it? You practically wanted me to not participate in a lot of things, remember?”
“Don’t I have reason to mistrust your words? Who would have known if you would have even shown up. Remember that phase?” In agreement, Tae nods as he places his shoulder against the door.
“Are you here to tell me that Jimin told you to make sure I don’t go to a lawyer?”
“I still hope you won't but that's not why I am here.” Tae knew he would believe Tae would send the lawyer after her based on the pattern he chose his words. Another friend on Tae’s mind-list who would think that he might do that.
“But he did talk with you about it, right?”
“He mentioned something... I am not here because of the conversation you had with Jimin. I need to talk with you about something else.”
“So, tell me before I even consider letting you in. Why are you really here, Jungkook?” Like a hawk, he watches every breath Jungkook’s takes. The rain drops are becoming more visible on his shirt as the rain is getting even stronger. “If you don’t want to tell me, you might better get home. It is late anyway.”
“It is not so easy.”, Jungkook sighs. “I'm torn between leaving and talking to you, but I think we must talk.”
“Huh, is that so...”, Tae says as he takes a deep breath whilst putting his hands in his pockets. “What makes you so sure that we need to talk?”
“I don’t know how much you know, but I think we need to clear things up.”
“With things you mean...?”
“My relationship... to... your family.”, Jungkook says slowly as he looks into Tae’s eyes.
“You got my attention.”
“Can I come inside? It's starting to pour harder.”, Jungkook requests.
“Sure.”, he answers as he opens the door wide. Tae touches Jungkook's shoulder as he plans to remove his shoes. “I said come in, not stay. It won’t take long, will it?”
“It depends.”, his friend explains as he licks his lips. “I think we should rather sit down and talk one on one.”
“Give me one good reason why I should let you take a seat in my house?”
“I already took a big step to jump over my shadow, can’t you do it too?”
“Oh really? Don’t you think you act a bit tough?”
“Tough? Definitely no.”
“Do you know something?”
“Maybe. But do you even need to ask?”, Jungkook wonders as he looks directly into his eyes. “I know you know.” Amused by his friend’s words, Tae smirks.
“I know something? Last time I checked I am still looking for the address my family is living at, at the moment-”
“Stop the bullshitting!”, Jungkook interrupts in a more confident way as he spoke earlier tonight. “I saw you watching Y/N and your kids entering my apartment building.” Tae nods as he becomes more comfortable as he already thought, Jungkook might have seen him.
“My car? I am not sure if that is correct. There is no reason my kids would be with you in the first place, right?”
“Tae, why are you keeping an eye on my place? It is not the first time that I notice you there.”
“My car at your place? You said you came to talk about the relationship between you and my family.”
“That is topic number two.”
“Let’s make it topic number one.” Tae says as he finally closes the door behind him. “You denied every single time when I asked you if you are trying to make my family yours and still, they are staying with you.”, Tae tells him angrily. “Oh wait, what did my child say again... Oh yeah right, he called your place ‘home’.” The longer he talks, the more angry it sounded like. “Why are my kids considering your place ‘home’?” Surprised by the direct question Jungkook swallows hard for a moment before he moves his tongue along his lower lip.
“I can explain that.”
“I know you could. I am already waiting for the next lie though.”
“Which lie?”, Jungkook wonders as he watches Tae leaning his shoulders against the front door. “So far you are the only one who lied.”
“Let’s start with you are only there to help and to play uncle.”, Tae sighs. “How much of that is still true?”
“I am here for them. You know that already.”
“Seems like you don’t understand my question, Jungkook.”
“I know what you mean but-”
“No!”, Tae interrupts. “You are wrong. I already know that my youngest sees you as his dad as you are constantly around him. Feels good, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it feel good to you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know the way to Y/N’s heart is through her kids nowadays and you dare to make your move on her through my kids?”
“I am not doing that!”, Jungkook yells. “Why is it so hard just to talk to you?”
“We both know I have my reasons to be upset with you as my ‘friend’.”
“I did not come to fight you.”
“We don’t have to fight. Let’s not destroy your pretty face...”
“Why are you acting so strange?”
“Me? Why is everybody saying that I act strange when everybody around me is either lying to me or is trying to hide something from me?”
“Once again. I am not about to steal your family.”
“Only my kids?”
“I am not stealing your kids, Tae.”, Jungkook sighs. “I am not meaning to harm your relationship with them.”
“But you love to kiss my wife, don’t you?” Jungkook’s eyes widens as he looks at him. “Uh, at that I was right...”
“What are you talking about?”
“What I am talking about? You talked about it with Jimin!”
“He, he told you?”
“He didn’t, but you just confirmed your conversation.”
“Tae, it is not what you think.”, Jungkook stutters.
“It is not what I think? You told Jimin that kissing her or not kissing her might be triggering to her feelings but still you consider playing with her emotions! Don’t you dare to lie to me again!”
“You played with her emotions! I am trying to pick up the pieces. Do you have any idea what you did to her?”
“That’s what you call it? Interesting. Very interesting, I must say.”, Tae says whilst shaking his head. “How long are you intimate with her already? Before we moved apart? Before everything went public? I would not even be surprised if you had already tried to lure her into trusting you before our wedding, so you would have an easier chance once we would break up. Congrats, your plan worked.”
“You are insane! I told you I got myself under control and I kept my word.”, Jungkook says in defense as he tries desperately to find his words. “I never, even once thought about doing that to you!”
“Until when though? Because legally seen, this is adultery. Seeing it from the time frame, it almost lasts as long as my stupid choice lasted...”
“It is different... Look, I had myself perfectly under control until you made her feel miserable. When I was the only one, she took the help from, why would I have let her down? She needed help and I was there. Emotions are uncontrollable.”
“But actions are controllable.”, Tae states as he sighs. “Helping is one thing, but that does not give you a free ride into her heart! You took your chance when she was hurt the most. Yes, I hurt her but that does not mean my ‘friend’ has to jump into my shoes and take everything away from me when the last word has not been spoken!”
“The last word has been spoken, Tae. She wants the divorce just like you do.”
“Oh right, I almost forgot. Instead of helping your friend to talk things out with his wife, you organized a lawyer to get things done faster.”
“You are so fucked up in your brain that it is not even funny!”, Jungkook says even louder. “I was trying to keep a distance from my emotions and help your family. Not mine, yours!”
“If that is the case, how did she end up at your place? Couldn’t you find another house and give me the all the bills that needed to be paid?”
“I thought you wouldn’t do it. Plus, Y/N did not want anybody to spend money on her.”
“Is that why you thought it would be better to put my family in your care in your apartment?”
“We all tried to find another place.”
“She refused them all?”
“She even tried not to tell us about losing her home.”
“So, nobody else came up with the idea to find another place for her?”
“Everyone tried to find a place for her to stay. Do you have any idea how stubborn she is?”, Jungkook sighs. “I was only asked to take her in as we only were one week away from her living on the streets. Tae, she would have even preferred to either live in the women’s shelter or in a motel before staying with us.”
“How did she end up at your place then?”
“I have the least responsibility of all of them. Y/N did not want to disturb any of us, which is why we did not ask her if she wants to separate the kids to different homes. For example, your girls to Jin’s house. Your oldest boy to Jimin’s house. Y/N and the youngest to Yoongi’s.”
“You should have suggested it...”
“The voting was four to two if we should tell her or not.”
“Are you telling me you volunteered?”
“No. As I have the least responsibility of all them, he asked me.”
“He? Who?”
“It does not matter.”
“It does! Jungkook, if somebody put you in the position, I can understand why you were not able to keep your emotions in check anymore.” Confused, Jungkook looks at Tae.
“You just told me you know that I am kissing your wife and still you are not beating me up?”
“I am the only one who knew about how you really feel about Y/N. I always felt sorry for you but there was nothing I could do except of trying to keep her away from you as much as I could.”
“That is why you trusted me not to do anything stupid?”
“I saw that you were trying to keep yourself under control and I respected it so much.”, Tae explains slowly. “Do you know how bad and good it feels to be able to enjoy all the good things when you are in love but you also know a friend of yours would like to be you at that moment?”
“Must be nice...”
“It isn’t. At least not until you told me you were over her. Which obviously was a lie.”
“I don’t know why I feel for her like that! I really don’t know!”, Jungkook tells him frustrated as his eyes tear up. “No matter how bad you deserve for what you did to her, that is not right.”
“You did not do it on purpose?”
“God no.” For a brief moment, neither of them says anything. Every word seems to progress in their minds. “I should have never said yes. I know that now...”
“Why did you even say yes, Jungkook? Why did you not try to talk with me?”
“I honestly didn’t want to have anything to do with you after seeing her in the state she was in.”
“Just answer my question, you only said yes because you were pushed to do it?”
“I was not pushed to it, it just made sense when Jimin-” Shocked by his own slip of truth, he stops himself.
“Jimin? What did he do?”, Tae asks curiously as he straightens up his body. Watching Tae’s body movement, Jungkook knows that he won't be able to back out easily. “What does Jimin have to do with my family, Jungkook?”
“I just mixed something up... Not important.”
“Did Jimin come to you?”, Tae asks with a strict voice. Tae's stare makes him feel awkwardly positioned in the corner of the room.
“Forget what I said. Point is-”
“I can’t!”, Tae yells. “What does Jimin have to do with it? Was he the one with this oh so great idea?”
“I am not here to talk about Jimin.”
“But Jimin is the reason why this conversation is happening in the first place, right?”
“Let's leave him out of the picture, okay? Look, I made the choice. If I would have not said yes, this conversation would not be happening.”
“Just tell me the truth.”, Tae requests as he watches Jungkook taking a deep breath. “Let me ask you a different question. Is that why you go to him when you have a problem regarding my family? Is this why he you talk with him about everything that is going on?”
“Who else am I supposed to go to?”, Jungkook answers with a voice that sounded emotionally defeated. “Jin is always somewhere with his family, Namjoon is always working on something, Yoongi is also barely available, Hoseok is helping his wife as much as he can since her mother has to stay in the hospital. Jimin mostly finds time somehow for everybody. How can I possible talk with you about anything? Specially, after what you have done…”
“How about you would try for once? Jungkook, remember how long I was there for you. If Jimin pushed you to take my family in, you could have told me! If your feelings are back for her, I still would have helped you somehow. I would have bought a place and you could have pretended to have found it. Later on, we could have told her the truth...”
“You would have done that?”, Jungkook wonders surprised. “I thought you just want her out of your life as much as she wanted you out of her life.”
“Our kids will always connect us, don’t you get it? What benefits do I have of hurting my kids’ mother?”, Tae asks. “Damn, I am your friend! You should know me by now! If someone would have said that I can pick my kids up from your address or another's friend address, I would have at least any confirmation that they are alright. I would have helped somehow.” Tae walks past Jungkook, but then stops in his tracks to face him again. “If you would be there for my family, I would have been there for you.”
“But what about what I feel for Y/N?”, Jungkook asks. “I can’t help how I feel.”
“That has been a problem to me since you told me about it but, I thought you would never go so far.” Visibly hurt, Tae moves his fingers through his hair. “Why the hell did you not come to me? I just don’t understand why you did not come to me after promising me at my wedding, that if you cannot control yourself anymore, you would come to me. You promised it at my wedding, Jungkook.”
“How was I able to? I hated your guts for what you did.”, Jungkook explains. “It also felt like you kind of deserve it.”
“You guys knew it for months until that day!”, Tae yells. “Why did you, as my friends not wake me up sooner? Jimin even saw us leaving a hotel room together, you saw us at an event holding hands...”
“I was hoping for it all to be misunderstood. Nobody thought that you would do that to Y/N... Whenever Jimin or Hoseok said they noticed something, I played it down. But that was until I saw you two holding hands...”
“You were the only one who always wanted to hit me when I did something wrong. Why not back then? I would have deserved it.”
“My thoughts were more about Y/N… When we confronted you, we were sure you would stop this affair and go back to your family. We never thought you would leave Y/N. We were so wrong.”
“You thought you knew what I wanted without even talking about the reason for my cheating? Maybe I am asking too much but when I would have seen my friend starting to drink more, being not himself, having an affair... I would have found time to talk with him about it.”
“Honestly, my mind was too filled about Y/N’s feelings. I didn't care about you at the end. What would have changed if I would have known the reason? Nothing would have changed.”
“Nothing that happened but the outcome.”, Tae tells him as a thought crosses his mind. “Jungkook, could it be you did know I'd mess up?”
“What?”
“Did you wait for me to mess up so would have a chance for yourself, to be with her?”
“Listen, I never wanted to take her away from you! Yes, I always had feelings for her but I’d never would imagine to steal the wife of a friend… Tae, she still has feelings for you but she is to hurt to think straight.”
“Did you ask her? ”
“I talked with her about it.”, Jungkook tries to explain but Tae’s face already tells him that he doesn't believe him. “She is confused about how she feels about you, Tae. She confessed to me that she feels like it is her fault.”
“She told me something similar.”
“She did?”, his friend questions surprised. “What did she say to you?”
“In short: she thinks her looks are the reason why I cheated.”
“I caught her doing that.”
“Huh?”
“At night after her moving in, she stood in front of the mirror complaining about her looks.” Slowly, Jungkook licks his lips in nervousness. “I listened from the outside but it was painful to hear a beautiful woman saying those things about herself.”
“Did she talk about the surgeries?”
“Not to me but she said it to herself. I don't know how to help her to see herself differently.”
“I never told anyone, but I will tell you.”, Tae says as he steps closer to Jungkook. “She used to go to a therapist in another city because she was too embarrassed about her looks when we started dating.”
“She went to therapy?”
“Her childhood messed her up. I needed to get her to therapy because she would not dare to wear anything else than very loose clothes.”, Tae explains slowly. “She wanted to be invisible to everyone around her. She was so scared and insecure at the beginning that I thought, that I did something wrong. You remember that conversation when I told you about it?”
“I do.”
“Namjoon’s wife called me the other day and told me that she is taking care of the kids, mentally.”
“Yeah, your kids are at their house during those sessions.”, Jungkook tells him as he steps closer to Tae. “I talked with Y/N to talk with her, but she is afraid to get judged by her.”
“Typical Y/N.”, Tae sighs. “Shall I talk with Namjoon’s wife?”
“I talked with Namjoon to talk with her about it. He said she will try to ‘calm her storm’.”
“Good.”, Tae comments. As both guys begin to drift off into their own thoughts, Jungkook clears his throat to break the silence.
“I think I better go now.”
“Jungkook.”, Tae says as Jungkook grabs the door handle.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate it.”
“Sure.”
“Uh, wait a minute.”, Tae says as he leaves the room to grab his son’s sport equipment. “Can you give it to my boy?”
“The sport equipment he talks about nonstop...”
“Yes. I was not able to see him yet and I think he wants to wear to his next practice.”
“You know he has practice next weekend?”
“I do. But he texted me not to be there.”
“Oh.”, Jungkook says as he takes the bag. “I did not know that he texted that.”
“He wrote that the other boys are not very nice to him about what I did. I don’t want to worsen the situation now that he is invited to a game night soon.”
“I understand.”, Jungkook says as he looks at the bag. “He does not know I am here though.”
“Just tell him you saw me at the agency and I gave you the bag there.” Jungkook nods as he opens the door. “Bye, Jungkook.”
“See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”, Tae nods as he follows Jungkook towards the door. He wishes he had questioned about how intimate his relationship with Y/N is, but he also understands the importance of maintaining a friendship. Tae knows he might be better off keeping the relationship with Jungkook if he serves as a bridge to his family.
Summary: Tae meets a woman who is very manipulative. Before he even notices anything, she got him around his finger. He decides to leave his wife Y/N and his four kids to start a new life with the new woman. This perfect house of cards that he had just started to build, starts to unfold as she starts to show her true face. Piece by piece it makes him feel sick. Tae notices his wrong doing as his house of cards start to fall apart. Regret and hate towards himself makes him wish to turn things around. Will he be able to safe his house of cards and to get back what he once threw away? Is Y/N able to forgive?
CHAPTER 23
A day off has evolved into much more. It became more of a battle to clear his head so he could think clearly. He wanted to be outside with the kids today, playing in the grass, but it seems like he is not seeing his children once again. Y/N said that they have something else scheduled later and that scheduling a spontaneous meeting with Tae would be difficult. For Tae, it's just another day of texting his children instead of hearing their sweet voices. Another day goes by without hearing them laugh or talk excitedly about something they're interested in. Those days alone are more lonely and the empty days seem to pass by slower than the previous days. It is almost as the days seem to drag on forever. Even though Tae is attempting to squeeze his children into his schedule, the timing never appears to be right. It is getting harder and harder on him to see his kids so infrequently. He hoped he could take them out of school every now and then, but that would put them behind in their studies. That is, of course, not a smart move either.
“Hello. I am Kim Taehyung. I ordered some items to be picked up today.”, he explains to the employee in the sport shop. The man behind the cash desk nods as he excuses himself to get the order. Tae takes the bags of various items from the employee and exits the store.
Tae observes a familiar car at the traffic light across the street as he puts the sport equipment for his son into his car. With a fast look, Tae checks the passengers in the car. Without thinking about the situation twice, he jumps into his car to follow Y/N's car as soon as he notices his children in the backseat of her car. When Y/N appears to park her car a few minutes later, he parks in a parking spot a few cars behind Y/N’s car. He realizes she won't be able to see him, which is exactly what he was hoping for; an opportunity to observe. Tae had no plans to drive anywhere else today, but losing them out of sight once he sees them is an opportunity he would like to grab. His family appears to be entering the building just near to their parked cars. The anxiety inside him rose as he realized who's address this is.
"What are they doing here?" Tae wonders as he watches his children, who appear to be running happily towards the front entrance of the building where Jungkook’s apartment is located. He can feel his wrath rising inside him as he recalls Jungkook's statements to Jimin. "I don't believe it," Tae stutters as he dials his son's number once his children went inside as he wants to know whether he's right about why they are at his friend’s building or not.
“Hello?”, his son answers. The voice in the background can easily be identified as his younger daughter. His daughter's voice is quite high pitched, and her speaking pace is really fast, therefore it sounds like she's talking excitedly about a topic.
“Hey!”, Tae says as he fakes to express himself as cheerfully as he can.
“What’s up dad?”
“I just finished the list for the sports equipment that you wanted for soccer.”
“That’s awesome! Did you also get this one bag I asked for?”
“Yes, I also got the bag you asked for.”
“Thank you, dad!”, his son says cheerfully.
"You're very welcome! Shall I bring you your stuff now?", Tae asks as he keeps looking around to see if any of his friends will appear at the entrance in the hope that Y/N might gather with other friends at Jungkook’s place. “I would drive to you now.”
“Uhm, not right now.”, the boy says with an insecure sound in his voice. “Maybe tomorrow... But I don’t know yet. Now is not a good time, dad.” The breaks the boy makes in these short sentences and the uncommon stuttering makes Tae listen closely.
“Are you alright? You sound as something is wrong.”
“Nothing.”, the boy says more quiet than any of his words before.
“I can hear that something is not alright. Where are you? Do you need anything?”
“We just got home.” Tae’s heart felt as it has stopped beating. Home? Jungkook’s home is their home? Shocked by his son calling Jungkook’s home their home, feels as thorns are pushed into his skin. “I don’t think it is a great idea for you to come here.”
“You are becoming more and more quiet... Are you sure everything is alright?”, Tae wonders as his voice revealing his bewilderment.
“Yeah, it is just that mom is starting to prepare dinner. I don’t know if mom would be alright if you would come here.”, his son whispers as he can hear footsteps in the background.
“Why are you suddenly whispering?”, Tae questions worried. “Is your mother next to you? If you feel uncomfortable, we can talk later...”
“Sis looks very mad at me. I am not allowed to be on the phone when we have dinner.”, the boy says a second before Tae can hear his older daughter scolding him in the background. “Get away from me!”
“You are not allowed to be on the phone whilst dinner!”, the girl scolds loudly as the boy’s breath starts to change. “Give me the phone!”
“No!”, he screams back to her as a door suddenly falls shut a few seconds later. “Dad, can you drop the equipment tomorrow after school?”
“I would love to but my day off is today, not tomorrow... I’ll be in the studio once you get home from school.”, Tae explains as he swallows hard. “I can try but I doubt that I will be able to come.”
“Oh...”
“I wanted to give it to you personally but I could give the equipment to one of your uncles. Maybe they can give it to you once they get home... Are you planning to be at an uncle’s house tomorrow?”
“Maybe, I don’t know yet.” Tae nods to himself as he wipes his forehead with his fingertips. “Sorry, dad.”, the boy says in a sad tone.
“It’s alright, son.”, Tae sighs. “I see you soon, okay? I love you!”
“Love you too!”
“Take care of your mom and your siblings, okay?”
“Yeah, I will. Bye dad!”, his son says slowly before the phone call ends. It is hard to make any sense if the boy sounded sad because of Tae not being able to be giving him all the equipment right away or if it was because he might be torn between his mother and father’s living situation. He tells himself that Y/N would never stop him to speak with his children but what if not only her mind about herself changed, but her own personality as well.
“I wished I could just hug you...”, Tae sighs in pain. With the feeling of drowning himself in alcohol, he calls his friend immediately. “Pick up... Pick up... Damn voicemail!” The anger in his voice rises as he tries to call his friend again. “Thank god you know how to pick up a phone.”, he says loudly at his second but successful attempt. “Are you free to talk?”
“Hello to you too!”, Yoongi sighs obviously annoyed. “What’s the pity party this time?”
“Pity party? What makes you think that?”
“Your voice, idiot.”, Yoongi explains as he sighs. “Why did I say that…? Don’t look at me! Mommy taught you that word, not me. Yeah, mommy is the one with the bad words.”
“’Mommy’? What are you talking about?”
“I am actually talking with my kid... So, as long as you did not make anything stupid, I am ready to hear what’s going on.”
“Yoongi, you said I can call you when I feel like I need to drink. I feel like I want to drink myself numb right now.”
“Come to Jimin’s house.”, Yoongi says.
“On my way.”, Tae responds quickly. He definitely is not up to see Jimin today but if Yoongi is at his house, he would risk to see Jimin instead of being totally drunk and nauseous. How bad could it be? Jimin may know a lot more than Tae thinks, but would that light a fire that may lead to a fight?
“Wait!”, Yoongi suddenly yells. The sudden yelling rips Tae from his thoughts.
“Do you mean me or your kid?”
“You! Did you drink anything today? Are you sober and able to drive? Do I have to pick you up?”
“I only had water. I am not going to risk drunk driving.”
“Then it is alright.”, Yoongi answers relieved. “We will make sure to keep your mind off of it.”
“Hold on. Did you think I would drive drunk?”
“Only God knows what’s going on in your brain and if there is even one left...”
“I am surprised you did not say ‘fuck off’.”
“I wish I could, but I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I still have my daughter on my lap.”
“But you still said ‘idiot’?”
“She learnt it from my wife.”, Yoongi sighs. “Come to Jimin’s house and we will talk.” Tae says nothing in response before he ends the phone call. Once more he looks up to where Jungkook’s apartment is, before he drives away.
💧💧💧
Tae can hear his friend's kids playing in the backyard as he approaches Jimin's front door. He checks his phone to see why it vibrated a split second ago. "Oh lovely," Tae exclaims as he examines the photo. The photo shows his younger daughter eating ice cream with a spoon held high in her hand. While he is texting his daughter, he notices a friend of his at the front door of Jimin’s house.
“Tae! I was expecting you this time.”, Jimin jokes as he places his arms around Tae’s shoulder to pull him into the house just as Tae clicked the send-button.
“Yeah, this time you did...”, Tae says quietly.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Hey, I understand that you feel down but you know-”
“My own damn fault... If I’d get money every time anyone says that...”, Tae interrupts annoyed.
“Yeah, you’d be the richest person I would know.”, Jimin laughs as he walks towards the short stairs at the end of the wardrobe.
“Money doesn’t buy shit. In case you did not notice...” His friend nods as they walk into the living room. “Uh Mr. Idiot.”
“Mr. Idiot? Watch out, you little high-nose-pitched-wannabe-stress factor-number-one.”, Yoongi responds with an annoyed look on his face.
“What happened to cursing at me?”, Tae wonders as he greets the little girl on his friend’s lap. "Are you not doing alright either?”
“He is. Yoongi is just annoyed because his kid did not sleep today.”, Jimin explains as he shrugs his shoulder.
“Do you want to play uncle and hold her?”, Yoongi asks with a smile on his face. “You make every child fall asleep.”
“Sure, I’ll try.”, Tae says as he tries to pick up the little girl. “Uhm, she does not let go of your shirt.” Even with a few more tries, the little girl does not let go of her father’s shirt.
“Exactly! She does that since I got home yesterday. She is like a little koala bear.”
“That is cute.”, Tae says with a little smile on his face as he stops trying to take her from her father. “So, why does your daughter know such nice words?”
“Did I not say, ‘because of my wife’?”
“You did. But how?”
“My wife told me to get my son’s school project on my way home but I forgot it and she forgot that our daughter was in the room. So, she cursed at me a few times until this little thing here repeated her word. Then my wife and I were even because she lost the bet.”
“Which bet?”
“The bet who would accidentally teach our kids the curse word.”
“Did you bet on the usual?”
“Hell yeah. I am in for a good time.”, Yoongi smirks. “Hey my little angel, don’t you want to be in uncle Tae’s arms? He always is able to put you to sleep.” Yoongi says as he tries to remove the girl’s hands from his shirt.
“She is definitely attached to you like a koala.”, Jimin jokes.
“You missed out on having a girl.”, Tae says as he helps Yoongi.
“You think?”
“Oh yeah. It is great to raise a boy but to raise a girl is so different.”
“Don’t tell my wife about it.”
“Why? She up for a try?”
“Hell no! She said one more baby and I have to get a vasectomy.” Tae and Yoongi's laughter fill the room, much to Jimin's chagrin. “Just laugh. Wait until your wife tells you that.”, Jimin says as he takes a sip from his glass. Nervously, Yoongi checks Tae’s facial expression as he hands him his daughter. “Fuck! I am sorry!”
“You’ll be double sorry if you say this word around my daughter again!”
“Sorry for that too.”, Jimin says as he sits down next to Tae. “That was inappropriate. I forgot about it for a moment...”
“Lucky for you my hands aren’t free right now.”, Tae answers as he stomps onto Jimin’s feet.
“Ouch! What the fu-”
“Watch your mouth! This is the last time you will be around my daughter if you keep this up!”, Yoongi says as he presses Jimin’s lips together with his left hand whilst he finishes his sentence.
“But that was painful!”, Jimin tells him as soon as Yoongi takes his hand from Jimin’s face.
“Nothing in comparison what our boys will see if you keep this up.”, Yoongi warns him as he sits down again.
“Are you threatening me in my house?”
“No, I am promising you to do any harm if you use any of these words around my little kid.”
“You could still blame your wife. She taught her the word ‘idiot’ before...”
“Did you ever, under any circumstances hear her say the f word?”
“Damn, you are right! I never heard her say it.”, Jimin says as he realizes Yoongi is not wrong.
“She only does when she thinks nobody is hearing her.”, Yoongi explains. “She finally sleeps!” A big grin grows on Yoongi’s face as he watches his daughter sleep.
“Jimin, do you might know where my family is right now?”, Tae asks out of the blue. “I keep wondering since I could not reach Y/N.” He lies as he keeps looking at the toddler.
“Uhm, I don’t know... Buttercup? Buttercup!”, Jimin calls his wife. As he notices Yoongi’s facial expression Jimin shrugs his shoulders. “Your daughter never wakes up from loud sounds or screams.”
“What do you need from me? I just tried to explain our youngest that he cannot milk bees!”, Jimin’s wife answers stressed. The woman did not look once through the room to see who might be there but instead comes to a hold behind the couch on which Tae is sitting on.
“He tried to milk bees?”
“He tried press the milk out of a bee to collect their milk that he refers to as honey.”
“Did he a bee stung him?”
“He says no, but he is sitting in the kitchen with a bag of frozen beans in his hands and tears all over his face.”, she explains as she rests her hands on her hips. “So, how can I help my biggest baby?”
“I am not your biggest baby.”, Jimin says as he is acting in a cute way to calm her down.
“I hate it when you do that.”
“And I throw up if I still see this when I am becoming fifty.”, Yoongi tells Tae.
“Uh, your friends are here. What a good timing!”, Jimin’s wife announces. “Hello boys!”
“But first let me ask you something else.”, Jimin says to get the attention of his wife back to him.
“What is it?”
“Weren’t you not meant to be somewhere with the boys today?”
“Today...?”, his wife repeats as she thinks about her schedule. Jimin watches his wife’s facial expression as his wife seems to remember something. “Oh shit!”
“Hey, ey! No cursing around my kid!”, Yoongi scolds. “What is wrong with you?”
“Oh please, you say it all the time! Every bangtan child heard someone cursing at one point. Remember the games night we had in which some kids learnt words from you guys... You and your wife were on a different planet with your choice of words.”
“I do not say it. At least not anymore around my kids.”
“Yes, you do! Your wife told me about it!” As Yoongi notices Tae’s laughter, he slaps him on the back of his head.
“What for?”, Tae wonders as he pets the back of his head.
“You know what for!”
“Fine, I won’t say it when your kid is around.”, his friend’s wife sighs as she rolls her eyes.
“Thank you.”
“Buttercup?”
“Yes, big baby?”
“Stop calling me a big baby!”
“I said stop calling me buttercup! I guess we both don’t get what we want.”
“I always called you ‘buttercup’ and now it is wrong to say it? Why? Could you please finally tell me why I am not allowed to call you like that anymore?”
“The same reason I told you yesterday, the day before, the day before and the day before if there was not even a day before that day! We are aging Jimin. It is time to grow with the nicknames for each other.”
“That you fell with your wedding dress into buttercups and got it yellow is still funny! I had to pick you like a flower from the field.”
“I know...”, she sighs. “It just lost its cute factor.”
“You are cute regardless.”, Jimin says as he hugs her strongly.
“This is why I hate the romcom nights at my house.”, Yoongi whispers to Tae. “Only problem I cannot switch them like a tv channel...”
“Did you at least call Y/N?”, Jimin wonders.
“I texted her.... I think...”, she answers nervously before she turns to her phone on the table on the other side of the room. “Let me check. Let me check… Thank God! I did text her.”
“Do you know what Y/N had planned for today? Tae could not reach her.” Jimin tries to make her notice that he is asking for Tae with him looking at Tae repeatedly.
“She wanted to take them to the pizza palace afterwards...”
“See Tae, nothing to worry about. They were just having a good time.”, Jimin explains as he sits down on the empty chair on the opposite side of Yoongi.
“Why do you think I was worried?”, Tae says with a neutral facial expression as he looks back at Jimin.
"When you ask for them, you're usually worried," Jimin says slowly before clearing his throat. Jimin's nervousness is obvious to even the most inexperienced observer. The movement of his neck as he swallows, the fast grab for a drink, and the fact that he is turning away from his friends. Yoongi's attention is drawn to Jimin's moves as well. It's almost as if Yoongi just wouldn't try to imitate Jimin's act of seeming to know nothing at all. This concerns Tae because it implies that Yoongi may be able to assist him or that Yoongi knows more than Tae believes.
“Y/N can live her own life. She is free to do that.” Tae explains in a deep voice.
“Why were you asking then if she is so free?”
“Because I have to bring the sport equipment that I have in my car for my son. I tried to bring those to him today but I could not reach her.” After gazing at her spouse, Jimin's wife quietly exits the room. Tae notices her quietly exiting the room, but he does not look at her. His gaze is uncomfortably fixed on Jimin.
“Did you get him the brand-new shoes?”, Yoongi asks as he touches Tae shoulder to make him turn to Yoongi.
“I did! I reserved it in the store as soon as they dated that it will come out today.”, Tae gives his friends a brief smile. Just as Yoongi's expression softens, Jimin's voice prompts Tae to turn back to his other friend.
“He will be so happy!”, Jimin says comfortably as he sits down on the single chair.
“Yeah... I know I asked you already but do you maybe have their address? I just want to give him the equipment before the next training.”
“No, sorry I don’t.” Jimin’s answer was quick, too quick for Tae’s taste.
“I hoped you could... Especially now that our wives work together.”
“Sorry.”, his friend tells him as he grabs another bottle of water.
“You are really thirsty today.”, Tae states. As soon as Yoongi notices the tension, he takes his daughter away from Tae.
“Am I not allowed to be thirsty? It is getting warmer again, you know?”
“I know.”, Tae says as he gets up. “I got to go anyway.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. If you don’t know and nobody else seem to know, I guess I let my lawyer know that she is trying to leave Korea with our kids. I better stop her before she enters a plane.”, Tae sighs depressed. He knows Y/N would never leave with their children, but if they truly believe Tae will contact his lawyers about this, he will learn the address.
“Don’t be stupid!”, Jimin says loudly. “Look, she does not want you to know. Please accept that. Do you really want to stress her about that too? Do you want to see her back in a hospital bed? Is that your goal?”
“If your wife would move somewhere with the kids and your friends are telling you not to worry, wouldn’t you be even more worried? Wouldn’t you want to know where they are?”
“I understand but-”
“No, you do not!”, Tae says slowly in a deep voice. The way he said it, sounded like a warning.
“Calm down first, Tae.”
“’Calm down first’? Is that all you got to say?”, he questions as he looks at his friends. “You do not know what is like to wonder where your family is at; how your family is doing nor do you know what is it like if your family is God knows where whilst you are sitting in a room at night trying to sleep whilst you keep wondering what your family was up to today!” Without realizing it at first, his tears start to drop.
“Look, I am sorry for that but it is not my choice. It is Y/N’s. If she asked me not to tell you, what was I supposed to say?”
“What about you being my friend? I just want to be absolutely sure that they are not in danger and that they got what they need. Food, clothes whatever. Y/N just started to work again, how shall she pay those bills with her first loan? There are no savings yet. So, how shall I calm down, if I don't even know how they are doing right now?”
“Tell him.”, Yoongi tells Jimin. “Just tell him.” Surprised by Yoongi’s words, Tae turns his body to Yoongi curiously.
“You know too?”
“Yes, we all kind of do.”, his friend states as he gets up.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”, Jimin comments as he steps away from Tae. “Only I and Namjoon know. Yoongi thinks he knows... He doesn’t.” Confused, Yoongi looks at Jimin.
“Yoongi, where does my family live?”, Tae asks whilst Jimin shows Yoongi the sign to not say a thing behind Tae’s back. Yoongi is obviously struggling between telling Tae and keeping it a secret. “Yoongi, if you know... Please, tell me!” Yoongi couldn't look at his friend anymore. Jimin moves closer to his companions the moment Yoongi glances aside. Tae can tell Yoongi wants to give him the address, but he won't because Jimin is around.
“He can’t tell you nor can I.”, Jimin states loudly. “Tae, we can talk with her about it but right now, we cannot tell you, her address.”
“Why not? I just want to see where they live. That’s it!”, Tae almost screams as he wants confirmation of his apprehension.
“We can’t tell you!”, Jimin yells frustrated. “We would like to tell you as you are our friend but we cannot do it as we promised not to do it.”
“Screw you, liar! You were the closest friend of mine once. I don’t recognize you anymore!”
“Me? You changed and left all of us behind for your mistress. Don’t come into my house and insult me of being a bad friend!”, Jimin screams in wrath. “You left everything behind and we were all struggling. But did you care? You didn’t! You had a good time and we all had to throw away our plans and help your family. Did you ever ask us if we had other plans?”
“Uh, you are mad because you cancelled your yearly vacation at sea.”
“No, Tae. I am mad about what you did! How could you do it or even think for a moment you are doing the right thing?”
“I am done defending.”
“I am ready to throw away our friendship if you ever do anything to us like that again.”, Jimin warns as he stares directly into Tae’s eyes. “Do not call your lawyer on her and give her more time.”
“I won’t bother her. I just want to know if she lives in a nice apartment with the kids. I don’t want her to live in a tiny place again like she did in that very small house.” Stressed, Tae moves his tongue up and down his lips.
“Because I can’t!”, Jimin answers in frustration. “Look I want to tell you but I promised it to Y/N. I keep my promises. But I can tell you that she gets help with her bills.”
“Are you sure you did not promise it to somebody who you think more highly of a friend of in comparison to me?”, Tae asks. Jimin’s eyes widen as he looks into his eyes.
“What, what do you mean by that?” The silent fills the room as Tae leaves without saying anything else.
“Does he know?”, Yoongi whispers as he steps next to his friend.
“I hope not.”
"Sounds like he was waiting for confirmation to request the address..."
“No, he doesn’t know. He can’t know. How should he know?”
“I hope you are very sure about it because if not, the situation might worse. Not just for Y/N.”
“We all say nothing. Nothing will happen then. What can happen if someone doesn’t know anything?”
“What if the someone knows something that others don’t expect the person to know? We all could sabotage our friendship with such a small information. Are you aware of that?”
“Yeah, I am.”, Jimin says as he steps to the window to watch Tae drive away.
Summary: Tae meets a woman who is very manipulative. Before he even notices anything, she got him around his finger. He decides to leave his wife Y/N and his four kids to start a new life with the new woman. This perfect house of cards that he had just started to build, starts to unfold as she starts to show her true face. Piece by piece it makes him feel sick. Tae notices his wrong doing as his house of cards start to fall apart. Regret and hate towards himself makes him wish to turn things around. Will he be able to safe his house of cards and to get back what he once threw away? Is Y/N able to forgive?
CHAPTER 22
Tae glances up at the cloudy sky as he parks his car and turns off the engine. He glances around and realizes that his Namjoon's wife's car is nowhere to be found. He takes a step closer to the front door, relieved that he won't have the negative energy from her on his back once he enters the house. Despite the fact that the windows were open, it was unusually silent. There was usually music or the sound of the boys playing.
"I need your help," Tae says as the front door swings open. Surprisingly, it was not his friend who opened the door. The seconds that passed felt like minutes. He looks down as each second, he stands in front of his friend’s wife makes him feel more uneasy. "I'm sorry, I assumed Namjoon would be home," he apologizes to the woman, who is also surprised to see him. "I'll contact him later."
"Wait!" Namjoon's wife says, taking a step towards Tae. "Did you contact him before you showed up?"
“I should have done that.”, he nods as he turns his body away. “I will call him first next time.”
"Wait, Tae!", exclaims the woman as she opens the door wider. "Please come inside. He will be back soon."
"You don't like me in the house, and now you invite me in?" Tae wonders, perplexed.
"I need to speak with you anyway... That you are already here is just the perfect timing."
"What is it about?"
"Come in and we will chat," she repeats once more as she makes place for Tae to enter her house. He notices the knife in her hand as he moves past her. He couldn't help but stare at the knife. "Oh, that is not what you might think it is! Don't worry, I simply cooked some pork for the family meal," she explains, noticing his frown.
“Are you alone at home?”
“Worried about witnesses?”
“Kind of to be honest.”
"Stop staring at the knife in my hand and enter." Tae gives her a brief glance before removing his shoes. "At the very least, you did not lose your manners by taking off your shoes."
"When was the last time I didn't take off my shoes inside your house?"
"Another time, you helped with the furniture. Your shoe prints were all over the place," she sarcastically remarks as Tae follows her into the living room. "Please have a seat. Would you like some tea, coffee, or juice?"
"I'm actually fine. Are you going to poison me?"
"Uh, you're such a scaredy-cat..." Tae's gaze follows her as she reaches for a glass of lemonade. "Don't be concerned! I'd rather have someone do the job for me," she says as she sits down. "I'd like to speak with you about your children."
"Did you manage to get them to open up to you?"
"Yes, but not in the way I intended it."
"So, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"About these images," she says as she unlocks her iPad and hands it to him. "These pictures of you and that bitch are all over the internet. I have discussed it with Yoongi, and he told me what happened."
“Yoongi is also on the pictures...”
"Yeah, and there are fantasy stories all over the place.", she tells him. “Look, your children will be coming to my house this afternoon. If you'd like me to, I can try to talk with your kids about it."
"What would you tell them? I told my boy that there won’t be any news about me and her anymore."
"I'd tell them I discussed the photos with Yoongi and you, and I'd tell them the full truth. As a psychiatrist, I am concerned about what Yeonhee did. I mean, concerned about what she in general did." Concerned, Tae leans forward. "Look, I hope I'm wrong, but these kids need to be ready in case she comes after them as well. I know that might sound as I might go overboard with my words but, I truly don’t think she will not hold herself back when it comes to your kids."
"Do you believe she'll get at my kids at their school?"
"Not at their school, but... What if the kids are walking down the street or going somewhere on their own and this bitch...? She didn't stop showing up at the agency, nor did she stop phoning or visiting you.”
“Alright. This look.”
“Which look?”
“That look!”, Tae repeats when he points at her face. “You know something you’d rather hide. What is it?”
“You got me.”, she sighs. “I asked my friend who works in authority kept an eye on Y/N's documents to be on the save side."
“What?” His voice might have been deep but it sounded nervous as well.
“Just to be sure she is doing alright or if any hospital bills did come up.”
“Does Y/N know about this?”
“I don’t think so... It is for her own safety. You know she just started to work after a long time.”
“I know...”, Tae sighs. "Do you actually know where they live right now?"
"Tae, they are registered to your address as a result of your actions.", she explains before she takes a long sip from her glass. "She discovered something else," the woman tells him as she licks her lips. "If you go to the authority she works for, you have to submit an information form about yourself in order to get information about someone else. Yeonhee inquired for Y/N's personal details."
“What?”
“My friend said that she noted for the reasoning that she is helping her boyfriend during the divorce and needs to pick up this paper for him.”
“She’s so sick!” His friend’s wife nods as she agrees with him.
“See, looking at the big picture, she is trying to hurt Y/N. I don’t know if it is jealousy towards the love you have for Y/N or if she is just insane is trying to bite into something that is none of her business.”
“It seems as I cannot keep her from attacking Y/N.”
“I will inform Y/N later about it the documents. I just want to have your okay, to speak with your kids or if you want to do it yourself.”
“I trust you, to do it without scarring them. Can you do that?”
“Absolutely, Tae. You know I care about the kids a lot too.”
“I know.”, Tae sighs as he sits up straight. “I know they are loved and cared for by a lot of people.”
“Why did you want Namjoon’s help?”, she asks as Tae looks at his hands.
“Huh?” His eyes quickly move towards hers. “Oh that... Doesn’t matter. I will talk with him later.”
“Is it something I could help you with?”
“You really are no housewife, huh?”
“It is so boring! Especially since our dog past. I just wished I could turn back the day...”
“That the gate was open was an accident. Yes, it might could have been prevented.”
“At least he did not suffer too much. I miss him a lot...”
“I don’t really know what to say in a moment like this...”, Tae confesses.
“The kids were already asking for a new dog but I am not ready. I hope Namjoon does not show up one day with a dog without me being ready.”
“You think he will do that?”
“Hello? We are talking about my husband. He always comes up with something that should bring me joy or happiness without me wanting any of it.”
“True.”, Tae laughs. “I never thought he would do so well as a father and husband...”
“What do you mean?”
“His clumsiness, him saying wrong things at a wrong time... I actually imagined the kids already knowing Santa is not real before their even enter school. Just remember what he almost did when your oldest was around five I think.”
“You mean him falling onto the christmas tree when he was meant to place the gift around it and our boy running downstairs seeing him lying on the tree whilst you and Jimin laughed at him?”
“It was funny though.”, Tae smiles.
“I admit, yes it was funny but I was truly afraid of keeping the Santa-Stories alive...”, she laughs heartily. “It’s already three o’clock. The boys should be home any minute and I have not finished cooking yet.”
“Sorry for holding you back from your work.”, Tae says as he gets up.
“Not at all.”, she says as she follows him to the garderobe. “Tae, you know I hate you for what you did to my friend but as you are my husband’s friend, I am trying to be as friendly as I can.”
“I appreciate your effort.”, he says as puts his shoes back on. “Bye!” It took Tae one second of the scene in front of his eyes when he opened the door, that he knew to better open the door as wide as he could.
“Bye!”, she says a second before she jumps to the side. “What...the...?”, the woman says shocked as she sees a dog running past her. “Boys!”, she yells angrily as she walks past Tae in front of the front door.
“Mom, mom! Look, dad got us a dog!”, her sons explain as they rush into the house. Before she could say anything else, the boys are out of sight and their steps sound as they would be running towards the back door to get into the garden.
“Namjoon!”, she screams angrily as she discovers her husband. “Don’t tell me, you got a dog when I said I am not ready for a new dog!”
“But we discussed to get a new pet...”
“Yes, discussed but not finalized the decision.” Namjoon’s eyes scan Tae who is standing quietly watching the scene unfold. “We should have picked a dog we all would like not just you guys! I am at home most of the time, I should have a final say in this!”
“I am sorry I overwhelmed you but this dog is a litter sibling of our former dog.” Her eyes become bigger as she tries to understand what he had just said.
“What?”
“I called the breeder the other day to inform him about our dog’s passing.”
“Did you tell him that he was run over by a car?”
“Yes. He even cried a little on the phone... But it was the right timing.”, he winks at her. “The dog that ran inside is from the same litter and returned as he is too active for his previous owner.”
“Are you telling me that you got exactly that dog to power out our boys?”
“Yep.”, Namjoon says proudly as a smile appears on his wife’s face. She places a fast kiss on Namjoon’s lips before she realizes Tae was still there. “So, that is, okay?”
“I guess I cannot change anything about it.”, she sighs as she thinks about the new dog.
“Hey Tae.”, Namjoon greets happily.
“Hi. So, you got a new dog.”
“Yeah. The boys are so excited and happy. I know my wifey is a little mad but it feels right.”, he states as he moves his hand up and down his wife’s arm.
“I will go to the boys and get to know the dog. Bye Tae.”, the woman says as she runs into the house.
“I am surprised she did not murder you when you two were alone.”
“Me too... She invited me in. Isn’t that strange? She usually wants me gone.”
“I had a long, long talk with her about not seeing you the monster that she thinks of whenever I say your name.”
“Can’t blame her.”
“You are alright?”, Namjoon wonders. “You look upset.”
“Doing alright. I was here because I felt like I need your help but I think I already know how to do it.”
“Thinking about what?”
“A place where I can talk with Y/N one on one.”
“Did you think about the agency?”
“I did, but I don’t think she will go there...”
“Maybe we can make a parent dinner night and you two, converse by yourself...?”
“Namjoon, not even I am this stupid to believe she will talk with me when she has her friends around.”
“Right... I will speak with my wife. She will probably have better ideas.” Tae nods and places his hand on Namjoon’s shoulder.
“I don’t want to stop you from having fun with your family. We can talk later.”, Tae says as he hugs Namjoon. “Bye.”
“Drive carefully!”
“Make sure to not trip over your own feet.”, Tae jokes as he unlocks his car.
💧💧💧
Knowing that the other members have already seen the photos that Yeonhee's friend has uploaded on the internet, he waits for Y/N to arrive. Different scenarios on how things will go down are playing in his head. According to his management, Yeonhee’s friend must have been able to upload the photos to his phone before the police offer deleted them. Nervously, he waits in one of the rooms within his agency for Y/N to come.
He looks at his watch roughly every minute. He had no text messages on his phone. There were no missed calls. There's no explanation for why Y/N isn't showing up.
“Tae.”, Y/N says quietly as she discovers him standing next to a table in the middle of the room.
“I am glad you made it.”, Tae states with a smile on his face. She closes the door as she places her bag on the table.
“I don’t have much time. What is so important that I have to come here?” Her voice sounded annoyed, almost with disgust.
“I needed to talk with you regarding our kids.”
“If you talk about these pictures, in which by the way you even pulled your friend into, forget it. I don’t want to hear any excuses.”
“No excuses and I did not pull Yoongi into this. Did you talk with him?”
“If I talk with him or not is none of your business.”
“Why are you like that again? I thought we could work it to be at least friendly with each other...”
“Don’t I have the right to be this mad?”
“I know you do but-”
“But? But what?”
“Y/N, please. Let’s talk like adults.”
“I am trying.”, Y/N tells him as she takes a deep breath. “Do you know what I woke up today?”
“If you want to tell me.”
“I woke up to a damn long message from Yeonhee and pictures. The same pictures that are currently online.”
“Why would she contact you...?”
“Are you seriously asking me? You were with her, should you not know the people you fuck with?”
“I never heard you speak like that to me...”
“Well, maybe it is time for me to speak to you like you deserve.”
“Y/N-”
“No, listen. I am here because I am concerned of my kids.”
“Did something happen?” The laugh that left Y/N’s lips sounded sarcastic, almost as she would have expected Tae not to ask that question.”
“I had to pick up my little girl because the kids in her class were bullying her to a point in which she ended up closing herself in the toilet. Those kids threw different things at her.”
“What?”, Tae asks shocked. “Those kids did what?”
“They threw food and fluids on her. They shot this little paper curled up on her with a straw. They pushed her in the hallway that hard she lost balance. They call her a stray, they called her weak and pathetic.”, Y/N says as she starts to cry. “The worst part, her precious father is the reason why she goes through hell.”
“They bullied her because of me?”
“Because what you DID to us. The media is currently putting everything into the spotlight again thanks to your photo shooting with her and Yoongi.”
“She left notes-”
“I already know about why she was there. I know you would never hit a female, but people say that online. Those kids must have heard some of the stories too.”
“Where is our daughter right now?”
“I brought her to Namjoon’s house because she did not want to go home yet. I think she might want some mental support.”
“Why did you not call me?”
“Because that is the reason why I am late.” Tae takes a tissue from his pocket and hands it to Y/N who looks at it for a second before she takes the tissue from him. “Thanks.”
“Did she say who it was? How many kids did this to her?”
“She said it was everyone from her class.”
“There are more than twenty kids in her class.” As Y/N tears become more, he notices that his fear is becoming real. His own child is no longer save in the school she loved to go to. “Can we keep her out of school for now?”
“The teacher said that students are not allowed to change within a school year.”
“She has to go back?”
“Yes. I don’t want to let her go back there.”, Tae nods as he hugs her tightly.
“I am hugging you as the other parent, okay?” Y/N nods as she feels emotionally drained. “I will try to speak with the principal as soon as I get a day off.” As Tae tries to just be there for Y/N, he can see Jungkook looking through the door. He stops hugging her as the door opens.
“Sorry to disturb.”, Jungkook says as he clears his throat. “Princess called me. Your boy got into a fight with some boys from Lovely’s class.”
“What? Did she say where he is?”, Y/N asks worriedly as she turns her body towards Jungkook.
“She asked me if she should take the bus but I told her to stay at the teacher’s room until Namjoon’s wife arrives to pick her up.”
“Thanks.”, Y/N says. Without saying any other word, Jungkook closes the door. “See? See what is happening?”
“I do.”, Tae confirms. “I have to talk with the principal.”
“Please do! I tried but, but they always say the kids must stay there.”
“Shall we give them a break next year and get them a private teacher instead?”
“You know I want my kids to live normally...”
“I know. But Y/N, it would be smarter to teach them at home, don’t you think?”
“Is that how you want to figure out where we live?”, Y/N wonders as her fingers start to shake.
“No! This is just for the kids. You can pick a teacher if you like. Maybe we can arrange a room here in which the kids can study in.”
“Is that a trick to control us?”
“I would understand if you do not trust me on an emotional level, but this is for our kids.” The eyes of hers show him that she truly does not believe a thing he says.
“How can I even fully trust you?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you don’t know, how should I know?”
“I cannot answer this question either.”, Tae answers defeated.
“You are so confusing to me.”, she sighs as she scratches her forehead. “I am so confused on what you are doing and worried what you will do next at the same time.”
“I don’t know how to make it right.” Angrily she takes her bag.
“Handle this situation for our kids.”
“Don’t leave yet.”, Tae begs. “I think we-”
“We? We do not exist.”, she says in a warning tone.
“Why are you like that towards me again? I thought we might be able to talk this out on a friendly base.”
“I am trying but I rather want to choke you than anything else.”
“Y/N, you have every right to feel this way.”
“Damn right I do! We finally agree!”, she agrees loudly.
“Maybe you need to tell me what I do that got you so confused...”
“You want me to explain, okay. Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?” Tae nods. “At the beginning you made me feel amazing from the moment you said your first ‘I love you’. You showed it constantly even after ten years even whilst you were cheating on me, you tried to keep it up. Yes, you were lacking in it but I saw that you were trying. Then you broke me apart and everything around me shattered and ripped me apart. I was broken. Emotional and physical. I went through depression, suicidal thoughts and thankfully, back to the strong woman I once was. Once I am able to handle all this and I am ready to end our marriage, you make me crash full speed against a wall! The whole time you wanted the divorce as our marriage is the only thing that stops you from living peacefully. Now, that I am ready to sign those shitty papers, you won’t sign them? Do you have any ideas how many nights I was awake, wondering what the reason might be? I am glad that you at least supported your son at his game but, then you kissed me on my forehead for no reason at all. You make me hopeful that you are changing to a good father of them but then you suddenly do something like that.”
“I am not expecting anything from you.”, Tae explains calmly. “Not even seeing me as a human.”
“You do! You want me to forgive you... You said it so many times that I stopped counting!”
“Y/N.”, Tae sighs. “I am sorry if I played with your feelings with the damn kiss that I placed on your forehead.”
“Don’t!”, Y/N warns as Tae steps closer. “Stay away from me.”
“Okay.”, Tae says as he puts his hands up and stops getting closer to her. “I should have not done that. I apologize.” Slowly, he puts his arms down to keep them low.
“Why did you even? I am damn sure you knew it could mess me up. You should know me that well.”
“I did not think about it. It was more a natural thing for me to do. I spoke with Namjoon in the car about it after the game. I cannot offer you an explanation on why I did that.”
“Why can’t you just say what the reason is for you to destroy me inside out? I have done nothing but being a good wife to you and a good mother to my kids! What is the reason you keep hurting me?”, she screams as her tears fall down her face.
“I don’t want to hurt you! I want the opposite to happen. Trust me, I want you to be happy again.”
“You want me to be happy?”, Y/N sobs as she uses her sleeves to wipe away her tears. “Because of you I am a wreck! Take a close look and tell me what you see.”
“I see a beautiful woman in pain.”, he answers slowly as his eyes tear up. Seeing Y/N in pain hurts him badly.
“No.”, Y/N says as she steps in front of him. “This right here, is the new me! I have no time for you anymore. The only thing between me and you are my kids. MY kids.”
“Y/N.”
“No, I gave you one last chance to explain your reason but you try to rather avoid it.”
“I have no reason to hurt you!”, Tae yells at her in frustration. “I apologize over and over and over again until there is nothing to apologize for, for the rest of my life!” Tae’s eyes show the pain he seemed to have hidden from her. “I am... so... fucking... sorry.”, he sobs as he takes a closer look at her face. “Y/N, you are an incredible person, you truly are! I still admire you. I still love you.”
“Bullshit! Why did you do all of this then? What for?”, Y/N wonders as he lowers his head for a moment. “You talk to me but there is nothing that is familiar to me. Not even you standing right in front of me.”
“The reason why all of this happened is just because I wanted to escape the reality of me not being good enough! Not good enough for our family!” Like a breaking dam, his tears start to flow. “I tried to create a world in which I might be able to save our marriage and at the same time I needed a place to escape to. All the alcohol I drank whilst being with her, I never drank that much in whole my life. Do you know why Jimin and Jungkook knew about the affair?”, Tae asks. “Y/N, did they tell you why they were the ones at the door on that day?”
“No. Why would it matter?”
“Because they knew about it more than a month before I told you I want a divorce. These two, that you are trusting so much are the once who hid the truth from you.”
“Don’t shift your fault on to others!”
“I am not putting my fault under anyone else’s name. I am telling you; they did not tell you in the weeks before I told you everything. I did not even know that they knew at that time... All I am telling you is, these two are not the two you should trust.” Her eyes look deeply into his.
“Who are you to tell me who to trust?”
“I can’t tell you what to do but I can inform you about things you don’t know about.”
“I don’t know what you are trying to do here-”
“Let me tell you this way.”, Tae interrupts. “The day I went to our former home the last day, is the day that Jin any Yoongi have beaten me up for what I have done to you. Jimin and Jungkook only sat there already knowing everything. Namjoon said we should talk this out, but his wife overheard us-”
“Where did you have this conversation at?”
“At Namjoon’s house.”
“That explains her behavior...”
"Her behavior?”
“Doesn’t matter. But you were not wounded when you got to the house...”
“I was wounded but much more furious because that was the moment when I realized that my actions do have painful results.”
“You needed a beating to understand...? If you loved me this much, how were you able to forget that I even exist when you did whatever with that whore?”
“It was like another world, Y/N. A world in which I was the independent, non-family having, solo old Tae. I lost myself completely in it.”, Tae confesses ashamed. “All the time I wasted that I could have used for the courage to talk with you about how I feel...”
“You wanted to lose yourself that’s why! We talked about every single shit that crossed our minds and hearts but that? No, that is not a reason for me.”
“This is my only reason.” Y/N nods as she wipes her face with her right arm sleeve. “Then keep telling yourself that that is the reason.”
“Why does it sound like you thought about something else?”
“Because I start to realize that I was the reason for you being so unhappy.”
“Unhappy? I never was unhappy with you! I was upset about myself.” In denial, she shakes her head. “If you do not believe me, tell me what you think the reason was. Please!”
“I think the reason why you started to stray, was because of how I look, isn’t that the case?” Tae’s eyes grow big as he shakes his head. “Don’t shake your head. I know it is because of all the stretch marks, my big stomach and that my face got old.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”, Tae questions concerned. “Are you insane? Y/N, you are still this beautiful woman I laid my eyes on the very first time. You are so damn beautiful!”
“Come on. Every husband who cheats on their wife is unhappy on how they look...”
“That was truly not the case!”
“You know what is crazy? A few months before that very day, I met up with a surgeon for a counseling. I was willing to surprise you with a better-looking body.”
“You don’t need surgery! Y/N, I told you, I love you the same no matter what your body goes through because of us starting a family of our own.”, Tae tells her depressed. Depressed on how much he must have let her down that she even considered surgery. Like a wave rushing over him, he feels the cold sweat on his back. “Please, don’t ever do any surgery to feel better. You are so stunning. Don’t you see that?”
“You are not even honest about that... Are you truly honest about anything?”
“Y/N.”, Tae says as he lays his palms on her upper arms. “Listen! You should not feel this way. I am asking you, please get mental help. If you want to, I will take the kids during your appointments or drive you there and pick you up. But this kind of thinking must stop.”
“Forget it.”, she says as she pushes him away. “I got to go.” Before Tae could even react, she rushes out the door.
New chapter so fast?! I didn't expect that 😱 and that action! Next time I'll be ready - I'll buy popcorn 😂 I still don't like tae but it didn't take me joy of reading story 👍 it's perfect. Love ya 💛🤍💙🧡💚❤💜
Well, surprise 😅
The chapter 21 was almost finished for awhile and I had a day just to focus on it. Therefore, I was faster this time :)
Love you too 💙
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