Taehyung

"Where do you see yourself in ten years from now, Miss. Oh?" I exhale as I lean back in my seat.

"In ten years, I can see myself in your position, Mr. Kim," she answers with a smile.

The confidence she exudes hasn't reduced in intensity, and it has immensely impressed me right from the moment she stepped in for the interview some twenty minutes ago.

"That's impressive. I wish you good luck!" I extend my hand to her, and she returns my gesture with a firm handshake that again speaks volumes about her confidence and optimism.

Selecting her, right away.

She was the last candidate among the five of them that I had to interview today, and the very next second after she exits my room, my phone starts buzzing with an incoming call.

Picking up my phone from the desk, I take a few seconds to admire the caller image, which is that of Areum taken on her sixteenth birthday. Today she turns seventeen, and I can't wait to get back home to my favorite people on the planet.

"Bubba, hi," I answer her call with a lot of cheerfulness and enthusiasm.

"Appa, hi. When will you return home?" Her voice so sweet as honey sounds at the other end of the call.

"I'll be there in an hour. Where are you now?" I check with her as I pick up my briefcase and walk out of my office, waving goodbye to my subordinates on the way.

"I'm at the school library, and I'll be leaving in some time," Areum informs me.

"Alright then, I'll see you soon. I love you, bubba," my words make her laugh softly.

"I love you more, appa. I'll see you too," she says before we end the call.

I make up my mind to surprise her by picking her up from school and then buying her an egg tart and also spending time with her on our drive back home.

Areum's school is just about a ten-minute drive from my office, and I arrive there on time, pulling over on the side of the curb while I wait for her.

In a few minutes, I see my daughter walking out of the school building with her head low, her hands tightly holding onto the straps of her backpack. She doesn't know that I'm here to pick her up, and so she's walking towards the bus stop to board the bus home.

But just as I'm about to climb out of my car to go get my daughter, I notice something.

A scene too familiar and nostalgic.

There's a boy, tall and slim, walking at a distance of about five feet behind her, and following Areum as she walks towards the bus stop. He's wearing a uniform too, his steps matching hers in a perfect rhythm, and his eyes are fixed on her form. I don't need too many guesses to figure out what this is all about and what everything means.

Stepping out of my car, I take long strides towards the boy and reach him just when he is about to halt at the bus stop. I gently tap his shoulder while still making sure that Areum doesn't notice me. She has her noise-cancelling headphones on, so she most probably won't hear a thing.

The handsome boy, who is almost as tall as me, turns around and gives me a confused look.

"Hi, are you by any chance following that girl right there?" I point to Areum, and he turns his head to look at her before his bambi eyes return to me.

"Uhm- no," he lies, suddenly too nervous that he's unable to maintain eye contact.

"Hey, come on. I saw what you were doing earlier. You stopped when she stopped, you walked when she walked, and you didn't move your eyes from her. Don't you think you were making it too obvious?" I raise a brow at him, ushering him to the space behind the shelter of the bus stop to make our presence a little incognito.

"Who are you? Are you an officer or detective or something?" He buries his hands inside the pockets of his pants and questions me, a slight hint of panic evident in his voice as opposed to his more poised and confident countenance.

I shake my head a little, flipping my hair with one hand.
"I'm her father"

The boy's eyes go wide, and he quickly removes his hands from his pockets and bows his head a few times.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't know," he speaks worriedly, and I bring my hand to pat his shoulder while laughing a little.

"That's okay. So, how serious are you about her?" My question makes his eyes go wide, but there's a visible blush on his prominent cheeks that he's unable to conceal.

His eyes avoid mine as he dips his neck a little, and then he raises his head to look at me.

"Very serious. I actually like Areum a lot," he states with a surprising surge of confidence in his tone that suddenly makes me feel a bit protective over my daughter, also feeling a little possessive over her.

The baby that was once smaller than the length of my forearm is now a young teen who is already having a boy following her around. To think that she has grown up in the blink of an eye, right in front of my eyes, makes me feel a lot of new emotions.

I feel a little old too.

Clearing my throat, I shift my weight to my other leg and continue talking to him.
"Have you talked to her yet?" My tone deepens, and it makes the boy gulp.

"I- uhm- no," he lowers his gaze to the ground and shakes his head, keeping his hands crossed in front of him.

"What's your name?" I tilt my head to one side, crossing my arms under my chest.

"Jeon Jungkook"

And then we hear the sound of a red bus halting at the bus stop, causing us both to turn our heads in that direction, and I don't miss to observe how Jungkook's shoulders drop when he sees Areum climbing into the bus.

He looks at her longingly, and then he turns his attention back to me only after the bus moves out of its spot, and it literally feels to me as if I'm standing face to face with my past self—lovesick, nervous, lacking confidence.

He's me, but I don't want him to be me.

I place both my hands on his shoulders, making his nervous eyes meet mine.

"Jungkookie, don't be another Taehyung. Go on, talk to her and find out what's on her mind, okay?"

Jungkook nods his head a few times.
"I will. But who's Taehyung?" He seems curious, and it makes me chuckle.

"Ask her," I point with a tilt of my head in the direction of the bus that left a few seconds ago and pat his arm once before I walk back to my car with a broad smile.

The way my heart bubbles up with numerous beautiful and happy emotions is unexplainable through words, and I'm actually unable to stop smiling.

On my way back home, I receive a text message from Maya, which I read as soon as I stop at a red light.

Maya:
TaeTae, will you be late?

Maya:
The boys were asking for you.

Me:
So, is it just the boys? Are you not waiting for me? 🤨

Maya:
They're cuter than you🥰

Me:
Offended

Me:
As always 😒

Maya:
I can make up for it

Maya:
As always 😉😘

I put my phone aside and drive home with a happy smile that sits on my face; the music playing on the stereo perfectly reflecting my mood.

Arriving at our home, I park my car in the garage and check the time on my watch. It is almost time for Areum to arrive, and I wouldn't probably ask her anything about Jungkook right away. If things progress, she would definitely talk to Maya about it.

Even though Areum was resisting Maya in the initial days, over the years she has grown fond of her. She still sometimes says mean things to her, but when she's in a good mood, they talk to each other like they're friends, and she still calls her by her name, which, of course, doesn't seem to be a cause of concern for Maya.

The boys seem cool about it too, even though they also tend to call her by her name sometimes, only to earn a glare and a warning from me.

As I walk inside the living room, I notice that there is no sign of inhabitants in the house. The kitchen seems unoccupied too, but the door to our backyard is open, and I can hear the sounds of our sons playing there.

Placing my briefcase and the bouquet of pink roses on the kitchen island, I remove my necktie too and place it on top of the briefcase before I walk out through the back door and step out onto our backyard.

Our sons Do-Woo and Ye-Jun, 8 and 6 respectively, are deeply engrossed in a friendly game of basketball which would soon turn into a not-so-friendly combat.

"Hey, guys!" I call out to them, and they turn their heads to look at me before they run up to me, their game forgotten.

"Appa!" Ye-Jun jumps up and down. "Come and play with us," he demands with his cute toothy smile, his eyes turning into two little crescents.

"Should I?" I quirk a brow at him, before Do-Woo thrusts the ball into my arms.

"Yes, appa. Come on!" Do-Woo chuckles excitedly.

"Okay," I accept their request and briefly hand them the ball to undo the buttons of my cuffs and fold the sleeves of my shirt upto my elbows.

"What are your rules?" I ask them while I catch the ball that's thrown to me and begin dribbling it.

"Do-Woo defends. We both are a team now, and we need to shoot three times, but if we shoot once from point guard, then we call it a game. No dunking," Ye-Jun quickly revises the rules of their game as Do-Woo takes his position.

"Cool," I keep my eyes on my elder son, Do-Woo, as I dribble the ball while slowly jogging around the point guard position which his eyes are dead set on.

"Ye-Jun-ah!" I shout out and pass the ball to Ye-Jun who quickly catches it and begins running while dribbling the ball, and Do-Woo stands on guard, jumping on the spot.

When Do-Woo seems too focused on Ye-Jun and the ball, I wave to Ye-Jun from behind Do-Woo and gesture for him to pass the ball to me, and he does so.

With my lighting-fast reflexes that have never once let me down, I quickly shoot the ball before Do-Woo could even react.

Ye-Jun squeals and howls in joy as the ball passes through the hoop and the net and hits the floor, bouncing and rolling away thereafter while Do-Woo angrily punches the air in defeat.

"YAAAYYY!! WE WON!" Ye-Jun celebrates by shouting and doing a victory dance.

We do an exaggerated high-five and a shoulder-bump to celebrate our victory before I turn my attention to Do-Woo.

"Agi-gom," I sling an arm around Do-Woo's shoulders, and he looks up at me through his sweaty hair that's sticking in clumps to his forehead.

"It's just a game, and we face it like a man, right?" I show him my fist, and he punches it with a big smile on his face, nodding a few times.

"Guys! Go and wash up. We'll be going out for dinner. Be ready at 6:30 sharp, no delays," I'm speaking to my sons, but they seem to have gone deaf suddenly.

"And wear some nice clothes. Not basketball shorts and tank tops. And please change your underwears!" I shout behind their backs as they run inside through the kitchen door, fighting about who should enter first.

Shaking my head and laughing to myself, I head inside too to find Areum entering the house while taking off her headphones.

"Hi, appa!" She smiles big and hugs me when I get closer to her.

"Happy birthday, bubba. I love you so much" I kiss the top of her head and hold her close, and she laughs softly.

"Thank you so much, appa. Where's Maya? Where are my monkey brothers?" She asks me as she pulls away.

"Brothers have gone to wash up, and I'm yet to meet Maya," I shrug a little.

"Go freshen up when the little monkeys are still bathing," Areum laughs as she turns me around and gently pushes me towards our bedroom.

"Be ready at 6:30!" I shout out to Areum as she jogs her way up the stairs while shouting back an okay to me.

Picking up the rose bouquet, I open the door to our bedroom and step in while pushing my hair back with my hand. The room is cool as always and smells like Heaven—the soft smell of roses that always surround her.

Softly shutting the door and locking it behind me, I walk inside taking stealthy steps, but Maya isn't there in front of the dresser or on the bed.

"Maya?" I call out and try to turn around to look in the direction of the bathroom when suddenly a pair of arms circle around my waist, and then I feel her body crashing on mine from behind.

"Whoa! Maya, you got me!" I hold her hands firm against my body when I feel her pressing the side of her face between my shoulder blades.

"I did. I got the best," she says in a muffled tone, hugging me tighter.

Loosening her arms a little, I turn around and bring my hand to softly stroke her jaw and cheek, looking straight into her eyes that hold my whole universe.

"I got the best too," my lips touch her forehead in a gentle, yet firm kiss.

"Happy anniversary, TaeTae," Maya's voice is a breathy whisper that makes every hair fiber in my body stand on its end.

"Happy anniversary, Maya" I place the bouquet in her hand, and she takes it from me with a big smile.

Dipping my neck, I allow my lips to be sealed by hers, our eyes closing to let us relish the moment.

My tongue teases hers as we soon grow a little impatient, the urgency manifesting in the closeness of our lower halves. Trapping her lower lip between my teeth, I slowly drop my hand to the neckline of her dress and further down to her chest, my fingers taking hold of her breast that's covered by a few layers of unnecessary clothing.

"Do we have a while, Maya?" I speak into her mouth before I gently push her to lie down on the bed, climbing on top of her without breaking the kiss as she locks her arms around my neck and keeps us connected.

Pulling back from her lips, I lick my lips, keeping my eyes glued to her lips.
"I'll make it quick," I try to coax her, giving her a seductive grin as I go on my knees while still straddling her.

I unbuckle my belt, sliding it off my waist in one long, smooth move, and then I unbutton and unzip my trousers, lowering it a little, holding our gazes all the while.

"What's the hurry, sir? We could wait until we come back home tonight," Maya speaks something that doesn't sync with the way her eyes are flirting with the growing bulge inside my boxers.

"I never said we're not having fun tonight. This is for warming up," I wink at her as I carelessly undo the buttons of my shirt one by one, and then the shirt goes to the floor.

"APPA! EOMMA!" The sounds of our sons yelling for us while repeatedly banging on the door of our bedroom makes me roll my eyes and almost curse under my breath.

"I really need to kidnap you to somewhere where it'll be just the two of us. These kids will be the end of me!" I let out in a disappointed tone before climbing out of bed and shutting myself inside the bathroom.

I don't even know what happened outside the bathroom while I was showering, but when I finish dressing up and leave the room, my family is ready and waiting for me in the living room, of course, with our sons hanging upside down from the back of the couch.

The drive down to the restaurant is noisy and chaotic as always with Ye-Jun constantly picking at Do-Woo and Areum, and all three of them end up fighting and shouting. But Maya and I never step into these fights because one moment they'd be fighting like cats and dogs, and the next moment they'd be ready to kill for each other.

My children are crazy, and it's safe to stay away from their battles just so we could stay sane and alive. Nevertheless, they love us both, and we love them with our everything.

Arriving at the restaurant, the kids barge ahead of us in an imaginary contest of who enters the restaurant first. We all settle down at a large family table, and, as always, the kids decide to order whatever they could lay their eyes on in the detailed menu card.

Maya and I decide to order just some drinks for us; we would anyway have quite a lot of food that the kids wouldn't even bother to touch after taking two bites.

After a lot of coaxing and convincing, the three of them order five dishes, and while we wait for the orders to arrive, the surprise birthday cake that I planned for Areum is brought to the table.

Cheering for her, I move to stand behind my daughter as she makes a short birthday wish and blows out the candle. She then cuts the cake after which Maya and I hand over her neatly wrapped birthday present consisting of a platinum bracelet with a cute 'A' charm.

Moving back to my seat, I take the opportunity to study my wife's appearance tonight.

Maya's dark and voluminous hair has thinned out a little, and there are a few streaks of silver in them as well, and her skin has some fine lines, but I'm no different. Tonight she's wearing a maroon colored dress that's very modest on the top, but the length of it makes me not want to look at anything but her delicious looking thighs.

There's always something about Maya and dresses that makes me so weak for her.

She has applied a little bit of makeup as seen from something glittery that's lining her eyelids and her lips that are a color that's perfectly matching her dress tonight.

Placing my jaw on my upturned palm, I keep admiring my wife with a soft smile as she delicately flips the pages of the dessert menu, pointing at something and talking something to Areum—none of which enters my ears. I'm only looking at the way her lips are moving.

I really feel like I might fall in love with this woman, all over, once again.

The law of attraction is definitely working in my favor tonight as Maya soon notices how I haven't looked at anything or anyone else except her.

"Maya," I place my hand on hers, slowly curling my fingers around her smaller hand. "Shall we dance?"

Maya's eyes widen a little before she giggles, letting her head drop and shaking her head from side to side.

"You know I'm super bad at dancing," she speaks between giggles, her cheeks turning a bright pink.

"But I'll make you join me," I speak like a man on a mission, smirking as I release my hold on her hand and rise from my seat with my eyes still stuck on her.

There's some kind of upbeat jazz music playing in the background which sounds extremely romantic to my ears while I step into the middle of the makeshift dance floor where a few couples are already dancing.

My kids clap and hoot in an attempt to encourage me and hype me up, and Maya is laughing with her hands covering her mouth, her face all blushy and kissable.

The song that starts playing as soon as I get ready to dance and seduce my wife is an all-time favorite ultimate romance jazz song, and I start grooving along, losing myself in the beauty of the music while I sing along to it.

There is no greater love
Than what I feel for you
No greater love,
No heart so true

Maya dips her neck, smiling big and shying away from looking into my eyes while my kids are still cheering for me.

There is no greater thrill
Than what you bring to me
No sweeter song
Than what you sing to me

There is no stopping me tonight as I keep dancing all by myself, keeping my gaze reserved only for the woman in my life who finally finds it in her to raise her head to look at me. Her gaze definitely stirs something within me, the rush of blood within every inch of my body suddenly making me so desperate to have her in my arms.

You're the sweetest thing
I have ever known
And to think that
You are mine alone.

I flick my head back and wink at Maya, making Areum shoulder-bump her and tease her, only to make her appear more kissable than she already is.

There is no greater love
In all the world, it's true
No greater love
Than what I feel for you, Maya

I tweak the lyrics to my preference and step closer to my wife, extending a hand for her to hold on to. Her eyes fall to my hand before she looks up at my eyes, still feeling a little shy to join me.

"Dance with me," I plead with a slight tilt of my head while still swaying a little to the music.

"Maya, go!" Areum gently pushes her by her shoulders and Maya's hand lands on mine, which I quickly grab and pull her up to her feet and straight to me; both her hands landing on my chest as she stumbles a little.

You're the sweetest thing
I have ever known,
And to think that
You are mine alone.

I sing without missing a beat as I hold her close.

"I love you" my voice drops lower, and I speak only for her ears to hear as I twirl her around a little before pulling her closer and holding onto her waist.

There is no greater love
In all the world, it's true
No greater love
Than what I feel for you

Maya's hand slides over my shoulder and comes to rest there while she starts to slowly sway and dance along with me to the soft music, our eyes riveted onto each other, making my heart suddenly beat at a rapid pace.

The fingers of her other hand dance over my forearm; the touch seemingly casual, but sending a new wave of desire radiating through my body.

"I love you, Taehyung," Maya says softly; her alluring voice overpowering the sweetness of the music that fills the room.

"I'm a lucky man, Maya. I'm so in love with you... I can't even look at anything else," half of my words tumble out of my mouth, and the other half gets tangled inside my throat.

Maya says nothing, and she laughs softly, her body still swaying softly with mine as the music in the background slowly dies down to nothing.

"I want to kiss you" my voice is a whisper, but Maya doesn't let me speak anything more as she allows our lips to connect in a gentle kiss that makes my whole body experience the warmth of love.

The sounds of hoots and claps from our children and the others dining and dancing at the restaurant all fade out into mere white noise, and the only thing I hear now is the labored breathing of my wife which is just for me to hear, always and forever.

The song is No Greater Love by Amy Winehouse.
💕
Last part of the Epilogue coming up tomorrow.
💖

Pubished on : 06/11/2022