A cup of coffee, a thick, feathery blanket, and cheap morning shows were everything the happily married couple needed to have a usual, cozy morning.

As they were snuggled up on the couch, leisurely watching TV and sharing a few kisses, they caught sight of a younger boy standing beside them, dressed in casual clothes.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, bunbun.”

“Hey, why are you up so early?” Jisung asked as he beckoned him to sit next to them.

Jeongguk sat cross-legged on the couch then, facing them. “Look, um—“

“Did something happen?” Seungjo asked as he noticed his restless expression.

“If you let him talk, we’ll find out,” his husband said and returned his gaze to Jeongguk, giving him an encouraging smile.

“Look, I didn’t say anything yesterday because I knew you’d freak out, but... Taehyung is coming over.”

“What? When?” Seungjo pitched forward, elbowing his husband by mistake in the process.

“Damn!” Jisung groaned as he clutched his stomach.

“You have abs! I doubt that even hurt, you big baby.” Seungjo tsked and focused his eyes on his son again.

“He’s coming in about an hour, and I want you two to listen—“

“Bunbun, I have to clean! I have to go grocery shopping, I have to prepare things. Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Seungjo attempted to stand up, but the younger pulled him back in his place.

“That’s why! Because this place is glowing out of cleanness, and I’m sorry, but you have a problem if you can’t see that.”

Jisung chortled at the younger’s words, receiving a slap on his shoulder and a glare from the man beside him.

“And our house is filled with food and snacks, so the only thing you have to do right now is listen to me,” Jeongguk continued, a sigh leaving his mouth. He held his hands together, a serious expression decorating his face. “Please don’t embarrass me in front of him. Please don’t—“

“Where’s the fun in that, Kookie? Come on,” Jisung snickered, but his laugh was cut short when the younger made a moue in disapproval.

“Please don’t ask him another question without letting him finish talking first, and don’t ask a million questions overall. Yes, I’m talking about you.” He cast a glance at Seungjo, making him gasp.

“I don’t ask so many questions!”

“Yeah, okay,” he sneered. “Please don’t make him uncomfortable. If he doesn’t want to answer something, don’t pressure him—“

“We know how to behave, bunbun. And I’m just excited about learning more things about him.”

“Yeah, but he isn’t. I mean, he doesn’t like opening up, so don’t ask him uncomfortable things. Taehyung is special, and he’s been through a lot. I want him to feel welcomed here.”

“Aww, he has a special place in your heart, huh?” Jisung cooed as a broad smile appeared on his lips.

“Yeah, whatever, t-that too.” Jeongguk ducked his head, embarrassed.

“That too? What do you mean?” Jisung teased.

“What you said or whatever.”

“What did I say?”

“Dad!”

“Say it, Kookie.”

The younger groaned, hiding his face in his hands for a moment. “He has a special place in my heart, happy?”

The two older males cooed hard as they cocooned him in a hug, and Jeongguk chuckled at their childish behavior but hugged them back.

“So do you like him?” Seungjo asked, his eagerness to know was evident in his tone.

Here we go. “I do.”

“Have you told him?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, are you two together? Does our Kookie have a boyfriend?” Seungjo asked with hopeful eyes.

“No, we’re not together. I mean... Look, we—we kissed yesterday, but we’re not—“

“Oh my God, you have a boyfriend!” Seungjo exclaimed in utter glee.

“Dad, you’re not listening to me,” he mumbled with a sigh. “We didn’t say what we are, and I don’t want to pressure him. Please don’t mention any of this to him.”

“Don’t worry, Kookie. I’ll keep him in check,” Jisung reassured. “And you’re doing the right thing. You shouldn’t pressure him and don’t pressure yourself either. Just see how things will go for now.”

“Thank you.” Jeongguk shortly hugged both again. “Also, he doesn’t like coffee, so don’t bother making him one. Oh, and don’t ask him about his family at all.”

“Okay, okay, go tidy your room now.” Seungjo patted his back, urging him to go.

Although tidying his room was always a boring task to do, he complied and left the two alone again.

. . .

Jeongguk burst out of his seat when he heard the doorbell and scuttled to the door, ignoring his parents’ small chuckles.

He straightened his cashmere sweater and inhaled deeply, a smile etching on his lips. The moment he opened the door, though, he rolled his head back with a snort. “Nitwit.”

“I believe you were expecting to see that cutie, huh?” Sejeong ruffled his hair, hearing the boy whine in vexation. “Don’t worry, even messy hair looks good on you.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I want you to touch my head.” Jeongguk quickly fixed his hair as they walked inside.

“You’re grumpy,” she sing-songed and dashed to the two older males to hug them.

“I’m nervous because I think I’m gonna regret this,” he murmured to himself as the three started catching up.

  
Time passed, but Taehyung was nowhere to be found. Just when Jeongguk was ready to call him since he started getting worried, the doorbell was resounding through the house, making the boy jump to his feet and sprint to the door. He yanked it open without wasting a second and enfolded the older boy into his arms.

A puff of air left Taehyung’s lips at the sudden action, but he melted in his hug a second later. “Hi?”

“You’re late, and I got worried,” Jeongguk mumbled as he pulled back, searching for any sign of discomfort or pain on his features, but thankfully, he saw none.

“I’m sorry, I had to do all the chores so I can come here and barely had enough time to do them.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Jeongguk rubbed his cheek with the pad of his thumb, a fond smile playing on his lips. “Let me apologize instead for what you’re about to go through,” he whispered as he grabbed his hand and guided him inside, feeling a surge of content when he heard Taehyung’s small giggle.

“Taehyung!” Seungjo exclaimed and offered him a hug, which although taken aback, Taehyung accepted happily.

After greeting everyone, they sat all together in the living room; snacks and a variety of drinks such as juices were on the table.

“So Taehyung, where are you from?” Seungjo started in a convivial tone, not whisking his gaze away from the astonishing boy.

“I’m from Daegu,” Taehyung answered in the same way, a faint smile painted on his face. “I moved here when I was about eight years old.”

“And do you live alone?”

Jeongguk shot a glance at Seungjo, brows knitted, as he vaguely shook his head.

“No,” the fluffy-haired boy said before sipping his orange juice.

Seungjo got the message from his son and Taehyung’s one-word reply and let out a titter. “Have you gone to college?”

“Yes, I majored in music. I play the piano, and I’m trying to become a composer.”

Jeongguk’s brows went sky high at how casually Taehyung opened up to them while he struggled for so damn long to learn the tiniest thing about him. He stayed silent nonetheless, feeling proud of him for trying to overcome his fears.

“That’s so great! Your parents must be—um, so, how did you and Jeongguk meet?” Seungjo scolded himself mentally for what he almost blurted out.

“You know we work together, dad,” Jeongguk uttered, checking the boy next to him to see if the mention of his parents bothered him, but he seemed rather calm and collected.

“Yeah, but like, how did you exactly meet?” Jisung asked this time, eager to know as well.

“Let’s just not talk about that.” Jeongguk forced a smile.

“Why? It’s a funny story now that I think back at it.” A small chuckle seeped through Taehyung’s mouth with his remark.

“Okay, what happened to you?” asked Jeongguk.

“What do you mean?”

“How can you be so open? I mean, I’m happy about it, but I tried so hard to learn something about you, and here you are, narrating your whole damn life.”

“Can we not talk about it in front of everyone?” Taehyung breathed out, shifting in his seat uneasily since all eyes were on them.

“So now you’re embarrassed or something?”

“Kookie, let the boy be,” Jisung said in a soft tone. “You can talk about that later. Now we want to know how you two met.”

And Taehyung recounted his disastrous first day of work that left his four listeners chuckling one moment and feeling bad for him the next.

“I felt awful for snapping at him for no reason at all, but because I’m bad with socializing, I couldn’t apologize properly, and he mocked me when I made a lame attempt to apologize, so I got pissed at him.”

The room filled with lighthearted laughs. “And how did you guys make up?” Sejeong asked, still laughing.

“When we finished work, I walked towards the subway, and Jeongguk saw me as he was driving. Long story short, he offered to drive me to the subway, and he apologized for mocking me. I don’t remember if I properly apologized for snapping at you, but I am sorry.” He turned to look at the cherry-haired boy then.

“It’s okay. You went through a lot that day.” Jeongguk reached out to hug him but ceased every movement when he remembered they weren’t alone.

“Aww, you can hug him, bunbun,” Seungjo chirped, smiling from ear to ear.

“Baby, shush,” Jisung muttered as he tucked him in his hug, placing a small kiss on the top of his head.

Taehyung observed the heartwarming scene through fond eyes. “I’m sorry, but what’s your secret for being so happy after all these years?”

“Oh, that’s something Jeonggukie has asked us a lot of times, but we always said that we will let him know only if he found the one. And we want to keep it that way until he does,” Jisung said with a smile.

“Can you tell only me then? I promise I won’t say anything to him.”

“Yah!” A shocked expression popped up onto Jeongguk’s face as he looked back and forth between his parents and the fluffy-haired boy.

“Sure.” Ignoring the boy’s protest, Seungjo rose to his feet with his husband and Taehyung, ready to leave.

“That’s not fair!” Jeongguk exploded out of his seat as well, but Sejeong held him back.

“Stop whining.” His cousin tsked as they sat down again, and when the three left their sight, she whispered, “Tell me everything about him.”

Although still sulking, Jeongguk told her how fond he was of him, how he wanted to protect him and make him happy, how good it felt to have him close to him. He also told her about the kiss, but that was a big mistake since she couldn’t shut up about it.

The three headed to Jisung’s office for privacy and sat on the big couch. “I’m sorry, Taehyung, but we won’t talk about that,” Seungjo said.

“We won’t?” Jisung asked, confusion written all over his face.

“Did you trick me, Mr. Jeon?”

“Oh God, just call me Seungjo. You don’t have to be so formal.” He gave him a delicate pat on his head.

“Okay, Seungjo-ssi. Did you trick me?”

“Yes, sorry.” He giggled. “Our son likes you. It’s no secret. And I don’t want to meddle in whatever you two have, but I don’t want him to get hurt. He’s very careful with the people he accepts in his life, and the fact that he let you in means you’re very important to him. And because of that, you’re important to us as well. So I want you to know that if you ever need anything, we are here for you, just like our Jeonggukie. You’re welcomed here anytime. I know we just met you, but I want you to think of us as your parents. I can tell you’re a good kid.”

Taehyung felt so soft inside by his words that his need to hug him overcame him. And so he did; he engulfed him into a tight hug for a few seconds before hugging Jisung as well. “I really... I don’t have words to thank you. You’re both so nice to me, and you just met me. Thank you so much.”

“You’re special for our Kookie so you’re special for us as well,” Jisung said as he gave him a broad smile.

“He—He’s special t-to me too,” he said, glancing away timidly.

“Aww, you’re so cute.” Seungjo cupped the boy’s cheek and stroked it with his thumb.

They were ready to return outside when Taehyung spoke up. “I’m curious about something. Why aren’t you telling Jeongguk or me what your secret is?”

Jisung hummed as a sad smile formed on his lips. “Because if he finds someone and he isn't the one, he’s gonna try everything to make it work, only to realize later that he can’t imagine a future with him.”

“But how can someone know if they’ve found the one?”

“It takes time, but you just know it. You can feel it, you can see it. You just know it.”

“And what if you find someone and you’re madly in love with them and think they’re the one?”

“That’s why it takes time. When that high fades away, then you can have a faint idea of if they’re the one or not.”

Taehyung smiled, eyes sparkling; he was a sucker for profound conversations such as this and couldn’t help but ask a few more questions to see their point of view.

⚜✳⚜
   
  

Sorry for the late update😔 I woke up like an hour ago and had to reread the chapter before publishing it.

Thank you for your patience, love you💜