-💔-

There were no plans for him to barge into his house but now that he just came from giving his resignation, he has basically nothing to do anymore. He had some brunch alone in a cafe because he was hungry and he didn't have breakfast. He definitely ate more than he should, maybe because he was angry too.

Now that he is a bit calmed down and on a full stomach, there's no other appropriate time to barge into his house to demand answers. Parking his car in the driveway, quickly gets out of it, accidentally slamming the card door shut too hard. Cursing under his breath, he walks over to the front door of his house, ringing the bell and in just a matter of seconds the door is opened by one of the servants. She quickly bows to him out of respect.

“Where is dad?” Taehyung asks her and she thinks about it for a second.

“He is sitting with ma'am in the lounge.” She responded and Taehyung just nodded.

He storms into the long hallways of his family home. Passing by some more servants that are working around the house. He doesn't hear much, but as he gets closer to the lounge his dad's distinct voice could be heard along with his sister in law's soft laughter. With his palm on the big doors, he pushes it open and enters the air conditioned lounge.

His dad was sitting comfortably on the couch and right next to him was Seulhee, his sister in law, with a tea cup in her hands. They were having their afternoon tea together. They both turn to look at who just entered and get surprised when they see none other than Taehyung. A smile creeps up to their faces but Seulhee immediately notices the energy around Taehyung and it feels heavy.

“Taehyung! my star! What a pleasant surprise.” His dad has a wide grin on his face, he is so happy to see him that Taehyung is already feeling guilty for being worked up about it. He tries to stand up to go over and hug him but Taehyung stops him with his hands.

“It is a nice surprise but it's rather sudden? What brought you here, Taehyung?” Seulhee asked him with a calm tone in her voice. Her eyes were analyzing him and she was so soft spoken. These two are the last people he wants to argue with but this conservation cannot wait.

“I quit my job.” Taehyung announces and the room goes silent for a second.

“I'm sorry, what happened? Did Sehoon give you a hard time? Is there something I can do to help? I can call your brother right now-” His father tries to get his phone but is cut off by Taehyung.

“You have done enough, dad. You have already done too much for me.” Taehyung clenches his fist tightly. It's taking everything in him to not feel overwhelmed right now. Do not act like a spoiled brat.

“What is happening,my star? I don't understand. Did I do something to upset you?” His dad asks so innocently, He gets up and puts his hand on Taehyung's shoulder because he can see his son is distressed.

“Why can't you let me live my life on my own? Why do you have to control every aspect of it? You know that my whole life I have tried to seperate my name from yours, not because I am not thankful or I don't like you. You are the best dad and I love you so much but with our status, I want to be more than just your son or another chaebol’s son.” Taehyung states to him.

“I know but I haven't done anything of that sort. You wanted to study in London, I let you do so. You wanted to live alone, I let you do that too and even when you said you weren't in favor of marrying someone I want you to marry, I told you it's your choice. As my son, I just want the best for you and have done my best to not show any authority over you because I know you do not want that. So what have I done that has made you this upset?” His dad answered his allegations. He could see his sister in law nodding along with him.

“Why did you call Sehoon hyung and told him to hire me? The worst part is it wasn't him who told me all this but my husband, dad. Do you know how worse that made me feel? I have fought for all the things you just mentioned, you didn't make it easy for me to do all those and I don't blame you for those. But I cannot help but be upset about this. I worked so hard in University and then the internships in London to some more back in Seoul. Then I went through the entire process of trying to make sure Sehoon hyung didn't know it was me who was applying to ‘FADE’. All of that went to the gutter because you used your connections to get me in. So much for being different but in the end I was like just another rich kid.” Taehyung tells him

He sees his dad finally realizing what his melt down was about. Their eyes don't meet anymore as his dad looks away in guilt. He fixes his glasses on the bridge of his nose before looking up. “Taehyung-Ah, I am so sorry for hurting you like this. it wasn't my intention, I really just wanted to help you out. I saw how excited and anxious you were about this job, I wasn't sure if I could handle you not getting it as I know it would have crushed you and I cannot see my son go through that so I just did what I thought was best for you.”

“It's not your place to decide that, dad. You cannot make my entire life easier for me. Up and downs are a part of life, you are the one who taught me that so let me take my falls and then ride up in the highs. You didn't have enough trust in me and that is what upsets me the most. You underestimated me, tried to protect me from something you didn't even know was going to happen and that really hurts dad.” Taehyung says, trying not to cry. Feeling heavy weight on his chest.

“Taehyung, your father never meant to hurt you. He just wanted to do what he thought was best for you. You are right, he shouldn't have made the call and told your boss anything but you know how much he loves you, he just didn't want to see his child get hurt.” His sister in law spoke instead of his father because the older man was completely quiet. He was rather distraught.

“He cannot coddle me forever, Noona. I am an adult and I can fight my own battles. Ever since mom passed away, you have done everything for us, there's nothing that I have ever complained about and you know that. All I have wanted is my freedom, my free will to do anything I want. You took away an opportunity from me that meant the world to me. It's time you take your focus away from me and hyung and focus on yourself, dad. We are grown up. We can handle ourselves, you don't have to fight our battles for us. Let us do that.” Taehyung pleaded with him. He makes his dad sit down and grabs his hands.

“I'm sorry, son. I feel disappointed in myself. I have always wanted to be both the mother and father to you especially ever since your mother passed away. I never wanted you to feel like something is missing. That's why it has become almost my first instinct to come to your rescue every chance I get. I understand where I went wrong. I am really sorry.” His dad genuinely seemed sorry about the whole situation and Taehyung was finding it hard to stay mad at him.

“Did hyung know?”

“He had no idea. If he did I think he would have had the same reaction as you.” he chuckled and looked up at his son.

The room once again goes quiet. Taehyung states down at his lap as there is a bile in his throat threatening to come up. He feels tears welling up in his eyes and slowly sliding down his cheeks. He quickly tries to wipe them away before the other two can notice but he fails.

“Oh my, Taehyungie, why are you crying?” He hears his sister in law speak. She hurriedly comes and sits next to him. Putting her hands over his shoulder and rubbing it up and down to give him some sort of comfort. “your dad didn't have any ill intentions over this, tae. He really didn't want to hurt you, so please don't cry like this. He will start crying too if you cry.” She tries to make a joke to lighten the mood.

“I just feel overwhelmed right now. I had made my job my entire personality and now that I don't have it anymore I don't know what to do. I left because of other reasons too so don't feel guilty over this. I am just so lost right now dad. I don't want to hold this against you anymore, but tell me what I should do now??” Taehyung questions them. His father comes closer to him, putting his hands on his thigh.

“Taehyung-ah, your job shouldn't be your entire life either. There is so much more to life than that. You should maybe take this time to enjoy yourself. I didn't do that because I was like you, always buried in work and now I regret it because I am in this old body which doesn't want to explore like it used to. I wish I spent that time with your mom, going to places and doing things together. You have a husband, you are both young. There's so much to do, so just spend this time with him. He seems to be mesmerized with everything you do, so be with him.” An advice he really didn't know if he needed.

Taehyung feels his head starting to hurt. It's pounding a lot, as it feels like someone is punching his head repeatedly. How to tell his dad that is not the case between them? Are they not regular married couples like he thinks they are? what they have made their relationship now is a lot more complicated than just being married. The guilt of lying to his father lies in his heart like a weight that cannot be lifted off.

“I would see. My head hurts right now, can I get some sort of painkiller? I think I will pass out without it.” Taehyung says his sister in law gets up immediately to go but his father stops her and says he would go instead. Taehyung doesn't give it much thought.

“You are valid, Taehyung. You had every right to be upset about this so don't feel bad over it. Your father also apologized so you should forgive him too. Grudges between family never end well and your family is so beautiful. I wouldn't want anything to happen to it. Do you want to tell your brother about this?” she asks him and Taehyung shakes his head.

“No, I just don't want to talk about this again. I have had enough for the day. I think I might be coming down with something.” Taehyung tells her. She puts her hand on his forehead to check his temperature and he does seem warmer than usual.

“You are getting hotter, take the painkiller and maybe go rest in your room. Why don't you stay the night? She suggests and Taehyung blinks, he doesn't know what he should do.

“But Jeongguk-”

“-Call him over too!! A son in law staying at the family house is a big deal in many cultures. We would love to have him over, you both never came together as a couple here anyway. So call him.” she says and Taehyung signs. That's not what he wanted, he was going to say how he hasn't even told Jeongguk about everything he did today. They are also not on speaking terms. But he does miss home and she also looks really excited to have them over.

His dad comes back in the meantime, with two painkillers and a glass of water in his hands. He grabs it from him and quickly drinks it down. He thinks about it once again before agreeing.

“Fine, I'll stay.” Taehyung says and Seulhee squeals in excitement. His father is confused.

“What?”

“Dad, Taehyung is going to stay with us for the night, Jeongguk is coming too.” she says excitedly. He sees how his father’s eyes light up too. “Really?”

“I need to ask Jeongguk first though. He might not be able to come. I will call him.”

Taehyung gets up from the couch and goes outside the room to give him a call. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he quickly dials Jeongguk's number. All sorts of thoughts are going through his mind right now. It is hard for him to think clearly. It took just seconds and Jeongguk picked up his phone.

“Hello, Gukkie?” Taehyung says, his voice comes out a bit rough.

“Hello..? you sound hoarse. Calling me in the middle of the day, is everything fine?” Jeongguk is immediately worried about him and Taehyung is once again feeling bad for the way he acted towards him yesterday.

“Yeah um, I am at my dad's house. They somehow convinced me to stay. They were asking if you can stay too? it's fine if you don't want to.” Taehyung rubs the back of his neck nervously. He doesn't know why his heart is pounding right now, maybe he really is getting sick.

“Hm, I guess it won't hurt, I don't have any other plans for the night anyway. Text me the location and I'll be there after work, okay?” Jeongguk's voice was so calm and comforting for Taehyung. It's really strange that in this world there is only Jeongguk who can understand him fully right now.

“Mhm, I will wait for you. Goodbye Jeongguk.” Taehyung says to him before hanging up the phone.

Instead of going back to the lounge Taehyung just goes back up to his room. Walking up the stairs and turning to the first door to the right was his room. He opens the door and gets inside. The room is cold because it's empty. Beside there being essential stuff like his bed, drawers, a dressing table, just basic furniture.

His photos, frames, his childhood plushies, his trophies from his academics and sports in school, everything that made him him was not here because he took it all to his apartment. So this room might be his but doesn't feel like it anymore. Taehyung walks over to his bed, taking off his shoes and just lies down on the bed. His entire body feels so heavy. It feels like every part of his body is dragging him deeper into the bed.

His eyelids feel like a weight on his eyes, as his mind suddenly starts to spin. He cannot stay awake anymore so he just lets his body win. The sleep takes over him and takes him into a deep slumber.

When Jeongguk enters Taehyung house, he is immediately taken to the TV lounge by the maids as he isn't familiar with the house, it's only his second time here. Entering the lounge was an overwhelming experience for someone like him who isn't fond of socializing with people who he doesn't know. The cold air from the air conditioner hit his skin, there was some reality tv show playing in the background.

Taehyung's father, brother and sister in law were all sitting down on the couch, just watching the TV and chatting with each other but stopped when they saw who entered the room. The first person to come and hug him was Taehyung's father, the middle aged man had a wide grin on his face as he wrapped his arms around his son in law tightly. Talking about how happy he is to see him.

Then came Namjoon hyung who's hug definitely didn't last as long as his father in law but it was still nice, he just shook hands with the sister in law as he wasn't really familiar with her that much so he doesn't want to overstep her boundaries. The entire room was joyous to see their son in law finally come. Despite all of these people here, Jeongguk's eyes scanned the room once again, thinking he missed Taehyung but the man really wasn't there.

The nerves were getting to him once he realized the person he wanted to rely on for this conversation isn't here. A similar situation to when you are hanging out with someone you don't know but the person you both know suddenly leaves and you are stuck in an awkward situation. But with the way Taehyung's family carries themselves and have such outgoing personalities it wasn't too hard to make conversations with them despite not knowing anything about them.

The conversation went from small talk like how he is doing and how's the business to getting deeper into his job and giving advice here and there to Taehyung, to their married life. They were curious, that's for sure. Jeongguk was able to dodge multiple bullets so many times and made sure to avoid any type of suspicion that could indicate their complicated relationship.

“...That's good, I will try my best. Though, speaking of Taehyung, where is he? I haven't seen him ever since I came?” Jeongguk asked them with a smile on his face. Taking a sip of the tea that was served to him and putting back down on the table as he was done.

“Oh Taehyung is resting, I suppose you know everything that happened and he was quite upset and exhausted so he just went to his room. Namjoon, you should wake him up, it's almost dinner time.” His father in law speaks first as his face falls. Jeongguk wonders how bad the conversation went, that a man who is always so happy is now upset.

Namjoon tries to get up but his wife stops him by putting her hands on his lap. “Oh no need for that, just before Jeongguk came, I went to check up on him and he was sleeping soundless. I don't think we should disturb him, he has had a long day.” Seulhee says to them.

“He should still eat something before sleeping, I will go and check on him.” Jeongguk stands up from the sofa, straightening his buttoned up shirt so it doesn't crinkle up.

“Oh there's no need to go yourself, I can just send one of the maids-” Namjoon tries to speak but is interrupted by his own dad.

“Joon-ah, let him go. That's his husband, he needs to have his own peace of mind. Go son, check on him” The old man says with a proud smile on his lips. Jeongguk smiles shyly before nodding and quickly leaving the room.

He makes his way upstairs after asking for directions to his room. Standing in front of the door, He grabs the handle and pushes open the door. It is quiet in the room as the lights are still on. Jeongguk's eyes and straight on Taehyung's body on the bed. He still has his shoes on and is in his outside clothes but he is fast asleep. The innocence on his face was a new sight.

Jeongguk never fails to notice how pretty he looks when he's asleep. You shouldn't be allowed to look this handsome when you are not conscious. That's not fair. He goes near to him, trying not to make much noise. He sits on the bed and takes his shoes off for him. Putting his leg that was falling off bed back on it. When he grabs the leg, his hands feel hot all of a sudden. His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Hearing a groan coming from Taehyung's lips in his sleep as if he's in distress.

Putting his hands on the guy's forehead and he is burning up. His temperature is quite high and there's no way he doesn't have a strong fever. Jeongguk shakes him a bit, trying to wake him up. It doesn't take long as the man is already up, trying to open his eyes in the harsh ceiling lights. Jeongguk quickly gets up and turns on the lamp by the bed and turns off the ceiling light. They both prefer it that way at home too.

“Jeongguk…? you are here.” Taehyung says to him in a hoarse voice.

“I am. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling sick? I would have gotten some medicine for you on my way there. Come on, get up, let's take you to a doctor” Jeongguk grabs his arm to help him stand but Taehyung brushes him away.

“What?? no I am fine please.” Taehyung is stubborn, Jeongguk grabs Taehyung's hands and puts it against his own forehead. Taehyung can now himself feel his rising temperature.

“Hot isn't it? Are you in pain somewhere?” Jeongguk questioned him and Taehyung sighed.

“My head hurts and so does my entire body.” He says it so nonchalantly. Jeongguk gets up from the bed.

“If you don't want to go to the doctor, fine, I will ask for some medicines from your dad or something. You have to eat something first though, can't have you taking meds on an empty stomach.” Jeongguk tells him Taehyung groans in response, acting like a child. “I don't want to eat anything, I just want to sleep…”

“Taehyung, don't be like this. You should take better care of yourself. I get that you are upset but don't neglect your health at least.”

“I'm sorry, I don't want to worry you and my family.”

“Don't apologize, it makes me feel bad. Just stay put, actually just change into something more comfortable and I would be back alright?” Jeongguk patted his head before he turned around to leave the room. He hurries downstairs to tell his family about Taehyung's condition.

As he is the baby of the house, the entire family is just immediately worried about him and doing the most. They even try to go up straight to him but Jeongguk just stops them. He knows Taehyung wouldn't want them all worrying over him right now as that would just overwhelm him. So he tells them that it's better to just let him rest for the night and let him handle it all.

They are rather impressed with how much Jeongguk cares. They love to see it with their own eyes, that's all they wanted for Taehyung. A husband who cares for him as deeply as they do. So they just told Jeongguk about where the medicines are and even appointed two of the maids to tend to everything Jeongguk and Taehyung might need. From making porridge to providing with wet towels to get his temperature down a bit.

Jeongguk for the first time was tending to a sick person and it was his husband. Life works in mysterious ways for him. He is sitting next to his sick husband in his house, feeding him porridge. It's so domestic and something he is totally unfamiliar with. “Just one more bite, tae. Then you can take your meds and go to sleep.” Jeongguk says to him as he feeds him another spoonful.

Taehyung chews it down with a sour expression on his face. When Jeongguk tries to sneak in another bite, Taehyung turns his head away, not going to give in once again. Jeongguk sighs and gives up. Putting the bowl on the side table and grabbing the pills to give to Taehyung. He hands the essential ones, mainly painkillers and one for the fever. Giving him the glass of water to take them all down. Taehyung isn't having the best time that's for sure. He hands him back the glass and gets inside the covers again. It felt so cold.

Jeongguk tucks him into the bed tightly, making sure he stays warm. Pushing his hair back from his face and Taehyung just stared at him with a smile. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“No need to thank me. Now let me change and I'll get in the bed with you too.”

“But you didn't eat anything.” Taehyung says to him to stop him by grabbing his wrist.

“I had a quick bite while the maids prepared your porridge. I am not hungry so let me go? I wanna sleep.” Jeongguk asks him and Taehyung leaves his wrist.

“You can't sleep next to me, what if I make you sick too?”

“Taehyung, not to flex but I have a strong immune system. I haven't been sick since I was nine years old. So don't worry about me.”

“If you get sick don't blame me then.”

“Fine, fine, baby. Go to sleep now.”

Jeongguk went to the bathroom, did his business, his usual night routine before he changed into pajamas given by Namjoon that he could sleep in. They were a bit big on him but he was comfortable in them and that really is what mattered at the end of the day.

When he came out of the bathroom, Taehyung was once again fast asleep, snoring so cutely, it was adorable to see. Jeongguk got into the bed with him, slowly taking the covers and putting it on himself. He didn't try to move too much or cause any ruckus. Jeongguk faced Taehyung and he doesnt know for how long he stared at him. It was long but he was too lost in his thoughts to count. Just gazing at him and slowly he was falling asleep. A night that was too calm for the storm that was brewing.

-💔-
Sooo sorry for the late update 🥺🥺🥺 once again University has been killing me I barely have time to even sleep anymore let alone free time to write this. Start expecting really slow updates I'm sorry in advance 😭
Hope yall liked it
-K