When Ji-hu first heard Taehyung's sudden announcement, he was perplexed. He did wish for a father like Taehyung in the past, especially since the time he met Taehyung in the cafe. Originally, he was always told by Yoongi that Jia would marry Jungkook, which the little boy believed like a good boy he was. Soon, Ji-hu began liking the idea of having Taehyung as his father instead of Jungkook and he never imagined his thoughts to be real.

He blinked a few times, looking at Taehyung as he processed the information.

Taehyung, on the other hand, wasn't sure if he did it right or not. His son was just three-years-old and also he knew that Ji-hu was a curious boy. He was willing to answer all of the questions that the boy might innocently ask, but what if he told his mother everything? Jia might no longer allow Ji-hu to meet Taehyung.

Ji-hu stood on his knees while still on Taehyung's lap, and threw his arms around the elder's neck. "Appa?" He mumbled in his little voice and Taehyung soon wrapped his arms around the boy's tiny waist.

Taehyung rested his head on Ji-hu's little shoulder, inhaling his scent. "Yes, baby bear! I'm your Appa."

"Eomma said you are busy so you don't come home." The boy went on, but his arms were unwrapped and he stared at his father. "You don't like Ji-hu?" Tears welled up in his eyes as he imagined that his father disliked him because he had never seen him before.

Taehyung regretted his existence at this point when he heard the innocent question from his little one. He again hugged the boy tightly. "No, baby! I love you a lot. Your eomma hates me."

"Eomma no hate you. Eomma mish you. Live with us, I want to play football with you. I wanna go pwicknic. I will tell eomma that we will stay together, okay? She won't say no to me." The boy spoke excitedly, convincing his father that it was fine to stay together.

"No, love! You won't tell eomma about appa. Eomma won't let you meet me. Do you want that?" Taehyung asked softly, not wanting to let go of Ji-hu, as he tightened his grip around the boy's waist.

Taehyung's possessiveness arose out of nowhere. He may have made a mistake by stating the truth, but he will not abandon his son as he did in the past.

Ji-hu let go of Taehyung's hug and pecked his lips. "No! We will meet. I won't call you Appa in front of Eomma. I want to play with you, sleep with you." He sat comfortably on Taehyung's lap, his head resting on his father's chest while he played with the rings on his father's fingers.

"Appa loves Ji-hu?" Ji-hu inquired as he continued to play with the rings.

Taehyung stroked the boy's back with his hands. "Appa loves Ji-hu." He kissed Ji-hu's forehead, to confirm.

"Appa loves eomma?" The curious boy inquired again.

"Appa loves eomma too, bub."

They held each other tighter for a little longer until something crossed the little devil's mind. He looked up at Taehyung, who was already gazing at the boy softly with a smile. "What's it, bub?"

"I wanna see pictures."

Taehyung could make out what his son was talking about. He chuckled and kissed his forehead again, before making Ji-hu sit properly on his lap. He rested Ji-hu's back on his chest and grabbed his phone, unlocking the device.

Ji-hu continued to look at how his father's long fingers clicked on the screen, to open the pictures. Once the folder opened, he giggled at the small pictures that were yet to be opened.

Taehyung smiled at the excited boy and clicked on the first picture which was a full-length portrait of Taehyung and Jia after the wedding.

Jia looked stunning in an off-shoulder white wedding gown, while Taehyung looked dashing in a black three-piece suit with a neck bow tie and a white shirt under the black vest.

Taehyung recalls how he avoided putting his hand on Jia's waist. He smiled because he was a great actor. However, he stood a little too far away from Jia, so on the photographer's command, Jia slid closer to Taehyung, leaning a little to his side, and smiled, while holding the bouquet of flowers.

"Eomma is so happy," Ji-hu commented with a sigh like an adult.

"What do you mean, munchkin?" Taehyung asked softly.

Ji-hu grinned as he was given a new nickname by his father. He'd noticed how Taehyung referred to him as "baby bear," "love," "bub," and "muchkin," and he could sense how good it felt to be with a father. "Eomma never laugh."

Taehyung's heart sank as a result of his son's confession. Ji-hu was a small boy. He was too young to notice the mood changes of his mother, and he felt awful for being such a bad father. If he had a healthy relationship with Jia, his son would have got the privilege to grow up like normal kids. He was certain that he would never forgive himself for what he had done to his family.

"It's fine, bubs. I'll make her happy. You don't need to worry." Taehyung kissed the back of Ji-hu's head.

Taehyung scrolled the next picture, where Taehyung and Jia gave thin-lipped smiles that looked almost similar. But Jia's smile appeared to be more genuine than Taehyung's. The taller male remembers how this photographer suggested this pose, where the couple stood closer. Taehyung encircled Jia's waist with his left arm while holding the girl's hands with his right. Jia clutched the bouquet tightly, as if she was nervous, which was completely opposite to the calm look on her face.

"You both look pwetty." The boy commented, loving his parents' smiles.

Taehyung didn't respond to the boy's remark, feeling sad at how he can no longer be happy with Jia. Instead, he scrolled through another image that was nearly similar to the previous one with just one difference. Taehyung was flashing a wide smile that looked more genuine than the previous one.

"I want to be like Appa and mawrry eomma." Ji-hu spoke innocent, to which his father laughed.

"You can't marry eomma, bub. But don't worry, once you grow up, I'll find you a beautiful girl like your eomma." Ji-hu pouted as Taehyung ruffled his hair gently. He wanted to marry his eomma and his father was refusing. He couldn't understand why he couldn't marry his mother?

Taehyung didn't notice his son's pouty expression, so he moved on to the next picture, which was of Jia. The photographer took the photo from behind Taehyung, resulting in this beautiful picture of the girl gazing fondly at her soon-to-be husband. Her smile and eyes conveyed her affection for the man in front of her, which the photographer was able to capture well. Taehyung's back was also shown, which was done on purpose by the photographer to make it look more realistic.

"I wanna mawrry eomma." The boy almost cried, throwing a fit.

"Then do you want Appa to marry someone else?" Taehyung asked calmly to the boy, who shook his head in denial. The father couldn't bring up the subject of divorce with his son since he knew it would break the boy's heart. He also doesn't want the boy to hear words like divorce, which are clearly inappropriate for small children.

Taehyung moved on to the next image, which was one of his own. He was walking with a huge smile on his face while carrying the bouquet and looking at the camera.

"Then can I marry Appa? You are so handsome."

Taehyung was clearly done with his son now. How could Jia manage to grow Ji-hu so well till now? And how was she able to answer his weird questions?

Without responding to the boy, Taehyung scrolled the last picture, which was taken by Jin in his Polaroid camera. It was the same picture that Ji-hu had seen on Taehyung's home screen. It was a black and white picture, which Jin clicked when the photographer had asked Taehyung to smile widely.

When Jin watched the scene in front of him, he almost felt like the couple was in love. So he couldn't stop himself from clicking a picture after the photographer was done clicking in that pose.

I wish to marry you again. Not because of my career or your pregnancy, but because of love.

__________________

So, how was it?

I enjoyed writing this chapter. And now I feel like the story is progressing well.

What are your thoughts?

Taehyung's reaction to Ji-hu's weird questions 👆🏼😂