(*unedited*)

♥║ twenty-three ║♥

Taehyung's heart falters when the doorbell rings, his mother excitedly rushing to it. She fluffs her hair a little before glancing over her shoulder at Taehyung. She mouths to him to straighten his shirt, to which he begrudgingly does so after a dramatic sigh. His brother smirks beside him, jabbing his elbow into his Taehyung's side.

His mother opens the door in a grand gesture, making sure she sidesteps out the way so Taehyung is the first person Aecha's eyes land on. He offers a smile to which she merely averts her gaze, as if she hadn't locked eyes with him to begin with. He exhales heavily out his nose. At least he tried to be polite. His mother can't fault him if she isn't interested.

But of course she will.

She'll list all of the things he should've done to charm her.

"Welcome! Thank you so much for coming," his mother says kindly, ushering them inside. It's only Aecha and her mother, but Taehyung's mother had prepared enough food for a family twenty times their size.

"Absolutely. We're honored to have been invited," Aecha's mother replies, nudging her daughter forward.

Aecha dips her head civilly, but her lips still don't move.

"Eunjung, you remember my eldest son Bogum, yes?"

Eunjung smiles with a nod. "Of course. Welcome back," she says with a bow.

Bogum returns her bow.

"Nice to see you again, Eunjung," Taehyung's father says. "Shall we sit?"

The six of them fill the table, his mother of course suggesting Aecha sit beside Taehyung. Again, he tries to be polite, pulling the chair out for her. She sits without a word, scooting the chair in herself. He bites his bottom lip. He's already exhausted and the dinner hasn't even started yet.

Taehyung sits stiffly, his arms as close to his sides as possible to where he's barely capable of eating. He keeps glancing over at her, wondering if there's any emotion at all on her features.

There isn't.

She's eating quietly, her eyes locked on the food in front of her.

Taehyung's looks across the table when he feels Bogum's eyes on him, his older brother giving him suggestive head nods as if insinuating he should make a move. As if. Taehyung is scared to even brush shoulders with Aecha. What if she's like a bear that attacks when disturbed? A misleading bear that looks cuddly on the outside but would bite your finger off the second you touch a hair on it.

He's being ridiculous, he knows that. Aecha is simply a sheltered person, who probably doesn't feel like wasting time on other people.

He can respect that.

Eunjung asks Taehyung about his grades, which is standard for his mother's friends to do. However, it gets a little odd to him when she asks how many friends he has, who in particular he hands out with the most, and the activities all of them do together. It feels somewhat like an interrogation, and he stops answering halfway, giving his mother a bewildered look. His mother, on the other hand, looks as though nothing is strange and gestures him to keep going.

His father, bless him, speaks up instead. "Pardon me, Eunjung, but I don't see the point in questioning my son about his free time. It's almost as if you're unsure of our parenting skills and believe he's being some kind of hooligan." The way he quirks his brow makes Eunjung squirm a bit in her seat, though she stays confident.

"Forgive me, I do not mean to come off as rude. Haven't you been told about the event, though?" Eunjung bats her eyelashes innocently.

Taehyung, very slowly, sets his fork down. His throat has gone dry already.

His father frowns. "Event?"

"Why, yes—"

"Eunjung," his mother cuts off, giving her a sharp smile. "It was meant to be a surprise."

"Oh, of course! Then would you like to make the announcement or shall I?"

There's almost an angry look in his mother's eyes as she stares back at Eunjung, but it's gone so quickly that Taehyung can't be for sure. His mother clears her throat, straightening in her chair. "Well, I'll do the honors, I suppose."

Taehyung can feel his heart racing already. Bogum seems to be catching as well, tapping his foot against the side of Taehyung's under the table. He can't stand his brother for looking so amused. This was supposed to happen to Bogum first. He's the eldest after all. Why does Taehyung have to be the perfect son for his mother? He's never been able to own up to the title.

"Eunjung and I have been talking about this for a while now," his mother starts, avoiding Taehyung's gaze. Avoiding his father's gaze, too. "We've decided that after the two of you graduate, we will hold a marriage ceremony—"

"What?" his father exclaims, partially gasping as hus eyes bug out of his head. Taehyung swallows the lump in his throat, keeping his eyes on the table. He knew it.

He fucking knew it.

"Did you ever think to tell me about any of this?" his father asks, staring at his wife in disbelief and hurt. "He's my son as much as yours."

"Dear, I've mentioned it to you before."

"You asked me what I thought about Taehyung marrying after high school," his father says. "Hypothetical."

His mother purses her lips, her hand wrapped around her fork tightly. Out of frustration or guilt, Taehyung isn't sure. "Well, it's no longer hypothetical, and you never disagreed before."

His father scoffs, blinking at his wife at the opposite end of the table.

"It will be good for the both of them," Eunjung adds, cutting in. "I've heard about how much of a recluse Taehyung is, and Aecha is the same way. It will open them up."

"Taehyung? A recluse?" his dad practically laughs. "He's one of the most outgoing people I've ever met in my life. He's hardly ever home."

His mother pouts. "Hyeon, I thought you'd be supportive of this."

"I would've liked to know about it ahead of time."

Eunjung chuckles. "It makes no difference when you find out. We've already set the date, three days after their graduation."

"That's in a few months," his father remarks. "Isn't it too soon? They don't even know each other."

Eunjung tsks. "I didn't know my husband when we were married, either. In fact, the first time I met him face to face was at the alter. Arranged marriages are very much alive, Kim Hyeon, and they're very effective for a healthy relationship. Not to mention good for both of our companies."

Another reason Taehyung knew this was coming. Dad's business is dying out and Eunjung's husband's is flourishing. Taehyung's mother refuses to be poor, or even middle class. She's very much enjoyed the wealthier lifestyle.

"Especially yours," Eunjung adds under her breath, though purposefully loud enough for his father to hear.

There's a tense silence at the table for a long moment before hell must've froze over—certainly it had—because Aecha speaks.

"I decline, Mother." Her voice is soft and silky, the kind of voice you could sit and listen to for hours with content.

Eunjung scoffs. "Pardon me?"

"I can't marry him," she says, never lifting her eyes from her plate. She takes another bite of her food, calm as ever, then says, "I've already given my heart to someone else."

Me too, Taehyung wants to say, but refrains. His mother would surely kill him in his sleep.

Eunjung shocks Taehyung by laughing. "Silly girl. Marriage isn't about love, it's about gain. That fool can keep your heart, it doesn't change anything."

Taehyung gapes at the woman, his lips actually parted in surprise. Even his mother has never said such a thing to him. His mother has always told him he needs to love the people he spends his time with because those are the people worth it. He supposes his mother thinks he can grow to love Aecha, but clearly she has no desire to do the same.

Aecha says nothing else, continuing to eat as if she hadn't spoken at all. Taehyung wonders about the thoughts going around in her head right now. He presumes they aren't pleasant.

Taehyung's stomach knots as the table falls into complete silence. He gently nudges his plate away from him, knowing it's rude to leave a full plate of food practically untouched but he doesn't have an appetite anymore.

"Please excuse me," he murmurs, not daring to meet anyone's eyes as he scoots back from the table, leaving the room hastily to the bathroom.

He feels so sick. Despite knowing exactly how this dinner would go, the marriage being confirmed is finally settling in. There's no way out of it. He's not clueless enough to believe there is. He has about six months until graduation, until his freedom runs dry.

Until he really loses his chances with Jungkook forever.

He locks the bathroom door behind him, instinctively pulling out his phone. He's going to get in even more trouble for this, but what does he have to lose at this point?

"Hello?" Jungkook answers.

Taehyung closes his eyes, trying to breathe steadily, trying to fight the urge to cry. "H-hey," he stammers out, attempting a smile though Jungkook can't see. Maybe if he smiles wide enough, he can act as if this dinner didn't happen.

"Hyung? Are you okay?"

Taehyung places his free hand on the bathroom counter, holding himself upright. "Not really, Kookie," he whispers. "Do you think... Could I..." He exhales a deep breath. "Could I stay over, do you think?"

Jungkook is quiet a long moment. Taehyung crosses the boundaries, undoubtedly, but he can't help it. He just can't be in this house tonight. He knows when Aecha and Eunjung leave, all hell will break loose within his family.

"U-um, yeah, yeah, sure. Right now?"

"If that's okay."

"Of c-course. Yeah. Okay. I'll, um, I'll let my mom know."

"Jungkook," Taehyung says softly. "If it makes you uncomfortable, it's fine. I can go to Seokjin's or somewhere..."

"N-no, it's fine. You're okay, r-right? Like. You're not hurt?"

Taehyung smiles weakly, but at least it's genuine. "I'm okay."

"Good. S-so you're coming now?"

Taehyung chuckles. "Yeah, just let me get some stuff together. It'll probably be about twenty minutes or so."

"Okay. W-well be careful."

"I will."

Taehyung feels so at peace when he hangs up that he almost forgets why he called Jungkook in the first place. He lets out a sigh, shaking out his hands as he exits the bathroom, darting across the hall to his room. He's never snuck out before. He's debating if he should try, or just walk out the front door. Either way, he's going to get a lecture eventually.

He grabs his backpack, shoving some pajamas and an outfit for tomorrow in his bag. He scurries back to the bathroom for his toothbrush, but he doesn't make it back to his room. He bumps into Bogum instead, his eyes widening in fear. Will Bogum rat him out?

Bogum looks down at the toothbrush in his hand, then glances over his shoulder into Taehyung's room where Taehyung's backpack sits open on his bed. Bogum bites his bottom lip, meeting his younger brother's eyes.

"Running away?" he asks quietly.

Taehyung breathes out in relief. Bogum will keep it a secret.

"Just tonight," he replies.

Bogum nods slowly. "You have someone else too, don't you?"

Taehyung heart pounds, but he manages to nod.

Bogum contemplates this a moment, rubbing his chin. Then he jerks his head towards Taehyung's bedroom. "I'll tell them you got really sick and are in bed. You'll have about five minutes to make it out the front door if you're dead silent."

For some reason, Bogum's help makes Taehyung's eyes water. Maybe because of the stress he's already endured tonight, or maybe because he knows if Bogum knew it was a boy he was running to, his reaction would be completely different.

"Thank you."

Bogum waves him away dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't lie to her about what's happening at home, all right? She deserves to know about this."

Taehyung nods, hurrying into his room to zip up his backpack as Bogum heads back down the stairs. He hears his brother's voice announcing his illness, and he starts his departure, tiptoeing as softly yet as quickly as possible.

"Sick? That's ridiculous," he hears his mother scoff. "Let me have a word with him."

Taehyung freezes in his place, halfway down the stairs, ready to bolt back up and dive into his bed.

"Really, Mom, he doesn't look good. Just give him a few minutes to settle," Bogum suggests, and he hears his mother's chair slide back in.

"Fine. But if he isn't back soon, I'm going up there. He's being very rude to leave in such a haste with guests still here. Eunjung, please forgive—"

He doesn't hear the rest as he clicks the front door shut silently behind him.