i literally wrote this chapter three times because i wasn't satisfied with it ): hope y'all enjoy!! also im sorry, this one has no taekook interaction and no taejeon but its v important for the storyline you'll understand why later on!!

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"Ready?", Lyza asked softly, tilting her head towards her boyfriend. Jungkook stood in front of their full-body mirror, wearing a nice black suit and a tie. His gaze kept shifting up and down his body, insecure of himself, of his appearance this evening.

Everything about him seemed so weak today. Maybe it was the hanging shoulders, the tired smile or his eyes that kinda lost their sparkle tonight, or maybe it was just his mind showing him that he had no intention of going where they were about to go.
Lyza's parents invited the couple for dinner tonight at some fancy restaurant down the road where only rich people could go to. Taejeon would spent his night at Taehyung's after a big discussion about how he didn't want to be with him, rather with Jimin.

The kid didn't seem to forgive him and his Dad about the thing he saw, even though both didn't understand what he was so mad about. In the end, he was the one who kept talking about them together. But now, he almost seemed scared. He barely talked to his father the past 24 hours, clinged onto his mother and didn't talk much at all.

It was rather untypical for the usually so hyped kid.

"Kook, you're looking good. Stop staring", she hummed, carefully patting his back to comfort him. The girl herself looked drained out, hurt and weak. It was obvious that she spent a lot of time crying, trying to stay strong in front of everyone else.

"Do you have some powder? And lipbalm?", Jungkook asked shyly which made Lyza furrow her brows but then nod quickly. "Of course", she hummed, hiding her confusion over her boyfriend's sudden interest in make up. She grabbed a powder and some strawberry flavored lipbalm from her purse and handed it to her boyfriend.

The boy gave her a smile and then applied both to his face.

"Jungkook?", she asked quietly.
"Yeah?", he replied immediately, turning towards her.

"You look pretty", she smiled and gave him a small kiss to his cheeks. They didn't properly kiss in days, Lyza felt him being even more distant than usually. She didn't want to get to close, not as long as he was obviously kissing someone else the girl didn't know about.
"Thanks. You too", Jungkook replied, taking her hand.

With that the young couple left their small apartment and made their way towards the restaurant. It wasn't far, they could easily walk there. Lyza was wearing a small, tight black dress which matched Jungkook's suit, usually Kook wouldn't be able to take his eyes off her. Even if they fought all the time, Lyza was still the most attractive girl in Jungkook's eyes.

Her skinny body, her wavy, long hair and those big, shining eyes. Everything about her was beautiful.

Yet Jungkook couldn't stop thinking how Taehyung probably looked right now. Was his hair all messed up? His eyes sparkling full of that energetic adorableness he always had? Would he already be wearing his pyjamas, the cute pink ones they bought years ago when they wanted to match their sleep wear?
Jungkook literally couldn't stop imagining Taehyung cuddled up with Taejeon in his bed, talking to the kid so softly and kindly.

That's when he realised, as much as he tried the past few years, Lyza would never be Taehyung.

"You're thinking of her, right?", Lyza suddenly asked, tears sparkling in the girl's dark eyes when she caught her boyfriend staring straightforward with a fond smile plastered on his lips.

Jungkook gulped, he felt embarrassed that she saw him like that. "N-no, no", he quickly lied, eyes trailing down.

He was thinking of him.

-

"Good evening!", the cheerful voice of Lyza's mother appeared once they reached the food place. The woman wore a woman's suit, looking like the rich business girl she was. While her husband stood there, calmly in silence and only gave the couple a nod.
"Hey!", Lyza said softly, reaching for a hug but her mother stepped back, eyeing her daughter with that judging look on her face she always had.

"You gained weight, my love", she furrowed her brows, turned around and walked in.
The waiter brought them to their reserved table, giving them a soft smile, especially the younger ones because the tension between them and Lyza's parents was obvious.

"Here's the menue, do you want to order drinks already?", he asked them, kindly bowing to them after they sat down.

"Sure. Your best wine for me and my wife it is", Lyza's father said, for the first time speaking up at all. "Beer", Jungkook hummed, already needing some alcohol to survive this night. Lyza sighed, "A coke."
"Light. She wants light coke", her mother immediately corrected, glaring at her daughter.

Jungkook literally snapped at that, "No, she doesn't need a light one. She's too skinny already", he grumbled, deathglaring the mother while he took his girlfriend's hand beneath the table and squeezed it carefully to comfort her. Lyza gave him a tired smile but then nodded towards the confused waiter who rushed off immediatly after.

"So, how's our lovely Taejeon doing?", her mother then asked to avoid further discussion with her daughter's boyfriend.

"Oh, he's doing great! He finally found a friend, he's talking about him all the time!", Lyza said excited and smiled brightly. Talking about her son always made her happy, just like Jungkook.
"Ah, it's about time." Her mother chuckled bitterly. "It's sad. When you were his age you had plenty of friends, I remember when you were like eight, everyone kept running after you in class. It's been sweet, you've been such a sweet girl."

Lyza gulped, tensing up. "Yeah. I was", she hummed and looked down.
The waiter brought their drinks meanwhile and took their orders for the food.

"Of course you chose the one boy who didn't run after you back then", her mother said, voice obviously judging. She never liked Jungkook, in her opinion the boy was the worst match she could've find. "Yeah. Funny how things turn out huh", Jungkook grumbled.

"To be fair, I thought you're gay back then. Always hanging around with this-- oh what's this fag's name? Taehyung?", Lyza's father joined in. Jungkook almost squeezed Lyza's hand to hard, the girl flinched a bit besides him as she felt pain rushing through her tiny hand. "Kook", she whispered.

Jungkook quickly let go and then tried his best not to freak out. He simply stayed quiet.

"Dad. Please. Be respectful for once. Jungkook's not gay, neither is his best friend." Lyza snapped, eyeing her parents warningly.

"Well, obviously he found some taste when he decided to date our daughter", her mother mumbled. Jungkook tilted his head, trying his best not to throw his beer at them.

"Anyways. Taejeon's got a friend, huh? How is he doing besides from that? Did he won his kid's soccer match?", the mother was back at it again. "Mom, he didn't take part in that", Lyza sighed.
"He didn't?", she asked confused, "But every kid did around the town."

"Taejeon's having trouble with his legs, Mom. I told you that. He keeps tripping and falling down, we won't let him do sports until a doctor assured us he's okay. We don't want to risk our son's health."
Lyza's voice almost cracked, she sounded so sad, so disappointed in her parents.

"God, this kid is already a failure", the older woman rolled her eyes.

"He's not a fucking failure!", Jungkook snapped, not able to keep his mouth shut anymore.

"He's doing fucking great. He's so happy, so cheerful, his being himself. Lately he found out he likes playing with Barbies and guess what? I love the way he smiles while he's not faking shit to be perfect. If anyone's a failure, then it's you two at being parents."

Lyza gasped and tried her hardest not to laugh, Jungkook was so right.

The parents were left shook for a bit, not reacting at all.

"Jungkook. Can I talk to you for a second? In private?", the father suddenly said, voice low.
"N-no!", Lyza squeaked out, afraid of her own Dad. But Jungkook nodded, "Sure, Mister."
Kook gave his girl a kiss to her forehead, "I'll be right back", he hummed and then walked outside the restaurant to have a talk with her father.

"What is it?", Jungkook asked dryly and raised an eyebrow at the man.

"You're being a bit disrespectful towards us today, huh?", he started, eyeing the younger. "Same goes for you. First you insult my best friend and then my son? Anything else you wanna get off your mind?", Jungkook hissed at him.

"Isn't it funny how you're always getting so defensive when it comes to Lyza, your son or this Taehyung kid? As a man, you should learn to keep your mouth shut at times. You're a little too young to snap at elders."

"Sorry for being defensive over things I love. Bet you don't even know what that word means", Jungkook crossed his arms, shooting deathglares at the man. "Watch it, Jeon."

"You're a disappointment of a father, Jungkook. Lyza would've been better off if she got pregnant by someone else. Not that it's bad that she became a mother at this age, she's too dumb for anything else anyways, the problem is her choice of men. Didn't think she'd fall for a gay one", he grinned and made Jungkook feel so awkward, so uncomfortable in his presence. "Remember back then? How we had to--"

"Shut up. Don't you dare bring that up!" Jungkook felt tears welling up, just by the thought of it.

"Can't wait how your son will be when he's eight. I'm not paying shit again, I mean it", the man grumbled.
"Anyways. I've got something for you, that's why I wanna talk to you", he then switched the topic in one sentence even though the boy in front of him was literally struggling with tears that came up and fell down his puffy, reddened cheeks.

"Jesus. Stop crying, kid."

"S-sorry", Jungkook hummed and looked down.
Funny how in the presence of Lyza's parents, no one dared to look up, everyone's eyes always trailed towards the ground.

The man suddenly held out a ring and placed it in Jungkook's hands.
The boy looked confused, irritated at why he was holding a ring. A ring that looked a lot like-

"It's about time, Jungkook. You've been together for five years, you've got to start being a man."

"There's no way you can want me to marry your daughter, I thought I'm that much of a failure?", Jungkook's throat felt dry suddenly, panik taking over him. He wasn't ready to do this, he didn't think he'd ever be.

"Well, you are. But you made her pregnant, so it's not like we get to choose the man for our daughter."

"I'm not doing that, Sir. I won't. I need time-", Jungkook said but got interrupted.

"Kid. You've got all the time in this world, it doesn't have to happen too soon. But remember one thing", he silenced and snapped Jungkook's chin up to force him to look into his eyes.

"You owe it to me."