(intro copy & pasted from my other book since it still applies)

before this chapter starts, i would like to extend an apology to all my readers who are here real-time and, therefore, have had to wait anywhere between weeks or months for this chapter.

my excuse as to why this chapter took so long to put out is simply: life. life really got in the way of my writing for quite a while, to be honest. for me, writing these books is a hobby. i simply got to a point in my life where i didn't have much time for hobbies.

i finished my GCSE exams in the summer so my vacation was focused on celebrating that with friends as well as going to a 2 week summer camp and going abroad for a wedding. then as soon as september began i was back in school and the jump from the last academic year to this year was pretty intense in terms of my work load and my responsibilities.

then i had that intense writers block that i told some of you guys about. not fun.

on top of being swamped with school work and having writers block, i was also just not feeling that great once summer was over. once the weather started getting colder and it started getting dark earlier, my mental health also suffered a bit (a lot). seasonal depression, i guess.

not to mention, the UK is in a cost of living crisis right now and i live in a working class household that's kind of struggling to get by which also isn't helping my mental state either.

now that i'm done making excuses, i hope you guys like this chapter.

personally, i wish i could say that it's amazing and that i'm super proud of it considering how long it took me to get to this point but, honestly, i still feel unsatisfied with it.

let me know what you think <3

---

⚠️ this chapter contains homophobic language

---

getting ready to meet someone new had never been a big deal to taehyung.

i mean, taehyung was a textbook social butterfly and so, if anything, he was usually excited to meet new individuals.

however, never had he ever felt a wave of anxiety as nerve-wracking as this.

he had stepped out of the shower, completed his typical after-shower tasks and was now sitting at his vanity, brushing his hair. even as he combed through the strands, his hands were shaking.

jeongguk was doing no better.

he was laying on taehyung's bed, staring up at the ceiling in silence while his boyfriend got ready. as taehyung plugged in his blowdryer and started to dry his hair, jeongguk let the loud sound muffle his thoughts for a while.

even just the act of setting up the dinner was hell.

-4 days earlier-

jiwoo had sent jeongguk his mother's phone number so that they could set up the date themselves. she would've done it herself but, in all honesty, she needed a break from being the middleman of all this family drama and jeongguk understood that.

jeongguk typed the number into his keypad before letting out an uncertain breath.

he would've texted her but he knew his mother like the back of his hand. she never answered texts.

his hands were shaking.

he couldn't tell if it was out of anger or fear. maybe it was both. along with a sprinkle of anxiety, of course.

he pressed the call button.

listening to the phone ring made his heartbeat speed up tenfold as if it was counting down the seconds until his ultimate demise. it probably was, to be fair.

"hello, who is this?" a friendly, feminine voice answered the phone.

but jeongguk knew that voice. that was his mother's cute little customer service voice that she liked to put on when she spoke to strangers. if only they knew what she really sounded like, her first impressions would leave a lot more to be desired.

fake bitch. he thought.

"jeongguk." he stated, not looking to elaborate any further.

"oh."

oh, indeed.

"so you abandon your family for two years and now decide to call me out of the blue?" she snarled.

aaaand there's the voice he knew and didn't love.

"i-"

"if you're asking to come back then you can hang up right now and the same thing goes if your asking for money."

"fuck no, i'm calling you because i figured your sister already told you that i'm back on the radar. you thought i could get away with not calling? i can't get away with shit when it comes to you people." jeongguk said with just as much venom.

"jeon jeongguk, i will slap you in the mouth as soon as i get my hands on you for speaking to me like that." she raised her voice.

"i'm sure you will. nothing new." jeongguk sighed, already tired of the bullshit.

"did you call just to insult your own mother or do you need something?" she asked, sounding like she had better things to do but jeongguk knew she didn't.

"i'm coming over. to see you guys." he said.

"you say that like it's a statement instead of a question. who do you think you are to assume that we'll welcome you back into our home?" she raised a brow.

"for fuck's sake just drop the bullshit, will you? we all know you wanted to find me all this time and now i'm literally offering to bring myself right to your doorstep so just accept it, will you?" jeongguk raised his own voice.

"lower your tone, first of all. second of all... when?"

"when do you have time to make dinner and put on your best performance?"

"what the fuck do you mean, boy?"

"i'm bringing someone with me."

"and who might this someone be?"

"my boyfriend."

"oh great, your father is gonna love that, i'm sure."

"i don't give a fuck about what dad thinks about who i have sex with. he doesn't exactly have great taste: he picked you." jeongguk huffed the last sentence to himself.

"what was that?"

"nothing. anyway, does seojun still live with you?" jeongguk asked.

"yes. he'll be there too."

jeongguk groaned, "fine, whatever. when will you be free?"

"we'll do sunday."

and then they both hung up.

-the present-

jeongguk groaned to himself just thinking about it.

he had stayed over at taehyung's house last night. he couldn't sleep alone in his own bed when he thought of the day ahead of them so he made the journey over to taehyung's place at 11pm that night. it took 2 hours and a panic attack for taehyung to get him to sleep but he did, in the end.

as the younger zoned out completely, he didn't even register taehyung's voice calling him.

"jeonnie?" he turned around, away from the mirror.

"huh? yeah?" jeongguk sat up.

"do you think i look okay?" taehyung asked, a nervous tinge in his voice, as he did a little spin.

jeongguk stood up and pulled him close by the small of his back before kissing his forehead softly, "you look gorgeous, love."

and he did.

taehyung wore a simple white sweater with a collared shirt underneath, paired with some blue jeans. jeongguk told him to dress smart-casual but he had a hard time deciding what was "too smart" and what was "too casual". as for his hair, it was in it's natural state, straight with loose waves scattered around. he didn't bother with any makeup since jeongguk had warned him that his father already wasn't too happy with the fact that he was a boy so he figured that any visible makeup or flamboyant jewelry and accessories would probably make things worse.

he took a moment to give jeongguk's outfit a glance. he was wearing a black dress shirt without a tie and some faded black jeans. to be honest, he looked more like he was going to a casual funeral rather than a dinner with his parents whom he hadn't seen in two years.

taehyung leaned his head against jeongguk's chest as he let out a deep sigh.

god, what am i getting into? he thought.

jeongguk looked like he was handling the stress of the situation well with how controlled his facial expression was but taehyung could see right through him. especially when he leaned into his chest and felt his heartbeat hammering against his ribcage.

the older of the two brought his hands around the other's neck, caressing the ends of his hair.

"it's okay." was all taehyung said but jeongguk knew what he really meant.

it's okay that you're nervous.

it's okay that you're scared.

you don't have to pretend to be strong for me.

that's when jeongguk let out a long, shaky breath that he didn't know he was holding in and grabbed taehyung tighter than he'd ever done before.

"i'm scared, baby, i-" he managed to choke out.

"shhh, i know. i know you are, so am i, but they can't hurt you anymore. you're an adult, okay? you're 20 years old, they can't do anything to you." taehyung said, rubbing his hands along jeongguk's back.

jeongguk knew that taehyung was right but it didn't do much to ease his nerves because he knew what his family was like.

he could walk into that house as a 20 year old man, with confidence, but as soon as he feels the scrutiny and coldness of his family, they would force him back into the mentality of his fragile 16 year old self.

any time jeongguk gained some backbone and stood up for himself, his parents always knew how to push him back down into submission.

he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, forcing unshed tears out so he could wipe them away and collect himself.

"you can act strong in front of them but not me, okay? you don't need to act like you're okay when you're with me." taehyung said, holding jeongguk's cheeks as he looked at him in the eyes.

"i know." jeongguk nodded, planting another kiss on taehyung's forehead.

---

they were halfway through the 55 minute car ride and, so far, it had been silent if you were to discount the sound of music softly coming through the speakers.

taehyung couldn't take his eyes off of jeongguk, too worried for him.

usually when his anxiety flared up badly like this, seokjin wouldn't let jeongguk be in the driver's seat. jeongguk's nerves and paranoid thoughts didn't allow him to focus much on anything else which led to some bad driving experiences in the friend group.

taehyung offered to drive them there but jeongguk refused, insisting that he drove.

he didn't say why because he honestly felt a bit pathetic about it.

driving towards his parents' house gave him a sense of control over the situation. he was the one who called his mother, he was the one who organised the meeting, he is the one who's driving them there. he didn't want to feel like he was under his parents' influence when doing any of this. this was his decision. his own free will.

his parents don't control him.

only he can control himself.

he doesn't need them to supervise his life and micromanage every single breath he takes.

he's just fine without them.

in fact, he's more than fine, he's doing great!

he's doing-

"jeongguk?"

his racing thoughts were brought to a halt.

"uh, yeah?"

"focus on the road, please. you're gonna be fine." taehyung said, reaching across to rub his hand comfortingly along jeongguk's thigh.

that's when jeongguk looked at his speed monitor and realised that he was going 20mph over the speed limit.

jeongguk stopped the car abruptly, causing someone behind them to honk but he couldn't care less, and then pulled up on the side of the road.

he didn't speak, he just leaned his head against the steering wheel and gripped it until his knuckles turned white.

god, i'm too busy thinking about my own problems that i don't even realise that i'm about to kill me and my boyfriend. i'm too irresponsible. i'm to unfocused. i can't do this. my parents were right, i'm a mess without them. i've been a mess since i was born and i still am now. they were right. all i do is ruin people's lives. what if i hit someone? what if i crashed the car? what if someone crashed into us? i can't do this. taehyung's better off without me. all i do is make his life difficult, i put him in danger. oh my god, i put him in danger. i could've killed hi-

"baby, we're fine."

his mind was interrupted again.

that's when he realised that he was sweating, he was struggling to breathe, his hands were shaking as they held onto the wheel for dear life.

taehyung got out of the car and walked over to jeongguk's side, opening the door.

"come here." taehyung opened his arms for jeongguk to fall into and he did, immediately.

"we're okay, we're fine."

taehyung prayed that jeongguk couldn't feel how fast his heart was beating. yes, he was scared, but jeongguk didn't need to hear that right now. he didn't want jeongguk to think he was scared of him, that he felt unsafe with him.

"i'm sorry, i'm sorry." jeongguk repeated the words like a mantra as he buried his face in taehyung's neck.

"it's okay, jeongguk." he hushed.

after a while of calming jeongguk down, they got back on the road. taehyung was in the driver's seat this time around.

jeongguk didn't mind not being in control as long as taehyung was the one who was.

taehyung glanced over to him every once in a while, making sure his mind wasn't beginning to wander again.

as taehyung pulled up in front of the house, his mouth gaped.

"this is your parents' house?" he asked.

not to compliment jeongguk's parents in any way but their house was beautiful.

a large front patio, huge floor to ceiling windows, two storeys high along with windows in the roof that must've been looking into an attic. the front yard was covered in freshly cut grass and the white picket fence was lined with colourful flowerbeds.

how could humans so cruel live in such a paradise?

"you grew up here?" taehyung asked.

"yeah. the house has been in my family for generations. pretty sure it was my great great great grandfather who first bought it. so, my parents didn't necessarily earn it. it was passed down. it's had some renovations over the years but it's still pretty classic." jeongguk answered.

he liked his house, it just never felt like home.

after a minute of silence, taehyung asked, "are you ready?"

"i hope so."

"i need to hear you say yes before i even think about walking you through that door." taehyung pushed.

jeongguk exhaled deeply, "yes, i'm ready."

with that, they got out of their respective doors and jeongguk locked the car.

walking up the driveway and through the front yard caused a wave of nostalgia to hit jeongguk full force.

he remembered playing with jiwoo on the lawn. good times. but then he remembered getting punished for the grass stains on his clothes. not so good times.

after walking up the patio steps, jeongguk didn't even get to ring the bell before the door swung open to reveal a face he wished he would never have to see again.

jeon minji.

his mother.

"hello, jeongguk." she greeted, a firmness to her words and her gaze.

"hello, mother."

"and what's your name, sweetheart?" she turned to taehyung and her entire atmosphere changed. all of a sudden she was a sweet, welcoming woman and jeongguk couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"uh, i'm taehyung. it's nice to meet you, mrs jeon." taehyung shook the woman's hand with a stiff smile.

"oh just call me minji, darling. come on in." she said, guiding taehyung into the house with a hand placed gently on his shoulder.

if only she knew that taehyung already knew all about how she really was. he honestly wanted to laugh at how nice she was being considering the fact that he knew the truth behind her little act.

jeongguk was left to walk inside on his own as his mother doted on taehyung. she showed taehyung to the couch before turning back to get jeongguk who was still taking his shoes off by the door.

"you're late. eleven minutes, if you want to be technical about it." she stated.

"travel problems."

"what kind?"

"traffic."

"there's no traffic on the highway up here, i checked the route online. don't lie to me."

"listen, traffic is the excuse i'm giving you so just take it or leave it."

"do not speak to me with an attitude under my roof. you can get away with it over the phone but not when you're looking me in the eyes."

before jeongguk could continue their back and forth, a man descended the spiral staircase.

jeon seojun.

his brother.

"jeon jeongguk! aren't you a sight for sore eyes, huh?" he snickered.

jeongguk's brother was... well, how should i describe him?

a child.

that's it.

despite him being three years older than jeongguk, he was as immature as a highschooler even now that he was an adult. sure, he had to face the ruthless upbringing of their parents just like jeongguk. however, jeongguk was always punished more harshly and his parents always made it clear who was the favourite child.

seojun could always get away with more than jeongguk and it had nothing to do with him being older.

their parents simply loved him more.

growing up, seojun always knew he was the favourite child and it got to his head. i mean, his parents taught him through their own actions that it was okay to give jeongguk shit so he did.

seojun ruffled jeongguk's hair in what should be an affectionate way but it was more aggressive than anything.

"hi."

"wow, you haven't seen me in like two years and all you got to say is hi? hm, you haven't changed a bit have you?" he scoffed.

"cmon honey, your brother brought a guest." minji snapped her fingers at seojun and pointed to the living room. her children were more like dogs than her kids.

before the three of them walked into the living room to join taehyung, minji stopped the two of them.

"and you two better not embarrass me in front of our guest. do you hear me?" she snapped, prodding both of their chests' with her fingers.

"yes, ma'am." seojun answered, reflexively. he was a 23 year old man but those same habits were drilled into him.

"jeongguk?" she raised a brow.

"yeah." he said before he brushed past her and into the living room. he heard his mother scoff at him and mutter to herself but payed her no mind.

taehyung looked up as soon as jeongguk walked in and got up to stand by him. he didn't like how minji had inconspicuously removed him from the room so she could speak to jeongguk. this woman was sneaky, he'd give her that.

"and who might you be?" seojun asked.

"taehyung, this is my brother seojun. seojun, this is my boyfriend taehyung." jeongguk drawled out.

"he was asking for taehyung to introduce himself, not you. don't be rude." minji snapped.

"it's fine, really." taehyung waved it off.

"i don't know how you put up with him. so ill-mannered." she tutted.

taehyung clenched his jaw not to reply.

"boyfriend, huh? dad's gonna love that." seojun snickered.

thar earned a sharp slap on the arm from his mother.

"what did i just tell you out there?!" she complained, "you're embarrassing me."

"sorry." seojun backed off.

taehyung watched the exchange, absolutely dumbfounded. this woman cared more about what a stranger thought of her than her own children. if this is how she treats her favourite child then he could only imagine how she treats jeongguk.

as if nothing had happened, she smiled at taehyung once more, "i'm so sorry about him, my dear. he should know when to keep his mouth shut by now."

just like jeongguk had told him. the golden rule: children should be seen but not heard. just because seojun was an adult, that didn't mean he wasn't her child anymore.

"it's okay." taehyung exhaled.

to be honest, he wanted to give seojun an earful about how he didn't give a fuck what jeongguk's dad thought of his or his son's sexuality but he decided against it. he probably got enough reprimanding from his mother as it is.

"let's get to the table, it's all set. i'll go get my husband." minji clapped her hands together before beckoning all three of them out of the room and into the dining area.

while minji was fetching the brothers' father, they and taehyung found their seats at the table.

jeongguk knew thar the seat at the head of the table was for his father and that the seat at his side was for his mother. seojun looked to be settling in the spot next to his mother's chair which left two seats next to each other of himself and taehyung.

he sat himself down on the chair next to his father's.

he didn't want his father anywhere near taehyung but they were already being forced to sit in the same room so the best he could do was to simply sit in between them.

taking taehyung's hand, he guided him to sit beside him.

"you alright?" jeongguk whispered to him.

"i could ask you the same thing." taehyung whispered back.

"i'm fine, baby. tell me about you."

"i..." taehyung paused, "i think i'm fine. it's just annoying how she's acting nice to me when i know she doesn't even care about me, she just cares about what i think of her."

before jeongguk could reply, seojun interrupted their quiet conversation, speaking at normal volume.

"well, get ready for her to kiss your ass even harder once this dinner gets started." he snorted.

"what?" taehyung replied.

"let's just say that dad is not gonna be happy about... well, this." he said, motioning between the two of them.

dad wasn't gonna be happy that jeongguk brought a boy home.

"and?" taehyung pushed further.

seojun continued, "and that means that she's gonna try and suck up to you to compensate for all the shit my dad's about to be giving you. gotta save face, after all."

"classic mum, biggest ass-kisser i know." jeongguk mumbled.

"yeah, she kisses everyone's ass except for yours."

"believe me when i say that i don't need or want mum's approval for anything i do or anyone i associate myself with." jeongguk rolled his eyes.

seojun grinned with a snicker, "there's the little shit i know and love. always talking back to me and rolling his eyes at everything i say. it's good to have you back."

"i'm not back. this is a one time thing, i don't want anything to do with anyone in this damn family. i'm here because i had to be eventually." jeongguk corrected.

"well, it's good to see you, regardless. yknow, i missed you around here." seojun shrugged.

"missed me? yeah right. you're just saying that because mum doesn't have me as her doormat anymore so she takes all her shit out on you." jeongguk laughed dryly.

"i mean, yeah, that too." seojun chuckled.

"if your sick of her just leave. you're fucking 23, man." jeongguk said.

"nah, you know how mum gets. she's a damn control freak. once you left she felt like her whole world was falling apart. i couldn't leave her even if i did want to. for her sake and for my own conscience. i think if one more of her puppets get free from her strings, she might go crazy."

"the bitch is already cra-"

jeongguk was interrupted by the sound of paired footsteps descending the stairs and the sickeningly sweet sound of his mother's voice.

"he's here!"

yay. taehyung thought.

jeongguk's father was an interesting man. to say the very least.

you may have noticed that the majority of jeongguk and seojun's conversations about the household had to do with their mother, their father being rarely mentioned.

mr jeon was like a phantom in the jeon residence. he was an aloof man of few words, tall and pale. he only spoke when needed and, unfortunately, most situations that he felt he "needed" to speak on were often none of his business or beyond his understanding.

jeongguk and his father shared little resemblance, both inside and out. however, there was one thing that they had in common.

the inability to lie.

as mentioned before, jeongguk did not hide how he felt. his face was a dead giveaway to exactly how he was feeling, what he was thinking, what he wanted to say, what he wanted to do.

just one look at him and you could tell.

whether he was happy, sad, angry, nervous, it didn't matter.

one thing that jeongguk could not do was lie.

and he got that from his father.

his father's stoic expression would morph into whatever emotion he suddenly felt and it was beyond his own control.

that's how jeongguk knew that his father hated him.

because when mr jeon stepped foot into the dining room, his face immediately reformed itself into an expression of disappointment, anger and dismissal.

but worst of all...

disgust.

mr jeon was disgusted by jeongguk and he knew this all too well, knew that expression all too well.

i mean, it was nothing unexpected.

jeongguk is an atheist. his father is a strict catholic.

jeongguk wanted to pursue art. his father studied physics and mathematics.

jeongguk is bisexual. his father is homophobic and doesn't believe in bisexuality.

jeongguk is mentally ill. his father thinks depression is all in your head.

jeongguk is his child. his father hates children.

i mean, the only reason he had children is because he was against abortion and because god told the world to "be fruitful and multiply" meanwhile jeongguk is pro-choice and wouldn't be able to tell you a single sentence from the bible even if he tried.

nothing about their personalities align in any way, shape or form and they never have from the moment jeongguk was born right up to now when he's sitting in front of him as a young adult.

the room was overcome with silence as jeongguk's father sat down in his designated seat while his wife scurried off into the kitchen to bring out the food. no one said a word until every dish had been brought out.

"let's say our grace." mr jeon announced, holding his hand out to his wife to hold and she did the same to seojun.

seojun held his hand out to taehyung and the latter stumbled, "oh i- i'm not relig-"

"just do it, save us the grief." seojun muttered.

everyone was holding hands but jeongguk at this point so jeongguk took taehyung's left hand in his own.

he didn't even bother reaching out to his father and his father didn't reach out to him either.

"lord, we thank you for the gifts we are about to recieve. just as you gave us a share in this food, may you also give us a share in eternal life. we ask this through jesus christ, our lord, amen." mr jeon spoke.

"amen." minji and seojun echoed.

"alright, let's eat." seojun rolled his eyes.

"help yourself, taehyung." minji smiled at him.

in all honesty, taehyung didn't want to take anything this woman gave him but he still took a spoonful of food from each dish out of politeness. after taking a bite, he was pleasantly surprised.

she may not be good at parenting but at least she's good at cooking. he almost laughed to himself.

jeongguk filled about a quarter of his plate just for show so that his mother wouldn't pester him but he didn't really plan on eating anything. his stomach was churning so violently, he felt that even a sip from his glass of water might make him throw up. instead, he just held a fork in his hand and poked at the food, hoping that it would satisfy his mother's need for approval.

after around five minutes of everyone eating in utter silence, minji realised that her husband obviously did not plan on talking any time soon. with that, she took matters into her own hands.

"so, taehyung, what do you do for a living?"

"i'm a model. i also do social media stuff." he answered.

"interesting. i've never heard of you before."

trying to hurt my ego? nice try. taehyung scoffed.

"that is interesting. i represented celine at new york fashion week about a week or so ago." taehyung revealed.

minji looked shocked for a second but quickly schooled her expression back to her regular look of fake interest.

"oh wow, your parents must be so proud."

"they are."

"you must be proud too, jeongguk." she added.

"i am."

"speaking of you, what are you doing for a living nowadays?" minji raised an eyebrow.

"i just work weekends right now. i'm looking at training options so i can be a tattoo artist." jeongguk said. despite not wanting to, he shoved some food in his mouth simply because he didn't know what to do with his hands, mouth or eyes.

before minji could even reply, her husband interrupted her.

"you still want to do that?" he questioned.

he asked it as if he was surprised that jeongguk hadn't given up on that by now. taehyung grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed it reassuringly.

"yes. is there a problem?"

"not exactly. i just assumed that your drawing phase was simply... well, a phase." mr jeon stated.

"phase? dad, i started drawing and doing photography in middle school and stopped in senior year of highschool. it was literally like 5 whole years of my life." jeongguk rolled his eyes.

"exactly. you stopped doing it so i thought it was over for good."

"why do you think i stopped doing it?"

"beats me."

jeongguk scoffed out a laugh, "wow, so we're pretending senior year didn't happen? cool."

"don't talk to me like i'm your friend, jeongguk. i'm your father."

"trust me when i say you're not my friend or my fath-"

"boys! i think that's enough. we're at the dinner table." minji interrupted them before jeongguk said something that set off her husband.

"being at the dinner table has never stopped us from fighting before." jeongguk argued.

"we have a guest." minji simply said.

"of course you would give a fuck about that!" jeongguk laughed.

"say it." mr jeon suddenly said.

"what?"

taehyung and seojun were watching chaos unfold in silence.

"what were you going to say before your mother interrupted you?" his father stood up.

minji stood up too, "no, jeongguk, don't you d-"

"you're not my friend or my father. that's what i was going to say." jeongguk stood up too.

"and what has possessed you to think that you can come under my roof and talk to me in such a way?" mr jeon raised his voice.

"is the truth hurting you? i didn't think you'd give a shit about what i think of you." jeongguk raised his voice too.

"the disrespect-"

"disrespect?! give me a fucking break! as if you deserve any of my respect in the first place." jeongguk interrupted.

"you have the audacity to cut off your own family then waltz back into this house with a damn boy on your arm and swear in my face?!" his father stepped closer to him.

"yes! i do! i do have the audacity. what the fuck are you gonna do about it?" jeongguk shoved him backwards.

"don't you dare lay your hands o-"

"STOP!"

they all whipped their heads towards taehyung.

"this family is so fucking dysfunctional that it's giving me a headache! the fact that your perfect little nuclear family can't even sit through a family dinner without getting at each other's necks is astonishing."

"our family doesn't concern you." mr jeon spoke up.

"yet here i am." taehyung deadpanned.

"i never asked to be part of your fucking family. i haven't been part of it for a long time." jeongguk said.

"you're free to leave, then!" mr jeon offered.

"thank god!"

with that, jeongguk grabbed taehyung's hand and ushered him to the door.

however, before he left, he heard his father mutter something under his breath.

"those fa**ots are no sons of mine."

taehyung felt jeongguk tense and grabbed his arm, "baby, don't."

but jeongguk wasn't listening as he stormed back into the dining room and punched his father square in the jaw.

as mr jeon stumbled backwards, minji stepped forward and slapped jeongguk across the face.

"don't ever lay your hands on your father!"

jeongguk shoved his mother out of his way, walking back over to his father and grabbing him by the collar.

"keep that word out of your damn mouth and never try to insult my relationship as if yours is any better," jeongguk let go of him harshly before he continued, "you had your chance to be my father and you fucking ruined that, not me!"

"i was never your damn father! you're not my son!"

previously, the room had been filled with chaotic chatter as the two fought while the others argued amongst themselves. however, these words brought silence among them all.

"what?"

minji tried to interrupt, "honey-"

"you're not my son. you're just a bastard born out of wedlock." mr jeon hissed.

jeongguk looked at his mother, "what is he talking about?"

"your father is just wound up from the fighting, jeongguk, he-"

"no, mum, what the fuck is he talking about?!" he pushed.

she let out a shaky sigh, sitting down in her chair.

"you were born from... an affair, jeongguk. when your father found out, he refused to let me have an abortion so, instead, we just acted like you were his son." she admitted.

jeongguk stood there in silence, thinking, for a second before he spoke.

"so, you mean to tell me that the reason you both treated me like shit was because i was some other guy's kid?"

"we-"

"that's exactly what it was. wasn't it? you decided to have an affair and keep the baby but then decided to take out all your anger on me? and now you wonder why i'm so fucked up? you're both unbelievable!"

"we did the best we could to raise you!"

"you did the best you could to raise seojun! not me! i was always second place to him and you know that so don't even give me that bullshit! did you ever stop to think that maybe it wasn't my fault that you had a fucking affair?! why did i need to get treated like shit for your mistake?"

neither one of his parents replied.

"this family is un-fucking-believable. you both deserve each other, honestly, you're both fucking insane." jeongguk said, walking out of the room to grab his coat.

"jeongguk, wait!"

"for what?! for you to give me the rest of the list of reasons why you fucking abused me? no thanks." he said putting his jacket on and shoving past his mother to grab taehyung's hand and pull him out of the house.

his sobbing mother came running after them as they speed-walked down the driveway.

"jeongguk, you can't leave! you can't leave again! stop! i need you!"

taehyung looked back at her then looked at jeongguk to see that he was staring forward, completely blocking out the sound of her voice.

he simply opened taehyung's car door before walking around to the driver's seat. once they were both in, he locked the doors and windows just in time for his mother to start pulling at the handle.

taehyung watched as jeongguk sat in silence, unblinking while his mother banged on his car window, not even looking at her.

"jeonnie?"

"hm?"

"are you okay?"

jeongguk didn't reply.

eventually, seojun came outside to drag his mother back to the house. as soon as she was off of the car, jeongguk sped off down the street.

"no. i'm not okay." he said, as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

you can act strong in front of them but not me. you don't have to pretend to be strong for me.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

•5777 words
•not edited or proof-read
•OH MY GOODNESS
•IT'S BEEN 7439732278 YEARS BUT HERE I AM
•hopefully you read the intro and understand why i've been gone for so long
•the wattpad app is a fucking bitch that won't let me add pictures into the chapter which is annoying because this is literally an instagram au LMAO 
•dunno how i'm gonna fix that problem but oh well
•this book is nearly finished which is kinda sad but honestly it's been a long time coming because i have been writing this for way too long
•STAY SAFE
•i love you all <333

nixy.