XII. MOTHER GOTHEL

Jungkook and Hoseok held in their giggles as Caleb let them inside the Instructors' Lounge. They brought a relatively large speaker with them and made sure to maximize the volume. Mina, who was also inside the lounge, raised an eyebrow as she saw the speaker and looked back at their poor target.

Inside the room was Ahn Gyeoul, sleeping peacefully on the couch. Her body completely relaxed with a small pillow in her arms. She was sleeping like a baby, her facial features free of distress.

BOOM!

Gyeoul flinched awake at the very loud heavy bass that pierced through the serenity of the room like a sharp arrow, followed by trumpet sounds that matched the beat of her heart. After a few breaths, her mind registered that Blackpink's Kill This Love was playing at full blast. Her eyes snapped to the ones holding the speakers, her perplexed eyes morphing into something more steely.

It took a moment for the two band members to recognize the chilling glare she wore. Like prey seen by a predator, they froze.

"You've got two choices," Gyeoul started, her voice dangerously calm. She was about to give them options, but Jungkook gave them no choice when he said:

"Yes or yes?"

Peace was never an option. The dancer chucked her pillow at them with precise aim. Jungkook and Hoseok only managed to narrowly dodge the attack. They quickly put the speaker down as gently and as quickly as possible, slowly backing away.

Without another word, the duo ran for their lives.

Gyeoul went running after them.

"Shoes, love!" Mina reminded without looking up from her laptop.

The younger one quickly slipped her shoes on and went on to run after them.

"I thought the song would soften the blow!" Hoseok yelled out as he ran.

"Obviously not!" Jungkook retorted. 

Looking back, they saw that Gyeoul was still hot on their heels.

They turned a corner and saw Songyi, lazily scrolling through his phone. He perked up as he saw them.

"Hey, did you wake up—"

"Hyung! Protect us!" Jungkook pleaded, hiding behind him and dragging Hoseok to stand beside Songyi to maximize his shield.

Songyi's eyes bulged out of their sockets as Gyeoul appeared. He pushed past the two artists and ran. "Fuck this, she hates me more."

Now, three men were running from the angered dancer.

Taehyung peeked from one of the storage closets as he heard the rushed and heavy footsteps. Earlier that day, Jungkook approached him and asked him for an odd favor that had something to do with Gyeoul. He was the backup plan in case Songyi would back out of stopping her. The man opened the door in full, waiting for the perfect time to jump out.

"You're our last chance at surviving!" Hoseok yelled out as they passed by the door.

That was his cue.

Jumping out of the storage closet and into the hallway, they both crashed into each other. She managed to catch both of their balances, holding his forearms in place.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" she asked, loosening her hold on him but not letting go.

Taehyung smiled, doing his best attempt at an aegyo, "Please don't run after them."

Her jaw dropped. Damn, she almost fell for that. "You're in on this too?" Gyeoul asked rhetorically, pinching the bridge of her nose. She sighed, glaring playfully at him. Without saying anything else, she moved to go past him but he blocked her way. "Get out of my way, I just want an apology."

"Does that include strangling them?"

"No, just the regular 'kneel and ask for forgiveness' type of thing."

He laughed, raising his arms to block her. Gyeoul paid no mind to this and quickly went to duck under his arms. Taehyung quickly moved and she bumped her forehead on his arm. She stepped back, shaking her head in defeat and walking small steps back in the direction of the lounge. The idol grinned, straightening up.

Suddenly, she dashed back to chase after the three again.

Taehyung was quick to grab the back of her shirt, pulling her to his chest and back-hugging her. She groaned in frustration, unable to move her arms. The guy hated working out, when did he get so strong? Gyeoul gave up and laid her head back on his shoulder, looking at him sideways with a glare. He noticed their close proximity and inwardly slapped himself.

"Let me go."

"No can do, my lady, not at the cost of my brothers' lives." He started to waddle in the direction of the lounge, leading her along with him. The instructor wasn't having it and anchored them to that spot. "Let's walk like this. Like pengw—" he cut himself off, realizing that his pronunciation would be off. "Like little penguins."

Gyeoul entertained him, syncing up with his movement and making their way back to the lounge, his arms still keeping her from running away. She didn't need to look back to know that the three that she was still mad at were trailing quietly behind them. Taehyung rested his chin on her shoulder. If the staff were to see them, they'd flip. Everyone who regularly worked on that floor would gossip and make bets every time they saw them close together.

Momentarily detaching one of his arms from her, he opened the door to the lounge, putting extra force to push it open. Gyeoul furrowed her eyebrows at the sight of the 'happy birthday!' banners, "Is it already the thirteenth?"

A laugh managed to slip past Taehyung's lips. He let her go and patted her head before standing with the others. Everyone was there. BigHit's artists, Pdogg, most of the performance directors, and some of the staff and managers were present. Gyeoul smiled appreciatively, slowly walking up to the middle of the room as they started to sing rowdily. The tone was off-pitch and all over the place. Still, the sentiment was there and it made Gyeoul laugh.

"Happy birthday, dear Gyeoul." One of her earlier targets came up behind her and slung an arm on her shoulders, singing excessive runs and adlibs with his golden voice. Everyone's singing slowly died down as they looked at Jungkook judgmentally. "Happy birthday to you."

Obviously annoyed, Jin came up to him and hit the back of his neck as a silent reprimand.

Gyeoul laughed and faced the cake once more. It was Beomgyu that was holding it and she was afraid that the other TXT members would smash her face in her cake. So, maintaining all good-natured fashion, she raised her hand and fanned the flame again. Everyone cheered.

Songyi, who had his hand hovered over her head, made a grumbling sound in disappointment. She turned around and gave him a look, making him put on an innocent face and cling to her other side.

"Thank you for all this," she smiled, wrapping her arms around the two hugging her from either side, pulling them closer for a second before letting go, a sign for them to let go. But they stayed on her sides, now wrapping both of their arms around her. "It's getting hot, get off me."

Only Songyi let go and Jungkook remained in his place but loosened his arm around her shoulder. Gyeoul paid the younger one no mind, making Songyi pout at her.

Songhwa made her way behind them and hugged the taller woman's frame from the back. "Anything for you, subzero. Happy twenty-five years of living." She let go and smiled at the instructor.

"What's there to celebrate about getting older?"

Yoongi snapped his fingers, raising his hand for a high five, "See? She gets it."

Gyeoul high-fived him with a grin. Soobin, Yeonjun, and Taehyun also raised their hands for high-fives and she did the same with them. She reached up and ruffled Huening Kai's hair, wishing him an early happy birthday. After them, Taehyung smiled, also raising his hand for a high-five. Gyeoul bumped her fist instead and made conversation with the others. Taehyung raised his eyebrows, his hand still in the air. He should have expected that. Namjoon saw and high-fived him in Gyeoul's place.

The other attendees of the small get-together dispersed after a few more birthday greetings. Plastic forks were passed all around to those who stayed.

"You know, the other day, I think I met your soulmate," Songyi said suddenly, making Gyeoul choke on the cake.

Taehyung quickly reached for her water bottle, opened it, and handed it to her before patting her back. The dancer nodded gratefully and drank the liquid.

She cleared her throat, "Is that so?"

"It's crazy, it's like you two are just versions of each other. Everything I know about you, he has a lot of those qualities too," he explained further, "He's a dancer, also a 95-liner, has an extensive history in contemporary and open style, he loves plants, loves animals, loves cooking, you have the same style of clothing..." he trailed off, wiping the frosting on the side of his mouth. "And you know the best part?"

"What?"

"It's also his birthday today!"

Gyeoul pursed her lips, "I'm doubting that he's a soulmate. Maybe my long-lost twin?"

"He looks nothing like you."

"Fraternal twins?" Jimin spoke up. Gyeoul nodded in agreement.

Songyi shook his head, "He's not. And you know, you have a lot of mutual friends. I think you might know him. Does Do Yongsik ring any bells?"

The dancer gave him a look, "And here I was getting excited about nothing." Songyi tilted his head at her in question. "He has a girlfriend."

"Oh."

Chuckling at his disappointment, she shook her head and finished her portion of the cake. Not a few seconds later, her phone vibrated, signifying a new message. She pulled it out and her smile dimmed slightly.

Taehyung noticed the change in her expression and nudged her elbow, raising his eyebrow in question.

I'm in Seoul for your birthday. Let's eat when you get off work.

"Spam."

Songyi clicked his tongue, "How nostalgic hearing that lie after such a long time." Gyeoul tilted her head at him. "It's the expression you make whenever Mother Gothel messages you. It's always been the same lie, 'spam.'"

"Mother Gothel?" Namjoon asked, "The antagonist in Tangled?"

"Yeah," Songhwa confirmed, taking a huge bite of the cake, icing now on the sides of her mouth.

"Aigo, my pretty baby boo eats so messily," Hyeonsu cooed, tenderly wiping the icing off with a napkin. Songhwa awwed, making baby noises at him. Most of the people in the lounge visibility cringed at the sickeningly sweet action. Taehyung involuntarily scrunched his nose and covered Gyeoul's ears.

"Hyeonsu is — oh my god, that's disgusting," Jaehui turned around and gagged.

Songyi glared at Hyeonsu, "Anyway, Mother Gothel was one of our coaches back in college and is Gyeoul's dear aunt. She's everything Mother Gothel is without the murder."

Gyeoul kicked her former co-captain's shin, "Don't speak about my aunt like that." She faced the group once more. "She's not that bad, I swear. She's just strict with me sometimes."

❆

"May I ask why must you stoop so low? Are you just bored? Looking for something to waste your time on?"

Gyeoul grit her teeth, "Please don't say that." She straightened her posture and set her utensils down, biting the inside of her cheek.

"You told me you were only choreographing one song, and you're working for them for the rest of the year as an in-house choreographer. You could have just sent a demo video from LA," Dajung, her aunt, pressed. She sighed, genuinely confused by the actions of her niece. "Why leave LA in the first place? Do you know how many opportunities are passing you by right now?"

Hold your tongue, Gyeoul, she thought to herself. She didn't answer and sipped her wine.

"Do you even remember why you started teaching in the first place?"

"Because I wanted people to feel—"

"No, you did it for money."

The dancer scrunched her nose, tilting her head, unable to contradict the statement. "Okay, but BigHit pays well too. So..."

Dajung couldn't help but smile, "You really are my niece." She picked a piece of meat up and put it on Gyeoul's plate. "Working in a company is a good plan for when you become older. Trust me, I know what's best for you. For now, just keep doing workshops and classes. Being tied down to an organization like that won't give you liberty for your work."

"Creating is liberating and that's what I do there—"

"You're limited to only what the company gives you. Is that liberating? Besides contemporary, your dance style is not made for big stages, dearest. Their style of dance is different from yours. Is it liberating to change your dance style just to fit their standards?"

"These things opened the door for many of my bigger awards. I don't mind adjusting that much. I'm just thankful for such artists for taking a chance on me—"

Dajung snapped her fingers, ignoring what Gyeoul said, "Aha! You must have stayed for the people, huh? Do you realize how cheesy that is?"

"I admit, it's one of the many factors, yes."

Her aunt leaned back on her chair, crossing her arms. "Sometimes I keep forgetting you're not a kid anymore. But even then you've always been so stubborn." Gyeoul smiled slightly at that, taking a bite out of her food. "This isn't what I wanted to talk to you about."

"After the many times you cut me off, I'd have thought otherwise."

"I'm moving to Paris, and I want you to come with me. I'm invited to formally teach there and told the administrators that I'm bringing you along as an assistant."

Gyeoul was too stunned to speak. Her food appeared to be extra-chewable. She looked at her aunt with her eyes wide open.

"But of course, you seem to be dead-set on working for those idols that I know you so heavily admire." Dajung leaned her elbows on the table, lacing her fingers together and looking at her niece in all seriousness. "So, I'm giving you two choices..."

"Yes or yes?"

It came out of her mouth without it being filtered in her mind. Eyes fluttering shut in embarrassment, Gyeoul smacked her mouth repeatedly in her mind. She cursed Jungkook for putting it in her head.

"I'm going to pretend you never said that," Dajung deadpanned, giving her a pointed look. "Anyway, it's either you come with me or come with me when you get involved in a scandal with one of them."

"Should I be offended?"

"I raised an amazing woman, of course, people are going to be bound to fall for you."

"I'm only friends with them."

"Everything is a scandal in this day and age, dearest. People see two famous people interact and it makes the front page. It happened to you last year when you choreographed for Jackson Wang's Titanic, or were you quick to forget? When word gets out that you choreographed for BTS, people are going to speculate. You're a woman with a reputation you worked hard to get. Although I'm not fond of your decisions at the moment, I'm still obligated to protect you."

Knowing her aunt was right, Gyeoul stayed silent.

Earlier that day, she wasn't lying when she defended her aunt from being called Mother Gothel. She was strict and firm but never to the point that she was worthy to be compared to a murderous bitch.

Back when she was younger, her aunt was like her manager. She managed what she can or cannot eat, entered her in competitions, made it a habit to always cut her off whenever she spoke, decided what academic grade was acceptable or unacceptable, made her go to multiple classes every day, pushed her to perfection, deprived her of the fun of being a teenager.

But she was also the person who stood with Gyeoul through it all. Her aunt was there when she lost her first competition, her aunt was there in her first dance class, she was there when Gyeoul desired to try singing lessons, she was there to defend Gyeoul from unfair administrators, her aunt was there to cook Korean food whenever she felt homesick, her aunt was there whenever Gyeoul hated herself more than anything. She was her second mother.

She remembered sewing a gingerbread man as an art project when she was ten years old and giving it to her aunt as a token of her appreciation for everything she's done for her. Dajung, though she was as cold as ice at times, gratefully accepted the gingerbread man and made it a keychain. It was still with her to date.

There was no denying that her aunt overworked Gyeoul. But it all paid off in the end, didn't it? Although her methods weren't ideal, she understood wholeheartedly. And even though she understood, if Gyeoul was given a chance to take someone under her wing, she would never do what her aunt put her through.

"Did you drive here?" Gyeoul asked once they finished eating their meal. Her aunt evidently drank a little too much wine with her rosy cheeks. "My friend is picking me up. Maybe we can drop you off?"

"My driver is picking me up."

"You have a driver now?"

"Like you expect any less?"

"Humble yourself a little, imo. Speaking like that makes you sound like a terrible person."

"It seems that you're late with your news, my dearest birthday girl. I am a terrible person."

"You said it, not me." Dajung glared at her, making the instructor laugh. "I should go pay," Gyeoul said, standing up from the table and taking her wallet. "Wait for me here, I'll walk you out."

Dajung blanked out whatever her niece said and simply nodded. The younger woman gave her a tight smile and walked off. Dajung saw her phone light up, signaling a message. It was from her driver saying that he was almost there. Completely forgetting about Gyeoul's intention to walk her out, she stood up, grabbed her purse, and walked out of the restaurant.

Outside the restaurant were four idols who just arrived there, waiting for Gyeoul to walk out of the restaurant.

As Hoseok was parking the car, Taehyung was sitting in the backseat with Jimin, leaning forward so he was looking over Namjoon's head to see if Gyeoul was the woman walking out.

It wasn't. Instead, it was an older woman.

Normally, Taehyung would have looked over that older woman and tried to search for his friend through the glass windows of the restaurant. But there was something about the older woman that caught his attention. He squinted his eyes to see it better. On her purse was a dangling keychain that triggered something in his memory. A little keychain of the stuffed character of a deformed gingerbread man.

"Look, Taehyung, I won't judge if you decide to go for older women," Jimin spoke upon seeing his friend's eyes follow her. "But I think it's better for you to stick to women that are not old enough to be your mother—"

Taehyung got out of the car.

"Oh my god, he's going to shoot his shot."

Namjoon shook his head, "That must be Mother Gothel."

"That's even worse. Oh my god, he's going to hit on Gyeoul's aunt."

Ignoring his younger member, he turned to Hoseok. "Do you think he finds her familiar?"

"Imagine how awkward it would be if he remembered Gyeoul's aunt before he remembered her," Hoseok said, a clear grimace on his face.

Jimin furrowed his eyebrows. "Should we intervene or pray this all goes well?"

They went with the latter, watching as Taehyung walked up to the woman.

He cleared his throat, trying to get the woman's attention, but her eyes remained on the incoming car from the road. He cleared his throat again and she jumped in surprise. The woman turned to him and raised her purse to hit him with it. Taehyung cowered down, raising his hands over his head.

"I just want to ask a question. Please don't attack me, ma'am."

She huffed, glaring at him. After a few seconds, she let her purse down and waited for him to speak.

Taehyung cleared his throat once more, smiling awkwardly at the woman. "This is going to sound weird, but do you know someone named Ahn Gureum?"

Dajung narrowed her eyes at the man, "I don't have any idea who the hell Ahn Gyeonja is."

"My apologies for not being clear. I mean, Ahn Gu—"

"Look, kid. I'm sorry but I don't know anyone by that name. Maybe you got the wrong person."

"Sorry, it's just that you seem to have something she made for her aunt—"

"Oh my, wouldn't you look at that! My ride is right here, so that's your cue to go away," Dajung said, her coldness resonating shivers in Taehyung's body. She opened the car door and turned back to him, "Good luck on finding who you're looking for, kid."

The idol pouted as she entered the car and left the premises. He sighed, going back to the car.

"Did she turn you down?" Jimin teased.

Taehyung pursed his lips, "I wouldn't hit on women as old as my mother." He forced a smile. "No, I just mistook her for someone else."

Just in time, Gyeoul finally walked out of the restaurant, talking to someone on the phone as she made her way to the familiar car.

"I told you to wait for me, what if something bad happened to you outside—"

"I'm a little tipsy, dearest, Can you blame me?"

"Exactly, you're not completely sober. What would have happened if you entered the wrong car and—"

"You do realize that you're scolding me, right?"

"Of course, I'm scolding you, imo. How could I not?"

"Stop doing it, it hurts my pride. Call me when you change your mind about Paris."

"If."

"Whatever. I'm hanging up now. Happy birthday again, dearest. I love you so so so much."

Gyeoul smiled, "I love—" Her aunt hung up. The instructor parted the phone from her ear, looking at it with a 'disappointed but not surprised' expression. She sighed, opening the door of the car, smiling as she saw the people inside. Jimin moved to the middle so she could come in. "Hello, thank you for picking me up." She went inside, closing the door after her and waving at them.

"It's the least I could do since I don't have a gift for you yet," Hoseok responded, smiling at her with his eyes. Turning to his other members, he shrugged, "But I have no idea why these guys tagged along."

Jimin grinned, "I haven't seen your house yet. Taehyung and Jungkook have been bragging about it non-stop since they went."

Taehyung leaned forward to be more visible to her, "And I just wanted to drive around with them."

"Didn't you say you just wanted to spend more time with her?" Namjoon said, exposing his younger member, a genuinely confused tone in his voice. Taehyung smiled sarcastically at him and sank back into his seat. "I tagged along because I wanted to watch over Jiminie."

"Why? Am I not a grown man?" Jimin asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No, but I had this very vivid dream about you."

Jimin smirked, straightening his back on the seat and looking at the two childhood friends on either side of him. It was that time of the month. "Isn't it a bit childish to base your actions towards your old pal off of a dream?" He turned to Gyeoul with an overenthusiastic expression, "Wouldn't you think so?"

Gyeoul hummed, "I'm reminded too much of childhood these days. Is that a sign that I should visit Daegu? Maybe I can even find my childhood friend."

"Of course! You should! You really should!"

"Or," Namjoon quickly cut in, "You can hold it off until late September to early October? You're pretty busy these days, hunting someone down would be too much work."

"But those are the busiest days?" Taehyung queried, tilting his head in confusion.

"It'd probably take less than a week. I can try finding my old photo albums from our basement for a picture so I can post them on social media. I heard you can find people on Twitter these days—"

They jolted forward as Hoseok suddenly pressed on the brakes.

"Is everything alright? I can switch with you if you want," Taehyung stated, propping his chin on the side of the driver's seat.

Hoseok cleared his throat, smiling awkwardly at the younger ones in the backseat. "No, no, it's fine. I'm just surprised by what Gyeoul said. Technology is so advanced these days, huh? Back in the day, I spent hours trying to figure out my locker's password because I forgot it, but now we have fingerprint and facial recognition locks! How cool is that? Totally fantastically and surprisingly amazing!"

Namjoon and Jimin inwardly smacked their foreheads. On the other hand, Gyeoul and Taehyung grimaced, not having the heart to tell Hoseok that the way he steered the conversation was odd.

The leader cleared his throat. "About that Twitter thing, I just highly recommend you don't try finding Tae—" His breath hitched, eyes widening. "Tetrahydrofuran."

What the hell is going on? Gyeoul and Taehyung simultaneously thought, turning to each other in question.

"What they mean to say is," Jimin cut in, his voice growing louder as if that would convince the two childhood best friends that all the 94-liners said were irrelevant. "It'd be a bad idea to post something like that on social media because of who your childhood best friend might be. Imagine he has a bad streak where he is now. You'll get dragged in that shit. It's best not to risk it. Don't get disheartened though. You have us now!"

Gyeoul grinned as Jimin put an arm around her and pulled her into a side hug. He did the same thing to Taehyung on his other side.

Not going to lie, what he said actually made sense. Perhaps some things are better left in the past. She couldn't deny the disappointment, though. She missed that old friend of hers.

Sensing the weird air between his members, Taehyung changed the topic. "Don't forget our session tomorrow, Ms. Ahn."

"What session? Don't tell me you two are..." Hoseok trailed off. He didn't need to finish the statement for them to know what he was pertaining to.

"No, he's just helping me dress for the appearance tomorrow," Gyeoul reasoned right away, eyes widening.

Taehyung laughed, his eyes shining up at his friend.

❆

"For the love of god, Gyeoul. You're still too young to teach a class!"

"I've been training so hard, imo," Gyeoul tried, her lower lip quivering as she tried to keep her tears in. "Please grant me this one wish. I won't ask for a birthday and Christmas gift for next year—"

Dajung sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're stressing me out with this, dearest. Why on earth do you want to teach a class?"

Gyeoul's voice was meek, "I need the money for Taehyung."

"I can't help you if you mumble. Speak up or this talk is finished."

"I need the money to buy Taehyung's birthday gift."

Her aunt looked at her incredulously, "You're basically asking to apply for a job at your age just for a measly gift for a boy I don't like you to be around with? Do you see where I'm going with this?" Gyeoul didn't answer. "It's still a no for me. Focus on your competition, enough of this nonsense."

A week later, Gyeoul taught her first class.

She enjoyed it and wished she could do it again without thinking about the profit. It was a beginner hip-hop class that a bunch of younger kids attended. Since she was still underqualified to teach a class, the pay wasn't at all that high.

But it was enough.

The end of December came and Gyeoul stood outside Taehyung's house door. Her parents have already gone inside and she was still standing there, frozen. There was this obsessive feeling that her friend wouldn't like her gift.

"Eomoni, where's pengweng? Did she not want to come?" she heard Taehyung ask her mother.

Putting aside her thoughts, Gyeoul walked inside the house. Immediately, she saw Taehyung pouting at her parents. "Xiaolongbao!" Her voice was heard over the chatter of the other guests.

Taehyung picked his head up at the sound of her voice, turning in her direction. The girl shifted the box to one hand, waving at him as she took her shoes off. He skipped over to her, dodging his relatives who were asking him to approach them.

"You got me a gift?" Taehyung gasped, his eyes twinkling with more stars than the universe contained. Gyeoul nodded and handed him, hoping for the best. "Let's open it!" He took her hand and pulled her along in the direction of his shared bedroom with his younger siblings. They sat cross-legged in front of each other on his bed. "What is it?"

"Why would I tell you when you're going to open it anyway?"

"Good point."

He carefully chipped the tape off, pulling it at a painfully slow pace.

"Should I just open it for you?"

"This is my first gift from you, I don't want to accidentally rip anything."

Gyeoul pursed her lips and pretended to reach for the gift. Taehyung recoiled, glaring at her and rushing with unwrapping the gift. As the whole gift was unwrapped, the boy gasped. It was an expensive brand of shoes.

"I'm dreaming."

"You're not. Happy birthday, xiaolongbao. I hope this compensates for the sandal we lost at the bridge."

"This is much more than that sandal is worth," Taehyung gushed, eyes still wide and glued to the shoes. He turned back and tackled his friend in a hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Gyeoul laughed, her eyes shining up at her friend.

NOTE

song(s) mentioned in this chapter — kill this love by blackpink | yes or yes by twice