During dinner that night, Taehyung decided to speak to his family. It was the only time of the day where everyone in the house was gathered in one place. Taehyung wanted to speak to everyone, but he addressed only his father.  

“Father.” Taehyung waited till the elder man looked up from his plate. “I asked Do hwan to come back here.” 

A loud sound of chopsticks falling on the table made everyone look that way. Seolhee had her face morphed into an angry frown, while Hara looked rather smug.

Kim Seonwoo stared at Taehyung for a few seconds, and when the latter turned his attention back to the elder man, he gave a soft nod. 

“That's wonderful!” Hara was positively beaming. “We need fresh covers for the roof and old woman Choi has been asking for some help with her crops. I told her I'll send Seolhee but now that fool can go-”

Taehyung slammed his chopsticks loudly on the table, effectively cutting off Hara mid sentence. He then chuckled, a sound which had no joy in it whatsoever.

“I think I need to explain things, mother, so that we are all on the same page here. If he agrees, Do Hwan will be coming here as my partner. As the person I'm gonna spend my life with. He will not be a servant for you. He will be helping with the household chores, if and when he feels like it. And if he doesn't, he simply won't. As for earning his keep here, father and I are the ones taking care of the expenses in this family. What I bring will be for him as well.”

“What?!” Hara was shouting. “You mean to say that he will be staying here for free?? How dare he-”

“Isn't Seolhee staying here for free? I don't see her earning her keep.”

“Seolhee is your sister! Your family!”

“And he's the man I love.” Taehyung's voice was low, but firm, and it didn't leave any chance for an argument. “He's my family too. If this is not acceptable to you.. well, too bad. I don't see anything that can be done about it.”

“Oppa, I told you I don't like that leech-”

“And I told you to shut your mouth!” Taehyung was seething with anger. “I told you I won't tolerate any disrespect towards him. Make this the last time you speak about him in that tone, Seolhee, or you will have to suffer consequences.”

“How dare you-”

“That's enough, Hara.” Taehyung's father finally spoke and it was enough for Hara to stop whatever she was going to say. “This is the person our son chose. As parents, we are meant to support him, not make his life difficult, as I've seen you two do countless times when Do Hwan was here before. I didn't interfere because it was Taehyung's responsibility. He brought Do Hwan here, and therefore it was his responsibility to ensure his safety and well-being within this house. I was rather disappointed when he didn't. I'm glad that man is giving a second chance to Taehyung. Now that our son's head seems to be screwed up right, we should welcome Do Hwan with open arms. Let us start over.”

Taehyung was equal parts grateful and ashamed. His father had never been one for many words. He tends to speak his mind only when it's absolutely necessary and whatever he does say, ends up being of great importance. 

Taehyung's mom and sister were clearly still angry but they were not able to talk back to the head of the house. 
  
  
  
  
  
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“Hyung?”

“Hmm..?”

“Taehyung hyung asked me to come live with him again.”

Jimin lifted his head from the pillow to look at the faint silhouette of the prince, who was leaning against the wall and staring at the moon through the window. The lighting was too low for Jimin to see the facial expressions of the younger man properly but the body language said he's troubled.

Jimin quickly sat up, and leaned on to the wall on his side. “And what did you say?”

“I asked for some time to think. I wasn't.. sure.”

“Hmm.. you do have reasons to be wary of an arrangement like that. The people in his house did not treat you the right way at all.”

“He knew. Worked well with his grand scheme of making me leave.” Jungkook chuckled mirthlessly, making Jimin let out a displeased tsk. “He promised nothing of that sort will happen this time though. Besides, you know I only let them play like that because I was apologetic to Taehyung hyung and his family for being a burden on them, when they are struggling themselves.”

“And you don't have such sentiments now?”

“There's a difference between staying there because I had nowhere else to go and being there because Taehyung hyung is begging me to. And now that I earn a living for myself, I can hardly be called a burden, right?”

“Of course. Well, as it has been all this while,  it's completely your choice. But I must warn you, my prince. If that man makes you cry again, he will have several broken bones in his body, starting with his nose.”

Unlike the previous time, Jungkook's laughter was laced with sincerity this time. After a few beats, Jimin joined too. The guard was genuinely happy for Jungkook, for he wished nothing but the prince to stay happy like this.

“So you're going to agree?”

The answer came with a few seconds pause. “To be honest, I'm not sure yet. I'm not the man who wished for a happy life with Taehyung anymore. I mean, I do wanna be with him. But those naive expectations I had.. I'm not sure that's what I want anymore.”

“I see.” Jimin took a few seconds to gather his thoughts, and the necessary words to convey them, for he understood this to be an important conversation to Jungkook. “Well, whatever it is that you decide, I'm sure Taehyung would support you. And it doesn't seem like he's in a hurry, so take your time.”

“Yeah, I think I'll do that.” Jungkook offered a soft smile to the elder, even though it was not that clear in the low light. “What will you do, if I leave?”

“I.. uhh… I will continue to be here I guess. It's not like I have any other place to go.”

“Is that the only reason you're staying here?”

“What other reason could it be, my prince?”

Jungkook chuckled at the nervousness of the other. “Hyung.. don't lie to me. I know Yoongi hyung is interested in you. And you can't say you're not reciprocating it a little bit either. I've seen the way you look at him.”

“There's nothing of the sort, my prince. I'm just a tenant to him, nothing more.”

“You can't be a tenant if he refuses to take your rent, now can you?”

“You.. you heard that?”

“Sure did.” Jungkook's voice took a deeper tone when he spoke again. “You don't have to pay here, Jimin-ah. You're a guest at my house. For now.”

“My prince!!”

“For now he said. I believe it implies clearly that you'll be something more in the future.”

“You're insufferable.” Jimin groaned into his palms. “How did we get here? We were talking about you moving to your lover's home?”

It was a clear jab, but Jungkook knew just what to say to avoid being hit. “Well, there's no reason for both of us to live with our lovers.”

Jimin let out an exasperated yell before laying down on his bedding again. He had his back towards Jungkook, but it did nothing to stop the younger's laughter from reaching his ears. Maybe it'll help if he pulls the covers over his head.

It didn't.
 

  
  
 
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“I don't know what to do, Dahyunie. If Oppa brings that leech into our house again, I don't know what I will do.”

“Hmm.. this is unfortunate. I thought we got rid of him last time. Guess it was temporary.”

“Please… can't your brother do something like before?”

“I can ask and see. He didn't tell me what he did but I guess it worked, because that man did go away for a while.”

“Yeah, but this time, it's my brother who's bringing him back. Oppa even threatened mother and I, saying if we mistreat him, there will be consequences. He's threatening his own family because of that piece of garbage!!”

Dahyun sat next to the other girl, and put her arm around her. “Don't you worry, Seolhee. We will not let that man come to your house, okay. I'll ask my brother to do something again.”

“Oh will you, Dahyunie..?” Seolhee grabbed Dahyun's hands, with eyes shining with gratitude. “You know, my mother already thinks of you as her daughter-in-law. She will never let anyone else stay in the house as Oppa's partner.”

“Please.. you're making me shy.”

“I'm serious, Dahyunie. Why don't you go talk with my brother? You're a hundred times.. no a thousand times better than that. My brother is just too blind to see it.”

There was a pause for a few seconds, before Dahyun lifted her head and gave a shy smile to Seolhee. “Do you think Taehyung oppa will like me?”

“Of course! You just have to talk with him a bit. You're too shy to even look at him. That won't work.”

“Okay. I'll try to meet with Taehyung oppa more often.” Dahyun gave a determined nod and a soft smile. “I'll make him fall for me too.”