•°³⁰°•Caught in a Lie─✵────────

DNA test report, the title on top of the paper read.

Jeongguk narrowed his eyes as he tried to take a better look at the small letters of the paper. Confusion clouded his mind, as he didn't remember any DNA test being done for his daughter. Like ever.

In the bottom of the document read Probability of Paternity- 99.998%

Jeongguk scanned the document over and over again. Alleged father, one side of the graph read, and under it was no name. On the other side, name of child, which said Jeon Aria. Maybe Jieun took a DNA test to confirm that Jeongguk was the father. But why wasn't his name there?

Jeongguk, a little bit suspicious of the certain document, started scanning the other words in it. The report aged back to fifteen years, around the time Aria was born. There was a column that said blood type. The first column showed Aria's blood type, which was A positive, and then the father's blood type, which said O positive.

Jeongguk's head started to buzz with confusion.

Jeongguk's blood type was B positive. Not O positive.

Jeongguk quickly scanned through the document again, just to be sure if he had seen correctly. O positive. That's not his blood type... why didn't it say B positive like it should've? Maybe they made a mistake. Of course they did.

"Jeongguk?!" A voice called from the living room and the front door clicking shut echoed through the house. The sound of Jieun's heels tapping against the wooden floor followed.

"Jeongguk where are you?!" her voice sounded rushed. Impatient.

Jeongguk couldn't answer her. He was still confused. There were no rational thoughts crossing the mind. Other than question marks.

"Jeongguk!" Jieun said as she walked inside the study. "I called you. But you didn't answer the phone"

"The battery is dead" Jeongguk muttered.

"Oh of course" Jieun forced a smile. "Let's go back. Grab some things on the way too. Come on" She said and walked towards Jeongguk. Her eyes wandered to the paper in Jeongguk's hands.

When she approached him, she tried to take the document from his hands. But Jeongguk's grip tightened.

"Wh-What's this?" Jeongguk asked, eyeing Jieun with doe eyes, wide and confused.

"What? What's what?" Jieun said. Her face was red and she was trying hard not to let her smile drop.

"This" Jeongguk said. "What paternity test?! We didn't take one"

"Oh that" Jieun let out a chuckle.

"Did you take one? You took one because you wanted to confirm I'm the father, right? Just in case, right?" Jeongguk said.

"Yes, of course" Jieun said. "My parents wanted me to take one. How ridiculous right? Now let's go"

"But my blood type isn't O positive" Jeongguk said, looking into Jieun's eyes.

Jieun stayed silent as she stared back into his eyes.

"It's a mistake, right?" Jeingguk said.

"Yeah of course. I didn't even notice it" Jieun said, smiling. She was always smiling.

Jeongguk shook his head. "No" He whispered.

"What? What do you mean, Jeongguk? Are you alright? This isn't the time to talk about this! Your daughter is in the hospital!"

"Is she though?"

"What?"

"Is my daughter in the hospital?" Jeongguk whispered.

"Jeongguk what are you-"

"Is it mine or some other bastard's you fucked?!" Jeongguk shouted. Jieun flinched.

The woman took a step back from him. "Jeongguk what-"

Jeongguk took a step towards his wife. "You fucked another man before or after me, right? That's why you took a test. A paternity test"

"Jeongguk I'm-" tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"You said I'm the first person you slept with. You said you had a crush on me too" Jeongguk whispered.

Jieun shook her head as sobs left her mouth.

"Jieun" Jeongguk whispered. He held his wife by her shoulders. "You're my wife. Tell me the meaning of this. Say the truth. Please"

"Jeongguk" Jieun sobbed. "Please. I had no choice"

Jeongguk was confused. Deep down he knew what had happened. But that couldn't be true. It just couldn't...

"I'm sorry. I didn't have the courage to tell you"

"Tell me what?"

"That...That Aria.." Jieun was sobbing loudly.

"Aria what?"

That...Aria isn't yours" Jieun let out another sob.

Jeongguk felt his hands drop from her shoulders. Did he hear her right? Aria isn't...? How? He isn't...

"What..." Jeongguk whispered.

Jieun tried to hold his hand but he shook it off.

"Jieun" Jeongguk said. He couldn't keep a straight face anymore. Tears cascaded down his face. One by one. "You're lying, right? Tell me you are. This is a prank right?"

Jieun shook her head.

"Jieun this isn't a time to joke" Jeongguk let out a laugh. But a sob escaped his throat instead.

"I'm sorry" she said. "I was going to tell you"

"When!?" Jeongguk shouted. The loudness of his own voice surprised him. He had never raised his voice at Jieun. Ever.

"After you destroyed had my whole life?"

Jieun sobbed.

"Destroying my whole childhood, teens and twenties wasn't enough? Are you serious right now?"

"Jeongguk please-"

"What do you mean she isn't my child? Do you know how ridiculous you sound? I raised her, Jieun. I raised Aria. I sacrificed my whole life for a child who isn't even mine?! Is that what you're telling me?"

Jieun just sobbed.

"When were you going to tell me huh?" Jeongguk shouted. He couldn't control himself. anger was bubbling uncontrollably inside him. "After you destroy another thirty years of my life? Sixteen years isn't enough for you?"

"I'm sorry"

"You could've told me!"

"I'm sorry"

Jeongguk's head felt like it was going to burst. He was still in denial of the situation. But the truth was slowly creeping into him. He needed to get out before it completely got into him.

Jeongguk started to walk out.

"Where are you going?" Jieun asked, following him.

"Away from you"

"Jeongguk I'm your wife! Where will you go without me? You can't leave me"

"Shut the fuck up" Jeongguk roared with anger. "Is that why you married me? Because you wanted me to never leave you and your child?"

"Jeongguk no!"

"Leave me alone" Jeongguk was almost at the front door when he felt someone grab his leg. He almost stumbled and fell.

He looked down to see Jieun on the floor, weeping as she held on to Jeongguk's leg.

"Please don't leave me, Jeongguk. I love you"

"And I fucking hate you"

Jieun let out a loud sob.

"You ruined my life!" Jeongguk said. "Let me go. I can't bear to see your face"

"Listen to me!" Jieun said as Jeongguk tried to shake her off.

Jeongguk freed his leg from her grasp and she sobbed as she knelt on the floor.

"Fuck you" Jeongguk cursed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice. I thought it was yours at first. Because we had sex-"

"Did we though? I don't even trust my memory anymore. And we were drunk" Jeongguk said.

"Of course we did! I remember clearly! You said you had a crush on me!" Jieun said.

"Whatever"

"And I took a test after she was born but I couldn't tell you because you said she looked pretty and all-" Jieun said.

Jeongguk let out a laugh. "I didn't fucking want a kid at fifteen, Jieun! I said so not because I wanted a kid, for fuck's sake. Not because I loved the kid!"

"I didn't have a choice okay? I didn't want her to grow up without a father!" Jieun said, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

"You're nothing but a selfish bitch" Jeongguk was fuming with anger. "You would rather sacrifice my life instead of hers huh? Making me believe that I was doing the right thing by taking responsibility. I was a kid myself, Jieun. And you were a year older than me even! You ruined my whole life!"

"But Aria is still your daughter. Jeongguk you love her. She loves you. You're her father. Not anyone else!"

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. "Well I didn't want to be her father. And no I'm not her father. I'm not her father!" Jeongguk laughed. "Did you hear that? I'm not Aria's father"

"Jeongguk..."

"Because of what you did, I didn't even have a time to figure out my sexuality. What if I'm gay? Everyone gets crushes. And I was fifteen when I crushed on you! What did I ever even know?! I never had the chance to be a normal teenager or college student. When my friends were out partying, I came home to take care of Aria. When my friends were getting drunk and hooking up with random people, clubbing all night, I was feeding Aria instead, and trying to stop her from crying. You ruined my whole life, Jieun"

"I'm sorry! I didn't think so far when I decided not to tell you the truth. But we raised Aria together. She is our daughter! Your daughter! Biology doesn't matter. What if she had to grow up without a father? I can't raise her alone! I was only sixteen too. And her actual father wouldn't take responsibility! How could I ever tell her that her father didn't want her?"

"Wow you're so selfish" Jeongguk let out. "So you thought ruining my life was justifiable? Aren't you a lawyer?"

Jieun sniffled.

Jeongguk let out a laugh all of a sudden. It was loud and obnoxious. Jieun looked up at him, eyes teary and her cheeks stained.

"What...?"

"It's funny" Jeongguk was laughing. "It's funny how I don't regret it anymore"

"What?"

"I used to loathe myself before" Jeongguk said. "Not anymore"

Jieun just stared as Jeongguk laughed.

"I don't regret cheating on you anymore"

Jieun was speechless. She looked up at Jeongguk, eyes wide with disbelief. "You...what?"

"I cheated on you, Jieun" Jeongguk said. He was no longer laughing. "I fucked someone else" saying the words aloud felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. It felt so good to finally say it.

Jieun stood up from the floor and the next thing Jeongguk knew, there was a loud sound, that echoed through the house. Jeongguk's cheek burned and his head was tilted sideways by the force of Jieun's hand against his cheek.

The realization that his wife had slapped his face dawned on him instantly. His anger rose drastically but he could only smile.

"It was a guy" Jeongguk said.

"What?" Jeongguk looked angrier that he had ever seen her.

"I fucked him so good, Jieun. Almost every day for the last four months. We fucked and fucked. Even on this house, you know? I brought him here. I fucked him right under your little nose. I fucked him on your kitchen, in the bathroom, on the sofa...where else..."

Smack

Jeongguk's other cheek started burning. Now his whole face was hurting.

"His ass is a blessing, Jieun" Jeongguk continued, smiling like a maniac. "He was such a good boy. Begging for my cock every day. Oh and the way he sucked me off! Oh! He would suck the living shit out of me. It's heaven, Jieun. He loved my cock. And I loved his"

Jeongguk grinned at Jieun like a psychopath.

"How..." Jieun was at a loss of words. "How dare you cheat on me!"

Jeongguk laughed. "Cheat? Bitch you lied to me. I don't think I ever even loved you!"

"I was always loyal to you. I love you! I never cheated!"

"You expect me to believe that? You?"

"Yes! I may have lied to you about Aria but I loved you since I was sixteen. I never even thought about another man for all these years! How could you do that to me!?"

"I guess we're equal, right? No, wait. I don't think we're equal. You ruined my life but I didn't ruin yours"

"Jeongguk!" Jieun shouted. "Is this a joke to you?"

"Was my life a joke to you?"

"Jeongguk! I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. But I love you. Just don't leave me, please" Tears started streaming down her cheeks again.

"I'm leaving" Jeongguk said and started to make his way towards the front door again.

"You can't! I'm pregnant!"

Jeongguk stopped. He turned around. "I don't think that's mine"

"What do you mean?! Of course it's yours!"

"That's what you said sixteen years ago and oh well, here we are" Jeongguk said.

"But I didn't cheat on you! Please believe me. We can do a paternity test in a few weeks. Please don't leave me"

"Find her a father like you did last time, Jieun. You're really good at that. Go ahead and destroy someone else's life"

"Jeongguk!"

"Bye" Jeongguk said. He walked towards the door and just when he was about to open it, he turned around.

"Who is he?" he asked.

Jieun was still weeping. She shook her head. "He's older than us. You don't know him"

Jeongguk raised an eyebrow.

"He was my father's friend and...he was twenty two at that time. I really liked him so we had sex. When I told him I was pregnant, he said it's not his because I fucked around. Even after the test, he said he wouldn't take responsibility. I didn't tell my parents because I didn't want them to know I slept with my father's friend"

Jeongguk laughed. He couldn't believe this.

"History repeats itself, huh?" Jeongguk said.

"What?"

"Like mother, like daughter"

"Jeongguk what do you mean?"

"Aria almost hooked up with Taehyung, who is my friend"

"What do you mean they almost hooked up? Taehyung is gay"

"He's not. He's bisexual. But that doesn't matter. They didn't hook up. Aria was dating him for a while and I made them break up. Before you go after Taehyung, it was Aria who wanted sex, not him. Besides it was Aria who was desperate to have a relationship with him"

"I'm not going after Taehyung. They just can't be together"

"Yeah I know. He's too old for her-"

"No because Aria's biological father is Kim Seongho-"

"Good. I think I don't know him" Jeongguk said.

"No you don't get it" Jieun said. "Seongho is Taehyung's father"

"What?!" Jeongguk shouted. "You mean Aria almost slept with her half-brother?"

"I didn't know there was something going on between them!"

"This is so fucked up. Does Taehyung know that Aria is his half-sister?"

"Of course not!" Jieun said.

Jeongguk's head was pounding with a headache now. This was too much information to process in a single day.

"Okay since we're spilling all the sins we've done, let me tell you the last thing"

"There's more?" Jieun scoffed.

"Yeah. It was Taehyung. It's he, who I fucked"

Jieun's mouth dropped.

"Jeongguk are you insane?!" She shouted. "How...he...he's your student!"

"And Aria's boyfriend" Jeongguk let out a laugh. "Former boyfriend"

Jieun's stared at Jeongguk, open-mouthed.

"And I fucked him before he became my student"

Jeongguk was in the verge of tears and he could kill someone with the rage that he had controlled inside him. But the sadness that threatened to come out of him felt lie it was piercing his heart.

"What's wrong with you?!" Jieun finally let out. "I...I thought that it was really weird that you guys were so close but I never assumed...I trusted you! I trusted Taehyung! I let him stay in my house!"

"Well I also trusted you when you told me Aria was my child. Guess we don't always get what we want, huh?"

"You're a fucking psycho"

"No" Jeongguk shook his head as he took a step back. "I just don't love you. I never did. I was just trying to get back what I missed. What you stripped me off of"

Jeongguk turned around and streamed out of the house, not once looking back. He could hear Jieun sobbing loudly behind him but he couldn't give a shit about a woman he no longer has anything to do with.

Jeongguk got inside the car and drove off quickly. It was almost five minutes later he stopped the vehicle at a fairly peaceful area.

He turned up the volume of the radio and started to let out heart-wrenching sobs. His chest hurt like he was about to have a heart attack. His head pounded and he was still in denial. Emotions; anger, sadness and confusion rolled down his cheeks in the form of tears.

He couldn't control the loud sobs. He doesn't remember crying like this. Ever. And the pain was unbearable.

He had been living a lie for fifteen years. His whole life was ruined. He had been so stupid. So, so stupid to trust Jieun. To marry her. To take responsibility.

And what hurt most was being lied to by his wife. It was the fact that the daughter, the only thing he thought he had left, wasn't even his anymore. She had been his only anchor. She was the person he loved the most. She was the reason he stayed with Jieun. Because he loved her. She was his daughter.

But not anymore.

Part of Jeongguk wished he never found out.

Part of him was glad that he was no longer living in a lie.

Even though the truth was now out in the open, this only made Jeongguk's situation more complicated. What is he supposed to do now?

There was a raging anger inside him, mostly directed towards Jieun. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be in this situation. Above all, he let go of Taehyung because of this situation of Aria. Taehyung, his one true love. He had lost Taehyung because of her.

Jeongguk stayed there for what felt like hours. The light around him had started to fade slowly, as the sky prepared for the early evening. His tears had dried off and he was feeling completely numb. He didn't know what to do.

He didn't know where to go. He didn't have anywhere to go.

He didn't have a home to return to.

He took out his phone, which wasn't dead as he had told Jieun. But almost was. He searched through his call history. The latest ones being of Jieun and then of Aria. There was one from Taehyung, which dated a few days back.

A tear escaped Jeongguk's puffy eyes as he stared at Taehyung's contact.

Jeongguk realized that he had never been in a situation as vulnerable as this. He had no one to turn to. No where to go. No one to tell his sadness to. No one to share his grief with. No shoulder to cry on.

Except one.

His home. His safe place. His haven. His one true love.

Jeongguk took a shaky breath as he thought over and over again about what he was going to do. But he didn't know who else to go to. Who else he could lean on. Jeongguk wiped the tears in his eyes with the back of his hand and stared at his phone screen.

He dialed up Taehyung's number.

》♡《

Thoughts about Jieun?
Have a nice day/night!